Micro Cuts [Red Robin]

[Connor Hawke]

Players: Red Robin and Connor Hawke
Location(s): Downtown Star City
Plot Summary: 2 months before current board events Tim Drake makes an offer to his friend Connor.

“How many times are we going to play this game, Merlyn?” The aged and wizened mercenary gripped two seven inch serrated blades in his hands as he eyed Connor Hawke. The man was sorely out of his element. He had once been one of the best assassins on the planet but age had soon conquered him. Better men with better goals and aspirations had surpassed him. Merlyn was still by all accounts dangerous but he wasn’t as dangerous as he had once been. At this point he was easily defeated and easily ridiculed. Connor was honestly growing quite sick of dealing with the man. Yet he had decided to try and take advantage of Star City while Oliver Queen was gone and Connor couldn’t stand for that. He was the new Green Arrow and it was time for him to step forward and take responsibility he had sworn to protect. He had failed to do so once and he wouldn’t again.

Merlyn didn’t respond and simply advanced forward. The man executed a series of brutal slashes and thrusts. Connor avoided all of them easily. His unique ability to mimic and copy movements wasn’t even necessary here. The man was using a painstakingly slow and predictable melee kata that Connor had first learned when he was twelve. This was literally child’s play and truth be told he was growing sick of it. “I know that you’re driven by hatred but it will get you nowhere.” Connor stepped backwards as Merlyn advanced yet again. The man let out a snarl of anger and jabbed at Connor’s throat. The monk simply deflected the blow before striking him in the chest with one well placed jab. Merlyn stumbled backwards tripped and fell through the skylight of the building they were standing on. Connor stared down into the darkness and sighed before he too jumped down into the warehouse below.

He landed amongst a series of plants and crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s time to end this game, Merlyn!” He was growing frustrated and frustration would only lead to anger. Lately Connor had been conflicted by his own feelings. Star City was just now being reconstructed to is former glory and yet still Lian’s death rubbed him raw. He simply wasn’t equipped to deal with the pain he was facing. So he had buried himself in his work and even now he feared he’d snap and lose control. He slowly stepped through the warehouse and forced himself to listen for the slightest trace of breath or footstep. Connor’s sight failed him so he closed his eyes and simply listened. He heard the twang of an arrow and spun around to face it. He raised one hand and caught it out of the air. He opened his eyes right as the arrow exploding. Gas flooded across his face and Connor coughed. He opened his eyes again just in time to see Merlyn attack.

Connor hurriedly bypassed the attack and decided to end this quickly. As Merlyn flew past him he raised his elbow and drove it down at the base of his neck with considerable force. The blow knocked Merlyn out and the heavy man fell to the ground. As he lowered his arm and mildly rubbed his right arm he heard clapping. He glanced upwards and grinned as he saw the silhouette of his friend from the East Coast. “How long have you been standing there?”

[Red Robin]

The gas mask had been replaced back in his belt - could never be too careful - before his gloved hands had met in slow applause. "Here? Only since you broke the window," Tim grinned, nodding his head toward the bits of glass still clinging to the skylight's frame. He had been following Connor for a little while, though, even before his battle with Merlyn had begun. It had been nice to see his friend in action again. His abilities were always impressive, though of course there was something different about them now. He seemed a little more tense, a little more angry... for Connor, anyway.

When Tim had decided to get the Titans back together, the archer had been one of the first people whom he had thought of. Connor had been a good friend of his for years and was a highly skilled archer to boot, to say nothing of the fact that he was one of the greatest martial artists on the planet. Tim's own skills in that area had certainly improved over the years, but he knew he wasn't anywhere close to Connor's abilities. Plus, he was smart, resilient, and if he could work alongside Oliver Queen, he could work with anybody. Tim had to admire the way he had been handling the whole Prometheus disaster. The guy had lost his father not only in the sense of Queen's exile, but in the sense that their moral code had been abandoned. Admittedly Green Arrow hadn't been as stringent to that code as others, though again, Tim admired Connor for how he had handled that. The younger of the two Green Arrows had stuck to what he knew was right, even when his own father went against that. The Titans needed that kind of dedication.

The former Robin followed Connor's earlier move, dropping down through the skylight and landing expertly in the warehouse below before he straightened. Briefly, his eyes moved to Merlyn. The assassin was definitely down for the count; not really surprising. His attention turned back to Connor. "Wish I could make it look that easy," Tim lamented, a smile present at one corner of his mouth. For as much as he had improved since he first started, his mind was still his greatest weapon and Connor would likely always be miles ahead of him. That was okay with him. He didn't expect to be able to be the absolute best at every single aspect of this job; that was the entire point of having a team.

