The Limestone City Bat

by Seeking Dusk

Snapshots 1: What Went Boom in the Night

Robin’s room being dark wasn’t anything new. In truth, the blinds in his room had not been lifted in days, baring the times he was using the window to look outside. Since the dark did not bother him anyway, where as bright lights could, he didn’t have much in terms of motivation to open them up. Even so, Jade found it even darker than normal thanks to the thick blanket that had been thrown over top the blinds as part of Robin’s stepped up light denial campaign. Even getting the door open was a chore for her, hampered as it was by all the stuff he had shoved against it to block the cracks and the minute glimmer of light they allowed to creep into his room.

Thanks to that barricade, Jade struggled to force the door open far enough for her to slip in before carefully picking her way towards the bed, weaving around the assorted ‘stuff’ that littered Robin’s floor. The light from the doorway the only thing she had to work with, and it wasn’t that much, barely enough to see the obstacles in her way, leading to her tripping over something curved and metallic. It was just enough for her to make out the lump under the covers on the bed. Shaking off a brief moment of déjà vu, she scrambled unto the bed and poked at it.

“Hey Nightwing…” A groan was the only response she got, so she poked again. “Wake up, Nightwing, this is important.”

Groaning his complaints, Robin eventually relinquished his hold on his dreams and started squirming as he tried to find the edge of the sheet he was under. Jade clamoured off the bed as he did. Eventually, Robin poked his head out. Eyes reddened and squinting against the light, a faint glow to them, mane in a state of disarray. He glared at Jade, though it was slightly ruined by the yawn that came out. “What..? I was dreaming… About neptins in the sky, on clouds and starlight…”

He yawned again and shook his head slowly, gingerly rubbing at his mane with a wing. It wasn’t the first time he woke. He’d been hunched over the toilet throwing up earlier in the morning before retreating to his ‘cave’ and barricading the door. “I have a hangover… and a headache… I told you to let me sleep it off…” He blinked owlishly at her. “What time is it?”

“I know,” Jade pouted, though smiling a little inside. “But you said to wake you if something important came up.”

Robin groaned again, burying his face in the covers. He didn’t go back to sleep though, instead fumbling around in a weak effort of getting out of bed, one that ended in him falling with a cry and hitting his chin on the ground. Jade winced, her ears flicking back as Robin yelped. “Ah crapbaskets!”

Jade shuffled her hooves on the carpet as Robin tried to untangle himself from the sheets that followed him down. “You okay, Nightwing?”

“No…” Robin grumbled, finding his hooves and shaking the sheet off, blearily making a visual search for his shades as he tried to free his hindleg and tail. “This better be important…”

“I found a house that collapsed,” Jade supplied meekly. Robin whipped his head around, wincing as the sudden motion set his head throbbing again. Jade grinned sheepishly. “See? Important.”

---

Robin was still recalcitrant as Jade led him to the house in question. He had read before that hang-overs were mostly a result of dehydration in the system, but even after the jug he downed his symptoms hadn’t eased any. So he was soldiering on, hiding from the light under the little shade the hat he found in the closet cast on his muzzle and swearing off alcohol forever.

It was partially overcast, the sky littered with the remnants of the previous night’s storm, making it all too bright for his hypersensitive vision at the moment, and the air was still humid and had that distinct earthy ‘after rain’ scent to it. While normally it would be pleasant, it was only another item on the list of things irritating him at the moment. Jade seemed to enjoy it, almost skipping at times and fluttering her wings as if she wanted to take off. Her chipper attitude and excitement on the subject at hand was getting to him as well. Everything was annoying him.

He kept his focus on his hooves, clenching his jaw against the pounding in his head and ears, making sure his steps followed the right order. Having to avoid both the worse of the puddles as well as the earthworms that had crawled out of the sodden earth unto the pavement overnight didn’t make his task any easier. To his disgust he missed a step and squashed one with a rear hoof, which ended with him crushing another with a fore hoof when he flinched away from it.

“Aw, come on! That’s just nasty!” Robin yelped. The worst part was that he had forgotten to slip on a set of shoes, so the worm mush was directly on his hooves. He tried to wipe it off on the damp grass, but that only resulted in him getting grass bits and mud on them, in addition to traces of worm mush. “Why does everything hate me today!?”

“Um…” Jade tried, unsure what to say.

Robin scowled, giving up and trumping across the grass, hooves sinking into the sodden earth a little with each step. “Doesn’t matter anymore. The faster I see this, the fast I can get back home. Which house was it?”

“That one,” Jade pointed out. “See?”

She wasn’t kidding when she said the house collapsed. In a sense, she had been understating it. One half of the house had toppled over unto the other. That or one half collapsed in on itself and the other half followed by virtue of being attached. Whichever way you looked at it, it was a wreckage of what used to be a semi-detached residence. The side that was damaged the most had clear markings of where fire chewed away at it before being snuffed out, either from the rain or lack of sufficient fuel.

