Things Fall Apart( for bladeinthecrowd)

[blindingtrust]

It had started a while ago in Gotham. At least for Cedric and Ivy it had. Now dog and owner were separated. Cedric had found his way into the Nexus. For him it wasn't very hard. For a dog he was both fairly smart and held a decent memory. He was looking and sniffing around for someone who he deemed 'nice'.

And of course Altair was nice. He would probably pat Cedric. And notice the fairly fresh blood matted into his upper shoulder and the stains around his muzzle. He had been in a tussle and was seeking attention because right now Ivy was in no shape to stick her nose out and notice he had been beaten up a bit too. After all Cedric would never willingly let any harm come to Ivy. She was the nice lady who fed him and took such good care of him after all.

(( OOC NOTE: This is for future ploty fun times for anyone who happens to be following this. In Gotham that is.))

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[blindingtrust.livejournal.com]

"From what I've gathered on my own he isn't very big. Not compared to others I've had to um, avoid. Penguin is just one symptom of the disease that's been plaguing the city for a long time." Ivy tugs at a throw that was left over the back of the couch and loosely pulls it around herself. "I tripped. Cedric's leash got caught around my foot and the bigger man threw me up against a wall. I thought he was going to punch me. His partner...I have the impression he is shorter. Fatter too maybe. He held his partner's arm back, I think. To keep him from hitting me. It didn't last though. I was able to avoid most of the first punch and checked him with my shoulder and started to run again. Cedric kept up with me. We got cornered fairly quickly. Cedric got pretty angry. He went for the shorter one. I think he forced the man to the ground. I heard ...mostly a great deal of barking and growling. The bigger man threw me against the wall again. I slipped and my hand must have gotten caught on something but...Cedric. Cedric. He went for the larger man. The larger man had grabbed me and I guess when I yelled it go Cedric angry. When Cedric threw himself at the larger man I fell. I guess that's when I hurt my leg. I started running though. I know the streetsaround here fairly well. Cedric...Cedric wasn't far behind me."

[bladeinthecrowd.livejournal.com]

Altaїr mused over this last bit of information. Only one symptom... there were others to deal with. Apparently this city had a lot of trash to take care of. The Assassin hesitated briefly in his next train of thought but... no, he could do it. His personal mission back home could be put on hold. Technically, every time he went back to his own world after traveling to the Nexus the longest time span back in his own world was only a few minutes, sometimes an hour or two if he'd been gone for a really long time. But never anything that actively set him back. He would test it just to be sure... but from this world, what could be the difference?

That settled, Altaїr went on to his next line of thought. He would stay here and clean up this city. Sure, he was only one man and he already had a mission of his own, but... it couldn't hurt to carry out as much as he possibly could, right? And... he had an active... interest... in this city. In its inhabitants.

So that was his plan. He'd tell Ivy that in a moment. "And after that you were 'home free'?" He used the Briton expression he'd heard once in the Nexus, using it quite easily and aptly.

[blindingtrust.livejournal.com]

"So to speak. It's well known that after my Uncle passed away and I was nearly killed last year that I came to live here. But I am...safe. There are people I know that I can call upon if this situation becomes more dangerous. There's Jim Gordon. He's what we call a police officer, here. He's a good man who wants to clean up this city just as much as others I've been slowly acquainting myself with. I think if I have to I can call on him." Ivy curls her legs up close to the rest of her body. "I just don't want to have to tell him about this. I don't like asking for help. I also don't like having to admit when..things like this happen. But it is his job and not telling him would be wrong. I think...he could be apart of the solution."

[bladeinthecrowd.livejournal.com]

The Assassin committed that name to memory. Jim Gordon. He could be put to use. "What is a 'police officer'?" Giving him the name of something only did him any good if it came with an explanation. "A do-gooder?" Not a simple generalized statement that the Assassin could derive any sort of definition by. Taking what he surmised for what she said, technically he could be one of those things.

[blindingtrust.livejournal.com]

"Like a city guard. His job is to investigate crime. He's one of the most uncorrupted officers in the city as far as I know." Ivy smiles faintly then holds up her hand. "There's someone else. He showed up last year..Earlier. There was this....situation. It's difficult to explain but the city was ready to tear itself apart. He stopped it. They call him Batman. I'm not even sure if he's real."

[bladeinthecrowd.livejournal.com]

"Oh," Altaїr replied flatly. That brought about the frustration of needing to avoid the man more than try and contact him. Still, if he wanted the criminals gone bad enough, he could still be enlisted to help the Assassin. As long as information was a one sided parade, and the man didn't try to hunt Altaїr after he learned of the results. He would keep it in mind, anyway.

Altaїr tilted his head to the side as he asked his next question. "Bat. Man?" He was pretty sure he had heard the word 'bat' before. He wasn't sure he knew the definition. So... what was a bat man?

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[blindingtrust.livejournal.com]

It would complicate things, for sure. Especially if Ivy was ever seen with Altair. Ivy has to make some public appearances after all. Her Uncle had requested that she appear at some charity events. But it's unlikely Ivy would ever ask him to go with her.

"That's what they've been calling him. A man dressed in some kind of armor that resembles a bat. He's been fighting the criminal underworld eve since he first 'showed up'. I...think it is because of him that things are becoming peaceful in the city. He doesn't kill but he is extremely effective." Ivy fights off two things the feeling of being cold and a yawn. It's not very late but the day was fairly long for her.

[bladeinthecrowd.livejournal.com]

Altaїr could have approved of the man--if he had had enough commitment to permanently rid this city of its fouler residents. The Assassin's cult allowed for that. Indeed, was created for that very ideal. And Altaїr would stay to extract his own sort of justice on this city. All for hurting one person...

