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Post by k on Jan 27, 2011 23:31:39 GMT -5
[/b] she joked, turning to Robin and making a sweeping motion toward the skyroof.[/ul]
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Dick Grayson - Nightwing
Registered On: Nov 13, 2010 18:14:54 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 1,416
~ Relationship Status: Dating
~ Partner: Kory Anders
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Post by Dick Grayson - Nightwing on Jan 28, 2011 1:37:19 GMT -5
Dick knew what they got from this investigation would definitely help them to try and put things together. It was not all that common for the Ventriloquist to sink to robbing a bank himself, knowingly understanding the consequences of going out and doing something like that. Most of the mastermind criminals planned everything down to the t. Every if the Ventriloquist carried a dummy around and acted like it was real...that man usually had a way to set someone else up for the crime every now and then to help him get out of it. But with this robbery, the Ventriloquist had lost his gang. Which meant he lost the muscle to his future plans.
No sooner after the robbery, the Ventriloquist must have someone covering for him. But who would the man run to for help and how much money did he get away with. Money was always a key in the criminal world. And all the major gangs in Gotham have been able to turn their way of living into a business. Even some of the more powerful businessmen seemed to have an other business unseen to the eyes of the police at times. That was the thing about mastering what the criminals would consider 'the art of crime', they were able to cover up the leads that would usually lead back to them. Gotham definitely seemed to have the criminal work down to an art at times.
Dick stood along side of Babs, both of them undercover like they usually were. They had made it there mainly by foot. Any type of bat-vehicle would draw too much attention in this part of town. After all that running from roof top to roof top and using the line guns a lot, Dick was in quite a bit of pain. The muscle of his upper arm was still very tender from the bullet wound. Every now and then while he just stood on the roof, he winced a bit if he moved his arm in the wrong way. Since the night of the bank robbery, Dick had had his arm wrapped to cover where the bullet has grazed his arm. He just wished it would heal faster so he could work at full strength again. Yeah, he could keep up with Batgirl when he was Robin, but ignoring the pain only made the pain worse to bare after all the work. But Dick wasn't one to sit back and let things heal properly like he should be doing, especially after an accident like that had been. It was a bit more of a serious problem then most. To be honest, Dick would have preferred a broken bone compared to having a damaged muscle. It always seemed to take longer to heal from.
Looking over at Batgirl, Dick knew she was probably feeling the pain after traveling by foot. He had known about her broken rib and knew how much that could hurt. He had been through his fair share of injuries through out his crime fighting life. Normally Dick could read her face easily, he could tell when she probably felt a sharp pain from the broken rib. But she seemed to be covering up the pain a lot more when she was Batgirl. Just because he had not hung out with Babs in a while did not mean he would forget the little things that he noticed about Babs. He waited back as Babs opened the skyroof for them to sneak in.
"Ha ha, very funny," Dick responded to Babs's joke as he walked pass her. Dick often enjoyed the small sort of teasing the two put each other through. It was just something they did ever since the two had joined crime fighting together. But back when they first started it hadn't all be that much of a game. As time went on, Dick had grown more fond of having Babs around on patrols and the cases they took on. It wasn't like Bruce was all that much company as Batman. Though there were times when one shouldn't be joking around in such serious times when working with Batman. That was usually how Dick ended up on Bruce's bad side after a patrol.
Dick jumped down through the skyroof into the corridor down below them. He landed lightly, bending his knees to help take the impact of the landing. He used both arm to help him keep his balance, forgetting about his bad arm for a moment. As he stood back up, he winced in pain a bit. Way to go, injure it more, Dick thought to himself. He looked around the room. All the lights were out, which was a good meaning that no one was around. Dick waited for Babs to make her way down into the building as well.
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Post by sincereagape on Jan 29, 2011 16:28:20 GMT -5
OOC/GM: If/When Babs and Dick search the back room, once again they will find the information below.....as well as a photo copy of driver license belonging to Nina Stenent
The license includes her home address.
