Ok, sorry this update took so long. I was gone over the weekend, and I've been fighting this plot line all week. I had it pretty much finished and then it just didn't fit when I reread it. So, I've been brainstorming, and rewriting, and asking really nice people to help me with my ideas, and grumping about how I couldn't just be content with the way that it was in the first place. Which I still haven't figured out... Anyway, I think I have it mostly back on track now, and hopefully you guys won't have to wait for a week before I update again. I make no promises though!! Also, thanks to those who have been reviewing, I appreciate it. I especially like suggestions, I never know what I'm gonna end up using. ;) So, here's chapter 2 of Decision. - krt
Disclaimer: Not mine...
Chapter 2: Eavesdropping
I firmly told myself that I was not going to force this issue. If Bruce didn't want me operating in his city, I would go somewhere else. Maybe he would even have a suggestion of a place that needed a little supervision. Ok, now I really was getting ahead of myself. I didn't even know how he was going to react to my asking to be returned to duty, and I was already planning my life in case he said no? That didn't seem very intelligent on my part.
I really wished that either he or Dick had dropped a clue or two about what they were expecting from me. For all I knew, they were just assuming that I would stay in Gotham. Bruce might be thinking that I would stay but not wear a mask, or he could be planning on sending me to another city like he had Dick. Or even worse, he didn't think that I was capable of handling a vigilante identity and he planned on telling me that he didn't want me wearing a mask at all. I mean, I had been responsible for my father finding out.
Ok, I am not going to think about this anymore. What will happen, will happen. So, time to start thinking about another topic. Like... dang, it's not working.
I finally reached the back entrance of the cave, and secreted my bike in what was quickly becoming my parking space. I walked in, moving quietly more out of habit than purpose, noting that someone must be in the cave since most of the security was down. The rest I avoided just for the fun of it, and to practice my skills. I could tell that Bruce had already replaced some of the gadgets, obviously thinking that I had been able to get in way too easily a couple of nights ago. I grinned to myself. The news that an intruder was in the cave must have come close to giving them a heart attack. I couldn't bring myself to feel all that sorry for them, either. I still think that Bruce could have contacted me somehow, someway. Oh well, he did what he thought was best, and there wasn't anything that I could do to change it now anyway.
I was snapped from my reverie by the sound of voices. It sounded like Dick and Bruce, although I was far enough away that I could only make out the occasional word. I moved to the shadows out of habit, mentally laughing at myself that I felt I had to be cautious here, of all places. I was about to walk out into the main cave and join them when something that Dick said caught my attention and I silently moved forward to listen in.
"...always thought he'd come back one of these days. It just wouldn't have been like him to totally write us off. Although I wondered a little after we got some of those stories about the partying and stuff." I was close enough to make out the form of Dick pacing around the main computer console.
Bruce was sitting in the high-backed chair, dividing his attention between talking to Dick and scanning information at high speed. "I suspect that those reports were exactly what Tim wanted us to know, no more, no less." Well this was somewhat true, although I had been much more concerned about what information my father heard about me than what the clan knew. To be honest, I was rather surprised that my misinformation had actually fooled them. I would have thought that they would have known me better than that. Far from offending me, this actually made me grin a little. It was kind of nice to know that they didn't have me totally figured out.
Dick did a handstand almost absentmindedly. He was like that, always moving. While Bruce did the perfectly still thing to perfection, Dick was happiest when he was moving, doing some stunt, or jumping off tall, tall buildings. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm glad, really. I don't think that he'd have made a very good playboy. Not like you." The sarcasm was dripping off of his voice.
"Hhnn."
"So, what do you think he's gonna do now?"
"Unfortunately, I do not know. I think that my ability to predict his actions may be compromised."
"Oh? In other words, he isn't doing the things that you would have predicted he'd do. Like what?"
"I didn't think that he'd want to see his father, I didn't think that he would answer my questions, and to be honest, I wasn't sure that he'd ever come back either."
Dick flipped back into a more normal position, and sounded almost annoyed. "Look, we've been over this, and for once I was right. He came back. Just like I said he would." He ignored Bruce's grunt and continued to muse. "Although I was surprised about the way that he did it. When Babs told us that someone was in the cave, I have to admit that he never even crossed my mind."
"It did mine, but I was putting faith into my accounts that had him located in Switzerland." Bruce brought up another report and started skimming, pausing occasionally to add a note to the pad in front of him.
"Yeah." Dick started to chuckle. "He sure pulled one over on us. I think we are very lucky that he's a good guy. I'm sure we could take him on if we had too, but it wouldn't be pretty. Hey, where is he anyway?" I pulled back slightly. Did they know that I was here? How could they? He continued. "Babs said that he left the Tower hours ago. Shouldn't he be back by now?"
Bruce didn't answer.
