Jason Todd (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
robintohood) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
metalogs2022-08-11 07:53 pm
robintohood) wrote in metalogs2022-08-11 07:53 pm
[Closed] A fixer upper
Who: Jason Todd robintohood, BatFamily members, and friends of BatFamily members who've been trusted with their secret identities
What: Jason's plan for a possible safehouse gets hijacked to multiple people's benefit, including himself
When: Early August
Where: Central City
Content Warnings: None for now. Will edit if something comes up.
[If you're a nocturnal vigilante patrolling or just taking a stroll at the edge of a seedy neighborhood tonight, you might notice that a large boarded-up brick warehouse has a dim light on. You can see what's inside if you take a peek through some tight cracks between the boards or from the open skylight window.
Inside the building is an abandoned dusty gym.
Taking up the most space is the gymnastics section. There are three balance beams, three vaults, two horizontal bars, a set of uneven bars, a set of parallel bars, a ring frame, and a pommel horse. There's also a small tumble track off to the side and mats scattered everywhere.
Behind the gymnastics section and closer to the rear of the building are exercise equipment. Specifically, there are three ellipticals, two weight benches, a rack of dumbbells of various weights, one 8-stack multi-station, two heavy bag stands, and two speed bag stands.
At the rear of the room are a dozen lockers lined up and five doors leading to the building's smaller rooms.
You may also notice that Jason, dressed in his Red Hood gear, is... trying to clean? Trying to renovate? You might've caught him vacuuming off some cobwebs on the gym equipment, trying to rearrange some mats, trying to hang a heavy bag onto a stand, etc. Whatever the activity is, it's evident he's got plans for the building.
Clearly this is a good opportunity to interrupt him]
((OOC: Feel free to mingle with each other too!))
robintohood, BatFamily members, and friends of BatFamily members who've been trusted with their secret identitiesWhat: Jason's plan for a possible safehouse gets hijacked to multiple people's benefit, including himself
When: Early August
Where: Central City
Content Warnings: None for now. Will edit if something comes up.
[If you're a nocturnal vigilante patrolling or just taking a stroll at the edge of a seedy neighborhood tonight, you might notice that a large boarded-up brick warehouse has a dim light on. You can see what's inside if you take a peek through some tight cracks between the boards or from the open skylight window.
Inside the building is an abandoned dusty gym.
Taking up the most space is the gymnastics section. There are three balance beams, three vaults, two horizontal bars, a set of uneven bars, a set of parallel bars, a ring frame, and a pommel horse. There's also a small tumble track off to the side and mats scattered everywhere.
Behind the gymnastics section and closer to the rear of the building are exercise equipment. Specifically, there are three ellipticals, two weight benches, a rack of dumbbells of various weights, one 8-stack multi-station, two heavy bag stands, and two speed bag stands.
At the rear of the room are a dozen lockers lined up and five doors leading to the building's smaller rooms.
You may also notice that Jason, dressed in his Red Hood gear, is... trying to clean? Trying to renovate? You might've caught him vacuuming off some cobwebs on the gym equipment, trying to rearrange some mats, trying to hang a heavy bag onto a stand, etc. Whatever the activity is, it's evident he's got plans for the building.
Clearly this is a good opportunity to interrupt him]
((OOC: Feel free to mingle with each other too!))
no subject
[Terry, on the other hand, walks down. Magnetic boots stick to the steel support structure before he's close enough the the ground to hop down.]
So, I'll admit I was following you, but it wasn't just to keep an eye you, by the way. Not the way you're thinking.
There's some Joker related things we need to take care of sooner than later.
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And maybe he’s a little too pleased about that - that three of them just traipsed into Red Hood’s gym and everyone’s being cool. It feels like a victory. They’ve successfully navigated the rocky straits.
Because Tim has no real reason to be concerned about the others, he thinks. Certainly not Cass, and not anyone that Bruce is tolerating as another Batman.
Taking care of something Joker-related… it’s funny, Tim doesn’t connect it to what happened to him at all. He thinks it’s about Jason and the possibility that this has renewed his plans to kill the clown. He moves between Red Hood and Batman. ]
Oh? That doesn’t sound like a pizza order.
[ It’s really not the time to make Joker plans. Tim wants to see what Jason’s doing with the safe house to keep tabs on him and make more informed moves. Getting everyone hepped up about the Joker is counterproductive. ]
My treat, Legolas.
[ Cause those are some ears. ]
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There are a couple of guesses Jason can make to what Terry's talking about. Either this second Batman is worried like the rest of the family about Jason going off the rails now that they all know the Joker's in this alternate Earth. Or it's about the Joker chip Terry mentioned to Jason before Tim was rescued last month]
Go on then, Batman Junior. What is it?
