[the muddy hands and the snarl, lips pulled back over gums like a rabid dog, doesn't do anything to deter the smile that breaks over Dick's face-- not that Jason can see it-- but the laugh breaks free, a delighted sound like it's been knocked free from the bottom of a river, bubbles rising to the surface finally.
he reaches out with one hand slowly, steadily, and touches Jason's temple, saying, with triumph]
Jason.
[give him a minute to swallow the pure awe at seeing him this close, this big-- and in the freaking Robin costume, that's going to be a talking point, but]
[The laugh settled something in his chest. It was a raw sound, bright and unfiltered despite the older boy's age. He hadn't heard it during their short day together all those years ago, but even so the sound caught in his ears and coaxed an answering smile to his lips.
It was Richard. The poke confirmed it and even though the casual mention of his name should have made him uneasy considering the circumstances, he only let out a peal of laughter of his own before he reached out to poke the mask right in the center of what should be his friend's forehead.]
What are you doing here? [A pause. A blink. A small glance around the expansive, alien darkness.] ...Where is here?
[and still, still, that happy, bright laugh even when the circumstances far from call from it, down here in the dark and the filth with him. still.
he goes crosseyed at the almost-touch, doesn't still and doesn't flinch like he would have because this is his friend, this is Jay.]
The sewer. Underground. Not supposed to be down here with us, Jay. [his tone a little more subdued, even though he's so, so happy to see him. happy, for once, a stolen moment down here] Fight with the Bat?
[He made a face at the suggestion that they were in the sewers, the half detached domino doing little to hide it. The water he'd been rushed through hadn't been sewage and the mud didn't seem like anything other than dirt, but he still had a moment of childlike disgust before he heaved a sigh and reached up to peel the rest of his sodden domino off his face. Bruce would be pissed about it, but he'd be sure to glue it back on before they reached the surface.
It wasn't like the mask was hiding his identity from Richard, after all.
Stowing the mask in his belt, he winced as he gingerly rolled his joints to feel exactly how badly he was injured after the concrete waterslide from hell.]
Yeah. Got thrown off a walkway and apparently flushed. Need to get back up there, though. He needs my help!
[Did Bruce actually need his help? Probably not. But he liked to think he was at least a little useful. Even if he felt a little bit like a drowned rat as he unclipped his cape so he could bring it around and start wringing water out of it.]
[his own mask has done wonders to hide his incredibly expressive face at one point, and since being turned into a frozen blueberry Gatorade, he's gotten better at it. so there's no trace of the minute widening of his eyes when he sees the full extent of Robin's face, the dark circles no doubt under his eyes even in the dim lighting down here.]
Rest, first. [it's an echo of so long ago, tone a little more disapproving] Batman can handle. You handle this.
[kind of gestures to all of Jason, but doesn't go as far as to touch him again to see if he's hurt]
[It was a little strange how he felt so close to the other boy, but hadn't actually ever seen his face. He'd heard his voice, felt his warmth and his protection, but that avian mask had always been securely in place. As a kid, he'd found it weird and a little endearing....but as Robin, there was just the smallest little itch of curiosity starting in the back of his mind.
The itch was easily ignored when faced with the boy's all too familiar over protectiveness, however.
He snorted softly, rolling his eyes a little as he aimed a Look at his friend's direction as he staggered a little further away from the edge of the run off he'd managed to escape from. He wasn't heading for the door yet...but it was clear he had no plans on waiting for long.]
You can't disappear on me for years and then immediately go back to fussing, Richard. Come on, moving will warm me up. That water was freezing.
[He was pointedly not paying any heed to the many scrapes and oozing cuts on his bare arms and legs that were in clear view now that his cape was off and in his hands instead of around his shoulders.]
[Though he only saw the look a couple of times, it's nostalgic to the Talon. It's fond, though unnecessary, as most emotions are as far as he's been taught. But he still worries, still breathes, still has the laughter to spare, very sparingly. ]
Hurt. Gonna get infected. Besides, I saw you.
[he means up there, his answer petulant beneath that muffled mask, beneath the ease of his long limbs at his side, following after the boy without another word.]
