2012-08-03 Two Robins Meet...

A simple text message, 'Hey Rich, in Metropolis, need to talk', and a pic of a coffee shop in bakerline. It's that midmorning lull where the early crowd as already gone, and the lunch crowd hasn't started arriving. The day promises to be hot and muggy, but thankfully its still early enough that it's not too bad. 
Tim has selected a nice corner booth, and his dressed in his usual polo shirt over nice pants. A slim silver necklace that drops into his shirt is new, as he doesn't normally wear much jewelry. He has an iced mocha in front of him, sitting next to his cell phone and his sunglasses on the table. His motorcycle helmet sits on the seat next to him.
Dick's own cycle pulls up before too long and he parks it near the coffee shop, bringing the keys and his own helmet with him. He's dressed even more casually in jeans and an old, classic rock t-shirt. Catching sight of Tim, he offers a nod before slipping into a seat across from him, "What's with the bling?"
"Bling?" Tim starts, looking down at himself. "Oh..the necklace. A birthday present." he says, with a grin. "Thanks for the phone, by the way." Tim says, with a motion towards the phone on the table. 
Tim leans back and points at his mocha. "Want a coffee or something?"
"Really? Richard's eyebrows lift but he gives another nod, "You're welcome. Glad to see you out and about again." At the mention of the coffee, he considers the mocha already on the table before standing, "Sure. Be right back." And indeed, it isn't more than a couple of minutes before he returns with his own iced coffee. "What brings you to Metropolis?"
"Two things." Tim starts. "One...to make sure your okay. Didn't exactly leave on the best of terms last time. I wanted to make sure you and Bruce..." he trails off, shrugging lightly. "It bugs me when you two start at each other."
"The second, is to fill you in. The apartment building directly across the street...I just bought it."
Richard Grayson gives a grunt, "I don't know. Batman hasn't said anything to me since then -- he just sent Damian to spy on the Titans, I'm fairly sure. I don't blame the kid, but he's just being used as a pawn...again." He goes to start on his coffee but pauses, turning to look across the street, "The building? Why?"
Tim takes a drink from his iced mocha as he reaches into a pocket and pulls out a small SD card, which he slides over. "He sent Damian? Sorry. I didn't know that. I was wondering where he disappeared too. I've been running back and forth between Gotham, New York and here, finding suitable property. We're gonna turn the building into a two part safehouse."
Richard Grayson's eyes narrow, his coffee remaining untouched, "We?"
Tim catches the change and quickly corrects. "Me. I will be turning it into a two part safe house. The lower floors, and the hidden basement is going to have a spare car, changing station and weapons cache, and an independant computer system. The upper floors...I wanted to talk to you about."
Leaning back, Dick crosses his arms at his chest, "Is -he- putting you up to this?" since they are in public, after all. "No. I don't care what you do in Gotham or New York, but I am so incredibly sick of him...and you...taking everything over! It's bad enough he sent Damian, but now you're going to be here too, to spy on every single thing I try to do. No. Just plain No."
"Totally the opposite, Dick. I'm not here to spy on you at all, and the safe house here is my idea, not his. I'm doing the safehouse in New York as well, mostly because I want to do one here and it seems like a good cover. That, and I keep getting sent to New York on missions, so it'd be nice to have a place a little more like home." Tim explains.
"The house here is...well it was Supergirl's idea." he says, looking around to make sure no one is close enough to overhear.
"So now -she- wants to have access to surveillance? The one in Gotham isn't enough?" Dick stands now, shaking his head. He tries to keep his pacing and his ire contained due to the fact that they -are- in public still, "I don't know why I bother. It's clear that no matter what I say or do isn't good enough. Your girlfriend doesn't practice what she preaches if she still wants access to all of that."
"Will you please sit down and let me finish." Tim starts, getting a little annoyed. "The bottom half is for me and you. You never know what's going to happen, and lets face it. Titan's tower is a mega-obvious target. Having some back-up equipment a short ways away isn't a bad idea."
"The Top half is just going to be an apartment. A couple of rooms, a big living room, some couches and a TV. Simple, clean, and /not/ under the constant surviellance of Titan's tower."
