View source for 2012-02-05 - Reflections that Linger

{{Logsummary|
Title=Reflections that Linger
|Summary=Ember wakes up to find herself locked up on the Watchtower.  Batman focuses on solving several mysteries.
|Who=[[Batman]], [[Ember]]
|Date=02/05/2012
|Where=The Watchtower
|}}

Where was the indeed she'd just woken up and basically yelled at her captors to stop toying with her and just /end/ it. She's still leaning back against the wall in her cell her eyes glancing about looking for any means to get out there is none. Well there's one thing she's not tried yet. She gets up from the cot and looks at the force field holding her inside the cell. She raises a hand and starts to focus preparing not a fireball as the explosion from that would cook her alive in close quarters like this. She's trying to leech from the power systems but all she gets is a jolt and nothing happens. 

"What...?" 

She shakes her head a little bit and realises trying to use her powers is a bad idea. She checks her utility belt for lack of a better term, nothing there, her wallet's gone too. 

"My wallet? Really petty..." 

"Look I'm awake what do you plan to do with me I know someone has to be listening!"


There's no immediate answer, no immediate motion. The cell is like something out of the future, near the hardened heart of the Watchtower, in orbit around the Earth below. This deep within, the only clues are the near-alien architecture and technology in even the light fixtures, the entire room reinforced yet sleek. The bed is mounted to the wall in such a way as to withstand a raging rhino, yet both it and the room's solitary chair are quite comfortable. Aside from a similarly sturdy table, there's little to distract the eye aside from the aforementioned recessed channels bordering front and back wall of the holding cell.

Eventually, the door does open. Knowing Batman, it's likely about the time that Ember gives up. It's not the figure she's likely most wanting to see, all darkness and intensity "Miss Doyle. You're not in any trouble.. this time. You were brought here because you seemed distressed and an imminent danger to yourself and others. I'd hoped to get someone to debrief you properly, but our psychiatrist is currently in a hearing to determine if the League is liable for mental trauma the Blue Devil allegedly caused to a crooked televangelist; and everyone more... expert at this sort of thing is busy..."

The Batman moves to the back wall, and manipulates hidden controls, holographic images coming up from the Watchtower's monitoring satellites as he identifies them, "Diverting flooding from a broken dam in India. Negotiating a peaceful settlement to near riots in Chicago and Mexico City. Protecting the President of Taiwan from an entire -team- of superpowered assassins." Batman is obviously pissed about this next part: "I'm /told/... they don't have time."

The Dark Knight turns to face Ember, and gestures to the chair, "Guess what. Neither do I. I'm here to help, so try to keep up. Sit down, and be 100 percent honest with me, and the next stage in your life is going to be better than before. Waste my time, tell me lies, and I will not hesitate to take offense that you're keeping me from monitoring a mute teenager who may be being targetted by an entire -other- League of Assassins." One can almost hear him capitalize the letters. "Read this." A sheet of paper is produced, as if from a void within his cape, and set down on the table in front of her. It's a mirrored page of an encyclopedia, in this case briefly describing a city in Italy, laid out just like her identification was; like Batman suspects is 'normal'.


Ember never seen tech like this even in the remains of a lair of a fairly high tech hero she found once. She pauses as someone arrives, now she was not in flight or flight mode. She can take better stalk in the man before her. The style of the costume so much like another she knows of. She lustens as he speaks to her. She looks suprised, not in any trouble? She seems confused but she'll hope for the best. "So that's where my wallet went." She notes at the mention of her name she pauses at the mental image it's an interesting one to be sure. She hears each comment and just stares in confusion. She sits down, she gets the idea while he looks so much like someone she fears he's like them? One not to be screwed around with. She's ditting with in seconds and listens. She takes the sheet and starts reading it, it's just some random bit about a city in Italy. She seems to be reading it no problem. She finishes up and pauses after finishing. 

"Why every other bit of text I have seen look like it was reflected in a mirror?" 

Still the scale of the operations mention makes her pause and grapples. Where is she? What really is going on? Well maybe she'll find out.


"Like this?" Batman inquires, without answering, putting down the same paper in 'native' print. "At least you've got the presence of mind to note that much." This, does, seem to be something that counts to the Dark Knight. Her wallet seems to have appeared in his hand at some point, placed back down on the table and slid across to Ember herself, "I bet you had a hard time using any of this on the inverted ATM machines." He notes, actually chuckling momentarily.

