Twelfth flight - video

[kal_el]

[ Clark hasn't appeared on the network for a while now, but when he appears he's smiling, and rightly so, pushing his glasses up his nose. So awkward. ]

Wedding preparations are in full swing. I always knew it was going to be hard work, but I didn't realise just how much there was to do. It seems like there isn't enough time in the day any more. All the time I'm spending on the phone to florists and caterers, you'd think the phone company should be paying me.

It's stressful sometimes, hard to find time to shoehorn the romance in--and wasn't that the whole point in the first place? I don't suppose anyone has any tips? How do you make time for sleep, let alone your poor neglected fiancee?


[ Of course this post is a cloak so that he can get in contact with Cass and Tim. ]

We need to talk. You both know your way into the cave, right? Meet me there just before evening sirens.


Private to Conner Kent

You're family. There's something I need to ask you.

Comments

action; locked

[kal_el]

[ Clark will be waiting in the Batcave just before sirens, quietly studying the outfit on its stand, left behind when Bruce left. He seems impenetrable, so still that he could be carved out of stone. Bruce is gone.

And now there's all kinds of issues, no time to grieve the loss. What comes next? How do you conceal the loss long enough to keep his secret identity secret? No rest for the wicked. And caring for his family... Cass, who he barely knew, and Tim, with the problems that he'd confessed. He needed support--they all did. They needed to make plans, work through it, keep occupied so that they could move past the grief. He didn't know how to do it any other way. ]

[theshortestbird]

[He was tired. There wasn't any time to do anything, no time to grieve, no time to do anything. Tim had taken some time off from work, today, though. He knew he needed to do something, and Clark's message helped.

So, he was there that evening. Face pinched, shadows under his eyes darker then usual, but he was there. They'd figure this out.]

[bodyreads]

[With Bruce's anonymous message still on her mind, Cass answers Clark's call with some hesitance. It's not that she doesn't trust him. Far from it; she trusts Clark more than she's trusted any others from the Port or from a world somewhat like her own. But this is almost too much for her.

She comes to the designated place in silence, slipping into the cave and approaching the two of them. She has nothing to say. It's times like these that she wishes she were more like Barbara or Dick. They could say something here. She can't.]

[kal_el]

[ Clark, on the other hand, is good at breaking uncomfortable silences, and he turns toward them both, reaching out to flick off the light that illuminated the suit, and effectively taking Bruce out of the conversation for now. ]

What did yours say?

[theshortestbird]

[He really didn't like the suits being illuminated. Or in a stand. There was always something a little weird about it.]

He told me it was up to me now. [Tim says after a moment. What else was everyone else told?]

[bodyreads]

[Cassandra's eyes remain on the suit even as the light goes out. She doesn't look at either of them for a long moment. She just doesn't know how she feels.]

He said I knew what to do.

[And to look out for Tim. But she's not spilling at secret so soon.]

[kal_el]

[ Clark nods at both comments, raising his hand up to rub at the bridge of his nose. ]

I'm to look after his family. Not that hard, since I think of you as my family too. What it comes down to is what we're going to do now. Both in the short and the long term.

We've dealt with this before. We know there's a lot that's going to come down on us all at once.

[theshortestbird]

[He swallowed.]

We can't let anyone know that he's gone. Batman, that is. He needs to be in the city, still. The Titans are nowhere near ready to take on everything that he did. That's in the short term. Long term is... I have no idea.

[bodyreads]

[She nods, agreeing with Tim.]

I can take up the cowl.

[She always wanted to. Would have, too, if Dick wasn't ready.]

We all should. People need to be afraid of his symbol. His message.

[kal_el]

You're right. Last time--

[ He pauses, motioning toward the suit. ]

I can show you how the defense systems work, but it's made for a much larger build.

[ He seemed uncertain. ]

It might be better if we took turns. Nobody has to get close enough to be able to tell the difference.