[He paused mid-step, half turning to eye his over protective companion. For a moment, it looked like he might actually stop. Maybe ask a few questions or take Dick up on his suggestion of medical attention...but then he was just wiping a trickle of red off his face from where it was trickling from a scrape at his hairline.]
So you know how to get back up there from here? Awesome, let's go.
[He was Robin. He'd been hurt way worse than this (He hadn't. Not yet) and he wasn't about to let a few scrapes or hypothermia keep him from helping people.]
[That's probably much better than admitting he'd seen him throughout Gotham from time to time, Before the entire Robin situation. Which, though he has no right to complain about...he's not thrilled.
Speaking of--]
Hurt. You're hurt.
[he'll show him the way up, but give him a second to yoink a strip of cloth from his uniform (hardly much cleaner) to dab at Robin's forehead]
[He didn't like having to stop, but Dick's fussing was hard to evade. Honestly, the older boy was almost as bad as Alfred. The comparison made his frown fade a little, but he still huffed a little as he fidgeted under the dabbing.
He totally didn't wince, either. Not even a little. He was Robin, Robin was stronger than wincing at a cut being touched.]
[Dick is still trained to pick up on the slightest change of a person's expression, and the wincing is certainly caught. He gentles his touch, as much as he can with hands that are used to taking lives more than being kind.]
Well, duh. I mean what's it for? You wore it back then, too.
[He noticed the gentling, but he couldn't comment on it without first admitting that it had been too hard before, so he just made due with a small tilt of his head to make it easier for the older boy to reach the scrape.]
You've seen my face, let me see yours? I won't tell if you don't. 'S only fair, Richard.
[If he knew that Dick wasn't going to rat him out for being Robin, maybe he could hide his domino coming off from Bruce?]
[Dick jolts-- his name. Jason called him by his name. The boy looks so earnest, those blue eyes twinkling. He stills. Considers.
He has no doubt his face would look terrifying to anyone. He hasn't seen it for himself in some time, aside from in puddles of water, or blood. But he remembers he has some scarring, from Before. And his eyes used to be...different.]
You want to see it?
[he says it with awe, returning to the task at hand]
[Of course he called him by his name. What else would he call him? 'Duckie' was a tease more than a nickname, but if Dick was going to react like that to the name he'd given Jason a couple of years ago, maybe he'd stick with it. He didn't want to upset the older boy, after all.
While Dick went back to nursing the oozing cut, Jason reached up to lightly trail his fingers over the hard outer layer of the mask.]
You're my friend, 'course I wanna see what you look like. 'Sides, you're not gunna let me get back up there until you finish mother henning me, so I may as well get to see you while you do it.
[He won't be adverse to being called 'Duckie' by Jason again. But he does like his name better, out of Jason's mouth. It sounds better than when the masters say it, when the other talons do-- they say it with venom, with the intent to twist and crack his bones. when Jason says it its like a breath of fresh air, like he's a person.
he holds the edge of his mask with nimble fingers. hums.]
If you say so.
[there's some anxiety, though, that Jason will turn away when he sees him.
but he hadn't, before. taking a deep breath, Dick slowly takes the mask from his face. it's scarred, pale, and his eyes are golden, eerie. he does look proper dead, expression carefully neutral]
[He flashed another of those big, lop sided grins, flicking his thumb over the edge of that smooth, almost featureless mask. A thrill of excitement ran through him with the older boy reached up as well and he rocked back and forth on his heels. He was finally going to get to see his friend, finally going to get to really meet him after all the years.
It probably shouldn't have been so exciting considering they'd only really interacted twice, and yet he couldn't quite stop himself from it.
The face underneath wasn't the face he'd been expecting, but he didn't pull away from it. He reached up, gloved fingers light as they traced over pale scars. One day he'd have some to match, but for now he just learned them as he'd otherwise learn the face of any other he'd consider 'friend'.]
There you are. My Richard, the biggest mother hen.
[He stuck his tongue out cheekily, laughing openly in the underground cavern like he hadn't in that seedy laundromat.]
