metalogs | (closed) Love takes off the masks we fear we cannot live without

Things literally hadn't been going their way. Every time there was something planned, they had to unplan it. To the point where, by this point, they'd both lost a bit of money to reservation cancellations.

Still, Dick had a good feeling about tonight. He'd helped Tim get squared away, made sure Haley was fed, checked his hair again before heading to the Italian place via public transport, because they needed to work on the parking situation in the new building.

So it's only a minute or so after Babs gets there that Dick appears, wearing a dark blue suit and lightly checked shirt with no tie. Nothing too formal. He DOES absolutely pause a moment as he sees her, glancing up and down quickly before smiling widely, raising his hand to greet her, jogging over to kiss her cheek lightly. "You look incredible, Babs."

He has absolutely brought a tie in case he needs it.

"Not bad yourself." She'd forgotten how good he looked in formal or semiformal wear. Then again, he tends to look good in, or out, of anything.

They enter the restaurant, after she slips her arm into his -- no use letting anyone mistakenly think he's by himself tonight. It was a shame that her and Dick hadn't worked out as a couple at home, they made better friends than anything more, as they definitely made a cute couple. As the looks from some of the other couples suggested.

By the time the maître d’ walked them back to their table, Barbara was about ready to order. Something smelled fantastic. She put in an order for water to start, anything else would depend on what she ended up ordering to eat.

Since he IS dating his Babs back home, it generally means having to remind himself once or twice that this isn't the same Babs. More because he doesn't want to do anything unconsciously that would unnerve her. She and her Dick Grayson had broken up. So he can do friendly dates.

He can.

He does pull out her chair, though, because Alfred taught him manners. And smiles a little sheepishly as he takes his own chair, also ordering water. "I don't know what it is, exactly, but there's something that smells amazing here. I couldn't figure out which table it was coming from, so all I can say is that the food all looks fantastic, too."

Friend dates are totally a thing, even on Valentine's Day. Especially when one of the friends needs to spend time out with another adult instead of being the adult in the room. Dick was going to end up going gray before his time with everything going on with the others. This was just a happy distraction.

"Right? Looks like the reviews don't lie just going by smell alone." Opening the menu, she goes straight to the pastas. "I think I found it, Mushroom Marsala. Smoked onions and leeks, mushrooms, kale, sun dried tomatoes, and tagliatelle."

It's what she orders along with a starter of Burrata Caprese and a glass of pinot noir when the waiter comes to check on them.

It wouldn't be that surprising if Dick started finding a few shoots of silver one of these days. Times like these, he understood why Alfred had gone white so early, and he'd only had to deal with Bruce.

"That does sound pretty good," Dick agrees, looking over the menu himself before finally deciding on the Tuna Tartar as a starter with Chicken Parmigiana for the main. He debates for a moment, then adds a glass of sauvignon blanc as well. He doesn't drink much these days, but a nice night out seems like a good time for it.

There's a quiet moment as they watch the waiter leave to put in their orders before Barbara looks over at him and just smiles. "So, how are the kids?"

Honestly, it's not a surprise that Dick is looking out for anyone, it's what he does. That Jason has done the same is a good look, but she can't tell Jason that. She knows he wouldn't take it well. Dick on the other hand...

"Enjoying the idea of dad's night out?"

The fact that it's only one kid, really, is maybe more of the surprise. But being guardian for himself would have been too weird, Dick thinks.

The question makes him laugh, shaking his head as he takes a sip of water. "I'm definitely not complaining about a night out. Tim's pretty easy, really, though there's still a few rough spots. But he's having a couple of friends over to stay the night. So they're probably going to be up snacking, watching movies and playing video games all night." He shakes his head slightly. "Tim's a lot easier than Damian in a lot of ways, at least."

Dick smiles at her. "What about you? Feeling bad for leaving your computers behind? That's nearly like a mom's night out, right?" Just lightly teasing. Oracle and Batgirl both had been important in information gathering and keeping people safe.

