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[forceforlight]

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after diana tells him about dick's plan.

[batsymbol]

( he's been at dick's apartment before, but he's not waiting inside when the other heads in when the possibility of tim being inside is there. because that's just it: tim lives with dick [and haley] and bruce just wants to talk to dick. alone.

whether it's the front door outside the building or the window as dick seems to have a penchant for slipping in, the moment dick goes to do just that, a batarang flings by dick and sticks into the cement there of the building harshly. right beside him. not as a threat, but more to get his attention. given the early look of it, it's not too difficult to know who threw the thing.

and that's when bruce appears... and he doesn't look all that happy. )

You're not going.

( voice rough, he doesn't even need to clarify what he means by that. he knows dick knows what he's talking about. )

[forceforlight]

[Tim's actually been sent to the Jason still in town. Him and Haley both. Dick's been doing everything he can to get things set up here so that when he goes through that portal, everything is settled. There's no telling how long they'll be gone.]

[This time, it's the door. Dick's not expecting the batarang, but he's not that surprised, either. He stops in the doorway, turning his head before picking the batarang out of the wall when Bruce appears.]

[He looks at Bruce before handing it back.]

That's not a decision you get to make, B.

[batsymbol]

( he doesn't even bother to hide the frustration in his expression as he approaches dick — as he plucks the batarang from the other's fingers, twirling it around between his fingers some before it's held there at his side. )

You weren't even going to tell me.

[forceforlight]

Because I kind of anticipated this sort of reaction.

[The frustration is not new. His Bruce may have been older, but the frustration with others has been there most of Dick's life.]

Would you rather go inside to have this conversation?

[batsymbol]

( after a long stretch of a pause, he pockets the batarang. )

Fine.

( inside it is then. )

[forceforlight]

[It's easy enough to head inside and up the stairs to the apartment. Which is quieter than usual.]

[Dick pockets his keys, going to the kitchen for a glass of water.]

So. You've tried forbidding me. I'm assuming that next is telling me all the reasons that I should be staying behind?

[batsymbol]

( shutting the door behind him, he stands there — doesn't make the effort to follow in to the kitchen. he needs a moment. )

Keeping something like this from me. ( he gives a shake of his head — looks around the room. ) I'd expect it from Jason. Not from you.

[forceforlight]

[There's still some of Haley's toys, but not as many. The bedroom door is slightly ajar, but not enough to see if anything has changed in there. But there's still a blanket and pillow on the couch.]

Why? Because I'm generally nicer than Jason?

[batsymbol]

Because you're who I'd pick to take care of things and the others if it really came down to it.

( take over, in a sense. if anything ever happened to him. )

But maybe I'm wrong.

[forceforlight]

[Dick sets down the glass, turning and leaning against the counter.]

Going back through those portals IS part of taking care of things. Not just for all of us, but for Chaos Gate, too.

[batsymbol]

( hands sliding into his pockets, he comes over — stands there and stares at dick. )

This could be a one-way trip. ( a beat. more earnestly. ) They could lose you and you lose them.

[forceforlight]

I'm aware.

[Without Wally or some other speedster, Dick's not certain how well they can get back if things go wrong. He's not certain if the goddess who is sending them back will retrieve them.]

But they could lose me by me not paying attention crossing the street. Or some thug getting in a lucky punch. Or having a gun or a knife I don't see. If my only concern were them not losing me, I'd never leave the apartment.

And even that wouldn't be a guarantee because I HAVE had two buildings blown up by people who were mad at him.

[batsymbol]

This is different and you know it.

( the sort of vigilante life always comes with risks but this is just so much bigger. )

[forceforlight]

It's not that much different. Not really.

They are my siblings and I love all of them. I'm proud of them. Which is why I know they can handle things with me being gone. And can handle things if, God forbid, I don't come back.

But right now, in the past? There's a young woman with too much power and too much heartache, only wanting to change things so that her life would be different. And a disaster waiting to happen. And maybe we can change both of those things. Talk Chaos Gate down, give her the understanding she needs right now. She wouldn't be the first one I've talked to and talked down, after all.

[batsymbol]

( it's clear that he still doesn't seem to like this all that much, but. )

If you're planning on going through with this, then I need you to be on the same page with me. We're going to the past where we have no idea what the consequences of any our actions will be that are made there. Talking her down or otherwise. I didn't want Tim going because of his feeling he's expendable being too much of a risk for recklessness. I need to know you're not going to be reckless, Dick.

[forceforlight]

I have every intention of returning.

[Which is the absolute truth.]

I'm not like Tim. I'm all too aware of how much people here are depending on me. Which is another reason I'm going back.

[He walks over to one of the drawers, puts a hand on the pull and waits a moment before opening it. Then he takes out a stack of mixed $10s and $20s, wrapped with a note in Dick's handwriting with a handful of letters on each line.]

It's not a lot. About $500 in pre-1985 bills. But the right stocks might make all the difference for us.

[batsymbol]

( coming over, he looks down to the stack of bills dick takes out. thoughtful. )

Smart.

( he says, softly. )

So long as you invest in ones that won't draw too much attention.

[forceforlight]

Apple, Best Buy, Bath and Body Works, Coke and Oracle.

[And if he huffs a slight laugh at that last one? Well, that's up to Bruce to ask about.]

If I spread around where I'm investing from, it shouldn't be a problem. Apple and Oracle can be done at the same time. That shouldn't raise any eyebrows. Best Buy and Bath and Body Works can probably be done at the same time as well. Coke could go either way. All of them were really just getting started at the time. So it's not a long shot that somebody would invest in them for being cheap.

[batsymbol]

Just be smart about it.

( though he'd more or less had the same idea with bringing back bills dated prior to the year they're jumping into. which. )

Who else from our side of the universe is going?

( and wow, that was weird to say. )

[forceforlight]

As far as I know? Roy Harper, Diana of Themyscira, you and me. Diana will probably use the name Diana Prince while we're there. It's her usual alias. The only ones I know of from our side of the universe that I don't have an absolute idea of where they're at are Duke and Damian.

[batsymbol]

Not surprised.

( damian he's only seen the one time and duke he... has no idea who that is, so. granted, he doesn't even know who roy harper is either, so. hands slipping into his pockets, he drags his teeth over his bottom lip. thinking. )

Kyle will stay behind. If anything goes bad here, at least they have him for a heavy hitter.

[forceforlight]

Both Jasons are good fighters. And I believe some of the others are also pretty big hitters. Just not ones we know very well.

[Sunset Falls had a Norse god for a mayor, after all.]

But yeah. Kyle's currently in Ireland, but it doesn't take him long to get anywhere.

[batsymbol]

I was thinking more the others having him there.

( to keep an eye on them and make sure they were safe if it came down to it.

licking over his lips some, he sighs, hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose for a moment before he drops it down at his side. )

We do this, I don't want any surprises. We stick together. Best we can.

[forceforlight]

I know.

[But still good to remind Bruce that there are others there that they don't know that will help as well.]

[He pauses a moment, then nods.]

In that case, there's one other thing I should tell you. I don't keep this money in a drawer in my kitchen. I keep it in what I can best describe as a pocket dimension I can access via bags or things like drawers that can be opened and closed completely.

[batsymbol]

( there's a somewhat incredulous look on his face for a moment. )

You can carry anything?