Shadow Boxing Part 1

==Prelude==
Prelude: Wicked and Wild Wind | Texting | Murder | Adoption | Floorplan | Cleaning | Wallpaper
===*Wicked and Wild Wind===
(so named because whenever I think of this scene's intro, I can't not hear "A wicked and wild wind / blew down the doors / and let me in") 
.
The door slams open and an ink black figure strides in through he chaos of scattering goons and contraband, grabs the Joker by the arm without breaking step, drags him to the back, throws him into a chair--
“Look what the bat dragged in!”
--and holds out a phone. "Her Ladyship would like to speak with you." >if Shadow speaks<
"All this for little ol' me? Why I'm flattered!" Takes it. "The one and only clown prince of Gotham, how may I help you?" 
""Joker,"" purrs the voice on the other end. ""How are you?""
The figure meanders to a table. 
"Shocked--shocked!--you would take an interest in /me!" 
A chuckle, then, ""I do have an overhead to maintain.""
Joker shudders. "Bills, awful things." 
""How was the last shipment?""
"Absolutely flawless, like yourself, so I can't believe you'd go to all this trouble just to check in." 
""True, I wouldn't. I will be coming to Gotham with my sister-in-law--""
"And you would like me to what? Organize a parade?" 
""I would like you to remain out of my sight for the duration of my stay."" 
"Or else what? You'll kill me? Don't you have an 'overhead to maintain'?"
""You're not my only client by far.""
"So killing me's still on the table." 
""I'm not that nice."" 
"As if you'd let your Shadow out of Hong Kong." 
The figure looks over. 
""I'm sure you've already seen their handiwork around the city.""
"The bodies. Right." 
""Have you read the police report?""
"Those joke books? Not on your life." 
""They died of stress, fear, and pain. What do you think will happen to you?""
"The same?"
""Again, not that nice.""
yet to tweak
leans forward against the arm rests. “Do you know who I am?”
“Someone with a stick up their ass?”
“Try again.” 
"Shadow of Hong Kong, all around not-a-nice guy."
“Good. Do you know why I’m here?”
“To kill me?”
Chuckles, “As you said, I’m not that nice. Try again.” 
“To have a great time touring the beautiful city of Gotham?”
“On contract, but. I thought my cousin would enjoy of change of scenery, too, and I would like her to do so for the duration of our stay.” 
“And if she doesn’t, you’ll kill me?”
“Again, I'm not that nice. So, until we leave, I would appreciate it if you keep to yourself.”
“What;s in it for me?” 
“What do you think?" Offers a hand. "Do we have an understanding?”
"Am I making a deal with the Devil?" Joker takes it anyway.
"Do we have an understanding?"
"Yes, we do, I'm on board, whatever you want." 
Long smiles. "Good." Yanks Joker from the chair--throws him to the floor, scoops up a section of pipe.
. 
* “Setting the scene with Joker and his goons going over plans for a heist or terrorist attack or something. Before the door slams open. Maybe have Joker kill one of them in cold blood to set him up as the insane clown prince of crime that Gotham does not need but probably deserves”
more action breaks for the Joker. He’s a fairly kinetic figure with outsized reactions. Playing them up and against Shadow’s calm should be fun." 
* "play up the differences in speech between the very ‘street’ (and exaggerated?) Joker and the more eloquent’ ‘board room’ persona on the phone." 
* Joker doesn’t know the enforcer is Shadow until Long says … something (can’t remember TnT)
* I had this perfect in my head but it was far too slippery for me to catch and now I hate it; maybe rewrite it with Rosy relaying messages? 
===(B) Texting===
(working title; ): Tim has been in the wind since shortly after RR and while he does have his phone, he's only paying attention to it when he's deleting messages until he gets one from Ra's asking him /not to investigate a particular base; he has company and would prefer not to have to evacuate them. 
Tim's like, okay, that's intriguing (but he'll sit on it for a couple days; he's not /that predictable). He also figures this is proooobably a trap so he'll wait a few days before investigating. 
===(B) Backup===
Oracle sends out a message to various BatFam peeps that Batman needs backup (which isn't exactly a lie ...) which explains why in-- 
===(WiP) Murder===
>being moved to the actual murder scene. note that the bodies look peaceful and end the scene with peeps confirming brunch the next day
Originally it was Grayson and Tim, but it sounds like Grayson and his partner except they would have no reason to be discussing the case since they aren't in Gotham, and now I'm wondering if, since Tim and Grayson have been working on this, if this scene should be speaking with Cass and Steph. 
Batman and Nightwing are on the scene of the 8th murder victim (besides this being the 8th person brutally murdered, but then cleaned up and left peacefully (almost as if the person has some consideration for the people finding the bodies) with absolutely no evidence) and conferencing with Steph (working in the clinic) and Cass (on patrol with Damian); the meeting the next day will be at brunch 