Edited 2024-02-10 19:44 (UTC)

"Any programs can run without me. Besides, I prefer being out from the desk as often as possible. I know Jason has been trying to get TJ to work as an Oracle substitute, and I'm happy to let him take the role." She had hated having to sit still, safe, while directing others into danger. Her father's daughter, staying out of things didn't sit well with her.

It also didn't seem right how different everything is between their different worlds. Not when it came to the younger versions, or how much their Bruces had failed the Jasons.

"You make a good father figure anyway. I'm just the big sister with all the tech."

"Well, you're absolutely TJ's favorite." It's jokingly said, for all that TJ is most like Babs in the tech stakes. Though he absolutely understands the need to get out and do things. More now than he did before.

"I don't know how good of a father I'm being. I'm trying, but I keep asking myself 'what would Alfred do?', like it's some sort of talisman."

"Of course I am, I don't punish or ground anyone." Just one of many reasons she's the big sis and not a substitute mom.

"And that sounds like the perfect mantra, honestly." If his Alfred was anything like the one at home, she knows he'd be proud of what Dick was doing. He was part of what was keeping them all together. He always would. "That should be one of the first things we ask ourselves about everything."

Not about whether they should eat the appetizers that were brought out to them soon after their drinks were served, however. That was a given, right up until the point that someone ran into the restaurant. Barbara couldn't see the man, but he was yelling about a kid out on the street, pointing a weapon at one of the neighboring buildings.

She took one look at the table and then up at Dick. There was really only one thing they could do.

Dick snorts slightly. "I'd like to see anybody try to ground Jason." Either one of them. And they probably should, honestly.

Food arrives just in time to keep Dick from having to say more about Alfred and everything that entails. He just flashes her a grin and starts eating.

Of course, as per usual, he doesn't even actually get a bite before somebody runs in, shouting about a kid on the street with a weapon. He looks to the table, to Babs, then to the sky. "Couldn't even wait until after the appetizer?" he says, not expecting an answer as he pushes back from the table. "You think we have time to change?" he asks, fishing out his wallet and dropping enough notes to cover what had been brought to the table, at least, before starting for the door.

"Time to go to work." There's a mix of amusement and disappointment in her voice. One day things will go their way. That night was obviously not this one.

With everyone running scared toward the back of the building, she headed for the restroom. Superman and his phone booth days had nothing on her. "Back in a flash."

She was as good as her word and back out dressed for the night in no time. The man with a gun, is more a kid standing in the rain playing with a laser. Sure, the kid is wearing the markings of the BLUE SABERS, but he's still just a dumb kid messing with something he has no business using.

"So where are all the big heroes at? I want to test out this new toy, and all I see are ants running from the rain." He points the laser at one of the cars parked on the street and fires.

Dick's change is a little faster, honestly. Because all he really needs to do is get undressed. Mr. Terrific had made the uniform thin enough to be worn under normal clothes. And with his powers, he just needed something he could open and shut to store his clothes and get his boots and mask.

So he's ready and waiting when Babs joins him outside. "Lasers. Great. Haven't seen those in a while. Bet they're not as nice as Freeze's."

"With Freeze, I could switch my ton fa to fire." There's no switch for anti-laser.

The car explodes, with burning pieces flying everywhere. "You want him or crowd control?" Because romantic strolls in the rain are a thing some people do, when they aren't running around like panicked children because it's ~~Gotham~~ Central City on a day ending in y. Then again, people have decided to stop panicking and to watch instead. Some stand on the sidewalk wondering what the fuss is about. Some are under the restaurant's canopy outside the building.

Because that's a choice when a gang member is threatening to shoot people.

Dick pulls out his escrima, glancing around. "Why do they always stop to watch?" he wonders before shaking his head. "I can do crowd control if you want to take him. Ladies first, after all."

It's not like this isn't something they've done dozens of times. Not with each other, no, but with their versions of each other. It'll be fine.

