The TV Tropes Meme

[alkali]

The rules of the game are simple.

1. Go to TV Tropes.
2. Hit random trope. You get as many randoms as you need.
3. Tag someone with a scenario based on that trope.
4. HAVE FUN.
5. Place bets on how many people try to tag this meme but get lost in the labyrinthine trails of TV Tropes.

Comments

[thegoshdarn]

Tim laces their fingers together and squeezes his hand. She has no desire to keep his connection to the Speed Force; it would feel like stealing from him, for one thing, although the current situation isn't really either of their faults. For another - well. Is she actually even welcome in Gotham like this?

"Why is that?" It doesn't seem like the speed at which you learn something ought to affect your memory of it.

[kid_flash_found]

Bart shrugged a little, but was glad the contact was helping her stay normal-speed. "It's just one of those things. Drives Iris crazy, because she keeps trying to cram for school."

He considered it, and hazarded a guess. "Maybe it's more that the time the initial connections are made just seems longer, and you can't really reinforce it enough. The brain is pretty weird, and the real difference between normal-speed and us is that we can act at the speed of conduction instead of waiting for every little bit to form the right chains. Maybe."

[thegoshdarn]

File that under theories to test before they go back to normal. It wouldn't have to be anything terribly elaborate. Something like reading a book and seeing how long the information is retained would work. (Would sleeping afterwards help? Hm. Something else to consider.)

Anyway.

"How are you feeling?"

[kid_flash_found]

"Wishing I at least got some of those mad ninja skills of yours in trade," Bart said, trying to make a joke of it. He would be fine, and he felt it was slightly more important to look after Tim than worry about his own issues.

"I just have to remember that I can't shift into high gear and make time stop. It's not like I use my speed for everything I do these days. Mostly I don't use more than I need."

Telling her it was like having a piece of himself missing was totally not on the agenda. They'd fix things soon enough, regardless.

[thegoshdarn]

"I could try teaching you."

After a second, she adds, with a slightly mischievous smirk: "Or I could ask B if he would." For the full experience, of course.

[kid_flash_found]

"Don't I have to steal the Robin suit for that?" Bart deadpanned.

[thegoshdarn]

"You don't get the Robin suit until after the training."

Obviously.

[kid_flash_found]

"Powers or not, I don't think B's going to reconsider his opinion of me any time soon."

[thegoshdarn]

"You're still easier to get along with than the current Robin."

Not that it's difficult.

[kid_flash_found]

"Yeah, well, apparently blood is more important than any of us thought," Bart said, shrugging a little. "And without my powers, there's not a chance in hell I could get the drop on the little shit."

[thegoshdarn]

"It's not trial by combat."

Well.

"Usually."

[kid_flash_found]

"I've seen far too many of your injuries, remember?" Bart said, but he was smiling.

"I'm not going out like this, and neither should you. It's compromising all our training."

[thegoshdarn]

"Those were from having the job, not getting it. The Demon Child would force it into trial by combat, though."

And did, basically. He's a charming little brother. "I hadn't planned on going out, anyway."

[kid_flash_found]

"Didn't Jason do that, too?" Bart had to ask. He did remember that time Tim nearly had her throat slit. "You and Dick are like the only ones who aren't terrifying."

Well, to him. The rest of the world could think whatever they wanted.

[thegoshdarn]

She winces. "That was... different." Less trial by combat, more... psychotically crazed vengeance.

And she might be a little too eager to adjust the direction of the conversation there. "I'm not terrifying?"

[kid_flash_found]

"Only sometimes. You haven't really been pulling the creepy for years, except when you forget and sneak up without meaning to. Or find the one shadow large enough to hide in." They'd become a team. It wasn't about scaring them anymore.

"You're just...Tim."

[thegoshdarn]

"Clearly, I need to work on my image."

Preferably, when she stops getting super-fast jitters.

[kid_flash_found]

"I prefer you when you're acting like a human being," Bart said, teasing. "Calm down, though. You need to stay with me."

[thegoshdarn]

And she hadn't even noticed. Tim sighs and focuses carefully on a few even breaths, relaxing a little as best she can.

"I'll take that under advisement."

[kid_flash_found]

Bart squeezed her hand again, smiling softly. "We need normality, unfortunately, you're all we've got."

[thegoshdarn]

Wryly: "Should probably do something like that."

She's not unaware of her... unique personality.

[kid_flash_found]

"But now, it's snack time. Think you can stay here without going nuts while I grab stuff?"

[thegoshdarn]

"Yes."

Maybe. Ish. She's pretty sure she can do that.

[kid_flash_found]

"Keep telling yourself that. And don't stress about the clock." With that, he got up to go about selecting things he knew she'd consider reasonable snacks while still having the right distribution of nutrition for a speedster. Luckily, he had experience there.

Five minutes and twenty-three seconds later, he returned with an overladen tray of mostly finger food.

[thegoshdarn]

Without him around to provide a basis for comparison, it's actually a lot harder to stick to something resembling normal time. But she's not a hyperactive toddler, and she has a few tricks up her sleeve. By the time he's back, she's slipped into meditation, focusing on an inner rhythm and letting the rest go for now.