---- From chapter 1 ----

T: What do you guys think of my new outfit?? :D
J: shut up bottom
D: Make it sluttier
B: I think it's cute Timmy :)

----

Roy swirled around in his chair, juggling an orange that had been sitting on his desk since Wally insisted he eat something healthy yesterday morning. The ginger had apparently also bestowed Tim with oranges- or maybe it was a clementine? He could never tell- and Roy wouldn't be surprised if there was a similar round fruit sitting on the bat-computer. Wally, it seemed, had oranges on the brain, only the citric acid keeping him satisfied as he mulled around day after day in Roy's kitchen, lamenting the lack of a fruit bowl and leaving his sticky fingerprints on the door of the fridge.

1:13, he thinks, the blue light of his computer slowly burning holes in his retinas, the ideal time to be awake. He wasn't going to bed anytime soon and he definitely wasn't about to eat an orange of all things.

His computer binged behind him, signalling someone else finally joining the call. Roy spun back around in his chair, avoiding seeing his reflection on the screen by focusing on the chats from a few hours earlier. There was a mirror selfie of Tim in dark green baggy camo sweatpants and a red cropped hoodie with Wonder Woman's logo on the front, followed shortly after by Tim using his admin powers to lock Jay in the Gay Baby Jail chat, which the chat had delighted over for a few minutes before moving on.

In the voice chat, Dick's profile picture- a blurry picture of a bowl of Fruit Loops- blinked below his own, and seconds later Dick's face filled up part of his screen.

"Roy!" He greeted the call cutting out under his volume. He was sitting in front of his computer, his headphones around his neck and, behind him, Roy could see the figure of Wally laying in bed. Wally joined the call from the other side of the room moments later, laying on his stomach, shirtless and looking sleepy. His screen was sideways, so he'd either been watching Netflix on his phone or trying to get in a few practice rounds before everyone was ready to play. Outside their large windows, Roy could see the streaks of raindrops. While it was always cloudy in Gotham, the rain never seemed to follow through, unlike in Blüdhaven where the rain was basically a steady omnipresent patter.

Barbara and Cass joined the call at the same time, Kon doing the same less than a second later. Barbara appeared hunched over her laptop in her small Gotham University dorm room in the dark, her face lit up blue, and Cass from what looked like the bat-computer. Roy grinned with a sliver of amusement when he noticed they were halfway through eating an orange. Kon kept his video camera off for a minute, then appeared on screen seated at his desk in Wayne Manor.

Finally, Tim joined the call and, before anyone could say anything, Roy heard him yell "Join already!" from directly across the hall, followed by a thud and then Jason joining the call from his bedroom floor.

Jason scowled at his phone camera as he stood up, sitting down again across the room from Tim, who had monopolized the space on the bed, sitting against the headboard with his laptop on his thighs. Roy watched as he passed the doorway, his middle finger raised in Roy's general direction.

"Wally that was the best orange I've ever had," Tim said immediately, "where did you get it from and where can I get more?"

Cass nodded along eagerly as they chewed the last piece. Roy glanced at the orange on his desk, rolling his chair back a few feet and throwing through the two open doorways, Jason catching it with a startled expression.

"What the fuck," he said into the call, rolling his eyes as Tim made grabby hands until he tossed it to him.

"They're from the farmers market down the street, TimmyTimbers," Wally answered, watching as the orange appeared in Tim's hands, the waxy peel falling onto the floor as he tore into it in a thousand tiny pieces.

"Okay," Roy interpreted. Knowing them, if they started a tangent on oranges they would never get around to playing. "Dick, what's the code?"

They all obediently typed in the series of numbers given to them, one by one appearing in the lobby together.

"Guys I know I'm a bad imposter," Barbara stated deadpan, her purple character and caution-sign hat standing still while everyone else ran around in circles, "if you see me vent no you don't."

The game finally started, the text on-screen warning them there were two imposters among them. Roy kept his face neutral as he muted himself, his red character armed only with a flat green hat as he entered electrical, Wally's orange character following after him and starting a download, hatless and so very, very trusting.

