Tim Drake-Wayne (redrobin) wrote in doorslogs, @ 2012-08-17 15:15:00 |
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After nearly fifteen hours of traveling, Tim was physically exhausted. Thankfully, his three new ‘friends’ seemed to be missing and after disposing of the comm device that Ra’s had given him, Tim had been able to leave Baghdad with minimal fuss. The airlines had accommodated him, likely because he used his Wayne passport, but the best they could do on such short notice was a two hour layover in Paris followed by another hour in Boston before he could get to Gotham. The plane rides hadn’t been horrible, just long and the conversations on the journal had done plenty to distract him. The fact that Bruce wasn’t his Bruce wasn’t even remotely his biggest concern. He’d proven himself as Robin once before and if this Bruce needed a Robin (and he privately thought that he did), then Tim would prove it again. Damian didn’t automatically get the cowl just because he was Bruce’s biological son. Tim had earned his place in the Wayne family. Nothing anyone said was going to change that. Jason and Selina would pose problems in their own way. One of the things he’d need to figure out was the exact nature of Bruce’s relationship with Selina. She wasn’t horrible, but she certainly wasn’t the best influence on Bruce and Tim had always done his best to look out for his mentor. Jason would always be complicated for as long as he was bitter, but they could manage it. Stephanie was his first priority though, and not just because she was Batgirl now. He’d spent the majority of his travel time contemplating exactly what she could have meant about Bruce not needing Tim to go after him. He didn’t understand and he usually understood. He didn’t like it, and the situation continued to plague him as he walked off the plane and out through the crowd. No one was waiting for him, as expected, and he took a cab to get him from the airport to the Library. Maybe it was an odd choice, but Tim had a reason for it, as he did everything. From there, he made his way through the streets of this new Gotham. It was grittier, harsher, and he could understand why Stephanie wanted to talk in person. It didn’t make any of it easier to stomach though. With a heavy sigh, he hiked his bag up on his shoulder and turned toward where he knew Steph’s place was. It took very little time for him to make his way to her window, open it, and slip through. If she was out, and he figured she would be, it would give him a chance to look around. Steph desperately needed to go out on patrol; she needed a breath of that warm, stagnant air Gotham was offering after that bizarre freeze. Tim Drake was back in town, and more than anyone else’s, she had been dreading his return. If Black Mask came back, she could get her chance to kick his ass again. If Grayson came back, everyone would be in much better hands. The only person besides Tim she could figure if she really wanted to see or not was her father; things were complicated post-death, after all. So she needed to swing through the air, take some guys down, vent this pent up energy and figure out how to not completely freak when she saw Tim. She knew things would be awkward, especially since their timelines didn’t line up, and she kind of expected him to be angry. Her newly forged relationship with Damian wouldn’t help matters either. But Damian was important, just like Tim was in the past, and Boy Wonder just had to accept that. Whatever, she had to get home, maybe get the grime off her before he came. He’d seen her at her best and her worst, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be presentable. Landing on the fire escape with a quiet clang, Steph slid her window open and swung in legs first. She didn’t look around, not at first, instead turning away to drop her utility belts in a bin next to the window, and pull her cowl off. It still left her in the skintight costume, which left little to the imagination and definitely made her look more grown-up than her Spoiler and Robin. Finally, after stripping herself of all her weapons and tools and gloves, she turned away from the window and into the living room. Where Tim happened to be standing. “Tim!” she exclaimed surprised, even if she shouldn’t have been. He didn’t look different from her Tim, which was a quiet comfort when everyone else was so different, Damian included. “Uh-hi, yeah, hi.” Keep it cool, girl. You can do this. The apartment itself was pretty much what Tim had expected, right down to the slightly messy nature of her things. He came in through the window of the living room, respectful of the privacy her bedroom implied. There were magazines strewn over the coffee table and it looked like her counters could use a good wipe down as well. He dropped his bag next to the couch and started to straighten things out. By the time he heard the window open, her living room and kitchen looked a great deal cleaner even though he hadn’t tackled the cleaning supplies yet. Why he was trying to do something nice for her was