Terry Mcginnis (batman2point0) wrote in parabolical, @ 2009-02-17 18:32:00 |
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Entry tags: | barbara gordon, terry mcginnis |
Who: Terry McGinnis and Barbara Gordon.
What: nightwings threads!
When:Tuesday evening
Where: Holo-room.
Warnings: none
Rating: PG/PG-13?
Status: COMPLETE; log.
Terry had really been doing well. All things considered anyway. His physical wounds were gone, his mental were still very present. But it was a work in progress. According to Bruce probably would be for a while. He'd been told not to blame himself for the deaths of those people, but how could he not? Part of that of coarse was the Joker's influence. The drugs he'd been exposed too. The other was his own guilt. His own inability to fix what he'd done. All he could do was distract himself. So he did. Terry was rarely found in his room these days. He was in the holo room. It reminded him of home. It was comforting, and kept his mind busy and fresh while he was trapped in solitary. He'd done the sitting around thing for along time now. It was time to get back in the game. He was working through one of Bruce's routines. His Bruce had created for him. Starring Two Face, The Riddler, and even the Joker himself. Of coarse the clown had yet to make an appearance, so Terry was doing well against it. The time running was only a few minutes, and he'd already taken out Two Face with his own suit on. Of coarse it was just a holograph-but it still felt real. It felt good. The technology in his suit was obvious though compare to the other bat-suits. Because as the Riddler's holograph searched for him, Terry had gone invisible. Only appeared when the villain was within striking range, and his fist went into his face. He jumped over the Riddler's head and snatched his hat with a grin that made the holograph's face turn bright red. He could almost hear Wayne telling him to get serious. So he thrust his feet into the Riddlers back and sent the hologram into the ground where it lie still..and the holographic world whirred and faded. Terry was left standing in the room, suitless and not feeling as satisfied as he thought the work out would leave him. He wiped at his forehead with a near by towel, and frowned. Now that the old man wasn't so old anymore, his night time job was probably over. He hadn't seen even the slightest indication that he'd be receiving Nightwing's threads and wished he were back home. Wayne would be able to make him a suit...but then the real question came to mind-did the suit make the man, or was it the man inside?
Babs had been watching the holosuite, as she often did when it was in use. She had one camera trained on it at all times and it showed up in the corner of one of her three large screens in her control room. It was a safety procaution, more than anything else. If one of the safeties broke she needed to be able to see that someone was lying on the floor hurt before the hours stretched on. Sometimes, admittedly, it was voyuristic, though that only ever applied to Dick (and, well, occasionally Bruce). Other times she simply caught herself staring at it while in through, like now. Watching Terry and thinking about the events of the past few weeks and of the JLA meeting coming up the next night.
She didn't make a move until it looked as if his simulation was winding down, and that was when she pushed away from her desk, a folded costume in her lap as he headed for the holo-room doors.
Babs didn't enter the room immediately, instead hitting the intercom button which would broadcast her voice inside. "Hey, Terry. Can you come out here for a sec?"
The teen was startled, and obviously so as he looked around for the source of the voice and quirked a brow suspiciously at the holo-room. He hadn't been aware that he was being watched. But he should have been, because as he looked up he was face to face with a mostly hidden camera, and smirked faintly as he pushed open the door. "Enjoy the show?" he was wearing work out clothes. A pair of black shorts and white shirt, probably borrowed from Bruce- as most of his stuff was in his world. Left in 2040. It wasn't like he'd been expecting to return so he didn't exactly have time to pack things. Which slagged. At least Bruce mostly took care of him. He didn't really have to worry about money or resources. Wayne had enough of those.
"You're a little young for me to be enjoying anything." Babs grinned out of the corner of her lips. She tossed him a towel from underneath the costume in her lap and reached into one of the pouches on the side of her chair for a water bottle which she also offered him.
"I'm glad you're working out. How do you feel?" It could be hard, after being out of commission for awhile. She knew it well.
Terry was amused and it showed on his face. Glad he wasn't the only one with a sense of humor. It seemed to be lacking around the clock tower lately. So it was refreshing. That was about the furthest thing he ever expected to hear from Babs. The woman was full of surprises. "A little stiff." He admitted as he took both the water and the towel with an appreciative nod and drank some of the cool liquid. "But it reminds me of home."
"Stretch out more next time," was the definitive answer she had for that. Batman didn't get sidelined by a pulled hamstring. "And when we're done here I'll get you ice."
Babs fell silent for a moment, looking up at Terry's grin. Her fingers tapped again and again against the suit in her lap as she prepared herself to hand it over. It wasn't something she'd rehearsed in her mind or anything of the like, though perhaps she should have. Then at least she would have had the words.
"Here," she said finally, extending her hand again, this time the blue and black suit clutched between her fingers. "Feel up to trying this on?"
That would just be pathetic. Batman being thrown out of the game because of stretched muscles. The more Babs watched him, the more the humor in his eyes softened. What was going through her mind?...Then it dawned on him as she handed over the suit and he looked it over. "Schway Retro.." He never imagined he'd be getting the chance to wear this suit. Wayne had always said his suits were too beaten up for him to borrow when his was out of commission and being repaired. He'd never even grazed the idea of touching the other suits until now. There had been one time he'd worn the Nighwing Mask, but that was as close as he'd gotten, and ever got again. He saw the look in Bruce's eyes, and now when he thought about it, there was a similar in Barbara's. "You sure?"
