Something on your mind?
Tim makes his way down the stairs to the (stupid, somewhat unfamiliar) Cave, where he knows (the wrong) Bruce is working on something... Batty. He takes the seat next to him at the computers and pulls his feet up onto the chair with him.
Bruce is just checking reports on the local gang activities. "Something on your mind?" He asks without looking at the boy.
Tim shrugs, rocking against the back of the chair and frowning at the computer screen in front of him without really seeing it. "What are you working on?"
"Surveillance reports on Gotham's gang activity, the man replies, clicking for the next one. "Gordon and I have. An agreement."
"What kind of an agreement?"
"One where if he slips the reports my way, I don't have to break into GCPD."
Tim snorts. "I guess that makes sense."
"What is bothering you, Timothy?" The full name, which he does not use with his own Tim, is a compromise, as he knows the boy hates going by Steven.
He digs his heels against the seat of the chair. "Do you think I'll make it home?"
"I am. Hopeful," he says slowly. He turns around to look at the boy. His eyes are.....gentle.
"Hopeful. Not optimistic?"
"It would be a lie if I said I could do it. There are many factors. Nor am I willing to send you to a universe that may not be your own."
"Yeah." He frowns at his knees and rocks against the back of the chair again. "Dick was talking about some other universes that sounded pretty bad. And I don't want to go just anywhere. I want to go home."
"I'm working on finding it," Bruce promises. He wants to tell the boy that he can send him home, but realistically, he can't.
Tim nods. "Yeah." He gives Bruce a wry smile. "It's going real well, huh?"
"Well, is. Relative," he says carefully. He looks at the smile and then down at the boy's hand. He should take it. Touch. The boy needs him to show support. But. But that's not something he's good at. So he doesn't move.
He drops his head back against the chair. "I'll have to relearn geography. And history. I already suck at those."
"Do you want me to help?"
He shrugs. "You don't have to. I know you're busy. Dick offered, too."
"I can make time." Perhaps. Perhaps Jason wouldn't be in the apartment if he'd made time. Or perhaps... he wouldn't have died.
"If you want." It might help if he actually studied, too. He shoves back against the chair, fidgeting.
Bruce clears the computer screen and pulls up a map of the United States. "I do." More then that. But this will have to do.
Tim blinks. "What, now? You were busy."
"It is fine. What is giving you trouble?" He asks in a calm voice.
He sighs. "The cities are wrong." He motions vaguely to the map. "Jump City and Steel City aren't even on there."
"Think of it as... a map of a fictional world. Do not worry about making it fit what you know," he offers mildly.
Tim gives him a skeptical look. "Why would I bother with learning a map for a fictional world?"
"You never immersed yourself in a book?"
"Well--sure."
"Were any of them epics? Stories that spanned a country? Maybe generations?"
"...And had the map in the front of the book that I knew backward and forward by the time I was done." He shrugs, making a face. "I just never thought of that as studying."
Bruce's lips twitch. "It's not nearly as hard as you think it is."
Tim grumbles a little under his breath. "Yeah, yeah. Just frustrating."
"You just need to find a reason to be interested in it." He pulls up another file. A oil painting of a civil war battle. He pulls up another file, and it's a crime scene in an alley, where a wide-eyed little girl is sitting in a dark corner, clutching a doll.
Tim gives him a suspicious look. "You're trying to get me interested by showing me pictures. Who's the little girl?"
"Kimberley Eshton. She had been kidnapped. Her father is a tycoon in Chicago. But Kimberley lives here in Gotham with her mother. To find her, I had to know about those likely to take her and where they are likely to go. I couldn't do that if I didn't know the area."
Tim shifts in his chair, not quite leaning forward. "Gotham and Chicago, you mean?"
"Washington."
"Why Washington?" And now he's definitely curious. "DC, or the state?"
"The state. That is where the Father's bipolar half sister was living. And where she took Kimberley to."
His eyes travel to the state on the map. "So you went there to get her?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, the child's aunt didn't know her own geography. Specifically the gang land borders."
"So what happened?"
"She was killed. She'd driven down a dead end street and was boxed in. Kimberley got away. But she saw everything."
"Poor kid. Is she okay?"
"I suppose that depends on your definition."
He grimaces. "That... kind of answers my question."
He'd been three seconds too late. He couldn't stop them from killing the woman. But he could protect the child.
"You're brooding," Tim points out, still looking at the picture. "I'm an expert. I'm sorry you couldn't get to the aunt in time."
Bruce nods. "I wouldn't have gotten to the child if I didn't know the geography. And the people who lived in the area."
