The Plan behind the Bat - A Wayne Enterprises Planquest

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First Night - Intro and Character Generation (Part 2)
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    • Wayne Manor - 10:49 PM


    "Sorry, honey. I'm going to have to head home. Work tomorrow, you know how it is." Your wife stifles a yawn, trying to stifle her rage at the fact that your host tonight declined to show up. "Thank you, Alfred. The roast was lovely." The love of your life favors the old butler with a smile, and stands from the dinner table, collecting her purse. "Of course, madame. Please allow me to apologise again on Master Wayne's behalf. I believe some matters of...work...caused him to forget the lateness of the hour. I know the young master would never be so devoid of manners as to purposefully miss dinner with his new division head." Alfred apologises, hiding his irritation well, and you ponder again how the man doesn't remind you of any butler you've ever met - not that you met a huge number of butlers in your youth in The Narrows. Still, he has a way of carrying himself that reminds you more of one of the tough-as-nails spec ops guys from your time in the Army than your stereotypical butler.


    "I'm going to wait around a little and see if Mr Wayne makes it back tonight. There's a few ideas I'd like to run by him. If that's okay with you?" You answer your wife, feeling a little tingle as she plants a kiss on your lips. "That's fine, babe, just..." She leans in. "Give him a piece of your mind on my behalf, okay? He might be the prince of Gotham, but you're not some peasant he can push around." Her voice has steel in it, and you look at Alfred - luckily he seems a little too distracted by something to pay attention to the words. "Get 'em, tiger." She smiles, and you somewhat regretfully let her leave, before turning to see what's distracting the old man in the neighboring room.


    On an old TV, you see the image of one of Gotham's many red light districts, and a grainy close up of a man - a wicked scar along the side of his face, with his eyes hidden underneath dark glasses.

    "This is Vicki Vale, reporting from the scene of a gruesome gangland execution in the Bowery. According to eyewitnesses, members of the Black Mask Gang attacked and overpowered the occupants of a brothel allegedly under the control of gangland figure Carmine Falcone. After several deaths, a bystander reportedly intervened in the situation, severely beating several Black Mask men - though no further fatalities have been reported at this time. The vigilante refused to surrender after an encounter with police, and was reportedly wounded. Still, Lieutenant Branden of the GCPD advises members of the public not to approach this individual, and that he is armed and dange-"


    "When I was growing up, no one would have even thought about touching a Falcone business. At least you knew who the mob was - These new gangsters keep getting weirder and weirder." You say, startling the butler. "Oh, pardon me, Mr Fox." Alfred turns off the television and faces you. You detect a hint of worry behind that perfectly proper English facade, and you wonder again where Bruce Wayne is at this hour? Wayne couldn't have been at that brothel, could he? a treacherous voice in the back of your mind suggests. He is a playboy, after all... "I'm afraid something urgent has come up. We'll have to reschedule your meeting with Mr Wayne for another day." The butler's in a state of near panic, propriety forgotten. You don't manage to get a word in before he's downstairs with a speed that you wouldn't expect from someone his age. Before you can grasp what's even going on, he's outside and in a Bentley, speeding off into the night.


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    10:59 PM:


    "Where is it, damn it..." On hands and knees, you fumble around Wayne Manor looking for a cufflink you dropped, trying not to think about how creepy the old mansion is at night. A loud screech outside makes you poke your head up, and you get to the window in time to see an old beater fly through the open estate gates, hurtling through the courtyard before crashing violently into one of Wayne's cars. From the wreck of mangled metal, you see a dark figure stumble his way into the courtyard, heading out of sight as he crawls through one of the windows downstairs.