It passes, he's efficient, one has to give the Bat that much. "Why don't you start by telling me what you remember of your last twenty four hours, Miss Doyle, and we'll go from there." No, he's not a man who speaks his theories without doing his fact-checking often. "Once I'm more certain of exactly what -did- happen to you." Arms folded within his cape, the Batman turns half away from Ember, lurking near one side of the room as he listens almost patiently.


Ember looks at the now backwards print, at least to her. Her mind grapples with it for a moment. Then she notices the wattlet and takes it. She pauses at the ATMs. "It did, but I got it to work. I still don't know how I had that much money in my account..." She may have just accidently unknowingly stolen some money from her counter part here. She nods. "All right, several days ago I'd come across the lair of a hero who used magic like my self. No I wasn't looking for trouble he'd been murdered and I was trying to get to it before the Syndicate or their lakies got to it. Didn't want them to profit off a good person's death any further. I found only a tome left intact on protector wards. I took it and returned to where I normally hid my self away. I went over what the rituals of protection needed I was hoping to keep prying eyes off my own hideout and get a little breathing space." 

"I don't know what happened next, prehaps I did something wrong? I don't know all I know is the ward was designed to keep out someone from phasing through the walls or using means to remote spy on me. The next thing I know it backfires and I'm in a back alley in Metroplis. But everything's not right, everything's backwards, from the ATMs you mentioned, bill boards. Everything was flipped, it was unsettling. Also the fact I was there for over four hours and nothing came out of the wood work at me."


"The account you tapped belongs to a woman known as Dark Ember. A criminal who shares your name, DNA, fingerprints, lip prints, retinal structure, everything. Except this..." Two more sheets, these clear overlays, advanced images of Ember's organs, and a matching set with 'appropriate' placement. "Interesting little variation. As far as I can reason, your magic interacted unpredictably with whatever power was in the tome, and you transitioned between dimensions, from one world into one that's similar, but different in notable and meaningful ways. The good news is, the people who were after you are unlikely to be able to follow you here." Batman pauses, "... though every time I think that someone finds a way." Dangerously Genre Savvy, yes. "At any rate. This is the center of operations for the Justice League, an international force of peace keepers and protectors. You're safer here than anywhere else." Possibly on the cosmic scale.

"I know this is a lot to take in, but I need you to stay calm and work with me. Like I said, I don't have a lot of time. We don't have eyes on your counterpart at this point, she may have switched places with you... or she may still be at large. Until this situation can be resolved, I'm offering you a protected place to get your bearings here on the Watchtower. I'll also assign a League agent to protect you if you need to travel." A (rather restricted) access card is offered across to Ember. "Any trouble.. well. I've made it clear where you are." After a fashion. If Batman realizes the irony, he's completely deadpan about it.


Ember looks at Batman staring for a moment. "Dark Ember? ...Wait another me." She pauses looking at her own orangs and the other sheet. "The hell her heart's on the wrong side!" Then it starts to hit her. There's a glimer of some understanding now as she listens. "So I'm on another world?" She lets out a deep breath. "That's good, that's very good." She slumps in the chair. It's too strange now there's no way it could be the man she was afraid Batman was. She's going to try to not panic, she's on some bizzaro world. "The the Justice League?" 

Is this what it could have had the poential to be? She seems to know the name though. "The League's thrived here that's simply amazing. The League were some of the strongest or smartest people left facing the Syndicate. Thank you for the offer and I accept it."


"If you start to have trouble wrapping your head around it later, there are counselors on staff you can talk to." -Not- his department. At least, he likes to think so. "We'll move to confirm the status of Dark Ember, and someone will try to find you a place to stay until you get on your feet, once the current situation is resolved. I don't want thanks, just make sure I don't regret this."

With that, the Dark Knight moves smoothly, almost too smoothly for a mortal man, to the doorway. Quick, almost stealthy even done right in front of Ember's eyes, "If you follow the blue light, it will lead you out to the residential wing. You can get something to eat there as well." There's a momentary beat of a pause, "Good luck." Then, the Caped Crusader takes his leave, rather abruptly.


Ember likely will need it once things set in, right now she's kinda getting it on one level. It's not hit her hard yet just what's happened. She nods for a moment "Don't put it ahead of anyone else's well being." She gets up and stretches a little as she picks up the card. Man it's backwards too, or is she the backwards one on this world. She pauses at the mention of food. She wonders if they have hotdogs, and was the mysterious not Owlman almost apologising for her loss of hotdog eariler? Also /how/ did he move like that.