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Post by chikaradesu on Oct 11, 2011 15:43:58 GMT -5
"THE WATCHTOWER?!" Wally's eyes matched his goggles in size, the outburst escaping him in a high-pitched tone that should have been embarrassing, had he cared at the moment. Oh Joy! Batman was sending them to space! Yes! If he wouldn't be able to help people anyway, he'd rather be useless in the act of fighting crime in space, than in the mountain. And Uncle Berry was up there all the time anyway, it'd be fun, and he might even get permitted to tag along on one of the Flash's league missions.
Wally eyed the van. A van? A black van not allowing anyone to see the driver? Really? Not creepy at all Bats, not creepy at all. Kid Flash started towards it anyway, the tone used by Robin's mentor not leaving any space for further conversation. "I guess I'll see you later Robs, uhm.. send me a letter or something now that we don't have the com-links." The last part was bitterly grumbled, all excitement of going to the Watchtower forgotten, as he realized he and Superboy would be leaving the younger hero alone at Batman's mercy.
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ritsukaorchid
Sidekick
" Overwhelmed, underwhelmed, why isn't anybody ever just whelmed? "[A1i:1]
Posts: 200
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Post by ritsukaorchid on Oct 11, 2011 16:42:57 GMT -5
" I'm giving up; I'm giving up s l o w l y I'm blending in so you don't even k n o w me. Apart from this whole w o r l d that shares my fate. " - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - [/b]ichard smiled enviously. His friends got to go to the Watchtower, while he was here under Bruce's strict regimen. He supposed it was for the best. They'd get to see all the cool equipment, and meet all the huge heroes, and still be able to go on some League missions - that is, if they deemed it safe. Since the com links were infected, it was most likely that the Young Justice team was the target. But they would also be under the scrutiny of the League members. Whatever the case may turn out to be, he hoped they wouldn't have too much fun without him. As Bruce pointed his friends to the van and turned his words to him, Richard recovered himself, standing straighter and focusing through his shadowy shades at his mentor, guardian, trainer, an in fact, father figure. "Yessir," he replied. As Wally bid him farewell, Richard waved in the general direction of both his friends. "See you guys later! Don't mess up too much - it'll be me fixing any computers you bust!" He shot at the ginger, grinning. And he hoped they wouldn't worry too much. Turning on his heel, he headed back up the staircase. A few training courses ran through his head, like they always did when he was about to plunge into push-ups and laps. He focused on wists, twirls, vaults on the high bar; anything to keep his mind off what Bruce might have in mind. Sliding into his room, Richard pulled his shirt over his head and inspected his bandages in the mirror. A few were wrinkled, and it had been long enough since they were changed, so he set to unwinding them. He threw them out when he was finished and squinted at the bruises decorating his reflection. Pale skin covered in ugly, dark purple and green bruises, not yet turned black or yellow. The boy whistled. What a sorry sight he was. Rebinding his chest tight enough to hold through vigorous movement, he changed into his gym outfit. If he was going to get his punishment hard, the best he could do was take it like a hero. [/ul][/ul][/ul][/ul][/ul][/ul][/ul] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - " I'm begging you to be m y escape. I'm giving up, I'm doing this a l o n e now, 'Cause I failed, and I'm ready to s h o w now - You showed me the way, and now I'm trying to g e t there. " I know to live you must g i v e your life away.