“… whoa,” was all he managed, eyes flicking back and forth across the disaster, headache and hangover somewhat forgotten. The fire seemed to have started in the collapsed half of the building, but didn’t seem to spread to the other. Even so, the structure was still listing dangerously, with several windows broken. A few birds were already perched on the storm drain still anchored to the edge of the canted roof, looking at the pair in curiosity.

“You think we can go inside and see what it’s like?” Jade asked eagerly. She pointed to the twisted porch, pitched about sixty degrees off from a level setting. “The door is still there. Though kinda busted.”

“Maybe later,” Robin said, shaking his head. “It might be dangerous. Or still burning inside… Later… when it doesn’t hurt to think or move fast.”

“You think this is what made the noise we heard last night?” Jade asked excitedly. “It’s sure big enough. Maybe it got hit by lightning.”

Robin’s wings dropped as he put the clues together. He hadn’t realized exactly which house he was looking at until that moment. He had been in it the day before, back when he had been trying to take his mind of Jade’s departure. In fact, he had a good idea what caused the mess. The propane gas furnace he had been messing around it. Messing around with while lacking training and distracted by other things.

His eye twitched. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Get his mind off things, get an early start on plans for winter, learn something new. Not cause the thing to blow up.

The birds took off in a surprised flurry as the storm drain they were perched on gave in, a sizable section of it breaking off and toppling to the ground. A slew of roof tiles, loosened from the damage, followed it down. Jade yelped and hopped back, but Robin watched with exhausted eyes. He was silence for a while before he snapped.

“COME ON!” he yelled at the sky, regretting it immediately as it set off his headache, a confused Jade looking on.

Comments

[Celefin]

That kinda does not bode well. Any gas lines around that might begin to leak at some point? Natural gas doesn't go bad, unlike gasoline. More propane stoves?

Oh and I really like how Robin gets more and more nocturnal, at least concerning his room-lighting preferences. Granted, a creature with perfect nightvision having a hangover is kinda pitiful. And the all time favourite of swearing off alcohol forever!

About neptins in the sky, on clouds and starlight…

A pegasus calls you, you answer quite slowly,
A bat with a cats slit eyes,
Nightwing in the sky with headache,
Nightwing in the sky with headache,
Aaaahhhh...

[Greatazuredragon]

Robin’s wings dropped as he put the clues together. He hadn’t realized exactly which house he was looking at until that moment. He had been in it the day before, back when he had been trying to take his mind of Jade’s departure. In fact, he had a good idea what caused the mess. The propane gas furnace he had been messing around it. Messing around with while lacking training and distracted by other things.

He isn't the smartest neptin is he?
Good work, keep it up.

[rikusorasephiroth]

6626559 Assuming it was connected to the gas-lines and not run by tanks.

[Seeking Dusk]

6626559 6626917 On the bright side, Robin was investigating that house precisely because it had it's own propane tank run furnace rather than one connected to the gas lines. On the downside, the house it was connected to might not have been so independent. No plans to burn down houses in his community though.

Still trying to figure out if and how long the Natural Gas lines would remain active. Rather hard to find that kind of information. It's like they don't expect people to be plot end of the world scenarios! The gall of them.

6626559 Robin's been working at setting into a crepuscular pattern, but it has it's drawbacks. And he's been having difficulty sleeping with his night vision.

6626851 In his defense, he was distracted

[Flash_Magnus]

Even so, Jade found it even darker than normal thanks to the thick blanket that had been thrown over top the blinds as part of Robin’s stepped up light denial campaign.

Ha XD I randomly found that funny. Bat ponies for life!

“COME ON!” he yelled at the sky, regretting it immediately as it set off his headache, a confused Jade looking on.

Silly bat pony make sure to remember your hangover.

[Stormcaller]

6627015

I would assume the gas lines are ran by some sort of pump or motor that keeps gas running throughout the system.

This pump or motor would either be powered by the gas itself or perhaps electricity, so once it runs out of juice the gas lines would likely shut down. I can't imagine that the flow of gas wouldn't have some way to regulate it.

Also, I'd assume that a local natural gas station only has so much gas on hand in tanks to limit the chance for disasters.

Hope that helps.

[Seeking Dusk]

6630331 That's what I would assume as well, but that's no reason not to verify with additional research :p

I'm at least reasonably certain Robin could keep water running on his side of town without too much trouble. The purification pumps have both electric and diesel engines running it and they are low maintenance facilities that don't need an actual person on site to run it. The natural gas system? Not so much from what little I could find.

[bluemoon1996]

6630086

I have a blanket as a curtian in my room >~<

[Flash_Magnus]

6637044

Alright

[bluemoon1996]

6637163

Granted I work the night shift so I can't let the sun get in the way of nappy naps

[Flash_Magnus]

6637166

Good thinking.

[purple pegasus]

I am really enjoying the humor and characters in this story so far and I hope you continue it! Very much looking forward to the next chapter!