~YJ~

100. Meeting

Rating: T

~YJ~

"It's how much for fifteen hot dogs?"

Wally gaped at the scowling man with the hippie ponytail and the striped hat. Behind him, the rest of the team—minus Robin, who was off doing the Dynamic Duo routine with Batman again—stood around waiting for Wally to "get his hot dogs already, we're supposed to be on a mission." All of them were dressed in civvies; it was an undercover assignment, and Batman would be pissed when he found out that Wally had made them stop for his lunch.

The vendor met Wally's eyes steadily, and growled, "Look, kid, no cash, no dogs. That's the deal. Not my problem your stomach is bigger than your wallet."

Recovered from his shock at over-priced mystery meat, Wally exclaimed, "Fifty bucks for a couple hotdogs is highway robbery!"

Of course, watching a Central city teenager argue with a Gotham vendor was mighty entertaining.

A high-pitched, sinister-sounding cackle sounded behind the speedster, a laugh they knew well. Almost in unison, the group of teenagers turned to look at the vampire-pale youth standing on the sidewalk. He was grinning at the speedster's predicament, laughing. A girl with bright red hair and piercing eyes stood beside him, glaring at them all for no apparent reason. Both of them were wearing school uniforms that indicated that they were from the Gotham Academy, a school for geniuses and rich kids. Body language, facial expressions, and the spark in their blue eyes suggested they fell in the first category, if not the second as well. There was something distantly familiar about them, like a faded memory that was just out of reach. There was something in the way they held themselves, the obvious link between them. It rang bells in their hands, but they just couldn't connect the dots to make the picture. The puzzle pieces wouldn't match.

The boy shook his head, still giggling. "What do you think, Babs? Should we take pity on the poor guy?"

The girl—Babs—snorted. "I'd say no, Dick. He got himself into this, he can get himself out."

The vendor nodded at the two. "Hey, Richard, Barbara. The usual?"

It was like Wally was suddenly completely invisible; the vendor had become bored with the whiny, argumentative tourist, and was now more interested in his regular customers who always gave good tips.

Barbara nodded. "Yes, please, Mr. D." While he prepared their dogs, she let her gaze wander over to the rag-tag group of teenagers.

Artemis and Connor were both in jeans, T-shirts, and jackets; Kaldur wore a jacket that covered his gills over his uniform and, much to his displeasure, sneakers; Wally wore his usual civvies; and at Artemis's advisement, Megan was wearing pink jeans instead of her usual skirt. They certainly made a strange bunch; anyone could see that. Megan stayed close to Connor, close enough that if anyone shady got any ideas, he could quickly squish them; their intentions, that is—not the person. Artemis was posing as Kaldur's girlfriend, and thus remained close to him with either his arm around her waist or her hand in his; she was secretly hoping that if anyone she knew saw her with him, they would either dismiss her as a look-alike or choose not to approach her. And Wally just seemed out of place, the odd man out and the oddball in the group.

Her eyes lingered on Kaldur a moment longer than the others before she switched her attention to Artemis. Barbara nodded in recognition. "Hey, I know you. You go to Gotham Academy; Artemis, right?"

Artemis nodded slowly, looking uncomfortable; the looks she was getting from Wally and Kaldur told her that she would have some explaining to do later, like why a girl supposedly from Star City was a student at an elite Gotham school?

When the vendor was finished making their food, Dick pulled out a wad of bills and handed it to "Mr. D." He motioned towards Wally with his head.

"That should cover ours and his. I'll take pity on the poor guy; he looks hungry. Keep the change."

Mr. D shrugged halfheartedly. "Eh, it's your money. I'd let the kid starve personally, but that's just me."

After he piled his meat tubes on a plastic tray and smothered them in condiments, Wally turned to the schoolboy and grinned.

"Thanks man. Fifty bucks for some hot dogs is insane. What's your name, so I can pay you back?"

Dick shook his head, smirking.

"You are so obviously a tourist," he said, obviously trying not to laugh at the redhead's enthusiasm. "If you were a Gotham native, you would know my name. I'm Richard Grayson, call me Dick or there'll be hell to pay." He motioned to the girl. "This is Barbara Gordon. I call her Babs; she hates it, so of course I keep doing it. She's a pain in the ass, but she's my best friend, so I tolerate her."

