Had To Have This Talk With You

After that, Barbara elected to stay home and go to bed. Lynn was able to get Tim and Jason to help her. The next morning, Robin woke up in his pajamas and went to the kitchen to make himself some breakfast, which consisted of cereal and milk with a cup of coffee. He wandered over to dining room table with his breakfast and saw that Barbara was there, this time wearing her pajamas which consisted of a black nightgown and a purple robe. "Morning Babs," said Robin as he sat next to the redhead. "Morning to you too Robin," replied Barbara as she was sipping her morning cup of coffee. "How did you sleep last night?" Robin asked. "I slept pretty decently," admitted Barbara, "I guess skipping patrol was what I needed."

Robin slightly fidgeted with his spoon and asked, "could I, uh, ask you any questions regarding... Batgirl?" Barbara shrugged and said, "eh... sure." She sipped some of her coffee. "How long have you been Batgirl?" Robin asked hesitantly. "Since I was 15," admitted Barbara, "remember when I told you about how my father wouldn't let me be a cop?" Robin nodded and said, "yeah. Was Batgirl a result of that?" Babs thought a moment and said, "in a way, yes. My father was my first personal hero. As were Batman and Black Canary. I really looked up to those three. I wanted to be like them so much. I was disappointed that Dad wouldn't let me be a cop. I guess you could say Batgirl was my way of rebelling. My first Batgirl costume, it was purple and yellow, and it was originally supposed to be just a Halloween costume for a socialite masquerade party. I was hoping to surprise Dad with it, but then things went awry when Killer Moth suddenly held the party hostage. It was practically like something out of Die Hard. And since Batman and Robin The Boy Wonder were nowhere to be seen, I stepped in to stop Killer Moth and his goons. I was practically running on adrenaline and barely four years worth of self-defense classes. But I really got something out of saving people's lives. And I wound up using the Batgirl identity more often. Then I got the attention of Batman himself, and he took me under his wing, going so far as to train me. It really was something amazing. But yeah, I guess you could say Batgirl was my way of compensating for not being a cop."

Robin listened to Barbara's story, amazed by it. "I'm not gonna lie, I like the black and yellow suit a lot more," admitted Robin. "I do too," agreed Barbara, "I made the black suit after my first break up." After finishing his cereal, Robin said, "I honestly think Batgirl is cooler than Robin The Boy Wonder. Your uniform is actually on point." Babs chuckled, "That's what a lot of people said the first year. Anyway, Lynn texted me that Jason's going to pick you up and drive you to their apartment in the afternoon." Robin gave a look of worry and asked, "does Jason know about what happened last night?" Barbara nodded to confirm in response. Robin asked in reply, "is he mad?" Barbara moved her hand in an "eh..." gesture and said, "Lynn and I told him to go easy on you. You'll be fine." She held Robin's hand and said, "everything's going to be okay, I promise." This caused Robin to blush when she held his hand.

A couple of hours later, it was the afternoon and someone knocked on the door. By then, Barbara had already gone to work at the library. Robin wandered over to the front door and opened it. It was Jason wearing his usual motorcycle gear with the tan leather jacket and such. Jason looked down at Robin and said, "I'm here to pick you up. You ready?" Robin nodded and said, "yeah." As the two men went outside Barbara's apartment, Robin took a look at Jason's car. It was a black 1967 Chevrolet Impala with hints of dark red mixed in. "That's your car?" Robin asked, astounded at the beauty of this car. "It's my favorite ride," confirmed Jason, "hope ya like what ya see. You get shotgun." Robin got in the passenger seat and asked, "so did Lynn and Babs tell you what happened?" Jason got in the driver's seat and replied, "the whole shebang. I'm not happy that you know, but when Babs told me your argument, I guess I could go easy on you." Jason and Robin buckled up, and Todd started driving.

"I swear, I didn't know your girlfriend was White Lightning," said Robin, "and I was joking when I thought you were Red Hood. But the more I think about it, it actually adds up a lot more that you're Red Hood." Jason shrugged and replied, "yeah to be fair, I'm not exactly subtle when it comes to hiding my identity as the Red Hood..." Robin looked at Jason and asked, "so did you become Red Hood after Joker tricked everyone into thinking you died? I'm sorry if it's a sensitive subject for you..." Jason nodded and said, "I did. And there actually was a moment during the months of torture where Joker stopped my heart and I was medically dead for 7 minutes." Robin looked at Jason and asked, "how did you come back?"

"Ever watch that Re-Animator movie starring Jeffrey Combs?" Jason asked in reply, earning a nod from the toon, "I guess you could say Joker used a chemical similar to that reagent to bring me back. It left me seriously messed up. And I guess during that torture, a part of me did die. But you want to know what the last thought that went through my head was when my heart stopped beating?" Robin looked at Jason with fright and asked, "what??" Jason gave a sad look and replied, "that I was never going to see Lynn again..." Robin looked at Jason sadly and said, "I'm sorry." There was silence for a few minutes as Jason drove all the way to the fancy apartment that he and Lynn lived at. Jason parked the car and said, "we're here." He and Robin got out of the Impala and to the front doorstep of the apartment. Jason opened the door and the first thing to greet them was a big white German Shepherd who barked excitedly at Jason. The dog had a black piece of fur on his right hind leg that was shaped like a bolt of lightning. Jason and Robin went in the house as Todd started petting the big white dog who wagged his tail like mad, happy to see Jason. "Hello Bolt," he said, "I was only gone for a few minutes, but I'm happy to see you too. Yes, you're a good boy." Bolt sniffed Robin while wagging his tail, causing the toon to laugh. "This is a friend of Lynn's," said Jason, "Robin's a friend, Bolt."

