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[bat-daughter.livejournal.com]

She did not expect to find herself in a cafe.  She'd been chasing down a criminal, saw him duck into an alley and through a door, and followed him in.  Wherever it had lead, it certainly shouldn't have been someplace like this.

And yet, she sensed that she wasn't really in any kind of danger.  She was good at scoping places out, looking for threats, and she just didn't see that that.  Slowly, she let her crossbow drop and hooked it to her belt.

"...Second time this kind of thing has happened.  Just plain strange," she muttered.

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[random_xtras]

The place was filled with the evening crowd, most of whom had significant differences to their physiognomy from the norm, but who were speaking of everyday things like work and sports and kids. Over to one side a massive golden insectoid centaur was hugging a centaur-like woman with a horn on her forehead, while in the corner a small hairy man was holding court on the best way to program a vacuum cleaner while a tiny black woman looked on with fond amusement.

A female voice called from behind the double wall of people around the bar that she should grab a seat and a waitress would be over there pretty quick.

[bat-daughter.livejournal.com]

Even with her recent experiences in the Nexus, the number of strange beings is a bit overwhelming, though not terribly so. With the thief now probably long gone, well, she is hungry, actually. Had thought about picking up some Chinese take-out or something before heading back to her apartment.

With a shrug, she headed over to grab a seat at one of the tables.

[random_xtras]

A figure stepped through the door and froze, the face that showed beneath the domino mask creasing in a scowl as she realized that she was going to have to wait to hug her husband till his ribs creaked.

She turned, short cape swinging back around her tall, athletic figure and exposing a variation of the familiar Robin costume.

-Alright, God,- she thought grimly. -You've got me here. Who'm I supposed to meet? ...And where am I supposed to sit?-

[bat-daughter.livejournal.com]

Huntress had been heading to a table, but stopped and turned around when she'd heard the door open again.

It's not quite the costume she's familiar with--her own Robin had changed costumes twice since the short-pants--but it is similar enough to be recognizable. Not to mention it's fairly close to one of the other Robins she's met in the Nexus.

"You have got to be a Robin," she said.

[random_xtras]

"They first came to light in 2092." Brenda bowed her head for a moment, then picked up her sandwich and looked inside it. She knew it was what she wanted, but that didn't stop her from making sure. "They're a gang movement based on use of and revereation of a synapse altering drug known as Pain Serum."

[bat-daughter.livejournal.com]

"2092... That's more than a hundred years in my future."

[random_xtras]

"And more than two hundred in my current past." Her mouth turned up a bit at the corner as she ate, just a teen looking for a reaction.

[bat-daughter.livejournal.com]

"Whoah."

Huntress was quite clearly surprised by this. "That's just... I don't know what that is, actually."

[random_xtras]

"Uh, I'm talking about Clark Junior. The guy whose suit I stole." Brenda listened to the rest of what she said, clearing her throat at mention of Alfred. Then she asked quietly, "Did he have psycho geniuses trying to wipe out everyone around him?"

[bat-daughter.livejournal.com]

"Oh," Helena said. "Sorry. There's really only one guy I think of when I hear that name."

She shrugged. "No worse than the usual batch of villains, for the most part. Joker, Two-Face, the Penquin, the Riddler, the Scarecrow, those kind of folk. Worst of the lot was probably Hugo Strange."

[random_xtras]

"Did he lose any partners?" Brenda eyed her sandwich, then took another bite.

[bat-daughter.livejournal.com]

"Partners? He only ever had the one. Dick Grayson."

[random_xtras]

The girl across from her gave a sad, slightly bleak smile. "I know of a Gotham where Martha and Thomas senior never died. Where their daughter was shot by a mugger on her nineteenth birthday as they came out of a movie, and her older brother now patrols the city to make sure that no more people have to lose family."

[bat-daughter.livejournal.com]

"That is different."

And very curious, given that you look to be about that age.

"I suppose what really makes my Gotham different is that it just doesn't seem as bad or as dark as the other ones. It's got its share of crime, sure, but nothing more than what any big city has. It's still a good place, a place where people want to live."

[random_xtras]

"It's younger, got its protector sooner, and he had a different set of circumstances," suggested Brenda, lifting her coffee cup to her mouth to try and clear away the slight constriction of her throat that thinking of her parents and brother always brought.

-And Alfred. Oh, do I miss Alfred.-

[bat-daughter.livejournal.com]

"The daughter that was shot... it was you, wasn't it?" Where another bat might have said it matter of factly, or even as an accusation, Helena said it with compassion, genuine concern.

[random_xtras]

"Kara went by Supergirl where I live. She died before Clark did." Brenda paused to take a long drink from her coffee cup, then set it where it could be refilled. "Everyone was floored when Lois got pregnant. Martha was sickly and for a long time they weren't sure if she was going to make it. Clara was created in a lab as a toy for a jerk who wanted a 'superhero' collection. The JLA busted the lab a little after Martha was born and Clark was killed."

[bat-daughter.livejournal.com]

Helena can't hide her shock and horror at all of this. "I... I can't believe anyone would do anything like that. That's just... that's beyond evil."

[random_xtras]

Brenda took the refilled cup and drank again, then poked at the remains of her sandwich and wondered if she wanted to eat it. "Several of the children from that lab never grew up."

[random_xtras]

That got a smirk. "Sounds like Clark. He still counts himself as Robin, even when he's wearing the Batsuit."

[bat-daughter.livejournal.com]

"Nobody else could be Batman. That was Dad. Dick and I do what we can as who we are, but anything else... that would be like trying to replace him."

[random_xtras]

Brenda frowned. "He passed the mantle on himself where I am now. Charged his kids and wards to keep the legacy alive."

[random_xtras]

Brenda sighed, then looked at her watch and quickly finished her coffee. "I'd better get back or my husband will start punching holes in walls."

[bat-daughter.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I should probably get going too. Got a lot to do still tonight."

[random_xtras]

"There was more I could still be doing too, but I got ordered to turn in." She pulled a face, but then shrugged and got up as her inner socialite switched on for a moment. "Well, it was nice meeting you."