Roy left electrical, passing Tim's pink, flamingo-hat wearing character as he did, and checking cams in time to see Dick and Cass walk into medbay together. He ran past, going through the middle of the cafeteria and passing Kon and his party hat in weapons just as Dick reported Jason's body, the animation that played showing his cyan form laying limply on the ground.

Roy stayed silent, listening to everyone else ask "Where?"

"The murder occurred in reactor," Dick answered obediently, tone even. Roy eyed his blue security hat-wearing character suspiciously.

"And what were you doing in reactor, Dickinson? Hmm?" Barbara asked, squinting slightly at her computer screen.

"I was doing Simon Says, Barbara," Dick replied pointedly, "Cass was with me. Where were you?"

"I was with your husband in admin," she claimed.

"Sorry babe," Wally agreed, his chin resting on a pillow, "that's true. She was doing card swipe."

"Kon was with me in weapons," Roy said as the timer ran down.

"There's still two imposters," Tim said, playing with one hand as he licked his finger, sticky with citrus, "so this kill could have been any of you. Skip."

"Or you," Roy reminded.

"Visuals are off by the way," Dick reminded them as the final seconds passed, little gray headshots of their characters appearing next to the skip button. One next to Dick.

Roy retraced his steps back to weapons, this time ducking into o2 as Tim ran past towards navigation. Roy took his hands off the keys for a minute as he stretched, heading past navigation, empty, and noting that cams were on. He'd just entered security when the report button lit up, and he pressed it without thinking. The discussion menu popped up, Roy wrinkling his nose when he saw both Barbara and Wally were dead.

"Wally noooooooo," Tim wailed, burying his face in his hands.

"You react like that to Wally's death but not to Jason's?" Dick raised an eyebrow, folded up in his chair is a position that had to have been uncomfortable.

"Jason's already died before," Tim quipped, "been there done that. The better question is, why didn't you react to the death of your beloved husband?"

"He did just defend Barbara," Roy trailed off, "and now they're both dead."

"Woah, woah, woah," Dick sat up straighter, "what are you guys saying?"

Cass took an audible breath, "You're sus."

Dick slumped back in his chair like he'd been shot, watching helplessly as icons appeared beside his name one by one. Roy watched as Dick's character was shot helplessly out into space, text appearing on the screen pronouncing him innocent.

Roy groaned, the word defeat appearing on his screen above the heads of Tim and Kon.

"Hell yeah," Kon said, at the same time Tim dubbed them "the dream team."

"I hate all of you," Jason said, finally able to unmute himself, "if anyone kills me first again it's all over."

"No promises," was the general sentiment, echoed over the dramatic music as the next round began. Roy headed to o2 first, loitering near the doorway until Dick ran past. Roy silently lamented his wallet, thinking about the lavish dinner he would have to take Dick out to make up for this as he struck out, pressing the kill button just outside of nav and running down through shields. He ran through storage and up to the cafeteria, waiting until his kill countdown reset. He faked emptying garbage until Jason ran past, moving to kill him just as another body was reported.

"Timothy's body is in electrical," Cass said. Roy's eyes widening slightly when he realized they'd gotten two kills in the time he'd gotten one.

"Poor Timmy," he said wearily, "We should have a funeral."

"We'll do it in reactor," Kon nodded, voice low and rocky, "that's where his favourite tasks were."

"Jason, give a eulogy," Cass assigned, all of them skipping and making their way to the reactor, Kon going the other direction at the last moment and standing outside security.

They had been standing there for a few seconds when Cass lashed out, striking Jason down before he could even begin to speak. The game announced their victory, and once again they returned to the lobby.

"That was so sweet you guys," Tim sniffled.

Jason huffed, unamused, "You know you died, right?"

Cass crossed their legs in the chair, leaning forwards slightly, "I made sure you were mourned. Pay up."