[he barely holds his breath-- frankly, doesn't need to draw breath anymore, but awaiting Jason's reaction feels necessary-- just in case he runs, just in case he frightens the boy--
but there, unobscured by the mask, his own eyes take in that smile, familiar and nostalgic and utterly unafraid. just like the first time they'd met those years ago. hopefully he'll always see Dick in that way-- my Richard he says, like he isn't some monster down here in the dark and the damp.
as if sunlight filters down here. Dick regards him with similar awe, the touch upon his face unfamiliar, but not unwanted. just-- nostalgic, like someone had touched his face like this once before]
[Owlet? That grin twisted a little as Jason scrunched his nose a little, but his amusement never left his eyes.]
I ain't no baby! And I'm Robin, not an owl. Weirdo.
[He puffed his chest a little, showing off the bright colors of the suit that Bruce had helped him design. He hadn't liked it at first, thought it was too flashy and a little childish, but then Bruce had told him about how he'd gotten the design. The boy from the circus that had lost everything. The boy that Bruce hadn't been able to save.
He'd loved the colors ever since. He wore them as a memory, but also as a promise that no other kid had to feel like that again. That Batman and Robin were there to keep the bad people away. Because no kid deserved to die like Dick Grayson or live like Jason Todd and it was his job as Robin to make sure it didn't happen.
He gave a limp strand of hair almost as dark as his own a small tug before he dropped his hand and held out his arms with an exasperated huff. Everywhere the uniform didn't touch was covered in goosebumps and scrapes.]
[Robin....Robin. There's a flash behind his eyeballs, an accompanying sharp pain in his head that causes him to wince slightly--
There's something about that name combined with the colors of the uniform that echoes through his head like the ringing of a deep, mournful bell--
and then it's gone. blinking, he finishes fussing with another swipe of the cloth. head wounds do bleed a lot, and it's not going to get any better down here...the sooner they get up to the surface, the better]
[He was still under the last of the care given to the cut at his hairline, hissing out a little puff of discomfort at the sting. But he'd said he'd be still and he was. The moment the older boy released him, however, the smaller was darting ahead with the boundless energy of youth. One almost wouldn't be able to tell that he'd nearly drowned not twenty minutes before.
He clipped his cape back on as he spun around, head tilted back and face turned up to look at the ceiling of the cavern.]
This place is huge. And it looks kinda like it was dug out? This isn't a natural cave, is it.
[The words were technically a question, but he didn't ask it like one. He could see the weird mix of natural erosion and human hands at work. After all, water erosion didn't create doorways or halls.]
What is this place? You live down here? [Us. Richard had said 'us', earlier.] How many of you?
[Dick can only hope he doesn't discover any more of these long walls of carved out stone and brick and eventually bone if you get really deep into the Court's territory. he doesn't want to lie to Jason, that would be dangerous, and setting him up for failure. for death.]
Live and work down here. This place has been like this hundreds of years. There are many, but you shouldn't meet them.
[he follows Jason with quick strides, though his gaze flickers around them for any other Talons]
[Unfortunately for Dick, the simple answers only piqued his endless curiosity. Jason was a boy who'd escaped into his books and imagination as much as possible when Willis had been around and that had set his mind in motion without much in the way of safe guards.
Also, he had absolutely no idea where he was going, but Dick was trusting him to lead and Jason wanted nothing more than to see as much as he possibly could while also figuring out how to get back up to where Batman was no doubt searching for him.
'Many' made him pause, however, and he gnawed his lower lip before pulling his domino back out of his belt.]
I don't mind if you know who I am, but Batman won't like it and he'll be mad if anyone else knows.
[He wiped the corner of his still damp cape over his face, then pulled out a small bottle of spirit gum to try and restick his mask.]
[he has a Bad feeling about Jason's curiosity...the same kind that got him to show kindness to a boy who was no longer a human back then. kindness, a saving hand. but if he found out more about the Court, Dick has no doubt he won't look into it. and he can't have that (can't have him knowing all the blood he's got on his hands)]
Batman.
[he wrinkles his nose. apparently he isn't very impressed.]
