3291/Signs Are Often Given to Oracles By Birds

Signs Are Often Given to Oracles By Birds
Date of Scene:	02 December 2017
Location:	Gotham City
Synopsis:	On a patrol follow-up to the Gotham riot, Nightwing gives Oracle a new perspective.
Cast of Characters:	Nightwing, Oracle

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Nightwing has posed:
"What the hell is going on in this place?!" Nightwing mutters to Babs as they both stand on the roof the Herod Arena, and overlooking the havoc that was wreaked last night across the water. The docks show the scorch marks of the terrorist like activities of the anti-mutant groups that have been rioting since the shooting of the president. Nightwing was out at Bludhaven, trying to keep the City under control, and he missed what happened with the rest of the Bat Family.

Tonight he was feeling restless, and so tracked down Babs at her apartment, and he could tell that something happened last night. As is the custom for clearing their heads, Nightwing invited Babs out with him to patrol, and look for more of the mob that would hurt innocent people. Once they arrived at the top of the Arena, he squats down next to her, "Hey, you ok? What happened last night?" She can tell he's upset about not being there, not available to support them, "This is like those riots in LA I've read about, when the King guy got beaten by those cops..." The destruction to the City is well documented, and he shakes his head, "...but it's happening all over the Country. This is going to go way past these riots. I feel bad for the mutants that have nothing to do with this..." letting out a long sigh, and turning his gaze back across to the docks.

Oracle has posed:
Getting into uniform took her a little longer than usual, but she was ready to go quickly. It wasn't until they took to the lines, traveling out here, that it was evident that whatever happened last night must have been pretty tough -- Barbara's movements have the subtle stiffness of having pulled something or otherwise taken a few pretty significant bruises and then falling asleep on them. It works itself out pretty quickly, but as they come to a landing on the top of the arena and she takes a knee to survey the mess left by last night, she looks pensive even behind the mask. "I'm okay," she reassures him. "Just... a lot on my mind today."

Bringing the binocs up, she takes a long look at the harbor. "I need to do some upgrades on my uniform soon," she comments out of left field. "I'm going to set the starlite lenses finally. And I think I'm going to see what I can do about reinforcing a couple of places in the suit without making it heavier."

She could say several other things, but finally she says to him, "He called me Oracle last night. Both BG and I were out on the streets. I think he needed a way to keep clear who was getting which orders." But the fact is.... Dick is the only person who knew about Oracle's identity. So far as Barbara knew. When she looks toward him, there isn't any anger. Only the unspoken question.

Nightwing has posed:
Nightwing noticed the stiffness at the apartment, even more so when they were gliding along the rooftops, and even though Babs looks to be moving easier he's still worried about her. "Hmm..." Dick says non-noncommittally before adding, "...if you needed to take it easy tonight I would've been happy to watch 'nother movie..." a small grin as he tilts his head to look over her suit for any signs of what happened last night.

"Yeah..." Dick replies, his voice heavy with thought, "...I know that feeling well." Then, under his breath, but not so quiet she can't hear "More than just what's going on with the Mutants." He's quickly brought out of that reverie, though, when Babs begins telling him about what she wants to change on her suit. "Bats helped me design the mask, using some of the Justice League tech, and I'd bet he'd be willing to share if you wanted." Then he nods in agreement with adding new armor, "The Nomex triple weave Kevlar lining helps me keep the weight really low. It doesn't take the type of punishment Bats does, but I like to avoid getting hit as much as Batman does."

Then his own idle chatter stops to consider what she's said. "I'm not surprised if I'm bein' honest." he adds in a mirthful tone, "Of all the people that'd know, holding off on when to say something, it'd be Bats..." He looks back to her, head tilted to the left, "How'd he seem? If I'm guessing that's his way of letting you know that he's watching, but not tipping his hand too far." and then he gets 'The Look'(tm) and slowly nods his head "Ahhhh... So, to be clear, I haven't talked to Bats since before we watched Die Hard three times, and passed out on the couch." He pauses for a moment, adding "and I wouldn't tell him anything you told me in confidence. Ever." Which is saying a lot given the relationship He and Bruce has over these many years.