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Last Edit: Jan 29, 2011 23:16:05 GMT -5 by k
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Post by k on Jan 29, 2011 23:12:42 GMT -5
[OOC: Thank you for posting that again, it's a great help! (: ] [/b] Babs said in a low whisper as she glanced at the room numbers. The room they were looking for was at least another forty or so. By her calculations it would definitely be on this floor - the darkness was a good aid to them right now. It made Babs feel slightly more secure about this as she started down the corridor, keeping an eye on the numbers as they past. It didn't take her long before she stopped by a rather beaten grubby room. It appeared someone had tried to break in, but she took no heed to it. The likelihood was that it'd been that way since before the Ventriloquist's arrival. "Luxury, ah?" she commented in a whisper. [/ul]
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Dick Grayson - Nightwing
Registered On: Nov 13, 2010 18:14:54 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 1,416
~ Relationship Status: Dating
~ Partner: Kory Anders
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Post by Dick Grayson - Nightwing on Jan 30, 2011 15:46:30 GMT -5
Dick had been looking down the corridor hall as Batgirl joined him down there. Dick looked around at the place. Even though the place was shadowed by the darkness of the night, Dick could still make out the doorways that followed through the hall. Everything seemed to be worn by so much use or from not being probably cared for. Dick turned when he heard Babs's soft whisper to get on with the search.
"Lead the way," Dick said. He had not gotten all the information that Babs possessed that night. He felt really stupid almost giving away the fact that he had not gotten to all the criminal case files Babs had probably managed to in the past day or so. Of course Babs could easily get ahead on a case, her father was the Commissioner after all. He knew Babs was smart enough to look over files and clever enough to not let anyone to have notice that she had done so. Dick followed Babs's lead for sometime until she stopped. They must have found the room. Dick looked at the door way. Go figure, a criminal would hide out around here. It fit their type perfectly.
"Luxury? I've seen sewer ways that look neater than this. But what do you expect from a rat's nest," Dick commented as he approached the door. He probably could have left out his comment on sewer ways. Though it could be partially true. Dick remembered the times of chasing the stranger type of criminals that actually tried to use the disgusting sewer ways for traveling. That was usually one of the places Dick liked to avoid getting into if he could. But with some of the weirdos they had running around, it was some what unlikely.
Dick reached for the doorknob, then turned the handle and the door opened. "Looks like someone was in a major rush," he said. At least it saved them time from him trying to pick the lock.
Dick looked around the abandoned room. It was somewhat trashed, with very noticeable signs of the Ventriloquist being in a huge rush to gather what he could and get out of there. There was a large circular wooden table that caught Dick's attention as he looked around the room. He started to walk over towards it's direction. "I can image what Alfred would think of this place if he saw it," Dick joked, a small half smile came to his face as he held back a light laugh at the thought. Alfred was always so strict with his cleaning and keeping everything in order. Even the Batcave was never left untouched.
As he got closer to the table, he could just barely make out the objects that were scattered on the table. Dick pulled out a small flashlight so he could look over the matter better. The small light illuminated the view of the table top, the light grew smaller as he got closer. Now at the table, Dick leaned on it a bit as he looked over the many wallets that sat on it. All the wallets had been tore through and searched. There were quite a few credit cards laying about the table, along with woman's purses emptied out. There were tubes of lipstick laying about along with little mirrors, and power cases.
A lot of the credit cards and licenses were scatter from their original placements. There were a few that seemed to still be in their owner's wallets. Dick picked up one of the wallets and opened it up. There was a picture of someones family with two children and the parents. The license was still in place of the wallet, but there was no money in the wallet. "Looks like all he wanted was the cash from the people. There are a lot of credit cards that are left behind," Dick said. "So we can rule out the attempt of using the people's identities for other purchases as well as trying to steal their identities." He continued to look over the table for any other pieces of information that could be useful as he left Babs so she could check over some other things in the room.
