"Uh-huh. And you're going to make sure they see these…how?" Dick shook his head in exacerbation at Wally's question. In truth, he could understand his friend's confusion, but he wasn't used to explaining everything he did to a partner. When with the Titans he had done briefings and given orders, even detailed reports at times. But this was different. It was his home turf, where he was used to working autonomously. And he didn't like having to spend the time explaining the players, situations, and his own methods while setting up this project.
"Just….trust me." Wally didn't look convinced, but he remained silent.
"How's it coming?" Barbara rolled into the room carrying a tray piled with sandwiches and a couple mugs of coffee. They had moved their operation to her apartment in the clock tower and had donned civilian clothes just in case someone happened to drop by unannounced. Not to mention they were more comfortable.
"Food! You're a life saver!" Wally zipped over and took to tray from Babs, consuming over half the sandwiches before he'd gotten back to Dick's workstation. Dick merely grunted in answer to Babs' query.
"Nice to be needed." She said wryly, grimacing as Dick distractedly reached for a sandwich and managed to drip crumbs across the floor and tabletop before taking a bite.
"Thanks for letting us crash here, Babs." Dick, having heard the sarcasm in her tone, forced himself to tear his gaze off the tape he was working on. Babs gave him a funny look, the kind that pretty much read "uh, hello? Me. You. Dating…you 'crash' here all the time!" Dick just grinned, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before returning his attention to the project in front of him.
"You know, I could have done this on my computer…a lot faster and less able to prove as a fake." Dick shook his head.
"That's the point. We want them to be obvious as fake. Well, not too obvious, but…"
"What!"
"Huh?" He blinked up at two confused faces and sighed.
"Didn't I explain?" When the only response he got was a raised eyebrow from Babs, he sighed…again. "That's how we get them to 're-check' the security tapes. All the evidence shows Cain safe and snug in Blackgate, no reason to even suspect him. If we were to plant the suspicion in the right minds now, they'll check records and see he was there. But these tapes, which will show exactly what the original ones show, will be fakes. Wally will switch them out before we go to the authorities. Their experts will spot the altered tapes, with a little digging, and start an investigation."
"So we're not framing Cain by putting him in the video?" Wally frowned.
"No, that would be too obvious. Or, even if it weren't, it would get some poor prison guards in a whole heap of trouble by missing Cain walking blithely down the hall. No, this way they'll start an investigation. We'll plant just enough evidence to make it seem like he could be guilty, but he could be innocent. Cain's too good, and they know it, to get caught with…well, caught period." Babs blinked, but then grinned.
"You know, this just might work."
"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence." Dick grumbled, earning him a slap on the shoulder, followed by a deep kiss.
"Ahem." Wally cleared his throat, waiting for them to come up for air. "Um…guys?" They broke apart, laughing.
"Sorry." Wally was tempted to roll his eyes, but thoughts of Linda set in and he had to admit that if she were present he'd probably have been doing the same thing.
"Can we get back to work, here?"
"I'll see you later, I've got to go guide Dinah through a Malaysian sewer system." Dick and Wally exchanged glances as Babs wheeled out of the room.
"Do I want to know?"
"Probably not….I sure don't." And with that they fell silent again as Dick turned back to the table to put the finishing touches on the altered tapes.
"No! No, no, no….I'm telling you, Cass…"
"I heard you the first time!" Though Bart had made himself scarce as soon as they'd returned to the warehouse, Cass still felt strangely embarrassed at her and Tim's behavior. They'd checked out the bar, only to discover Warren had disappeared again, and returned back to the warehouse to regroup. But when Cass had reiterated her feeling that they needed backup, Tim had somehow transformed himself into a raging monster. Which led to their current shouting match…so much for a "secret" hideout…and her feelings of embarrassment.
"Well then why…" She tuned his rant out as she tried to tamp down the urge to bash him over the head. Truly, her feelings of anger and frustration were outweighing the embarrassment tenfold.
They were nothing compared to her fear, though.
"Will you shut up!" She caught him off guard, knocking his legs out from under him and felling him like a tree. She then simply stood there for a second, catching her breath, savoring the silence...not to mention grinding her teeth and making tight fists out of frustration. Tim, wisely, remained on the ground.
"I…"
"I know you don't want help. You want to do this yourself. You feel…responsible. But you said yourself…we don't know his powers. He's obviously strong, came back from the dead, some kind of electric-thingy…"she ticked off his abilities as she continued, "and you don't know where he got them."
"Actually…"
"So…" she raised her voice cutting him off and keeping him effectively silenced with one glare, "why not get help? You don't want to tell your friends…don't want Batman to help? So call…" she frowned, realizing she'd just about demolished her own argument. Tim sighed.
"That's the whole problem. Dealing with a meta often calls for other metas. But I don't want to get anyone else involved, and not just because of my dad." He glanced down at his hands. "You weren't there. Didn't see this guy in action."
"Neither were…"
"I mean before today. Before he had powers. Even as a two-bit thug he...worried…me. There was a look in his eyes…he's capable of being as bad as the worst villains we've fought. Joker, Scarecrow…he's right up there with them, just as ruthless and without the weakness of insanity...though I guess that part's debatable. Anyway, with powers…well, I think the only reason he hasn't turned to world conquest or something is his obsession with me. I wouldn't think I rated so much attention…but when he attacked Spoiler and me he had this…this…insane need to 'teach me a lesson' or something. He told me he'd hunt down, hurt, everyone I'd cared about. It's what's driving him…or at least what was." Cass crouched down beside him.