"Really, what if something happened to him? Maybe he decided to leave again." Dick started to pace again.
"First, he can take care of himself. Second, I tagged him with a tracer. If he's not back soon, I'll GPS him."
Hey! He had me bugged? Already? How in the world? Dick obviously wondered the same. "How'd you manage that?"
"Right in front of him." If Bruce did the chuckle thing, he would have been chuckling now. "That first night, during his fight with Cassandra. Put one in his jacket lining and later got one in with his weapons when he let me look at his gear."
I repeat, hey! They continued to converse, but I backed out of there as fast as I could without being noticed. I didn't want them to check my location and find me fifteen feet behind them. That would not be one of my better moments.
I guess that I shouldn't be surprised. In fact, I should have expected that Bruce would do that, it was just like him. Annoying that he did it right in front of me though. I picked my way outside very carefully, really not wanting to trip any alarms now. Once I got back out to my bike I gave my jacket and weapons belt a careful once over. Sure enough, I discovered two tiny chips. I reslung the weapons belt around my body, where it went from my right shoulder to my left hip. The bugs went into one of the many pockets that lined the front of the belt, the part that went across my chest. The sheath for my bos settled comfortably in the small of my back, I put my jacket back on to ward off the chill of the cave and reentered the passage, this time not taking any care to be stealthy.
I walked into the cave and saw both Dick and Bruce turn to look at me. I pulled my helmet off of my head, tucking it under my arm and running a hand through my slightly sweaty hair. Walking toward the computer console where Bruce sat and Dick stood, I set my helmet on a ledge along side others used for the clan's multitude of motorcycles, batwings, and planes. I glanced up to see that they were both still looking at me, with little and no expression on their face. The little expression was Dick, not surprisingly, and he almost looked nervous, but I couldn't figure out why. Having those two sets of eyes on me was actually rather intimidating, especially in light of the topic that I was about to bring up. My only option was to play it as cool as I could, and take matters as they came up.
I returned the look for a couple of seconds, automatically cataloguing them and the area around me. Bruce was in full costume, complete with cape, cowl and scowl, while Dick was in costume minus the mask. I was curious about why they were both in costume this early in the evening, but I didn't ask.
When fifteen seconds had passed, I cock an eyebrow questioningly and broke the silence. "Is something wrong?" I was beginning to feel like I had dirt on my face or something.
Dick exchanged a glance with Bruce. "No. No, nothing's wrong. Did you get a chance to see your friends?"
Ok, that was defiantly a topic change. Why? What did I miss in the time that I went out to the bike and back? Dang, I'll probably never know, since I can't exactly ask without admitting that I was eavesdropping. Which I am not going to do. Well, I guess I can play along.
"Yeah, I saw them. Y'know, you guys might have told them that I wasn't dead! You had to have known that they believed that." I couldn't believe that Bruce wasn't totally aware of what most of the superhero world had thought of me.
Bruce never even batted an eye. "They would have gone looking for you."
Oh. I see. I hate to admit it, but he has a point there. If Dad had been willing to turn me in if one of the clan contacted me, then I imagine Young Justice showing up on my dorm doorstep would not have been appreciated either. I felt a little of the old anger well up in me at the realization of just how much my father had screwed up my life.
Of course, if I'm going to be perfectly honest, that's not something that I usually need a whole lot of help with. I am pretty talented in that area myself.
I gave Bruce a brief nod, acknowledging that I saw and understood his point. Once again, there might have been ways around my Dad's threats, but they were only really obvious with hindsight. Bruce had also been right about something else, although it had been no big surprise to me. "You were right about Dad, too." I injected a little sarcasm into my voice. "He was just overjoyed to see me again." I mentally winced. I am pretty sure that I did not hide the pain in my voice good enough. Might have been enough for your everyday man on the street, but not these two.
I could almost see Dick's ears perk up at my words. Bruce was curious too, but I doubt that his ears would even dare perk up. I considered the fact that they had been very patient with me so far, not asking details about anything and not commenting when I changed the subject. It had been several days, and there had been no interrogations about my past or my future. Pretty impressive for two guys who were used to having their slightest questions answered immediately, and if not, they knew the reason why. I was also reasonably sure that they hadn't tried to find out any information on their own. Even if they had been looking, especially for information regarding my past, it was hidden in such a manner that it was very unlikely that even Oracle could figure it all out without at least being given a starting point. Given what that starting point was, it wasn't going to be given. At least not now.
I really didn't mind sharing a little, but the details of my rather, who am I kidding, really painful relationship with my father was something that I wasn't sure that I could vocalize. So, I answered Dick's questioning gaze with a truthful, but short comment. "Let's just say that we both lost our tempers, and I am no longer welcome at the Drake household. If it was up to him, I wouldn't be welcome in this hemisphere."
Dick winced. "Ouch."
