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One minute waking up on Barbara's couch, the next -- flash bang -- in New York? And not only New York, but an abandoned New York that looks like Poison Ivy's just had a party?

Okay ... well, I've probably dealt with weirder.

Dick lifts a hand to scrub his head, shaking sleep out of his eyes, and sets about finding several things. First, food. It'd be a damn crime if there were no Big Belly Burgers left at the end of the world. Then a place to finish his nap. Then maybe someone who can tell him what's going on.

But really, really, first food.

The boy has his priorities right.

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"First priority is to get out of here, then try for Gotham," Dick decides, and sets out in a random direction. Then stops.

"...with Chandra. Which way?"

"Down this road." She nods to a side street. "Watch out for dead triffids."

"I thought it was the live ones that were deadly." He sets off that way anyway, with a glance to check that she's following.

"Anything you've found effective against them -- apart from slicing their heads off? I'm short of boomerangs at the moment."

This last is not a joke, although it sounds like one -- batarangs would be ideal if these triffids are anything like the ones Dick remembers from his reading.

"I make them explode; Gabriel ripped them up with telekinesis; Chandra tends to hide; you'll probably have to find your own way. And the leftovers aren't deadly, but they're a bit of a--"

They turn the corner, and see a vista of mushy green bits splattered all over road, sidewalk, and the crumbling walls of buildings.

"--tripping hazard."

"I ... see that, yeah." He looks vaguely amused.

"You're staying near here? They're attracted to -- electricity, or something -- no, noise, right?"

"Noise, yes. But I've found a decent way to keep them from bothering us."

"Mmm?" He shoves a few of the thicker trunks aside, carefully, and gestures to her to go through.

"You'll see. Thanks."

As they get out of the piles of dead triffid and into a flatter area, she points at a multicoloured shape looming near the end of the street.

"There. The tallest building I could find that had gardens. Triffids can't climb, you see."

And it would seem she's reinforced the walls with... plants. Blooming, twining, force-grown plants.

Hey, it works.

If it works, it works. Dick even nods approvingly at her judgement.

"I like it. I still think we should leave the city, though."

"We were planning on it as soon as we could find a working car. Any ideas?"

Dick regards the street doubtfully. "Possibly out further towards the highway, or families' second cars that were left behind -- where are all the people, by the way? This place smells bad enough, but it ought to be worse if nobody got out."

"By the plants-- other than the triffids, I mean-- I'd say the place hasn't seen people in any numbers for four, five, maybe six months. With that, maybe whoever didn't get out has had time to get eaten by scavengers."

Slight pause.

"Or the kraken. Uh, don't get too near the water."

"...right. Thanks." Dick glances down at the harbour and gives an elaborate shudder. "We won't take the coast road to Gotham, then.

"Do either of you need to look for family anywhere else?"

He's sort of taking charge, without meaning to. It's a cop thing.

"All my family's in England, all his is in India," she says cheerfully. "So no."

"Good, that makes things simpler."

He frowns, thoughtful for a moment.

"I met someone who says he's a God and thinks we should head for the heart of America. Heard anything about that?"

"...no, but considering the kraken, I think inland's actually a good idea. And it's not like we've got a better direction."

They're at the house now, for some value of house. It appears to be the lower six floors of an office building, overgrown with every kind of climbing plant Darla could find, plus the... 'moat' is the only word that really describes it... of assorted shrubs. It's also patently unclimbable, unless you're masochistically fond of thorns, and if there's a door under there it doesn't want to come out and say hi.

"Right," she says, looking on her creation with an expression of satisfied approval. "Time to say hi to Chandra."

Dick is a Very, Very, Very good climber.

But possibly not good enough for a moat full of thorns and six floors of them. Not in civvies and definitely not if there's an easier way.

"Tell you what," he suggests, "you lead the way."

Apparently 'lead the way' means 'hover five feet off the ground'.

"I'll have to float you up," she says, turning back to look down at him and grin. "Hope you don't mind."

He eyes her, and then shrugs. She's agreed to travel with him, and she doesn't have all that much to gain, really, by dropping him into thorns. (And six stories is hardly a height.)

"I guess I've had worse." He lifts his hands up in Classic Superman pose, grinning.

All right, that gets him points.

And means she takes them up both faster and more carefully than she would have if he were just an ordinary... post-apocalyptic... stranger... guy.

Not that there's been anything ordinary about this situation since yesterday, but it's the principle of the thing.

They set down on the putative roof with minimal flourish, on grungy, weather-faded office carpets by a stairwell covered over with a mess of half-destroyed cubicle walls and ivy. Well, it keeps the rain out.

"Not bad," Dick agrees, to the covering, landing on his feet with perfect balance and grace -- he's not showing off, it's just how he is. "All this in one day -- I'm impressed. Can you do it anywhere? Judging by the state of this place, the roads aren't gonna be in any better condition outside the city -- might take us a while to reach Gotham."

"Yeah, but I need plants to start off with, and I'm pretty flattened for a while afterwards."

She shrugs, a little self-consciously.

"Worst comes to worst, I can make us a raft, load it up with whatever, and float us out of the city. I won't like to, and somebody'll have to keep watch while I sleep it off, but I can do it. Damn poor way to travel, though."

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