3157/The Genesis of Oracle

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The Genesis of Oracle
Date of Scene: 15 November 2017
Location: Gotham City
Synopsis: The road from hacker to HACKER is made one step at a time.
Cast of Characters: Oracle, Power Boy, Nightwing




Oracle has posed:
Sitting on her floor in the middle of the apartment, Barbara has boxes of equipment open and scattered around her. As she inspects the lens of digital camera in her hand, she also checks the screen of the laptop sitting on one side of her to verify that the feed is good. The redhead has been gathering all the parts required to get Bludhaven wired - although it'll take months to do it right. Still, it's task that needs doing if Nightwing's going to insist on staying up there.

As she pieces together exactly what she wants, she glances at the secure feeds up on the wall of monitors over her desk. Batman's out tonight, but the night is just beginning and it's quiet thus far, so she turns off those feeds. The message she left for Power Boy was for him to meet her at 7:00 sharp, well after dark when she's less likely to have a Bat drop in on her unexpectedly (because she's got her headset in and can monitor locations!)

Power Boy has posed:
    It's sort of sad, really, how eager he is to help. There is an almost child-like glee in responding to the summons. She got the answering text 'Incoming via tube.'. There is no Boom. No Boom. There is noise. There is a faint wind. But it's stealthy. A boom tube and no boom. The aperture closes behind him whisper-quiet. The young fourth-worlder plucks his glasses off his face. He is otherwise in uniform. He mutters a swear word in a harsh alien dialect. Sounds like a good language to swear in. With a little shrug, he dangles the glasses on his cut out in his uniform. That must be what it is for? His left brow tilts. "Lots and lots of stuff in here. How can I help you out?" He has a little in his possession. "Um. I had custody you mind watching him?" Kirby is a pug puppy, wearing a little black sweater, with a Supergirl collar.

    The little dog is wagging his tail, happy to meet the statuesque redhead. Beau walks on over, adjusting the strap of his pack. "Everything he needs is in here. Even puppy pads, but he will let you know when he needs out. He likes to nibble on fingers to tell you he needs out. This is Kirby." The little dog desperately wants to meet the woman, and yet keeps licking Power Boy as some sort of surrogate for licking her. "I am happy to help. Someone need an attitude adjusted? Capture of alien technology?" His eyes moves about the place. He narrows them. "Installing a private network of communications equipment to keep in contact with vigilantes?" He asks her. "I don't know the town. Um, how much of the Tristate Area you want me to cover?"

Oracle has posed:
Barbara wasn't expecting a teleport in! When he speaks, she kind of jumps just a bit -- you'd think she'd be used to voices coming out of nowhere. Batman *loves* to see if he can make her jump -- she's quite sure he does it on purpose. Turning to look over her shoulder, IT'S A PUPPY!!! There are some things that all women will coo over. Baby animals are definitely on that list. Moving to stand up while he's speaking, Barbara grins at the boy.

"I didn't ask you to come for work... I wanted to give you the drive that has your documents on them," she tells him with a smile. She reaches out to take the tiny little ball of energy from him, laughing softly. "He's so cute." Pug babies are ADORABLE!! Barbara scritches the puppy and babytalks him a little. But her eyes come up to him when his tone gets a little more serious and he twigs onto *exactly* what she was doing. "I'm utterly terrified to think of how archaic our tech must seem to you," she informs him while keeping gentle control of the handful of boundless licking that keeps trying to jump up and nibble on her face.

Power Boy has posed:
    The puppy is transferred. "Control of technology is important in Darkseid's plans. A lot of my people. His people? A lot of the people on the planet are little more than subsistence serfs. Control technology and information, and you have control over society. Other areas are incredibly developed. I have a the means to teleport with relative stealth across the universe." He narrows his brows, "Long story short, it is a nice middle ground." His blue eyes wander over her maps. She can see his jaw work. His eyes blur for a moment. "I have it memorized if you want to destroy the map for security purposes. I can do this for you in less than an hour. Call it two, in case I have to fly in a few spots. Is that an unreasonable amount of time, or do you want me to really rush, at which point a half an hour? But, the coverage might be a little gappy."

    The alien turns his gaze to her and reaches over to toss the puppy's ears. His smile is soft and he relaxes. "Dogs are proof of the goodness in humans. They serve a singular purpose. Oh, they work, sure. But they exist to love. I am proud to call this planet my home." There might be some troubling consequences to his thinking about what makes people worth putting up with. Regardless, he seems content as he waits for Barbara's permission to begin.

