if i ever had a wish in the whole world [closed]

[cassassin]

WHO: Cassandra Cain and Dick Grayson
WHERE: Some cafe in Nonah
WHEN: 6/8, late afternoon
WHAT: Batfam kids from different universes catching up.
WARNINGS: None, probably.



[She'd chosen this place as a nice neutral ground. Despite her best intentions - and the fact she suggested this - she was still a little guarded about this whole thing. Meeting an alternate Dick Grayson. Not Nightwing, and younger than her - Cassandra was still adjusting to the state of things with her family. And they were her family, weren't they? She just wondered how much rebuilding she'd have to do.

Well, at least Alfred knew her. Small favors.

She sat at an outside table with her tea, keeping her eyes peeled. Sunglasses, she could assume dark hair, fairly young... C'mon, Robin, where are you?]

Comments

[performance]

[ It would help if he knew who he was looking for.

Dick doesn't like being the one with less information, but it's something he's had to get used to during his time in this world — or try to get used to, anyway. It seems like half the people who know him are perfect strangers. It's a weird feeling. It doesn't get much less weird with repetition.

He arrives early, in sunglasses, a red t-shirt and black jeans (hey, gotta stick with a tried and true color scheme), scoping out the outdoor tables. Would she already be here? She's a Batgirl, so she has to be prepared, right? ]

[cassassin]

[there he is. there's no mistaking that.]

Dick! [why yes, yes she is going to call that out at someone in public with people around.]

[performance]

[ Well, that's one way of getting attention. Immediately. He looks, in the way one looks, surprised, at a stranger he ought to recognize — first wide-eyed behind his glasses, then softening into an easy grin and a wave. ]

You found me!

[ He trots over to the table, sitting in the chair across from her and looking her over. ]

And I thought I would be early.

[cassassin]

[she chuckles quietly, sipping her tea.]

I know how you move. [he's young. she expected it, but it's still strange. this is a little out of her usual field. she's had this kind of conversation all of once, with Batman the other night - and that was more work than a social call.]

You had to... find it.

[performance]

[ I know how you move. That isn't how most people would recognize him, he thinks. Not in civilian mode. Hair color, eye color, approximate age... but the movement is an odd thing to fixate on. Or at least to point out. ]

It wasn't hard. [ A playful grin, and a nonchalant shrug. ] I am a detective.

[cassassin]

Not the only one. [The corner of Cassandra's mouth quirks up. He was younger, but this was definitely Dick Grayson.]

... Where do we start?

[performance]

Good question.

[ He smiles, just the very slightest bit sheepish. ]

This doesn't really get easier with time, you know. Meeting people who already know me.

[cassassin]

Be strange if it did. [She mirrors that, suddenly feeling odd about this whole thing. Still, it's better to get this moving. This conversation will get easier, surely, even if repeats won't.]

Should I go first?

[performance]

[ Which he notices, and forces himself to relax, hoping to put her at ease. It isn't her. Just the situation, after all, and he's been through stranger than this. ]

Be my guest! I'll feel better if I know which parts of the introduction I can skip for you.

[cassassin]

[She nods. The bustle of the evening crowd and the music playing should provide some cover for the conversation, which helps.]

You know I'm... Cassandra Cain. Um - Cass is fine. My dad was... [Ugh, easier to just say it.] David Cain. The assassin. [she's not sure if that name means anything to him, but whatever.]

I'm the second. ... Or third. [does Huntress's stint count... she's never really thought about that.]

He's been active for... more than ten years, now. Back home. You've been... Nightwing for years, in Blüdhaven. Tim is Robin. [she frowns for a second, not sure how much sense this is making. she decides not to mention Jason and Stephanie for now - especially Stephanie.]

I've worn the suit for - almost two years?

[performance]

[ Even if it wasn't for the crowd and the noise, Dick knows — even if he doesn't quite believe — that almost no one here really understands or cares about details like this. The secret identity thing isn't as important as it is at home. Not that they don't still have enemies, people who would want to know, but... it isn't the same. Still, he's cautious.