He nods and rests his chin on his knees. "I know it's important to know geography. And it's not like everything I know is wrong. But it's kind of frustrating when some of the stuff I know just isn't right here."
Bruce nods. "That's understandable," he offers.
He looks at the map, sighing. "I guess a lot of the other stuff looks right."
"Such as?" he asks quietly, openly curious.
"Well, DC. And the big cities like New York and Gotham and Metropolis. Keystone. Coast City. And things were mostly right in Gotham."
"Mostly?" Bruce cocks an eyebrow at him.
"Well..." he shrugs. "The streets and everything are where they're supposed to be. It just... looks different."
Bruce pills up a bunch of satellite images of the city. "What looks different?"
He stands up so that he can point to different images. "Well, some of these buildings are newer than they're supposed to be. And these ones here are are a lot more damaged than they are in my world."
Bruce nods. "Did you have an Earthquake two years ago in your world?"
He shakes his head. "You did?"
"Yes. It decimated most of the city. The federal government closed the city. Things got. Messy," He says with a frown. That's one of the many things in his life that he could have handled much better then he did.
Tim glances over at him. "Yeah? What happened?"
"The bridges were detonated, and the city became a no man's land. For a year. Many didn't make it out before that happened. It became. Lawless. Primal."
Tim stares at him in shock. "The government did that? What about the League? Didn't they help?"
"It was. Complicated. In a lot of ways, it wasn't something the League could help with. It was. The people had to help themselves. Clark found that out when he came."
"Oh." But of course Clark tried to help out. He's like that. "How did things get better? I mean--they obviously did."
"We helped ourselves. That and used the media to get the government to rescind the no man's land order.”
"Heh. I guess they can be useful for something. Clark help out with that?"
"Tim, actually."
He blinks. "Huh?"
"Tim's father moved him and his stepmother to Keystone after the quake. But Robin sneaked back into Gotham with Nightwing. When his father realized that Tim was in Gotham we played it as his having been with friend and on a dare, got stuck in the sewer systems."
Tim frowns. "That's right. He has different parents. My dad didn't remarry. And I don't think anyone would have cared if I had gone missing."
The billionaire looks at him. "I have no doubt that your Bruce misses you a great deal."
He smiles a little. "I know that. I meant when Dad was alive, though, Well, he might've cared when he noticed, but it would have been a while. And the media wouldn't have cared at all. Just one more missing Gotham kid? It's not exactly news, even on a slow day."
Bruce reaches out and puts his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Don't ever sell yourself short Timothy. People care. And we made people care about Tim's supposed predicament."
"Even though there were probably hundreds of kids just like him--me--whatever." He makes a face.
"There is no one like you. Not even my Tim."
Tim snorts. "No, I guess we're not all that much alike."
"And the universe is eternally grateful." Yes, it's an effort at teasing.
"This world's not big enough for TWO of me," he says, smirking.
The sound escaping his lips is more a hum then a chuckle, but he's almost smiling.
Tim sits back down again, pulling his feet up with him as he had before. "How old was your Tim when this quake thing happened?"
"Fifteen."
"Oh. So--it still might happen in my world, huh?"
"It's possible. It would depend on the tectonic stability of your Gotham. Our quake was something of an anomaly."
"Well, it's not like there's a history of earthquakes in mine either." He shrugs. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."
Bruce nods. "Back to your studies," he says forcefully. "I can set up a study program for you."
Tim makes a face at him. “This is a lot more interesting than my homework."
"Hm. In that case. For each assignment you get through--and it has to be done properly--I will tell you about Gotham's history," Bruce offers. There is a tiny mischievous gleam in his eye.
Tim folds his arms across his chest, eying him skeptically. "I could just find a book," he points out. But... he'd really much rather do it like this. "Each assignment?"
"You could. But they won't have half the detail I do." He nods, the corner of his lips twitching. "Yes, each assignment."
"Any subject?"
"Yes. But they have to be substantial. One question out of the textbook is not enough."
"There goes me showing you the thirty math problems I did individually."
Something close to a knowing smile is stretching his mouth.
Tim glowers at him. "Fine. But I'll be back down when I finish my homework," he promises.
Bruce nods and then turns back to the computer, clearly feeling that they conversation is done.
Tim pushes out of the chair and heads toward the stairs to go work on his homework. English, math, and Spanish. He hopes that last one will count, but the class is pretty pointless as far as he's concerned. It's the first language other than English that he learned for Robin, and the homework is a complete joke. Still he does have to do the work, so--maybe.
