This place falls apart when I leave... [[BATGIRL'S BACK]]

[Aly]

It's not every day when you see someone speeding down the streets of Jump City in the middle of the day, completely donned in black, with a cape billowing out behind them. Which is why Batgirl did this in the middle of the night with the lights of her Batcycle off. She had been away from home, yes this place was her home now, for a very long time. The night that Bruce called her up telling her that her father was in the hospital was one of the worst days of her life. She left without telling anybody, without going back to her room to pack, nothing. That had been a month or two ago. She never really kept track of the days at her father's bedside, her only thoughts being of her father and making sure he got through this. He had been shot in the line of duty, the one way he had always told Barbara he was going to go, and she was going to do everything in her power to make sure that it wouldn't be now. He could not leave her like this. She had fought with him before joining the Titans, but the argument was never brought up. The commissioner was just happy to see his little girl at his side when he finally awoke. The doctors told her that the bullet had passed just centimeters from his heart. The gun was so powerful, the bullet passed right through his vest. She knew it couldn't have been just a run-of-the-mill criminal. This seemed personal.

As soon as her father was well enough to be released, Barbara teamed up with Batman to bring the culprit down. Bruce had shared with Barbara about his suspicions the first night. He believed it was Deadshot, getting revenge on the Commissioner and Batman for putting him behind bars. Of course, this was proved to be true upon closer inspection of the bullet. With Barbara's help, the two took down Deadshot quickly and efficiently once she was sure that her father would make it through this. She stayed with him until he could return to work, making sure she said her goodbyes before leaving once again. The weight had been lifted from her shoulders once her relationship with her father was mended. It was sad that something like this had to happen for that. Batman had a new partner, so she wasn't needed in Gotham anymore. She missed the Titans anyways.

She arrived at the entrance to the tunnel just as the sky was just turning pink, making sure no one was around before keying in the code on the keypad. Apparently they had changed the code since she had left, as the keypad immediately turned red and started flashing. Heavier doors slid into place over the regular ones. "Great. Of course they would change it while I was gone." Barbara huffed as she checked around her once again and pried the side of the pad from its mount. It was not a minute later when the doors slid back open and the pad turned green. "That was too easy." She grumbled, obviously annoyed at the lack of security. Kickstarting the motorcycle back to life, she entered the long tunnel, waiting for the doors to close behind her before racing down the length to the garage.

Motion lights turned on at her arrival, illuminating the vast space, revealing an improved T-car and Robin's own cycle. Cyborg could not leave the car alone, she thought with a smile. He always had to be working on it, fixing this and that, making this better and that bigger. Robin's vehicle looked the same, though that wasn't a surprise. He was a little less mechanically inclined than Cy. She pulled up next to the other motorcycle and turned hers off, her ears ringing from the sudden silence. With a shake of her head, she kicked the kickstand and dismounted. Always one for safety, Batgirl removed her helmet and set it on the seat, running her fingers through her slightly tangled locks before making her way to the elevator.

The ride was agonizingly slow as she made her way up to the main floor, lights ticking on and off as she passed the others. The tower seemed eerily quiet, but that's what you got at five-thirty in the morning. The doors opened with a rush of air and she stepped into the hallway. All of the doors were closed, and not a sound could be heard. The tower would be awaking soon, and then she would have to deal with a lot of people on absolutely no sleep. Great, just what she wanted. She smiled in spite of herself as she entered the common room, the sun just peeking over the horizon out the window.

ooc: If someone's not already in there, when anyone comes in, Babs will probably be in the kitchen making coffee. Something's got to keep that girl awake ;P

[Elenaphant]

Cyborg was asleep; keyword being was because when someone started to mess with security, he noticed. His processors alerted him; a new security instalment after the whole Slade fiasco, but only when he was hooked up to the tower as he was when charging. Thankfully this happened closer to morning than when he was nearly running on empty, otherwise he'd have to alert someone else to go check it out. As it was, he discharged from his charging station (his bed) and got up promptly. The human part of him might still be sleepy, but his machinery afforded him more energy with less sleep. He'd still be yawning, though, and would later be taking a nap if he had time. 

