backwordscompatible | IC CONTACT (HAVEN)

[This time, everything clicked.]

You mean my--I mean--the Robin from my world, don't you?

[Of course he did. And...wow, she hadn't...maybe she should have warned the poor kid ahead of time? He didn't seem to be taking it that well. She hadn't expected him to not take it well. After all, look at Kon and Conner. And they had even less in common. Sort of.]

I...yeah. It's him.

Why? First impressions go that badly?

No, just... [ He huffs a ragged breath out and scrubs a hand through his hair. He doesn't want to be ashamed, he wants to stay just as angry as he was that first day. And yet... ]

-Yeah, okay. You could say impressions were bad all around.

[To put it mildly. She could practically hear the implication behind the younger boy's tone.]

That's probably my fault. I kind of...dropped a pretty huge bombshell on him pretty much the moment we saw one another again.

Whatever he said, I'm sure he didn't mean it. He was just dealing with a lot all at once. He'll come around.

...No. It wasn't even him. [ Wow is that a thing he hates admitting. ]

...I was- well, I was kinda having a bad day and then when I saw him I thought... I mean, I thought he-

Well, I hit him a few times.

[Well, then.]

Do I get to ask why, exactly?

...Yeah, sure. [ It's embarrassing and he's embarrassed. ]

I just- when I saw him I thought he was a fake. Or somebody out to take it away from me. [ He'd been reeling from Bruce, too filled with anger and hurt to think it through; to process yet one more overwhelming shock. ]

-The suit, I mean.

Edited 2014-12-11 01:59 (UTC)

[She can sense the embarrassment easily enough, and took pity on the poor boy. It was hard to empathize with this situation, but she'd seen enough of how he could react to certain...reminders of where he was, what he was dealing with, and who he was missing.]

I suppose the fact that there's at least a couple other Robins running around here already hadn't clued you in on the fact that your job's still safe?

Nobody's going to take anything away from you. Not him, not anyone. Promise.

Yeah, but it's not like that was easy. Now we get along, but the first time I saw the other other Robin? [ Damian. ]

That was even worse. It took me weeks to get back the ground we lost there.

[It couldn't have gone much worse than our past encounters. So she figured.]

And what about now? Things better between you?

Now they are. I mean, it was my fault. I was the one with the problem. And he just wears the same costume, I mean...

This one is actually me.

[ And how does he even begin to deal with that? ]

Only technically.

[Not that she was saying it was a bad thing.]

I might be biased, but I still say give him a chance. He's a good guy. Plus, look at Conner and Kon--they seemed to work out any identity issues they might've had.

Yeah, but...

I don't know. It's different somehow. [ Only it's occurring to him now that the words are out there that he doesn't know for sure that that's true. ]

...What would you do if it was you? If my Zatanna showed up tomorrow?

[It wasn't like Zatanna hadn't thought about it before. All the comparisons, directly or indirectly, each time she came across somebody from Kon's universe. Or even during her early days of getting to know Kon.]

[The problem was...was she thought she would do, and what she actually would do, depending upon the situation...how the other "her" reacted...and any number of potential variables...they all had to be taken into account. Meaning, essentially, there was no single answer.]

One of two things, probably.

I'd either ask her to train me, since there would have to be spells she knew that I didn't...or I'd finally get the opportunity to ask what's up with the whole fishnets thing.

[Because, really. Who fights crime in fishnet stockings? Wouldn't they snag easily?]

[ It gets him to laugh. ] She likes them, that's all.

You wouldn't believe the questions I get about the shorts. Yeah, I get that they look weird. That's sorta the point of the whole getup. I don't get the freaky armor pants. Or the black cape.

[The "armor" part wasn't a big hint?]

Well, when you tend to work under the cover of night, black makes more sense.

The Robin I know likes to pull the whole ninja-magician thing. There one second, gone the next. Darker clothes help.

[ He makes a tiny, unimpressed scoffing noise. But this time there just might be a smile lurking underneath it. ]

The real trick is pulling that off without the black.

Edited (i lied, have this tag instead) 2014-12-19 00:12 (UTC)

[Zatanna tried not to grin too hard in approval. She knew there was a reason she liked this kid.]

Hey, you really want to prove you're clever?

Try it under a direct spotlight sometime.

You're on. [ He's still grinning, a little cockier now. ]

...Hey, that reminds me... what was the bombshell you dropped? [ and more importantly does he need to worry about it too? ]

[You could practically hear a record scratching in the background.]

Uh...

It's nothing. Don't worry about it.

You sure?

[ Does she know about Bruce? Can she know about Bruce? ]

Cause I- I mean I sort of had one too, that day.

Whatever it was, I'm fairly positive it wasn't the same thing.

In fact, I can pretty much guarantee it wasn't.

[Since she knew for a fact that the Zatanna in his world was...significantly older.]

If you say so. [ So something personal. If he wants the answer he'll have to try again later, maybe try someone else. A new thought's occurring to him on the heels of that one. ]

You don't think I hurt his ribs too much, do you?

[Mistakingly under the assumption that that would be the end of that...]

Can't say for sure. I wasn't there.

But if I see him favoring one side or the other, or notice that he's trying to hide actual injuries...there are healers around. I'm sure he's fine, though.

[ The breath he lets out is mostly relief. ]

Okay. [ And there's an awkward beat of silence. ]

...Thanks for listening. I know you've kinda have to be in his corner on all this. Same universe solidarity and all.

[ Plus they're friends.

Apparently close friends. ]

[You have no idea, bitty Robin.]

Anytime.

And just because I end up in his corner a lot doesn't mean I can't wander from time to time. I never was all that good at sitting still for too long.

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pixieboots - 2014-12-22 13:43 (UTC) - Expand

IC CONTACT (HAVEN)

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