//.exits .&. entrances. [open to batfam]

[dean]

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[atrb=background,http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt224/74067eco/TABLE.png] It was the middle of the night, and in his unlit apartment, Dick Grayson couldn't sleep. To call the past couple of months hard for Dick would be an understatement. Bane's assault on almost everything that the young crime-fighter had come to work towards had been brutal, violent, and most of all, unmerciful. Dick had thought he had seen the worst the world(s) had to throw at him. He had lived through multiple Crises on multiple Earths, No-Man's Land, deaths of friends, among countless other perils and life-threatening things. Dick thought he had seen almost everything-and the things he hadn't seen yet he thought he could at least see coming. But Grayson couldn't have prepared himself for this. Even after much pestering by Alfred, Dick had opted to not stay at the Manor in lieu of not having verbal fisticuffs with Bruce (again). It wasn't that Dick had any current grudges against the Caped Crusader, but more that he would rather not find any new ones while living under his roof. As most sons know, it's hard to live under your father's house after living your own life for so long. Even if you did might need his support. A string of sirens echoed through the steel and stone and up to Dick's window. Without thinking about it he pushed himself up off of his bed. Or at least, he tried to. Fire erupted along his leg, the slightly healed fracture protesting at being moved. Dick let out a teeth clenched swear, clutching at the wrapped appendage. He hated this. He hated not being able to move. He hated not being able to help. He hated not being able to set things right after he had failed so utterly. As if on cue, Dick's Mickey-Mouse alarm clock started to go off, the hammer ricocheting between the two little bells in a much too cheerful manner. Not in the mood for anything that the clock was offering, Dick slumped back down to his bed, but not before throwing a Wing-Ding at the damned thing, silencing it with one last ring. OCC: Kinda taking my own liberties a bit. downplaying the magic healing thing so I can have Dick recuperate a bit longer.

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[Oracle]

Bludhaven was in ruins, partially of course. A few weeks ago she could have defended that statement, but in the recent weeks it experienced a slow recovery. Unfortunately there were a few oppositional forces that were preventing a full recover but what else could she expect from this world? The pale skin on her forehead pressed against the cool window pane and she looked out the moving vehicle. Barbara recalled some institutions, a library, public homes, a school – these seemingly normal places of business that had been burned down and were now going through massive repairs to bring the city back to a sense of normalcy.

Normal, could they ever exist in a world that had some sort of norm? Or maybe, maybe all of this, everything they experienced and that existed around them was considered normal. This crazy mad, world was the norm for them and all they ever did was feed into it.

Her thoughts lingered and she sighed as she turned from the window and sat back into her seat, allowing the plush leather to embrace her body. Though she had not physically been offset like the rest of her operatives or the Gotham Knights, Barbara Gordon felt the pains and aches tremble throughout her body from the hard work produced in the last few days.

In the absence of the Dark Knight, and the recent burnings of Bludhaven and the damage done to Gotham, Oracle had been up day and night sending out her fleet of birds to ensure the cities did not resolve to ashes. Richard, had been unable to keep up with the pace of his enemies and to fill the void and ensure that Bludhaven did not crumble Oracle sent in his place Dinah and Helena to simmer down the flames.

All this and more was still not enough however, and Barbara had her own personal demons and tragedies to deal with. Bane’s assault on the city had left her father, Commissioner Gordon in a comatose state, one where the doctors were unsure of his revival. That scared her more than anything and try as she might she couldn’t spend as much time by her father’s side as she would have liked. But how long could she wait around for the sleeping to wake? The world still turned and she knew her father would want her to uphold the good that he tried so hard to maintain. Things were overly complicated and she was afraid that by this point she was reaching a breaking point.

They had a few rough patches, she and Dick but that had to be pushed aside in light of the recent events that took place. Even after all this time they still shared a common ground and Barbara needed to make sure the former boy wonder was safe and recuperating. She also needed someone to ease the worries and pains she felt at the thought of the world burning around her and of the potential loss of the only man in her life that ever really mattered.

It was still early in the morning now; the orange tint in the sky told her that much as did the fine wrinkles that formed under and around her eyes from lack of rest. She resolved that this was the appropriate time to travel to a torn city, when the criminals rested and the world was still tucked away. Though she could not say it was a good time for Dick, he would surely understand. She was sure he would also want the company and subconsciously crave it – all of them needed someone in times like these.