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Post by k on Jan 30, 2011 16:32:04 GMT -5
[/b] she said in a low whisper, pointing her torch toward Robin. She didn't want to leave them here, especially in the Casino. No doubt if the Ventriloquist wasn't going to use them for theft then somebody else would. Robin and Batgirl could make a surprise drop off at the police station later and return the wallets - albeit devoid of any money, but they'd still be valuable to the people who owned them. The alternative was leaving them behind, and Babs wasn't prepared to do that. Her eyes caught something else, something on the end of the table that Dick had missed. She frowned, holding the torch up as she approached, reaching out to the pieces of paper. There were some other files, but the one thing that interested her the most was a photo. She picked it up, turning to face the window, so the small amount of light could flurry in from there and she could see it better. It was unmistakable, because she'd know that face anywhere. Babs glanced back up at Robin, not entirely sure about what she was seeing here. She hadn't yet looked over the accompanying piece of paper. "So, this is what the great Dick Grayson gets up to when he's not busy," Babs commented, holding the photo out to Robin. Why did the Ventriloquist have this photo? Did he know about Dick? And, the main question to her right now, Babs thought, who was this woman he appeared to be conversing with in the park? This photo couldn't be very old - it definitely appeared recent. Was this another piece in the puzzle about where Dick was disappearing to recently?[/ul]
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Dick Grayson - Nightwing
Registered On: Nov 13, 2010 18:14:54 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 1,416
~ Relationship Status: Dating
~ Partner: Kory Anders
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Post by Dick Grayson - Nightwing on Jan 30, 2011 21:10:06 GMT -5
"Good idea," Dick replied about taking the wallets with them. They would just have to find something they could carry everything with them before they left the place after searching it. Dick continued to look at the wallets and cards. He found it strange that the Ventriloquist would go through all that trouble just to steal the cash from the people. It would probably had been easier to use that big goon of his, Rhino to break a mac machine and steal the money from there. Unless the Ventriloquist was trying to establish that he was back in town and was going to cause more trouble like what he had done at the bank.
Dick attention was drawn away from his searching when he heard the annoyed tone in Babs's voice. He stood up right and was going to see what she was talking about, but he didn't get the chance. Batgirl was right in front of him holding a photo out to him. "What are you talking about," Dick started as he reached out for the photo.
Once he had a hold of it, he lifted his flashlight up a bit to light the the image of the photo. It was then that he realized what Babs was talking about. There he saw himself in the picture. It was from the time he had been in the park talking with Dr. Isley. Then he remembered Dr. Isley had pointed out the man that had gotten a picture of the two of them talking...It was the same man that had shot at him. But why would the Ventriloquist need this a picture like this. Dick started to wonder if the subject in the shot they were focusing on was him or Dr. Isley. Robin stood quiet for a couple of moments, his mind reeling with questions as to why the Ventriloquist had this photo in his place. Was he on to Dick? Or was he after Dr. Isley for some reason?
Remembering that day, the photo of the red hair woman reminded him of how he had lost his focus when he had been around her. Dick had yet to figure out why he had acted a bit strangely around that woman. As far as Dick knew, Dr. Isley was just a normal woman. And that she was one of the guest that had been at the rain forest fund raiser Bruce had thrown a while back ago.
Dick looked back up at Batgirl. He could feel that her eyes had been on him as he had been standing there looking at the photo. And with just one look at her, he knew she was unhappy about something he might have done. "I remember when this was taken, I was talking to Dr. Isley after Clark had left. I was walking around town and ran into the two of them in the park," Dick tried to explain. "I remember seeing the person who took this photo and that person is the same man that shot at me that other night." Dick had a feeling Babs wasn't going to follow with him trying to change the subject from the woman in the photo to the man who had shot at him. Dick had the slightest feeling he knew what Babs was accusing him of. His mind was more on the case now that they had found this photo. Questions kept coming into his head that only further investigations would answer or the Ventriloquist himself.