So he moved rather quickly (for someone who just woke up) over to the common room, anxious to access Titan mainframe to see what was going on. What he ended up doing was stopping by the door as it opened, because there was a bat inside the room.

Not a literal bat, of course, but a red-haired, very awake and very present heroine. Suddenly, everything clicked inside his tired head and despite his irritation at her ability to hack into everything, he grinned. "Let me guess. Let yourself in?" he said not without that touch of sarcasm to go with her morning cup of coffee. He could use some himself now.

"Robin will be happy to see you," he said, using what seemed to him the best way to subvert her scolding. "Though, you among others have this nasty habit of just taking off without a word. At least make a scene or something." 

He didn't know what her story was; probably a good one, judging by her character. He didn't know her that well, but her skills were admirable and he could respect someone who knew their way in and out of codes. 

A streak of green light caught his eye from outside the window. Starfire was probably done watching the sun rise about now. It was a habit she got into. Lately she's been more to herself, contemplating whatever it was that was on her mind. He wouldn't be surprised if she'd take off soon. It seemed a long time coming. 

[Silv]

It was a beautiful morning! Robin had woken up so exceptionally cheerful that morning that he was practically singing. "Mornin'~" he intoned in a near hum, bouncing out of bed and readying himself for the day. He kept up the tune, making it through his morning stretches, and then going up to watch the sun rise. Watching the sun rise over the city was something that Robin did almost every morning. It always gave him that sense of pride to see the sunlight glinting over the tops of the buildings. This was his Gotham and he loved it. Sometimes other teammates joined him. Usually it was Raven or Starfire. There wasn't much talking beyond a greeting. It was a near-sacred activity. But then, Robin had always loved mornings. Maybe it had something to do with his name. As the boy headed back downstairs to eat a light breakfast before doing his morning workout regimen he was still humming. He didn't know why, but today had the makings of a fabulous day. Maybe they were going to finally capture Slade. Or maybe they would meet an awesome new teammate. The doors to the common room opened with a swoosh and Robin walked jauntily through them. He paused in his humming to call out in a sing-song manner, "Mornin' Cyborg!" with a smile on his face before he stopped and his masked eyes widened at the sight in front of him. Batgirl was back in their kitchen making coffee. Batgirl was back. He suddenly wasn't sure if today was going to be as glorious as it had been when he first woke up. Especially since he had long since conjectured where she had gone. The boy looked wary for a moment before he decided to let bygones be bygones and a giant smile lit up his face. "Babs! You're back!" If Cyborg wasn't there maybe he'd have given her a hug and twirled her around like the overexcited teenager he was this morning. Instead he slipped past her and pulled some yogurt out of the fridge before reaching for the cabinet that held the granola. "Were you sworn to secrecy or can you tell us what happened?" he said it with an absent-minded, even playful tone, but there was a tenseness to the set of his shoulders that spoke more than the words. He wasn't sure he wanted to hear news about his mentor.

[Aly]

"Mmrfhey Cshyborq." Batgirl muffled greetings to the hulk of a teen around a banana nut muffin. After swallowing her moutful that Cyborg had interrupted her in mid-bite, she narrowed her eyes playfully. "So I leave and you guys decide to change things in the system? I thought you knew better than to use that system. There's a newer one that I had a hard time breaking in to that's compatible with ours, so I can show you how to use it later on." She smiled and shrugged. "Our latest one needed updating, though I probably wouldn't have used that particular program, I'm glad you did it. It's still probably better than the last." The coffee pot dinged and she pulled a mug down from the cupboard, filling it just as the commonroom doors opened again with a rush of sound. It had been a while since she had heard his voice, and she felt her heart tightening. Taking a breath to remind herself that he was pretty much just a figurine in an unbreakable case, she put down the coffee pot. There was a period of silence that lasted a moment too long before Robin spoke again. She turned, expecting the sight of him to be painful. It wasn't as bad as she had expected. Perhaps it was like they said, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder". She hoped that was only a temporary thing. "Hey Robin." The smile she gave him wasn't fake. She was really glad to see him again. She was glad to be back to see everyone. At the rate they had been acquiring "gifted" teens before she left, they probably had a few new members to meet as well. Her smile faltered a bit as he asked why she had been gone. It was to be expected, considering how she had left so suddenly. It still felt raw thinking about what could have happened, though. "Deadshot had been released under probation. Of course that didn't exactly last. He got out of their sights and went after the two who had put him in there in the first place." The look she gave Robin was more than Cyborg could understand. Robin had known that Batman and the her father had put Deadshot away several years ago. "It's all right now, though. He won't be getting released for quite a while." She picked up the coffee behind her and took a drink, both to let the words sink in, and to ease the shaking fingers of her other hand that she placed behind her on the counter to support her weight. "So what have I missed? Catch Slade yet?" Teasing Robin was the best thing for her right now. She just hoped she wouldn't have to go over it again and again, though. Maybe just stating that it was a Batman mission, she would get by. It's not like anyone here would question the man.

