metalogs | Laugh as much as you choose,

Who: Jason Todd

robintohood, Bart Allen

lowercase_el
What: A couple of crappy nights after being ~~kidnapped~~ forcefully relocated temporarily to Little Love to cool off before he can go Joker hunting
When: July 8th-ish or 9th-ish, after midnight
Where: Little Love, at Bart Allen's residence
Content Warnings: Possible talk about mental health, trauma, torture, and the Joker's general horribleness

[Jason knows the Joker's still alive and still running wild. He doesn't care if he has to tear through Central City's underworld before he can finally kill the psychopath. Anyone who knows Jason well enough knows how dangerous his single-minded ruthlessness can be, which is why Tim alerted Kon and Bart after the young man was rescued. They all know Jason can't be trusted to be alone now that the Joker's around.

Right after his last fight against the Joker but before Jason could begin his new plan for vengeance, Kon and Bart confronted him. Between Kon's tactile telekinesis and Bart's superspeed, it was easy to disarm and restrain Jason before zipping him away to Bart's residence at Little Love.

With no weapons and no means of escape for now, an enraged Jason stormed off into a guest room to brood and plot rather than talk to anyone. For a few days, Jason hardly left that room except to use the bathroom or to snatch some food from the kitchen.

Once again, no one understands why the Joker needs to die. Once again, Jason feels like he's on his own. Jason didn't need anyone and everyone should be focused on Tim anyway. Tim's the one who was injured and mentally traumatized. Jason's used to taking care of himself.

Unfortunately for Jason, his own mind and his memories don't want to leave him alone. For years, Jason has had a terrible sleep schedule but in light of the Joker's latest crimes, Jason's having more nightmares than usual. For the first few nights, the few hours of sleep he got were interrupted by him jerking awake. Then he would be too tense to fall back asleep. Then one night, he woke up screaming.

Shaky and sweaty, he gets up and walks out of his room. His heart's pounding hard against his chest like he just ran a marathon. He needs air. He needs space. He needs something to get himself to stop feeling trapped and helpless]

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"One foot in front of the other. I couldn't kill him, either. Believe me, I wanted to, but...I couldn't," Bart said, and looks off. "I have been responsible for purposefully ending a life exactly once that I know of, and the whole universe was at stake. I still have nightmares about that decision."

He takes a long sip from his mug, thinking. "I don't expect my reasons to change yours. I just know I've buried enough people in my time to not want to add to the count."

Jason nods. He appreciates Bart not trying to push him in any particular direction. Jason still needs space to clear his head.

"They're very personal decisions. What works for one person doesn't mean it'll work for another."

It's something he wishes more people understand.

"At least I know I'm not the only one who was murdered and came back."

"After Superman, all the cool kids are doing it," Bart half-jokes. Then pauses. "Did that even happen? I know things are kinda different between worlds."

He just doesn't know how different. Things...well, there's a second Batman here, after all. One that as far as Bart knows isn't any of the Robins, or it would have been mentioned.

"Honestly, it kind of helped that by the time I got a chance to breathe, I wasn't in the same universe as anyone involved in that. And I made some good friends who helped with keeping my head on straight. Not to mention the cat. Furry beast has major anxiety issues."

"Superman's death and then his return? Yeah, that happened," Jason replies. "Not sure how many other superhero deaths happened though. I wasn't keep tracking for a lot of them."

Jason was more focused on anything related to Batman instead. He then looks to see where Kat-El might be.

"Kat-El seems cute."

"At least now he's big enough you notice when he's trying to hitch a ride with you," Bart said, remembering having to put a mirror by the door. "He clawed up quite a few leather jackets hanging on. We started putting extra fabric on things just so he wouldn't destroy them."

The object of their discussion seems perfectly happy to stay in the cupboard, only visible as reflective eyes in the darkness.

"First thing he had to learn was harness stuff because otherwise we never would have been able to do anything with the brat."

Jason softly chuckles as he looks back at where Kat-El is.

"He sounds like a little terror," he jokes.

"He has social and separation anxiety, which isn't exactly unexpected given his trauma. Most likely he got separated from his littermates and scared into hiding where the mom couldn't get him. He latched onto any support and I've worked hard to get him to the point where most people don't even realize he's not exactly normal. Like I can't really leave him alone for long periods without a lot of planning. That's part of why he's leash-trained."

A pause, and he glances towards the cupboard again.

"That cupboard is his. Mostly his dishes and something to lay on. There are other places throughout the house that are set up for him to hide. It took me a solid month to get him to even try the catio. He totally freaked the first time he saw the fields here. Before this I was in a suburban ranch in Florida."

"Is it stressing him out that Tim and I are here?" Jason asks sympathetically.

"Not too badly. He thinks more of people as his territory than places, so if I'm not bothered, he isn't usually," Bart tries to explain. It's hard to give the proper weight to concepts humans doesn't actually rely on in their social bonds.

"I'm not entirely sure how to explain it. But I've learned the danger signs. Usually before he starts spraying or anything. Just don't shift stuff around too much, especially the cat furniture."

Anyone looking around the farm would easily see shelves and window ledges and stuff designed to give a cat a place to be that isn't underfoot.

Jason nods as he drinks more of his hot cocoa.

"Easy enough. There wouldn't be a reason for me to touch that stuff. He seems pretty shy at the moment."

Edited 2022-07-30 23:36 (UTC)

"He's more prone to find a place he feels safe and lurk, watching, than actually do much with strangers in the house. If you want to get on his good side, I'll show you where the treats and toys are put away," Bart said, shrugging a little.

"It'd give you something to do besides brood and plot."

Jason quietly thinks about the offer. It's not like he's been hiding what he wants to do and how he feels about being stuck here. These last few days have been exhausting, depressing, and aggravating. He doesn't have any of usual gear. He's just... stuck.

Maybe an occasional break with someone who won't ever judge him on his moral choices will do him some good, even if that someone is a cat.

"Yeah, sure. If you don't mind," he finally murmurs.

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