BATMAN: META
It's not everyday that the cave is infested with so many people. Cassandra Cain, or Batgirl as she's best known as, knew that Batman would never allow these people in here. True, they were the Justice League after all, but she knew he had never completely trusted anyone outside of his 'immediate family'.
The only reason such an intrusion was allowed was because Batman had been sleeping for three days now and Nightwing had been the one to call the League to the cave.
Batgirl stood in her usual silence next to Robin, Tim Drake. His usual bright mood was beginning to return to him. Since Batman had gone missing, Robin had been taking up the gloomy gap in the Bat team. Nightwing had been too busy to brood. He was sitting, with his back to the computer, where he had been sitting for the past month. Its going to take a new chair to get his imprint off of its cusion.
Standing in front of Nightwing, across from Robin and Batgirl, stood the Justice League. Superman, the man of steel, was ever the bright spirit. He stood out in the cave like a 300 watt light bulb in a broom closet. Behind him, the amazonian princess Diana, or what the world has come to call her, Wonder Woman. Her warrior eyes almost overpowered the extreme feminine features of her face. The martian named J'onn J'onz stood in a statue-like pose. Cassandra had noticed the martian's posture when she was identifying each league member's body language. She even wondered if J'onn had intentionally done this to confuse her. She was told that Green Lantern and Hawkgirl were on duty in the Watchtower.
Finally, there was the Flash.
She could write a book from observing Flash's body language from just five minutes of watching him. What started to strike her the most was how he kept taking time from conversation to glance at her and Wonder Woman's physical features.
Cassandra was somewhat alarmed by that trend.
"I'm nott really good at this", Nightwing finally began as everyone began to listen. "But I should start out by saying thanks for coming here. And I'm especially thankfull for all of you not telling Batman, in the future, about all of you being here".
That remark got a chuckle from all except Cassandra.
"Of course I'll tell him", she thought. "This may concern him too".
"But anyway, getting back to my reason for all of you being here", NIghtwing continued in a darker tone. "I'm sure from all of us working together with Batman, we know him to be quite.....difficult. I'm sure all of you have had a run in of sort with him along the way".
NIghtwing paused briefly to receive nods of understanding from everyone.
"From my years of experience with him, I know for a fact what happened in Egypt with Ras is not something he's gonna get over easily". NIghtwing paused again, continuing to find a way to convey his thoughts.
"Look", Nightwing uneasily said, "Bat....Bruce, is a good man".
"We don't doubt that, Dick", Diana helped
"We have worked together long enough to understand what he wanted from us", J'onn added.
"And what he wanted from himself is something we came to respect", Superman finished.
Dick almost wanted to forget his past troubles with Bruce. But Barbera told him once 'Some hurts never go away'.
"What Master Dick is trying to say", Aflred continued coming from nowhere. "Is that Master Bruce will no doubt take a leave of absence from any team oriented work for quite some time".
Alfred had always been the one to translate Bruce Wayne to anyone who seemed to misunderstand Bruce's tendancies. He also had a way of comforting those with his father-like presence. Even the members of the Justice League could not help but to admire that man.
"It is also certain", Alfred continued, "that he will surely feel less capable of performing his duties, thus thrusting himself into constant training and various experiments to advance his well rounded skills".
"So", Flash actually spoke. "Bats is gonna be flyin' solo for a while. That's typical. I don't see what the big deal...."
"What I'm trying to say", Nightwing interrupted. "Is that I don't think he's gonna wake up the same person he was. What Ras did to him, I can't tell for sure yet. What is for sure is that Bruce cannot walk off of the very edge he's been mastering for the past ten years"
Cassandra noticed the constant shifting in Nightwing's posture. She saw Robin and Wonder Woman nearly mimic his movments.
"What do you suggest?", Wonder Woman finally asked.
"For the time being, I'll take over all of Batman's duties in Gotham, and in the League if neccessary", Nightwing began. "As for Robin and Batgirl, I was thinking that maybe they should see what its like to function around a....less depressing enviroment for the next couple of weeks".
"And what of Bruce?", Superman asked.
"It would be best if he had some time alone", Robin said.
"Also, I think its a good bet that none of you should contact him until he feels ready", Dick added. "He may not be ready to resume any JL activity for a long time".