beyond him, but the activity itself was soothing and at least he could always count on Steph having more important things to do than clean. He moved silently into the living room as she climbed in and he was taken by how different her costume was. She was still beautiful, that was certain, but the new outfit wasn’t even remotely what he’d been expecting. Tim was dressed in jeans and a tee, his brown hair a bit fussed by all the times he’d run his hand through the strands while he tried to make sense of it. He was still pissed at her, both for the whole assassin thing and for sending Dick after him, but now he was also concerned about what she knew and how much he’d missed. The topic of Bruce was what he most wanted to talk about, specifically the idea that Bruce hadn’t wanted him to follow wherever it was he’d gone. Ra’s and the three assassins he’d tacked on Tim were forgotten in favor of getting information. “Steph,” he replied, inclining his head just slightly. He didn’t know why she was so jumpy considering she’d told him to let himself in. “I can see what you mean about Gotham being different. At least you’re not all that different from what I remember.” If anyone else had said that, it probably would’ve come off rude or mean, but Tim was simply stating a fact. He was glad that at least there was someone he knew without a doubt was the same person he knew and remembered. Bruce being different was an adjustment but if he was going to make an effort, Tim wasn’t going to just ignore that. The unfortunate part was that Damian was around and Tim didn’t want to be anywhere near the kid. Hopefully Steph would have some answers for him. “I’ll wait while you change,” he added, taking a seat on the (slightly) cleaner couch. If she wanted to go running around Gotham dressed like that, there wasn’t a whole lot he could do about it. He didn’t have to see it while she was in the relative safety of her apartment. Speaking of. “How come Nick hasn’t helped you design a security system for your apartment yet?” All of the prepping for seeing Tim, all the patrolling to calm herself down, all the talking with Damian, none of that actually made it easier to see him. Steph tried not to bite her lip nervously, but she did rake a hand through her long, blonde hair as he noted that she wasn’t very different at all. “No, I don’t think I am,” she replied with a little shrug. “Damian’s the only other one from our time, it looks like. Not that he’s really the Damian we knew before. Well, sort of.” Take it easy, Stephanie, you’re stammering, Nick’s calm voice interjected in her thoughts. “Shut it, you aren’t making it easier,” she murmured, eyes looking up as if she were talking to her temple. Which, she sort of was. Clearing her throat, she wanted to argue with Tim. Why does he think he could just boss her around? But she kind of wanted to get out of the clothes herself, and that was the only reason she turned towards her bedroom. “Oh, Nick, yeah,” she said, waving her hand. “He’s been busy with...stuff. You know. He’s distracted. He helped me make this police scanner though.” She pointed towards a clunky device on her computer desk that looked like an overgrown walkie talkie. “Make yourself at home?” And with that, she vanished into her room, coming out five minutes later after tossing through her wardrobe for something to wear that was suitable. Her blonde hair was pulled back, strands falling here and there, and she wore simple jeans and a Gotham U hoodie. Sticking her hands in the front pocket, she looked Tim over for a moment, now biting her lip because she couldn’t control it. “How was your trip back?” Tim made a slight face at the mention of Damian. He knew Steph and Damian had worked together in the past but from the way she was talking, it sounded like they’d gotten to know each other a bit better. Not the Damian they knew? Tim doubted that. Even if he was older, Damian wasn’t going to change. He still thought he was better than the rest of them because he was Bruce’s biological son. Tim could still remember decking him in the Batcave before leaving to go after his mentor. He wasn’t looking forward to Damian being here at all. “Sort of?” The disbelief wasn’t even worth hiding, though it quickly turned into slight interest when she apparently started to talk to herself. Nick, came Spencer’s voice and Tim just rolled his eyes. I would have gotten there in a second, Tim thought back. “Distracted? About what?” There was a touch of concern there because a distracted Nick could potentially put himself - and Steph by extension - in danger. He was plenty comfortable on the couch and he kept his eyes on the coffee table in front of him while she disappeared into her bedroom. Even though she was changing, he still continued to talk. “Have you seen Bruce? Talked to him? Jason suggested something happened between Bruce and Damian. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?” Tim intentionally sounded like it was only a passing interest instead of a crucial question. Watching and asking the right questions were how he generally got the information he would need. When she reappeared, he looked up at her and sighed. “It was long, too long, but it was the best they could do on short notice.” It was what it was. “Yeah, sort of. He’s still got some Damian-like qualities. He can be such a brat sometimes. But now he’s more...appreciative. He and I really rely on each other. And, of course, he’s eighteen. Not so little anymore.” Stephanie still stood in the doorway of her bedroom, door slightly ajar enough to hint at the mess beyond. Shrugging her shoulders, she rocked on her heels for a moment. “He’s important to me, Tim. Like a little brother, y’know? He just needs people to believe in him.” And he truly did. Support, that was what Damian Wayne needed most, and Steph was determined to be there for him, too. The subject of Nick made her pause for a moment. “He knows,” she said, referring to the man Tim shared headspace with. Spencer. Nick squirmed in her head, still feeling cagey and awkward and confused about the whole situation. He hadn’t actually seen Spencer yet, which contributed to the panic he was having in Stephanie’s head. She rolled her eyes, just like Tim did. Silly boys. They’d work their own problems out, just like they both decided she and Tim should work theirs out. “It’s Alexander.” Okay, she’d give a little more explanation, but that was it. “Bruce and Damian? I mean...a lot. Things have been tense ever since we got here, especially between those two. Damian, he--do you know anything about Talons? I never heard about them until I got to this Gotham. They aren’t from ours, but they’ve been causing trouble.” She finally stepped forward a little and leaned against the arm of a chair near where Tim sat. “Glad you could get something at least. I’m surprised you did.” More appreciative? Tim’s eyebrows shot up. Damian was never appreciative of anything because he thought he deserved it all, so Tim was more than a little skeptical. His conversation over the journal with the kid was proof enough that he hadn’t changed all that much. Tim didn’t like this newfound closeness between the pair of them and there was that sinking feeling that he was getting replaced here too. Wonderful. “Like a little brother. If you say so.” He’d find out for himself later. After talking to Bruce. One glance at his watch let him know that he had roughly forty-five minutes before he’d told Bruce he would be at the Manor. “His brother. Right.” Tim wanted to ask for more information, but Spencer insisted that he leave it alone. He didn’t want to have this conversation through the batkids and Tim could understand that so he respected it with the understanding that Spencer would actively pursue it when he had the chance. “They can handle it. As for the Talons...no, I don’t know anything about them. How much trouble are they causing? And who else is here. I saw Catwoman was,” he fished, though he doubted Steph would know if the two of them were delving down that particularly horrible road. “Any other villains I need to be on the lookout for?” Information was the first step to being prepared after all. He glanced as his bag, where his Red Robin suit and equipment were safely stowed, and then shifted to face Stephanie. “I used my Wayne passport coming home. It still holds up here, and my Wayne credit cards too. Small miracle,” he replied with a shrug. Steph knew that Tim didn’t believe her; hell, if someone told her that Damian was acting like an almost normal human being, she probably wouldn’t have believed it either. Things were different, however, and Tim needed to realize that. He needed to realize that she wouldn’t automatically side with him. She didn’t revel in the idea of being stuck in the middle though. But whatever, that was for a different time. She nodded in agreement because Spencer and Nick had done the same thing to them. They would have to work out their problems on their own. Pursing her lips, she decided to tackle the other people first. Those were most immediate, in her opinion. “Red Hood is here, too. And yes, Selina and Freeze and Riddler. Alfred is here, but he’s not our Alfred. The Joker is here, but he’s not our Joker. No one’s really from the same place, I think, besides Damian and me. You’re a little before us.” Steph looked down at Tim with a shrug that said things were very complicated. “As for the Talons...they’re from Catwoman’s time. They’re--okay this is gonna sound totally ridiculous, but it’s true.” She put her hands up defensively. “Okay, so Talons are like, these undead assassins from Wonder City, this place Ra’s al Ghul built underneath Gotham. And, so Damian apparently challenged their leader and killed him? And then nearly got his stupid baby bird ass murdered? Todd saved him though.” Huffing a sigh, Stephanie looked stressed at the thought. She was still not one hundred percent okay with the idea that Damian has a league of killer zombies after him. “So. There’s that.” Well this was just getting better and better. Jason had the potential to be more of a problem if Joker was around and Riddler and