Oracle has posed:
There's a long, slow blink from Barbara while he talks. Her brain is parsing everything he says. "Wait... you're telling me that you could wire these up -- ALL the ones that I want in place -- in an hour?" Honestly.... it never really occured to her to ask the Flash or someone to do that for Nightwing. It should have -- the Titans are his friends. But now here's another person volunteering to help. It's not in the Bat-nature to take people up on that kind of offer... but Barbara *really* wants eyes in Bludhaven, especially now with a human trafficking ring working out of there.

Pursing her lips, the redhead tells him, "Tell you what... you wire of Bludhaven for me and never tell anyone what you've done, and we'll be even steven on the identity backstopping. Deal?"

Power Boy has posed:
    "Absolutely no deal." Power Boy counters. "I have a chance at a life here. I mean--" Power Boy has to stop and think. The fact that it takes him any noticeable time at all do so reveals the complexity of the dilemna. "I believe that this is a high priority for you. I can read your emotions, and they are complicated." His blue eyes look over her. Is that a little pink he sees in her aura? His lips quirk ever so slightly to himself. "I will do this for you. And it can remove the debt. But, well, maybe it also makes us friends? Friends contact friends. They help explain Earth customs to aliens. They help idiots who have no idea what women really want, well, figure it out. I mean I can see emotions, but me playing a game trying to keep her happy like she is a game of..." Ah. "Simon? Push the button, get a beep?" He pantomimes the gesture. "That is not good for her." He works his jaw. "We can consider the debt cleared, but... if that means we cannot talk anymore, I am just going to come up with more favors for you to do for me so I can actually have a friend. Or friends." He performs calculations. His eyes linger on her emotions. He isn't sure how this will go, so he just admits it. "I'm lonely sometimes. A lot. Almost all the time. I try not to burden Supergirl with it, because I walked away from my world. She watched hers explode."

Oracle has posed:
Barbara scritches the puppy's ears, gentling it and getting it to settle down a little. She studies the young man in front of her. "You know.... friends don't have debts between them. They just help one another because it's the right thing to do," she tells him quietly. "I don't make friends that easily, but... I would like to be yours, sure. Although I don't exactly know that I'll be able to explain Earthlings to you -- sometimes things about our society are kind of arbitrary when it comes to morality." The redhead considers and says quietly, "I would really appreciate the help with the cameras, if you're willing to do it."

Power Boy has posed:
    "I don't have friends at all." he concludes. "Kinda cool." he checks her face to see if he use the word properly. Power Boy nods. "Cool to have a friend." his lips quirk in the slightest of smiles. It is brief. 'Friends can have secrets though." He says it quietly. "I will respect yours. But." He clear his throat. 'I want to meet this guy? Gal? Who you want these devices up for." His grin returns and he plucks his father box out. There is a vague malevolence as it kicks in, and projects a layout. Gotham. Bludhaven. New York. Metropolis. "Are you just worried about Bludhaven and Gotham?" The holograms spins to orient itself to be seen by both. "Or do you have the resources to get the entirety of the Tri-State Megalopolis?"
    Power Boy looks at her. "What is your goal, and as your... friend." His smile is soft, as she shakes his head. "How can I help you meet it?" He leans against the wall, the device still in his hand.

    "You remind me of my one friend I had home. She was quite tall. A little less sophisticated.;'

Oracle has posed:
Pausing at his question, Barbara's brain immediately starts running the possibilities with *that* offer.... she has an insatiable desire to Know Things. It's kind of one of the things that she and Batman share. Does she dare even think about wiring up places like Metropolis and Manhattan? She's only one person. She really can't cover all that. And her priorties are here.

"I don't have the resources to manage more than Gotham and Bludhaven," she says slowly. "Although perhaps someday that time will come." She eyes the fatherbox, not liking the sense of it that she gets. "I monitor Gotham already for Batman... I'm expanding into Bludhaven for Nightwing. Why do you want to meet?" She can't help the faint smile that accompanies her query, kind of amused at the mental image that it brings up of Batman glowering.

