The boy has left fifteen messages.

In the past twelve hours.

She can't *kill* Robin, but she plans to cause the boy a large amount of
pain, just the same. It's going to be intensely satisfying. However, that has
to wait until he's foolish enough to get within range -- she'd considered and
rejected sending Dinah after him -- and... the phone is ringing.

One, two, three... four.

"Hi, Oracle! I know, I know, I already called... a lot, but you haven't
exactly called back and I really...

"Okay, I don't have a reason. Or a good reason. Or a reason you'd think
would be a good reason. Or... I don't want to assume too much about
your personality or anything. That would be rude."

Barbara rubs the bridge of her nose. It's somewhat interesting to
analyze her own reactions to this. Pauses in a speedster's speech tend
to be more inferred than strictly discernible. Then again, she'd had quite
a bit of practice with Wally.

"Personality. Person. I'm already assuming, aren't I? I mean, you
could be a really sophisticated AI, like the one everyone says
Superman has. And while most science-fiction seems to agree on the
idea that AIs would prefer to be thought of as persons -- people --
well, I think *that's* assuming a lot, don't you?"

Barbara blinks.

"I really should've asked the AIs I grew up with. I was so... I never paid
attention back then. I never asked the right questions. Maybe it's
*insulting* to think of AIs as people. I... well. Or to... I don't want to
insult you."

The hardest thing about the phone calls is that it's really quite
impossible to do much else while the boy is talking. He... demands a
certain degree of attention. She feels her mouth try to quirk and
resists it as best she can.

"I just... I mean. You might be an AI, and I just wanted you to know
that that's okay with me. I don't care. Or I mean I do care. I just
mean that it wouldn't make me want to get to know you less. I like
you a lot. You seem..."

This pause actually *is* a pause. Interesting.

"They don't talk about you too much. I mean, it's not like I hang
out with Nightwing or Batgirl, but I guess they don't either. When
Robin *does* mention you... you should see his face. Or apply
your sensory capabilities to understanding the nuances of his
expression. I bet his temperature changes, too."

Barbara blinks. Again. She's really not going to think about that.

"He just... he admires you so much. You can tell. And I don't
think T -- Robin admires too many people. He said you're the best
weapon they have. That you're the reason why everything
doesn't just fall into chaos. I think he kind of wants to *be* you.
Which would imply person-hood, but really doesn't have to
because Tim is Tim and he kind of WOULD want to be a computer
not that there's anything wrong with that. I. Um. Bye."

The boy hangs up, and Barbara gives up on not smiling. She's
definitely going to maim Tim.

But...

She's not going to change her phone number just yet.

[A red-haired character / ...and any Flash character]