"Go save the people, Boy Wonder." Barbara runs toward the gang member, a set of batarangs already in hand. Closer to him, she jumps, letting the projectiles go to land near his feet. She lands with a kick to his knee, throwing off his aim once more. The next shot goes wide and hits the large glass window of the restaurant.

"Hey, I didn't get to try the dessert yet, let alone my meal. Can you not destroy the place?" Seriously. The kid takes aim again, refusing to drop the weapon. She refuses to give up on him, though. He's too young for this.

"No one's been hurt yet, you can just put the laser down, and we can call it a night. You go with the cops, I go back to dinner. What do you say?" She spins one of her ton fa and smiles, "Otherwise, one of us is not going to be walking out of here on their own power."

The kid seems to be thinking about the offer. He wasn't looking at much beyond property damage. She steps closer to him -- close enough to hear the loud whine coming from the weapon in his hands. There's no hesitation on her part, he may be a criminal, but that doesn't mean he deserves to die any more than anyone else does. Managing to knock the weapon out of his hands, Barbara puts herself between him and the explosion.

When Nightwing reaches her, there's a large shard of glass sticking out of her chest and more blood around her than should be possible. She manages a faint, "Dick, don't..." before fading away.

It happens so fast.

One of the Supers would have been able to get in between Babs and the explosion.

One of the Flashes would have either dismantled the gun or just taken the gun to throw into the Grand Canyon or something similar.

Diana or Donna could have done similar to the Supers. Kory would, too. So many of their friends would have done...more.

But Dick? Dick's only human. And busy away from things, trusting Babs to be able to talk the kid down or at least get the gun away from him. He's trying to keep the crowd under control, get people out of the area. Which is why he doesn't hear the whine until he hears a gasp from the crowd and sound of the gun hitting the ground.

"Everybody down!" he shouts, even as he turns. Just in time to see Babs put herself between the kid and the gun. Just in time to see the gun explode, blowing Babs and the kid back.

"No!" It's cliche, maybe, but Dick doesn't even think as he runs forward, ignoring the one or two cuts on his face where shrapnel caught him. The kid is still down as Dick reaches them. He gives the guy a withering glance. "Stay where you are. Wait for the cops. If I have to find you after this, it's not going to go well."

It's not that Dick doesn't hear what Babs says. It's not that he doesn't hear the way she trails off, nor is it as though he doesn't notice the large amount of blood. He does. He sees and hears all of it. But he still reaches up, tapping his ear comm so he can talk as he gathers Babs in his arms. "Rook. I need you on my location, stat." He shifts her over, so that he can use the grapple in his stick to get them to a nearby rooftop. "I've got you. Just hold on."

Don't blame yourself, is what she was trying to say. That and so much more. None of it comes, though. Nothing does as she finds herself standing on the rooftop watching what's going on around her.

She's never been much of a believer in spiritual things, things she can't hold or process. She believes in people, in the good or evil that they can do. In the things she knows they can accomplish even when they don't believe in themselves. Seeing Dick like this, she's not so sure anymore.

Kneeling down, Barbara runs her fingers through his hair. It's an attempt at some kind of comfort, yet she doubts he feels anything of her.

"You should be proud Warrior, you died a hero. There is a place waiting for you in Valhalla with the einherjar." At the voice, Barbara stands and takes a hard look at the speaker. If it weren't for the speech, she might mistake the woman for an Amazon, but Amazons are Greek. Valhalla and the einherjar are Norse, which can only mean that this woman is a Valkyrie.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not--" "Dead? You wouldn't believe how often I've heard that." "I was going to say Norse."

"That doesn't always matter. You have the spirit and the heart of one. That is what matters." The Valkyrie reaches out a hand to Barbara. "Come now.

Barbara moves to join her, but a raven lands on the Valkyrie's shoulder, beak pressed close to her ear. She listens, nods along to what the raven is whispering to her. "Congratulations. It seems Odin has decided to offer you a choice," she imparts. "Join him in Valhalla, or become a Valkyrie and shepherd those who die in battle to their reward."