Power Boy has posed:
    "Because there is this little tinge of pink to your aura." Power Boy answers. "It is art of what is motivating you. A small part. I admire your restraint." He gives the Fatherbox a look, then looks back to Barbara. "You sense it?" His tone is quiet. "You are perceptive. Now you know why I really need to have a home."
    "It doesn't like much about this place. Primitive. Teeming with life. It would like to see some of that snuffed." He flicks his gaze back to the redheaded amazonian woman. "We must not listen to that."

Oracle has posed:
Barbara frowns a little. "Pink? My restraint?" What? She's clearly a little puzzled. But she does nod at his query about the fatherbox. "Yeah... that doesn't... it feels kind of mean," she admits. And then when he tells her the last part, the redhead looks a little alarmed. "How much influence over you does that thing have?"

And holy hell, she *so* doesn't want that thing touching her electronics AT ALL now! "Don't use it on my gear," she tells him warily. When the puppy in her hands yipes a little, she gentles her tense hold on him and lifts him for kissies on his cute, puppy-smelling little head.

Power Boy has posed:
    "My ego says none." Power Boy answers. "My realism says more than I acknowledge." His smile is soft. "Its protests indicate less than it needs or wants, and far, far less than it once had. I'm winning that fight." He looks at her. The box doesn't like that announcement. His smile turns sad. "I see emotions. Pink is a particularly caring emotion. So, you are motivated to this project out of affection for someone. A small part of a greater sort of curiosity and a sense of responsibility and general caring." He quietly says, "The best way to drown out the little voice that urges violence is to use it only at need, and to surround myself with good people. I also find that researching human religions very much seems to piss it off." he gives her a look. Did he say that right? He clears his voice. "The Bible. Genesis 4:19. and the Lord said unto Cain, where is Abel, thy brother? And he said, 'I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?'" She can almost feel it retreat. His smile is still sad, but resolute. "I find I like me more when I answer that question with a yes."

Oracle has posed:
"In a great many ways, those who have power *must* be their brother's keeper," Barbara agrees quietly. "And not merely those with actual strength of psionic or whatever powers but those with the power of influence and wealth and ability. Because if we don't take care of those who cannot care for themselves, we become the monster." Pulling in a breath, Barbara says, "Now.... I cannot promise when you might meet the people I care about and upon whom I keep my eyes and ears. But I'm sure it will happen eventually. Batman will glower at you and Nightwing... Not entirely sure. The Robins and Batgirl, I can't even begin to guess." She smiles faintly. "I appreciate that you will keep my secrets. I will keep yours as well."

Power Boy has posed:
    "Are Bat's truly fearsome creatures?" he asks with a frown. "I mean, I hear that they are terrifying if they get in your hair." He puts the Fatherbox back into his bag.
    Like that, it is gone. "I am winning. It is my servant. I just am careful with it. I need to keep him out of the wrong hands. He could do great harm. He has the ability to make a hushtube. A quiet boomtube. Very handy for insertion into places in a quiet sort of way." he looks at her gear. "Show me how it needs to sit? Is there anything I need to know about it? It should just be installing this on the 'top' of the surface?" he asks, indicating the equipment. "I was a monster. Not anymore."

Oracle has posed:
Barbara laughs quietly. "Bats -- the small rodent variety -- are not too fearsome. BatMAN on the other hand? Well.... you'll just have to decide that matter for yourself," she tells him in an amused tone. Tilting her head, she also tells him, "If you need a safe sanctuary for it... my recommendation would be the Justice League. Several of them are alien or have alien ties. They understand the dangers and can help."

Stroking the cute puppy in her hands, she hands him back to Power Boy and moves to pick up the computer that was on the floor next to her. Within moments, the massive screens up on her wall have a 3D schematic of Bludhaven with the locations she wants for her cameras and the angles that she wants them placed at so as to give her the best field of view. This is not a spur-of-the-moment decision, to do this -- she's clearly been in the design and planning stages of this project for months. "Each of these locations are strategic placements for my purposes. They need to be essentially invisible so that no one messes with them, and I need you to verify that each one is broadcasting properly once they're up and aligned."

She pauses to look at him. "With your experience in tech, I cannot imagine how archaic you must think this is. But it *is* important to me."

Power Boy has posed:
    "My home civilization is locked in perpetual war with a bunch of self-sancti--." Oooh. Power Boy stops himself. He considers himself again. "Huh. I'm going to need to work on that." He says softly.