This is what I want them to mean, not what they have to say. <
"I did some digging on our guy," he greets. 
"And?"
"Mister Stake-through-his-throat is a disgusting excuse of a–"
"Human trafficker?"
"Based out of Western Europe."
"With, lemme guess: no connections to Gotham, nothing in his phone mentions anything remotely related to the area, and he was last seen somewhere ridiculously far from where he died."
"Paris, /France."
"Sounds like another for the pile."
"Considering this is the eighth victim with that description, I'm inclined to agree." Drops the folder on the stack. "Three traffickers, two arms dealers, a Triad lieutenant, an abusive boyfriend, and a drug dealer." 
"Hell of a message."
"'Don't be trash'. 'Crime is hard'. Doesn't sound familiar at all."
"Have you cleared Jason?"
"Pretty much. Not his MO and I really don't think he has the resources to pull this kinda thing off."
"Has Babs heard anything about a new vigilante?"
"She said there's a lot of chatter wondering about that but no concrete evidence to suggest one way or the other."
"Except the bodies."
"Except the bodies, yea. There /has been a white van–"
"That certainly screams 'not from Gotham'." 
"Thank god for that ban, huh? Uh, right. They've been seen in the security footage, usually blocking CCTV access to the crime scene, but the plates are all over and are registered to people who don't even own white vans, let alone live in the States."
"Sounds like someone's giving the authorities the runaround."
"And covering their tracks /really well."
Companionable silence. 
"When's B want us for dinner?l
"Twenty minutes, ish."
"Might as well head down, then. You ready?"
"Yep."
===(B) Visitors===
Tim follows up on these "visitors"; he's got a schematic of the place and has a few potential entry points and when he sneaks in the vent collapses behind him and the so called 'storage room' is a suite with a kitchenette and no obvious door and he has totally been played 
===(Dw) Adoption===
Write Tim out of this; Adoption habits; “No swearing in the manor”: , , , , 
* Have someone ask why they’re coming and B replies it’s for a JLA thing and a WE thing. “Are there /other children we don’t know about?” “Have you /already adopted more children?”
They're in the drawing room and give Bruce their undivided attention the moment he enters.
The clock ticks. 
"I don't suppose any of you would sit through dinner if I waited until after to discuss this."
"Not a chance."
"Nope."
"Not on your life."
"You're not adopting another one, are you?"
"A girl this time? Pleeeeeeease?"
"No." Deep breath. "In about a month, we will be hosting visitors."
"Who are they?"
"Why?"
"What about the Bat Cave?"
"The Bat Cave will stay in the Bat Cave, along with anything related to it."
Jason asks, "Can we still use the front door?"
Everyone queries with varying degrees of 'wtf?'.
"If we're related to Bar Cave-related junk, doesn't that mean we're stuck down there too?"
Groans and disgust and someone throws a pillow that he catches with a grin.
"You can all stay in your current rooms–including you, Jason."
He scoffs. "No, thanks."
"You may also conduct yourselves as usual as much as allowed with hosting duties which /will include helping Alfred get the manor in order."
"Definitely no thanks."
"Dick: I would like you to pick them up from the airport; I'll remind you closer to the date. If you would help Tim and Alfred with general housekeeping when possible, as well, we would all appreciate it."
"You got it!"
"Tim, general housekeeping with Alfred, please; I'm also having Lucius scale back your responsibilities at Wayne Enterprises and you'll be on reserve for patrol until further notice."
"What? Why?"
"You need the energy to compensate for the dust."
Tim scowls.
"Damian, keep your pets out of their way, please, and tidy the garden. Steph, Cass: I would like you to redecorate one of the suites."
“Awesome!”
"Master Jason, if you would help me move furniture, I would greatly appreciate it–"
Jason grumbles, "Unicorn farts." 
"–and you may all go through."
A chorus of 'thank you' and a small stampede rushes by. 
===(D) Cleaning===
Write Tim out of this, too
The next morning, Cass corrals everyone still in the manor (Steph and Jason, and Alfred sits in) and presents their plan of attack: the general house cleaning will begin in the middle and work outwards, leaving the library for last (and Alfred assures them that the dust making its way back into the hall would be negligible). She and Steph would clean the location of their target as well as a spare-spare room, dust all the furniture, then move the target's furniture into the spare spare room, clean everything again, and then! Paint! Jason gives them a hand moving the bulkier pieces, and gets started mopping elsewhere in the manor. Dick shows up on the weekends, and Damian, armful of anxious cat, complains, "Why is Todd's favourite dessert /always in the fridge?"
 