[He should have a Bad Feeling about Jason's curiosity. It wasn't something that was going to go away. Until, of course, it did. Even back in that laundromat he'd been relentless with his questions, leading Dick around the little bodega next door with 'What kind of food do you like' and 'Pick a flavor! I hadda good week, I gets you one' on his lips at every turn. He wasn't one to leave something alone until he was satisfied with the answer unless he was threatened and even that was starting to get less of a reaction.
Not that Bruce really meant it when he barked at Jason's questions. Most of the time.]
He's pretty okay, stop making that face. He gave me a room. A real room with a real bed and all the snacks I want. And...and he doesn't want anything for it. [The smaller boy's eyes fell to the floor, a little bit of the uncertainty of the child before settling into his shoulders.] Thought he did, at first. Tried to..to pay him back. He didn't take me up on the offer, though. Still hasn't. So...yeah.
Don't make that face.
[He frowned a little, a streak of protectiveness flickering in his eyes as he reached out to poke a finger against the older boy's chest while he waited for the glue on his skin to get tacky.]
[he huffs, more expression these past 10 minutes than he's managed in the past what, 10 years? Thanks, Batman! his face goes through an assortment of emotions at Jason's story: alarm, anger, relief. it softens, minutely. but he still has that frown twitching at his mouth]
Don't pay. Should be taking care of you. [if Dick weren't-- the way he is, he could have taken care of Jason. Batman, from what he's seen and heard, and knows, can do so much more than he ever could. Bruce Wayne.]
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branchandroot
*ralph voice* ahahaha im in danger !!
Date: 2025-09-17 02:45 am (UTC)he reaches out with one hand slowly, steadily, and touches Jason's temple, saying, with triumph]
Jason.
[give him a minute to swallow the pure awe at seeing him this close, this big-- and in the freaking Robin costume, that's going to be a talking point, but]
no subject
Date: 2025-11-04 04:57 am (UTC)It was Richard. The poke confirmed it and even though the casual mention of his name should have made him uneasy considering the circumstances, he only let out a peal of laughter of his own before he reached out to poke the mask right in the center of what should be his friend's forehead.]
What are you doing here? [A pause. A blink. A small glance around the expansive, alien darkness.] ...Where is here?
im sorry i replied fast PLEASE take all your time! i am in no rush ever i got excited...
Date: 2025-11-04 05:27 am (UTC)he goes crosseyed at the almost-touch, doesn't still and doesn't flinch like he would have because this is his friend, this is Jay.]
The sewer. Underground. Not supposed to be down here with us, Jay. [his tone a little more subdued, even though he's so, so happy to see him. happy, for once, a stolen moment down here] Fight with the Bat?
XD No worries. I've got a bit of umph tonight, apparently.
Date: 2025-11-04 05:40 am (UTC)It wasn't like the mask was hiding his identity from Richard, after all.
Stowing the mask in his belt, he winced as he gingerly rolled his joints to feel exactly how badly he was injured after the concrete waterslide from hell.]
Yeah. Got thrown off a walkway and apparently flushed. Need to get back up there, though. He needs my help!
[Did Bruce actually need his help? Probably not. But he liked to think he was at least a little useful. Even if he felt a little bit like a drowned rat as he unclipped his cape so he could bring it around and start wringing water out of it.]
How far down are we?
<33333
Date: 2025-11-04 06:09 am (UTC)Rest, first. [it's an echo of so long ago, tone a little more disapproving] Batman can handle. You handle this.
[kind of gestures to all of Jason, but doesn't go as far as to touch him again to see if he's hurt]
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Date: 2025-11-04 06:32 am (UTC)The itch was easily ignored when faced with the boy's all too familiar over protectiveness, however.
He snorted softly, rolling his eyes a little as he aimed a Look at his friend's direction as he staggered a little further away from the edge of the run off he'd managed to escape from. He wasn't heading for the door yet...but it was clear he had no plans on waiting for long.]
You can't disappear on me for years and then immediately go back to fussing, Richard. Come on, moving will warm me up. That water was freezing.
[He was pointedly not paying any heed to the many scrapes and oozing cuts on his bare arms and legs that were in clear view now that his cape was off and in his hands instead of around his shoulders.]