"What makes you think I don't have backups?" He doesn't sit back down though, not yet. "I do not want to be walking in on your love nest. Is she even old enough for that sort of thing?" Dick still doesn't look happy or even mollified by the explanation. "I know it's obvious. I didn't design it. Believe me, if I did, it wouldn't be the way it is."
Tim looks a little embarassed but pushes on. "I get that. That's why I'm talking to you about this. And...it's not a love nest. Seriously? Thats what you think of me? Oracle is only going to be able to scrub so much before the military starts catching on that someone is playing in their systems. Your team needs a place to hang out, and be able to learn to trust one another without worrying about Uncle Sam writing down everything they say. And thats from the mouth of more than one of your team mates." Tim half-whispers.
"And yes...it would be nice to be able to do something like...stay in a watch a movie sometime with my girlfriend. It's not like I can take her home, or she to her place. But that is /so/ besides the point." Tim says with a sigh.
"When did we start working agianst each other Dick? I'm trying to help."
Richard Grayson reaches to grab his helmet, "Maybe you should be in charge of them then. All they want to do is have cooking parties and sleepovers. They don't want to train...they just want to fight the big baddies that were on their video games or cartoons because surely no one can be hurt by those things." The coffee is just left, "We stopped working together when Bruce decided that I couldn't be trusted, Tim. Think about it. He gives you...and even your girlfriend more respect than I ever got."
"And it's going to get them killed." Tim says, dropping his head. "And possibly you too. I'm not here for Bruce. He didn't send me, and this is my idea. If you really think it's terrible, say the word. I haven't signed the final papers yet, so I can still back out."
"And this whole thing with my girlfriend isn't about respect. Do you honestly think he would pass up a chance to study her up close? I don't like the idea that he's using her like a lab rat, but she's so hell bent on earning you and Bruce's trust that I think she'd take her own arm off if either of you asked."
"Most likely, yes. Maybe then they'll start to realize that this isn't a game or a party or summer camp." Dick holds the helmet as he stands in front of Tim at the table. He hasn't stepped away just yet. "The more people you have around, in your private space, the more chance they'll have of finding out who you are. Who we are. I am not encouraging people to know everyone out of costume. You know it's dangerous. I can't control what they choose to do, but I have tried to stress secrecy. Giving them a place to 'hang out' implies a casual atmosphere. It implies that secrecy isn't necessary." 
There's a long pause then, "If you want a place closer to your girlfriend, fine. I get that. I know he wants to study her but her desperation hangs over her. If she wants us to trust her, she needs to prove herself worthy of it. Being a pawn for him just tells me that she's too needy."
"All right then. It's a place for me to use when I'm in town. The bottom floor will have some toys, and you'll be on the access log, just in case." Tim relents, shaking his head a little. 
"And if you need anything, just let me know. I'm still your friend, regardless of what Bruce says or does. And we both have a vested interest in making sure the Titan's don't get themselves killed. Let me know if I can help, even if it's just scaring the hell out of them."
Tim picks up, and then slides his phone into his pocket. "It was good to see you again. We don't hang out enough."
Now that's a thought. "How?" The helmet is settled on the back of the seat once again, "How would you scare the hell out of them? Because they need it. Some understand, but most...I had one throw a temper tantrum because he didn't like that I put them through a team-building exercise. I suspended him." And he has yet to figure out those consequences. "I don't like having the army right there either, but I'm confident that our channels are secure."
Tim grins a little, and leans back thinking. "What about a break in? Nothing big, but enough to show them that this needs to be taken seriously, and even a normal human can hurt them if they aren't careful." Tim muses out loud. "A simple datahack, turn your own security agisnt the team, make a lot of noise and confusion, and bug out before anyone really knows I was there. I'd probably have to let Oracle in on the ruse, otherwise my hack wont last long...."
Richard Grayson settles back into the seat, "They'd probably invite you to their slumber party. I don't know that they'd even understand what a security breach was or what it meant to them. They think they're invincible. I mean, these kids are good, I'll give them that, and they're powerful. I like the idea of showing them that even a normal human can affect them..."
Tim grins mischeviously, that brilliant mind of his working. "How automated is your internal security? I'm thinking lots of smoke bombs, booby-traps, maybe a couple of fires, hacks into the military communications, giving different areas wildly different orders, maybe even identifying some of your team as enermy combatants, all in the dead of the night. Maybe a couple of low impact concussion bombs to add the right feel to things." Tim rattles all this off, quickly.
