2012-09-16 Team Leader Meeting

Nightwing has been on the top of the Tower for a little bit, pacing and taking deep, slow breaths. At one point he finally just takes a seat on the edge, looking down as if he's now waiting for Moleman to come knocking.
Superman zips in, before floating down and hanging suspended in mid-air in front of the seated Nightwing. "What's troubling you, Nightwing?" Superman asks, crossing his arms and looking on.
Nightwing gets to his feet as Superman floats in, "What's troubling me? What's -troubling- me?" He takes another deep breath and lets it out, "Look. Negotiation is great. I am all for not causing collateral and property damage. Well, more of it. That said, did you -really- have to give him a tour of the Tower and negotiation here? Seriously? I have a Tower full of teenagers whose egos and sense of entitlement...for the most part...are bigger than Moleman's. I, for one, don't expect them to actually obey me if I say 'Do not provoke this guy' when he comes here. Are you -seriously- going to throw things at me and expect me to just blindly do as you want? Or, I'm sorry, should I just let the teenagers dictate how things are done, since that's what you told me to do last time?"
Superman takes a moment, thinking things through before he answers. He floats sideways and lands softly on the roof, before shaking his head and trying a different tact. "I was wrong to tell you that. Forgive me. The Titans are your team, and I trust you to lead them as best as you know how. I personally think..and feel...that you should cut them a little slack, but it was wrong of me to order it. I'm sorry I said it that way the first time."
"That said however, the Titans will need to know how to handle things on a diplomatic level. I had a very good reason for choosing the Tower, and I hope you'll agree with me. The Hall of Justice is /very/ close to the city. The Tower? Not so much. If this is merely a cover up for a surprise attack, the Tower, and by extension the Titan's, are in a much better position to handle it without endangering the lives of the innocent." Superman says, taking a moment to try and explain his thinking.
"But if you're not ready, say the word. I have faith in you, however."
The apology catches Nightwing complete by surprise. "You are?" Maybe he's not used to getting apologies. He watches Superman for a long moment, "Agreed. They need to learn. I'm not sure that a 'Trial by Fire' is really the best way for them to be learning this at this point, however. I presume." he inclines his head, "That you will also be present for the negotiation. Frankly, I would think that Aqualad and his ilk would have taken more offense at the Tower here than Moleman."
At the explanation of reason for choosing the Tower, he nods. "I don't know if a bunch of teenagers is more volatile though."
"I will be here." Superman assures, nodding his head at Nightwings assessment of Aqualad and Moleman. "Moleman is up to something, and hopefully your tracker will show us what. I half expect him not to show up at all, except that I get the feeling that Moleman likes to feel important. And if a little flattery will prevent a war, then I can live with that."
"Hopefully you can impress upon the Titans enough how serious their actions here will be, while still having them prepped for a fight. Something is fishy about all this. It doesn't feel....'right'."
Well, if they act up, Superman will be able to see himself then. "Oh, I agree that he's up to something. I don't think he'll find the tracker, but we'll have to see on that." Nightwing looks to the entrance back into the Tower interior, "Impress." He then shakes his head, "If one of the Justice League openly mocked you, decided that they knew best, and insisted on ordering you about, how would you handle it? I know how -I- would, but...I need another perspective." One that isn't a Bat.
"Thats a hard choice to make without knowing many of the details. But if a member of the Justice League openly mocked me, meaning it and not teasing, and ignored orders and put the team at risk....I would ask them to leave." Superman says after a moment. 
"When you have to depend on one another, you can't have that kind of wild card in your midst. I would however, talk to them first. Make sure they know what they are doing is wrong, and that there isn't another underlying problem." Super adds on, almost as an after thought as he ponders the question.
"And what if the underlying problem isn't something that I can fix?" Nightwing seems to accept the answer for now. "By the way, I agree, but I don't know what sort of promises were made when they were invited to join. I explained my expectations. It didn't go well." Thus the original issues. 
However, back to the issue at hand, "We should, perhaps, figure out a way to involve the Tower if necessary that we mutually agree upon so that there isn't this, ah, element of surprise again."
"No one is expecting you to fix it. It's a tough spot to be in. Sometimes just knowing there is a problem, however, can help you deal with it. It's a tough question to answer without knowing the variables and who is involved. IF nothing else, take this advice. Talk to them. Let them know that what they are doing affects you, and the team at large. If they still persist...then do what you have to do. You have to be able to depend on your team, and them on you." Superman explains, not really liking that answer himself, but realizing that it's probably the only one he can give right now. 
"As for involving the tower like this again....I'd like to say it will never happen again, and that I will consult you if I need to use the Tower like this....but it might, and we may not have time to talk about it first. I will do my best to avoid situations like this without running it by you first, Nightwing. I can promise you that. And next time, I'll ask you before I agree to use the Tower. Hows that?"
Nightwing nods to the first bit of advice, "I just don't want to have to ever...take action and have it go to you and you override my decision. We all know the Titans are the minor leagues of this outfit and you all have a bit more weight than we do. I'm fine with that...but I need to know if that's going to become an issue."
There's another long pause as he considers the question of the Tower, "How about this. If we don't have the opportunity to discuss it beforehand and you need to use the Tower for something like this, you can, but only if you are present for the entire meeting."
"That will never be an issue. If I have a problem with how you are leading the Titans, you will be my first contact. I will discuss my issue with you, maybe even ask you to change your mind, but I will not "over-ride" you." Superman says, shaking his head softly. 
"And that would be more than acceptable. I can't fore see a situation like this developing quite like this again, but it's good to know. I will be present for the entire meeting should it come to this."