    "Father..." You hear a voice croak as you quietly move downstairs, both hands wrapped tightly around a fire poker. A blood trail leads through a hallway downstairs and into a room Alfred hadn't allowed you inside before, the door ajar where it had been securely locked before. "Father... You gave me everything... Everything but patience..." The voice says, closer now, and you creep through the dark hall. "I tried to wait... But I've waited so many years..." You step into the open doorway. Beyond you see a dusty old office, rather small for the grand mansion. Above the desk at the end of the room you see a portrait, its subjects covered by shadows, and a man on the floor stares up at it. "I'd rather die... Die... Rather than wait one more day..." Moonlight from the windows illuminates the man, and you see that he's lying in a pool of his own blood, with a huge scar on his cheek, and dark sunglasses over his eyes. Raving. No surprise, given how much blood he's lost. You lower the poker, and approach the man to render aid, before falling back with a cry of fear as the window shatters inward. You see dark wings fluttering around the room, and swing the poker to try to keep the creature away from you.


    The creature - a bat, you realise - retreats into the night, and you move over to the fallen man, tearing at your shirt to make a bandage as you see the gunshot wound in his side. "Frightened me... Frightened me as a boy..." He mumbles, and as you lift the man's glasses to examine his pupils and touch the man's neck to take his pulse, you feel some sort of material peel off the side of his face. To your shock, you find yourself staring into the eyes of Bruce Wayne. "Yes, father... I shall become a bat..."


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    11:35 PM:


    "You shouldn't be moving." You glare, but Wayne doesn't heed your warning, pulling off your makeshift bandage and the rest of his tattered shirt. Along the impeccably muscled skin, you see a patchwork of scars - your time in the army helping you identify the results of blade wounds, burn wounds, gunshot wounds and even the splotchy circular marks where a broken bone pierced the skin at one point. "This is insane. Not to mention illegal." You say, as Wayne begins wrapping a new bandage. "When you hired me, you told me that we'd be making life better for Gotham. Not indulging some rich boy's vigilante fantasy! I refuse to be part of this." You shy away as some bats fly overhead, feeling the chill of the cave.


    Wayne's eyes stare at you coldly as he turns around. "We are making life better for Gotham. Crime is out of control in the city. People live in terror, and Falcone, Black Mask, Cobblepot and the rest of them live like kings!" He grunts, failing to hide his anger. "You've seen it, Lucius, you grew up here. This is a city of terror, of predators hunting the defenceless. The scared. It's time for someone to make the predators afraid." He advances on you. "I hired you to help me do that. That's your job. That's why you're here. Not to make some stock price go up. Not to make the next generation of toaster. You're here for this." He stretches out his arms, indicating the cave through which his growl of a voice echoes, and the suit and weapons against one of the rocky walls. "If that doesn't work for you, sign an NDA, offer your resignation and get the hell out of my sight."


    You don't balk under his withering gaze, and Wayne's clearly surprised by it - you guess he doesn't tend to get a lot of resistance when he uses this tone of voice. "If that's what you hired me for, then you left a few digits off my salary. If you're expecting me to aid and abet you in a criminal enterprise, I'd better be getting paid for it. And you're going to approve the Maglev project. Non-negotiable."


    Wayne stares you down for a moment, before nodding. "Fine. But we start with my needs first." He demands, and you relent. "Well, firstly then, I say we see about stopping you from getting shot again. The disguise was a clever idea, but it didn't really help once bullets started flying." You begin. "A suit, then?" Wayne asks. "A suit." You agree. "Show me what you have, and we can start from there." Wayne turns, directing you to an improvised clothes/weapons rack.

    "Batsuit":

    A set of black clothing with a mask - protects the wearer's identity, but little else. The dark colors help the wearer blend into darkness, but not more than your average dark clothing.

    Kunai:

    A set of throwing stars that wouldn't look out of place on the set of a '70s ninja flick. Sharp and somewhat aerodynamic, but short range and cause limited damage.

    Grappling Hook Mk 1:

    As it looks like - a sturdy iron hook that can be thrown to catch on a ledge and allow the user to climb up a rope. Totally rudimentary, and requires the user to slowly clamber up the rope by their own power.