    Shaking his head clear, like the squirming happy little dog does now and then, Power Boy remarks. "I come extra-dimensional spacefaring immortals who steal possibilities from other worlds. Yes. we're advanced. FOr all our power, DarkSeid fears this world, and what it could become. Don't dwell on your perceived shortcomings. Technological superiority is well and good. Are you speaking Apokoliptian or interlac?" Pauses. "Those are space languages." He says, clearing his throat. "No? Well then you must have done something right." His grins is small and slight. "Stop apologizing. I live in a bunch of shrubs. I have someone else take care of my dog because it gets cold. You are just fine."

Oracle has posed:
Quirking a brow, Barbara simply smiles. He may have seen a lot of things... but he strikes her, still, as very young. "Well.... after today, that is no longer the case. You have a small piece of land to call your own, a fully backstopped identity that -- at the risk of sounding arrogant -- will take an NSA-level hacker at least three years to break, *if* they put all the supercomputers they own on it, and a reasonable bank account that should allow you to easily purchase the materials you need to build a modest home on that land." If the woman ever turned her brain to actually theft, she could probably rob most of the world's governments blind... and maybe even make them think it was all their own fault.

"All right, then... do the notations I have on here make sense to you?" She gestures to the schematic.

Power Boy has posed:
    "I'll have to transmute materials of a suitable hardness. If I sneeze in my sleep, I want the bed to not break. Your world has a very large amount of pollen." He glances a the notes. "Yes. I can do this. Are you good with Kirby?" he leans over and he gently rubs the puppy's ears. "You be a good boy for Auntie Barbara? yes. Whose a good--." His eyes slide over, remembering she is here. He shrugs. "Whose a good boy? You are!"
    The alien clears his throat. "I am under the impression dogs like to be asked who is the good boy, or girl, and then be assured that they are, indeed and in fact the good one." He clears his throat again. "Your planet is weird." Power boy pushes a hand through his hair, adjusting his pale locks as he considers things. He fishes out a water dish and puppy pads. then a ziplock baggy with treats for the dogs. "Why is it that dogs can eat food designated for people, but people cannot eat food designated for dogs?"

Oracle has posed:
Giving him a skeptical look, Barbara asks in a rather incredulous tone, "Pollen? Seriously?" She reaches over and takes the puppy back from him, babytalking the itty bitty pug puppy, "Of course I'm okay with Kirby, cuz he's just the cutest little thing ever! Aren't you the cutest thing ever? Oh yes you are!" She chuckles at Power Boy and says, "We talk to most babies that way. Even human babies. It has to do with brain development, which I'll explain another time if you really are interested in such things. And people wouldn't WANT to eat food designated for dogs. It's gross." She sounds very matter-of-fact.

There's a moment where her eyes slide sideways to one of the screens where an icon flashes. She uses her free hand to remove the part of her Bludhaven schematic off that screen, checking to see who or what is setting off her tower proximity alarms.

Power Boy has posed:
    "Whats the icon mean?" He absently produces a little rubber chew toy. "Do not let him gnaw on you. I made that mistake." He wrinkles his nose. "He cannot hurt me, and really he cannot hurt you, but he needs to learn to use his words." Kirby gives a couple of little barks at that. Just tiny spazzy little puppy barks.

    "Brain development, huh? I'll have to read on that. I've limited myself to human science, history, philosophy, and classic literature thus far. I have not gotten too far into human biology."
    "A little human cinema. I like 'The Scarlet Pimpernel', both the book and the film." His tone remains quiet. His fingers tease under the puppy's chin. "If he tugs on your right hand, that means he needs to go out." he reiterates.

Nightwing has posed:
It had been a long and eventful night, and unfortunately too short of a morning for Nightwing. News this morning would have been talking about how the vigilante was interfering with the Bludhaven Police again. There were a group of criminals, thugs in all honest, that had been trafficking in some elicit drug that the police force 'had been tracking for days', but the untimely interference of Nightwing had thrown a wrench in their case...

Anyone that actually looks into it will find that two of the thugs had access to Bane Venom, and that there was a second Hero there. One that moves insanely fast in a red and yellow suit. However, #FakeNews is the way of the world for Nightwing while in Bludhaven, and so he decides to swing by Bab's place to vent. On the way he had sent a message via his Mask, letting her know he was on his way, but given how busy she can be you never if she'll see it.