Oracle has posed:
She merely nods. "I know," Barbara replies with a sigh. Because it *does* mean that Bruce has been keeping an eye on her... and while that can be comforting, it occasionally makes her wonder just exactly how much privacy she really has. But whatever.

"Last night was a mess," she informs him. "We had what amounted to three separate mobs running wild, and we corralled them down Durant and routed them to the docks. Which were already on fire, mind you. That's when he basically got all Urban Legend on people's butts." She smirks faintly. "It was really cute." In a Batman sort of way. "But we didn't get done until after sunrise, and then I couldn't sleep. I had a couple of pieces that needed to be verified for a case that is sitting on Dad's desk. They can't issue a warrant until that piece was done -- so I finished it before I fell asleep." Which likely means she'd only been asleep perhaps two hours or so before he showed up.

"I actually already have an order in for the kevlar/nomex." She slants him an amused smile. "I know what's in your suit, Boy Blunder. It seemed like a good compromise, because *I* don't want to get hit as often as he does either." Christ, after last night, she doesn't want to get hit at all. "This mutant thing is kind of terrifying. I mean... who gets to decide what powers are dangerous and what ones aren't?"

Nightwing has posed:
"So..." Dick adds, scooting a bit closer so that his shoulder touches her, "..for what it's worth, he probably didn't start off following you. He probably started off when Oracle became something more." Babs can tell that Dick isn't just trying to say something to cover for Bruce or make her feel better, "Somewhere along the line he put it together. Maybe wasn't even all the way sure, but was testing something last night." Again, something Bruce would definitely do.

"I'd heard about the fires and the mobs..." Dick nods his head, biting the corner of his lip, "...mentioned Batman and Batgirl, but sounded like it got cleaned up fast..." usually they only cover parts of what happens. "Well, if you need help with anything, or just a second set of eyes, you can always call me." He lets out a long breath, "Chances are I'm awake most times. Not getting much sleep myself these days, but you should have told me to take it easy tonight."

Dick snorts in response to her Boy Blunder comment, "I forget that I leave it over the apartment, and you've had plenty of chances to check it out." Pause. Waits. Rolls right past it, "We can test out a few prototypes when you've got something you like." Which always is a good idea since the first time he had his Nightwing Suit he looked like Randy from Christmas Story 'I can't put my arms down!!'

"Yeah, even with as exposed as we are to powers from all kinds of metahumans, it's scary how some of these people can use some terrifying powers for their own good." He shivers a little, adding "I mean, imagine if Superman or Martian Manhunter wanted to take over? God, or if BOTH of them worked together..."

Oracle has posed:
She's listening to him. He knows Barbara hears everything he says, and she merely presses her shoulder lightly back against his in acknowledgement of the idea that Bruce was testing. When he talks about what he saw on the news, she can't help but smile. "Yeah... well, it was pretty dang amusing, because we had Power Girl too. And man.. the guys on street didn't know whether to spit or get off the pot. Apparently the crazy ones like to try to burn her." She shakes her head. "That went poorly." Talk about understatement.

And then she laughs at him. "Oh God... I saw you in one of those prototypes." He probably didn't know that -- he was too busy trying to keep his distance. Barbara glances at him and adds, "I went up there to talk to you, but... I was pretty sure you didn't want to see me anyway, and you needed space to work it out on your own." There's a sadness to that statement.

She takes another pass over the area with the binoculars and says quietly, "I'd honestly be concerned less about people like J'onn and Kal than I would about someone like Power Boy." The admission is hard. "The kid has spent his whole life on Apokalips. And that supercomputer he's got? It has a distinct kind of menace to it. I... worry." Which is why she's keeping her eyes on him, the words not requiring her to speak them for him to know them.

Nightwing has posed:
There is a grin that starts to spread across his face at the mention of Power Girl, "Yeah..." He adds with a chuckle, "..whenever Power Girl shows up you know that they aren't really talking about who she was kicking around." Which brings forth an actual laugh from him, "Come on, she is an awesome heroine and all people talk about is her..." he makes a random gesture at his chest, and finally adds "...costume."