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    Before any project or piece of gear can be created, Lucius needs to develop a clear vision for what he's trying to build, and what goals he's trying to accomplish. This is done through a few steps:

    Project overview: A brief description of what exactly the finished product is intended to be

    Primary design feature: The most important feature you want the design to incorporate (for the Batsuit this could be ballistic armor, low-visibility, aerodynamics, etc)

    Secondary Design Features: Other design goals you want the project to have, alongside the primary feature. (You can plan as many secondary features as you wish in one design, but making the design more complex increases the time and difficulty of the project.)

    Optional Image: Self-explanatory - an image representing your vision for what the finished product will look like

    Wayne's Demands: Aspects that Bruce Wayne insists upon including in the design. You can either cave, try to get him to modify the design, or try to outright refuse to include his ideas. This will effect your working relationship.

    Bat Project Started - Design Phase:

    Batsuit 1.0:

    Project Overview:
    [] Write in

    Primary Design Feature:
    [] Write In

    Secondary Design Feature:
    [] Write In

    Optional Image:
    [] Write In

    Wayne's Demands: The suit must be black. The suit must incorporate a 'bat' aesthetic into the design - some kind of prominently visible bat symbol is desired but not mandatory.
    [] Accept Wayne's demands
    [] Refuse Wayne's demands
    [] Write in: Try to negotiate a compromise

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    QM Note: Alright everyone, sorry for the delay - I was trying to fine tune how I wanted the design phase to work. So, Lucius's (your) first task is to design the very first Batsuit. After that, turn one will begin

    QM Note: Please vote by plan
     
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    • Stab proof, better identity obscurity, motors to augment strength and reflexes, sensory package. For gadgets a system to call for his transportation, batarangs for his signature.
     
    Just to clarify:

    Batsuits, and other projects, are iterative and meant to be upgraded over time. So if the Batsuit 1.0 only has one feature, the Batsuit 2.0 will have that feature and whatever new features you decide to add to it.

    The exception to this would be special use projects - IE: A hazardous environment Batsuit designed specifically for life support, which you'd design seperately (not that you couldn't add that feature to the main Batsuit, but something specially made for purpose will do the job better).
     
    The suite needs to be flexible. Not to heavy for his first costume. We can make diffrent versions later.

    We need to check to see if his equipment handle the tear and wear that he will go through. So reinforced (harden leather)

    Edit. Also stealth but that's easy with black color.
     
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    Tjf said:
    Just to clarify:

    Batsuits, and other projects, are iterative and meant to be upgraded over time. So if the Batsuit 1.0 only has one feature, the Batsuit 2.0 will have that feature and whatever new features you decide to add to it.

    The exception to this would be special use projects - IE: A hazardous environment Batsuit designed specifically for life support, which you'd design seperately (not that you couldn't add that feature to the main Batsuit, but something specially made for purpose will do the job better).
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    If we only get one feature for the Batsuit V.1 after his barely functional Batsuit V.0 then we should focus that on the best protection without sacrificing mobility that was inherent to the Batsuit V.0. To keep our employer alive should be out top priority and to do that he need to maintain a high a trinity of survival as can be acquired. The trinity made up of Stealth, Mobility, and Armor of course.
     
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    Given this is EARLY early batman and presumably DC in general, we neither need nor have access to a lot of the bats gadgets. No sensory or physical enhancement, no grapple guns, no explosive batarangs, no glide Cape, etc.

    Focus on fundamentals. Stab proof for sure. Ideally proof against at least small caliber rounds and birdshot at medium to short ranges. Padded enough to help ensure blows without hindering movement.

    Pure black is a bad idea, it hinders stealth more than it helps to he one solid color, as breaking up outlines is a key component of not being seen. A mottled grey-black will work much better. No way we convince him to go for full camo though.

    Everything beyond that is off the shelf for now. High end radio ear piece. Taser. Smoke grenades. Flash bangs. Maybe pepper spray or some bolas.
     