He mentally shook his thoughts free of that. He gazed as Ivy steadily. "Sounds... interesting." Perhaps I'll meet him one day, was he silent statement beneath his spoken words.

Altaїr had avoided the subject long enough. Either he would have to find a place of his own or... "I'm staying here." It wasn't a question.

[blindingtrust.livejournal.com]

Ivy though felt that Batman was very inspiring. Without someone to show people they could be brave enough to stand up to the crime and corruption what could be done? Just more criminals to fill up the vacuum.

"I...suppose it works. The criminals of the city are afraid of him to some extent."

Ivy's eyebrows go up. Then she turns her head away "I...have a spare room you can use. I keep it for guests. Why...are you staying? Don't you have duties on your own world?"

[bladeinthecrowd.livejournal.com]

Altaїr had expected a fight. Or, rather, a lengthy debate on the matter. Or flat-out refusal. He had answers for either. This seemed awfully easy. "Yes, I do. But time seems as though stilled when I travel away from it. I can easily go back to them exactly as they were when I left." It was truthful enough. It was what he had told himself anyway.

He glanced down and back up. "I am staying to take care of things here. In Gotham."

[blindingtrust.livejournal.com]

Ivy wants to argue. She really does. But at the same time she wants him to stay because she's afraid of what could happen if anyone gets past the security system. Though she is full aware it's easy to get around it.

"It's that way for many people," Ivy admits. Then she frowns in his direction. "Take care of things? Altair. The system that is here is not perfect. The city is in trouble but you just can't...You can't take justice like that into your own hands."

[bladeinthecrowd.livejournal.com]

Altaїr laughed. Just plain out, fully laughed. As he finished a snideful smirk stayed in play on his lips. "Oh? What do you think that Bat-person is doing?"

The Assassin shook his head. "No. I'm staying, and I'll do as I please. That's that. If you want me to find my own way, then I will. But I'm not leaving this city until I've done my piece."

[blindingtrust.livejournal.com]

"Doing the same thing. Just differently than...Look. I know I can't stop you. But do you know how these people work? You raise the stakes? So will they. The weapons in this place are different, Altair. More dangerous." Ivy's tone had changed. She wasn't very upset with him.

But it was hard. She knew she couldn't stop him. And it did hurt a little. How exactly can she stop him? There's no way she could. And he's not in the system here so she can't try to point that out.

"What if...What if what you plan to do changes nothing? If one mob boss is taken out another will rise up to take his place. That's how things go with them. Most of them won't even care." And most of all she doesn't want him hurt because of her. She won't say that out loud though. She's not sure if he'll understand that.

[bladeinthecrowd.livejournal.com]

Even if he did understand, he wouldn't take it under consideration. He had been playing this "game" his entire life. Had been raised to hunt his prey, make the strike, and deal with the consequences when they came. If another arose...

"Then I take care of that garbage as well," Altaїr told Ivy. Altaїr stared at Ivy hard. Hard enough that he knew she could feel it even if she couldn't see it. "And what do you do? You told me once... what a 'lawyer' does... isn't that the same goal? Do you have no hope of your own profession?" He was being snide now, he knew it, but he didn't care so long as he made his point.

And the point was... "The different weapons don't matter; the stakes are the same. Nothing is more dangerous than a game of life and death. I have been trained in it. All it will take is a bit of adjusting. I am fully aware of that. I will not loose." ...he would get the job done. He always did.

[blindingtrust.livejournal.com]

"I do! I just don't want...I don't want you getting hurt because of this. I've accepted that I'll always have to deal with being a target of some kind. Personal attacks, people trying to kill me...All of that. It's why I don't have anyone close in the city. For their sakes."

Ivy leaned forward covering her face with her hands. She wanted to tell him things were different. That killing wasn't necessary. And that he might have to fight this Batman every step of the way.

"Altair. I know you'll just do this no matter what I try telling you. But damn it. Be careful. Please." The concern coloring her voice is there. But she can't look in his direction. She's just upset he's going to do this and he won't listen. She doesn't have the right words to tell him why she thinks this is a bad idea.

[bladeinthecrowd.livejournal.com]

Altaїr considered Ivy's words. Only once before in his life had he ever met a woman that compelled him to something for a cause, while related to his duty as an Assassin, purely for himself in the long run. He had failed her. He still owned up on that promise...

"Ivy," he said softly, but firmly. "I know the stakes more than even you. Do you honestly think that someone in my profession couldn't? I have been isolated for a lot longer time period than you could ever imagine." He had had the brotherhood, that was true, but even they had forsaken him for so long. "I will admit to you, Ivy, that I am a wanted man. My life is always in danger. No matter if they kill me on sight, or capture me--for the death penalty after torture. I know the consequences. They have been ingrained in my mind for--forever."

He paused. He adjusted one of his gauntlets; looked back up. "I am always careful." Then he smiled humorlessly; a smile that held a secret. "I am No One. They cannot find me." He did not know just how double a statement that was in this world--there were no records, no legal documents, no fingerprints, no anything to match him to. Nor would there ever be.

[blindingtrust.livejournal.com]

Ivy doesn't sniffle. She;'s going to try and stay calm here. She has to because as far as she can tell he's staying calm.

"No. I probably couldn't." She inclined her head just a bit not lifting it though. Just tilting her head his way. "It makes sense. The...time period you...are from compared to this one? It's...It's very different. But some things of course remain the same."

Ivy removes her hands and shakes her head. She won't tell him bout that. "I'm sorry. I suppose I worry too much. It's probably because I know I can't do anything. Right now anyways."