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Last Edit: Jan 30, 2011 22:13:18 GMT -5 by k
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Post by k on Jan 30, 2011 22:10:03 GMT -5
[/b] Babs asked, unable to keep the cold tone from her voice as she spoke. "And you just happened to run into her? That's interesting," she snapped. She looked down at the photo again, and then back up at Dick. Babs decided she didn't have time for this, and that she didn't even want an excuse. She wasn't prepared to hear whatever it was that Dick had to tell her. There was something going on there, she was sure of it. He'd completely glossed over it, and that was raising her suspicions about it further. She had no right to be angry, she thought, it wasn't like she was actually dating Dick. He could do whatever he liked, and see whoever he liked. However, Babs found herself increasingly upset about the photo, and was unable to hold back her feelings. She glanced down at the paper that had been with the photo, reading the word. Sarin, she thought. The chemical weapon? The nerve gas? It couldn't possibly be that, she thought. Sarin had to mean something else. It could be a name... perhaps it was this Dr Isley's first name, but Babs wasn't sure. She held the piece of paper out to Robin too. "Does that mean anything to you, Boy Cryptic?" She snarked, and picked up the other papers from the desk, holding her torch so she could read them. The first appeared to be a file about Dr Isley. Apparently Sarin wasn't a name at all, as Pamela appeared to be her first name. Babs felt a wave of anger as she read medical profile through. She didn't want to know anything about this woman... and yet, in another way, she did. The more she read, the stranger the whole ordeal was becoming. Babs reached for the second file, shining her torch down when one of the license's on the desk caught her eye. She scooped it up first, looking down at the face of Nina Stinet. Had the Ventriloquist pulled it out purposefully, or was it a coincidence? Taking her mind off the license and wallets, she reached for the other file she'd missed. Babs flipped through it - slightly thicker, definitely more to it. A quick sweep through it left her no doubt - this one was dedicated to Clark Kent - Superman. Babs stared down at it in a stupor. Did this mean the guy was on to Clark and Dick? Babs thought their findings were becoming increasingly weird, although the file on Clark and the file on Isley had momentarily distracted her from her anger at Robin. She continued to leaf through it, deciding she'd take them back to the Batcave where they could be properly looked over for any more clues. Whatever the Ventriloquist was planning, it involved Dr Isley, Clark and Dick. But the choice of people definitely left Isley as the odd one out... unless... Babs' eyes flickered up, putting the articles and photos of Clark back into the file. This was getting stranger, she thought. Her mind wandered back to the photo. Dick had been with Clark moments before that photo had been taken - the three main people this case seemed to be revolving around. Isley was definitely going to be receiving a visit from her now. Babs straightened up, the files in her hand, and she glanced at Robin. This photo incident was making it ever so slightly difficult to work with him right now. She was overreacting - she knew it, he knew it - but fiery Babs wasn't about to apologise for letting her mind run away with her.[/ul]
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Dick Grayson - Nightwing
Registered On: Nov 13, 2010 18:14:54 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 1,416
~ Relationship Status: Dating
~ Partner: Kory Anders
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Post by Dick Grayson - Nightwing on Jan 30, 2011 23:20:08 GMT -5
Dick had noticed that Babs was now glaring at him from behind her Batgirl mask. "Oh, come on. You can't think that I would be seeing her would you? I just met her that day. I was trying to get a hold of Clark," Dick stated. He hoped at least some of what he had said had made it through to Babs. He had forgotten how touchy she could be sometimes if she got mad at him. That's just the reason he never told her about some of the things that happened while he had been away with the Titans. Though Dick had a feeling that Babs knew about some of the stuff about the Titans too. She had her sources and ways of finding out.
Babs just seemed to be accusing him completely with going out with another woman. Dick wouldn't admit it, but he was a bit hurt at her assumptions that he would do such a thing. Didn't she trust him enough to believe that he was telling the truth? She was hardly giving him the chance to explain anything to her. Before he got the chance to say anything else she was holding out another piece of paper and had said another snide remark. Dick took the piece of paper and read the word 'Sarin' on it. He didn't recall every seeing or hearing this word any where recently.
In turn of Babs snippy attitude toward him now, Dick was getting a bit testy with her remarks. She didn't seem to want to hear him out. "Actually, her name was Pamela, I believe," Dick replied dryly, remembering fully well the woman's name.
Dick wasn't about to stand around and take this from her. She should know better that he wasn't seeing anyone else. Yes, he had asked her out a little least than a month ago, but it didn't mean that he was just going to see her a few times and then be interested in someone else at the moment. It was true that they had not made it official or anything, but he was curious as to where these thoughts of her were coming from besides just seeing this resent picture.
