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 Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 6:37 pm
"Whoa, Jason? Hold up-"
Tim spun on his foot, immediately extending out his bo-staff with the arrival of a new figure entering the fold. A red bat-symbol was stretched across the man's chest, and Robin had never seen it quite in that fashion before.
"Jason you have some nerve dressing like a Batman..."
She held her bomb, ready to throw. This man even sounded like him. The Jason she knew anyway. This guy who appeared before them seemed to be just as smug as him.
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 8:39 pm
Terry started to reply to the older man, then just blinked at the two teenagers. "I'm not the original Batman," he allowed carefully, then continued in a somewhat sharper tone, "I'm also not Jason, whoever he is." His eyes flicked briefly over the Robin, then settled on the girl. "...And you are... who?"
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 9:06 pm
"Fine, 'not-Jason'... I am Red Cardinal."
She stepped over to Robin. If he made any sudden moves she was going to protect Robin.
"Tim, if he tries to do anything I want you to leave. This is probably not Jason... Jason is honest, but he could still be dangerous."
Robin nodded. The last thing they wanted now was to get caught up at the cave. They still had to get back to the institute and help... Tim held his staff in front of him as he stood in a firm defensive position. Something in his mind circled back on him... it was nagging, and very important, but Tim couldn't pinpoint what it was.
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 9:15 pm
Terry regarded them flatly for a beat, completely intending to make some sort of dry remark and leave (it wasn't like he had time to deal with this, anyway) then his eyes widened as his tired brain picked up on a detail of what the girl had said. "... Tim?" he repeated quickly, "... As in Tim Drake?" There was clear surprise in his voice, as well as something else--something harder to define. It almost sounded like he was waiting for them to shout, 'Only kidding!' as loudly as they could.
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 9:15 pm
Still ready to act if it was neccessary, Des added, "And I'm called Nightshade. Crazy question: Which world are you actually from?" Then more to his associates, "With all the world-merging.... It's not out of the realm of possiblities. Think about String Theory."
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 9:27 pm
 (had to throw a picture in there) This was definitely not the response Robin was expecting. Had he met this man somewhere before? Or maybe he was from a different timeline. That's when it hit him. Tim's arm that clutched to the staff dropped down to his side and he stood in a straighter position.
"You're the 'future' Batman Oracle was talking about, aren't you."
Any Batman would pick out his name in a conversation... at least, that's how it was looking from here. This made a little more sense. Just a little, and just enough.
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 9:41 pm
Something in the bat's face closed off completely, leaving it as remote as Bruce's ever got. "I don't know any Oracle," he replied, his voice just as unreadable as his face, "But yeah." He stared at Tim for another beat, then shook his head once, sharply, as if to clear it. "I have to go," he continued more curtly, turning toward the north entrance again.
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 9:53 pm
Nightshade put his Mauser back into its shoulder holster, "Alright, but if you're interested, we trying to stop government assassins from killing off all the Titans. Their trying to hide their involvement in a bioweapons project. Want to help, Batman?"
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 10:11 pm
This future Batman's expressions confused him. It's not like knowing his name would be any more surprising than seeing him soley as 'Robin'. Tim nodded at what Nightshade said.
"Yeah, one of those assassins almost knocked me out cold... we need all the help we could get. They've gotten to several teens..."
Tim felt at his abdomen, where Castel had kneed him several times, along with where a bullet grazed him. The aching was almost completely gone, since Kai helped with the healing process.
"It's Barbara Gordon, 'Oracle' that is... anyway..."
Red Cardinal shook her head feeling as though she was going to suggest something idiotic...
"You know, if you need help, one of us could go with you..."
She blushed. Kai never met a person like Jason who didn't want to shoot her. An onset of teen crush like angst began to fill her mind. "No, No RC, Robin and I need to help Oracle..." she thought to herself. She put her smoke bomb away slowly into her belt.
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 10:24 pm
Terry regarded the pair of them for a second, obviously thinking. He'd started a bit when they'd said that Barbara Gordon was this Oracle person, but other than that, he'd remained as coolly unreadable as ever. Finally, he shook his head. "Your team can't afford to lose anyone, and I've got too much going on to take time out and help," he said in a flat tone, then paused and continued slowly. "I'll give you the frequency to my com link. If you desperately need backup, I'll see what I can do."
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 10:41 pm
Tim looked at Kai, his eyes widened a bit by her last suggestion. He looked back up at Batman.
"That's understandable... and, if you want my frequency, and Babs's...."
Robin took out his communicator from a pocket on his belt with a swipe of the arm and temporarily clicked the staff to its smaller form; he placed it in its spot, attached to Tim's back.
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 10:50 pm
Batman's mouth twitched up into a little smirk at Barbara's nickname, but the expression was short lived; he was just too worried about too many things. The next few minutes were primarily spent syncing com devices. "Anything else?" he asked when they had finished, voice noncommittal... but somehow, underneath that, subtly impatient.
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 10:58 pm
"Sounds like you have a lot on your plate. Well, do what you must, and we'll keep you appraised. Just .... don't get tunnel vision out there. I did that a time or two, and it almost cost me. Don't get yourself burnt out," Nightshade offered.
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 11:04 pm
Tim stared at Batman for a moment. He was acting differently from when he first appeared.
"Are you alright...?"
Kind of a vague question, considering the circumstances.... but at the same time, Robin couldn't help but feel something in the last ten minutes went wrong for the young bat.
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 11:18 pm
"Fine," he replied shortly, then winced visibly as he realized how much he was sounding like the old man. "...It's been... a really long couple of weeks," he added carefully, nodding slightly in silent acknowledgment to Nightshade. Really valid point. He was definitely headed in that direction, and he knew it, but he couldn't let himself slow down-- not with things the way they were.
And TIm... He was older. What had happened in Terry's world clearly hadn't happened here. Yet. That was good, right? Of course it was. Now he just had to make damn sure that it wouldn't happen in the future, either. How would he do that? Find the Joker and put him in a full body cast. Ooooooh yes. As if kidnapping little girls hadn't been reason enough, here was another excellent one.
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