[OOC Note: Anyone in the Cave, or with access to feeds from the Cave, can see this conversation.]
Bruce is just checking reports on the local gang activities. "Something on your mind?" He asks without looking at the boy.
Tim shrugs, rocking against the back of the chair and frowning at the computer screen in front of him without really seeing it. "What are you working on?"
"Surveillance reports on Gotham's gang activity, the man replies, clicking for the next one. "Gordon and I have. An agreement."
"What kind of an agreement?"
"One where if he slips the reports my way, I don't have to break into GCPD."
Tim snorts. "I guess that makes sense."
"What is bothering you, Timothy?" The full name, which he does not use with his own Tim, is a compromise, as he knows the boy hates going by Steven.
He digs his heels against the seat of the chair. "Do you think I'll make it home?"
"I am. Hopeful," he says slowly. He turns around to look at the boy. His eyes are.....gentle.
"Hopeful. Not optimistic?"
"It would be a lie if I said I could do it. There are many factors. Nor am I willing to send you to a universe that may not be your own."
"Yeah." He frowns at his knees and rocks against the back of the chair again. "Dick was talking about some other universes that sounded pretty bad. And I don't want to go just anywhere. I want to go home."
"I'm working on finding it," Bruce promises. He wants to tell the boy that he can send him home, but realistically, he can't.
Tim nods. "Yeah." He gives Bruce a wry smile. "It's going real well, huh?"
"Well, is. Relative," he says carefully. He looks at the smile and then down at the boy's hand. He should take it. Touch. The boy needs him to show support. But. But that's not something he's good at. So he doesn't move.
He drops his head back against the chair. "I'll have to relearn geography. And history. I already suck at those."
"Do you want me to help?"
He shrugs. "You don't have to. I know you're busy. Dick offered, too."
"I can make time." Perhaps. Perhaps Jason wouldn't be in the apartment if he'd made time. Or perhaps... he wouldn't have died.
"If you want." It might help if he actually studied, too. He shoves back against the chair, fidgeting.
Bruce clears the computer screen and pulls up a map of the United States. "I do." More then that. But this will have to do.
Tim blinks. "What, now? You were busy."
"It is fine. What is giving you trouble?" He asks in a calm voice.
He sighs. "The cities are wrong." He motions vaguely to the map. "Jump City and Steel City aren't even on there."
"Think of it as... a map of a fictional world. Do not worry about making it fit what you know," he offers mildly.
Tim gives him a skeptical look. "Why would I bother with learning a map for a fictional world?"
"You never immersed yourself in a book?"
"Well--sure."
"Were any of them epics? Stories that spanned a country? Maybe generations?"
"...And had the map in the front of the book that I knew backward and forward by the time I was done." He shrugs, making a face. "I just never thought of that as studying."
Bruce's lips twitch. "It's not nearly as hard as you think it is."
Tim grumbles a little under his breath. "Yeah, yeah. Just frustrating."
"You just need to find a reason to be interested in it." He pulls up another file. A oil painting of a civil war battle. He pulls up another file, and it's a crime scene in an alley, where a wide-eyed little girl is sitting in a dark corner, clutching a doll.
Tim gives him a suspicious look. "You're trying to get me interested by showing me pictures. Who's the little girl?"
"Kimberley Eshton. She had been kidnapped. Her father is a tycoon in Chicago. But Kimberley lives here in Gotham with her mother. To find her, I had to know about those likely to take her and where they are likely to go. I couldn't do that if I didn't know the area."
Tim shifts in his chair, not quite leaning forward. "Gotham and Chicago, you mean?"
"Washington."
"Why Washington?" And now he's definitely curious. "DC, or the state?"
"The state. That is where the Father's bipolar half sister was living. And where she took Kimberley to."
His eyes travel to the state on the map. "So you went there to get her?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, the child's aunt didn't know her own geography. Specifically the gang land borders."
"So what happened?"
"She was killed. She'd driven down a dead end street and was boxed in. Kimberley got away. But she saw everything."
"Poor kid. Is she okay?"
"I suppose that depends on your definition."
He grimaces. "That... kind of answers my question."
He'd been three seconds too late. He couldn't stop them from killing the woman. But he could protect the child.
"You're brooding," Tim points out, still looking at the picture. "I'm an expert. I'm sorry you couldn't get to the aunt in time."
Bruce nods. "I wouldn't have gotten to the child if I didn't know the geography. And the people who lived in the area."
He nods and rests his chin on his knees. "I know it's important to know geography. And it's not like everything I know is wrong. But it's kind of frustrating when some of the stuff I know just isn't right here."
