[ LET ME LIVE TY I wrote that tag after midnight????

but yeah anyway Bruce's lair is... definitely not what he's expecting mostly because when it comes to like. mastermind lairs and stuff he's more used to defaulting to conventions and making it dark and creepy places. with how lit up and non-threatening the garden looks, that's... not what quite he's expecting? maybe he'll use it in a game design next time, that would probably throw most people off.

also he's. got enough experience with weird unreality mechanics now so at least he's not freaked out by the talking octopus. these past two weeks were a ride. and while he'll let Pen take the lead on talking and negotiations because she's much better at compliments than he is, honestly, he does, however, cut in with this.

politely, of course, because the octopus has like an arm around the vehicle and that's not an ideal position to be negotiating from??? ]

We weren't exactly made aware that this was private property, I apologise. However, if you could please let go of our vehicle, it would be much easier for us to leave afterwards.

[ just saying. ]

You're Bruce, I presume? We mean no harm, really. Like she said-- [ gestures at Pen even though not sure if Bruce can see it??? ] --we were sent here to recover something and we were told that it could be found with you.

[ let's not even consider how the octopus can hear them talking Inside the vehicle??? ]