metabatchat | Encrypted voice - Bat comm channels (anybody who might have those)

[The voice that comes through is Dick in full Nightwing mode. And it isn't Nightwing asking. It's as close to an order as he'll get with family.]

[That it's not been sent only to Rook says more about how much he's holding back than anything else.]

Rook. I need you on my location, stat.

[And then, under his breath but just enough to be caught by the microphone.]

I've got you. Just hold on.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

definecat

Sleeper here. Do you need additional resources?

[In other words, should they try to get a rush to position or sit on their partner until further information?]

From:

forceforlight

[There's the sound of rushing air past the microphone, even as Dick's voice comes through loud and clear.]

I'm not sure. I haven't had a chance to look at the wounds yet.

You're probably better off keeping Jason in place, though. Just for the moment.

From:

definecat

I'll do my best to keep us out of the way. Not like there isn't enough trouble.

From:

forceforlight

Thank you.

From:

robintohood

[From Sleeper’s end of the comm, younger Jason can be heard in the background angrily cursing and grunting]

Sleeper, you can’t do this!

[It also sounds like he struggling against something or someone]

From:

definecat

Nightwing, please excuse me while I sit on your brother. Feel free to contact us if you have a target for this loose cannon.

[More muffled sounds are behind this message, but at least nobody else is being hurt on their end.]

From:

reneger

You know damn well you can't just drop shit on us like this, big bird.

( gruff and quiet, around jason letting himself out of his own damn window, because dick didn't filter it, just hold on doesn't sound very encouraging at all, and jason's not sitting this one out. )

The hell's going on?

From:

forceforlight

[He would have filtered it if he had the time. But he didn't have the time. Babs is more important.]

Batgirl's down.

From:

reneger

( explains why he's yelling for the team healer. except if she's down bad enough that dick's panicking and not filtering it, it means this isn't - it's not a hit dick can keep under control, even short term. )

What. ( voice cracking, and jason almost, almost stumbles for a moment before he catches himself. catches the end of tim's conversation with dick and switches lines before dick can answer. )

How many people with no pulse has Rook put back together?

( he passed out, healing a few holes in jason before. tim would do anything to patch any of them back together, and while jason's immediate response is to want to rush tim over to try and fix this, babs would be pissed if they put tim at risk for her. and none of them are going to be very pleased if they lose them both in the process. )

From:

forceforlight

[It takes a minute for Dick to reply. Tim's pushed him to remember what he SHOULD be doing.]

[There's way too much blood. Dick's just trying not to think about it.]

You'd have to ask him.

[There's another pause as Dick goes through another cycle.]

She never gave up on me, Heron. She wouldn't give up on any of us. I can't...you know I can't.

[It's not the same Babs. He knows that. But Babs is Babs is Babs and he can't do less for this one than he would for his own.]

From:

reneger

Yeah. And she sure as hell'd rather die than take Rook down with her.

( disconnecting the line. it's harsh, jason knows that. but he also knows dick is panicking and if he isn't blunt, it's not going to get through to him. )

From:

mostdangerousbird

[ The comm’s mic has good filtration, but there’s a constant nnnnnyyyyeeeeommm of an engine being cranked wide open. ]

16 minutes out if I ignore all traffic laws.

From:

forceforlight

[There's air on Dick's side, a hint that he's grappling somewhere. The trackers keep track of him to the nearest rooftop.]

If there's any way you could shave a few minutes off that, that'd be great.

[He knows that there's no chance of that. Curses their luck that TJ's across town.]

[There's silence for another few moments as Dick finally checks Babs over.]

Batgirl's down, Rook. I... [His voice breaks for the first time before he clears his throat.] I can't find a pulse.

From:

mostdangerousbird

[ Tim sounds amazingly calm for someone who just went on mute and swore a blue streak.

The return of engine sounds and horns is audible. ]

Start CPR and don’t stop until I get there. As long as you keep it going, she’ll be fine.

From:

reneger

Rook. Pull over. Now.

( not just because he knows rook's speeding down the road with dickie on deck, but also because - jason has faster means of getting places. the trackers are active, which means all it takes for jason to get from where he is to where tim's driving like a maniac is running through a checklist of points he's marked off for quick travel and stepping straight through.

which he has full intentions of doing. partially to lessen the distance between them, and partially so someone who hadn't watched babs go down will be there when tim arrives, to keep something worse from happening. )

From:

mostdangerousbird

[ Central City may only be a third the size of Gotham, but that’s still over 3 million people worth of people turning left out of the right lane and grannies being in the middle of the street when the light turns red.