"And when it's all over, and your team is trying to figure out what was taken, you and Oracle show them what I was able to learn from your own systems. It would scare the hell outta me."
"I think we can send the Army out...not have them there as backup. The internal security is good, but if Oracle's in on it, we can get around it. The thing is, there are some magic folks -- we don't go in their rooms. I think they need to get personally invested somehow, and -not- taking something of their's might not do it. But...I'm not going in those rooms."
Richard does seem interested in this idea though, "We need to think more like...other teenagers, Tim. You and I...we're different. We were even when we were their age," which, at least, for Tim, wasn't so long ago.
"What if we don't take someout out of their rooms, but put something 'in' them. Something stupid, like an grenade full of itching powder or something? But your right. This needs to feel like a real attack, and not an epic prank, otherwise the message is going to get lost." Tim muses.
"And I'm not thinking of bypassing your internal security, I'm thinking of using it agianst you. If nothing else, it will teach your team more about their own home, and how to better defend it."
Tim leans back and ponders. "It's probably going to get me turned into a frog, but what about asking Zatanna to assist with a small assult team. I'm thinking, that with the surpise, the daed of the night, the military out of the equation, and the Towers defenses helping us rather than you...three people...tops."
"It should be during their dinner parties. The dead of night...I don't know. That's something we'd think of, but I want to disturb this 'Summer Camp' feel they have going on." I don't even think a lecture from the JLA would do anything either. Granted, one of the biggest troublemakers is gone, but..." Dick makes sure to look at Tim, "It was your girlfriend who wanted the weekly dinner parties."
"They are teenagers, who just got invited to serve on the minor league team to the biggest meta event in history. Like you said, they are not you an me. They don't have years of expereince working alone. The excitement of being with people like them...well, it will make them careless." Tim tries to explain. 
"I have to admit I understand where they are coming from. It's hard to build a team without trust, and to teens, trust is built by hanging out together."
Tim muses to himself again, playing with the straw of his iced mocha. "Supergirl most of all I understand. From what I've been able to put together, something happened to her and her family, and she's really afraid of being alone."
"I'm not ready to give myself up to them just so that they can trust me," Richard points out. "I don't care if they hang out together, I really don't. But I also need them to be able to mobilize and work as a team." He finally starts in on his own coffee, "I understand that she doesn't want to be alone. Who does?" Besides Bruce, that is. "But she can't use that..." his voice trails off as an idea begins to form.
"We need to find everyone's weakness...because I will bet you anything that someone else on the team doesn't have that weakness. They need to be shown that they NEED to rely on each other."
Tim nods his head. "And that will do it. Life and death situation, depending on each other, covering each others weaknesses. That's a team." Grinning, Tim takes another sip from his iced coffee. "Let me know if I can help." he offers. "It would be good training for me too."
"Our weakness," Dick points out, "Is that we're squishy. Compared to some of these kids. One punch from them and our face is in Toledo while our body is still here. So, your girl doesn't like to be alone...that can be used for this." Dick obviously has 'Bruce' issues, although that's nothing terribly new. "We can also use you as one of her weaknesses I bet." He can't help but grin then, "How would you like to be the Damsel in Distress?"
Tim laughs at that, leaning forward and doing his best to not spray coffee through his nose. After a moment, he grabs a napkin and cleans up a little. "That...would be fun." he says.
Richard Grayson nods, "All right, we have one down. Eight more to go. Your girlfriend and Wonder Girl are close...maybe you can get something about her too? I've gone through the dossiers, but nothing's terribly detailed in them...everyone's too new."
"Wonder Girl gets really angry, really easily. It makes her fly off the handle sometimes and go right to the punching stuff. Especially when hurting her friends is involved. When Supergirl and I had out little...spat, she flew all the way to Gotham intent on kicking my ass." Tim explains. 
"So you might be able to get a two for one with Supergirl and Wonder Girl on me." the teen ponders. "As for the others...I don't know."
"Good to know. I didn't notice it much at the training...but that's good to know. Two for one with those two. Raven doesn't like people touching her stuff. I may need to get Zatanna to help with that, since...I sure as Hell am not touching her stuff. Aqualad...well, we need to get him away from water. That's cruel, but we need it to seem to be life and death." Richard pulls out his own phone so he can start taking notes.