"I appreciate it," Nightwing offers with a single nod. "Seems we should have figured some of this out to start with. Created a handbook or something." But he's less upset, at least. The apologies probably went quite far. He's not really used to that. There's another pause, "You know, I was going to threaten him into standing down. I was right there, batarang in hand."
"I know you were." Superman says, grinning lightly. "And if he was using it as a distraction like I originally thought he was, you would have been in a prime position to stop him. I wasn't trying to stop you from doing your work, just bring an end to the situation entirely."
Superman extends a hand towards Nightwing and smiles. "Your team impressed me tonight. You responded quickly, you helped get people out of harms way, and what was the new guys name again...the one with the bricks? He handled himself well. I have complete faith in your leadership."
Nightwing takes the offered hand and gives it a firm shake, "I know you weren't trying to stop me. If he didn't acquiesce, I was still going to do it." He even gives a sideways sort of smirk at that. It turns into more of a grin when his team is complimented, "Thank you. That's Bunker...newest guy we've got, but I like him a lot. He's eager and seems to have a real desire to do good. I've tried stressing that civilian safety is key and I'm glad he felt the same way. The request over the comm didn't hurt, either. You've got some pretty big hitters there yourself though." 
Which does bring him to another thing. "We don't have to discuss this now, but just think about this. A mentorship of Titans and JLA-ers. Pair up a Titan with someone on the Justice League. I might be a little too close in age to some of the folks here and I don't have powers. It might be good to pair up some who have something that they can help with, power-wise."
Superman ponders it a moment, then nods his head in agreement. "If we stress that this isn't a side-kick slash baby-sitting thing, I think it's a great idea. I think the Titans have plenty to teach us while we are sharing a bit of experience. I'd be willing to ask members of the League to volunteer to come down and help with team training. If you ever need someone to step in and serve as the bad guy in a training exercise, just ask. I'd be willing to do it myself if you needed, just to see what your team can do." Superman says, his grin matching Nightwings.
"Definitely not a side-kick or babysitting thing!" Nightwing reassures. "No, I'm the babysitter..." he rolls his eyes some at that, "At least, I feel like it sometimes." But that's for him to deal with. "I think they'd like knowing that they might be able to teach something as well." Helping with training, hmm? He thinks a moment before nodding, "I'm not sure that they like having all these training sessions, but it might be a good idea, especially those who are really strong or shoot beams and the like. I can spar and it's great dexterity practice for me, but I fear they might get frustrated."
"It's just an offer to consider Nightwing. I like these ideas of fostering a closer relationship between our two groups. I'll run it by the League and see who wants to give it a shot. Do the same with the Titans and we'll compare notes and match people up."
Switching gears a moment, Superman holds up a hand, gesturing as he talks. "As a team leader, feel free to tell me it's none of my business, and I should ask her. But how is Supergirl doing? I was...a little harsh on her and I don't think she took it well." Superman asks a little sheepishly.
Nightwing nods, "I'll do that." When Supergirl is asked about, Nightwing lets out a breath, "She's been kind of scarce, actually. I haven't seen her all that much, but we did have a long talk, mostly about her and Robin. It's...she got put in an awkward spot. To be honest, I haven't seen her around much since that talk. I can ask Robin for you though..."
"I do have something else to drop on you, as you might get some fallout. I gave an interview to the Daily Planet, and I expect it to be published any day now. No real way to warm up to this so I'm just going to come out and say it. I'm an alien." Superman says, dropping that bomb almost casually. 
"Like the Martian Manhunter is an alien. It was bound to come out sooner or later, and I thought it would be better if the world heard it from me first." Superman explains. "I'm not sure how that will effect things with the JLA just yet, but I doubt you don't get asked about it once it goes public."
Nightwing doesn't actually seem all that shocked, surprisingly enough. "Supergirl is too?" he asks calmly, thinking about it for another few moments. "You're not green like the Manhunter. Or orange like the alien we have staying with us in the Tower." See? He can drop bombs too.
Superman actually looks a little relieved that it went over so well, nodding his head. "Supergirl is truly my cousin, so yes. She is as well. And this is actually what I look like, so sorry to disappoint." he jokes softly. 
"We are from a planet called Krypton, and it was destroyed years ago. The article will have all the details, so I wont bore you with them if you don't want."
"So you have a new alien staying with you? Will this orange person be joining the team, or just passing through?"
Nightwing shrugs, "Well, it makes it easier to get around. That's going to give the conspiracy theorists so much to play with though." Nightwing will read the article, "Thank you for telling me in person, by the way. I appreciate that." 
As far as Koriand'r is concerned, Nightwing glances back at the doorway, "Unknown. Her ship landed here and she destroyed it. She said she doesn't want to go back...I'm trying to get some of the girls to take her shopping. She's dressed like Barbarella."
Superman raises an eyebrow at the Barbarella comment and just shakes his head. "To each their own, I suppose. Perhaps that is how all her people dress."
He nods his head and floats a few inches off the ground. "Your welcome. Thank you for taking it so well. I'm not sure what I expected, but it means a lot to me to know that some people at least, will take it in stride."
"Perhaps, but she wants to learn about humans, so it seemed like shopping with the girls might help." It does make a certain amount of sense. Nightwing then nods, "I figure I've seen a lot...and knowing that you and Supergirl are aliens, well, it explains a bit actually. Nothing bad, but it does explain things. You don't seem to want to take over the world, so for now I'm good with it. Thanks for the talk."
"Anytime." Superman answers, floating up a few more feet and out over the drop off on the edge of the building. "I know I've been a bit stand-offish in the past, Nightwing. A very wise person made me see I needed to change if I wanted people to trust me. Feel free to call me anytime." Superman says, nodding his head once before extending a fist into the air. With a blue and rest streak he disappears into the night.
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