metalogs | i was born to hold my hands up (open)

( red hood's got standards for his underlings, and robin's plenty familiar with those. he's seen two-face and his goons, has fought beside batman against several of gotham's crime lords--and seeing someone get pistol whipped in front of a dive bar isn't anything new.

doesn't mean he's going to let it go any though. skimming off the top may be the goon's fault, but that doesn't mean they have to get the crud beaten out of them like that. he stops on top of the divebar, leans over just enough to peek at them over the ledge, and--waits for mister hood to turn his back. just enough so robin can jump off over the ledge, using his grapple gun to help keep him from falling straight down, and swings down to throw his feet out at that hood, intent on kicking the mobster straight over onto the pavement. )

[The very familiar sounds of a grapple gun getting shot immediately gets Jason's attention. He spins around just in time for a blur of yellow, green, and red to kick him to the ground. The terrified goon flees the scene afterwards.

Furious, Jason then jumps back up and whips out a handful shuriken. For a moment he thinks about chewing out one of the Robins for interfering despite them knowing full well they're not supposed to be in his territory. Jason then realizes to his shock just which Robin is trying to pick a fight]

Fuck.

[Having a doppelganger was bad enough. Now he was directly looking at his childhood. He's still armed with his shuriken but now he's much less reluctant to fight]

( hood guy goes down, and jason's landing on his feet just a few feet behind him, knees to help catch the impact before he's quickly twisting around and--

stopping. the guy's got a handful of shuriken, and jason's got a couple batarangs in his utility belt that he hasn't reached for yet. keeps fingers curled into loose fists instead, bridge of his nose scrunching up enough it also wrinkles the domino mask over it. )

Why don't you pick on someone your own size, huh?

( get it. because robin definitely isn't the same size as hood guy, but he's clearly more competent than whatever rookie hood guy was bullying. )

I'll even give you a free hit.

( it's a distraction. give the goons enough time to flee out of hood guy's range, then jason can go and track them down, too. just because they don't deserve to get their faces beat in doesn't mean they don't deserve to go to jail. )

[God he hates this already. The colorful costume. The gear. The bravado despite being smaller than most kids his age. It hurts watching while knowing full well he'll never be as happy as he was when he was Robin. They're all reminders of what he's lost.

Jason calmly puts away his shuriken and keeps his hands visible]

I'm not fighting a kid.

( he doesn't like how hood guy has his face covered. it makes it harder to gauge what he's thinking, since he can't see what's going on under the hood. body language is helpful, but it's only telling half a story and jason's sure he's missing something here. the guy pulled out his toys just fine when he knew it was someone small taking a swing at him. there wasn't any hesitation until they slowed down, and now he's being careful. choreographing putting the shuriken away, keeping his hands where jason can see them. it's suspicious, and not in a way he likes any.

fighting is easy. understanding someone's intentions when they opt not to fight is a whole other ballgame. jason doesn't move any closer though; he lowers his hands down, folds fingers together behind his back. he doesn't have anything between his fingers, but the utility belt's pouch is right there below his palms, flashbangs within reach if he feels the need to grab onto them. just in case. )

Uh huh. But you've got no problem takin' it out on someone weaker than you.

( another minute or so to give the goon time to run, and jason'll switch gears and run after them. )

That was just business.

[Jason's trying to keep his voice calm while internally, he's quickly trying to formulate his next steps. He knows the kid's going to go deeper into his territory if he lets him go now. He has to keep his attention]

You're a long way from Gotham, kiddo.

[There. Establishing he's got some kind of information should have him stick around. Hopefully]

( just business. he's heard that plenty of times before, hasn't he.

jason's not moving. walking out of this wasn't going to be easy anyway, was it. hood guy is a bigger fish than he can fry all on his own. the careful way he moves is plenty to tell that. he went from downright brutal to--what, trying to pull jason in? that's how it feels. hands out where he can see them, weapons put away, voice carefully holding syllables and dropping them calmly, like he's trying to . . . think, isn't it. he leaves information--gotham doesn't exist here, he might not be that familiar with all the tech this place has, but he's not that far behind the times either. it's an intentional drop, an intentional grab for jason's attention.

he could ignore it, he could play into it, or he could do the smart thing and turn around to leave it behind right here because clearly this is being dropped for a something he hasn't figured out yet. instead, jason does none of those things: his mouth twists down into a frown, fingers reaching into his utility belt for a flashbang but he doesn't pull it out yet. )

What are you after?

( this guy's being clever, he's not stupid enough to play ignorant. )

[It's easy for Jason to read his kid self's thought process and body language as he stares down at him. The kid's rightfully wary of him and is trying to do his own assessment]

Not much. Don't suppose you met Big Bird or anyone else from the flock here yet?

