batmanschmatman | 010 [video]

"Always am." [She replied quietly, more to herself than to him. It wasn't entirely true given the situations she put herself in, but she liked to think she was careful within those situations and that, so long as she prepared herself and knew more about the people she was staying with, she would be safe and fine.

When Capa had proceeded down the hallway, Hayley closed and locked the door again, turning to offer Dick a small smile. She looked far too pleased with herself for anyone's good, despite that it was the result of a genuinely innocent gesture. The girl paused there against the door for a moment before finally straightening and then walking over to the bed again. She did not hesitate to climb in near the foot like she had been, though she set her taser and communicator on the table beside the foot of the bed, trusting Dick not to attack her for now. Besides, he was injured and she knew where to punch or kick him, if it came down to it, to hurt him the most.

"Where were we?" The inmate asked innocently as she pulled her knees to her chest again.

[As Hayley came back to sit on the bed, Dick slowly pushed himself back up into more of a sitting position, wincing slightly as some of his injuries protested being moved. While Hayley had been talking with Capa he'd sort of started falling asleep.]

You were going to ask me something. [He was actually sort of curious about what she wanted to know. Of course, it could just be more digging around in his less then pleasant memories about that night or whatever, but it could easily be something... less awful to talk about.]

[Hayley started leaning forward to consider helping him when he winced, but almost immediately thought better of it and sat back again. She hoped he was okay with her sitting here being nosy, but the fact that he reminded her of her question seemed to support that fact. She offered him a sincere smile, a subtle one that wasn't for show or reassurance, thinking back to what they had been talking about.]

"Oh! Well, I was going to ask if you would tell me about how you almost died.. but I did say we could talk about whatever you want. So it's up to you."

It's fine. [That was easier to talk about then what happened with Tarantula and Blockbuster, and she'd already seen the scar from the injury, so it wasn't like there was anything to hide about it. He'd actually been pretty up front about it when people asked. He started playing with the bandages wrapped around his split knuckles.]

I jumped in front of an energy beam - antimatter beam? I don't remember - to save Batman. [It had been an easy call to make. While he would - and had - take a bullet for just about anyone, he was always willing to put his life at risk to protect his family members, and he didn't regret the decision for a minute. Sure, recovery had sort of sucked, but it always did, and if the alternative was Bruce dying? He'd always make the same decision.]

[Hayley stared at him for a minute. Or two. There were certain things that just belonged in comic books and cartoons and an antimatter beam was most definitely one of them. It was hard to take the weapon seriously, despite it having almost killed her friend. So it was easier to stare than to try to explain how ridiculous that sounded and better than to start laughing. After that silence, she finally opted for a safer path.] "Whose was it? What did Bruce say-- er, Batman?"

Alexander Luthor Jr. A guy from a parallel earth.

[Dick shrugged at the second part of the question, knowing it would be weird to hear.] He didn't really say anything. I mean, I know he was upset with me for taking that kind of risk, and I probably scared him, but he never said anything about it directly. He was glad I didn't die, obviously.

[He smiled slightly shrugged again. He knew Bruce cared about him, and he knew Bruce sucked at talking about how he felt about stuff, so he really hadn't expected anything from him. He'd been there when Dick woke up, and that had been enough.] He didn't really have to say anything. He would have done the same thing for me.

[Yeah, no. That was too much. Hayley couldn't contain the small laugh that burst from her lips, let alone the grin she couldn't even begin to suppress. She looked a little embarrassed after the initial reaction, but she was still smiling.] "Wait, I'm sorry. Lex Luthor? Like Clark 'Superman' Kent versus Lex Luthor, Lex Luthor? Shot you with an antimatter ray?"

"I'm sorry. No, that's.. that's great, that he was there for you." [She was trying to be more solemn again, but it was being incredibly difficult to accomplish.] "I forget that he's not really the talking kind."

More or less. [And pretty much immediately, he clammed up, going back to looking at his hands. He should probably start thinking about carrying at least his gloves and gauntlets around with him at all times after what had happened. Wrecking up your hands was never fun, especially in this line of work.

He got where it sounded kind of ridiculous to the outside observer, but... it was his life. Being a comic book character in some universes hadn't bothered him that much until today - maybe because he hadn't really thought about it that much - but now people could about stuff about him that he hadn't wanted to tell anyone, and apparently stuff that had been serious and, honestly, kind of terrifying was just stuff people laughed about.

Still, he shrugged at her commentary on Bruce.] Nope. The boss is not one for words.

[Hayley saw his solemn expression at his hands and instantly sobered, smile dropping into a frown. She wouldn't have liked it if he had laughed at any part of her life for how ridiculous it was and she certainly shouldn't have laughed at his. Even if it was Lex Luthor in the Bat Cave with the Antimatter Ray-- or wherever it was.] "I'm sorry, it's just.. It's hard to believe. I'm not saying you're lying or anything? Obviously. I trust you. You just talk about all these things that don't even exist in my world and it's so far beyond what I can even picture that it's either try to laugh about it or completely lose my head. I'm sorry, though. Really. I shouldn't have laughed, especially not with how serious it was."