Freeze added to the mix? “I talked to Alfred. Offered me a place to stay at the Manor if I wanted, but...I’m going to talk to Bruce first.” He was conflicted primarily because Bruce wasn’t the same one he knew and the last thing he wanted was for his relationship with Damian particularly to color Bruce’s opinion of him. Plus, there was more information he’d be able to get from Bruce and information was his weapon of choice. Tim arched an eyebrow when Steph launched into the story about Damian and the Talons but the only physical reaction he had was a slight stiffening of his back at the mention of Ras’ al Ghul. “Is he here? Ra’s?” Tim was almost certain the man would’ve have ignored his post if he was there, and he certainly qualified as a bad guy, but there wasn’t anything wrong with clarifying. It still irked him that Ra’s was the only one who believed him, wanted to support his quest to find Bruce. “I’m guessing Bruce wasn’t thrilled with that one.” Tim was content to leave it at that. Damian’s idiot schemes weren’t any of his business and if it pissed Bruce off well...that wasn’t his fault. “All right, you said I was a little before the two of you.” Just the phrase ‘the two of you’ bothered him, but Tim did his best to mask that. “What have I missed? Obviously, you went from Spoiler to Batgirl, but what else?” He wanted to ask about the assassin or talk about how she sent Grayson after him. Better yet...”What about Bruce? You said he hadn’t wanted me to find him.” That was a pressing issue too. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind, of course. Alfred’s made me a room there as well, but I feel more comfortable here.” Stephanie shrugged. It wasn’t that she didn’t feel at home at Wayne Manor (though there still was a little awkwardness); Steph just appreciated the independence. She always had. After shaking her head because no, Ra’s wasn’t here, not that she knew of. “I haven’t heard a peep from him since I’ve been here. I think Damian would be in a worst tizzy if he were.” She wanted to mention the Lazarus Pits the little bird created, but Steph thought that was sort of a non-issue at this point. If he found out, he found out. Until then, she would give him only what was necessary about Damian, at least. Tim didn’t need to know about their softer moments, and Tim definitely didn’t need to know about the whole Catwoman thing. He could find out those things on his own, if he really wanted. She did catch the grimace he made at ‘the two of you’, and Steph rolled her eyes with a small smile. “Welllll,” she said, pushing herself away from the chair finally and spinning on her heel. She couldn’t face him, not at the moment. Bruce, that was what he seemed to be more intent on, and so she would answer his question. “He wanted you to stay in Gotham. To be where you were need. To train to be a better Robin.” It was why she sent those tests after him, after all. “Which you became.” Spinning back around to face him, she stuck her hands back in her pockets. “I started college?” Okay, she had done way more than that, but it was a long story. Maybe he wouldn’t rip into her, even if he had no frigging right anyway. He didn’t own her. So, she squared her shoulders for a second and gave him a long look. “After you left, Cass took off and gave me her costume. Told me it was my fight now.” “Said he wouldn’t. I just want to hear it for myself. I’ll swing by my place first, make sure it’s still there. Unless you checked already?” Tim doubted she would have gone looking for him given the point in time he was from, but there was always a chance she’d at least scoped it out as a potential safe house. He didn’t want to talk about Ra’s, so he left it at that. The computer in the Batcave might have more information anyway, and he would certainly be checking that out before the end of the night. Tim sat back and watched her intently as she turned her back to him. He barely managed to not scoff at the idea that Bruce thought leaving would make him a better Robin. “Right.” How Bruce could have forgotten about Damian being in the picture was beyond him, but he’d never know now. The Bruce he knew wasn’t here to answer those questions. “I stopped being Robin when I started searching for him.” That was the truth, as far as he knew. He could’ve taken the mantle back when he returned, but he doubted Damian would ever give it up. She didn’t seem to want to talk to him about what happened between his time and hers and that just annoyed him. He wanted to ask why Cass left, why she gave the costume to her, but he was tired. He wasn’t interested in pulling every last detail out of her. “College sounds great. Good luck.” Tim pushed himself up and went for his bag, slinging it across his back as he strode toward the window he came in through. “If you didn’t want to tell me, you just had to say so. I’m not in the mood for fifty questions, Steph.” He paused and looked at her over his shoulder, considering saying something else, but he thought better of it. “I’ll talk to you later.” And with that, out the window he went. |