[Elenaphant]

Cyborg smirked when she chastised their security. Security was a sore spot but he was getting better with forgiving himself over it.“I'll sleep a lot safer tonight knowing our tech is Bat-proof,” he joked, and then in the process had forgotten what he was doing. Oh yeah... Breakfast--the most important meal of the day. He needed to get on that. Then Robin in all his morning glory walked in. He waved with that awkward glance between him and Batgirl. Umm... At least it seemed that the kids would be playing nice. By nice, it meant heavy secret topics that were obviously taboo Gotham related that they could be intimate buddy buddies over. "I'm just going to step outside for some fresh air. Let's the breakfast creativity flow." Ahem, and there was the door. ooc: I'll totally come back if needed ;D

[Silv]

Robin had been pouring granola from the bag onto his yogurt. The sound of the grains hitting the sides of the bowl was like miniature rain on the tin roof. His hand jerked, however, and granola went scattering across the countertop. The boy didn't seem to notice it as his gaze jerked towards the redhead's at the name Deadshot. The boy knew exactly who the man went after. His mouth went dry and he gave Cyborg a nod as the cybernetic teen awkwardly left the room. Robin ran his tongue over his lips as he turned back towards Batgirl. "Is your Dad-?" He let the question hang, with the caboose asking if Batman was okay…which was the dumbest question to ever utter aloud. Bruce was indestructible. His expression closed when she teased him about Slade. Robin's posture went rigid and he picked up his breakfast and turned sharply away from Babs setting the yogurt down farther along the counter and moving the sweep the lost granola into his hand. "He's not a joke, Babs." he reprimanded with a scowl. "You should know that better then any of them. He's dangerous." But the scowl didn't last long. He dumped the handful of lost granola into the trash (the Titan countertop was not to be trusted) and turned towards her with a half smile. "You didn't miss much. Doctor Light rampaged across europe. There was a bit of a problem in Seattle, and another out west. They've been dealt with." "How was…how is home?"

[Aly]

Barbara nodded to Cyborg as he left the room and waited until the door closed behind him. He was a smart guy. Not just computer smarts, but social smarts. He knew that she and Robin had a past together in Gotham, and usually anything revolving around Robin's life outside of the Titans or even inside, was never spoken of to the team. Well, that was until Babs joined. Her attention was brought back to Robin when he spoke again, and her breath hitched in her throat when he mentioned her father. She was finally able to breathe again when he went on. "I know, Robin. But you and I both know that we'll get him someday. For now, it seems like he's still laying low. Maybe he'll disappear for a while and you won't have to stress about him anymore. God knows you stress enough already." She managed a weak smile at her best friend as she set the coffee cup back down on the counter at her back. He assured her that she hadn't really missed much, which was good. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if anyone on the team had gotten hurt on a mission that she could have helped with. Of course, she hadn't really had a choice. She hated to place one over the other, but her father was the most important person in her life. She couldn't imagine if he weren't there anymore. Granted, they hadn't spoken for quite a while, but he was still there. His question brought all of the emotions back to the cliff and over. It was a good thing she had set down the coffee cup or it would have sunk to the floor with the rest of her body. Her legs gave up on supporting her weight as the tears started falling. "He... he almost died, Dick. I was so furious chasing after Deadshot, I almost killed him myself." She sniffed and removed her hood, not liking how the tears soaked the mask. She was almost too distraught to pull out her mini-tablet and lock the doors to the common room. It wasn't just because she had removed her mask that she didn't want anyone to see her. Batgirl did not cry. Batgirl was strong. However, Barbara was just another teenage girl. A teenage girl that had almost lost her father. Of course she blamed herself. "I...shouldn't have...left." Her words came out broken between sobs. "It's all...my...fault." She covered her face with her hands, not even liking that Dick could see her like this. She was supposed to be strong. Right now, she was anything but.