He saw that Babs seemed to be ready to head out or something as she had gathered some more files in hand. Dick looked over at her, his eyes a bit narrow because he had become annoyed with being attacked by Babs. He quickly looked away, half hoping she hadn't noticed. He really hated to make the situation worse, but she was making it hard for him not too. Dick looked around the room until he saw a duffel bag laying on the floor not to far away from them. Dick walked over to it and knelt down, opening it and shining his flashlight into it. It was empty, so he picked it up and walked over to the table. "Here, we can use this to return the wallets to the police," Dick said as he walked back over and dropped the bag on the table intentionally.
He grabbed a few of the items and shoved them into the bag. He continued doing so, seeing how Babs now had her hands full with the files she was holding. Dick decided he would look at the files later back at the Batcave. He wasn't about to give her another chance to accuse him of something else. He knew very well that he's words wouldn't be the last ones. Right now, Dick just wanted to cool down. This was the first time a in while since he had fought with Babs. It seemed Dick was getting into fights with a lot of his friends lately.
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Post by k on Jan 31, 2011 0:21:23 GMT -5
[/b] Babs said, going against her own logic. Her tone had dramatically lowered, to the point where she didn't sound angry at all. Simply just upset now and trying to keep her voice steady. She was stupid to think that Dick would be running around with some other girl - but she was a stressed out teenager right now. Her talent for rationality had been buried deep down after she'd broken her ribs and taken a flying leap at a man holding a gun. Why, right now, when she was angry at Dick's reactions and upset at herself, was it so difficult to form a five letter word and apologise for her rash behaviour? Somewhere deep down she'd convinced herself she'd cracked the cause of his multiple disappearances, even though she knew she was very, very wrong. It wouldn't make any sense anyway - she knew how difficult it was to juggle being a student with being a vigilante. There was no way Dick would be setting aside time to juggle a third thing in his life. And that, Babs thought, was why she wondered if there was room for her in his. As Barbara Gordon, not as Batgirl. "Why would the Ventriloquist be interested in you and Clark? And why Pamela?" she asked. She instantly regretted her acidic and accusatory intonation on Pamela's name, because she knew Dick would pick up on it. She was still angry, mostly out of principle now. She didn't want to continue to argue with Dick, but she wouldn't let it go, despite her better judgement. "Or does she prefer Pam?" Babs asked, casually, pretending to flick through the file again. 'Good going, Batgirl,' she thought, 'now you're really going to rile Dick'.[/ul]
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Dick Grayson - Nightwing
Registered On: Nov 13, 2010 18:14:54 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 1,416
~ Relationship Status: Dating
~ Partner: Kory Anders
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Post by Dick Grayson - Nightwing on Jan 31, 2011 1:11:25 GMT -5
Dick silently stuffed the duffel bag with the many wallets and purses that were scatter about the table. He made sure that he picked up every license, credit card, and photographs that he saw laying about. For a quick second, the a random thought came into his head. He wonder if now that they returned the stolen items, how would the police look at it? Yeah, they returned the stuff, but the money was missing. That would only fuel the corrupt officers to have a word or two to to say about their work. Dick shock the stupid random thought. He knew the only reason it would have even come up was because he was mad with Babs now.
He tried to shake the last few words he had said to her, but her next question started out sounding more logical and on the investigation. It was until she had emphasized on the name 'Pamela' that really irritated him. Dick tried to stay cool while he decided he would answer her question. "I sure hope he is not onto Clark's and mine secret, that's for sure," he said and then continued with just a hint of annoyance in his next comment. "As for that woman, she is probably just an innocent bystander getting pulled into this mess." He jammed a few more items into the bag as he said this.
Dick just didn't understand why Babs was still playing on this note from before. He was really getting tired of this back and forth battle right now. It was just really starting to put him in a worse mood than before. And then, Babs just had to add to it. Now she was just adding fuel to the fire, making Dick become more standoffish. Dick stopped for a second, he ran his right gloved hand through his black hair in frustration. He then turned to look at Babs, who seemed to be trying to play it coy. "Would you stop with this already?! I've told you I hardly know that woman. What makes you think I would just from one picture? This investigation has turned into an interrogation, against me! I really don't see what you are getting out of this. If it was to tick me off...then congratulations...you won," Dick's words were sharp and harsh. He was now glaring at her. His blue eyes seemed to burn with his building rage over this conversation.