Cassandra noticed the league members having an unspoken conversation with eachother. The only physical difference was J'onn's glowing yellow eyes.
"Agreed", Superman spoke.
"Thanks", Nightwing exhaled.
"Uh", Robin began. "What do you mean by that whole 'less depressing enviorment' thing?"
"What he means, Robin", Wonder Woman began. "Is that for the next few weeks, you will spend a little time in the watchtower with the League."
Robin couldn't help but let out an 'ALRIGHT!!' when he heard that news. Cassandra however didn't seemed all to thrilled.
"Cassandra, is everything alright?"
Batgirl nearly jumped at the voice in her head. She panned around the cave for the source, only to find J'onn staring at her, with a gentle look that only the martian could produce.
"Yes"
Cassandra Cain had, for the first time in her life, heard her own voice in her head speak without strained concentration. She stood in a loud silence this time, looking at Robin who himself had noticed her shift in body language.
"Hey Cass", Robin began. "We're gonna be in space!!"
Cassandra put Robin in happy, yet painfull embrace. However the thought of being in space did not cause her emotional expression.
"It...w..ould....be...n...nice tooo....make....it...there", Robin choked.
The rest of the occupants of the cave laughed at the youthfull moment before them. Nightwing had finally stood up from the computer chair, feeling the weight come off of him and walked towards Superman.
"How well can you handle Gotham?", Superman asked.
"Pretty well", Nightwing said, confused. "Why do you ask?"
J'onn stepped to Superman's side. "Because, if you wish, I will assist you by assuming Batman's form until he has awoken"
NIghtwing felt the good warm feelings start leave him.
"I'm not so sure thats a good idea", Nightwing said.
"Yeah", Robin added. "Remember when Superman did that?"
"That was a bit different, Tim", Superman said. "J'onn can not only assume Batman's appearence perfectly, but he can play off of what everyone else would expect of him."
After listening to Superman, Nightwing and Robin gave eactother the "Oh yeah" look.
"And if he has any problems assuming Master Bruce's role", Alfred added. "I'm sure I could assist in his portrayl".
Nightwing could already envision Batman choking the life from his body.
"Ok, we'll try that and see if it works", Nightwing finally agreed
"C'mon Cass!", Robin said, grabbing her arm. "We gotta pack!"
Wonder Woman watched as the young vigilantes ran to the steps that connected the cave to Wayne Manor.
"It's amazing that Batman is the guardian of these children", she said.
"Bats probably doesn't watch enough television", Flash said.
"You got that right, bro", Nightwing agreed.
Robin sat in the third row, and couldn't help but to stay glued to the front blastshield of the Javelin 7. He always dreamed of being in outerspace, and had almost begged Batman a couple of times to take him to the Watchtower.
Batgirl sat next to him with her head looking straight foward. She was having a telepathic conversation with J'onn that seemed to keep her undivided attention.
"Watchtower, this is Javelin 7", Flash said. "GL, we're comin' home"
"Roger that", John Stewert replied. "Opening hatch"
Robin watched as the home of the Justice League orbited the blue planet. His face betray-ing his training by showing his youthfullness.
"Whaddya think, big guy?", Flash asked Robin.
"Can't wait to spare with you guys", Robin said in a Batman Jr. tone
"I think you'll have to wait a little while for that", Superman said.
"Why is that?", Diana protested. "I think it would help his confidence if he became aware of where his skills lie among us".
"Yeah", Robin agreed. "Plus I would love to see how Cassie would stand up to you guys".
Cassandra broke her talk with the martian to give Robin the stare. It wouldn'tve been so scary if she had kept her mask on.
"Young Warriors you two may be", Diana said. "But experience agains foes who may seem unbeatable will only make you stronger".
J'onn gave a light snort when he heard Robin think "Whose unbeatable?".
As the Javelin entered the landing bay, Hawkgirl was waiting. Cassandra noticed her from looking out the window. She could already tell that Hawkgirl was a little annoyed.
As the bottom hatch opened, Superman was greeted by one of Hawkgirls glares.
"So when did we become a daycare?", she asked.
"Daycare?", Robin semi-shouted.
J'onn could already tell that Hawkgirl was not serious. When he asked her, she replied "Just giving them a hard time. Lets see how well they handle it."