"So he won't be expecting…"
"But we don't know that. You know, you got me thinking when you said 'where do his powers come from'. I know he had some kind of artifact that was stolen from S.T.A.R. labs, which they never recovered. But I don't know what it was or what it did. Batman was handling that end of things, and after I thought…well, anyway, I was a bit distracted, to say the least."
"So call Batman, find out what it did." Tim buried his face in his hands.
"I can't! I can't ask for help…not His help! I…" She placed a hand on his shoulder.
"He wouldn't think you failed." Tim drew in a shuddering breath.
"Maybe not. But I…I can't explain. Everything's happened so fast and…" he bit his lip. "Cass…Bruce has been like a father to me for years. I never quite looked at it that way…but he has. Sometimes more than my own was…the rest of you were definitely more like family to me than my own. And how can I ask my 'surrogate father' to help hunt down my real father's killer?" Cass blinked. Didn't seem all that difficult a request to her but…
"That's what all this is about? I thought it was about wanting to prove…"
"Well, that's a big part of it. I know I've been a real jerk lately and…"
"S'ok. Understandable."
"Yeah, but it's not. Not really. Do you know…I think the thing that's made me act the worst is the realization that I don't really care."
"Huh?"
"I mean, my dad died. And I'm upset…" she held her silence, though she thought his personality changes were a lot more than 'upset', "that he died and I suppose I'll miss him on some level….but not…not really."
"I'm confused." He stood, walking away from her so he wouldn't have to see her reaction to his confession.
"I was mad at my dad for interfering with Robin. Before that I was mad on some level, I'm sure, that he had been gone all my life. I mean, he was never a 'dad' to me. Until he got hurt and then Dana came along and I know he wanted to be a 'family', but all I could see was his plans messing up my life as Robin. And then…now he's dead and while I'll miss him and I mourn him, there's a small part of me that's relieved, because now I don't have to fight him and…" he drew in a deep breath, "and that's the worst part of all. I can't believe I feel that way and it's making me a nasty, bitter, grump."
Cass didn't know what to say. No one would fault her for being glad her father was dead, but it wasn't an emotion one would link to Tim. Not because it might not be a valid feeling…but because he was always so…good. Always doing the right thing. And she realized that that wasn't just how she saw him, but how everyone saw him…and it had become how he saw himself…and he couldn't connect that person with the feeling of relief at his father's passing.
"Um…"
"Can I come in?" She was saved from a response by Bart, looking uncharacteristically cautious in the doorway. She thought briefly that he seemed to have excellent timing…he kept showing up when things were getting out of hand…then smiled.
"Sure. What's up?" Tim remained turned away from her for a moment, and she could tell he was trying to get back his composure. To give him time, she tried to engage Bart in conversation. "Where did you disappear to?"
"Hm? Oh. I went to visit my, um, girlfriend." He turned an interesting shade of red as he said this, and Cass tilted her head, intrigued.
"Oh?"
"I didn't know you had a girlfriend, Bart!" Tim entered the conversation in full possession of his emotions. In fact, his comment was laden with the not-so-subtle tone of male-type-teasing…something that often seemed to border on insult, but strengthened friendships. She really didn't understand boys.
"Yeah. Her name's Carol. She…we were best friends when I lived in Alabama with Max," Cass figured she was supposed to understand this reference, as Tim obviously did…but she didn't say anything, instead letting him finish his comment. "and then she got sucked to the future and then came back and now we're, um, dating, I guess, but I don't get to see her that often what with Titans on weekends and living in Colorado with Jay."
"That's…nice." Cass wasn't sure what else to say to that rush of information. "But…why go see her now?" After all, they were in the middle of a case and… Bart turned red again.
"Well…you two were…um…and I thought I should….and so I left, but didn't know where to go, so…."
"I think we get the picture, Bart." Tim shook his head, but in an amused way. "Sorry we chased you off like that." Bart shrugged, looking from Tim to Cass.
"So…what's the plan, then?" Cass couldn't help but notice Bart was so impatient he almost seemed to be vibrating. Tim glanced at her and grinned.
"He is." She stifled a giggle at his accurate reading of her thoughts.
"What? Who is? Is what? What's going on!" Bart had done very well up until now, not being in too much of a rush, thinking things through before rushing off…but apparently it had caught up with him and he was once again in full "Impulse" mode.
"Never mind. I guess…" Tim glanced at Cass again, then turned back to Bart. "I guess we're going to call for backup." Cass nearly jumped, she was so surprised. Who…
"Who? When? Should I go get…"
"Slow down, Bart. You don't have to go anywhere. Cass is right. It's time to call for help. So…you call Cassie and Conner and I'll…" how Bart knew he was done listing names, Tim couldn't tell, but he interrupted with,
"What about Beast Boy and Cyborg and Starfire and…" Tim shook his head emphatically.
"No. I want people I can trust. Not that the others can't be trusted, but we were a team long before they restarted the Titans. We know each other better. And…we're friends." Tim shot a look at Cass, and she knew he was going to come clean about everything…well, maybe not everything…his feelings were buried deeply enough and guys didn't tend to share those to begin with.
"So you call them and I'll…I'll call Batman." At Cass' look of surprise, he added, "I'll need to know what he knows about Warren's artifact, at the very least."
To be continued…