I sighed. "Yeah."
Bruce didn't say anything at all. Big surprise. Well, now was as good a time as any. Silence reigned for a minute as I ordered my thoughts. "Bruce, I said I'd let you know when I figured out what I planned to do. Do you have a minute?"
Can dead silence get any quieter?
TBC...
Disclaimer: Not mine...
Chapter 2: Eavesdropping
I firmly told myself that I was not going to force this issue. If Bruce didn't want me operating in his city, I would go somewhere else. Maybe he would even have a suggestion of a place that needed a little supervision. Ok, now I really was getting ahead of myself. I didn't even know how he was going to react to my asking to be returned to duty, and I was already planning my life in case he said no? That didn't seem very intelligent on my part.
I really wished that either he or Dick had dropped a clue or two about what they were expecting from me. For all I knew, they were just assuming that I would stay in Gotham. Bruce might be thinking that I would stay but not wear a mask, or he could be planning on sending me to another city like he had Dick. Or even worse, he didn't think that I was capable of handling a vigilante identity and he planned on telling me that he didn't want me wearing a mask at all. I mean, I had been responsible for my father finding out.
Ok, I am not going to think about this anymore. What will happen, will happen. So, time to start thinking about another topic. Like... dang, it's not working.
I finally reached the back entrance of the cave, and secreted my bike in what was quickly becoming my parking space. I walked in, moving quietly more out of habit than purpose, noting that someone must be in the cave since most of the security was down. The rest I avoided just for the fun of it, and to practice my skills. I could tell that Bruce had already replaced some of the gadgets, obviously thinking that I had been able to get in way too easily a couple of nights ago. I grinned to myself. The news that an intruder was in the cave must have come close to giving them a heart attack. I couldn't bring myself to feel all that sorry for them, either. I still think that Bruce could have contacted me somehow, someway. Oh well, he did what he thought was best, and there wasn't anything that I could do to change it now anyway.
I was snapped from my reverie by the sound of voices. It sounded like Dick and Bruce, although I was far enough away that I could only make out the occasional word. I moved to the shadows out of habit, mentally laughing at myself that I felt I had to be cautious here, of all places. I was about to walk out into the main cave and join them when something that Dick said caught my attention and I silently moved forward to listen in.
"...always thought he'd come back one of these days. It just wouldn't have been like him to totally write us off. Although I wondered a little after we got some of those stories about the partying and stuff." I was close enough to make out the form of Dick pacing around the main computer console.
Bruce was sitting in the high-backed chair, dividing his attention between talking to Dick and scanning information at high speed. "I suspect that those reports were exactly what Tim wanted us to know, no more, no less." Well this was somewhat true, although I had been much more concerned about what information my father heard about me than what the clan knew. To be honest, I was rather surprised that my misinformation had actually fooled them. I would have thought that they would have known me better than that. Far from offending me, this actually made me grin a little. It was kind of nice to know that they didn't have me totally figured out.
Dick did a handstand almost absentmindedly. He was like that, always moving. While Bruce did the perfectly still thing to perfection, Dick was happiest when he was moving, doing some stunt, or jumping off tall, tall buildings. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm glad, really. I don't think that he'd have made a very good playboy. Not like you." The sarcasm was dripping off of his voice.
"Hhnn."
"So, what do you think he's gonna do now?"
"Unfortunately, I do not know. I think that my ability to predict his actions may be compromised."
"Oh? In other words, he isn't doing the things that you would have predicted he'd do. Like what?"
"I didn't think that he'd want to see his father, I didn't think that he would answer my questions, and to be honest, I wasn't sure that he'd ever come back either."
Dick flipped back into a more normal position, and sounded almost annoyed. "Look, we've been over this, and for once I was right. He came back. Just like I said he would." He ignored Bruce's grunt and continued to muse. "Although I was surprised about the way that he did it. When Babs told us that someone was in the cave, I have to admit that he never even crossed my mind."
"It did mine, but I was putting faith into my accounts that had him located in Switzerland." Bruce brought up another report and started skimming, pausing occasionally to add a note to the pad in front of him.
"Yeah." Dick started to chuckle. "He sure pulled one over on us. I think we are very lucky that he's a good guy. I'm sure we could take him on if we had too, but it wouldn't be pretty. Hey, where is he anyway?" I pulled back slightly. Did they know that I was here? How could they? He continued. "Babs said that he left the Tower hours ago. Shouldn't he be back by now?"
Bruce didn't answer.
"Really, what if something happened to him? Maybe he decided to leave again." Dick started to pace again.
"First, he can take care of himself. Second, I tagged him with a tracer. If he's not back soon, I'll GPS him."
Hey! He had me bugged? Already? How in the world? Dick obviously wondered the same. "How'd you manage that?"