Dick sits back from his sponge (and the stubborn miscolored tile), pushes hair from his eyes with the back of his hand. "Combination bribe and thank you/I appreciate your help gift." "Why don't I get one?" Dick exhales, checks his progress. "Good time for tea." Calls, "Tim! I'm taking fifteen!"
 
""Got it!""
 
"Right then." Creaks to his feet with a groan. "Shall we?" Heads to the kitchen, Damian following, and lo! Fresh tea awaits. 
 
"So," he begins. "Jason doesn't have to be here, doesn't need to be here, and most likely doesn't want to be here helping clean the house. He has absolutely no obligation to do so, so, this is B and Alfred's way of thanking him and also getting him to hang around more, not to mention bribing him into helping." 
===(Bw) Overlook===
Tim's dragged to an office facing Wayne Enterprises and, surprise, Ra's is a) there and b) glowering at the building. 
Ra's tells him to find out who sent that invitation. 
Tim's like, 'who sends Ra's al Ghul an invitation to a party he's not invited to?' but says, 'I will ... so I can shake their hand and ask them to team up.' and with each datum he finds, he's more intrigued but Ra's seems to already know all this so why ...? 
Ra's tells him he's to infiltrate the Wayne household and WE and gather as much data on Long as he can except Tim reminds him, 'I don't work for you.'
'This is the most effective way to gather information ... unless, of course, you're not interested.' 
'... fuck.' 
* If Rosy’s in WWW, maybe she’s sent to the airport with Tim? 
===(D) Wallpaper===
http://pomrania.tumblr.com/post/164079034462; Steph and Cass return from an afternoon of redecorating shopping
“Welcome back, ladies. I trust you had a successful afternoon?”
“You bet!” 
Cass nods. 
“Excellent. I can have tea prepared in the drawing room whenever you like.” 
“That would be great!” 
“Thank you. Dad?” 
“I believe Master Bruce is in the study. Shall I bring tea to you?”
“Yes please!”
“Thank you.” 
“On your way, then.”
“See ya!” 
Cass smiles, and they tear off. 
“Hey, Batdad!” greets Steph. 
“Stephanie, Cassandra.”
Cass beams. 
“How was your outing?” 
“Great!” Sprawls on the sofa. 
Cass sits, digs thru her backpack. 
“We ran into Ms Reporter Extrodinaire—I think she bought our [“redecorating for Cass’ HGTV addiction”] story but you should probably give her a call.”
B acknowledges. 
Cass requests a moment. 
B attends. 
“Girl?”
He nods. 
“Right! Yes, what kind of atmosphere are we going for?” 
B sits back. “She’s a bit younger than Tim and she’ll probably be staying in there a lot.” 
“Not on my watch!” Steph declares. 
“She’s recovering from a severe leg injury and a concussion, and her guardian says she spends a good chunk of the day sleeping.” 
Steph frowns. 
Cass offers a selection of light purple paint chits. 
 
["No eggplant?" 
Steph huffs, glowers across the couch. 
 
"Too dark," Cass explains. 
 
"It could work in the closet or opposite the window." 
 
