Enter: Batman

[newoutsiders]

"I think you're ready."

On the rooftop of the rose-lined Temple of The One, a battle weary Jean-Paul Valley smiles with one side of his mouth, seeing you in the uniform you designed together for the first time. It's a perfect blend of your philosophies- plus, of course, more than a little of Bruce's.

Bruce. He's been gone too long now. And Gotham City is at a loss for his absence. Oracle's been handling the city like an emergency response team. Efficient, but not a deterrent. Criminals see the Network as something to overcome, not as a warning.

Superstitious and cowardly. That's always been their weakness. It's why the symbol exists.

After all, Cassandra Cain: Gotham City needs a Batman.

Comments

[newoutsiders]

Jean-Paul laughs through his nose- but then, his phone starts vibrating. He picks it up to see what's happening.

"Well, here's something. Some kind of laser show over Slaughter Swamp.... and it looks like they're not for show. One of them perforated a weather balloon. Could be any number of things. Want to check it out? If you're tired, I could get one of the acolytes to report back."

[bat_by_another_name]

Cass leaps to the desk and immediately begins to dawn the cape and cowl again, an infectious smile on her lips. It's hidden by the mask.

"Just getting started," she says emphatically, clicking the catches to each part of her armor and quickly moving through warmup katas to ensure everything is functional and ready.

It's like watching a child excitedly try on their costume for Halloween. Only this is very real. Cass is very real.

She rotates her head and looks to Jean Paul. "The egg? Can it go again?"

[newoutsiders]

"Go again?" Jean-Paul laughs. He never laughed this much before Cass came into his life. He supposes she has that effect on people. "This is based on a rocket that made it from Krypton to Earth. It could take you halfway to Apokolips, if you wanted."

There it is again. You've been noticing that Jean-Paul is trying to hide something from you. Like he wants to ask you something, but he's afraid to say anything.

[bat_by_another_name]

She raises a brow, even if the effect is lost behind her mask. He's an odd one, Jean Paul, but he's a good friend. One of the best friends she's ever known. One of the only.

Still, she supposes that it's really only one thing at a time. She's known what it's like to take too much all at once. She'll try, for now, to keep from that happening again.

Quickly, she moves to the Egg and begins to enter. Batman pauses halfway through, looks to Jean Paul seriously. "After... we'll talk. Right?"

[newoutsiders]

"Sure," he says, still masking himself. "We can always talk."

The Eggwing takes off towards Slaughter Swamp.