(closed) you better watch out. you better watch out

[eggplanting]

Who: Steph Brown eggplanting, Bart Allen, Cass Cain, Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Kon-El, Jon Kent
What: Slumber party with the DC vigilante/hero kids
When: Mid-December
Where: Bart's farm in Little Love
Content Warnings: hopefully none!
Notes: Threadjacking is encouraged, as is vaguely waving our hands at the concept of linear time so that we don't have to think too hard about logistics



'Twas the night week before Christmas, when all through the house...

Pretty much everyone was stirring, because there's a party to enjoy.

Calling it a party may be a slight stretch, when there's really only a handful of them and they're not going to get up to anything more intense than playing Mario Kart and watching movies from the 90s, but Steph thought that labeling it a sleepover might sound a little immature. The idea had percolated over the last few weeks; there's a good handful of them now, from roughly the same universe, but not all of them know each other well, and while Steph might not be as tactically minded as someone like Tim, it had seemed sensible that they do a little team building.

Also, it should be fun. That's very important.

With Bart being the only one living in a space that could actually be considered a house, she'd reached out to ask if he'd be cool with hosting, and had sent out texts to the rest of their friends once she had his approval. Not being a jerk, she'd also promised to swing by early to help set up, for all the set up that needs to be done when a handful of people in their twenties hang out. Mostly it involved grabbing a few extra bean bags, setting up the TV and game consoles, and adding a few seasonally appropriate holiday decorations.

The invitation texts served the secondary purpose of assigning everyone some kind of snack or beverage to bring, most of it falling into typical junk food fare. Chips and dip, soda, pizza rolls, pretzels (the soft variety, of course), mozzarella sticks, popcorn. People are welcome to get fancier, but she'd mostly suggested things they could eat as is, or food that's easy to pop in the oven. This isn't a gala thrown by Bruce, after all. And with none of them being particularly big drinkers, she'd just told everyone it was BYOB if they want to get alcohol involved in their evening.

It's unlikely any of them would want to get wasted. While they're all strictly off duty for the evening, 'drunken misadventures' isn't really the vibe Steph is going for with this whole thing; it's meant to be a relaxing, fun evening, where they can eat, watch movies, and get into unnecessarily heated arguments about video games before crashing wherever they can find a soft surface at the end of the night. As if they're normal young adults and not a gaggle of traumatized vigilantes and lab experiments.

Later in the evening, after they've all poured outside to make s'mores around an improvised firepit, she'll probably break out some silly party games, like Never Have I Ever, or worse, card games like Uno. Because nothing says fun like arguing over whether it's morally right to use two skips in a row.

Some people just want to watch the world burn.

Comments

[robintohood]

Jason lightly snickers at the mental image. He's not alarmed as he knows Bart must've had superspeed by then.

"How'd that go?" He asks.

[kid_flash_found]

"It wasn't the solving it that was hard. But I didn't know there was a picture on the other side." And yeah, he was a strange kid back then. "You don't have jigsaw puzzles in a VR chamber."

[robintohood]

Jason looks back at Bart in mild confusion.

"What was the set up to this?" He asks.

[kid_flash_found]

"Oh, right. You don't know about the whole refugee from the future part of my life story."

[robintohood]

"Yeah, that's news to me."

[kid_flash_found]

"I'm from the future. By about a thousand years. Not that I ever got to spend much time there. So, well, I wasn't exactly the best fit when I got sent back in time for training."

[robintohood]

"Wouldn't sending someone back in time cause problems?" Jason asks.

Granted, he's basing that based on sci-fi books he's read. Time traveling was not usually part of being a Gotham vigilante.

[kid_flash_found]

"It's...complicated. But in my case, it seems like probably not. I mean, I'm here, and so is my evil clone, unfortunately." And the world is still standing.

[robintohood]

Jason nods. With the Confluence having pulled all sorts of people, it probably mucks up timelines even more.

"I met him by the way," he says. "Your clone. I'm guessing you did too?"

[kid_flash_found]

"Yeah. And the fact that I'm still here says it wasn't a bad meeting," Bart says, sighing a little.

"I'm mostly trying to give him space. Although Tim's probably trying things. He kinda freaked when I told him we'd run into each other. For good reason, but a little excessive."

[robintohood]

"He did try to kill you," Jason points out in a matter-of-fact tone. "And Tim cares so I can see where he's coming from."

He gives Kat-El another scritch at the back of his neck before continuing.

"But no one's at each other's throats so far so it's worth something at least. We met when he punched a mirror. When I talked to him he just seemed lost, angry, and not really interested in killing anyone."

[kid_flash_found]

"Actually, a future version of him succeeds." Just the facts. "Tim was not in a good place after that, from the little I saw him once Kon and I returned."

[robintohood]

Right. Bart did mention to Jason before about coming back thanks to the Speed Force.

"It was traumatic for Tim and this guy showing up is likely setting off whatever issues he's got," Jason says patiently. "Doesn't matter if he's from a different point in time."

[kid_flash_found]

"It does when your best friend is trying to wrap you in a safety bubble. Guess you got to avoid all that."

[robintohood]

"Yeah, the only team I was ever a part of was the Titans and that was only until Dick came back to them," Jason says. "How bad is Tim taking this?"

[kid_flash_found]

"He wanted me to take a month away from the farm. Or more. Because I'm easy to find here in Little Love," Bart said, figuring he'd start with the first demand.

"I mean, I get that there's only so much he can do to fight someone like Inertia, and even Kon's not that fast, but...we don't have to do that dance again. Nobody's pulling those strings."

[robintohood]

Jason hadn't meant for it to happen but he now finds himself understanding where both sides are coming from.

He understands the need to protect his closest friends from a known murderer, especially after being traumatized by such an event before. On the other hand, Bart's understanding seems more personal. Plus, if there was going to be another fight, he would have a better chance than Tim or Kon to fend off Thad anyway.

Then there was the state Thad was in when Jason personally talked to him.

"When I talked to him, he didn't seem interested in killing anyone. Instead, we talked about moving forward and away from a controlling parent."

[kid_flash_found]

"Mom's side of the family is definitely on the controlling side. He means her dad, though. The reason I'm in temporal exile."

[robintohood]

"Yeah, he specifically said a controlling father," Jason says. "Seems like he was angry at not knowing what to do next, not at you."

[kid_flash_found]

"Yeah, I'm just a convenient punching bag if I allow it. Which I'm not going out of my way to do. Inertia remembers Impulse, and I haven't been him in years."

And that's part of what he hopes will make the difference, eventually. "I only mentioned him to the people who I'd really talked about him with. Or who have prior history. Otherwise, I hope he's just going to...find his way."

[robintohood]

"Hopefully he will," Jason says. "Seems like it'll be the most ideal solution for everybody."

Then there was the matter with Tim. Being a Bat means having multiple contingencies. It's never just the one plan or just one step involved.

"What other stuff did Tim want you to do?"

[kid_flash_found]

"I suspect he wanted to track my every movement, which he mostly can already. I've got telemetry and proof-of-life sensors built into my ring and even more in the suit thanks to being friends with a technopath," Bart said. "Tim's got full access any time he wants, and it will update him instantly on a loss of signal."

[robintohood]

Sounds like all your bases are covered already, or as much as they can be. There's only so much to be prepared for anyway.

[kid_flash_found]

"I know. Tim's just being...extra Timmish."

[robintohood]

Jason couldn't help but be a little morbidly curious.

"'Timmish' meaning he prepares for plans to such a degree that he makes Batman look sloppy?" He asks.