"I told you," Steph grumbles, digging in her purse. 
 
Cass sighs heavily, picks at her paint chits. 
 
"Tada!" Steph whips out an array of dark ... darks. 
 
B ... "The backlight is terrible."
 
Steph reeeeeaaaches over to Cass; Cass collects them and offers him a selection of dark purples.]
 
B … “You don’t have to choose a single colour.”
Cass reshuffles, offers a selection of purples and rich golds. 
B … “You don’t have to choose a colour.” 
“Do you mean wallpaper?” 
Cass reshuffles, offers a sample of lavender wallpaper with alternating stripes of daisies and violets and flower petals, and happy bumblebees. 
“For your room?”
Cass brightens. 
“Go for it.”
She sparkles. 
“I mean you two could paint … scenery. Murals, if you wanted.” 
“So if we felt like it we could go for a skyline?”
“Or a field of … flowers. Or—” Pained, “Kansas.”
Steph and Cass consider this. 
Alfred steps in. “Ladies, Master Bruce; tea.”
“Thank you, Alfred.” 
“Thank you!”
Cass presents her wallpaper sample. 
“Is that for your room, Miss Cassandra?” 
She nods. 
“It’s very lovely. I look forward to seeing its application.” 
She preens. 
“Master Bruce, Ms Vale rang; she would like a comment on rumours of another Wayne adoption.” 
B grimaces. 
“I promised to have you return her call after supper.” 
To his tea, B mumbles, “Thank you, Alfred.” 
“You may wish to speak with your publicist about a statement and your plans for the upcoming months, as well.”
“Right. That is something I should’ve done.” Stares into his tea. “Anything else I’m forgetting?” 
“You may consider reminding Masters Damian and Tim that you love them both, although doing so in private may be more prudent.”
“As always, Alfred, you’re on top of things.”
“Thank you, sir. Will that be all?”
“Yes, thank you.” 
“Miss Cassandra, Miss Stephanie.” 
==Arrival==
Arrival: Airport | Welcome | Green | Toast | Patrol | Played | Angel | Interview | Diana | Scream | Rockabye 
===(B) Airport===
Bruce sends Dick to the airport to pick them up; “They’re flying in under aliases, so look for—” He looks pained. “—someone I might adopt.” Except there’s no one in Arrivals matching that, though Ivy and Harleen are super happy seeing their friend, “Alo” again and Ivy has a /gorgeous bouquet for her oh, and the fourth person in the group is in a wheelchair so …? 
Alo introduces herself as Wei Long and the kid in the wheelchair, her cousin, Min. 
* Somehow introduce their/Long’s full name before the diminutive
* “Cop Wonder”
===(Bw) Welcome===
When they arrive back at the manor, Bruce introduces Long to the family and Long names every one of them but they only really talked about the weather on the way over? Bruce asks Steph and Cass to help Min upstairs (Min goes straight to bed) and invites Long to the Bat Cave so they head down, Bruce giving them a stern “be good.” look. The boys give them a minute, then scurry after and hide in the rafters. 
Long steps off the stairs, hands in her pockets, and barely looks around, when: 
“How do deal with the mold?”
Bruce manages to answer calmly, “We have very good ventilation.” 
Long nods. 
“I expect the journey was tiring; Jason and Dick are on patrol tonight, but Damian and I will be heading out tomorrow if you’d like to join us.” 
“I would, thank you. On that note, I’ll retire until supper. Eighteen thirty, I believe?”
Bruce nods. 
“I’ll see myself up.” 
===(B) Patrol===
Bruce gives Long a mask and a grapple, Long recalibrates the latter without any instruction. 
Patrol is … unnerving, to say the least. Long blends into the shadows so well she seems to be a pair of lenses and a void in the night. 
Vigilante persona (for funsies!): Briar Rose? Thorn? All dark with a mantle lined in dark pink or something more … magical girl? 
===(Bw) Toast===
Steph is anxious for Min to wake up the next morning so Cass recruits her in making a late breakfast
===(B) "Played"===
(Working title)
Long pulls Tim aside, outlines his assignment for him, advises him not to ask Min for information, and wishes him luck. Tim points out that if Long wanted Min out of this she shouldn’tve come and Long siiiiiighs; Min got hurt but Long still had the contract, so here we are. 
===(B) Angel===
Min's snuck out of the manor one night for an informal tea party; she’s not entirely sure it was real but then she notices her fingernails are caked with dirt and there’re grass stains on her sleep pants, so, maybe not a dream?
===(WiP) Interview===
Summer Gleeson interviews Bruce and Long, and then Long and Min. Could lead into "Diana". 
In the green room, as Long’s putting foundation on Min’s nose, she ensures Min knows her lines properly
The interview should be a talk show interview (instead of a news segment) because talk shows are better for hilarity. 
 
