14234/Batman and Robin(s)

Batman and Robin(s)
Date of Scene:	24 February 2023
Location:	Batcave
Synopsis:	Tim submits a project proposal. Bruce takes it under consideration.
Cast of Characters:	Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne

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Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim is always busy. You could call that his personality type: Busy. Or, let's call it like it is: he's a major Type A personality. But lately, he's been slacking a little bit. Not really noticeably unless you're, say, a world-famous detective, but he's traded off patrols more often than he usually does, and he's backed out of a few Wayne Family Social Calendar committments too.

    Except he's still busy. Up to something, no doubt, something that has him at the Manor with much more frequency than normal. But Tim is good at covering his tracks when he wants to, and it's not like he's doing anything nefarious, right?

    No, of course not. When he finds himself standing to the side of the Batcomputer, in his costume but sans domino mask, he looks much too earnest for it to be anything terrible. But also, it's clear that he's here for a purpose, and that purpose right now... is waiting, apparently.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
Bruce was at the computer though not in costume. Not yet. This was one of those evenings he would need to make a night time appearance as Bruce on a few overseas calls so he'd prepared to do just a bit of computer work before that. Only then would he suit up. So he sits in the slacks and long sleeved shirt he tended to favor when in the cave to keep off that slight chill of the lower temps that the cave environment offered.

Tim's presence is noted. He allows the young man to stand there without speaking for a bit. Likely Bruce could go all night not questioning the silent presence of his protege.

Except for the aforementioned meeting. He was on a time table tonight.

"I assume by the grim demeanor that this isn't you coming to announce your engagement to your boyfriend."

Tim Drake has posed:
    Of all the things for Bruce to say. Knowing people, understanding them and predicting their choices, that's something Tim excels at. But in all things Bruce is exceptional, and this is no different. Tim has to stand there and process the open acknowledgment of his relationship for a long moment, before he blinks once, seems to get his wits about him, and shakes his head.

    "I'm sure you wouldn't be surprised to hear that an anarchist isn't exactly fond of traditional government institutions like marriage," he quips, falling into old routines to take the edge off. Still, this is serious, and Tim fidgets with the tablet in his hands. A physical tell like that is unusual for him, at least when he's geared up.

    The mask goes on long before the domino does, but when it comes off, he's learned to be more relaxed out of costume. Or, as his friends in the Outsiders would say, he's lost the stick up his butt.

    He opens the discussion with "We need to talk about Robin," then pauses, and corrects himself by saying the exact same thing with slightly different inflection. He puts more emphasis on Robin, and it sounds less like a codename the second time around. "With Damian's departure from the role, the lack of Robin's presence around Gotham will be noticed sooner or later. I mean, there are blogs," and he flips his tablet around to show a few internet browser pages, "That track when one of us is spotted."

    Another pause. "A weirdly large amount of them are for Nightwing," he adds. It's a joke, and again, old habits die hard.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
Bruce Wayne leans back in his chair at this news to swivel toward Tim. Listening to him he regards him quietly. The tablet being waved around is noted with a simple hand gesturing toward it. Tim always was the tech sort he likely had something to show off.

"Robin has been a title passed around. It's always been noticed when there has been a trade off, or otherwise a momentary lapse of there being a Robin. It's not the first time it's happened." It's meant to be reassuring. Given Tim's own claim of the mantle had come after the loss of Jason Todd he knew very well why there might be a 'gap' in there being a Robin.

"However, it's inevitable that you all eventually move on to roles of your own." Her Bruce pauses gathering his own thoughts breifly. "With all of you though, I may not need a Robin as much as I once did." They'd matured. HE had matured. "What are your thoughts on it, though?"

Tim Drake has posed:
    On this they seem to be in agreement, and Tim nods along as Bruce speaks. "A gap is one thing," he says, holding the tablet in front of him once more. He dismisses the browser pages with a couple finger-swipes and then grips it with both hands, looking down at it purely so as to not look at Bruce.

    He sucks in a breath. Whatever Tim is working himself up to, it must be big. Or it seems big to him, but with the way he carefully plans out things to the nth detail, even the smallest project can seem a monumentous undertaking.

    "But eventually people will start looking for answers. Robin, in whatever form, is too integral a concept to the Batman mythos at this point." He bites the inside of his cheek. This isn't going the way he was planning. Get back on track, Drake. "Maybe you don't need a Robin any more, Bruce. But Batman does. Gotham does. Batman will always need a Robin, for as long as Gotham needs Batman."

Bruce Wayne has posed:
There's a little stiffening to Bruce's shoulders when told what Batman will always need. It's instinctive. That deep down knee jerk reaction to being told what to do. It's also momentary. Tim was usually right about things. He didn't need to be the solo act he once tried so hard to be in his younger years.

"Go on," he prompts realizing Tim has more he intends to discuss. The chair is swiveled fully around now to focus his full attention while lacing his hands together over his lap.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim doesn't miss it, that momentary visceral reaction. But he's expecting it. It's not the same as when he'd come with almost the exact same argument closing in on a decade prior, but that was a very different Bruce, back then. And a very different Tim, too. This reaction is muted by an order of magnitude in comparison.

    "Out of the people you have working with you now, there are at least a half-dozen reasonable candidates for the role. Whether or not they'd be willing is a different story, but being familiar with their psych profiles, I think we can make a few assumptions right off the bat."

    That one wasn't intentional, and Tim opens his mouth, closes it, and then wheezes out a breath that isn't quite laughter before continuing, "But I don't think we should try to narrow down to one choice."

    This is when the tablet really comes into play. He taps at it once and then turns it around towards Bruce, holding it out to him. On the screen is Tim's entire proposal, distilled into a single image: several very recognizable sets of armor, upgraded with the newest Bat-tech. And like an old lenticular image, the familiar color schemes of Bluebird, Osprey, and Balm shift to the signature red, yellow, and green of Robin.

    "I think we should make them all Robins."

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"It's an interesting proposition." A team of Robins was something to think about. There's not much time to do that at the moment. A reminder alarm goes off on his phone which he quickly dismisses with a little roll of his wrist. Smart watches were rather handy at times.

"I've a call with Hong Kong I need to see to." As he explains he stands giving a quick nod to Tim. "I'll give it some consideration. Send me the details you've already worked out to review." At least he's taking it seriously.

Tim Drake has posed:
    The tablet comes back against Tim's chest and he narrows his eyes at the watch on Bruce's wrist, but they all have time commitments they have to respect, Bruce most among them. So Tim nods. "Will do. Thanks for hearing me out."

    He taps in a few quick words on the screen's pop-up keyboard and then, within moments, a heavily compressed file is delivered to Batman's email inbox. The wonders of the Bat-net.

    "If you have any questions, I'll be around."