"Right in front of him." If Bruce did the chuckle thing, he would have been chuckling now. "That first night, during his fight with Cassandra. Put one in his jacket lining and later got one in with his weapons when he let me look at his gear."
I repeat, hey! They continued to converse, but I backed out of there as fast as I could without being noticed. I didn't want them to check my location and find me fifteen feet behind them. That would not be one of my better moments.
I guess that I shouldn't be surprised. In fact, I should have expected that Bruce would do that, it was just like him. Annoying that he did it right in front of me though. I picked my way outside very carefully, really not wanting to trip any alarms now. Once I got back out to my bike I gave my jacket and weapons belt a careful once over. Sure enough, I discovered two tiny chips. I reslung the weapons belt around my body, where it went from my right shoulder to my left hip. The bugs went into one of the many pockets that lined the front of the belt, the part that went across my chest. The sheath for my bos settled comfortably in the small of my back, I put my jacket back on to ward off the chill of the cave and reentered the passage, this time not taking any care to be stealthy.
I walked into the cave and saw both Dick and Bruce turn to look at me. I pulled my helmet off of my head, tucking it under my arm and running a hand through my slightly sweaty hair. Walking toward the computer console where Bruce sat and Dick stood, I set my helmet on a ledge along side others used for the clan's multitude of motorcycles, batwings, and planes. I glanced up to see that they were both still looking at me, with little and no expression on their face. The little expression was Dick, not surprisingly, and he almost looked nervous, but I couldn't figure out why. Having those two sets of eyes on me was actually rather intimidating, especially in light of the topic that I was about to bring up. My only option was to play it as cool as I could, and take matters as they came up.
I returned the look for a couple of seconds, automatically cataloguing them and the area around me. Bruce was in full costume, complete with cape, cowl and scowl, while Dick was in costume minus the mask. I was curious about why they were both in costume this early in the evening, but I didn't ask.
When fifteen seconds had passed, I cock an eyebrow questioningly and broke the silence. "Is something wrong?" I was beginning to feel like I had dirt on my face or something.
Dick exchanged a glance with Bruce. "No. No, nothing's wrong. Did you get a chance to see your friends?"
Ok, that was defiantly a topic change. Why? What did I miss in the time that I went out to the bike and back? Dang, I'll probably never know, since I can't exactly ask without admitting that I was eavesdropping. Which I am not going to do. Well, I guess I can play along.
"Yeah, I saw them. Y'know, you guys might have told them that I wasn't dead! You had to have known that they believed that." I couldn't believe that Bruce wasn't totally aware of what most of the superhero world had thought of me.
Bruce never even batted an eye. "They would have gone looking for you."
Oh. I see. I hate to admit it, but he has a point there. If Dad had been willing to turn me in if one of the clan contacted me, then I imagine Young Justice showing up on my dorm doorstep would not have been appreciated either. I felt a little of the old anger well up in me at the realization of just how much my father had screwed up my life.
Of course, if I'm going to be perfectly honest, that's not something that I usually need a whole lot of help with. I am pretty talented in that area myself.
I gave Bruce a brief nod, acknowledging that I saw and understood his point. Once again, there might have been ways around my Dad's threats, but they were only really obvious with hindsight. Bruce had also been right about something else, although it had been no big surprise to me. "You were right about Dad, too." I injected a little sarcasm into my voice. "He was just overjoyed to see me again." I mentally winced. I am pretty sure that I did not hide the pain in my voice good enough. Might have been enough for your everyday man on the street, but not these two.
I could almost see Dick's ears perk up at my words. Bruce was curious too, but I doubt that his ears would even dare perk up. I considered the fact that they had been very patient with me so far, not asking details about anything and not commenting when I changed the subject. It had been several days, and there had been no interrogations about my past or my future. Pretty impressive for two guys who were used to having their slightest questions answered immediately, and if not, they knew the reason why. I was also reasonably sure that they hadn't tried to find out any information on their own. Even if they had been looking, especially for information regarding my past, it was hidden in such a manner that it was very unlikely that even Oracle could figure it all out without at least being given a starting point. Given what that starting point was, it wasn't going to be given. At least not now.
I really didn't mind sharing a little, but the details of my rather, who am I kidding, really painful relationship with my father was something that I wasn't sure that I could vocalize. So, I answered Dick's questioning gaze with a truthful, but short comment. "Let's just say that we both lost our tempers, and I am no longer welcome at the Drake household. If it was up to him, I wouldn't be welcome in this hemisphere."
Dick winced. "Ouch."
I sighed. "Yeah."
Bruce didn't say anything at all. Big surprise. Well, now was as good a time as any. Silence reigned for a minute as I ordered my thoughts. "Bruce, I said I'd let you know when I figured out what I planned to do. Do you have a minute?"
Can dead silence get any quieter?
TBC...