August 17, 2035h

	Tim went through his equipment check slowly and methodically.  He didn't 
know the layout of the gadgets in the Nightwing suit as well as he should and 
those few extra seconds he took examining the contents of each compartment were 
helping him catalogue his arsenal.
	Cassandra was studying a pictorial map of the nightly Gotham patrol route 
for one person.  She should know it by heart, Tim thought with a frown, but they 
were all being just a little more careful than usual.
	Tim reached back to slide the escrima sticks into their holster.  One was 
an actual fighting stick, a spare kept in the Cave; part of a practice set. The 
other was his telescoping bo, extended to the first notch to simulate a second 
escrima stick.  He didn't dare attempt to adopt a new fighting style now, but 
	Nightwing wore escrima sticks and so would he.
	"Not like decoy plan," Cassandra finally spoke from the computer.
	"And I don't like leaving you in Gotham alone," Tim responded, pulling the 
stylized mask from a pouch.  He stepped up and put a hand on her shoulder. It 
wasn't that he didn't have the utmost faith in her abilities.  It was that he 
didn't like all the attention being directed elsewhere.  It made him 
uncomfortable.
	"Decoy plan is stupid," Cass snorted.  "Gotham alone is Tim-Worry."
	"I need to be worried," Tim decreed.  "It keeps me on my toes."
	"No," Cass disagreed.  "Need to be calm.  Worry makes sloppy."
	Tim leaned down and kissed her, wondering if this would be the last time 
he did so.  She returned the kiss with such immediacy he wondered if she was 
thinking the same. They parted when they heard the door above them open and 
heavy footsteps on the stairs.
	Batman's mask was already in place when he hit the Cave floor. "It's 
time," he growled.  "Batgirl, you know your job.  Ro-"  He paused, catching his 
own slip.  "Nightwing, you're with me."
	Cass and Tim exchanged a glance and then Tim affixed the mask to his face, 
following Batman to the Batmobile.
	Cassandra watched after them until the taillights became pinpricks and then vanished.  She pulled the mask 
over her face and turned back to the computer.