"While I have no problem fighting for those who can't fight for themselves, my heart's not into the battle before the end. Of course, if I'm still around come Ragnarök, I'd be happy to help out. There's just other things I'd like to take care of first."

The Valkyrie laughs as if she expected the answer. "Then return, sister, and we shall see each other another time."

With that comment, the Valkyrie disappears and Barbara realizes everything is fading into a double reality that ends when she takes a sudden breath and finds herself back in her body. Reaching out, she places a hand on Dick's face, "Please tell me you feel that."

The discussions with his brothers get him moving. Dick's not sure how long he might have sat in shock, otherwise. TJ's good at getting his brain back in gear, at least, so it's only a matter of maybe thirty seconds before he starts CPR.

Like he tells Jason. Babs back home had never given up on him, even when he was at his lowest, when he'd blanked the entire family and walked away. He's not about to give up on any version of her.

His gloves are bloody, and he knows it's a losing battle. Especially when the piece of metal that was buried in Babs' chest falls out. The compressions, his brain supplies, even as he leans down for another breath--

--which she does entirely on her own.

Dick pauses, only inches from her face as she keeps breathing, then reaches up for him. His lenses retract with a shift of his eyebrows so that he can stare down at her fully. "Babs?" And his voice breaks completely as he reaches down, pulling her up into a hug.

Not as hard as he'd like because her ribs may be aching for a while.

[ Coming through the portal into an alley - empty, wasting time checking the location the tracker. It’s the building over there.

He doesn’t even run towards it, just fires his grappling hook at the billboard atop the building. As soon as the roof is below him, he just lets go of the gun and drops the ten feet down to the tar top roof.

Rook runs over, pulling off his gloves on the way.

(And doesn’t that send him back years, running inside his dad’s house and stripping off the costume so he wouldn’t know.)

(It’s fine. She’ll be fine. He can’t do that to Dick.)

Doesn’t even tell Dick to let her go, just grabs her arm and tries to heal her. It’ll work.

(It’s not working. ) ]

Okay, she should have expected that. As it is, she doesn't move from the hug until Tim grabs her. She turns to look at him, "Rook, I'm good. Cancel the alert."

Good. She's shaken and trying to figure out how much of that dream was real, but she's alive. The material of her suit is ripped where the shard had been, there's blood everywhere, but the skin underneath only shows a fading red line like a fresh scar.

Dick finally comes up for air once Babs moves. Makes it very obvious that she's fine. Well, alive. Fine is probably not something that's going to be entirely true for a bit.

He takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he straightens. There's blood all over him as well, but that's to be expected with as much blood as there is on Babs. "She woke up just before you got here." And part of him thinks he should be suspicious about that. Maybe he should. But he literally doesn't have the mental bandwidth to deal with that thought.

He only lets go when he can’t find anything to heal - and not before giving Barbara a look like she’s grown a third head.

The blood, the gouge on her uniform, its position, the scar. She shouldn’t be able to boss him around.

(Stop looking at the scar.)

He needs a minute, and whether or not Batgirl planned it, she’s given him an out. “I’ll - tell them you’re okay and get Heron and Wren to take over the scene.”

From the other side of the rooftop away from the blood and chest wounds. He can ask Dick later. Or not.

(Not sounds good.)

She's going to have to ask how she just traumatized Tim beyond the obvious later. Poor Dick is going to be dealing with a lot of things later.

As Tim walks away, Barbara realizes she's holding something in her other hand. She looks down at the metal object and takes a sharp breath. "Not a dream, then. I met a Valkyrie."

There's going to be a lot of explaining and comforting later. Dick's gaze tracks his little brother across the rooftop, gauging and judging that Tim probably needs space more than anything at the moment. Which means he'll have to track him down later for the proper thanks and apology.

