[OPEN/CLOSED] A Robin came a-knockin’

[robintohood]

Who: Jason Todd robintohood and you
What: Jason’s been deaged back to his early Robin years. Antics ensue. Also contains one special closed prompt
When: January 3rd-4thish, during the age swap event
Where: Central City
Content Warnings: None for now. Will edit if needed.

[Somewhere in Central City is a small boy in a red, yellow, and green costume. It’s hard to forget someone in a colorful suit like that.

That is, assuming you can catch a good enough look at him. He’s effortlessly using his grappling gun and parkour skills to swing around and jump rooftops. You might see him as he tries to get a lay of the land.

Alternatively, you might see him fearlessly (or recklessly, depending on how you look at it) pounce right on top of a would-be armed mugger. He might not know where he is but that doesn’t mean he’s going to stop fighting crime. It’s what any good sidekick would do.]

Attic Safehouse above the Descendant Bar (Closed to people who use the safehouse)

[Later that night, Robin is exhausted but isn’t ready to trust just any place to rest for the night. For now, he’s just perched on top of the Descendant, near the attic window]

Comments

[atypical_echo]

Reckless. Mark definitely sees it as reckless when he's just dealing with his latest mugger. Seriously, did he have a power that made him mugger bait? And then bam! Just some fucking kid in a colorful suit, tackling the mugger.

"What the actual fuck?"

[robintohood]

Meanwhile, Jason punches the mugger in the face and knocks out one of his teeth. He also kicks away the man's gun.

"Care to try that again?" The boy smirks.

The mugger swears and tries to push him off. Jason then gracefully moves into a somersault, stands back up, and throws a blunted batarang at the man's head. With a loud grunt of pain, the man then falls over.

[atypical_echo]

Seriously, what the hell? Violent child just broke someone's tooth. Is this better? Why does this keep happening to him.

"I, um... Thanks? Aren't you young to be doing this?"

Descendant bar, night

[qualityfriend]

[With the owner missing and at least one other key staff too young, Dana has made the executive decision to declare the bar closed. Which mostly consists of flipping the signs and telling the more curious regulars that they're on a holiday break for the time being. So far nobody has objected and tried to force their way in, but she's still hanging out at the place, just in case.

[So when a figure appears on the rooftop, she's around to notice. She just watches at first.]

[robintohood]

[Jason steps a little further back into the shadows when he sees the woman looking up. There's enough of a wind though that she may notice that the small figure has a cape]

[qualityfriend]

[She does see the cape. Along with the perching, it feels very familiar in a reassuring way. She waves up at him.]

[mostdangerousbird]

[ Robin just flew right over the alley. If anyone can help him, it’s Batman and Robin.

He’s not sure what they’re doing in Central City, but he’s relieved to know that they’re here.

Tim doesn’t think twice about jumping up onto the lower rungs of the fire escape’s ladder and climbing up like it’s monkey bars. Boy, the stairs are noisy. ]

[robintohood]

[When he lands on another rooftop, Jason pauses and is at attention when he hears someone climbing up the building's fire escape. Just someone wanting to come up here for a smoke? Or something more dangerous? Jason has his grappling gun ready just in case]

[mostdangerousbird]

[ Nope, just someone young and scrawny in clothes multiple sizes too big. He doesn’t look starved, with round cheeks and bright eyes, but he also doesn’t look like he belongs on a rooftop.

He hauls himself up onto the roof with that playground fearlessness of children. ]

Robin!

[ Oh. Oh, no, he doesn’t want to actually explain what’s wrong, and now Robin’s going to know what he looks like. Still…]

… this is so cool.

[faceguy]

[There is another boy moving around the rooftops of Central City, perhaps just a few years older than Robin. He doesn't have a grappling hook, but he knows what jumps he can clear and what he can't. Lots of practice.

Leo has been wandering around confused since he woke up in a hotel room (a hotel room!) with none of his family around and no idea where he is. He knows this isn't New York, but beyond that it's a big ol' blank.

He's just landed on this particular roof and is trying to get a clue from looking at the streets below him when he hears the grappling hook. He does the only thing he can think of, diving behind an A/C unit to avoid being seen. He's not supposed to be seen. (People aren't usually up on the roof!)

He likely wasn't fast enough to avoid being spotted, though...]

[robintohood]

[Jason frowns when he spots the brief flash of green below before landing on another rooftop. He walks over to the edge and peeks down. He also could've sworn he spotted a... turtle shell?]

Safehouse and Descendant

[definecat]

Sleeper has spent most of the day dealing with a very distraught young Dylan, who has been rejected multiple times by their human parent. Right now they're in a more humanoid semblance, needing hands to cradle and rock their brother as they try to finally get the kid to sleep. Thankfully when they check the bar, it's closed and quiet, and the stairs seem to help a little, but they're not used to this kind of child-care.

Honestly, Sleeper is mostly just grateful the kid still knows them and knows they love him. But they both could use a little down-time. Who knows when Venom will actually get here, and what kind of a mess Eddie will start then.

[robintohood]

Jason's ears perk up when he hears faint movement coming from the attic. Strange. He thought the bar was closed. He overheard an employee saying a number of the staff were out on a holiday.

He carefully climbs down, sidles against the wall, and takes a peek at the window.

[codicies]

He's sorry, Sleeper. He's sorry. He's so sorry. But Dylan's been shrunk down to a two-year-old, and his brain is a mess right now. He has his memories, but so many of his skills have disappeared. He can't seem to form words, his walking is clumsy and uncoordinated, and his grip strength leaves a lot to be desired.

