Clues {open/Babs}

[nw]

[/color] He murmured. He turned the piece over in his hand and sighed. He looked up and around the batcave. It was rather large, he didn't know where to start. Though, he did learn to start small. The most basic hints gave one the answers. Dick sighed and stared at the open glass container that held the suit of the Batman. He had so much to learn.

[/ul]

[Barbara Gordon]

Sighing, Barbara allowed the cabbie to help her out of the car and up the front steps of Wayne Manor. It was still degrading to her, but it was a necessary evil. Her uncle always told her she should know when to ask for help. No matter how much she hated doing it; she prefered helping, not being helped. Normally, Wayne Manor wouldn't be on her list of daily visits, but she needed something from the Batcave and, with both Bruce and Alfred gone, it would be that much easier to get it.

"Thanks again. Keep the change," she told him with a bright smile. The cabbie just stared at her, looking up at the massive manor. "I'll be fine," she assured him, trying not to roll her eyes. Muttering some comment, probably about how crazy she was, the cabbie left her alone as quickly as possible.

Getting inside was easy enough, as Bruce had given her a key years ago, it was finding a way to the Cave that would be harder. There was quite a few ways but there was only one that accomodated her handicap. She may not have been down there in years, but she remembered exactly where it was: the drawing room. Rolling inside, she coughed at the dust and looked around before she saw the piano. With a deep breath, she pressed the appropriate keys and the door in the wall next to the bookshelf opened. As the elevator slowly led her down to the cave, she couldn't help but wonder how Alfred would react to all the dust whenever he returned to the manor.

As the elevator stopped and she rolled into the familiar place, deeply breathing in the air, her smile faded as she saw someone else. "Dick? What are you doing here?" she asked, surprised. Barbara had expected to be alone in the Cave, and she certainly hadn't expected Dick of all people to be there. When she saw what he was holding, her questions suddenly answered themselves. "Oh, I see. Took you long enough." So the reason she was there was forced to be on hold, but seeing Dick again was well worth it.

[nw]

[/color] He shrugged as he held the cowl more loosely in his hand. As if he had forgotten it was there. He sighed. "You on a secret mission or somethin'?" He asked with a slight smirk. He could hear the initial disappointment in her voice when she had spoken to him. Of course it had vanished when she had known it was him but it would seem that she couldn't complete her task. He shrugged at the cowl as she spoke again.

"Took me long enough for what?" He asked curiously. Did she think he was going to take up the mantle or something? He wasn't to sure about that just yet. He was guessing she thought he could handle. He personally thought she was wrong. He had been Batman once and he knew the pressure could be terrifying. "Ah well if your talking about the mask, I'll have you know Bruce is the only person who could convince me to wear the cowl. I was just looking for something.. to see if he left me anything to let me know if I should try it. I don't even know if I want to." He sighed, that had come out rather quickly. "What brings you to the cave?" He asked.

He placed the mantle back into the container with Batman's outfit and shut it. He shoved his hands into his pockets and turned to look at Babs. [/ul]

[Barbara Gordon]

He smiled softly as he turned to see her. "You seem surprised." He shrugged as he held the cowl more loosely in his hand and sighed.

"Well, I am," she replied seriously. "Last time you were down here...well, you remember." She remembered quite vividly. Things between Bruce, Dick and herself hadn't ended very well once the earthquake hit.

"You on a secret mission or somethin'?" He asked with a slight smirk. Barbara laughed, doing her best to not sound uncomfortable.

"Like I'd tell you even if I was," she retorted goodnaturedly, wheeling over to him. "It'd be classified."

"Took me long enough for what?" He asked curiously.

"You know what," she replied, sounding like a mother scolding a lying child.

"Ah well if your talking about the mask, I'll have you know Bruce is the only person who could convince me to wear the cowl. I was just looking for something...to see if he left me anything to let me know if I should try it. I don't even know if I want to." He sighed. He seemed to be doing a lot of that.

"It's your choice, but you know you're going to have to do it someday," she told him wisely. "It's what Bruce always planned for you. It's what he trained you for." Barbara didn't sound harsh or cold, but warm as she always did when she was around Dick. It was true that Bruce wanted to pass on the mission of Batman onto Dick. As Bruce had no children of his own, Dick had become like a son to him and what better legacy could he pass on than Batman?

"What brings you to the cave?" He asked, placing the mantle back into the container with Batman's outfit and shut it. He shoved his hands into his pockets and turned to look at Babs.

"Same as you, looking for answers," she replied, looking around the cave. If Bruce knew what she was up to, he'd probably have her head. If Dick knew, well, she never really could read Dick once he became Nightwing. She wasn't about to risk telling him the truth. "You know, Dick, I never thought I'd ever see you again, much less back in Gotham, what with your own thing going on in Bludhaven. If you weren't looking to take up the mantle, why'd you bother coming back?"