[Locked to Tim and Gwen//Very High Security]

[chronosexual]

Got a kind of personal question I need answered. It's about Ianto. Got a minute?

Comments

I'm down.

[detectivewonder]

It's in beta-testing. By the time it's ready, maybe some of them will be talking to me again.

Anyway. My first beta-tester could use a job. A nice supervised outlet for vigilante violence and subversive activity.

[chronosexual]

Supervised... That tells me he needs supervision.

Tell me more about him. Do you trust him?

[detectivewonder]

No.

Remember my adopted brother Jason? Otherwise known as the Red Hood?

[chronosexual]

I remember mention of him, yes.

It's him?



I see. Well, if you don't trust him, and he's clearly a threat, why should I let him in?

[detectivewonder]

First, because he's good. He's good at what he does, and he needs to be doing it.

Second, because he's going to be out there one way or the other. The choice is having him on a leash or having him running wild. If Torchwood hires him, we have a reason to insist we have eyes on him 24/7 --the vigilante network is a two-way communication system, for everyone's safety, and I've been clear about that with everyone.

Third... he fits better with Torchwood than he does with the rooftop crowd. He's not afraid to kill if he feels it's called for, or to use lethal force in self-defense or defense of his goals. My code's got only one answer to that. Yours... is more flexible. But it's still a solid code, and he might respect that. He needs a structure, and a purpose, though I'm not sure he sees it that way.

Fourth. I'm trying to be the newer, better Tim. Honest and open as I can afford to be. I don't trust him, I don't like him, and working with him makes me nervous. But he's my brother, even if he's adopted and estranged. I was trained to replace him, after a lunatic beat him half to death and set off a bomb in front of him.

Bruce would want me to give him a chance. You don't have to be the one to offer it to him, but you're a better fit for the job than I am.

[chronosexual]

You bring up some very good points. If what you say is true, then you may be right about him being a good fit. At least as far as keeping him on a tether, anyway. At least if something goes wrong here, he won't be on his own to clean up after himself. Maybe as a group, we can teach him a thing or two.

If you think this is best for him, then I'll have a chat with him. See how he feels.

What if he says no, Tim? What then?

[detectivewonder]

Then I work on a Plan B. But I'm pretty sure he won't say no.

[chronosexual]

Not many do.

Are you able to handle him if he gets out of hand? I don't want to bring in a tiger if I don't have a tamer on hand, you understand.

[detectivewonder]

In a fight, he's got the edge. But I know his blind spots, and I can tell Torchwood how to find them, if it comes to that.

[chronosexual]

All right. I guess that means I should get back to the gym, then, huh?

[detectivewonder]

Might not be a bad idea.

I haven't been getting enough sparring practice myself, either. Not since Sifu Caerula left.