"Really?" Tim whinnied, "I come back from the dead and the first thing you do is demand money?"

"Yes. We have a deal."

Dick shrugged his shoulders, "I mean if you guys had a deal..."

"Sob, no one loves me."

"Shut up, we went to your funeral, didn't we?" Jason remarked, pitiless.

"Actually," Kon chimed in, "I didn't. I was doing wires. Sorry dude."

"No, it's fine, Kon," Tim sighed heavily, "I'm just gonna kill you first next time."

"Oh ok, if it's fine," Kon said, his words sarcastic but his tone the same as ever as the next round started.

----

Roy blinked at the abrupt calling of an emergency meeting.

"Cass faked scan."

He smiled into his fist as Barbara sighed, "Visuals are off, Dick."

"Oh yeah," Dick remembered, "Sorry, forgot. We can skip."

"You're the one that turned them off."

----

"Babs really just killed my husband in front of me huh," Wally remarked, tone light.

Barbara imminently protested, "No, no, you just killed my best friend in front of me. Get him outta' here boys."

"Do you guys really think I'd kill my husband? Don't you think that if I could've saved his life I would have?!" Wally cried, "if I could trade his life for mine he'd be standing here right now."

Without mercy, four icons appeared next to his name, rocketing him out into space and leaving the rest of them trapped on board with the imposter.

----

"Guys let's all go to nav together," Dick suggested, no one bothering to mute themselves as they moved as a group of eight towards navigation.

"Hold on," he said as they passed through weapons, walking to the top and venting, "I know a shortcut."

Roy laughed until he felt light-headed.

----

T: What do you guys think of my new outfit?? :D

Roy read what Tim had typed in chat, his character now wearing a flower hat instead, and then the replies, stifling a laugh.

J: shut up bottom
D: Make it sluttier
B: I think it's cute Timmy :)

"Why are you guys typing, we're in a call," Kon sighed.

----

"Finally I got imposter," Babs said, after about ten rounds as a crewmate, forgetting to mute her mic.

"We heard that," Cass informed her, deadpan.

----

"Dickie faked weapons."

"Visuals are off."

----

"Sometimes, all I think about is you," Tim sang under his breath as he filled up a gas can, "Late nights in the middle of June..."

"You're not muted," Kon said.

"Oh, sorry," Tim said, then moments later, from across the hall, Roy heard him resume singing, "Heat waves been faking me out..."

"Dude shut up!" Jason yelled, getting a pillow thrown at him for his tone.

----

"Visuals are-"

"I know! Jay vented!"

----

Two hours later, Roy pushed his chair away from his desk, his computer finally silent as those who had to patrol left the call, the others remaining and deciding to switch to a game that needed fewer people.

Patroling with Jason was, as he had explained it to Wally, completely fucking terrifying. The dude was insane, he tried moves even Dick would think were reckless and pulled them off. Half the time he moved like an unconscious man, stumbling through their apartment, but as soon as the first hint of a threat arose, he shifted into something completely different. As terrifying as it was to watch the person who was arguably his best friend jump thirty feet off a building and walk it off, it was also the greatest thrill he'd ever known.

"Ready, dude?" Jason asked, his voice metallised by his helmet.

"Yeah," he said, fitting his own mask over his face and pulling up his hood. Leaving to patrol from their apartment wasn't really that difficult. They lived on the top floor, so it was just a matter of using the balcony to get to the roof and then making their way to wherever there seemed to be trouble.

"Ready," Tim said, finishing adjusting his gloves and flexing his fingers in them. He didn't usually patrol with them, but what Bruce didn't know didn't hurt Roy.

"Whoever punches the most criminals tonight gets to be red," Roy added, firing a grappling arrow to the nearest building as he spoke, getting whatever head start he could.

He grinned as Jason yelled after him, another grappling line whizzing past him seconds later, and rolled cleanly onto the roof only to look up and see Tim already several rooftops ahead of him.

"How did he-"

"Don't worry about it," Jason called as he ran past, "he vented."