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Post by Krepta on Oct 20, 2011 19:07:32 GMT -5
Batman's eyes flickered to the van, where no doubt Alfred was wondering what was taking so long. It seemed they wouldn't need his assistance after all though, if they were going to the Watchtower. He would have to remember to make it up to his butler later. The man had infinite patience. At Superboy's question, he turned and strode across the floor towards the shadows where he was mostly out of earshot. "The teleporters," he said, just before crossing into the darkness. He had no illusions that Superboy could likely hear him, and likely could no matter where he went in the cave. He could have always contacted J'ohn telepathically as well, but for one, he didn't like to do that, and two, perhaps if the boy heard him talking to another League Member, it would register to him just how serious the situation was. What ever he heard in the hushed tones of the conversation held between man and martian though, there would be little time to react. The teleporters were no doubt already being warmed up and would be targeting them any moment now. The trip will be good for the boy, he thought solemnly. Perhaps he would decide to attach to another hero other than Superman. Clark was not a bad man, but sometimes he wondered at his stability. He couldn't help but think, sometimes, that having all this power at his finger tips-- adding the League to that-- hadn't changed him somewhat. It worried him. If the Man of Steel was slipping though, he didn't want his look-alike going down the same road. That of course, brought to mind his own protegee. Robin was headstrong, and was becoming more so every day. This was both good and bad. He needed to be able to think on his own, and while he wanted to train what might someday be his replacement, he also did not want to train someone who would follow commands blindly. However, when one thought for themselves, they needed to be capable of thinking in the first place. Robin was a teenager, and tended to act on impulse. That was not a luxury he could afford in this business. It was something that could get him killed. At the same time, while Batman held Richard to high standards, Bruce could not forget that he was indeed still a child, and needed to be allowed to do things that children did. He could not forget to balance the two worlds. While his childhood had been robbed of him, there was no need to force that upon Robin as well. He was not just his mentor, but in essence, his father as well, even if not one of them ever uttered the word. The question was, where was that balance? After all, no mistakes could be made, because it was also a balance between life and death. He gave a mental sigh. He would have to think more on this later. There were other things to attend to first. Like what to do about Robin's... mistake. This was a point he would have to strike home and strike home hard. Despite all outward appearances, he wasn't looking forward to it.
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Post by ZiggBot on Nov 11, 2011 5:18:58 GMT -5
Superboy was caught off guard by the sudden sensation of the teleporters. At first, it felt like fresh sunlight; just slightly warm. Then it began to tingle across his skin, making his hair stand slightly. He looked up, just as he was dematerialized in the beams. He was carried instantly through space, and brought to the Watchtower in mere seconds. No doubt Kid Flash had come along with him, but that wasn't what he was focused on when he arrived.
The Watchtower was stunning. Every inch of it was made from the most cutting edge technology, and seeing all of these superheroes walking around was certainly different from anything he had seen before. Hawk and Dove, Aquaman, Red Tornado; he had heard all of these names before, and even seen a few of their faces, but seeing them in person was entirely different. Still, that wasn't primarily his focus. Not after a few seconds, anyhow.
It was his first time in a teleporter of any kind, and the sudden onset of nausea and vertigo had reared its ugly head. Superboy slowly hunched forward and propped himself up by holding one hand against his bent knee, and the other loosely clasping his head. "Oh man... You guys do this kind of stuff all the time?" He said to no one in particular. "Suddenly the idea of being a full fledged League member has it's downsides... Sheesh..."
[[Lemme know whether I should exit or not at this point. ovo As in, you know, leave the thread and start a new one with KF.]]
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Post by Krepta on Nov 11, 2011 13:38:05 GMT -5
(( :3 Go ahead and move it to the Watchtower. I could create a thread if you'd like or you can go ahead. J'onn and Krepta ( unwillingly ) will be along to babysit. xD ))
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ritsukaorchid
Sidekick
" Overwhelmed, underwhelmed, why isn't anybody ever just whelmed? "[A1i:1]
Posts: 200
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Post by ritsukaorchid on Nov 30, 2011 16:49:01 GMT -5
" I'm giving up; I'm giving up s l o w l y I'm blending in so you don't even k n o w me. Apart from this whole w o r l d that shares my fate. " - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -[/b]ichard slung his towel over his shoulder and frowned as he thought. There was a conspiracy going on here; maybe his punishment would give him more time with Bruce to talk about it. He'd been infected almost a month ago and hadn't noticed. The updates had been exactly the same. Unless he had read the entire four-page long number code attached as the IP address, he could have never known if it hadn't been for his consecutive missions. Even Batman gave him some downtime - especially when it rolled around to school again. Being a hero in school could be fairly painful at times - but Bruce's training did make gym much easier. Besides, the more he trained, the less effort it took to do normal hero things. Chasing, being chased, fighting; it took a lot of energy out of you if you weren't in shape. He enjoyed being in shape. Padding down the stairs, he paused on the bottom step, hands on his hips. He looked over at Batman. At Bruce. It was so weird, how well he could see the man behind the mask. The brooding expression, the frown in his brow, the cold, intense blue gaze. The hunch to his shoulders and the tension in his step. He ran a hand through his dark hair, wondering how much longer he would be able to help people like he did. A good ten years or so, if he was lucky. Maybe less, maybe more, in his shape. In that time, Richard had to focus on filling those(metaphorically and literally) very big shoes. "What do you have in mind?" He asked, to get Bruce's attention. His own blue eyes were calm. There was enough to keep his head occupied, but was there enough strength to keep him going? He'd surely find out. [/ul][/ul][/ul][/ul][/ul][/ul][/ul] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - " I'm begging you to be m y escape. I'm giving up, I'm doing this a l o n e now, 'Cause I failed, and I'm ready to s h o w now - You showed me the way, and now I'm trying to g e t there. " I know to live you must g i v e your life away.
