070 [voice]

[batmanschmatman]

So, in unflood related news, for those of you who have been able to go home or off somewhere else on vacation or something, how much of the Barge did you remember while you were there if at all? Out of curiosity.

[Private to Tim]

You up for some tree tag?

[This is secretly code for HOLY CRAP, I NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE ABOUT THIS FLOOD. :|]

Comments

[Spam]

[peektuttut]

[God damn it Dick.] Uh, I think maybe I should be asking you that.

[Spam]

[batmanschmatman]

[Hey, this time it was barely even his fault.] I ran into Slade. He wasn't happy to see me.

[Spam]

[peektuttut]

[This look says 'what did you do.'] Ran into him.

[Spam]

[batmanschmatman]

[He holds up his hands in the universal gesture for IT WASN'T ME.] I just went into the gym, said hi and he started word vomiting at me. He punched me in the face, we argued and he -

He apologized. [Wat do. :|]

[Spam]

[peektuttut]

No way.

[What the hell. Slade. Apologizing? No way in hell.]

[Spam]

[batmanschmatman]

I know.

[Spam]

[peektuttut]

No way. For what?

[Spam]

[batmanschmatman]

[Pause. Deep breath.] Bludhaven.

[Spam]

[peektuttut]

[Oh shit serious time.] What did he say?

[Spam]

[batmanschmatman]

He said... he had to pick a side, and he needed to do something to convince the Society - to convince me - that he was a monster. He chose to be hated because he couldn't put up with losing the people he cared about anymore, and he destroyed Bludhaven because he needed something big, and because I was the last person who thought he had any decency left.

[Spam]

[peektuttut]

Jeez. [Tim officially does not know what to think of that. Slade wanted to be hated to self protect.] He was pushing everyone away. That explains things. [Like that bullshit Titans East business, Jesus Christ.] And then he beat the crap out of you?

[Spam]

[batmanschmatman]

No. And he didn't beat the crap out of me. [Jeez Tim. :|] He punched me in the face once after he mentioned Rose and I asked why he put her through all that, and then I stuck around because I don't know when to quit.

[Spam]

[peektuttut]

Your face looks pretty broken, Dick. [SIGH] So he beat on you some more. Great idea.

[Spam]

[batmanschmatman]

No, he only punched me once. ...It was just like a being hit in the face with a sledgehammer kind of punch.

Your lack of faith in me is kind of depressing.

[Spam]

[peektuttut]

You keep getting into scraps with a man who punches like a sledgehammer, are you surprised?

[Spam]

[batmanschmatman]

I didn't do anything. He's not worth it, and honestly, me trying to hurt him would probably just be giving him what he wants.

[Spam]

[peektuttut]

Isn't that good to know.

...This is really weird.

[Spam]

[batmanschmatman]

I know.

[Spam]

[peektuttut]

Now what? I mean. Should you talk to his warden, or what?

[Spam]

[batmanschmatman]

I don't know. I'm still kind of trying to process that he did it because I had some faith left in him. [Not that he didn't know it was his fault, but getting confirmation was... not awesome to cope with.]

[Spam]

[peektuttut]

[Woah wait a minute. Tim just stares at him.]

That isn't your fault, Dick.

[Spam]

[batmanschmatman]

[He's not really sure what to say to that. He's not even sure what Tim knows about why and how it happened, and he doesn't really want to talk about how he tried to play Slade and lost. Badly.]

Sure feels like it is.

[Spam]

[peektuttut]

You've been known to be wrong in the past.

[Spam]

[batmanschmatman]

He did it because I provoked him into it. How is this not my fault?

[Spam]

[peektuttut]

Seeing some good in someone isn't provoking them, Dick.