batmanschmatman | 001 [video] introduction

[And Dick comes by a little while later, but as he's still not really sure what to make of this whole comic book thing he holds back for a second. But, after spotting Hayley, he walked over to her, eying the comic book on the table.]

Hi. You are Hayley, right?

[Because considering all the people here, it was perfectly possible that there were people who looked similar to others on the Barge, and God only knew he'd seen weirder stuff before.]

[The girl looks up at him with a smile bordering on a smirk, both coy and confident in her posture and expression. She glances around the dining hall and then back up to him again.]

Were you planning on meeting another teenage girl here to read about your own past? [She asks, amused. Then, after a beat, nods.] Yeah, I am.

You never know, apparently it's a popular thing to read. [Which, again, was. Weird. But he'd roll with it.] Nice to meet you in person.

[He sat down at her table, still kind of not exactly looking at the comic book.] So, are you fictional somewhere else too, or is that something reserved for a lucky few of us?

You too. [She smiled, offering her hand in greeting despite the delay, trying to be polite if nothing else. This was Dick Grayson, after all.]

I, uh.. I guess I hadn't really thought about it? I mean, I don't think I am. My life's really not that interesting and no one's told me if I am or anything, so I'd like to think it's not public knowledge. You never really know though, in a place like this. [She shrugged uncomfortably and grabbed her coffee, taking a long sip as much to force him to talk as because she genuinely wanted a drink.]

[And he'll be accepting the handshake. Inmate or not, she doesn't seem that bad at all. And let's face it, if she turns out to be trouble, he's definitely ready to handle that.

... Paranoia clearly just comes with being a Bat.]

Guess not. At least you're aware of the possibility? I'm just hoping this isn't the calm before the storm of my brain exploding or something.

If you've survived this far? You should be okay. At least you have some background, you know? I mean, you were a superhero and you fought these totally crazy people, some of who had powers and whatever. Try coming from normal California with no heroes or villains or vampires or magic or aliens or anything.. and then trying to get used to the Barge. I'm sure it sucks, having your life known at all like this, but at least there's that, right?

[She takes another sip of her coffee and sets it down again. If he wants to talk, she's happy to talk. If he wants to read, she's happy to loom. He seems like a pretty cool guy, though, and she can use more friends.]

[He chuckles.] Yeah, I can see where that would have been a little horrifying. Nice to know people can bounce back from the initial shock though.

[He reached over and slid the comic book towards him. He didn't move to take it out of the protective plastic though, still kind of trying to figure out how he feels about this.] So, am I allowed to touch it, or should I have brought some protective gloves or something?

You don't really have a choice. [She responds honestly, gaze drifting off for a moment, then snapping back.] As in inmate, I mean. I guess wardens might.

[Hayley doesn't stop him when he moves the comic, casually watching without caring too much about its condition. She laughs at his question.] It's totally fine. I just do that in case it starts.. raining in my room, or something. The Barge is a crazy place and I just like to think that like, the things that matter to me have some protection.

I'd say that's fair.

[So he'll carefully be sliding it out of the plastic before starting to flip through it, brow furrowed.] Man, how long has this stuff been going on? This book is older then I am.

[Hayley rubbed at the back of her neck awkwardly, thinking.] I don't know the exact year, but I would guess the 1970's. Maybe earlier. I know at least the '80s. When were you born? How old are you now anyway?

The 70's? Wow.

I'm only twenty two. What year is it here anyway? Everyone I know from back home seems to be ahead of me in the timestream or something.

Twenty two? There's no way we're only four years apart. You look way older. [She pauses, thinking how to answer that, then shrugs.] There isn't really a year here. There are days and months, obviously, according to what I think you know as the normal calendar, but everyone comes from like, totally different times and places. Well, more English-speaking than not, but that might be a Barge effect.

Right, okay, I turned twenty three a few weeks ago. Better? [He grins and nods at her explanation.] Okay, makes sense. Nice of it to be a universal translator for us or whatever.

Still, I definitely wasn't a teenager in the seventies. Or eighties.

Well.. Technically I'm 19 since I've been here for over a year. [She shrugs with another smile.]

When are you from again?

It was December 2006 when I left.

[ooc: Based on One Year Later's launch in 2006, Iiiii have no idea how time translates to the real world. :\ ]

I left in August, 2009, and arrived in May.. whatever Barge Time is, last year [2009]. I've met people from way into the future, though, and hundreds of years in the past. Plus people from different worlds or universes or whatever.

..Were you still Robin, before you left?

Nope. I gave up the short pants a long time ago.

[Hayley blinks as she takes another sip of her coffee, surprised.]

What do you do after you stop being a superhero?

[Stop being a superhero? Dick just laughs. And laughs.]

I didn't give it up. I'm just not Robin anymore. I go by Nightwing now. This... isn't really the kind of think you just walk away from.

[She totally gets not being able to walk away from something.]

Oh. Nightwing's a pretty cool name. Did you get a new costume too?

It's from a Kryptonian legend. And yeah, about three of them, actually. The first two were kind of crimes against fashion in the worst possible way according to pretty much everyone but me.

Can I see them? Do you have pictures or something? [She seems overly excited about this. Then stops. More important!] Wait-- Kryptonian like Super Man? You knew Super Man?

Sure, I've known him since I was a kid. Guy's practically my uncle.

And, uh, I might have pictures. Somewhere. [He's a messy packer/person in general, so where they are is anyone's guess.]

I guess I've heard of crossover stuff, but I didn't know you guys were so close. That's pretty weird. Er, sorry. Super Man was a different comic series. I don't have any of his stuff, but.. I never read one where you guys actually met or talked.

[Amazing what you learn about comics by talking to the people in them.] It's up to you if you want to share them, obviously. But if you find some and you're willing, I'd be totally interested in seeing them.

Huh. That's weird. I mean, it's not like we hang out every day or anything, but we've definitely worked together.

Hey, I've got nothing to hide. Who knows, you might even get your hands on a comic with me in one of them anyway.

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action spam; fff comics and your crazy timelines. :|

action spam; hehehe

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