exsilium | 01 ⨁ VOICE

01 ⨁ VOICE

I just gotta say, a moon zombie encounter was exactly what I wanted for my birthday. You guys sure know how to make a person feel right at home.

But seriously, what the hell was up with that and can we nix that from the schedule in the future? If there are other zany, undead surprises lurking around here, it'd be great if you could give a head's up ahead of time.

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Since when do I have a kid brother?

Since you decided to quit with the... [Oh dammit. This is the worst.] You're not gonna be Robin forever, Dick. We all gotta grow up sometime.

...Oh. [ and right away his tone turns closed and hard. ] This again, huh?

Let's get one thing straight right now, okay? I'm never quitting. It's not gonna happen. That part's cancelled, and so is a lot of other stuff that guy did.

[Oy vey. Roy looks stricken, thank goodness Dick can't see that. Roy sighs, then tries to sound newly resolved.]

Of course you're not gonna quit. Like I'd ever let you. Please. You and me, we're still a team.

[ ....... ]

...No. That's- [ his voice cracks but he stops trying there before it breaks. somehow that- that right there is a million times worse than having him insist that it's true. ]

I didn't say you had to lie to me.

[OH GOD NO. DON'T DO THAT, DICK.]

I'm a lotta things, but a liar's not one of them. [He tries to sound less srs bsns. To lighten the mood.] We're a team, Dick. We just use different names, is all.

I hear things, okay? [ It's not that simple, it's never that simple. ]

Things are gonna have to be different now, cause I don't want to grow up to be him. [ WHAT A LOSER ]

Uh-huh. [There's a long suffering sigh.] You don't wanna grow up to be my best friend?

What good is he if he isn't Robin anymore?

He's still you. [Does that even make sense?]

[ He's stunned right into silence. ]

...You really mean that?

Yeah. I do. You're stuck with me, kid. And for better or for worse, I somehow let myself get stuck with you. On purpose, even.

I haven't heard a lot of good things about him...

[ As if it's really just as simple as that. That Huntress and Batgirl don't like him, that person they all think he's supposed to turn into, and how much it scares him that he doesn't know why.

But there's something else there in Roy's words. He wouldn't lie. Not about that. ]

Batman needs me too.

That's my best friend you're talking about, you know. My daughter's godfather. My bro.

[He would be rolling his eyes if he wasn't trying to make this a semi-serious moment.]

Don't define yourself by Batman. Seriously. Don't.

That's not what I'm doing. [ It's a too-quick response, as if he's had it prepped and waiting all along for just the right moment. ] But I made him a promise. Now everyone's saying I'm supposed to leave him alone with some punk I don't even know just because some future version of me thought it was a good idea?

[ But once the rest words sink in, he hesitates. ]

...Did you say he's her godfather?

It's a lot more complicated than that and you know it. [He doesn't mean to sound harsh, but he does anyway. It's not Dick's fault, it's partly Roy's own frustration. He misses his Dick. And he wishes he didn't have to burden this kid with anymore than he has to bear already.]

Yeah, I did. He's her uncle.

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01 ⨁ VOICE

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