"French roast, black," he says. Every instinct he has wants to pay himself, being an adult as well as wealthy, but that's going to be needlessly fractious right now.

Once they're settled at an outdoor table -- sound will dissipate more easily outdoors -- Bruce gets down to business.

"I'm guessing you have questions," he said. "I'll answer them as straightly as I can."

It was odd to think sometimes, yet he remembered being young. Maybe it was because he was eight when he lived through that moment he'd never stopped living through. The fact was, it served him well. Dick, Kaldur, and the rest appreciated feeling like they were being taken seriously, and while he couldn't always manage it, he did try to meet them halfway.

"I don't have many secrets Dick doesn't," he admitted.