"These two are Batman's pupils", Diana defended. "They are as welcome as any...."
She was interrupted by a telepathic message from J'onn stating the situation.
"....as anyone else who fights for..the..cause..", she finished trying to keep a straight face.
"I agree", Superman said, in perfect charactor. "I have worked with Tim before and he has proven his worth".
"Can we just get off of the jet?", Robin said starting to get impatient.
"Right, big guy", Flash said. "Lets get you to your temporary digs".
With that flash picked up Robin and zipped away to Robin's new room.
"Cassandra", Diana said."Come with me. I will show you your room".
"T..tank..you", Cassandra said.
A half an hour after their arrival, a small meeting was held in the war room of the Watch-tower. J'onn J'ozz, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and Superman were sitting at the table. Diana and Flash were seeing to the new tennants of the tower.
"So", Lantern began. "How bad is it?"
"Bad", Superman said. "Nightwing doesn't even want Robin or Batgirl around when Batman wakes up. He fears that he may be so obsessed with working alone that he may drive his own kids away from him".
"So, we let them stay here for a while", J'onn said. "I will assist Nightwing with the patrol of Gotham until Batman is ready to resume his normal activity".
Diana entered the war room with a troubled look on her face.
"Diana", Hawkgirl said concerned. "Is there something wrong?"
"Not really", Diana said."I just had some difficulty communicating with Cassandra. She seems to have trouble speaking. I don't remember Batman mentioning her condition before".
"Hmph. He probably envies her", Hawkgirl said jokingly.
"I will speak with her", J'onn said standing up."Her mind is capable of holding a conversa-tion even when her body fails her".
As J'onn walked out of the war room, Diana noticed something.
"Where are Robin and Flash?", she asked.
"We're tied, big guy", Flash said holding a controller.
"That's because my safety fell down", Robin said, also holding a controller.
They were in the recroom playing football on Flash's video game system for almost an hour now and cooking duty for Robin's time in the Watchtower was on the line.
Diana and Superman walked together towards the recroom, hearing the Flash hooting and hollering. Robin's "Aww dammit" could be heard as well.
As they entered, Diana walked directly behind the spot of the sofa where Robin was sitting Superman stood, with his arms crossed and a grin, at the doorway.
"Enjoying your sparring session, young one?", Diana asked standing over Robin.
"Uh.....", Robin said half surprised by her and Superman's presense. The other half was for the view of Diana's massive "woman hood" that stood above him.
"Flash, lookout is yours and Diana's tonight", Superman began. "Keep Robin and Batgirl busy with some work tonight".
"What kinda work?", Robin whinned.
"I think you would benefit from working the controls of the lookout station for at least two hours".
"Oh thank god", Robin breathed. "I thought you mean't like laundry or bathroom.cleaning".
"No", Diana said. "Flash gained those duties when I figured out how he was cheating at the same game you two are playing now".
Robin turned to physcially harm Flash who was already halfway to the lookout station.
"And Tim", Superman said."I want you to not worry about Bruce so much tonight. Alfred and Dick are with him and will keep a constant watch over him. There are times when I think his body can handle more than mine can".
With that, Superman left to assume his life back in Metropolis under the guise of Clark Kent. As Superman exited the recroom, Diana turned to the young bird.
"So Tim, are you ready for your first lesson", she said with a smirk that was returned in full.
Its not as difficult as it seems
Really?
Yes. Its just hard to explain things. Interracting doesn't require more than two are three words at a time. Batman does it on a regular basis.
J'onn laughed with Cassandra as she explained her life to the martian. She felt warm in his presense. Not only because he understood what she was saying, but because he just understood her. Robin probably understood her best out of the Bat Clan. However, she felt limited with her diffi-culty at speech. She recalled when Robin gave her a book of Nursery Rhymes to help her identify sound patterns. She seldom read from the book however. She didn't have the courage to ask Robin to help her read better.
J'onn, is Batman going to be alright?
I do not know for certain, but I would believe that he would not give in to anything without putting up a fight.
Do you think he'll be upset that Tim and I are up here?
J'onn sighed at her question.
That much, Cassandra, I do not know.
Call me Cassie. Tim does and I want you to also.
Very well, Cassie.
