December 05, 2016:
Black Widow meets with Batman to hand over the Iron Guard dossier, and discuss the man from the future.
Gotham Rooftops
Characters
NPCs: None.
Mentions: Kang
Plot:
Mood Music: None.
Fade In…
It had taken her awhile, being preoccupied with SHIELD and more recently Avengers missions, but finally the Black Widow has contacted Batman to setup a meeting. She is waiting on that very same rooftop, leaning against the door of the roof access, holding a manila folder in her hands. A bit of a test really, would be hard for Batman to sneak behind her if she has her back blocked. She wonders to what length's he might go just to say he managed to appear out of nowhere. By now she figured it's his MO.
Batman doesn't sneak up behind her, but he uses the edge of the rooftop access to conceal his approach— moving into her line of sight just at the edge of her periphery, and timing it with that ninja's expertise. Not there— then there.
"Agent," Batman rasps, moving until he's just outside of a long lunge, close enough to talk to her. He moves with that eerie grace, like he's on rollers instead of treading on heavy boots, and regards her steadily from behind grim, pupil-less white eye lenses. "You have something for me?"
"Clever," Black Widow greets Batman, extending her left arm, holding the folder, towards him. "So, you wanted to know about Nathaniel Richards, yes?" She remains where she is, letting Batman come to her that extra step if he wants the folder. "There's one reason to be wary, namely, time travel…I loathe irregularities of that nature. But we have to make do, don't we?"
A low growling sound escapes Batman's mouth— but whether that's annoyance with Natasha or the concept of time travel is difficult to concern, though he takes two steps towards her until he's well inside a comfortable zone of distance. His cloak parts a few inches so a dark grey-clad arm can emerge. His gloves are a hybrid of heavy leather and military nomex, but the wickedly recurved spikes on the back of his gauntlets are definitely not derived from /any/ kind of operator's gear. He puts his glove under the folder and holds it there until it's dropped into his grasp.
Black Widow waits patiently to give Batman a few moments, if he'd like to peruse the file she just handed him first. "His present day record is spotless, but I would wager if we really want to learn the truth, we would require a time machine. I trust there's no Bat-Time-Travel-Device on hand?" The way she says it suggests that SHIELD certainly doesn't have one.
"Left it in the Batmobile," Batman remarks, scanning over the folder. It doesn't take him long— clearly he can speed read. He brushes over the folder once, then again, and then hands it back to Natasha.
"It's been my experience that people don't make trips to the past unless their present-day is so terrible that any future— any alternative— is acceptable. No matter how badly it goes, it's better than the life they left behind."
Black Widow smirks, "at least you have that, we can't all be winners." She nods at Batman's assessment, "that said, we have no way, unless you know a prophet you can vouch for, to truly know if he is lying or not. He presents a very unpleasant scenario that makes the ol' doomsday clock watching child's play. The government choose to heed his warning and prepare," she tilts her head slightly, and asks, "you feel he is only setting in motion events that will benefit him personally? I have witnessed one threat from space since he's been here, haven't had any experiences with space before that."
"Too early to say definitively," Batman says, shaking his cowl minutely. "Anything is possible. He might have an ulterior motive for personal gain. He might genuinely be trying to avert a major catastrophe. Someone trying to set himself up for personal political power would travel back in time, and convince authorities that he's the only person who can prevent an apocalypse. A gullible person would give him political power and resources."
"I am also convinced he has come from a different time-frame. His equipment carries radiation traces and uses power sources that are not in keeping with any modern technological design."
"So far, for lack of better evidence, I indulge him his story…" Black Widow offers her two cents, pointedly referring to Nathaniel's version of events as story rather than the gospel as some in the government has. "Not sure what you think you know about me, considering how you've spoken to me thus far, but I am not one to trust fairy tales. "That only affirms his story of point of origin, beyond that, very little we can actually verify for ourselves. We can heed his word, prepare for the oncoming alien invasion that would reave the Earth, or ignore him….but if we do and that reaving threat does come, joke's on us. In SHIELD we believe in preparedness. Don't mistake that for following Nathaniel blindly."
"Occam's razor suggests that the simplest solution is the most probable one," Batman agrees. "He's from the future. He's here to prevent some kind of catastrophe."
"As a rule, I generally assume everyone has some kind of ulterior motive. A little paranoia can be inconvenient, but extremely helpful. Whereas a little laxness can be very fatal," he says, grimly.
"I assume you're tracking his activities. I'd start demanding some particular projections from him and track the consequences to see if the fallout is what he proposed it would be."
"Indeed, so that is what I as a SHIELD Agent must follow by default. That is, until there's concrete evidence that points otherwise." Black Widow states matter of factly. "Yes, in my line of work, it holds true to everyone and everything. That's why I'm so comfortable around you." She nods at Batman when he presents one test method, "see if he can state the oncoming future from his own timeline with any level of accuracy? Sounds logical. Go for it. I'll let you know if I find anything amiss, I trust you could give me the courtesy of doing the same?"
Batman's cowl pans away as he contemplates Natasha's offer. "Agreeable," he concludes, after a few seconds of consideration. Those white lenses focus back on the redhead's high, haughty features. "In this case it sounds like we've both something significant at stake if he's right. I'll work things from my end. You should consider scanning for his unique energy signature to see if anyone else utilizes the same techniques to return from his future, and consider running him against your DNA files and see if he has living relatives during this time-frame."
Black Widow nods as Batman suggests actions to take, and she starts heading for the edge of the roof, "very well, we have an accord on this issue, we'll be seeing each other then." She already knows Batman will pull his disappearing act, so she doesn't bother with farewells, she just widow lines down from the building.