Babs speaking makes him look back down, then frown slightly. "A Valkyrie?" he repeats, more of a question before shaking his head. Compartmentalizing a little because there's only one way for somebody to meet a Valkyrie and if he concentrates on that part too long, he's going to have to acknowledge that she actually died and that's going to bring up more questions than he has time for now. "Later," he finally says. "I'm not sure I'm able to confront that on this rooftop right now."

Rook says she's fine, and Kesrtel's walking with purpose up to her and Nightwing, confirming she's up and breathing before letting his shoulders loosen a little and - taking a step back with a foot to angle himself back towards Wren.

"She's alright, but we've got cops an' cameras down below." Rook walked away, which is a good enough sign as any that he needs some space. He can work with that. "Rook, can you handle clearing footage? Wren and I 'll clear out the crowd."

Figure out what the hell happened and track down who did it is more like it. But he's not saying that out loud; they can all read between the lines well enough.

Dozens of scenarios had gone through his head when he'd heard 'she's not breathing.' None of them live up to the reality. His breath hitches at the sight. It's so much blood. She shouldn't be alive. But she's there with just a fading wound.

He's glad for his mask, because he thinks he might have teared up a little. But then Kestrel snaps him out of his pain-confusion-relief. It's not difficult to understand the message-- someone did this to her and they have to pay. His expression hardens and his body goes taught, as if ready to fight.

"Let's go," he says quietly with ice in his voice.

Later. There's a nod in response as the key, or whatever it is, disappears into her belt. No need to bring in the others until they've had time to figure it out themselves. There are other concerns first.

Hers override the others. "Just a dumb kid. Made a mistake." She needs Dick to make sure Jay and Dickie understand that she is not going to be happy if she just saved someone, and they hurt him. "Remind them. Please."

Because she needs him to focus on things other than he just saw his multiverse girlfriend die. Then she can focus on other things besides that as well.

It's why he needs to think about the whole Valkyrie thing in a place that isn't where Babs died in his arms. When he's had a chance to change and get the blood off of his uniform.

For the moment, he pushes to his feet, offering a hand to Babs. "You heard the lady," he calls to Heron and Wren. Because he knows they did, but Babs did say to remind them. "He's a dumb kid. So he should definitely make it to the police with everything still attached."

Does that give his brothers a lot of leeway? Well, broken bones still heal.

He looks around for something he can open. "Anybody have a bag I can use real quick? Just need to get my hand in."

"It's called pockets."

He's trying to keep his voice more - light, less angry. Because he's really, really fucking angry. At the person who got Babs killed before whatever brought her back, at Nightwing, for panic calling in Tim without first verifying if Tim would make it out of trying to patch Babs back together okay. The fact he hasn't jumped straight off the building to go hunt down the kid or gone in to fuck up Grayson's face speaks volumes on the level of self-control he's exerting here. But he also knows what Nightwing's looking for, exactly, so with an overly dramatic roll of his eyes, Kestrel's yanking off the black leather jacket he's been sporting. Tosses it over towards Nightwing. It has plenty of pockets, pockets of all sizes, full of all sorts of fun toys.

He's now a good seventy percent less armed. Not that it'd stop him from fucking over someone if he wanted to, but. Jacket removed, his attention turns back over towards Wren. Puts an arm around his shoulder and starts leading him towards the edge of the building. "See? This's why we don't follow big bird's example. Guy doesn't even have pockets." And over his shoulder, back towards Nightwing and Batgirl. "'m not a monster, I'm not gonna fuck up some stupid kid."

A few broken bones don't count as fucking them up. That heals.

"Got the IPs of everything with a wifi or bluetooth connection in the vicinity." He doesn't expect anyone's going to hear him at this distance, but it's the official update.

He won't be long pulling the data and will come back later with more gear to take more of a blunt tool approach to what's left. He has to give the police something to blame the lack of evidence on.

(closed) Love takes off the masks we fear we cannot live without

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cw: injury/blood/death

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