"I fought with Aqualad a little. His reactions are a little slow, but he can electrify his skin, if he needs too. And yeah...Raven is...an odd duck. I was there when she first appeared in New York. Giant black rift, and she says she just escaped from hell." Tim shudders a little bit, leaning back in the booth. "But if she fears touch, what about using a glue grenade to stick her to Widlebeest or something."
"Wildebeest is currently suspended for throwing a temper tantrum worthy of a three year old," Richard offers quickly. "But touch...we can work with touch. Something where she HAS to abide by touch in order to get past it. Maybe something where she has to be led or caught."
"I'm not sure darkness will work on someone like her. So maybe the other way around. Blind everyone else and make Raven lead them." Tim counters. "And suspended or not, we might as well plan for Wildebeest, in case he gets his act together and makes it back in time."
"And if he is as young as he sounds...maybe something shiney to distract him. Or food. I hear he eats damn near anything."
Richard Grayson hrmphs, "If she was at Training, that's what she would have had to do. We were all blindfolded except for the one leading over an obstacle course." At least it would have been useful for one. "It was a good idea, if I do say so myself." 
As Tim gives more insight to the team, he watches him for a moment, "Why aren't you in charge of them since you seem to know them so well?"
Tim shrugs softly. "Because you have a lot more experience than me. I've just...well, for lack of a better word, hung out with some of them. Wonder Girl and Supergirl are friends, Aqualad and I have fought together a couple of times, and fate just put me in the right place at the right time for Raven. And...Supergirl has talked a little about the team. She hasn't revealed anything vital, but if you remember, I'm fairly good at picking up details." Tim says with a grin. "And...belive it or not...Bruce trusts you more than me. He may have a terrible, terrible way of showing it, but you were there. He didn't say a word about you joining the Titans, which is tantamount to a signed confession from him. And he's right. Your the better choice."
"He did though. He wanted me to join them so that he'd know what was going on. I think that's why he sent Damian, to be honest...because I wasn't sending him updates. If Oracle wasn't either, he needed to get it from somewhere." Another sip of his coffee, "Damian needs to learn teamwork too, but I think his challenge would just be hanging out with people. A cocktail party would probably be Hell for him."
Tim shudders a little. "There is something about Damian that just...freaks me the hell out. I...don't trust him, honestly." the teen confesses. "Maybe he sent Damian to you to do just that. Socialize a little, get him out of the cave. Have /you/ keep an eye on him. I don't know. I'm sure we all wish Bruce shared his plans more." 
Tim trails off a little, and hrrms softly. "Bruce is...getting strange. With the Joker out, this new crime boss who has his people more scared of him than the batman, the Penguin and Two-face running loose again, the terrorist attack and the mass break out from Arkham...it's not a good time to be in Gotham."
There is silence as Tim catches Dick up on Gotham events, "Maybe the Titans need to visit Gotham...with Batman's permission, of course. I'd like to get them doing something other than training and while it's dangerous, I...have to wonder if it might also help teach them. They can't wantonly destroy things there and...people can get hurt. I don't know though. Maybe we could send them after some of the...nuisances rather than the Joker. Although they might be too 'in your face' for Gotham."
Tim ponders that a moment, and then shakes his head softly. "/The/ Batman, ask for help? I don't see it. I was shocked he even ordered Supergirl to assist when I was injured. I think that if we have to bring in the Titans to clean things up...He isn't gonna be happy."Tim continues. "But then, when is he ever happy. I'll bring it up to him, see what he does or doesn't say."
Richard Grayson smirks some then, "You know...I would love for these guys to go up against -The- Batman. That might put some fear of God into them...but it's a waste of his energy and resources." Another idea starts to form, "He'd never go for it, but man, is it tempting. But if I'm going to bring the kids there, then I want them to get some real experience." He looks again at his iced coffee, "I'll talk to him. I...don't know that I want to ask permission per se."
At that, Tim grins in response. "Well, if you'll excuse the french, it's about fucking time." the teen says, a tilt of laughter on the edge of his voice. "You are a great hero in your own right now. The time for needing his rubber stamp on everything you do is way over with. If he really didn't feel like you wern't ready for this, he would have done something to stop you."