"Is Bolt your dog?" Robin asked as the canine licked Robin's face. "He's Lynn's dog, but yeah," confirmed Jason. "He's a handsome good boy," laughed Robin. "That he is," said Jason as he and Robin wandered over to the living room, Bolt following behind. Robin and Jason could hear Lynn play on her guitar as she sang...

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
I'm begging of you please don't take my man
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
Please don't take him just because you can

Your beauty is beyond compare
With flaming locks of auburn hair
With ivory skin and eyes of emerald green
Your smile is like a breath of spring
Your voice is soft like summer rain
And I cannot compete with you
Jolene

He talks about you in his sleep
And there's nothing I can do to keep
From crying when he calls your name
Jolene

And I can easily understand
How you could easily take my man
But you don't know what he means to me
Jolene

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
I'm begging of you please don't take my man
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
Please don't take him just because you can

You could have your choice of men
But I could never love again
He's the only one for me
Jolene

I had to have this talk with you
My happiness depends on you
And whatever you decide to do
Jolene

Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
I'm begging of you please don't take my man
Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene
Please don't take him even though you can
Jolene, Jolene.

When Lynn finished singing her song, Jason and Robin were at the living room. "That was beautiful as usual babe," cheered Jason. "You're a real Dolly fan aren't ya, Lynn?" Robin casually asked. Lynn smiled at Jason and said, "thanks babe. Hiya Robin. I see you met my dog Bolt. Have a seat hun." Robin sat next to Lynn as she pet her dog, rubbing his chin, much to the dog's delight. "We still have that leftover pizza that Kevin made," said Jason, "after your talk with Robin, you want that for lunch?" Lynn scratched Bolt's ears and said, "That sounds nice. Want some Robin? Kevin's an amazin' cook. Sometimes he'll come over and make lunch or dinner for us." Robin shrugged and said, "pizza sounds nice." Jason wandered over to the kitchen and said, "I'll leave you two alone to talk this out." He and Bolt left. Lynn looked at Robin and said in a serious tone, "Atticus I just want to reiterate that you are not fired from my band, and I still trust you with our secrets."

"Well that's good to know," said Robin, "I would have hated to leave the band on bad terms. You guys are my favorite. Do Zane and your band know?" Lynn shook her head and replied, "they don't. Just Barbara, Jason, Dick, Tim, Charity, Olympia, Damian, Damian's brother Kevin, Kevin's girlfriend Supergirl, most of the Justice League." Robin smirked and joked, "what, is Kevin's dad Batman or something? And hold up, Kevin's in a romantic relationship with Supergirl??" Lynn tugged at her shirt and awkwardly said, "uh..." And Robin could have sworn he heard a disapproving grunt that didn't belong to Jason or their dog. "Oh come on! I was joking!" Robin said in frustration, but then he said in a pondering manner, "but in hindsight, it makes sense that he's Batman. How else would he be able to afford those gimmicky gadgets? Can't exactly buy them at a supermarket store." Jason chuckled, "good one!"

"In all seriousness, how long have you been White Lightning?" Robin asked. "Right after I got struck by lightning and woke up from my coma," explained Lynn, "after I recovered, things started getting a little weird for me. My fingers started letting out tiny sparks, and sometimes if I got highly emotional, it could cause the lights to flicker off, or at worst, cause light bulbs to explode and burst. I once caused a blackout. Bruce and I eventually figured out I had electrical powers, and that lightning strike awakened my metahuman genes." She showed her right wrist which had the black lightning bolt to Robin. "This lightnin' bolt on my wrist ain't a tattoo," explained Lynn, "it came after the lightning strike along with my very bright hair. According to Wonder Woman, it's the mark of Zeus." Robin's eyes widened in surprise as he asked, "Zeus? Like, the Greek king of the gods Zeus? Father of Hercules and gave part of his power to Shazam, that Zeus?"

"Technically in Greek mythology, his name is Heracles, you're thinking of his Roman counterpart," corrected Lynn, "but yes, THE Zeus. He gave me his power of lightning to protect the innocent. It's practically taken me years to master my powers, but I swore to use them for good. And while it hasn't been easy being White Lightning, I can say that I'm glad to have used my powers for good. And I've practically made sure Jason hasn't done anything too reckless as Red Hood. He and I are good partners. But now you understand why I became who I am, and I want to make sure that you will keep our secret identities safe. Mine, Jason's, Barbara's, but also..." And lo and behold, in front of Robin and Lynn was Batman! Robin looked at the dark knight and said, "Batman..." The dark detective glared down at Robin and said calmly, "your accidental discovery of Barbara's alter ego could jeopardize everything I've built for so long. I want you to swear to me that you won't tell anyone under any circumstances who we all are." Robin looked up at Batman, took off his cap out of respect, and said, "I swear to you Batman, I won't tell anyone else. I promised Barbara and Lynn, and I'd hate to disappoint you, Batman. I just hope you can trust me." Lynn believed him, and she knew Bruce did too.

"You'll have to earn it," said Batman in a matter of fact tone, "lucky for you, my son Kevin likes you." Robin chuckled, "well that's comforting to know. I just want you to know Batman... You and Superman are my favorite heroes. I appreciate what the both of you do." Batman was stoic. But that didn't mean he didn't appreciate Robin's kind words. "Ya gonna stay for lunch Bruce?" Lynn asked nonchalantly. "I have other businesses to attend to," declined Batman, "but I'll see you and Jason tonight." The dark knight quietly left Lynn's apartment and was gone. Robin put his cap back on and asked, "how does he manage to fight crime all night and run a company during the daytime?"

"Stubbornness and meditation," replied Jason. Robin looked up at Lynn and asked, "so are we still on for Friday and Saturday's concerts?" Lynn smirked and replied, "you bet we are."

Jolene originally sung by Dolly Parton

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