[Connor Hawke]

"Only since I broke the window?" Connor repeated his friend's claim with clear skepticism in his voice. He then laughed' they both knew that was stretching the truth by a long shot. Every member of the Bat-Family were known for tracking their prey (whether it be friend or foe) for an extended period of time before making their presence known. It was clear that Tim had mastered such a skill since Connor hadn't been able to detect him. It was just another reminder as to how far Tim had come. Connor wasn't even sure if he'd want to cross fists or trade punches with him. What Tim lacked in raw and technical skill he more than made up for in sheer intelligence and ingenuity. Those two latter were things that Connor had but not to the degree of the Bat-Family.

He watched as Tim jumped or more so glided down to the ground. He wasn't a natural acrobat. That much was obvious simply by analzing the way he landed. It was a talent that Connor had though he hadn't mastered it to the degree that Batgirl had. Yet he definitely had adapted the athletic art fairly well. Connor still couldn't exactly pinpoint Tim's martial arts style. Cass' was easy enought to figure out. A mixture of pressure points and Nin Jit Su. Dick was an acrobat and had the flair of an acrobat. Tim seemed to borrow from all of his family members. The fact that he wasn't a martial artist at heart was his greatest strength. It meant that he didn't have a preference and could learn multiple styles without prejudice. It made him a Jack of all Trades of sorts. That didn't mean Connor was in a hurry to see Tim take on Richard Dragon or even Constantine but there were very few people who could manage that.


Connor laughed at Tim's next statement. "It was Merlyn anyone can make it look easy. He's older than Ollie and that's saying something." He raised his hand and scratched the back of his neck. It was so easy to sink into a regular routine of banter and then forget about the recent tragedies that had wreaked havoc in his life. Connor was in no particular hurry to remember them but Ollie had been such an important person in his life that he couldn't help but mention the man everyday. The common thugs of Star City asked about him too. Either way Connor couldn't ignore the man's existence but he could pretend he hadn't made a joke about him. He wasn't in the mood for a pity party.

"What brings you to Star City? Checking in on Mia or do you want to take over my patrol?" Connor had always figured that Tim would show up in Star City to eventually check in on Mia. Mia was easily the more volatile of the two of them and was proving more difficult to control. It was almost like she wasn't the same person anymore. Connor had tried everything and was truly at a loss. He didn't know what to do and while he felt her pain he didn't understand why her frustration had to manifest in such violent tantrums against criminals. Maybe Tim was here to help her. His own father had been killed and he had been the one to find the body. It was akin to losing Lian. As upset as Connor was he knew that it wasn't his responsiblity that Lian had died and as a result he wasn't taking it as hard as Mia was.

It was a harsh truth but it was a truth he had to accept to remain sane. He handcuffed Merlyn before pulling out his grapple gun. "She could use a guiding hand. She admires you. I'd say she does a little more than admire you." He winked at Tim jokingly as the grapple gun pulled him through the air and onto the roof. He didn't know if Tim was here to talk about Mia but the least he could do was make him aware of his concerns. He didn't want her to wind up getting hurt.

[Red Robin]

While Connor had a point about Merlyn getting up in years, as soon as he made the comment, it was clear that he regretted it. Equally obvious was the fact that he wasn't interested in any further mentions of his father. Tim could understand that. While he had never been in an identical situation, for as much as Tim looked up to Bruce, if he ever went and did something like Ollie had... he wasn't sure that he would ever be able to forgive him. He had a hard enough time accepting Jason and all that he had done, but Bruce? He was the one who had taught all of them, instilled in them that die-hard sense of right and wrong. If he were ever to corrupt their ideals, their family would likely never recover. Ollie may not have been the one to teach Connor everything he knew, but he was still his father. He was supposed to be the one to guide Connor and show him what was right, not take everything that Connor believed in and trample all over it. Tim didn't blame his friend for being a little sensitive about the topic.

Tim gave Connor a look. He liked Mia, but not that much. That being said, she was definitely someone whom he intended on talking to. He had heard that she hadn't been doing well and while there was something of a rivalry between the Bat and Arrow families (more so between the elder generations) he didn't want them to suffer another serious blow. If Mia really lost her way, that could very well be the case. "Don't worry, Mia's on my list of people to talk to," Tim assured him as he reached for his own grappling gun. "Today, I actually wanted to talk to you. Got a few minutes?" He didn't doubt that Connor was busy - they had lost quite a lot of manpower in Star City lately - so he knew to keep it brief. He just worried that the other young hero wouldn't be able to even consider Tim's offer because he was so busy. Fortunately the Titans would be stationed right across the bay from him, which could make things easier.

After firing off a jumpline, Tim allowed his body to go limp as the familiar sensation of being thrown into the air overtook him. He gave the line a little tug as he reached the broken skylight, allowing him to be tossed slightly higher so that he could flip upward and land on the roof near where Connor now stood. "How've you been handling everything?" Tim asked, then held his hands up palm-out. "Not that you have to answer; just thought I'd ask." He was curious both as a friend and out of professional interest. No sense in discussing his idea with Connor if he clearly wasn't in a place to be adding anything else to his plate.