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Post by Krepta on Dec 3, 2011 22:01:19 GMT -5
"Katas," Batman answered sternly. While he was angry at his charge, he wished him more a level head than more pain, and anything more rigorous would risk his ribs. Perhaps Katas would allow Robin some time to better reflect upon his actions, while providing just enough discomfort to drive home his mentor's disapproval at his actions. Besides this, he'd have to learn that crime never rested, which meant, broken ribs or not, he would have to work through the pain. Broken ribs ( and more ) were a common-place in this business, Bruce himself had had more than he could count. Without waiting for Robin to follow, he drifted over to the mats and began his own Katas. Robin would follow in his own good time. "What were you thinking," he growled after a while. It was both rhetorical and serious; Bruce truly did want to know the thoughts behind his charge's actions.
(( Pbbbt! Short post is short! Sorry about that. @_@ School is eating me alive. ))
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ritsukaorchid
Sidekick
" Overwhelmed, underwhelmed, why isn't anybody ever just whelmed? "[A1i:1]
Posts: 200
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Post by ritsukaorchid on Dec 5, 2011 19:16:16 GMT -5
" I'm giving up; I'm giving up s l o w l y I'm blending in so you don't even k n o w me. Apart from this whole w o r l d that shares my fate. " - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -[/b]ichard nodded and followed Bruce's lead. He got onto the mat and started a Mu Gen kata, going through the motions as fluidly as he could. Bruce was right. He had to get used to working through the pain; if he was going to be a hero, he had to toughen up. It was just strange when you're too confused to focus your energies on getting used to the pain. Richard moved his hands in close, then pushed them out, moving into a So Chin kata. He picked up his pace a fraction, feeling the grind of the bandages, and the increasing ache of the ribs underneath. He ignored both. When Bruce spoke up, Richard frowned thinking. It took him a moment to gather his thoughts; he was still fuzzy on why Bruce was mad about. "I was thinking I had missions to do," he replied honestly, "and if I have to trust my team mates with my life, than I at least want them to know me." He brought out his boe-staff and began a Kinon Kata Nidon, pushing his limits, seeing how far he could get with the most tolerable amount of pain. His eyes were narrowed with focus. His ribs seared. "They're heroes. They were trained, and taught, and know what they have to do - maybe not exactly like me, but there's a blaring parallel. I need to trust them, and they need to trust me. I don't understand why you won't." He moved his feet and kept well out of Bruce's way, twirling his staff so close by his face that the air from it sent his bangs flying. "My missions were set-up, and I went through them like I always do. Protocol, chasing down the baddies - but there were none. They all just vanished. All my accounts were recorded, and my report is on your desk."((Robin's (Attempted) Organized Thoughts)) Richard sucked in a sharp breath as he slipped and whacked his foot with his staff, miss-twirling as his arm moved the wrong way and pain shot through his chest. "I did my best; though I didn't pay close enough attention to my signal," he admitted, voice showing the slightest hint of strain. "I should have figured out sooner that I was being had. I should have checked, should have known you wouldn't send me into the lion's den without at least a little fore-warning." Now he sounded angry with himself. He tried so hard, worked so hard, and what did he get? A prankster, or a hacker who thought it would be funny as all get-out to watch him get crushed. "Some computer genius I am." He said bitterly. He did his kata way too quickly, and pounded it to the ground to stop it before he lost his grip on it. Holding the bar so tightly his knuckles were white, Richard glared at it, barely out of breath. His chest pain was fading. Clicking it back to its portable size, he put it back on his belt and chose a different, more fluid kata. He wished dearly that he had the self-control Bruce had. [/ul][/ul][/ul][/ul][/ul][/ul][/ul] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - " I'm begging you to be m y escape. I'm giving up, I'm doing this a l o n e now, 'Cause I failed, and I'm ready to s h o w now - You showed me the way, and now I'm trying to g e t there. " I know to live you must g i v e your life away. (( LOL understandable. holidays are stressful as heck, and school and work only add to the chaos. ))
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Post by Krepta on Feb 28, 2012 21:08:45 GMT -5