"Hey..." as Babs tells him about her attempted visit and the bump she gives him, just as his arm wraps her shoulder in a hug, "...you're always welcome. Even when I'm being stupid, and I can't figure out what I should be doing. You're /always/ welcome, and I'd always see you..." He coughs once, and under his breath adds "...may not be able to /talk/ to you..."

Dick nods his head slowly at the last statement of Power Boy, "Yeah, we haven't talked much about him, or this widget you keep talking about. He seems good enough, sincere in wanting out of the mess he's in, but you think this computer could change his mind? I haven't had a chance to talk to Superman yet, but I can't imagine that he'd let him keep something if it were that dangerous."

Oracle has posed:
Barbara has to laugh outright at the pause and the gesture about Power Girl's costume. "Yes, her 'costume'," she replies with air quotes in full display. Rolling her blue eyes, she just shakes her head at him. The arm around her shoulders, though... that is breaking the Rules. They both know it. And for this one moment, Barbara appears to not care. She leans her head sideways, resting it on his shoulder and remains there for a long moment. Perhaps last night was harder on her than even she realized, because the light hug seems to bring her far more comfort than it perhaps ought.

Pulling in a breath, she thinks about the question he's asking. "I'm... not entirely certain who knows that he has the thing. And I'm not entirely certain that Kal even knows about him. But.... I do know the boy has a serious thing for Kara. They're spending a lot of time together." She shifts just enough to glance up at him. "Keep the supercomputer thing to yourself for now." She lifts her head and looks directly at him. "Trust me?"

Nightwing has posed:
Rules. Bah. Dick has never been good with the rules, for the most part, and will slowly remove his arm just in case any random super villain has some spying drone flying around. "I'm just sayin' what everyone report on." Dick claims innocently enough, a smirk he can't quite hide from her on his lips, but he doesn't move away from her head on his shoulder.

"really?!" Dick asks when Babs tells him that she's not sure how many people know about the potentially malicious computer that Power Boy is carrying. "Kara? Huh... I haven't talked to her in awhile." Dick admits as he's given further info on the connection with Power Boy, "She's really nice, and far smarter than people give her credit for most times. I think she'll pick up if something is off about him." When she asks him not to say anything to Kal about the computer, he's visibly uncomfortable with the prospect, but he nods his head in agreement "I do trust you. His mask covered eyes looking into her own, "I won't say anything to him until I can talk with you about it. Is that fair? So, no reason for me to say anything right now."

Oracle has posed:
Barbara nods. "Fair enough," she agrees, not dropping her eyes from his for a long moment. And then she glances toward the harbor quickly, because ... well, what SHE was just thinking is seriously against the Rules.

"Besides... you might be seeing a bit of him around. You can question him yourself, if you like. He still has a few more cameras I want in place in Bludhaven. Especially after this mess." She gestures toward the docks on the far side with a disgusted expression. "Plus several of them were destroyed here the other night. Batman'll send someone to get those ones up. The ones in Bludhaven are placed better." Well... 'better' is relative. She just learned a lot about the placement needs for herself rather than what Batman wanted to see. Her angles and needs for view are different. And not static.

"I'm sure as heck hoping that nothing goes quite as far pear-shaped on the streets tonight as it was last night." Barbara hesitates and admits, "Kinda missed you out there, truth be told. I'm starting to get used to you having my back again."

Nightwing has posed:
Dick also holds that gaze until she drops it, then a few moments longer as he considers something more to say, but then knows that he needs to keep his head in the game while in Suit.

"I"ll talk to him some more, and see what's going on." Dick tells her, which means that he'll work with him objectively, no preconceived paranoia like others in the Family, "I appreciate you taking the time and effort to get it up and running..." Dick tells her, realizing it's not been said yet, and he owes her some support on this, "...it'll make my job much easier. I just wanted you to know that... and having you watch my back."

Nodding his head in agreement, Dick gives a grunt of ascent as well, "Yeah. It was pretty quiet. but there aren't that many obvious metahumans in Bludhaven. Not compared to here, and NYC." He'll look back over to Babs, his voice carrying a bit of guilt as well, "Yeah, I wish I was there... I should've been there..." A small smile again, "Always got your back. Just need to make a Nightwing Signal..." scratching his nose, wrinkled in mock disgust "...kind of old school though. Maybe a Nightwing Tweet or Ringtone?"