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Date: 2025-11-04 06:57 am (UTC)Hurt. Gonna get infected. Besides, I saw you.
[he means up there, his answer petulant beneath that muffled mask, beneath the ease of his long limbs at his side, following after the boy without another word.]
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Date: 2025-11-28 06:18 am (UTC)[He paused mid-step, half turning to eye his over protective companion. For a moment, it looked like he might actually stop. Maybe ask a few questions or take Dick up on his suggestion of medical attention...but then he was just wiping a trickle of red off his face from where it was trickling from a scrape at his hairline.]
So you know how to get back up there from here? Awesome, let's go.
[He was Robin. He'd been hurt way worse than this (He hadn't. Not yet) and he wasn't about to let a few scrapes or hypothermia keep him from helping people.]
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Date: 2025-11-28 07:07 am (UTC)Speaking of--]
Hurt. You're hurt.
[he'll show him the way up, but give him a second to yoink a strip of cloth from his uniform (hardly much cleaner) to dab at Robin's forehead]
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Date: 2025-11-28 07:12 am (UTC)He totally didn't wince, either. Not even a little. He was Robin, Robin was stronger than wincing at a cut being touched.]
'M fine.
[It wasn't a whine, but only barely.]
Why do you wear that?
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Date: 2025-11-28 07:32 am (UTC)Wear?
[he looks down at his clothes]
It's a uniform. Like yours is.
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Date: 2025-11-28 07:38 am (UTC)[He noticed the gentling, but he couldn't comment on it without first admitting that it had been too hard before, so he just made due with a small tilt of his head to make it easier for the older boy to reach the scrape.]
You've seen my face, let me see yours? I won't tell if you don't. 'S only fair, Richard.
[If he knew that Dick wasn't going to rat him out for being Robin, maybe he could hide his domino coming off from Bruce?]
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Date: 2025-11-28 07:53 am (UTC)He has no doubt his face would look terrifying to anyone. He hasn't seen it for himself in some time, aside from in puddles of water, or blood. But he remembers he has some scarring, from Before. And his eyes used to be...different.]
You want to see it?
[he says it with awe, returning to the task at hand]
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Date: 2025-11-28 08:02 am (UTC)While Dick went back to nursing the oozing cut, Jason reached up to lightly trail his fingers over the hard outer layer of the mask.]
You're my friend, 'course I wanna see what you look like. 'Sides, you're not gunna let me get back up there until you finish mother henning me, so I may as well get to see you while you do it.
no subject
Date: 2025-11-28 08:20 am (UTC)[He won't be adverse to being called 'Duckie' by Jason again. But he does like his name better, out of Jason's mouth. It sounds better than when the masters say it, when the other talons do-- they say it with venom, with the intent to twist and crack his bones. when Jason says it its like a breath of fresh air, like he's a person.
he holds the edge of his mask with nimble fingers. hums.]
If you say so.
[there's some anxiety, though, that Jason will turn away when he sees him.
but he hadn't, before. taking a deep breath, Dick slowly takes the mask from his face. it's scarred, pale, and his eyes are golden, eerie. he does look proper dead, expression carefully neutral]
no subject
Date: 2025-11-28 08:30 am (UTC)[He flashed another of those big, lop sided grins, flicking his thumb over the edge of that smooth, almost featureless mask. A thrill of excitement ran through him with the older boy reached up as well and he rocked back and forth on his heels. He was finally going to get to see his friend, finally going to get to really meet him after all the years.
It probably shouldn't have been so exciting considering they'd only really interacted twice, and yet he couldn't quite stop himself from it.
The face underneath wasn't the face he'd been expecting, but he didn't pull away from it. He reached up, gloved fingers light as they traced over pale scars. One day he'd have some to match, but for now he just learned them as he'd otherwise learn the face of any other he'd consider 'friend'.]
There you are. My Richard, the biggest mother hen.