[Jason knows he can't leave this Robin alone but he's certainly not willing to babysit him either. He's already uncomfortable enough with Old Jay when he's his proper age]

Edited 2023-08-15 23:21 (UTC)

( his brows pinch tight; evident enough he's not even sure what hood guy is talking about, let alone who. jason's still newish to the robin game; he met nightwing once, got handed the old uniform in a nice box before he took off again, but they aren't--close. he doesn't know him well enough yet, and big bird doesn't hit as something he would have called dick. not yet. )

Don't try and throw me off. What're you after, or is this all just a-- ( diversion tactic of it's own. that makes sense, doesn't it? he's probably got tech in there, maybe he's calling for others to come here, too, or someone to chase after the thug jason'd let go. his head turns in the direction the guy'd run off in, knees bent, ready to take off. )

He's nothing. I'm not gonna go after him.

[For now]

Look, this shit is weird to explain and it's better that we got another person involved here. How about I just contact Nightwing? You can even watch me do it.

[Jason knows Dick probably has his hands full already but there really isn't anyone else Jason can trust to handle this delicately]

( that name gets his attention. his nose scrunches up, but he's not letting his guard down any. fingers grip on tighter to the flashbang, but jason's eyes are refocused on hood guy under the mask. not towards where the thug had run off. hood guy has his attention, for now. )

Nightwing, huh? You just gonna get your phone and ring him up, just like that? ( he snorts, because he really doubts whoever this is has richard grayson's number. ) Why not just call Batman?

[Jason snorts. Right. His relationship with Dick at this time was barely a relationship]

B's occupied last I checked.

[The Bruce that's currently around seems even more aloof than the one Jason's used to. And him not having a Robin back home would make the situation even more awkward]

Nightwing's better for this and yeah. I can reach him through the comms.

( if batman was contactable, jason would have found him by now. given that he isn't, and he can't think of a reason for this to be a lie unless it's a ploy to contact someone else--

jason takes a step forward. nods towards the ground in front of him. )

Pass it to me.

Fine.

[Still keep both hands visible, Jason reaches up to his helmet to contact Nightwing]

[It takes a minute for the other end to pick up.]

Nightwing here. What's up, Hood?

[There's a bark in the background that means he's not out on patrol at the moment. But he has the comm close because everything has been going wild this week.]

( well, good to know hood guy wasn't an inaccurate nickname. he hears dick's voice, it sounds familiarish, but jason's not saying anything yet, you never know. instead, he whistles soft between his lips, then holds out a hand for hood guy's comm. )

[Calmly and trying to sound casual. This situation is weird enough as it is]

There's a Little Wing you should talk to.

[Jason then takes off his comm piece and hands to little Jay]

[There's a soft swear in the background that either of them might recognize as one of the few Romani words Dick retained from his childhood. Though more likely the older Jason would recognize it. He can't be certain, yet, what age the younger Jason is at.]

[Or if he even recognizes the nickname, actually.]

Robin. Status report?

( he takes the comm piece. takes a couple steps back so he can keep an eye on hood and the space behind him after, and, with the piece held up to his ear, )

Nightwing. ( his voice is a little--unsure. he's met dick, but he doesn't know him well. they had their introduction, then dick was off elsewhere. jason remembers getting his phone number, being told to call if he needed anything, but he also doesn't even know if this guy is dick. voices can be replicated. ) I caught this guy beating up his own lackeys, then he said he was going to call you like he was calling my mom on me.

[Jason doesn't bother to hide the eyeroll he makes at Robin's comment about him tattletaling. His patience is already being tested]

[Dick mutes his side of the comm so that he can sigh, looking up at the ceiling as though looking for guidance. Then he puts it back on.]

What would you have done had you caught the lackey at whatever Hood was stopping them from doing? Or what are you planning to do if you get a chance to go after said lackey?

( not a question he's expecting, and the confused look he shoots towards the comm shows that plenty. jason doesn't let it throw him off for long, and instead keeps his eyes on hood, while keeping the comm up to his ear. )

I don't know you're who he says you are. I'm not giving you any information.

( if this is a test he's going to pass it. )

[Great. Of course he's smart enough to keep being suspicious. Jason then calls out the coordinates to where they are]

He's welcome to drop by if you wanna see him.

[This time, the sigh isn't muted. Because Dick has to figure out how this is going to work.]

All right. Give me ten minutes and I'll be there.

[It's mostly travel to get him there that's going to take that long.]

( because that's safe. some thug in a hood giving coordinates to someone who may or may not be nightwing, to come find robin in an alleyway where he's sure there's other thugs lingering around.

if the goal is to outnumber him, they're achieving that. jason looks to the comm, then looks back up to hood guy, then back down to the comm, and--raises it up in his hand.

tosses it behind him, before he's taking a quick several steps off to the side and reaching for his grapple gun so he can, hopefully, make a quick exit up to the roof. )

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