Babs answered quickly, before she could even think to change her mind. "I'm sure, go ahead. I won't look." She smiled softly before gesturing to the holoroom door so that he could change in the room.
No, she definitely wouldn't look. He wasn't Dick. Never would be Dick, but she wasn't going to put him in Robin colours. As hard as it was for her to believe sometimes, Terry was Bruce's son and he was also Batman. Batman didn't get demoted to Robin's colours, nor did he get stuck in Spoiler's old purple outfit. Nightwing was equal to Batman in skill and prestige. The costume meant something. Not that the Robin costume didn't, but Nightwing didn't scream 'sidekick'. It was an independent symbol of an independent hero. Like Terry was used to being.
Of course, unlike the Robin costume, only one person had worn this one and she missed him more than she'd been able to explain to Helena. Especially with her birthday coming up. Who was going to take her flying?
He would sooner be just Terry McGinnis than put on the Robin colors. He'd said it once to Wayne, and he'd say it again to Babs. There was no way he was wearing the Robin suit. Unlike Bruce he didn't believe in sidekicks. Bruce had never stopped any of them. Terry had and would continue to do it. It was too dangerous in his world. The missions were nearly suicidal for even him but he was resourceful. He was stronger than he looked, and could put up a fight. This time however he didn't. Terry slipped away and behind the door for a few seconds-quick change, it wasn't like he hadn't done it before. And opened the door." Well...How's it look?" He felt a little awkward about it. It didn't fit to his form instantly like his suit had. It didn't have a vid mask or cowl. He moved his arms and stretched a little.
Well, there was the answer to her question. If she hadn't known better the young man who walked out of the holoroom could have been her Richard Grayson. For as much as he reminded her personality-wise of Jason, the physical resemblence --especially in the suit-- was uncanny. She had to swipe her hand over her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things before resting her cheek against her palm as she bit down on her lower lip.
"It looks--" Babs blinked again and couldn't keep the incredibly nostalgic look off of her face. She opened her mouth once... twice, before actually being able to speak coherently. The last bit, the mask, was sitting in her lap. "If your hair was a few inches longer, you'd look just like him."
She held out the small domino mask so that he could fit it around his eyes. "You do it justice. It, um-- yeah. I think it'll work. How does it feel?"
it was a good thing that he and Dick were about the same size. Any bigger and he probably wouldn't have been able to fit. That was once of the nice things about his suit. The other was the flying. He'd miss the flying. He'd have to get used to roping his way across town. Terry took the mask and put it on. "Like air. But in a good way." He added as he moved and tested it. "My suit was heavy compare to this. " Probably had to do with all the gears and controls in it. "...Tell me it comes with a plane?" This was his hopeful side talking. But Nightwing was around in the time of the retro, so somehow he doubted it. Still, " Chicks dig the plane." He quipped, that humor back in his voice.
"It comes with a glider," Babs offered, smiling again as she grew lost in her memories. "He-- after we broke off the engagement, he got obsessed with jumping out of things. High things. Th glider was an extention of that, I guess. He always liked flying, like you, and he'd always take me flying on my birthdays. Glider, trapeze... sky diving." Her grin widened slightly at that. Dick had always threatened that one, but it had yet to happen.
The mask only heightened the resemblance, eliminating the pesky details that eyes provided. Babs found herself blinking again to remind herself who it was. "Chicks also dig a man who skydives from the mesosphere. Trust me. Or who can throw her around on a trapeeze," she said. "Skill trumps the plane any day of the week, and I can name a few of us girls who always preferred the motorcycles."
"Glider..talk about old school." Terry was almost nervous about it. But once he got out there he was sure he'd be fine. Batman didn't get scared. Fear was another one of those things behind the doors that separated Terry McGinnis from Batman. "...When do I get to try it out?" Looking up at her hopefully. Wondering if tonight was the night he'd be free of the Clock Tower. If tonight was his night. He had been making alot of physical progress. He'd even been listening since his panic and mental breakdown. A few more weeks and he'd be like new. Maybe even the nightmares would go away. "Don't diss the plane." Terry laughed. Genuinely laughed since the first night Bruce brought him home.
A small laugh escaped her lips. "Soon. You can try it out when there's someone out there to make sure you don't end up street pancake. I'll talk to Bru-- your father." She corrected herself in time.
"In the meantime, training," Babs said, taking the last opportunity to look at the costume stretched over a new body. "You should get used to moving in it before you take it out into the world. But even before that, ice and rest up a little more, alright?"
He barely contained a small grimace at the word father. But it was far more than obvious that he wasn't ready to talk about it. Because as she mentioned it he was already walking behind the door to change out of the suit without much more than a nod at the topic. "I'm pretty slegged. " He managed as he re-appeared and ran a hand through his black hair, pushing a little from his left eye in vain. He headed for the door with the suit, water, and towel, and looked back with a half smile. "...Thanks. For everything." He hadn't really said it yet, but he felt like he should. Bruce and Barbara had just accepted him, with little questions asked..it wasn't something he was used too, but defiantly something he was starting to get comfortable with.