Batman's eyes narrowed almost instantly. Had he taught his charge nothing? As he practiced his own katas, he let out his breath in time to the movement, releasing his frustrations with them. The boy would learn-- eventually he would. These were hard lessons, but he would learn them with or without them. Better from him than on his own. "You know better," was all he said for a long while. His voice, though still touched with frost, no longer sounded angry. He went through a few more katas, controlling his temper through the slow, meditative movements as much as his body. "Not only were you putting them at risk, but Alfred and I as well. They both talk too much. They have no self control." His gaze fell sharply on his protegee. "And neither, apparently, do you." Another kata brought his temper back under control. He needed to make Robin understand, and it would do him no good to go about it by yelling at him. "You are neither to reveal the location of this stronghold, or your identity to anyone I have not given you express permission to tell. Am I understood?" That would have to be that for now. There were too many things that needed addressing first. "As for your mission. Learn from your mistakes," he said, completing a few more cool-down moves before striding over to the towel rack to dry off. He of course, meant all of today's events as well, but he knew that Richard would figure that out on his own. "Go and eat. I'm putting you on light duty. You may go and join the others in the Watchtower when you're done. J'onn is taking them on a recon mission, I believe. He requests your presence." He didn't look back at Robin as he made his way up the stairs to the main part of the house and out of the batcave, but his voice held a chill warning as it echoed through the vast cavern that served as their home and base of operations. "Don't repeat the mistakes that were made here today, Richard."
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ritsukaorchid
Sidekick
" Overwhelmed, underwhelmed, why isn't anybody ever just whelmed? "[A1i:1]
Posts: 200
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Post by ritsukaorchid on Mar 3, 2012 19:16:32 GMT -5
" I'm giving up; I'm giving up s l o w l y I'm blending in so you don't even k n o w me. Apart from this whole w o r l d that shares my fate. " - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -[/b]ichard copied his katas as he listened, his chest tightening as he listened to Batman yelling at him. He winced when he'd finished telling him why he'd been so careless. Drearily, he swung his staff more half-heartedly, eyes on the floor, heavily-lidded, and motions loose. He was tired of being wrong all the time. When did he ever do anything right? Those missions made him feel useless, and now... he swung his boe-staff between his fingers and around his arms, remaining silent. He was a horrible hero, and a clueless apprentice. Why had Batman ever taken him in? He should've been sent to some foster home where he wouldn't be letting people down all the time. "Understood," he murmured in a monotone, not looking up. As Bruce told him where he was needed and to eat before he left, Robin clumsily let his staff swing into his palms, lowering it to the floor. He stared at it, watching the glint of the overhead lights on the sleek silver as Bruce spoke. As the man climbed up and away, Richard finally looked up, sighing heavily as the door slammed shut. Moving to put away his staff, he flinched as pain shot through him. Whatever. He'd be fine; the meds would take care of him, and he'd slept enough. Time to get some work done. He went upstairs, shutting off all the downstairs lights, and threw a hoodie over his gym things. Thankfully, Bruce had gone easy on him exercise wise, but he'd learned his lesson. He curled up, still sulking, on a counter bar stool in the kitchen. What in the world was wrong with him? He'd been thinking just fine. How had it all gone so wrong? Sighing, he looked over and blinked, noticing Alfred had left him a heaping meal not far down the counter. Oh, Alfred. Smiling, Richard reached over and grabbed a chicken leg. He munched on it as he probed his ribs, trying to see where it hurt most. He'd be able to move around enough - he knew he'd be fine. All the same, being careful never hu- Yelping, he yanked his hand away from the sore spot on his ribs and bent over, clutching the chicken leg with white knuckles. OW! Maybe being safe did hurt! He groaned unhappily and took a huge bite from his chicken leg, dropping his elbow to the counter and his cheek into his palm, despondent. Oh, how useless he'd become! When he finished, he slid into his hero gear and flickered his computer to life. He went back to the teleporters and typed in his code to the Watch Tower. Time to give being a hero another try. As he disappeared, his particles floating away, the emptiness of the batcave seemed to echo around him, closing in on the silence as he was gone. [/ul][/ul][/ul][/ul][/ul][/ul][/ul] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - " I'm begging you to be m y escape. I'm giving up, I'm doing this a l o n e now, 'Cause I failed, and I'm ready to s h o w now - You showed me the way, and now I'm trying to g e t there. " I know to live you must g i v e your life away.
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