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[Terry doesn't like having to tell Tim this. He'd already been through a lot. Telling him that he wasn't safe even inside his own head was even worse. But it had to be done.]
A chip that eventually turned you into an exact copy of him.
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She was ignoring the extra person. He doesn't mean harm. Robin and Red Hood know him. Don't trust him, but don't think he's a threat. Not right now.
But who is he? He isn't lying. She wishes he was lying. He is full of pain-regret. But Tim...
Tim is shock-hurt-pain. Tim is fear-flinch-doesn't-want-to-believe.
The other suited man does not plan to hurt, but he is planning something.
She begins to move by the wall. Slowly and silently. She moves closer to the stranger whose words aren't lies but still cause pain.]
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Fear - yes, but not that he’d admit it, and not of anyone in the room. Of the three, he’s most cautious of Jason, but even then - Tim is confident enough that Jason’s safe to have his back to him.
No, he’s afraid because there are large swathes of time that the Joker had him that Tim can’t account for. Really, he could have a bomb implanted in his soft tissue right now and wouldn’t know. ]
Assuming that the implant wouldn’t be attacked by … my new metaability -
[ He hates having to say that outloud and sounds almost exactly like Bruce when he does. ]
Superboy is familiar with CADMUS technology and has telescopic X-ray vision. We can arrange for him to check for any foreign bodies with whoever wants to witness.
The multiverse is rarely a one-to-one corollary. I’m not going to turn into the Joker or the Robin Who Laughs.
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"The Robin Who Laughs?" Also, the multiverse has countless possibilities. It's entirely possible a couple of those universes would have some things in common.
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If your universe hasn’t met the Batman Who Laughs, just consider yourself lucky and remember to always carry Joker-toxin antidotes and gas masks.
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Noted. One of these days we should compare notes.
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[Especially not with Dana here.]
We don't actually need to get Superboy. I can destroy it right now. I did it before.
The downside is that I'd have to tase you.
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No.
[She will not let him taze Tim. Tim does not know him. Doesn't trust him. He does not mean harm but that doesn't mean harm won't happen.
She cuts off any protests when she speaks again.]
Give me the taser. I'll do it.
[She knows Tim. Tim knows her. Knows she'll do what she has to and no more.]
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1. Batman is telling the absolute truth, and Cass agrees with his interpretation.
2. Batman is lying, and Cass is compromised.
3. Batman is that good of a physical liar to make Cass believe that he’s telling the truth, which is only a slight variant on 1.
With her against him, he’s left with Red Hood as potential backup, and the fact that this involves the Joker doesn’t make Jason reliably anything but dangerous. ]
It’s been weeks since the abduction. It can’t be so fast-acting that tasing is necessary, or you never would have waited this long. I’m going to get a phone out of my belt - just a phone - and we can have Superboy here in 15 minutes.
[ Knowing that sudden moves are going to get him tazed (and, really, somewhat resigned that it’s going to be hard to stave off a shock if it’s a faster solution), Tim raises one hand and keeps it up, reaches for a compartment on his belt with the other. ]
no subject
So Jason responds in a calm but slightly ominous tone behind Tim]
Wouldn't put it past him to have made something Kryptonian-proof. We gotta do this now.
no subject
[Terry might've been being a bit paranoid, but Jason was taking it to another level.]
It took decades for the Joker to start showing up at will, I can wait 15 minutes.
[Even if he didn't entirely want to.]
But if you run for it I am *definitely* tasing you.
[Just to be safe, he pulls out pair of blue-trimmed batarangs, handing one over to Cass.]
If he bolts, just throw it at him.
no subject
She takes the batarang and flips it between her fingers. Gets a feel for it. It's... fancy. Round. Larger and not balanced the way she's used to.
She almost throws it. It would be easy. Solve the problem. But... shocks are dangerous. And it might not be needed.
Tim's smart. He wouldn't risk waiting if he didn't think they could.
Better to wait.]
Call Superboy to make sure.
[She eyes Red Hood. If he makes a move, tries to force it right now, she can hit him instead. Easily.]
no subject
[Kon floats between Tim and the others, which is hard when he's got his back to Jason. It looks a little like a referee briefly holding a hand to two opposing sides to get them to back off of a specific player.]
Put. The tazer. Away.
[The message is clear. No one's to come any closer.]
[He glares daggers at Batman Jr. but the look he gives Cass is more a 'come on' because he considers her a friend.]
If there's something there I'll see it.
[Which means, yes, he heard the conversation.]
[He turns to face Tim, knowing he'll correctly deduce that Kon was trailing him with his superhearing.]