He could have kept a level head and try to put this to rest, but he was just adding to the fight himself. If she expected him to apologize for not being around so much or walking about and meeting people, then she was wasting her time waiting. As far as he saw it, this fight was completely one sided and not worth his time. Dick turned away and shoved the last few items left on the table into the duffel bag. In silence he zippered the bag and through the strap over his shoulder. He had had just about enough of this. He turned once more to Babs still glaring at her. "I really don't see what you are getting out of this," he said flatly and a bit cooler than before.
Then he decided to place a thought of his out on the table himself. One he knew would rattle her a bit. "And by the way, we'll have to find away to return with stuff without the cops knowing that it was us returning it. All I see is them maybe trying to point their fingers at us and say we were in on this little robber scheme," Dick reply flatly. He knew this would really rub her the wrong way, but at this point it would only seem to make the playing field even right about now.
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Post by k on Jan 31, 2011 1:46:09 GMT -5
[/b] Babs shrugged. "Then I see this," she said, and reached over to grab the photo, holding it up, as if to reinforce her point. She wasn't angry anymore, and it seemed to her that both of them had peaked on the anger front. Their tones were different now, no longer snappy. Babs wasn't prepared to spell out her feelings for Dick, not right here, when they were supposed to be on an investigation. They were supposed to be working on a case, after all. She'd let him figure out the logical progression of why she'd assumed it. This was the kind of awkward side effect of not really defining their relationship, of, rather, going through the motions and not clearing things up for one another. Babs dropped the photo onto the pile of files in her hand, and in turn walked toward Robin, silently putting the files into the duffel bag on his shoulder. She turned around and started toward the door. Then she paused, and she turned around to face him. "I thought we were partners," she explained, returning to a low whisper. She'd really thought that working together with Dick, he would have trusted her with what he was up to. Apparently not, and now his inability to share what was going on with him had led to her accusation and finger pointing. "And I guess I figured if something happened, you'd tell me," she said. She still couldn't quite understand why he hadn't explained to her his mysterious disappearances. Babs couldn't have felt smaller at that point in time. She didn't feel her age at all, she didn't even feel like Batgirl. She felt like a silly little girl talking to a boy. Which, essentially, was what it was boiling down to right now. She had clearly overreacted, and now she'd caused a rift between herself and Dick. That wasn't something she liked. They were supposed to be partners, and work together on these cases, join the dots and figure stuff out. Right now she'd never felt more apart from him, and never felt so inferior. She glanced at the bag, and considered his words. She felt like he was now attacking her, taking a swipe at her father and accusing him personally. Of course, he wasn't, and he was right to assume some of the cops in Gotham were less than honorable. It didn't stop her feeling like he'd made the comment to spite her though. "Well, I'm sure you'll figure something out," she said, in a defeated tone. She couldn't even summon anger at his comment or the ability to debate the loyalty and understanding of Gotham's finest. She did, however, shoot him a glare in place of angry words, just to show him she wasn't going to allow herself to be walked over. [/ul]
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Dick Grayson - Nightwing
Registered On: Nov 13, 2010 18:14:54 GMT -5 ~
Posts: 1,416
~ Relationship Status: Dating
~ Partner: Kory Anders
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Post by Dick Grayson - Nightwing on Jan 31, 2011 10:16:54 GMT -5
Dick was getting even more annoyed with her playing the picture card on him. He could have just explained everything of what he had been doing. But there really wasn't much too it besides him taking on a few cases on his own every now and then. "Just because I disappeared, doesn't mean that that picture has anything to do with it. Have you every stopped to think that maybe it was just the life of Dick Grayson the college student that was getting in my way sometimes," Dick finally caved a little. Maybe that was all Babs wanted to hear. At this point, Dick wasn't into logically thinking out what he wanted to say any more. It was more at the point of him being angry enough to just say almost what ever was coming into his head.
