When the truth comes bare;

[callmecassandra]

Well, then. That's that, isn't it, Barbara.

Fingers skimmed over the bright, glossy covers. Piles of them - Comic books, the flimsy, browning paper with clear, tiny dots of color, all the way to the glossy, smooth pages that she'd come to expect when thinking magazineShe was on the floor of the rec-room, surrounded by piles. So many piles, and as

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[thefbiagent]

Booth saw her from behind, surrounded by paper. He picked his way across the room, dropping to sit directly behind her, his legs stretched out around hers. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder, smiling. "This doesn't look like work." She wasn't glued to her computer, which was his big clue. He glanced around, noting the comics. "Huh."

[callmecassandra]

She'd been balanced - one of the main reasons that she worked out so much, a hand curled into the carpet the whole time. And then - she knew it was him from the cadence of his step, and when he sat behind her, she leaned back against him, almost (alright, so not almost) grateful.

It made life easier. "That's because it's not." She turned, her hand twisted in his shirt for balance as she leaned up to kiss him, something hard in it before she turned back to the piles of comics.

[thefbiagent]

He kissed her back, a little softer, but noticing the difference. He pulled back, stealing a kiss to her nose before she turned to the comics. "So, what's up?" He leaned on his hands a bit, letting her lean against him. She was all muscle, keeping herself seated like that, and he was glad to help her out a bit. Besides, he liked being close to her.

[callmecassandra]

"This... is me." She swallowed. "I think it's all of me." She breathed out slowly. Evenly. Keeping even herself in check.

"All 500-some issues." Her fingers skimmed over the stacks. "There's no point in secrets here, is there." She said it quietly, for his ears alone.

[pretty_canary]

Dinah stops short in the doorway of the rec room, her heart skipping a beat. She'd only been stopping by to see if she could pick up some kind of trashy novel from the bookshelf. She'd been having a little trouble sleeping lately and there was nothing like a good bodice-ripper to help with insomnia. But seeing Barbara there, sitting on the floor, surrounded by...comic books? It made Dinah hesitate, wondering if she could somehow slip away without the other woman having noticed her there.

But just as quickly as the thought hits her, she feels a flare of shame that she could ever be that much of a coward. She knows they've got things to work out. Issues with a seriously bolded capital I. But Dinah also knows that the longer she puts it off, the more she tries to run from it, the harder it's going to be to ever resolve anything. And as much as she's intimidated or freaked out or whatever crazy jumble of emotions it is she feels when she looks at Barbara, she knows it's worth it. It will be worth it

[callmecassandra]

Babs looks up, and her heart jumping into her throat. You should have known, her brain said, without missing a beat.

"Dinah," she said, the name biting into the depth of her. "... You should probably have a seat."

[pretty_canary]

Dinah reacts to Barbara's tone instinctively, but doesn't want to even consider why that is. Not now. Not when there's so much else they need to deal with. Instead she just follows the direction, coming to sit cross-legged on the floor across from the other woman.

"What is all this?"

[callmecassandra]

"Me," she said, her eyes running over the stacks. She swallowed, then. "... And you." Her eyes flicked up to Dinah's. "My you."

[king_ofkings]

Adrian had seen a great deal of art in his day. There was the art of the rich, that of the general populace, and that for the unique consumer. He never had seen it so haphazard, however. "If you're in the market for something to read, might I suggest a biography of some kind?" he calmly offered as he gracefully crouched before her.

[callmecassandra]

"You mean, like this one?" She gestured to the stacks of comics around her. "Because it is. All about one person." She signed, and rubbed a hand over her face, the slight nod in thanks at him crouching instead of just standing over her. Her chair was off to one side, her legs tucked to one side as she leaned against the wall.

[king_ofkings]

Adrian had noticed the chair and thought little of it. He was a great believer in the mind being the most powerful and capable feature of a person and that a person could overcome anything. "Would I be right in assuming that person is tangentially related to you in some manner?" he asked calmly, allowing himself to sit in a perfectly-postured cross-legged position.

[callmecassandra]

"You could say that." She nodded to the redhead - in a wheelchair, on the cover of the comic. "I honestly don't see the resemblance with half of these, but... My life." She paused, and nodded to him. "Barbara Gordon."

[sortofaman]

It wasn't like the Doctor didn't know already, and it wasn't like he wasn't used to it from several perspectives. But it was always awkward to come upon someone with their own media. Like Barbara Gordon--Oracle--and these comic books. "Enlightening?" he asked gently, and got her a cup of coffee.

[callmecassandra]

"Somewhat," she said when he returned, reaching gratefully for the cup. "Disturbing, a lot of it. Comics include fanmail." She took a large swallow, mostly to calm her own nerves. "You ever find yours?"

[sortofaman]

"Oh god, yes," said the Doctor, who had got tea for himself, this seeming quite a bit more like a tea situation. "No fanmail, but apparently I helped children hide behind sofas. I'm really not sure how to feel about that."

[callmecassandra]

"I hear you," she said, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "It probably says something about society that your... everything and my... everything is meant for children." She shook her head.

"I don't know. Maybe I just feel old." She looked at all the comics. "Although, apparently I've been in multiple places at once, even though I don't remember it that way. Continuity, and all that."

[cantstopmoving]

He finds Babs surrounded by slick, four-color magazines and knows without looking any closer what she's done. While he should be worried about her - and he is - he also can't help scanning through the stacks for new titles, pictures of Bruce and of Stephanie, Tim, him, or Alfred, Roy...his team.

"Are you looking for something specific, princess? Because unless the bookshelf likes you a lot more than it likes me, you're not going to find it." It never stops him from looking.

[callmecassandra]

"It apparently does like me, since it's felt the need to regurgitate my life back to me." She skimmed over the books - some beaten all to hell, some coverless, some only with bits of paper left behind.

"My life, and apparently other people's. Other... mes."

She looked up at him, and bodily moved herself over so there was space for him. That movement spoke volumes. Way too much of I need you here.

Because while she could, she didn't want to sort this out alone.

[cantstopmoving]

Eyebrow lifting, Dick settles in next to her. Like every other time he's hunted the comics, his chest tightens a little with nervous...not really anticipation. Indignation. Frustration. Part of him wants to take them all and burn them, but there'll be more before they even char to ash.

"Are you sure you want to read these?" he asks, even though he knows the answer. "The first time I saw my Titans, I had nightmares for a week."

[callmecassandra]

"I need to know, Dick." She sighed, and looked over at him. "You know that. Especially with Dinah here, but either way, I'd need too." Her brows rose, and she turned a page over, looking at it sideways.

"Huh. Apparently I'm still cheesecake. Look." She handed over the loose page after only a cursory glance at the ad on the back.