The car began to decelerate and soon it came to a stop and parked in front of an eight story apartment complex. The brown, brick building loomed over her and she stared at the window where she almost expected to see Richard peering out into the city. Her green eyes blinked and the door suddenly opened, her drive extending his hand to help her into her wheelchair. She shook her head, and slowly pushed herself out of the car seat. By holding onto the ajar car door and the seat of her mobile chair she was able to lower herself onto the cold seat and position herself into a comfortable posture. Her driver nodded as she waved him off (the driver being a courtesy of the Wayne manor) and he made his way back to the car, leaving the red head to stare at the rotating doors that provided a mode of entry.

Her eyes flicked to the side, hinged door and by grasping the aluminum hand rim she was able to push her chair forward, roll it across the ground and finally make it to the door. She opened it on her own despite the doorman being in obvious reach to help and although awkwardly, she was successful in making her way into the building. Questions weren’t asked as she rolled past the lethargic doorman and pressed the call button on the elevator.

The ding of the elevator’s arrival almost shattered the silence around her, and Barbara jumped in her seat slightly as the doors opened and the maroon carpeting welcomed her into the shaft. Calming the beating of her heart, the young woman pushed forward, entering the elevator and pressing the appropriate floor number that housed Dick’s unit. As she ascended, she smoothed out the light blue blouse she was wearing and ran her hands down to the black denim jeans that covered her legs.

The few moments that she had left her to stare at her (unfortunately) useless legs, before she could think any further than that, the elevator bell rang once again and she watched the golden double doors open.

Another push and she managed to roll over the threshold and into the hallway. Patterned carpeting with diamonds and solid blocks welcomed her, along with the faux candle light fixtures that hung from the sides of the walls. She relished in the simplicity and luxury of the space and when she had enough of the rather sweet smell of almonds and hazelnut that wafted down the hallway Barbara moved along once again. Making her way down the hallway, she could feel the beating of her heart increase as she neared the unit that housed the long-time friend and sometimes more than that partner.

She was just here to check on him; she needed to remind herself of that because Barbara recalled how she had embarrassed herself before. Pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose she turned in front of a red oak colored door and paused briefly to stare and the glossy wood. Her lip twitched and she twisted the skin around it in a pensive manner. Finally, as if making some kind of decision she reached forward and rang the doorbell to the unit, her hand shaking slightly as it retreated back to the owner.

Shuffling and movement was heard on the other side and she wondered what exactly Dick’s condition was by this point in time. He was miraculously pulled out of the hospital earlier than expected, but even since then she didn’t have (or make) the time to see him. A sound alerted her from the other side of the door and she pressed forward in her seat slightly.

“Dick… it’s me.” There was a pause as she pursed her lips, “Barbara.”

// Tag:

[/color] Nightwing | open to Bat Family Member [/right]

[nightwing]

The doorbell rang. Who could this be at this hour was the real question. The options ran through his mind as he summed up names. It could be Bruce to give him a good scolding. Could be Tim or Barbara who came to visit him. But why so early in the morning?

Richard slowly moved into a seated position in his bed. The burning feeling in his body returned with a vengeance. He had to take it slow, even with the extra healing he received. The guilt and pain wasn’t really his normal style but he had to roll with the punches right now. He didn’t like it when people would see him in this state but he had a secret identity to uphold. Then he heard a female voice. He couldn’t really hear anything through the door itself since he was in the bedroom but it felt familiar.

With one hand he tried to reach for a crutch that he had “borrowed” from the hospital. But of course just his luck just as he touched the crutch, it fell over. He could slap himself in the face for this. As he almost latterly crawled out of bed he finally got a hold of the crutch. Mission objective complete now to get to the door and figure out who was ringing the doorbell.

He slowly got up and tried to make his way to the door yelling “I’m coming, give me a second.” The thud’s made by the crutch echoed through his silent apartment. His apartment looked tidy and cleaned up but in fact it was just never used. He wasn’t there really much except for sleeping and eating from time to time. He was out full days either for work or being Nightwing and look how that turned out. The upside was that he never had to clean up in case he had company coming over. Downside was he never had company over.

Slowly but surely he had made his way to the door. His hallway never felt this long before in his life. He started removing all the locks from his door. The sounds they made could be clearly heard from both sides of the door. “Almost there.” He said as he opened the door. “There we go.” He said before he could even see the person at the other end of the door. And there she was, Barbara Gordon. No wonder he had a familiar feeling. The redhead who had been there almost his entire life as either Robin or Nightwing. They had a rich history of good and bad through their lives. A constant reminder of how bad things could happen to people like them since she had been put in the wheelchair by the Joker. But never the less, always a good friend and a happy face to see in these times. Leaning on his crutch he pulled a faint smile and said “Hope you don’t come to give a scolding, Bruce already beat you too it.”