Chapter 16 – Oracle (the return)

The best way to stop the cameras was to go and see what Oracle wanted. Nightstar followed the path to her base and then broke into it. It was simple. Especially after her dad spent three months putting trap after trap into the safe houses for her to get through. It was a fun game, except when she wanted to get through the house quickly. Like that one time she went to answer the phone in the kitchen and the floor dropped beneath her feet.

Nightstar brought herself back to the present by focusing on the chair where Oracle was sitting. It was black and looked comfortable. Like one of those fancy office chairs.

"Cameras are following me. Do you have something to do with that?" she demanded to know.

"I'm not behind the cameras," she said, "although I do want to talk."

Nightstar frowned. She wasn't really in the mood to talk. After all, she guessed that Oracle wanted to apologise for what she had been saying before.

"I don't care," she informed her. Internally, she was slightly nervous about telling off Oracle. She did it anyway because there was a knowing smirk on the woman's face which she didn't like.

"You look like him, you know?" Oracle said with a smile. How did she know exactly what to say to make the anger turn into confusion?

"Who?" Nightstar questioned, even though there were only a few 'hims' who could be connected to her.

"Dick," Oracle stated it as if she had known everything from the start. Which she hadn't. When Nightstar didn't look impressed, she added, "come on, I knew that someone was behind the scenes. It was him."

"I'm not his protégé," she said automatically.

"I know. You're his daughter."

Nightstar nodded. Then she smirked as she realised she had an opportunity here.

"Couldn't you tell from the name?" she questioned. She had always wanted to say that. Her name was a tribute to her parents but also a vigilante title not previously held by anyone.

Oracle's red lips turned upwards in a smile. Her eyes narrowed behind the metal frames of her glasses. Nightstar was a good name which fit the girl before her. Mar'i was a blend of her parents. Pieces of Dick's appearance with Kori's alien physique. Kori's fire with Dick's flashes of anger. Kori's righteousness with Dick's sense of justice. Kori's care with Dick's kindness.

Just because she wasn't behind the cameras, didn't mean Oracle wasn't benefiting from the information she could gleam from them.

"So, did you come just to accuse me of the cameras or was there another reason?" She was Dick's daughter; that came with a sense of methodical thinking.

Nightstar was torn between being impressed with Oracle's observations and being annoyed that she could see right through her. Oracle was cool though. She kind of wanted to be like that when she was older.

"Two reasons," she stated. "One, if you weren't behind the cameras, you would know who was. Two, I want to know why Batman won't let Robin out."

Oracle raised an eyebrow. "Why do you think I'll know that?"

"Because you know everything." It couldn't hurt to stroke her ego a little bit. It's not like it wasn't mostly true.

"Flatterer," Oracle commented with a wide grin. Nightstar was struck by just how white her teeth were.

Nightstar wasn't wrong. Oracle knew who was behind the cameras. However, 'the ex-Robin who is good with computers' wasn't really a good clue.

"They're all good with computers," Nightstar countered. She wondered whether this was Oracle's round-about-way of saying it was her father.

Oracle paused for a moment while she recalled that.

"That is true. I forgot you know more than the average vigilante." Nightstar didn't understand that comment. It didn't sound like a compliment but it also wasn't really an insult. "The one with the reputation for being good with computers," Oracle corrected.

"Oh." Nightstar's mouth dropped with the realisation. Red Robin.

"And I do happen to have access to some of the cave's surveillance," Oracle said, "and Dick's confrontation with Bruce earlier." She turned away from Nightstar to pull up a window on her computer.

Nightstar moved closer to the computer, eyes fixed on the screen but keeping Oracle in the corner of her eye.

"Ready?" Oracle asked. She started the video without waiting for a reply.

Dick and Bruce appeared on the screen. They were small, the camera a fair distance away however, their voices came through loud and clear. Bruce was sitting at the computer while Dick walked over to stand behind him.

Dick spoke first, causing Nightstar to jump a little at the volume and intensity of his voice. Oracle seemed pleased, as if she had purposely planned to shock her.

"Bruce, we need to talk."

"No. We do not."

"Bruce-"

"Dick, we have nothing to talk about. Not even about your daughter."

"How about your son?" Dick countered in a hard tone. It was confrontational, even when viewed through pixels on the screen.

"What about Damian?" Bruce didn't even swerve around to face Dick.

"Why have you grounded him? What's wrong with him taking the Batsuit out while you're gone? We've all done that before."

Bruce sighed heavily. "Fine. I'll talk. Dick, why do you think I took you boys and Cassandra in?"

"Because…" Dick didn't seem to want to answer the question. "I would like to think you felt come kind of connection to us."

"Why did I let you fight crime with me, even though it was dangerous?"

"Because we didn't give you any other choice?" Dick seemed confused with all the questions.

"That is one reason, yes. But, I don't want you to turn out like me. I don't want any of you to be Batman. You, Jason, Tim, Damian, even Cass. You have your own places in the world."

"Being Batman doesn't make us you," Dick responded.

Nightstar moved closer to the screen, trying to figure out her father's expression. It was difficult to make it out through the pixels. His stance and tone of voice gave nothing away.

"I proved that."

"Dick." Bruce sighed again. "You're you. Damian is… Damian has been told from birth that he's to be Batman. He has little outside of that goal."

Dick's weight shifted back as he took a step back in surprise.

"You want him to… what? Find some kind of… cause?" Nightstar could at least tell her dad wasn't convinced and he wasn't impressed. "You want him to find a reason to be Batman or something?"

"No."

"What is it then?"

Bruce quickly placed his hands on the computer's console. The motion would have been an angry bang except there was no sound as he stood up.

"I want him to find something outside of this life and being Batman. And I've a veiled and tiny hope that he'd give up on this life. I'd think you'd understand that, being a father."

Nightstar had to glance at the elapsing time in the corner to check that the footage wasn't paused. Everything on screen seemed to stop. Her heart seemed to stop. Oracle moved out of the corner of her eye, turning to give her a look she couldn't probably see.

"You can't do that Bruce. Damian and Mar'i are different people with different circumstances and different abilities. You can't compare them like that." Dick turned to walk away.

Oracle tapped a key and the footage froze. Nightstar's heart skipped a beat as she had forgotten the other woman was there.

"Has Damian seen this?" she questioned quietly. It was the first thought which came to mind. Bruce had laid out his reasons as clear as the older man could. Even if Damian didn't like them, it would help if he knew it wasn't because of anything he did.

"No," Oracle responded firmly. It didn't occur to her to show Damian this. Really, it had nothing to do with her. But, now that Nightstar had mentioned it, she wondered if it might be a good idea.

Oracle was contemplating that when the lights flickered and there was a far-off rumble.

Nightstar had moved to the window before everything went still.

"What was that?" she questioned, hanging half-out. She could see what looked like smoke in the distance.

This night was about to get busy.