He nods along, trying to place Cassandra — Cass — in the mental timeline he's constructed for himself, what sense he's been able to make of the versions of events that exist in other worlds. She could be his, or could be from Alfred's. That isn't contradictory. He wonders... ]

Two years is a long time, [ he says, at last, approvingly. He taps his fingers on the edge of the table, then lifts his hand to slide his sunglasses off and set them in front of him. ] I guess this sort of makes us family.

[cassassin]

[She's concerned about keeping it a secret too, of course - but they were hardly obvious imPorts. It'd be easy enough to stay under the radar, but she keeps an eye open to see if anyone's paying attention.

Cassandra smiles when Dick finally speaks, nodding. Of course it does. The Bats were the closest she had to family.]

I'm older than you now. That's... different. [The corners of her mouth crinkle again, teasing. Off to a good start with the big sister thing. This is literally what you asked for, Grayson.]

[performance]

Sooo, big little sister?

[ Because if she's going to tease, he can tease right back. ]

[cassassin]

Little big brother.

[She smirks at him and hums, thoughtfully. What are older sisters supposed to do?? Embarrass little brothers or something???? This'd be easier if it was her version of him... Part of her thinks they need to talk about work at some point, but probably not here. Instead -]

He mentioned a team. [Beast Boy's probably on it, but that's her guessing.]

[performance]

[ He's never really had siblings, either, so her guess is as good as his. Family, for Dick, is a strange thing, constantly in flux. He's still learning, in a way. He nods at the implied question. ]

That's right. Me, Kid Flash, Impulse, and Beast Boy, here. The roster is... a little different back home. People come and go, and they're older or younger than you expect.

[ Which she obviously knows by now. ]

But I can introduce you, if you want.

[cassassin]

[She's spoken to Beast Boy in passing, and Kid Flash and Impulse both ring a bell. Impulse was on Young Justice with Tim, she thinks she may have met him in passing a year or so ago. Kid Flash was... associated with Flash, she knows that much. She remembers something about Impulse joining the Titans and wearing the Kid Flash suit? Batman and Robin were sparse on details.

Little does she suspect or really care that this KF is an alternate of the Flash she knows.]

I'd like that.

[performance]

Cool. [ Another grin, of the "hey, what can you do" variety— ] Fair warning — they're really chatty, so they might introduce themselves before I get the chance. We're, uh... still working on the "stealth" thing sometimes. Can't all be Bats, I guess.

[cassassin]

That's fine.

[She grins.]

Superboy's here. If you didn't know. Not yours, but... [shrug, spreading out her hands. maybe an honorary adoptee for the team?? another thing comes to mind, and her expression becomes thoughtful. she wants to check something to do with the responses she got on the network. see if any people who spoke up - besides the obvious - are people she should be aware of. #illiterateproblems]

Um... can you help me with something?

[performance]

We've met. He's... pretty different than the one I know, but he seems cool. Yours? Or another one?

[ There are a lot of worlds out there, after all. ]

Sure. Anything. What do you need?

[cassassin]

Mine. [probably. and there was a lot of shared experience and history there that... anyway. moving on. Better not to dump her problems from back home on this version of Nightw- Robin - Dick.

She pulls her phone, bringing up the network. Navigating based on recognition and the occasional symbol, more than anything... there. Toplevel navigation of the responses she initially received. She ]

I know... some of them. [Cass taps the screen, indicating the ID space on one of them.]

Alfred. Conner. Two-Face. Scarecrow. Penguin. Blah-blah, you get the... idea. [Leaving out Kate and Tara for now.] But the others, if I don't know - um. I can't...

[This is embarrassing. She's been figuring this thing out by memorization and trial and error, and the screenreader function is still lost on her.]

I need names.

[performance]

[ It takes a minute for it to sink in, but he finally thinks he understands. Cautiously, he looks between her and the screen. ]

Reading...?

[ No judgment — he just wants to be sure he's not making an embarrassing mistake himself. ]

[cassassin]

[Cass nods, simply. No words, no further explanation for the time being.]