With that J'onn got up and left Cassandra in her new room. It was almost like a hotel room, bathroom, shower, comfortable bed, and satellite tv. She wondered if Robin was enjoying himself as well.
"Don't run", Diana nearly shouted. "Stand your ground and find a weakness".
"Against someone almost as strong as Superman?", Robin asked. "I just hope you can tire out".
Robin and Diana had been sparring for fifteen minutes and the only productivity shown on Robin's part was staying alive. Diana had been extremely strong, but Robin underestimated her fighting skill. She was able to read most of his movments before he made any attempts. He caught her a few times with a palm strike to her temple and a back kick to the back of her knees followed by an uneffective elbow to the back of her head. He noticed a slight whince coming from her, that only meant he was not the safest of beings.
"It seems that Batman has chosen rather well in his pupils", Diana said. "You will make an excellent heir to his place in the future Justice Leagues.
Tim Drake had never thought of his life as a right of passage. For the first time, he was pondering what his life might be when he grew out of the Robin costume.
Robin dropped out of his kempo stance and sat on the cold floor of the trainning room.
"Is something the matter?", Diana asked.
"Does he expect me to take over for him?", Tim asked.
Diana was caught off guard by the boy's question.She would be the first to admit that she didn't know a whole lot about Bruce Wayne, or The Batman for that matter. She had rarely seen or heard anything about Batman's pupils before his disapperance. Now Batman's youngest charge sat on the ground looking up to her for guidence she could not begin to help with.
"I don't know", she finally said. She walked beside Tim and sat down next to him."What I do know is that he rarely lets anyone in his personal life. I met him only once as Bruce Wayne. That was in Paris and by sheer coincidence. I think he let me interact with him as Bruce to make sure i didn't get in his way. As far as you and the rest of his children are concerned, you are his life that he protects from the world. He lets you fight among him so he can keep an eye on you".
Diana felt she finally discovered a significant idea of what the man known as Batman and Bruce Wayne must be like.
Tim sat digesting all what Diana said. It made him feel al little better, but obviously more thought would have to be done in the future.
"So...Paris huh?", Tim said. Tim noticed Diana's face somewhat change to a shade of crimson.
"Did he at least call you back?"
It's not everyday that the cave is infested with so many people. Cassandra Cain, or Batgirl as she's best known as, knew that Batman would never allow these people in here. True, they were the Justice League after all, but she knew he had never completely trusted anyone outside of his 'immediate family'.
The only reason such an intrusion was allowed was because Batman had been sleeping for three days now and Nightwing had been the one to call the League to the cave.
Batgirl stood in her usual silence next to Robin, Tim Drake. His usual bright mood was beginning to return to him. Since Batman had gone missing, Robin had been taking up the gloomy gap in the Bat team. Nightwing had been too busy to brood. He was sitting, with his back to the computer, where he had been sitting for the past month. Its going to take a new chair to get his imprint off of its cusion.
Standing in front of Nightwing, across from Robin and Batgirl, stood the Justice League. Superman, the man of steel, was ever the bright spirit. He stood out in the cave like a 300 watt light bulb in a broom closet. Behind him, the amazonian princess Diana, or what the world has come to call her, Wonder Woman. Her warrior eyes almost overpowered the extreme feminine features of her face. The martian named J'onn J'onz stood in a statue-like pose. Cassandra had noticed the martian's posture when she was identifying each league member's body language. She even wondered if J'onn had intentionally done this to confuse her. She was told that Green Lantern and Hawkgirl were on duty in the Watchtower.
Finally, there was the Flash.
She could write a book from observing Flash's body language from just five minutes of watching him. What started to strike her the most was how he kept taking time from conversation to glance at her and Wonder Woman's physical features.
Cassandra was somewhat alarmed by that trend.
"I'm nott really good at this", Nightwing finally began as everyone began to listen. "But I should start out by saying thanks for coming here. And I'm especially thankfull for all of you not telling Batman, in the future, about all of you being here".
That remark got a chuckle from all except Cassandra.
"Of course I'll tell him", she thought. "This may concern him too".
"But anyway, getting back to my reason for all of you being here", NIghtwing continued in a darker tone. "I'm sure from all of us working together with Batman, we know him to be quite.....difficult. I'm sure all of you have had a run in of sort with him along the way".