Bruce nods. "That's understandable," he offers.
He looks at the map, sighing. "I guess a lot of the other stuff looks right."
"Such as?" he asks quietly, openly curious.
"Well, DC. And the big cities like New York and Gotham and Metropolis. Keystone. Coast City. And things were mostly right in Gotham."
"Mostly?" Bruce cocks an eyebrow at him.
"Well..." he shrugs. "The streets and everything are where they're supposed to be. It just... looks different."
Bruce pills up a bunch of satellite images of the city. "What looks different?"
He stands up so that he can point to different images. "Well, some of these buildings are newer than they're supposed to be. And these ones here are are a lot more damaged than they are in my world."
Bruce nods. "Did you have an Earthquake two years ago in your world?"
He shakes his head. "You did?"
"Yes. It decimated most of the city. The federal government closed the city. Things got. Messy," He says with a frown. That's one of the many things in his life that he could have handled much better then he did.
Tim glances over at him. "Yeah? What happened?"
"The bridges were detonated, and the city became a no man's land. For a year. Many didn't make it out before that happened. It became. Lawless. Primal."
Tim stares at him in shock. "The government did that? What about the League? Didn't they help?"
"It was. Complicated. In a lot of ways, it wasn't something the League could help with. It was. The people had to help themselves. Clark found that out when he came."
"Oh." But of course Clark tried to help out. He's like that. "How did things get better? I mean--they obviously did."
"We helped ourselves. That and used the media to get the government to rescind the no man's land order.”
"Heh. I guess they can be useful for something. Clark help out with that?"
"Tim, actually."
He blinks. "Huh?"
"Tim's father moved him and his stepmother to Keystone after the quake. But Robin sneaked back into Gotham with Nightwing. When his father realized that Tim was in Gotham we played it as his having been with friend and on a dare, got stuck in the sewer systems."
Tim frowns. "That's right. He has different parents. My dad didn't remarry. And I don't think anyone would have cared if I had gone missing."
The billionaire looks at him. "I have no doubt that your Bruce misses you a great deal."
He smiles a little. "I know that. I meant when Dad was alive, though, Well, he might've cared when he noticed, but it would have been a while. And the media wouldn't have cared at all. Just one more missing Gotham kid? It's not exactly news, even on a slow day."
Bruce reaches out and puts his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Don't ever sell yourself short Timothy. People care. And we made people care about Tim's supposed predicament."
"Even though there were probably hundreds of kids just like him--me--whatever." He makes a face.
"There is no one like you. Not even my Tim."
Tim snorts. "No, I guess we're not all that much alike."
"And the universe is eternally grateful." Yes, it's an effort at teasing.
"This world's not big enough for TWO of me," he says, smirking.
The sound escaping his lips is more a hum then a chuckle, but he's almost smiling.
Tim sits back down again, pulling his feet up with him as he had before. "How old was your Tim when this quake thing happened?"
"Fifteen."
"Oh. So--it still might happen in my world, huh?"
"It's possible. It would depend on the tectonic stability of your Gotham. Our quake was something of an anomaly."
"Well, it's not like there's a history of earthquakes in mine either." He shrugs. "I guess we'll have to wait and see."
Bruce nods. "Back to your studies," he says forcefully. "I can set up a study program for you."
Tim makes a face at him. “This is a lot more interesting than my homework."
"Hm. In that case. For each assignment you get through--and it has to be done properly--I will tell you about Gotham's history," Bruce offers. There is a tiny mischievous gleam in his eye.
Tim folds his arms across his chest, eying him skeptically. "I could just find a book," he points out. But... he'd really much rather do it like this. "Each assignment?"
"You could. But they won't have half the detail I do." He nods, the corner of his lips twitching. "Yes, each assignment."
"Any subject?"
"Yes. But they have to be substantial. One question out of the textbook is not enough."
"There goes me showing you the thirty math problems I did individually."
Something close to a knowing smile is stretching his mouth.
Tim glowers at him. "Fine. But I'll be back down when I finish my homework," he promises.
Bruce nods and then turns back to the computer, clearly feeling that they conversation is done.
Tim pushes out of the chair and heads toward the stairs to go work on his homework. English, math, and Spanish. He hopes that last one will count, but the class is pretty pointless as far as he's concerned. It's the first language other than English that he learned for Robin, and the homework is a complete joke. Still he does have to do the work, so--maybe.
[OOC Note: Anyone in the Cave, or with access to feeds from the Cave, can see this conversation.]