But small talk ... >shudder< Just make it really awkward and everyone'll get a giggle.
The four of them are briefly spoken with, then Wayne and Long, Tim and Min, then Long and Min. (The most latter of whom still has concussion symptoms so there may be something there.) 
====Long & Wayne====
Given Bruce Wayne's playboy reputation I'm sure there are some double entendres to be thrown about— 
'Where will you be staying?' 
'Mr Wayne has kindly offered the guest wing of his estate.' 
'Very kind! And convenient for all these 'meetings' you're sure to have.' 
'Well, since I was the one who suggested this negotiation, it's only natural that I open my home to my guests. Besides, hotels can be so impersonal.'
Cue batkids: 'is ... is he aware he's digging this hole?' 
'God I hope so.' 
'I can't watch'
 >someone passes the popcorn< 
…
“What do you have to say to people criticizing WayneEnterprises for hiring someone from abroad instead of from within?”
“What defines ‘abroad’ when a company is international?”
“You’re here, in the United States, but Mr Wayne and Wayne Enterprises have donated considerable money and resources to Gotham-based organizations; I guess people seem to be feeling betrayed.”
“I see. Would it comfort people to know I was living in the states when I received—no, that’s not true, I was in Mexico negotiating the release of half a dozen Muslim girls kidnapped from their school.” 
“That … is quite the stressful situation! Why were you chosen for such a role?”
“Same reason I was hired by Wayne Enterprises: I’m the most qualified person for the job.” 
“Do tell.” 
“From an education standpoint, I have a double major in X and Y from Z and a masters degree in A from B, which I do believe is the best school of business in your country.” 
“That is certainly an impressive list of degrees.”
"Thank you. I also have experience negotiating mergers with a number of Fortune 500 companies, as well as less domestic situations like the odd hostage crisis, ceasefires and peace treaties, and political disputes.” 
“What else do you think, personally, makes you a good it?” 
“I’m the second eldest of twelve cousins, and those are just in my age group. Lends itself to dealing with those easily upset, such as business people who are accustomed to getting their own way.” 
====Long & Min====
“We’re now here with Miss Min Yeung, Ms Wei’s … how would you two describe your relationship to each other?” 
They glance—
“We’re …?”
“Sisters in law. I’m engaged to Min’s older sister, Ella.” 
“Congratulations! How long have you two been together?”
“Thank you. Going on a year and a half at the end of September.” 
“Will she be joining the two of you here in Gotham?”
“Hopefully in the new year.”
“It’s awfully kind of you to take you, her sister, on this trip.”
“I’m very grateful.” 
“Yes, after what happened, we thought a change of scenery would be for the best.” 
“What /did happen?”
“I fell out a window.” 
“Were you pushed?”
“No, I was hanging out with a couple classmates in this old building and I was leaning against this window and it broke.”
“Are there a lot of old buildings near your school?”
“In Hong Kong? Not that I know of. On the coast, there were two, and I’m not sure about here.” 
“You haven’t toured any highschools yet?”
“I’m not sure if I’ll be attending classes this term. I find it very difficult to get around with—” Taps her knee. “—this thing.” 
“I can imagine! If you /were attending school, what grade would you be?”
“Uh … secondary five?”
“Grade eleven?”
“Grade eleven, I think.”
“How old are you?” 
“I’ll be seventeen in February.” 
“I’m turning 29 … also in February. The fourteenth.” 
“That is /so /cute! Matching birthdays! And hopefully you’ll celebrate it with your fiancée and your sister!”
…
in the interview, Long mentions she's the eldest of 30 cousins (which lends itself to business people who aren't used to getting their own way) and Min's like, 'wtf the only time you tried anything like this led to a near-mutiny by six year olds and promoted a house-wide ban on cookies for /months!' 'Yea, but we got cupcakes instead. They’re soooo much better.’
‘No they aren’t!’
‘I think so!’
...
There's a bit of an awkward moment when the interviewer asks if Min's missing anyone back home, someone special maybe, and Min gushes about Siqi and wonderful she is. 
====Min & Tim====
The press would loooooooove to make a parallel between him and Min despite him not being involved in the whole thing and Min not inheriting anything from Liu and also not being involved. 
Like there would literally be no point in him being there, Min's talked to him twice, she has the vaguest idea of what's going on whereas Tim has a somewhat better idea of the WE deal (even tho he can't discuss it). HOWEVER, He’s a boy, she's a girl, they're about the same age, and they're familialy attached to powerful people, therefore! Romance, clearly! Like that's literally the only reason the press want him there.
When Tamara Fox inevitably comes up, Min could use the opportunity to derail the conversation completely with her notebook and Ella and how cool it is her sister's into art and all that, and Min's cutesy handwriting that's landed her (and Siqi, whose handwriting is illegible for completely different reasons) in 'detention' like a zillion times >Which would show the audience she does have a good head on her shoulders under the forgetfulness and a bit slower to the punch-ness of a head injury<
===(B) Body Double===
Okay, so, at some point somewhere someone asks Long who's in charge of things while she's away. 
Long explains that she's got an aunt--cousin?--who's about the same age as Long and fills in for her while she can't be on site herself. Her parents are almost as old as Long's grandparents so they're not entirely sure what their relationship is. 
'So ... she's like a body double?' 
'If I did use body doubles--which I'm not going to tell you if I do; sorta defeats the purpose of having them--I would use /outsiders, not my cousins. Besides, I made it clearly obvious I was coming here and I would be here for the next few months. Can't really use a doppelgänger for that!'
 