NIghtwing paused briefly to receive nods of understanding from everyone.
"From my years of experience with him, I know for a fact what happened in Egypt with Ras is not something he's gonna get over easily". NIghtwing paused again, continuing to find a way to convey his thoughts.
"Look", Nightwing uneasily said, "Bat....Bruce, is a good man".
"We don't doubt that, Dick", Diana helped
"We have worked together long enough to understand what he wanted from us", J'onn added.
"And what he wanted from himself is something we came to respect", Superman finished.
Dick almost wanted to forget his past troubles with Bruce. But Barbera told him once 'Some hurts never go away'.
"What Master Dick is trying to say", Aflred continued coming from nowhere. "Is that Master Bruce will no doubt take a leave of absence from any team oriented work for quite some time".
Alfred had always been the one to translate Bruce Wayne to anyone who seemed to misunderstand Bruce's tendancies. He also had a way of comforting those with his father-like presence. Even the members of the Justice League could not help but to admire that man.
"It is also certain", Alfred continued, "that he will surely feel less capable of performing his duties, thus thrusting himself into constant training and various experiments to advance his well rounded skills".
"So", Flash actually spoke. "Bats is gonna be flyin' solo for a while. That's typical. I don't see what the big deal...."
"What I'm trying to say", Nightwing interrupted. "Is that I don't think he's gonna wake up the same person he was. What Ras did to him, I can't tell for sure yet. What is for sure is that Bruce cannot walk off of the very edge he's been mastering for the past ten years"
Cassandra noticed the constant shifting in Nightwing's posture. She saw Robin and Wonder Woman nearly mimic his movments.
"What do you suggest?", Wonder Woman finally asked.
"For the time being, I'll take over all of Batman's duties in Gotham, and in the League if neccessary", Nightwing began. "As for Robin and Batgirl, I was thinking that maybe they should see what its like to function around a....less depressing enviroment for the next couple of weeks".
"And what of Bruce?", Superman asked.
"It would be best if he had some time alone", Robin said.
"Also, I think its a good bet that none of you should contact him until he feels ready", Dick added. "He may not be ready to resume any JL activity for a long time".
Cassandra noticed the league members having an unspoken conversation with eachother. The only physical difference was J'onn's glowing yellow eyes.
"Agreed", Superman spoke.
"Thanks", Nightwing exhaled.
"Uh", Robin began. "What do you mean by that whole 'less depressing enviorment' thing?"
"What he means, Robin", Wonder Woman began. "Is that for the next few weeks, you will spend a little time in the watchtower with the League."
Robin couldn't help but let out an 'ALRIGHT!!' when he heard that news. Cassandra however didn't seemed all to thrilled.
"Cassandra, is everything alright?"
Batgirl nearly jumped at the voice in her head. She panned around the cave for the source, only to find J'onn staring at her, with a gentle look that only the martian could produce.
"Yes"
Cassandra Cain had, for the first time in her life, heard her own voice in her head speak without strained concentration. She stood in a loud silence this time, looking at Robin who himself had noticed her shift in body language.
"Hey Cass", Robin began. "We're gonna be in space!!"
Cassandra put Robin in happy, yet painfull embrace. However the thought of being in space did not cause her emotional expression.
"It...w..ould....be...n...nice tooo....make....it...there", Robin choked.
The rest of the occupants of the cave laughed at the youthfull moment before them. Nightwing had finally stood up from the computer chair, feeling the weight come off of him and walked towards Superman.
"How well can you handle Gotham?", Superman asked.
"Pretty well", Nightwing said, confused. "Why do you ask?"
J'onn stepped to Superman's side. "Because, if you wish, I will assist you by assuming Batman's form until he has awoken"
NIghtwing felt the good warm feelings start leave him.
"I'm not so sure thats a good idea", Nightwing said.
"Yeah", Robin added. "Remember when Superman did that?"
"That was a bit different, Tim", Superman said. "J'onn can not only assume Batman's appearence perfectly, but he can play off of what everyone else would expect of him."
After listening to Superman, Nightwing and Robin gave eactother the "Oh yeah" look.
"And if he has any problems assuming Master Bruce's role", Alfred added. "I'm sure I could assist in his portrayl".
Nightwing could already envision Batman choking the life from his body.
