( closed )

[brat]

WHO: bats & co
WHEN: April 30th-ish.
WHERE: Wayne Manor
WHAT: an important meeting.
NOTES\WARNINGS:

( with the announcement comes a need to prepare; one that, unfortunately for most of their group, requires planning together. thus, those from gotham and close associates either receive a ping on their devices, coded with instructions of when to meet up, or - a note left where they'd find it, equally coded, because no one's leaving obvious meeting notes behind.

the manor's massive living space is where everyone settles, rather than the cave. not all of them arrived in uniform, and considering goliath has made himself comfortable and is taking a nap - well. it's best not to disturb him. )

Comments

the flash (not barry allen) | ota!

[accelerate]

[ He's late, which he can't really be blamed for. This is the first time he's been invited to Wayne Manor in secret code. Which door does he enter via? Is he meant to knock? Is there a secret knock?

The Flash skids inside Wayne Manor in a burst of golden kinetic energy, mindful of the floors and other knickknacks inside (he's late, but he's not a rude guest!). After Arsenal had informed him about the Bats' get-together pre-labyrinth, he felt that it was an invitation to come along.

(Is the Batman here? That guy is so cool—)

Anyway.

He has a soda in one hand and a burger in the other. Here to learn the lay of the land, get a headcount, and maybe see if there are any other childhood besties he should be aware of—

And to learn from those who were here for the first mission. Slurping loudly, he frowns in his cowl and gestures towards what would be Goliath.

When he speaks, his voice vibrates - ]

This really is a bat hangout, huh?

[her_own_rules]

[ Barbara's first instinct is still to look up, half-expecting Wally, at the flash of light and blur of color coming to a stop, the room invaded by a brand voice while it's wide-eyed, taking in the overly large Dragon Bat who has somehow managed to fit himself in there and be taken for granted as just fitting and being expected by most of them—especially with Damian taking his pets into the labyrinth with him.

There's a faint raise of eyebrows as she looks at this next face that is familiar-but-not from her spot at the table, already surrounded by an open laptop, a notepad with a lot of non-word coding, and a cup of coffee. ] Between your username and the costume, I'm assuming it's Barry, right?


[ She does already know. He's said it on the network with no privacy setting anywhere,
but Barbara is nothing if not entirely ready to start with unfailing politeness. ]

puts hand over timestamp

[accelerate]

Me? Barry? I'm the Flash.

[ He laughs awkwardly. Barry's never been good at not fumbling the ball when it comes to his secret identity. He considers trying. Gives it a second's worth of consideration before…

Sighing heavily. Is there any point? She's already put two and two together. Sometimes, it's just easier to be a failure at the whole secret identity thing. (Besides, Robin is here, and if Robin is here, that means she's well-versed in superheroes. SHe must be part of his team. Team Bird.) ]

Yeah. I'm Barry. Nice to meet you.

doesn't exist!!

[her_own_rules]

Barbara. [ She held out a hand. ] But it'll be Batgirl in there.

[ She considers him for a second, but she hasn't actually followed absolutely everything about their conversations. ] Are you from the same world as our new Dick? Or another one completely, as well?

god bless ❤️

[accelerate]

Uh.

[ Unfortunately, he hasn't experienced Crisis on Infinite Earths yet. Barry squints for a moment. ]

May…be?

[ He's yet to figure out if there's an Earth identifier. ]

I might say another one just to be completely safe. I'd rather be surprised than encourage disappointment if we're not.

[ The scrunch of his face relaxes. ]

But does Batgirl mean… [ let him keep his cool here. ] you work with Batman?

[her_own_rules]

[ His answer is sensible enough there. They can't be sure until the two of them have that discussion actually, and who knows if they exist in the same world and don't know each other. Though, Barbara finds the whole concept strange. Unlikely.

But they are in here there be dragons & multiverses,
and things don't always match up to the logic she'd like them to here.

And then there's that question.

Barbara's smile is amused, this side of teasing,
and she does her best not to shake her head. ]

That's probably a safe assumption, right?

[accelerate]

[ !!! !!! !! Batman is so close!!!!

Batgirl is cool, too, obviously. Despite the internal !!!, Barry remains cool, calm, and collected. ]

I try to avoid making assumptions. You know what they say. [ With a shrug and a sheepish smile - ] I often make an ass out of myself.

[her_own_rules]

[ Closer than he knows. But Barbara's a long way into this game, and neither her posture nor gaze strays toward Bruce's younger version in this room. She remains at ease, even if her expression does keep its amused bent.

How many people has she watched fan 'The Bat' in her time.
It never ends. But then Bruce has done so much for Gotham.
Barbara doesn't think they should ever forget it.
(Even without ever knowing the costs.)

There's the flick of a smirk. ]

I hear that's a very speedster trait.

Maybe something about your mouth moving faster than your brain?

[accelerate]

[ He laughs and scratches the back of his neck, expression sheepish. ]

I like to think of it as one of the only bad things about being a speedster. Sometimes I'm too fast for myself.

[ Leave it to Barry to find the positive in everything. Dropping his arm, he crosses them against his chest. He furrows his brow and tilts his head as he regards her curiously. ]

How familiar are you with speedsters?

[her_own_rules]

[ It's nice—almost familiar—in the way he takes to the lightness and teasing so easily. It reminds her of the other him—so many of the other Speedsters. Bruce and Dick's best friends and teammates through the years. The kids and the adults, several generations intersecting with several of them. ]

Back home—very.

Here? [ There's that mischievous peek of eyebrows and the sparkle of emerald eyes again. ] It's a work in progress,
but he looks like he might care about the same kinds of things, and I have my hopes up.

[ Don't mind the 3rd person complimentary there. A beat. ]
Even if Batman will die to find out, he's a fanboy.

[accelerate]

[ Another person familiar with— Maybe Barry should just assume everyone knows a speedster until proven otherwise. It might lessen the headaches.

None of that matters because— ]

A fanboy?

[ He draws his brows together. A fanboy of who?????? ]