Oracle has posed:
"Nah, you shouldn't have been," Barbara corrects him. "You needed to be in Bludhaven. And you need all the help you can get up there. Although it's not as bad as here, yet. Which is good." She grins slightly. "You know... last night, with all of us out on the roofs? That was my assignment. To monitor frequencies and dispatch. He's been thinking about it for a while... that we need someone doing it, not just keeping an ear on the PD waves when we have time."

Nightwing has posed:
"Gotham may not have needed me..." Dick says, his eyes scanning the streets in front of them both, "...but that wasn't the reason why I needed to be out there." Even though he doesn't look in her direction, Babs can easily catch the hint he's talking about. "Bats has got enough people he's trained running around the streets to cover most issues. Now it's about watching out for the Family."

He's quiet for a while after his last thoughts, perhaps lost in what more he wants to say, before asking "So, what do you think about being ORACLE full time? I've got to admit that what the Justice League has going on at the Watchtower, and keeping track of what's going on saved this planet with the Darkseid craziness. They made the difference, knowing when the portals opened, and getting everyone to it as quick as possible." Maybe there's something to not having her on the streets too, but he would /NEVER/ say that for fear of the beating (berating?!) he'd get.

Oracle has posed:
After last night.... she's far more likely to actually consider the situation, and he can see that in her face. When she speaks, it's to speak a truth -- or at least, a truth from HER perspective -- that he might never have expected.

"Batgirl was all I ever wanted," she tells him quietly. "I made him accept me. Of all of you... *I'm* the one who had to prove that I belonged." Barbara avoids him eyes, uncertain if she wants to see how he's taking her words. She's never confided in him quite like this, letting him see *all* of her. "He fought me, tested me, finally accepted me... and quitting seems like letting all of you down." She hesitates and then looks up at him. "You taught me how to fly, Dick. When I would have ripped my arms right out of their sockets on that first jump... you caught me, and you showed me how to spread my wings. How do I clip them now?"

Nightwing has posed:
Dick folds his legs underneath himself, resting easily as he listens to Babs, and he is quiet as well as attentive which is something he is actually quite good at. He listens to her piece, baring her soul in many ways, and considers what she asks before replying in an equally serious tone.

"Hey..." again he almost broke a rule by saying her name in Suit, but catches himself then starts again "...I'd never ask you to give up flying. There's always going to be time and need for that. You also can't give up knowing how to defend yourself, because you'll always be a target in both lives." The next part is hard to put into words, there's a pause as he decides how to order his thoughts, "But you can do things the rest of us can't. I"ll never, ever, be able to do what you can do. Even Bats can't do the same things you can do on the computer, and over the 'net. I don't see it as asking you to quit..."

He's very serious when he looks back to Babs, "...I see it as asking you to take on more responsibility. A bigger job. One that saves more lives than what we can do now. One that makes us all more effective. Let the meat heads like Bats and I do what we do best..." He's not joking, he sees this as what Bruce and He are best at, not that they are better than the others, "...but we need someone to guide us. Tell us where the trouble is brewing, and maybe stop it before it starts. Imagine if we were PRO-active instead of RE-active."

Oracle has posed:
She hadn't considered if from that perspective. Barbara looks thoughtful. "You're not a meathead," she informs him absently. He's given her something significant to chew on, it appears. He knows her well enough to see the wheels in that brain have just spun up to high speed, just from the way her attention shifts internal. And the dimple that peeps out at him as she looks back at him tells him that what he just said has had huge impact, taking some of the weight off her thoughts on this possibility. "You can't be a meathead and still make that much sense."

Moving to stand, Barbara holds out her hand to him. "Come fly with me," she invites him, that dimple teasing him. She's definitely going to give his words serious consideration, but now? Now -- for these few minutes they have before something else blows up, gunshots are fired, or their comms come to life with some kind of emergency -- now, she wants to just fly.