"Ok, we'll try that and see if it works", Nightwing finally agreed
"C'mon Cass!", Robin said, grabbing her arm. "We gotta pack!"
Wonder Woman watched as the young vigilantes ran to the steps that connected the cave to Wayne Manor.
"It's amazing that Batman is the guardian of these children", she said.
"Bats probably doesn't watch enough television", Flash said.
"You got that right, bro", Nightwing agreed.
Robin sat in the third row, and couldn't help but to stay glued to the front blastshield of the Javelin 7. He always dreamed of being in outerspace, and had almost begged Batman a couple of times to take him to the Watchtower.
Batgirl sat next to him with her head looking straight foward. She was having a telepathic conversation with J'onn that seemed to keep her undivided attention.
"Watchtower, this is Javelin 7", Flash said. "GL, we're comin' home"
"Roger that", John Stewert replied. "Opening hatch"
Robin watched as the home of the Justice League orbited the blue planet. His face betray-ing his training by showing his youthfullness.
"Whaddya think, big guy?", Flash asked Robin.
"Can't wait to spare with you guys", Robin said in a Batman Jr. tone
"I think you'll have to wait a little while for that", Superman said.
"Why is that?", Diana protested. "I think it would help his confidence if he became aware of where his skills lie among us".
"Yeah", Robin agreed. "Plus I would love to see how Cassie would stand up to you guys".
Cassandra broke her talk with the martian to give Robin the stare. It wouldn'tve been so scary if she had kept her mask on.
"Young Warriors you two may be", Diana said. "But experience agains foes who may seem unbeatable will only make you stronger".
J'onn gave a light snort when he heard Robin think "Whose unbeatable?".
As the Javelin entered the landing bay, Hawkgirl was waiting. Cassandra noticed her from looking out the window. She could already tell that Hawkgirl was a little annoyed.
As the bottom hatch opened, Superman was greeted by one of Hawkgirls glares.
"So when did we become a daycare?", she asked.
"Daycare?", Robin semi-shouted.
J'onn could already tell that Hawkgirl was not serious. When he asked her, she replied "Just giving them a hard time. Lets see how well they handle it."
"These two are Batman's pupils", Diana defended. "They are as welcome as any...."
She was interrupted by a telepathic message from J'onn stating the situation.
"....as anyone else who fights for..the..cause..", she finished trying to keep a straight face.
"I agree", Superman said, in perfect charactor. "I have worked with Tim before and he has proven his worth".
"Can we just get off of the jet?", Robin said starting to get impatient.
"Right, big guy", Flash said. "Lets get you to your temporary digs".
With that flash picked up Robin and zipped away to Robin's new room.
"Cassandra", Diana said."Come with me. I will show you your room".
"T..tank..you", Cassandra said.
A half an hour after their arrival, a small meeting was held in the war room of the Watch-tower. J'onn J'ozz, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and Superman were sitting at the table. Diana and Flash were seeing to the new tennants of the tower.
"So", Lantern began. "How bad is it?"
"Bad", Superman said. "Nightwing doesn't even want Robin or Batgirl around when Batman wakes up. He fears that he may be so obsessed with working alone that he may drive his own kids away from him".
"So, we let them stay here for a while", J'onn said. "I will assist Nightwing with the patrol of Gotham until Batman is ready to resume his normal activity".
Diana entered the war room with a troubled look on her face.
"Diana", Hawkgirl said concerned. "Is there something wrong?"
"Not really", Diana said."I just had some difficulty communicating with Cassandra. She seems to have trouble speaking. I don't remember Batman mentioning her condition before".
"Hmph. He probably envies her", Hawkgirl said jokingly.
"I will speak with her", J'onn said standing up."Her mind is capable of holding a conversa-tion even when her body fails her".
As J'onn walked out of the war room, Diana noticed something.
"Where are Robin and Flash?", she asked.
"We're tied, big guy", Flash said holding a controller.
"That's because my safety fell down", Robin said, also holding a controller.
They were in the recroom playing football on Flash's video game system for almost an hour now and cooking duty for Robin's time in the Watchtower was on the line.
Diana and Superman walked together towards the recroom, hearing the Flash hooting and hollering. Robin's "Aww dammit" could be heard as well.