All said, though, Nightwing takes his favorite route, over the rooftops, and that leaves him entering from the top of the Clocktower. He pauses, considering that there might be some changes, and hopes that none of them will set him on fire, electrify him, or blow him across to another building. Coming through the standard entrance from the roof, Nightwing drops down, taking a moment to listen to see if she's by herself or not since he hasn't received a message back.

Oracle has posed:
"Oh!" The icon is one of the familiar ones. And she smiles faintly, looking just a little ... perhaps nervous? "Well, you did ask to meet them. Looks like you'll get your chance." She pings Nightwing back with, "It's open. Come on down. There's someone you'll need to meet."

This has never happened before. Barbara in her civvies with a cape in her apartment... introducing a vigilante. Batman might just have a stroke. Maybe. When the dark-haired one drops through the ceiling in his acrobatic way, Babs is holding a darling pug puppy under her chin. "Nightwing... I'd like you to meet Power Boy. Power Boy, this is the vigilante known as Nightwing." Batman Junior.

Power Boy has posed:
    "I have heard the name." Power Boy admits. The joke about Nightwing being taller does not follow. The fact that every vigilante is freakishly tall is not the perfectly average sized man's fault. Power Boy tilts his head as he regards the trim man. "The amount of effort it must take for you to get about in this environment is impressive." He offers his right hand. "I am Barbara's friend. I am just here to sort out some business, and help her with some projects."
    His tone there is carefully modulated, as if he is trying to make it clear there is nothing weird about this. "I live in Metropolis. Barbara and I met online, and she has been helping me adjust to this new world. I am her friend."
    The young man absently pets the puppy. "She is going to puppysit for me while I handle a bit of business for her."

Nightwing has posed:
Nightwing realizes about half a second too late, dropping from the ceiling, that he really should figure out how to be invisible some days. Hearing her introduction as his feet hit the floor, Nightwing's posture takes on a sense of readiness but non-agression, obviously if someone is here and there aren't things flying around and breaking it is /probably/ someone she has invited in. Still, Bat-Family, you never reeeaalllyyy know.

The same thoughts run through Nightwing's mind as he sees Babs looking like Babs, an unfamiliar costumed type, and then him here as Nightwing. The main difference between him and Bruce, though, is that it will bring a small smile to his lips instead of a familiar scowl.

Nightwing walks up, a genuine smile on his face, and he takes Power Boy's hand in a friendly shake, "Hey. Nice to meet you..." There is a split second of hesitance, but he accepts Bab's assessment of the man before him. He takes off his mask, blue eyes showing a bit of mirth, "...call me Dick. Any friend of, uhm, Barbara's is a friend of mine." He stores the mask in one of his pouches, glancing up at the roof entrance, "Eh, let's say it beats the traffic on the streets."

Dick nods his head, "Metropolis, nice place, got a few friends the..." All Stop. Processing the last bit. "...new World? Uhm, Welcome to Earth?" casting a side-long glance to Babs. "Yeah, she's good with all kinds of animals. Human or otherwise..."

Oracle has posed:
Barbara is..... shocked is way beyond what she is. She would never have given away his identity. There is actually a flash of fear for him, an aborted movement to stop him (far too late), and a hard swallow before the redhead can breathe again. The redhead apparently has no idea how to react to what Nightwing just did, and it shows in her wide-eyed expression.

Pulling in a sudden breath as she remembers to actually expand her lungs, she murmurs, "I'm usually pretty good with Bats, but occasionally birds evade all attempts at prediction of behavior."

Power Boy has posed:
    "There is nothing I can say to convince you I am harmless. Because I am not harmless. Also, given how my kind treated your world, your suspicion and concern is well-founded." Power Boy regards the shorter man for a moment.
    "But then, trust is earned, not given. I will try to be worthy of yours." He gives a firm, even friendly handshake. "Call me Beau, then Dick." He looks to Barbara. She did make sure his name was Beau? He opens the package, real quick,. and then hands Dick his Metropolis Driver's License. "See? Beau."

    "I need to learn how to drive now. Thank you, Barbara." he looks between the two of them, and his features subtly soften, as if he is happy. "I am trying to surround myself in good people." he says quietly, as if explaining why he is here.

Nightwing has posed:
Glancing towards Babs, Dick gives her a quick wink, reading her expression and body language he quips back, "Not everything, or everyone, ends up being the same..." Since his time at Bludhaven Dick has changed, more so than probably Babs realizes, but that discussion is for another time.