Sorry. I know you need your space and to get back to your usual. I just -
I figured it'd be good if I wasn't far. Just in case. Just for a little while.
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Just get it over with.
[It's a snappish tone and he's ready to leave as soon as the Joker chip issue is dealt with]
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Ignoring the vibe of ‘stay away’, which isn’t for him, Robin immediately moves closer to Superboy and gives him his back. He knows that they mean well, but he still feels much more secure in this 3:2 than he did as in the 3:1 of a minute ago. Nobody wants to be shocked. ]
You don’t have to apologize, S.B. They’ve made your case for you.
[ He nods to Batman and Batgirl, still bitter and pissed at himself for getting followed. ]
Don’t know how much you heard, but he’s saying the Joker might’ve implanted a small piece of CADMUS tech in me. If you can’t see it, there’s a chance they believe you and don’t taze me to fry it anyway.
[ Tim, if situations were reversed, might taze the person anyway, but he really doesn’t want to be tazed. ]
So just say what you see. There’s no arrow fragments or pins left, so any foreign bodies you see shouldn’t be there.
no subject
[It might not be there, but there wasn't any sense in not checking.]
no subject
She got the taser away from the stranger. He is no longer in control of the situation. What more could Kon want?
She also gives Red Hood a look. He's being rude to Superboy. Don't be rude to Superboy.]
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[Kon's eyes glow as his X-ray vision kicks in. He focuses on his neck first, in the spot that was pointed out, checking through every layer of tissue, one by one. Then he floats around Tim in a circle, looking at him from different angles, doing the same thing. It's about the deepest possible scan someone could get. He especially focuses on his brain, knowing that any technology would have to reach into it to control him.]
[When he finishes his circle around him, the glow in his eyes fades, and he faces him again, shaking his head.]
He's clean.
And trust me, I was thorough.
[He turns back to Cass.]
No tazing.
no subject
Anything else we gotta worry about?
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[ It’s not an abrupt cutoff, but there’s something unfinished about the question. Like a light bulb went off in his head, and he’s trying to keep it off his face.
Because he doesn’t want to get tazed and hates himself for even thinking this way, to be hard-wired for paranoia and a binary of 1s and 0s.
Because it’s impossible to prove a negative.
He’s not clean. He’s clean as far as Kon can tell. When it comes to the Joker, is that really good enough? If what Batman says is possible here, too, is anything but the known corrective measure enough?
(No. Schrodinger’s clown can’t be tolerated.)
Oh, but he really doesn’t to get shocked. And Kon shouldn’t be here. Tim screwed up, and it’s so, so hard to not look at Cass. She’ll know what he’s planning, if he does, and she’d make it a lot easier than tazing himself later. ]
no subject
[Terry put his batarang back in his belt. He's not really expecting Cass to give back the other one. He'll have a replacement by tomorrow, anyways.]
If there does end up being something I'll let you know.
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He's not sure he's clean. Even with Kon checking. He's still worried. Scared. He has a plan. He's avoiding Cass. He doesn't want her to know his plan.
Too late. She nods at Kon. She won't throw the taser.
Cass pockets the stranger's batarang. She'll give it to Robin to look at later. To study.
There's no aggression in her body. No threat. She walks over to Robin. To check on him. She keeps her hands away from her belt.
It's easy to slip behind Robin. She's looking him over. It's easy to think she's making sure he's okay.
Her fingers slip to his belt. Light, barely-there, and not-noticed. The anti-tamp-thing is there. It's easy to ack-tev-ate. She uses her claws to breaks a few wires and takes a step back.
Before anyone can stop it, electricity spreads through Robin's body.]
Oops.
no subject
It will last a total of 30 seconds, usually dictated by attempts the duration of the contact. As Cass has broken it - and he's wearing it - Tim isn't able to break contact by letting go.
Can't take it off either. Within a second, Tim's stiffened up, everything arched and curled and clenched so that his body is convex on his toes for a few seconds. He's heard the normal descriptions - excruciating pain, a complete absence of any feeling whatsoever, brain rattling around like a peanut in a jar, like termites crawling under every inch of skin. Later, he'll concede that they're all true.
Now, well, there's an injured animal grunting before he starts to pitch to the side after about 5 seconds. ]
no subject
Dude!
[The outrage is intense. There's a rush of air like earlier and then Kon is catching Tim with superspeed, his teke up so he doesn't get shocked too. He gently lowers his stiffened body to the floor, and places a hand on his now-busted utility belt, using his TTK to unclasp and remove it from Tim's body.]