The weird family connection being used as a way to draw lots and lots and lots of attention to the (possible) existence of two Longs. 
===(B) Diana===
Diana and Long are so very happy to see each other (, )
===(B(Bw)) Gala===
Long's party for the Rogues' gallery; tagged “Long throws a party”
* 12 people and her
* Ra’s wasn’t invited (and doesn’t attend) and is torn between annoyed and smug () 
===(B) Tour===
Min gets dragged on a scenic tour of Gotham: the differences between Grayson, Jason, and Tim's versions are very amusing! Grayson and Alfred's might be similar; Alfred, certainly, points out orienting landmarks. Cass just points out everything that’s interesting to her—no rhyme or reason there to people who aren't inside her head, maybe a rather eclectic mix as she tries to find a balance between places she recognises versus picking places other than those good for stakeouts—she hasn't quite gotten the hang of caring for landmarks without any strategic importance. As for Steph, knows all the best ground-level sort of stuff—the kinds of awesome things not found in papers, that one wouldn’t know about unless one actually lives in Gotham: little hole-in-the-wall places mostly, like a really quality restaurant with affordable food (Steph and Jason totally take their patrol breaks there) or a small antiques shop that low-key sells enchanted/cursed stuff (John Constantine and Gotham's magic users need to get their supplies somewhere).
===(Bw) Scream===
Min's been dealing with the whole 'kidnapped for a terrible ritual' thing a bit too well
===(B) Rockabye===
Min’s brain on sleep and all its quirks: while she hasn’t made coffee in her sleep yet, she has definitely had entire conversations—gotta be fun for a house full of committed night owls! 
Once, she and Tim talk for almost an hour before someone realises neither of them is reacting properly because Min's asleep and Tim passed out after staying awake for three days. 
On another occasion, 
"I have that TV show all queued up!" 
"Pardon?" 
"Last night? I mentioned this show, you said you hadn't seen it, i suggested we watch it today ...?" 
"When did we talk last night?"
Finally, Min and Tim are doing a puzzle of some sort! Min's looking for where a particular piece goes and someone takes it out of her hand but she just keeps looking for its spot and puts it in place (except that she doesn't have it anymore).
Category:Shadow Boxing!AU