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    Roaming_Guardian said:
    Given this is EARLY early batman and presumably DC in general,
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    I'll write up a status update about Gotham soon, but you're right about it being early DC. Gotham hasn't experienced its supervillain epidemic yet - for now it's just gangsters with guns, knives and bats. Bane is still on Santa Prisca, Pamela Isley is still your average botanist, and Killer Croc is just a teenager with a skin condition. Superman is just a red and blue streak some Metropolisites have reported seeing in the sky very occasionally, Wonder Woman hasn't left her island, etc etc.
     
    Tjf said:
    I'll write up a status update about Gotham soon, but you're right about it being early DC. Gotham hasn't experienced its supervillain epidemic yet - for now it's just gangsters with guns, knives and bats. Bane is still on Santa Prisca, Pamela Isley is still your average botanist, and Killer Croc is just a teenager with a skin condition. Superman is just a red and blue streak some Metropolisites have reported seeing in the sky very occasionally, Wonder Woman hasn't left her island, etc etc.
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    What about STAR Labs and LexCorp? Or leftovers from World War 2 heroics? Do we have easy access to tech beyond the modern day?

    Also, while I'm at it, why is Lucius advocating for an expensive and technically complex Maglev train in Gotham of all places? What makes it better to just refurbishing the existing trams and subways? What's his plan to keep Gothamites from breaking in to steal the copper wiring and the electronics needed to make the system work?
     
    Roaming_Guardian said:
    What about STAR Labs and LexCorp? Or leftovers from World War 2 heroics? Do we have easy access to tech beyond the modern day?

    Also, while I'm at it, why is Lucius advocating for an expensive and technically complex Maglev train in Gotham of all places? What makes it better to just refurbishing the existing trams and subways? What's his plan to keep Gothamites from breaking in to steal the copper wiring and the electronics needed to make the system work?
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    STAR Labs currently exists and is doing well - though a lot of what they do isn't publically reported on. LexCorp is the largest company in America and a market leader in multiple areas. Not sure what you mean by "beyond the modern day". Alien technology?

    As for why Lucius is building the Maglev, it's what was voted for in the first plan. Things like project security will be options in the upcoming turns.
     
    Tjf said:
    STAR Labs currently exists and is doing well - though a lot of what they do isn't publically reported on. LexCorp is the largest company in America and a market leader in multiple areas. Not sure what you mean by "beyond the modern day". Alien technology?
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    Even before the aliens inevitably invade, DC is rife with super tech. Jetpacks, teleporters, laser guns, anti gravity, mind control, a certain freeze ray.

    Plus near future technologies like aerospike engines, quantum computers, or powered exoskeletons.
     
    Roaming_Guardian said:
    Even before the aliens inevitably invade, DC is rife with super tech. Jetpacks, teleporters, laser guns, anti gravity, mind control, a certain freeze ray.

    Plus near future technologies like aerospike engines, quantum computers, or powered exoskeletons.
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    Right, I get what you're asking now. For now, technology in-universe is more or less on par with real world modern tech. Being the DC Universe, where new technologies can be developed basically as quickly as the plot needs them to, you'll be able to come up with futuristic stuff far more easily than in real life. At the same time, Wayne Enterprise's competitors, especially LexCorp will be developing their own tech, which Wayne Enterprises can adopt.

    Of course, depending on how far beyond the modern day the tech is, the harder and more time consuming it will be to develop.
     
    That being the case, carbon fiber is the way to go for batsuit 1.0, with a padded underlayer for comfort and moisture wicking. Maybe with some ceramic plates over the vitals, and the forearms since the bat likes to use those for blocks.
     
    [X] Plan: He is the night
    Project Overview:
    [X] Write in: The Suit is designed to blend into shadows.

    Primary Design Feature:
    [X] Mobility

    Secondary Design Feature:
    [X] Bullet and Knife proofing

    Waynes demands
    [X] Accept Wayne's demands
     
    [X] Plan: He is the night
    Project Overview:
    -[X] Write in: The Suit is designed to blend into shadows.
    Primary Design Feature:
    -[X] Mobility
    Secondary Design Feature:
    -[X] Bullet and Knife proofing
    Waynes demands
    -[X] Accept Wayne's demands
     
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