milliways_bar | (no subject)

Not too far behind, and not too far below, is Barry. He seems to have found a smoother, less acrobtic way of guiding his rug.

"Maybe you should wear a helmet," he says with a grin.

"What for? Water's soft," Steph says, with a grin. She swerves back down to hover alongside him. "How've ya been?"

"Faster you fall, the harder the water feels. Learned that a long time ago. Of course, I never wore a helmet either." He smirks at her.

"I'm good. Enjoying the quiet of the morning. And you, Stephanie? I see you've been combining flight and standard Gotham acrobatics."

"Yup. It's almost as good as having a city to play in," Steph says, happily. "Plus, no pollution."

"In the water, you mean, or the air?" He takes a deep breathe, and while he doesn't think of the sunlight as real, the air is fine.

"I assume you've been practicing some of your moves with Mel or Dick?"

"Well, Mel gave me the ideas for some of this stuff, and I kinda went on from there. Dick got hurt again. I better not see him practicing moves like this for some time." She looks fierce. "Stupid boy."

"He seems to be a walking disaster area of late. But I wouldn't woory too much about him. He can take care of himself, and I think that he could do acrobatics in his sleep. Remember, he's got more experience with it than anyone I know. Even Bats." But Barry can tell that Steph doesn't want to hear that. That she's really angry at the ex-Boy Wonder.

"What did Dick do that he got hurt?"

"Went out on patrol without armour," Steph says, still fierce. She's angry, but only because she's worried. "For months. It's like he's trying to get hurt. He was lucky it was only a stab wound and nothing more serious."

Barry makes an epxression of surprise.

"Huh. That doesn't sound like him. Or any of your bunch.

"Heck, I always played with fire by not wearing anything heavier than my costume. We all did. Never seemed to follow Baat's lead. It's odd that someone who knows better would forget it."

"I know," Steph says, biting her lip. "I'm really worried about him. He's so - sad, all the time. Like - um. Some bad stuff happened, but I probably shouldn't talk about it, but ever since then he's - it's like he's carrying this huge heavy thing and it doesn't matter how much we try to help, he's still gotta walk alone."

Barry sighs, and then gives a sad grin.

"Sounds like someone we know, doesn't it? But I remember than Dick was always the cheerful one, the kid who took that some of that weight from Bruce." And Barry doesn't realize that he just used Batman's real name.

Steph hasn't been told yet, but Dick - and now Barry - have let that name slip enough times that she's pretty sure who they're talking about. She's not going to ask. She still doesn't really think she deserves to know.

"He used to be," she says, unhappily. "I don't know how to fix him. He was. When I first came here I was pretty messed up, and he really helped, and so did you, but now I don't know how to help him."

Barry smiles a little, glad to know his efforts wre appreciated. "Just do for him what we did for you, Steph. Give him a bit of space, but make sure he knows you're there for him.

"And maybe see if you can find some of his other friends here. I know that Arsenal's been here, and there's also the other Robin. Maybe if you put your heads together, you can help.

"I'd offer to talk to him, but I don't think it's my place."

"That's a good idea," Steph says, nodding. "I'll get everyone to look out for him. He needs it. Even if you just talked to him a little bit, just, I don't know, let him know that he matters more than the stuff he does, or something? I keep trying, but the more people who talk to him the better, I guess. I hope."

"That's always a good plan," he says, rememebering that he did the same thing in recruitng Mel to check in on Steph. "Who knows? Maybe if I play the 'I'm Wally's Uncle, You Can Trust Me' card, he might open up a bit.

"Lord knows why, but people seem to trust me," he adds with a self-effacing grin.

"Ah, you're all right, for an old guy," Steph says, grinning. "I don't mind you that much. And ... thanks. Hey, race you to the other side of the lake?"

[ooc: okay to fade or slowtime here? am dying of headache, need bed.]

"A race? Me? Whatever gave you the idea I ever race?" He gives her a wicked grin. "Bet you the old guy gets there first."

And off they go.

[ooc: sleep well.]

Guppy is by the lake, with tea, reading the paper. He looks up when a drip lands on his nose, wondering how it can possibly be raining with such a sunny day, and sees Steph. He watches her for a while, not wanting to shout hello to her in case he puts her off.

Steph spots him eventually, and lets the rug drop almost straight down, catching it and herself just before she would have gone splat. "Hiya, Guppy! You're up early!"

Guppy grins.

"When you work nights, this is getting up late. Hi Steph, that looks incredibly dangerous. How's Dick?"

"Better, thanks to you. I think he went home last night, and he was only limping a little bit, but I'm not sure if he was just trying to convince me he was okay. It's not that dangerous." A grin. "Well, maybe it is, but it's fun."

"He's walking already? I would have thought he would still be rather sore. At least that sounds like he doesn't have any significant muscle damage then. He shouldn't be overdoing it though, it was quite deep."

Guppy doesn't do extreme sports. Other people do extreme sports and then he puts them back together again.

"How does the rug know where to go? What if it just decides to fly off with you?"

"It's magic," Steph points out. "It's like a skateboard, only with up and down as well, so it's kinda to do with where you put your feet and how much pressure you use and stuff. I'da sat down and worked it all out, only it's more fun just to do."

"Yeah, he's walking already. Probably shouldn't be, but he's Dick, what am I gonna do?" She grimaces. "Boys are really stupid sometimes."

"I should have put him in traction. That would have stopped him wandering off even if he didn't need it."

He sips his tea.

"Why's he so desperate to get going anyway? If you're from the same place as Batman, surely the city won't be in too much trouble with one less superhero for a little while. He's really not doing himself any favours. If you don't rest an injury, often it just results in a bigger injury."

"He's not even doing the superheroing any more," Steph confides, anxiously. "He's trying to infiltrate the Mafia. And I tried to make him stay, but he wouldn't. He'd miss his boyfriend. He's..." She waves her hands about, trying to explain. "You can't stop him moving. He was born in a circus, he just does stuff all the time. I did make him promise to use his crutches, though." This with the air of one who's scored a minor but important victory.

"He's doing what!? Infiltrate the Mafia in his condition!?"
Guppy's expression of horror causes his mun to brutally abuse punctuation marks.
He shakes his head sadly. "The Mafia is one hell of a big organisation. What makes him think he can do anything about them single-handedly? Superhero he may be, but we're talking about a very powerful group."

"Oh, Dick can do that," Steph says with total confidence. "But it's getting him to look after himself that's the problem."

"He can infiltrate and bring down an international organisation whilst on crutches?"

He shakes his head in disbelief. Not at Dick's abilities, but how a guy could go out there in that condition.

"Have you tried telling him that he could do himself permanent damage?"

"He can. He's really good at this stuff. He even led the JLA for a while. That's, like, the top-ranking organisation of superheroes, and he doesn't even have any meta powers. But he gets stupid about looking after himself." She wraps her arms around her knees. "I tried to tell him. He doesn't listen."

"People often don't until it's too late. But try not to worry, Steph. I'm sure he does know what he's doing, somewhere deep down. I just hope it doesn't result in him getting more hurt."

"Yeah, me too." Steph rests her head on her knees and stares out at the lake.

[ooc: Okay to fade here? I have a killer headache, need sleep.]

[ooc: sure, no problem. Hope you feel better soon. Sleep well. It's about two in the morning your time isn't it?]