As they entered, Diana walked directly behind the spot of the sofa where Robin was sitting Superman stood, with his arms crossed and a grin, at the doorway.
"Enjoying your sparring session, young one?", Diana asked standing over Robin.
"Uh.....", Robin said half surprised by her and Superman's presense. The other half was for the view of Diana's massive "woman hood" that stood above him.
"Flash, lookout is yours and Diana's tonight", Superman began. "Keep Robin and Batgirl busy with some work tonight".
"What kinda work?", Robin whinned.
"I think you would benefit from working the controls of the lookout station for at least two hours".
"Oh thank god", Robin breathed. "I thought you mean't like laundry or bathroom.cleaning".
"No", Diana said. "Flash gained those duties when I figured out how he was cheating at the same game you two are playing now".
Robin turned to physcially harm Flash who was already halfway to the lookout station.
"And Tim", Superman said."I want you to not worry about Bruce so much tonight. Alfred and Dick are with him and will keep a constant watch over him. There are times when I think his body can handle more than mine can".
With that, Superman left to assume his life back in Metropolis under the guise of Clark Kent. As Superman exited the recroom, Diana turned to the young bird.
"So Tim, are you ready for your first lesson", she said with a smirk that was returned in full.
Its not as difficult as it seems
Really?
Yes. Its just hard to explain things. Interracting doesn't require more than two are three words at a time. Batman does it on a regular basis.
J'onn laughed with Cassandra as she explained her life to the martian. She felt warm in his presense. Not only because he understood what she was saying, but because he just understood her. Robin probably understood her best out of the Bat Clan. However, she felt limited with her diffi-culty at speech. She recalled when Robin gave her a book of Nursery Rhymes to help her identify sound patterns. She seldom read from the book however. She didn't have the courage to ask Robin to help her read better.
J'onn, is Batman going to be alright?
I do not know for certain, but I would believe that he would not give in to anything without putting up a fight.
Do you think he'll be upset that Tim and I are up here?
J'onn sighed at her question.
That much, Cassandra, I do not know.
Call me Cassie. Tim does and I want you to also.
Very well, Cassie.
With that J'onn got up and left Cassandra in her new room. It was almost like a hotel room, bathroom, shower, comfortable bed, and satellite tv. She wondered if Robin was enjoying himself as well.
"Don't run", Diana nearly shouted. "Stand your ground and find a weakness".
"Against someone almost as strong as Superman?", Robin asked. "I just hope you can tire out".
Robin and Diana had been sparring for fifteen minutes and the only productivity shown on Robin's part was staying alive. Diana had been extremely strong, but Robin underestimated her fighting skill. She was able to read most of his movments before he made any attempts. He caught her a few times with a palm strike to her temple and a back kick to the back of her knees followed by an uneffective elbow to the back of her head. He noticed a slight whince coming from her, that only meant he was not the safest of beings.
"It seems that Batman has chosen rather well in his pupils", Diana said. "You will make an excellent heir to his place in the future Justice Leagues.
Tim Drake had never thought of his life as a right of passage. For the first time, he was pondering what his life might be when he grew out of the Robin costume.
Robin dropped out of his kempo stance and sat on the cold floor of the trainning room.
"Is something the matter?", Diana asked.
"Does he expect me to take over for him?", Tim asked.
Diana was caught off guard by the boy's question.She would be the first to admit that she didn't know a whole lot about Bruce Wayne, or The Batman for that matter. She had rarely seen or heard anything about Batman's pupils before his disapperance. Now Batman's youngest charge sat on the ground looking up to her for guidence she could not begin to help with.
"I don't know", she finally said. She walked beside Tim and sat down next to him."What I do know is that he rarely lets anyone in his personal life. I met him only once as Bruce Wayne. That was in Paris and by sheer coincidence. I think he let me interact with him as Bruce to make sure i didn't get in his way. As far as you and the rest of his children are concerned, you are his life that he protects from the world. He lets you fight among him so he can keep an eye on you".
Diana felt she finally discovered a significant idea of what the man known as Batman and Bruce Wayne must be like.
Tim sat digesting all what Diana said. It made him feel al little better, but obviously more thought would have to be done in the future.
"So...Paris huh?", Tim said. Tim noticed Diana's face somewhat change to a shade of crimson.
"Did he at least call you back?"