[Silv]

Robin made a noncommittal noise somewhere between amusement and annoyance when Batgirl told him he didn't need more stress in his life. As though that was going to stop it. He wandered back over to his food, picking up his bowl of yogurt and granola when he heard her drop to the floor. Sobbing. “Babs?” The tenderness with which he spoke her name, and the worry in his voice, almost canceled out the fact he'd knocked over his yogurt. Almost. He fumbled with the bowl, righting it, before he knelt down in front of her. It was easy to forget how incredibly disgusting the floor was when there was something far more important on his mind. He crouched in front of her, setting a gentle hand on her knee. There was a look of tenderness in his expression, and concern. In his posture, however, was a hint of unease. Robin might have been great at dealing with one eyed psychopaths. Sobbing girls? Not as much. “Shhhhhh,” he reassured softly in what he hoped came across as a comforting voice. Even though he was pretty sure it cracked once or twice. His thumb ran soft circles over the skin of her uniform covered knee. “It's over. Your Dad is safe, and you didn't kill anybody. Everything's okay.” He hated seeing her like this. But, he had to admit, he would always like her hair better uncovered by the cowl. ((Of course I would be thinking of redheads at a time like this.)) His reassurances didn't seem to allay her worry though. Mostly because it wasn't worry. It was guilt. Robin knew guilt. His heart went out to her. “Oh Babs,” he breathed her name, reaching out to pull her forwards against him. Even if she really didn't want him to see her crying. Sometimes, all somebody really needed was a hug. “It's not your fault,” he reassured softly, running a gloved hand through her fabulously red hair. “Your Father knows what he's doing. He knows the risks of his job, and they're the same as ours.” he frowned, because the thought of loved ones being hurt is never good. Then his attention went back to the girl he would always care for. “You did everything right.”

[Aly]

Barbara barely registered Robin's awkward attempt at comforting her. Whatever the amount of training by Batman and the people she had put behind bars, Batgirl was still a girl. She has emotions just like every other person in the world (except maybe Batman) and her female nature enhances that. When Robin brought her into a hug, she really lost it. If she hadn't fell apart at the beginning, she was falling apart now. "I should have stayed." gasp "Bruce was supposed to watch him for me." sniffgasp "I trusted him, Dick." It didn't escape her how long it had been since she had gotten a hug from Richard Grayson. Well, it had been less time than it had been since Robin hugged her. Every molecule of her body was hypersensitive to Robin's body against hers. His hand through her hair, the other around her body. After a few moments of hiccups and sniffling, Barbara pulled back. She knew Robin was probably going to feel awkward, and she didn't want that. The least she could do was not prolong the moment and make it worse for him. Running the back of her hand under one eye and then the other, she took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I'm supposed to be strong. We're supposed to be strong. I wonder if Bruce knows how much his image effects ours. If we are perceived as weak, so is he. Even though we're young, we have an image to uphold." Leaning back, she closed her eyes and inhaled another deep, shaky breath. "I just need to take my father somewhere far from here. Of course he would not come willingly, but what am I supposed to do?" Her eyes opened and focused back on Robin. "Why are there such bad people? Why can't we just keep everyone safe? Especially the ones we love most." She wouldn't tell him how much she had worried about the team and him especially while her father was on the mend. He could just believe that she was talking about her family.