Rook isn’t even at the highway yet; he doesn’t have a ton of mental bandwidth to think if he doesn’t want to go splat. ]

I am not going to be too late this time.

[ This isn’t the first time he’s been in a vehicle rushing to the screen of a feared crime. This one is going to be okay. ]

From:

hackingyoursensors

[ Dick sounds distant and empty but he's caught on to what Jason is suggesting. ]

He can teleport us.

From:

mostdangerousbird

[ He hits the brakes easy, at first, and gets them down to 70 mph on a street designed for 40, before a god damn pedal pub decked out as the Cupid Crawl pulls into his path.

Tim cranks the pedal and handlebar brakes so hard he locks the wheels and the bike skids into a burnout that only stops an arm’s length from a building. He doesn’t dump the bike or his passenger, having gotten his foot down in time. He feels shaky as hell. ]

Still with me, Wren? I start driving again in 60 seconds if Heron isn’t here.

From:

hackingyoursensors

[ Dick hangs on, though it's definitely a rough stop.

It feels wrong to stop, even if it's the most logical thing to do.

No pulse. Dying.

He feels a little colder inside. ]

I'm here. [ He doesn't exactly sound all "here." ] He won't need that long.

From:

reneger

( jason had been trying not to lean on it. it didn't get him and bruce anywhere nice, but that had been more bruce's fault than his.

rook comes to a quick stop, and an alley just beyond where his bike is idling is where jason pops his head out of, red and black against dark shadows. he nods his head down the direction he'd come from, to where a shadow with wispy edges opens to another alley - just behind the building babs and dick are up on. )

From:

mostdangerousbird

[ Not waiting for further information, Tim takes the shadow portal at a run.

(Hopefully not a dead run.)

As he goes past Heron, he snaps. ]

Make sure Wren’s okay.

[ Birdie’s gotten quiet. Tim will check on Dick’s tracker once he’s clear. ]

From:

reneger

( he'll check on wren. in a moment though, because as tim runs passed, jason's reaching out to grab onto him. not hard, just--wrapping fingers around his wrist long enough to delay his takeoff. )

You know what she'd hate worse than dying? You, dying in her place. Remember that.

( and then his grip's loosening, attention turning to wren for the moment. he'll follow through, keep an eye on tim, dick, and babs. but they've got a kid tagging along with them to be mindful of first. )

From:

hackingyoursensors

[ 'Make sure Wren's okay'? He's fine, he's not the one dying.

A small part of him doesn't want to walk through the portal and make it real. But he knows it is, no matter what he does. The least he can do is be there. For whatever good it will do.

He starts toward the portal. ]

Let's go.

From:

forceforlight

[Well, at least one of them is calm. Not that Dick isn't doing an admirable job of faking it for the moment.]

Right. Right, of course.

Listen to Heron. He can get you here faster.

From:

mostdangerousbird

I. Will listen to Heron. When he reads me into how it works so I can come up with an optimized plan for moments. Like. This.

[ Through gritted teeth because he is trying to get through the next 15 minutes of their lives. ]

From:

mostdangerousbird

[ Barely a minute after going through the portal. ]

She’s OK. Awake and oriented by 2, and I never want to do this again.

From:

robintohood

[It had to take some time and literally being sat on but younger Jason is calm enough to respond back now]

What happened?

From:

mostdangerousbird

The delay is appreciated. ] A explosion and non-standard weapon fire. Still investigating. Nightwing’s with Batgirl.

From:

robintohood

[Jason sighs in relief]

Any ideas who or what might’ve caused that?

From:

mostdangerousbird

[ Tim is snippy because he’s covered this. ]

I said we’re investigating.

From:

robintohood

[Even though he’s calmer now than when Dick called, the lack of information still leaves Jason anxious. He doesn’t flinch from Tim’s response. He gets it. They’re all still on high alert]

Is there anything we can help with?

[In the background from Jason’s end of the comm are the sounds of rushing air in a rhythmic pattern. It sounds like he’s swinging between buildings but there are also “thwip” sounds instead of the mechanical sounds of a grappling gun]

From:

mostdangerousbird

[ Tim is settling into work mode - worse, not-stopping-til-this-is-finished work mode. ]

Transport for Nightwing and Batgirl. Then talk to Heron, he's in charge of the investigation and scene.

[ Tim is... not. He's self aware enough to know that he shouldn't be in charge of a teacup. ]