[The inmate shifted uncomfortably, guilt clear on her face. It might have been partially intentional, that it was so much a part of her expression.] "Can I.. Can I touch the scar? I mean, I know I saw it already, but it would make it more real, I guess."

[At the apology, he managed a well practiced forced smile that was pretty convincing by this point. It was a move he'd been practicing since he was a kid. It had been a vital survival skill to learn while being dragged around functions with Bruce for meet and greets with other Gotham royalty. There was only so much cheek pinching and "poor dears" he could take..] It's okay. I guess it does sound kind of ridiculous when you just... say it like that.

[The question caught him sort of off guard. He looked at her curiously for a moment before shrugging slightly.] Sure.

[He sat up carefully, wincing again as he tugged off his worn t-shirt at college, and he balled it up in his hand. Aside from the usual mass of scars, his chest and shoulders were covered in bruises and bandages from his attempts at evading the Aztecs. Most of Hayley's original patch jobs had been exchanged for new bandages, and he had an impressive mass of bruises along his ribcage from the blow that had caught him off guard enough to get whacked in the head.]

[Hayley couldn't help but wonder if that smile was the same type she gave when she just wanted people to go away. Now she felt extremely guilty. The girl rubbed a hand on the back of her neck and offered a short, apologetic smile. Then she watched as he took his shirt off, glancing over the wounds and bandages before looking at the scar in the center. The girl shifted to crawl over on her knees toward him, pausing when she was near him. She looked up at him again, not really sure if she should feel more awkward about this, before finally reaching out to touch it.

Her fingers brushed gently from top to bottom, tracing along the outside edges. Then she rested all of her fingers on it kind of sideways, staring at the wound. It was a wicked scar and she felt even more horrible for having laughed now.] "I'm sorry."

[Dick was sort of too tired to feel awkward about the situation, especially when considering the fact that Hayley was sort of filling in for Alfred today, and honestly, he was too distracted by the lingering issues associated with suddenly talking about stuff he had been doing his best to forget had ever happened to him to feel awkward. Confronting this was clearly taking up more of his attention, and honestly, he was feeling a little drained.

He smiled again, this one less forced or practiced, and he shrugged slightly, pointedly not looking down at the scar. He'd gotten used to it being there, but people calling attention to it was always kind of weird. Again, his method was accept that it had happened and move on, not spend time worrying about what the greater implications of it were.] It's okay. I mean, I'm alive, right?

[Hayley recognized that fatigue and disconnect as she gave him a sad kind of smile. Then she nodded as she withdrew her fingers from his chest, scooting back into her little corner of the bed. She pulled her knees to her chest as before, preferring the position over most others when she was a little bit nervous. At his question, she nodded.] "Yeah. I'm glad. Seriously, I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't shown up. You're like, the only interesting, trustworthy person in my life right now."

[Yes, she was finally assigning him some expectations, but she felt like they were things he could handle. The guy was inherently interesting and being trustworthy was kind of in his nature from what she could tell. After a pause, she wrapped her hands around her legs.] "Do you want to get some sleep? You look really tired. I can.. stay here or move to the couch or the floor or whatever you want.."

[Even though part of him was sort of depressed that he was apparently the only interesting, trustworthy person in her life, he smiled again at the comment. He liked Hayley, and he had always been happy to help her out when she asked for it, so if she needed someone to trust, he was more then okay with being that person.

He slowly pulled the t-shirt back on before slumping back on the pillows. Hayley was right. It had been a rough couple days, and after the events of today, it was pretty safe to say that he could do with some down time that didn't involve talking with people over the network or whatever. He probably should try and get at least a couple hours of sleep, maybe more then usual if he wanted to avoid getting sick.] Whatever you want's fine with me. Thanks for staying.

[The statement was a slight exaggeration. After all, there were Capa and Merlin to consider as well, but Hayley felt like Dick didn't need to hear how he was one of many, but rather how he was one of a kind just by being himself. Then again, maybe she was just projecting her own desires onto him. The girl really didn't care at present.

She watched him get comfortable and nodded. The girl figured she could stay where she was until he fell asleep, then maybe move to the couch or something; she wasn't too worried about it. Hayley grabbed her taser from the table and set it in her lap. She unzipped her jacket, but left it on, pulling the hood up over her face. After another glance at Dick, she slid down to lay in a small ball at the foot of Dick's bed, legs extending beside the wall to give him plenty of space even with her there. It was easier, since she was tiny.]

"Any time. I mean it." [The girl laid her taser near her head, resting one hand on it as she began to fall asleep. It wasn't a guaranteed security in this case and she didn't usually sleep with her taser in her own room, but it seemed appropriate here.] "Good nick, Dick."

010 [video]

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