TLV 1 - Video

[bodilesswarrior]

[Barbara is sitting in her wheelchair, hands folded in her lap as she smiles wryly at the camera.]

Hey there, Barge. You've got another Warden. My name is Barbara.

Nice to meet all of you.

[Her smile fades as she leans forward, just slightly.]

I know a lot of you aren't here by choice. If it were up to me – [she shakes her head] - but it's not. We're all working with what we have.

That's no reason not to take the chance now that you've got it. A lot of people don't. And I'm here to help with that, if you'll let me.

[She leans back again, arching her eyebrows.]

So – these headaches. Is this a normal thing around here?

((Hell yes she's affected.))

Comments

[doctor_j_crane]

Not quite as much as he does.

[Equally dry.] It was. A coincidence eight years in the making.

[bodilesswarrior]

...Well. We can't say he's not dedicated.

[doctor_j_crane]

He appears to be a very patient being.

I'm also interested in what brings you to the barge.

[bodilesswarrior]

I thought I could do some good, for one thing.

[She considers, for a moment, but Crane did offer more than he had to.]

You have the Joker in your Gotham?

[doctor_j_crane]

How idealistic.

[A pause.] We do. He's different to your Joker, though. Yours is worse, as far as I'm concerned.

[bodilesswarrior]

[Her smile is a bleak, grim thing.]

I haven't met yours, but I wouldn't doubt it.

I'm here to bring back the people he's killed.

[Private]

[doctor_j_crane]

From what I hear, you'd be bringing back the population of a small city.

He was on the barge at one point. As you can imagine, it didn't end well for the individuals that encountered him.

[Including Crane's lady friend.]

[Private]

[bodilesswarrior]

You're not wrong.

[She doesn't bother to hide how stunned she is this time.]

What the hell was he doing here?

[Barbara believes in redemption. For most people. The Joker isn't one of them.]

[Private]

[doctor_j_crane]

He was getting the standard inmate treatment. He spent a lot of time in zero.

[Crane: winning understatement of the month.]

[Private]

[bodilesswarrior]

I'm shocked.

[The pan is dead.]

I assume he disappeared.

[She cannot even comprehend the idea of the Joker graduating.]

[Private]

[doctor_j_crane]

He did. It was the best for everyone, as far as I'm concerned.

[Private]

[bodilesswarrior]

No arguments here. [Dammit Crane stop making her like you it's weird.]

Do you have any idea what happens to Inmates who disappear?

[Private]

[doctor_j_crane]

No. Some come back, but most don't. Those that do don't remember where they were or have been back to their own worlds. The optimistic think that they're generally just returned to their worlds. I'm not so sure.

[Private]

[bodilesswarrior]

Not sure how optimistic is, if Inmates die to get here.

[Private]

[doctor_j_crane]

My thoughts exactly. They probably return to being dead.

[Private]

[bodilesswarrior]

So much for their second chance.

[Her hands have drifted down, and now her fingers drum against the wheels.]

If we could just figure out the cause...

[Private]

[doctor_j_crane]

There's another problem to solve, if you're curious about barge mechanics. Occasionally wardens and inmates fall into spontaneous comas. They can last from a few days to months. Their physical symptoms are normal and so far there isn't any detectable stimuli that causes it.

[Private]

[bodilesswarrior]

...I'd ask if you were having me on, but I doubt you'd risk a headache for that.

What's their condition when they wake up?

[Private]

[doctor_j_crane]

I wish I was. I've had two lengthy comas myself.

Generally, they're in peak physical condition. There's little muscle wastage and psychologically they're more or less how they were before.

[Private]

[bodilesswarrior]

And I don't suppose there's been any noticeable pattern - anything that's consistently preceded the comas.

[Private]

[doctor_j_crane]

Nothing that I've detected, but that doesn't mean a pattern doesn't exist. I understand that some wardens have done studies in the past.