[He knows Tim is still breathing and his heart's still beating because 1) Cass wouldn't have done that if it'd actually damage him, and 2) he can hear both. So he takes care of the belt instead. He closes his eyes for moment, feeling over it with his teke until he finds some of the mechanical components that are creating the charge. There are broken wires and that can't be right. He uses his teke to fix it instead of destroying it further, creating a connection between the wires again, wrapping the metal bits of the wires together. The electrical charge stops.]
[He's thinking ahead, to needing to carry Tim and the belt. He knows Tim won't want to abandon it, even if it's with other Bats. It's pretty much his security blanket.]
[He kneels there and gathers Tim into his arms. Then he glares at Cass and Terry.]
[To Cass, his body language will project rage and betrayal. Protectiveness.]
[And love. And not just love as a friend, more like the love that makes someone go absolutely feral with rage over someone hurting their partner.]
[Even going by weird timeline rules, it's been quite a while since she's seen the two of them together.]
[So, yeah, he's pissed. If it was anyone other than Cass that had done it, like Batman Jr. himself, his eyes would be glowing bright red. He reins it in because even despite this, she's still a friend and doesn't deserve his full rage. He knows she did it because Tim might be at risk and also might keep fretting over the whole thing himself.]
[But there are still little flecks of red in his pupils, a sign of the anger he's holding back.]
[Also, in true super fashion, there's one other feeling he's projecting with the slope of his shoulders: disappointment.]
[He knows Tim's a squirrely little ball of a nerves that might have tazed himself later but he was hoping to have a chance to talk him out of it or talk him into a saner way of checking that it's safe. And he doesn't like other people doing this, creating this kind of situation outside of Tim's own control.]
Why are you all like this?!
This is why Kid Flash and I wanted him to stay with us in the beginning!
[Because sometimes the Bats are fucking cracked. Kon knows they couldn't bundle him in flannel and keep him there forever, but that he'd have other Bats tazing him like two days into getting back to his normal life is agshkgshkqgkg.]
[Kon drapes the utility belt around his neck and starts wrapping Tim's cape around him in a way that'll make it easier to fly him home.]
no subject
As frustrating as tonight has been with his safehouse already compromised by four uninvited people, it's been a very enlightening experience. It was one thing to know that each of his siblings and one non-family Bat protégé were trained by Bruce. It's another to see them in action during noncombative vigilante situations. It's been interesting to know how much they were all on the same page. Frankly, he would've tased Tim as well if no one else was going to do it.
And then of course, a Super is upset about the Bats' approach. Jason doesn't flinch from Kon's anger. He's not sorry for being a part of this]
He'll be fine within a couple of hours.
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[Terry hadn't really wanted to have to tase Tim, but it was going to be in the service of preventing something much worse than an electric shock happening to him.
He still realized it was still a pretty crappy thing to do to a person.]
For what little it's worth, I'm sorry about all this.
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She sees anger-fear-betrayal. Doesn't react. Isn't very bothered. This was... needed. Ness-ess-air-ee. Safer to do it here with all of them than Tim doing it himself alone.
She sees love. That's... not new, but different. More? Changed? Evolved. Kon will kill and die for Tim. She can see it. Will do anything for him.
Good.]
Wait for him to be able to speak before you leave.
[Robin should have a say in where he goes.]
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When the belt comes off, everything melts. Tim feels as floppy as a suit full of overcooked noodles, and there’s residual tingling that has to be in his head. Kon stopped it. He’s not getting zapped anymore, but it still feels halfway between ants and a charlie horse. He’d been winding up his night when he entered the warehouse, but the side effects of the taser will linger and leave him feeling like he’s had the longest workout of his life for a day. Maybe two.
So, he appreciates being caught before he hit the ground. Tim can handle the rest. Really. It’s not swaddling in his cape levels of damage. Don’t pay too much attention to how thus far the attempts to free himself amount to “stirring”. More important is clearly pissed Kon is and reassuring the red of his eyes. Which minds finding the tongue he almost swallowed. ]
’s fine. I can make it home.
[ Just don’t ask how because he forgot to buy a surge protector for his brain. ]
Still staying with you.
[ So Kon can make sure no one else tazes him and then everyone’s satisfied. ]
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I'll give you a lift. S'no different than any other time I've given you a lift. I'm heading to our place anyway.
[Kon is usually automatically Tim's choice of flyer to grab onto when the team has to fly somewhere. The teke means he can support him with a touch rather than Tim's shoulders taken on all the weigh.]
[And "still staying with you" is permission enough to take him home. Staying with him means going where they're staying, the rinky dink apartment they're scratching away a living in.]
Let's go home.
[The Bats all get one last glare. Cass gets an extra squint and little head shake with it because he's more annoyed at her in a friend way than deeply angry. And then fwoosh Superboy and Robin are gone.]
no subject
Well this evening has been enlightening.