Tim sucks on his straw a moment, slurping the last little bit of his mocha up before giving Richard a smile. "And I'll back you up. All you have to do is ask."
"I appreciate the ego boost, but I don't know about being a 'great hero'"...he does glance around to see if there might be anyone listening. Richard smirks and moves his straw around his drink to stir up some of the ice, "Thanks. If I can get these kids to listen, I'd like them to be able to help out there. I think we're all getting antsy waiting for the League to call on us."
He then asks the unrelated, "So. How do you suggest I trust your girlfriend? Because frankly, the whole...identity thing still has me bugged. That and her wanting weekly dinner parties at the Tower."
That catches Tim a little of guard, and he plays with the straw in his empty mocha for a moment before answering. "I don't know." he confesses. "She honestly as had all the tools she needs to dig a little deeper and find out everything about me. I'm keeping my distance from Babs and Bruce, and even you because of it. But she isn't digging. And the threat of me doing the same back to her isn't enough to do much. I'd be hurt way worse then she would by outing our identities. /Something/ has her scared, but she wont tell me what, asking me to wait. Asking me to trust her, and that when our two families have come to trust one another, she'll be able to tell me."
He confesses all this, like it's been weighing on his mind for some time now. "We don't exactly have a healthy relationship right now. Everytime we try and talk, we keep running into yet another secret, and communication breaks down. But for what we do have...theres not exactly a lot of people who can relate to what we do Rich. It's nice to be able to talk to people my own age about it."
Richard Grayson nods, "All right. That's acceptable." He takes that in, "That she isn't digging is good, but I'm afraid of what might slip out." He then blinks at Tim, "You...do realize that you're not obligated to stay with her forever. If it's not working, it's not working. It's not easy keeping secrets like these, especially when we try to share our lives with other people." It's most likely why they're all single. "I think if we weren't also in...Gotham..." just in case, "Things might be a little easier."
"But I really do like her." Tim confesses again. "And thats part of the reason I'm getting this apartment building. She wants to use it as a place for the Titan's to hang out, but I'll put a kibosh on that. But for us...its...someplace where we can be us, and not worry about revealing our families. I know it sounds like were moving really fast, but it's sort of the opposite actually. Its for us to slow down."
Tim slides the empty glass back onto the table and looks up. "It's all a mess, I know. I'm just not ready to jump ship yet. And don't give me that look. It's not because of the short skirt."
"You're eighteen. Don't think that you have to get married or anything in the next year, ok? Things change. Seriously take your time. It might be that...you finally have someone you can relate to and it makes you blind to other things." Richard finally finishes his own drink, "And maybe it will last for fifty years. I don't know." A nod is given at the mention of not using it as an extra hangout for the Titans, "Thanks, I appreciate that. Maybe one day we'll all be able to hang out, out of costume, in the Tower, but right now I need them to see that it's not for fun." The mention of the skirt gets him smirking, "Oh, sure...because that has nothing to do with it."
"Well...it is a nice skirt." Tim admits. "And trust me. Marriage is the furthest thing from my mind. Right now it's just really good to have ..well...someone. I'm doing my best to keep my head on straight." 
Tim grins. "And the only guy I used to hang out with upped and moved to Metropolis on me."
"Good idea...because she really could punch you to Toledo," Richard sits back in his seat now. "Hey, I still have my place in Gotham. It's not that far...it's just that I got stuck babysitting. Until I'm convinced they don't need a babysitter all the time, I'm sort of stuck."
Tim shrugs lightly. "I get it. Not assigning blame or anything. Just saying, we're not exactly the get together for thanksgiving and carve the turkey kinda family. I don't want us to lose touch, just because we're all off doing our own things. Which totally reminds me." Tim stops, changing the subject. "I so need to take Babs a basket of muffins or something and just drop in for a bit. I haven't seen her in ages."
"Yeah, I owe her a dinner out. A couple of them, actually." Richard scrubs his face at that, "She's been busy too...I swear, I don't know anyone else as spread as thin as we are." He then flicks an ice cube at Tim,
"Yeah, I owe her a dinner out. A couple of them, actually." Richard scrubs his face at that, "She's been busy too...I swear, I don't know anyone else as spread as thin as we are." He then flicks an ice cube at Tim, "We won't lose touch. We all have too many secrets to lose touch."
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