Looking back to Beau, Dick seems a bit taken a back at first on the man's words, a slight furrowing of his brow as he considers what is said. After the friendly shake, Dick eventually nods his head, "Good to meet you, Beau. Gotta say I couldn't agree with you more on trust..." his eyes moving to Babs, conveying with that quick gaze his trust is absolute with her, before adding back to Beau, "...some times you got to take a leap of faith. Otherwise you end up living in a world where you don't trust anyone... even those closest to you."

He glances at the drivers license, nods once with his brows raised, "Yep. That's you." and hands back the driver license. "Well, if you want some help I've driven a car or two in my time. Maybe a motorcycle if you want?"

Dick walks over to Babs, a quick hug to not squish the pug, and a scratch on the little puppy's head. He whispers to her during the hug, "Breath. It's fine." before turning back to the two of them, "So what's the project you're workin' on?"

Oracle has posed:
Nuzzling the puppy in her hands, Barbara smiles just a bit. She'll explain the basics of the situation to Dick while she puppysits. Dropping her forehead against his jaw for just a moment as he hugs her, she clears her throat. "Oh... that. Well.... Beau offered to help me out when he saw all the gear I was working with." She gestures sideways with her chin to the massive quantity of electronics on her floor. "He's.... going to set up Bludhaven's net to my specs." The schematic -- or part of it, at least -- is up on several of her monitors on the wall, now that Dick is paying attention. "So... you don't have to hang off the side of walls while you're patrolling!" Her bright tone is all but saying 'see? good things! I'm totally not spying!'

Power Boy has posed:
    "Actually." Beau remarks, smiling at the two of them. Their happiness seems to make him happy. He actually watches for a moment. "You make my heart smile." he admits quietly. "I have to go wire your city? I presume? I need to wire it so she can stay in contact with you. In order to meet her new specifics? I have to revise my initial tie estimate upwards." He clears his throat. 'Two. Maybe three hours." He carefully doesn't look at barbara. "I will call before I return." he adds. He moves to heft the gear. "Dick. It was good to meet you, and I will take you up on that offer. No motorcycle. I think I have enough strikes against me as it is in the eyes of Supergirl's cousin." He gives a little nod. "Uh." He pauses. "Bye." Zip! A gust of wind. He's gone. Kirby whines.

Nightwing has posed:
Taking a quick look at the monitors, the gear, and the schematics as he gives a nonverbal (and noncommittal) response. He seems to consider it all for a moment, and eventually says "Okay..." When he glances back to Babs, an eyebrow raised with an 'Oh Really?!' look, but a smile that shows he is not upset. "...and I /like/ hanging off the side of buildings."

He tilts his head to the side at Beau's comment on their happiness, his eyes moving to Babs again, and decides he will need to figure out /how/ he does that. Once Beau gives his assessment, Dick will give a low whistle of approval, "Uhm, ok. Wow. Thanks, Beau. Anything I can do to help, let me know..." and then he's gone, kind of like Barry or Wally, and Dick shakes his head "Bye."

Letting out a long sigh, he looks back to Babs, "Bludhaven huh?" He grins, and flops down on the nearest piece of furniture, "Don't sweat the identity. He sees what you've got. Obviously he has some powers. He knows Kara, which means he knows Clark, and unlike /some/ folks we hang out with I like them both..." He lays his head back, adding in a tired voice, "...just kind of... tired.. of all the secrets some days, Babs." Glancing to the pug, he asks, "What was the little guys name again?"

Oracle has posed:
"Yes, I know you do," Barbara replies to the hanging off buildings comment. She watches him and then walks over, itty bitty puppy in hand, and settles down onto the couch with him. She lets the tiny critter go so he can climb across the vigilante and lick (and snortle too). "Kirby," she tells him, her smile amused.

"It wasn't exactly something I planned on. He doesn't know I'm Batgirl. He only knows my online handle -- he escaped here during the invasion. And he contacted me about backstopping an identity for him. Which I did... and I'll be keeping an eye on him. I rather thought better me than perhaps some of the other entities out there." The redhead leans her elbow on the back of the couch and props her head on her hand, watching him. "You're not upset that I'm going to let him wire the place for sound?" she asks. "I ... expected it to take months. But, honestly, with all that's going on... it would make me feel better to have it sooner rather than later," she admits.