Dick was silent as Babs came forward to put the files into the duffel bag. He didn't even want to make eye contact with her. He knew it would just send the two of them into a deeper rage over what has already been said. Dick was starting to regret quite a bit of what he had said. But what else could he have said? He was being attacked and had to do something to fight off the accusations she had made. And now it was boiling down to the point that he was starting to see what she was getting at. The whole thing about possibly seeing another woman on the side, and his actions of not being with the team lately. Sure it may have taken him a while to realize that that was what Babs may have been waiting for the whole time. Dick had just been to furious with the accusations to realize what she had been getting at with this.
What Babs said next about questioning their partnership, really cut him deep. Dick looked back at her, his eyes softened a bit as he watched her walk away. At least some of what Batgirl was now saying was sinking in. Better late than never. Dick remained silent as Babs continued a bit more. He felt almost defeated in away after this argument. And now it seemed that he was pushing the woman he cared for most away from him. That's all he seemed to be doing lately to everyone. He hardly ever spoke about what was going on, what he had been going through. Most of his friends just seemed to think he was being his usual moody self, but this time spending less time with anyone. To be honest, Dick didn't really have an explanation as to his resent behavior for pushing everyone that cared for him away.
He had been back from the Titans for some time now. At first, it was not all that hard to fall back into line with the order of how Gotham was ran. Dick had stayed quiet at first about his view on how things were being handled. As time went on, when he would even try to take his own approach to a situation, he only seemed to be challenging Batman's authority. And of course, Dick would never express his thoughts or feeling about this. It was always like him to bottle up what was really bothering him. But sooner or later, holding it bad wasn't going to help. There was already tensions building between everyone.
The college part of his life was just half of the puzzle that Babs seemed to be piecing together. But the other half was still something Dick was not going to admit to fully. Though, he had a feeling she could figure most of it out seeing how he had been working a lot on his own. Which only created more of a strain on the situation now. This was the first time anyone had attacked him about his resent behavior. And with it being Babs the one attacking him, Dick was really having a hard time trying not to want to tell her how he felt. Now if it were Bruce, the situation would be a bit different. Dick always hated caving to Bruce. Dick felt that he did have a point to prove and that was what seemed to be frustrating others around him as to his reasons.
The tone of Babs words seemed to show that this fight was nearing the end for now, but Dick had a feeling that it was only the start of things. Her glare seemed to burn through him when he caught her next look. It hurt him to be fighting with her. He often felt like no one would understand why he was acting like he was keeping his distance from everyone. But if Dick was to have a real relationship with Babs, he was going to have to let her in on some things. Just as secretive as his mentor, these were the kind of feeling he suppressed from others. He felt like it was a weakness if he were to show how he felt about all of this. What was Dick trying to prove by pushing her away from him? Or by just pushing everyone away in general? Just as stubborn as his mentor, or more so, he wasn't going to break under this pressure.
Dick dropped eye contact with Babs. He was really start to regret being so defensive over what he thought was practically nothing. But obliviously it was something to others around him. He could try to cover up the fact that he noticed it as much as he wanted, but he knew others that knew him best had noticed it now for a while. It was something none of them seemed to have wanted to address, thinking it was something he would get over. For the longest time, Dick had tried to get over it, but going out and fighting crime on his own had only added to it.
Standing there just looking down at the table, Dick was lost in the space of his own thoughts. He knew at this point that he wasn't going to be able to try and fix things between him and Babs at the moment. Now wasn't the place to do so. It was something personal, that the low lives of this building did not need to discover if they had found out Batgirl and Robin were in the building. And traveling back to the Batcave was going to feel just that more uncomfortable between the two. As Babs was headed toward the door, Dick looked up and in almost a whisper said,"Babs..."
He decided to let her have the last word for now over this argument. There was no reason he should try to add to it then. Dick followed Batgirl's lead toward the door. He had a feeling this fight was just going to be carried out at the Batcave, whether it got finished or not. Dick wasn't so sure of what his chances were now with trying to patch things up with Babs after that. Babs was fiery and could hold a grudge just as long as he could, or sometimes even longer. It was pretty much an equal match of stubbornness and bullheadedness from the two to not want to give into the other.
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