[He stuck his tongue out cheekily, laughing openly in the underground cavern like he hadn't in that seedy laundromat.]
no subject
Date: 2025-11-29 02:32 am (UTC)but there, unobscured by the mask, his own eyes take in that smile, familiar and nostalgic and utterly unafraid. just like the first time they'd met those years ago. hopefully he'll always see Dick in that way-- my Richard he says, like he isn't some monster down here in the dark and the damp.
as if sunlight filters down here. Dick regards him with similar awe, the touch upon his face unfamiliar, but not unwanted. just-- nostalgic, like someone had touched his face like this once before]
Jason. Owlet.
no subject
Date: 2025-11-29 02:53 am (UTC)I ain't no baby! And I'm Robin, not an owl. Weirdo.
[He puffed his chest a little, showing off the bright colors of the suit that Bruce had helped him design. He hadn't liked it at first, thought it was too flashy and a little childish, but then Bruce had told him about how he'd gotten the design. The boy from the circus that had lost everything. The boy that Bruce hadn't been able to save.
He'd loved the colors ever since. He wore them as a memory, but also as a promise that no other kid had to feel like that again. That Batman and Robin were there to keep the bad people away. Because no kid deserved to die like Dick Grayson or live like Jason Todd and it was his job as Robin to make sure it didn't happen.
He gave a limp strand of hair almost as dark as his own a small tug before he dropped his hand and held out his arms with an exasperated huff. Everywhere the uniform didn't touch was covered in goosebumps and scrapes.]
Go on, get your fussing out. We gotta go.
no subject
Date: 2025-11-29 03:19 am (UTC)There's something about that name combined with the colors of the uniform that echoes through his head like the ringing of a deep, mournful bell--
and then it's gone. blinking, he finishes fussing with another swipe of the cloth. head wounds do bleed a lot, and it's not going to get any better down here...the sooner they get up to the surface, the better]
Owlet. Let's go up, then.
no subject
Date: 2025-11-29 03:37 am (UTC)He clipped his cape back on as he spun around, head tilted back and face turned up to look at the ceiling of the cavern.]
This place is huge. And it looks kinda like it was dug out? This isn't a natural cave, is it.
[The words were technically a question, but he didn't ask it like one. He could see the weird mix of natural erosion and human hands at work. After all, water erosion didn't create doorways or halls.]
What is this place? You live down here? [Us. Richard had said 'us', earlier.] How many of you?
no subject
Date: 2025-11-29 03:55 am (UTC)Live and work down here. This place has been like this hundreds of years. There are many, but you shouldn't meet them.
[he follows Jason with quick strides, though his gaze flickers around them for any other Talons]
no subject
Date: 2025-11-29 04:08 am (UTC)Also, he had absolutely no idea where he was going, but Dick was trusting him to lead and Jason wanted nothing more than to see as much as he possibly could while also figuring out how to get back up to where Batman was no doubt searching for him.
'Many' made him pause, however, and he gnawed his lower lip before pulling his domino back out of his belt.]
I don't mind if you know who I am, but Batman won't like it and he'll be mad if anyone else knows.
[He wiped the corner of his still damp cape over his face, then pulled out a small bottle of spirit gum to try and restick his mask.]
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Date: 2025-11-29 04:39 am (UTC)Batman.
[he wrinkles his nose. apparently he isn't very impressed.]
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Date: 2025-11-29 04:53 am (UTC)Not that Bruce really meant it when he barked at Jason's questions. Most of the time.]
He's pretty okay, stop making that face. He gave me a room. A real room with a real bed and all the snacks I want. And...and he doesn't want anything for it. [The smaller boy's eyes fell to the floor, a little bit of the uncertainty of the child before settling into his shoulders.] Thought he did, at first. Tried to..to pay him back. He didn't take me up on the offer, though. Still hasn't. So...yeah.
Don't make that face.
[He frowned a little, a streak of protectiveness flickering in his eyes as he reached out to poke a finger against the older boy's chest while he waited for the glue on his skin to get tacky.]
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Date: 2025-11-29 05:14 am (UTC)Don't pay. Should be taking care of you. [if Dick weren't-- the way he is, he could have taken care of Jason. Batman, from what he's seen and heard, and knows, can do so much more than he ever could. Bruce Wayne.]
The-- employer watches Batman.
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From:Entirely up to you if you want Dick to join them or slip back into the waterways.
From:gotcha!
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