All of this leaves Dylan feeling helpless and scared. He just wants to go home to be in the safety of the farm house surrounded by his family. But Eddie hadn't even recognized him — and consciously, Dylan knows it's not Eddie's fault, even if he's lost the words to express it. But it still drags up old memories of feeling abandoned by his father, being left alone in the apartment for days or weeks.

It hurts. It hurts. And there's nothing he can do to soothe himself. He can't talk about his issues, he can't go to another room and do another activity, he can't get himself a snack, he can't go for a walk. All he can do is just... cry.

He's so sorry, Sleeper. He clings to Sleeper with huge handfuls of symbiote goo, burying his face in Sleeper's chest as he vents his frustration the only way he can right now.

[qualityfriend]

Dana jumps when she hears footsteps on the stairs. Sure, the bar is closed, but some of the clientele are the... insistent type. On the other hand, whoever it is isn't staying quiet like they're trying not to be heard, so they're probably not a criminal, right?

"Hello!" she calls out anyway. "Sorry, but the bar's closed! You'll have to come back later!" She also heads for the stairs, trying to project more confidence than she feels, resisting the urge to summon her knife. If it is a bad guy intruder, the best she can do is teleport away.

[welcome_summer]

[Mayuko is alerted to trouble when she hears the would-be victim scream. She's spent most of the afternoon at Alliance Headquarters being poked, prodded and getting no answers while the first news reports floated in. (Social media is still a foreign term, or she'd have been doomscrolling to boot.) The idea of doing something to help someone AT LAST overwhelms her common sense and she follows the sound.

But as she gets there, that sure is a tiny cape swooping in and beating up a baddie. Welp! She can make sure the lady is okay. That's helping!]

[robintohood]

[Meanwhile Jason's showing he's got a mean left hook for someone of his size. With a knee to the man's chest, he manages to knock out a tooth too with a right hook]

Wanna try again?

[The man barely gets out a swear before Jason knocks him with one more punch]

[eatsnutsandkicksbutts]

[ ... Is that a kid?! Doreen sees the red-and-yellow blur swing past her apartment window, and darts out onto the fire escape to get a better view. It is a kid! Some kid's out here parkouring all over the place! ]

Hey! Hey! You shouldn't be... you're gonna get hurt! Be careful!

[ It's one thing if she does it, she has freaky jumping powers, she won't get hurt! ]

[robintohood]

[Jason does a midair flip before nailing the landing onto a neighboring fire escape]

Don't worry! I'm a professional! I do this all the time.

[Sort of. Jason had to learn early on how to be agile. It's a useful skill to have for survival and running away from cops. Being trained by Bruce sharpened that ability]

[determinationtofist]

[ Hibiki was unfortunately not immune to the de-aging herself, though she's grateful at least for being able to keep her memories. Maybe it has something to do with her god-killer abilities? She's not sure, it hasn't really occurred to her.

Still, even if she's super young now, she can still use her Symphogear... albeit only a lower version of her gear, but still her gear either way. so she's continuing with her own patrols... which means she ends up coming across a very young boy taking on a bunch of armed muggers.

Not that Hibiki can talk, but that seems dangerous! Mind, Jason seems to be handling himself perfectly fine, but still! ]

Oryah!!

[ So, while Robin is knocking the teeth out of one of the muggers, another tries to come up on him from behind... only to get his teeth knocked out by Hibiki suddenly rocketing into the fray and her fist meeting his cheek. Then, she swivels around and looks to Robin. ]

H-Hey! Are you okay!?

[robintohood]

[The remaining mugger falls over after Jason does a jump kick on him. He then cheerfully looks back at Hibiki]

Yup! I got it. Thanks for the help. Are you another hero?

[It would explain her armor]

[louder_than_words]

[The buildings are not the same as before. The streets are different. Everything is new.

Like the boy.

The girl has been watching the red-green-yellow boy fly across the city. He flies and his body screams freedom-joy. When he fights, there is happy-anger. He is... sloppy. Slow. But trained. Better than most. He runs-- not away. Not like her. He's running to something. She doesn't know what. Every time he stops, she think maybe he's arrived, but it never lasts.

She wants to feel that. To feel... freedom-happy and running toward something. The next time he starts running on rooftops, she joins him. Silently runs on the buildings across the street. She isn't trying to hide, but she doesn't put in any of the effort it takes her to be seen.]

[robintohood]

[Every time Jason lands on a rooftop, one of the things he checks for are possible threats following him. So it doesn't take long before he senses Cass following him. He surprised that another cat has managed to get this far with him]

Hello?

[formerspybrat]

"What kind of loser mugs a kid? Wha'da'ya want, my bus pass and pocket lint?" Danny stumbles backward away from his assailant off the main street and into a dark alley. There's a mischievous smirk on the little red heads face that maybe should have served as a warning, but, unamused and undeterred by the barb, the mugger follows after him.

As they pass a trash bin, it starts to lift in the air behind the mugger, seemingly on it's own, lid swinging open.

"Fine, your funer- what the?" Movement above them catches Danny's attention just long enough for the mugger to grab him by the front of his jacket, easily lifting the kid off his feet and slamming him into a wall.

[robintohood]

Immediately after that, Jason pounces from a fire escape and onto the mugger's back. The mugger then slams his face onto the sidewalk. Jason remains standing on him.

"Pick on someone your own size!" He chirps. He then looks back at Danny. "Hey, you okay?"