Disclaimer: Insert witty comment about me not owning any of these characters here.

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Roy stepped out of the cab in a bad mood. A forty-minute cab ride to Gotham City cost an arm and a leg. It wasn't so much the money that had him ticked, it was that he'd had to leave the specialized aircraft he'd tentatively dubbed the 'Pequod' in a hangar in Bludhaven. He'd quickly decided that if he was going to have any chance of bringing Batgirl on board, he'd have to ask her before Batman found him. Easier said than done.

Everyone thought they knew how close an eye the Bat kept on his city, most didn't know the half of it. It was Dick that had told Roy that the Bat-computer had records of everyone who flew into Gotham's airports, rented a car, or bought a train or bus ticket in anyway traceable. It automatically flagged an entry if a criminal's name or known alias appeared in any of these. Dick had added that he and Batman agreed to add Bludhaven's records to the computer's recovery, so that both of them could keep an eye on what was going on.

So that led to problems for Roy. He'd come down to the Haven to ask Dick to join, not to infiltrate enemy territory. He didn't have any of his prepared identities with him, not that he could be certain Batman didn't know about them anyway. So that meant no train, no flight, not even a bus ticket could be bought without showing ID these days. If he'd flown the Pequod into one of Gotham's airports he might as well have just turned on the Bat-signal.

All of which led to a ride in a cab with a guy who wouldn't shut up about hockey. Roy didn't have any objection to hockey, but he couldn't honestly say he cared about it. It was possibly the worst 40 minutes of his life since suffering through withdrawal pains. But even that didn't get to the real reason Roy Harper was pissed off. He had absolutely no idea how to locate Batgirl.

Ok, he was in Gotham. Decent chance Batman didn't know he was here. Now what? Take to the rooftops? Sure. And hope that it's Batgirl he sees, and not Batman. Or Robin. The kid might not tell Batman he was in town, but then again he might. One in three chance at best. To say nothing of the fact that that particular plan took a lot of work. No, there had to be another option.

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"Hello? This is the Kents." the voice answered somewhat tentatively.

"Hey Conner!" Roy said effusively, "How's it going?"

There was a pause on the other end, "Who is this?"

"It's Roy, man!"

"Harper."

"I don't know any..."

"Arsenal!"

"Oh right! The old Titan..." another pause. "Wait, how do I know it's you?"

Roy resisted the urge to hit something. "Because, Kon-El, would anyone else threaten to make you wear kryptonite shorts if you ever called him old again?"

"All right, all right! Sorry. Sheesh, I was kidding. What's up?"

"Not much. Heard you were joining the new group Vic's starting up in San-Fran. Wanted to wish you luck."

"Thanks. I guess. I don't know if I'm really cut out for the whole team thing, though."

"Well if you aren't, Vic'll fix that."

"Robin couldn't. Not for lack of trying either."

"Look, all the Batkids make it hard on a guy. You think Nightwing was any better? You feel like a doofus around them, but it really does make you better."

"I guess."

"Like I said, don't worry. The Teen Titans are all about working together. You'll see. Speaking of working with Batkids, didn't I hear you had worked with Batgirl once or twice in Young Justice?"

"Yeah. She filled in for Robin this one time."

"Cool, cool. You don't happen to have a way to get in touch with her do you?"

"Umm, isn't she a little young for you?"

"Dude! That's not why I'm trying to find her."

"Have you asked Batman?"

Roy shook his head, leaning backwards onto the bed in his hotel room, "I don't exactly have his cell number Conner..."

"What about that big light that shines the Bat-signal-" Roy disconnected the call and shook his head.

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"Hey Roy!"

"Hiya Metalhead. How's the team going?"

"Little bit of a rough start. You know the new Wonder Girl?"

"Cassie? Yeah."

"Turns out Starfire didn't bother to ask Diana about letting her join."

Roy winced, "That can't be good."

"Well it's not so much that she didn't ask her. She asked alright. It's just that Diana didn't, in fact, say yes."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. So that was kind of a thing."

"She show up there?"

"Yeah. She and half the JLA."

"So do you still have a team?"

"Thanks to Dick."

"What'd he do?"

"Showed up, told everyone off and then left with Robin."

"That's Dick alright," Roy said, mouthing obscenities silently at the mirror. Now he couldn't ask Robin without letting Dick know. As good as letting Batman know. "So what'd you do to get people to join. Like," Roy said, as if picking an example from thin air, "How'd you ask Robin to join?"

"I asked Batman, of course. What do you think I'm stupid?"

"No, it's just. Whoops, gotta go, talk to you later Vic!" Roy said and hung up the phone, carefully putting it down before he flung it out the window. He walked around the room for about ten second, cursing a blue streak before the phone rang again.

"Roy's male escort service," he answered.

"Harper!" the digitally-disguised voice said angrily. 'Ah shit...' he thought, "What are you doing in Gotham City?"

"Hey Oracle. Uh, well there's this really great Chinese place in-"

"The truth, in ten seconds, or Batman gets an immediate heads-up."

"Dammit," Roy said, looking for a tiny bit of wiggle room before caving, "I'm putting a team together up in New York. I asked Nightwing to join but he said no, so now I've come to ask Batgirl."

There was silence on the other end before the response came, "Have you asked Batman if she could join?"

Roy exploded, "No I haven't fucking asked Batman! If I did I know what the bastard would say," his voiced dropped in tone and picked up a little of the gravel Batman's voice used, "Not on your life Harper, now get out of my city." Roy paced for a few seconds before saying, "I want to find Batgirl and ask her. If she says no, fine, that's that, but I want her to say no, not him! You have a problem with that?"

The only response to that was a click, followed by a dial tone. That tore it. Roy did throw the phone out the (thankfully open) window this time, and began to change into his work clothes. The twilight was receding into full dark, and Roy took the fire escape up to the top of the 10-story hotel. One in three wasn't great, but it was a better chance than zero. He loaded up the grappling hook into the specially-made launcher, and prepared to fire it at a building across the street when a voice behind him nearly made him fall off the roof.

"What?" the voice, belonging to the slim cowled teen standing behind him said.

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Next: Nightwing flies solo in Bludhaven.