[Silv]

He let her cry. It was the least he could do, honestly, and he actually had no idea what he ought to be doing in that moment to help her. So, he simply tightened his grip ever so slightly to let her know that someone was there, that somebody cared, and let her stain his shirt with tears. His shoulder was stained a darker red, like blood, and he wished he could take her pain in that instant. Then she mentioned Bruce. The young man's face went hard at the mention of their mentor. There were a lot of things he and Batman didn't see eye to eye on. The way Bruce treated Batgirl was one of them. Hell, the way Bruce treated everyone. He tried not to become too rigid, to not make her feel bad, but when she backed away from him he figured he'd probably done it anyway. When she apologized he simply shook his head, his mouth open ever so slightly in shock. She was desperate, he could understand that, she wanted to save the people she cared for. “Babs,” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, reacing out a gloved hand to catch a tear before it plummeted off the point of her chin. He let his finger linger for a moment, tracing up along her jaw, before he pulled back looking slightly embarrassed about the impulsive movement. He wanted to say something about how nobody could be strong all the time. But both of them knew otherwise. Both of them felt they had to prove otherwise themselves. Nobody else would understand, but it was nice to have someone who could. “I don't know, Babs. I really don't know. But we just have to accept that we can only do our best, and if that's not enough then...” he trailed off, not entirely sure what he was getting at. He was foraying into dark, girly territory. What was this feelings stuff? “Then I guess,” his voice broke, cracking like a younger boy's, “we can only trust they'll just have to know how much we loved them.” “But you aren't alone,” he invaded her personal space again, reaching out for one of her hands. “You're never in this alone.”

[Aly]

Her breath caught when he wiped away a tear that had escaped the backs of her hands, but it wasn't from left over sobs. Those had pretty much all escaped from years of pent-up emotions. Hanging around Batman so much, emotion just gets locked in a box to never open. Unfortunately, when that box opens, you can't bring out one thing. It all spills out. "I know. And I wish it weren't so." She sighed and leaned the back of her head against the cabinet. "I need to set my dad up with a girlfriend. I can't watch him from this far away, and I can't stay there, either. He needs someone to really take care of him." It really was a good idea, but to find someone with a bright personality in someplace as dark as Gotham? That was crazy. She really was beginning to feel alone. She hadn't realized that until Robin spoke it. That was her problem. She was holding everything on her shoulders, afraid to talk to anyone. When Robin took her hand, she looked into his eyes. They had came so far. From the two little kids that were trailing after Batman like lost puppies to what they were now. Heroes in their own sense. It was great to be back. It was great to be with him again. Who was she kidding, she had always loved him. That brief period of denial just made the feelings come back even stronger. Unable to control herself any longer, Barbara quickly closed the already small distance between them and met his lips with hers. How had they never kissed before? It only took a second for Barbara to realize what she had done. Surprised even at herself, she broke the kiss and scrambled to her feet. "I'm sorry." She whispered, quickly making her escape. Her mini-tablet was in her hands in a moment, and she unlocked the door to the common room just in time for it to open and let her pass. There was only one place to go. The control room. The central hub of the tower. She would immerse herself in the tower's security system and maybe do a few other things while she was there. However, she didn't quite know if she wanted to forget this or think about it in-depth. Oh, girl problems.

[Silv]

It was like a hit he didn't see coming. They were talking about finding her dad a girlfriend. He grinned at the thought that she could hack him an online dating profile. Since she was a girl she'd know what girls were looking for. Or at least, the right kind of girls that she would want as a potential step mom. Actually...at that point they were probably called women. Whatever. Her gloved hand was warm in his. He could feel it through the fabric, or maybe that was simply his imagination telling him what he ought to be feeling. It sure didn't know what to feel when she learned forward and suddenly their lips were touching. It was like a butterfly landing on his open palm: light, airy, and breathtaking. Robin's masked eyes widened to epic proportions and a blush instantly heated his face. Babs seemed to realize then what she'd done. Before he could stop her, before he could even think through this confusion, she was whispering an apology and scrambling away. The boy stared blankly after her. He watched as the last flick of her cape vanished around the doorway, before he leaned back against the cabinets with a dreamy sort of smile on his face. “Golly,” he breathed, a word that had once been Dick's favorite. A word he'd often used when he'd followed Batgirl around like a lovestruck preteen. Back then he'd often imagined what their first kiss would be like. It didn't quite match up. It was better.