[Connor Hawke]

Connor couldn't resist to urge to rib Tim at least a little. He was well aware of the fact that there was no spark of romance between Tim and Mia. Yet when it came down to it Tim was the type of guy you could joke around with. He seemed to be everyone's little brother even though he was normally the smartest man in the room. Connor missed positive family interactions sorely. There hadn't been many before Lian had died and there had been no such moments since she had passed away. Connor didn't hold out any hopes for having a family relationship that allowed him to banter. What he held hopes for was the family reuniting and forgiving each other. Yet neither of those options were going to happen anytime soon. Speaking to Tim gave him that opportunity to at least indulge in his snark. It was an opportunity he normally didn't have.

"You want to talk to me?" Connor said in a surprised tone. "Sure. I got a few minutes." He hadn't entirely expected Tim to seek him out for a conversation. Not because they weren't friends but because Tim was a busy person. Connor had only worked with him during the few select times he had visited Gotham City. He wasn't sure what Tim wanted to talk about but he was open to whatever he had to offer or ask. It wasn't like he had anyone to really talk to in the past few months. He wasn't trying to unload all of his emotional burdens on Tim. It would just be nice to talk to someone other than an angst-ridden teenager for a change. As he landed on the roof he adjusted his bow to make sure it was still secured in his quiver. He was gaining his archery skills slowly but surely. He had come to realize that he had other talents that could be used on the battlefield other than archery. Maybe getting shot in the head with a bullet was a blessing in disguise.

Tim landed next to him on the roof and immediately asked how Connor was doing. The elder man quirked an eyebrow at his immediate follow up statement. Tim's sensitivity towards Connor's feelings were touching but ultimately pointless. "I'm not as volatile as people tend to think. Not anymore anyways." He said a chuckle as he gestured at Tim's defensive posture. It was as if he was bracing for some type of emotional outburst. "Mia, Roy, Ollie and Dinah are all overwrought with guilt. They're letting it consume themselves because they feel responsible. I know that what happened to her isn't my fault. There's nothing I could have done to change the outcome. I'm sad about her passing but….I can't feel guilt if I'm not responsible." As harsh as that sounded it was true. Connor truly felt awful about Lian's death but he hadn't known her that long. On top of that he hadn't done anything to contribute to her death.

Naturally if he had been with Lian when things had gone sour he would have chosen very differently. Yet if he decided to entertain that trail of thinking he'd soon end up blaming Mia for Lian's death. Even though it was Mia's fault he didn't want to blame her or chastise her. Roy and Mia herself had done that already. "How are you holding up? I've heard a few things about what's going on with you and Dick." Connor really didn't gossip but as a ninja he had access to information about LoA. The whole drama circling Damian and Bruce was common knowledge. To ninjas, at least.

[Red Robin]

Despite himself, Tim smirked slightly and lowered his hands. The gesture had probably been unnecessary, but he knew Connor had gone through a lot of personal things lately and while they were friends, Tim wasn't about to stick his nose where it didn't belong. Not so directly, anyway. One way or another he ultimately always got the information he needed, but he always tried to do so in the least invasive way possible. Some things just weren't his business and they didn't need to be. It wasn't as though Lian's death was the only thing that had gone wrong lately, after all. Bruce wasn't always Father of the Year but at least Tim had never had to watch him be tried for murder. There were few things more personal than that.

Tim nodded in understanding. Connor's answer was the one he had been hoping for. It didn't sound heartless at all, but rather a logical interpretation of everything that had happened. Lian's death wasn't Connor's fault. It wasn't any of their faults; those responsible had already been dealt with, however inappropriately. They were all human and sometimes, as unfortunate as it was, they weren't able to save everyone. Every now and then, that included someone they loved, and it hit them harder than usual. It was difficult, and it was always agonizing when they lost someone, but that didn't mean that it was their fault. Tim was grateful that Connor could see that. "It's good that you can see that," Tim replied, "since you're right, you're not responsible." He didn't even personally believe that Mia was, either. She had been in a difficult situation and she had made a judgment call. It was as simple as that.

When Connor brought up his own family, Tim shrugged one shoulder. It wasn't that he was unwilling to discuss the latest happenings in the Batclan, but what was there to say? There would always be drama and chaos among his family. Even if the details surrounding that drama changed, it was never really news. Not worth discussing right at that moment, anyway. "Honestly, it's all pretty routine by now," Tim chuckled dryly. "Can't say there's a whole lot to react to." By this point, Tim would often just throw up his arms and attempt to ride out whatever it was they were currently dealing with.