There's a moment as she watches him, when she sees the weariness, and she nods slowly. "Believe me, I understand that. But I still wouldn't have compromised you like that." The identities of the Bat-Family are sacrosanct as far as she's concerned. "I caught the news earlier. Nicely done," she compliments. "Was that Barry or Wally with you?"

Nightwing has posed:
The grin starts small, but as Kirby runs up to provide lethal levels of cute puppy love it becomes a full fledged smile. Dick scratches the little guy behind his ears, "Kirby. Cool name." and the little puppy seems to lighten his mood considerably.

He looks over to her, nodding his agreement with the identities of the Family, "Good to know. I won't let on then." He replies in comment to PB not knowing her identity as Batgirl. "Oh? He was from that planet with the parademons and the New God crazies?" A small frown replacing the previous smile, "Well, from what I've seen I'm glad he made it here. He seems like a nice guy, and I doubt Clark would let anyone hang around Kara if they were trouble." Dick has built a closer relationship with Superman since the previous falling out with Bruce, maybe something Babs knows maybe not, but it wouldn't be hard for her to figure it out now. "I'm glad he can help out. You could use it, and Bludhaven is like Gotham before the Bat..."

Shaking his head, Dick tells her, "Nah. It's fine. Honestly, I hadn't planned on stayin' there long, but the more I see the more I think they need the help." He pauses, thinking about his next answer, "And I feel like I'm doing something, on my own, and it feels good." He rolls his head on the back of the couch to look over at her, "Seriously, if he needs somethin', or you need something, let me know. I'll do whatever I can."

There is a grin at the news from last night, "Yeah. It was Barry. He ran into, literally, a shipment of Bane Venom to the syndicate in Bludhaven. Afterwards we chatted for a bit, 'cause it'd been too long since we chatted..." He grins some more thinking on the conversation, "...some times I feel like I miss half of what he says, and most of what he means." At the comment on the identities, he smiles at her, "I know, Babs. I promise, I really know. Honestly, felt good to do it for once. It's been sooo long since I met someone like this.. I don't want to end up where Dick is the Mask."

Oracle has posed:
Barbara smiles at the information that he's liking it in Bludhaven. "It's close enough to be here when we need you and far enough away to get out from under your father's eagle eye... I kind of figured you'd stay," she admits quietly. Swinging one foot casually against the floor while she faces him, she can't help the smile. "Yeah... Barry's funny. I get to talk with him online a decent bit. PD stuff, you know? But I met him in person on a crime scene earlier this week. And he really wants to see Bruce about some kind of donation. So I told him I'd use some back doors and get him in."

She's quiet for a long moment, taking in his expression and his body language. "I'm pretty sure that you've already passed the point where that's a true danger for you," she finally tells him in a soft tone. Unless, of course, people die. She wouldn't put odds on *what* he might do then.

Nightwing has posed:
"Yeah..." Dick nods his head in agreement on her comments about Bludhaven. "Making friends about as easy I did here too..." A cloud coming over his features, frowning when he remembers the headlines from earlier, "This must be what Bruce felt like when he first started in Gotham. Whole place is corrupt, I'm pretty sure, and so they make me out to be a scapegoat to take the heat off them." Kirby runs off, and heads back to Babs with a few choice yips, "Hmmm, food or bathroom? I don't mind takin' him out if he needs it." Dick asks, his eyes following the little pug moving to take up residence on Babs' lap, "Uhm, I didn't think to bring anything to change into. I've had to have left some sweats or hoodie here at least once, right?" He pauses, blushes, adding "..uhm, ya know, cause I've been here before and needed to change in an emergency.."

Oracle has posed:
Laughing, her blue eyes crinkling up at the corners as the giggles break loose, Barbara can't help the faint blush. "Well, at the risk of sounding like a stalker... I actually liberated several pairs of your sweats from the Cave -- along with some of Bruce's and Tim's, just in case of exactly this scenario. Tim and I do occasionally find ourselves hanging here working on computer stuff in the wee hours." She looks a little abashed. "Not that I expect you'll necessarily need it often or anything. But last time you did, regardless of the fact that you looked pretty decent in my sweats, they were ... you know... a little TIGHT." She blushes just a bit.

"Uhm... yeah. So you have clothes, and I'll let you go take himself for a pee run. And I'll make some tea! Alfred sent the good stuff when I raided the Cave. And you can tell me what's what up there." She's always been his sounding board, when he lets her. So settling back into that role is actually sort of like coming home.