Babs rolled her eyes and jabbed him in the side with her elbow sharply. He sucked in a breath and winced. "Ow! Oh c'mon, Babs, I was just joking." He paused in mock consideration before adding, "Mostly."

She snorted, turned on the heel of her expensive-looking patent leather loafers, and started to walk away briskly. "You coming, Dick?" she called over her shoulder.

It was at this moment that the sun hit the glass windows of the building across the street, the bright and sudden reflection hitting Dick right in the eyes. Dick winced and lifted a hand to block the light. His other hand fished in his backpack pocket for a moment before he brought out a pair of familiar designer sunglasses and slid them on. That clicking sound? Yeah, that would be the puzzle pieces falling into place.

There was relative silence for what felt like an eternity but what wasn't more than ten or fifteen seconds, until Kaldur broke the silence.

"…Robin?"

Further down the street, Barbara was standing next to an elderly man in a suit in front of an antique Bentley.

"Dick!" she shouted, waving for him to go to her. Dick held up a finger, telling her to wait. She fell silent, crossing her arms over her chest stubbornly.

He turned back to them and smiled ruefully.

"Babs is callin'. I'd better get going before she comes over and gets me herself; it'll be less painful this way. She sure can sling a mean punch when she wants to." He turned and started walking. He glanced over his shoulder and smiled, though it could easily be a smirk. "It was nice meeting all of you. Look me up sometime, yeah?"

With that and a jaunty little wave, he left them standing there on the sidewalk outside a Radio Shack in Gotham City, next to Mr. D the Hot-Dog Vendor humming "Lime in the Coconut" at his cart.

~YJ~

And with this, I oh-so-proudly declare, at the top of my lungs: I HAVE BEATEN THE 100 THEMES CHALLENGE! This marks drabble 100 in the Truth, Justice, and Pizza series. I started back in July of this year and now, five months later, I have finished. Is it wrong that I feel incredibly accomplished?

Seriously, I can't thank you enough, everyone who has stuck around to the end (bonus points to those who actually read my author's notes), and colossal thanks to everyone who reviewed. You guys were so great, and this has really been fun. I'm sorry if there was something you wanted me to write but I didn't, and I apologize to anyone who reviewed and I didn't respond. I make a habit of always replying to those kind enough to gift me with a review, but sometimes, I don't have the time or I make a mental note to reply later and I forget. Forgive me, please!

As always, review and tell me what you think—about this chapter and the entire story. I really enjoyed doing this, and I managed to stick with it, even if it took me a while to finish drabbles and upload them.

Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who reviewed and favorited this story: ReginaCaelum, shipperlover44, Jedi Ani Unduli, MyRealNameIsHiding, KTrevo, Aka Wouka, SONGUE, cuzimaw3som317, AmaraRae, skatingandcruzing, Nightshade, prettykitty374, argent98, Dcatbob, ThePaintedVeil, Unleash The Shadow, Dark Inu Fan, Juliana Santos, Mastah'o'awesome, speedylove, Flying Jay, just-the-hands, newdog14, Keepmoveingforward2, Nerdy-self99, Scotty1609, ChibiRox, KF-AxxMexx, Lavatiger, Momorulz, Sylviechic, DaydreamingPhantom, xXDemonic-AngelicXx, Black Licorice Addict, MidnightRoulette, fanofdeliciousflavor522, samcheese1, GrayAreas, Selena Oceana, KrC, DC-JellyBean's, Phoenix'sSoul, Sincerely Seven, bleedingsunshine, sakuracherish814, darkryubaby, Babsy Delight, titansfan1211, and especially Illucida.

…yes, I actually listed everyone who reviewed this story, even if it was only once. If I left you out, please, please, PLEASE tell me, and I will quickly fix that! Also, looking back at the reviews I've received, I am so thankful for all the support!

Merry Christmas and a happy New Years, everyone!

~Nagi Kokuyo

12/29/2011 – 11:53 PM