metalogs | explosions on tv ( open )

[Older Jay's attack is partially blunted by Jason's body armor and him jerking away. There's a gash on the material but no blood yet.

Now Jason's somewhat keeping distance. He's calculating and figuring out which one of his toys to use next. They're not supposed to do overkill this time]

( junior tries to put distance between them, but jason isn't about that. he's grinning, and trying to shove his way right back into junior's personal space. if they're going to fight, he may as well take advantage of his larger size, right? because he knows damn well junior's likely a little faster than him--and while he can't fix that, he can use brute strength to his advantage.

and raise the knife up, hilt aimed straight for the side of junior's hood. )

[Though the helmet's protecting him, the impact still knocks Jason's head back. He knows his older self has the strength advantage so he'll have to compensate in other ways.

He throws his combat knife at older Jay before charging forward, seemingly aiming to punch him in the face]

( he expected face shots. knew this would happen, because he, too, wants to shove his fist into junior's stupid shit face. thus, the hood on his own face. so when junior swings at his face, he's--quick to duck down, to try and get out of the way of that hit--but also to wrap an arm around junior's midsection with his full weight moving to slam into his chest to try and knock him over. )

[The body slam hurts like hell but Jason's okay with taking his lumps. He needs the close contact anyway. As soon as he's slammed to the ground, he slips a taser out one of his jacket sleeves and tries to zap older Jason in the ribs]

( he sees junior's hand slip into his jacket sleeve, and responds quickly in turn because jason knows damn well that jacket is full of shit he doesn't want to tangle with. his own hand shifts, weight resting on his opposite forearm, so he can form a knife out of the shadows between them and--holds it tight in a fist, lowering the knife down with full intention of shoving it straight into junior's forearm before he can raise the taser up to his side. )

[Jason really hates that shadow ability. His taser is a second too late. He angrily grits his teeth and grunts in pain as the knife successfully stabs him in the arm.

Screw the rules. Jason immediately summons one of his swords to try to slash back]

( no one banned meta-abilities in this rodeo, this is only fair. junior summons a sword but his movements are still--obvious. jason can see when his shoulder shifts, he can see the move choreographed before it's made, which isn't helping junior's case any. he's still learning, and clearly he hadn't gotten the same post-pit treatment as jason had gotten.

ah, well. they'll work on it. not now though, because right now jason's straddling junior's waist and reaching for that sword of his. grabs onto it with a bare hand before junior has much time to get a good amount of momentum behind it. it still hurts, still cuts into flesh, but it's not even close to how bad it would have been if he'd let him swipe at him properly.

leaves the shadow knife inside junior's other forearm, so he can take that same hand he'd used to stab him with and raise a real throwing knife this time, to shove it into junior's shoulder--the one attached to the hand he's using to try and slice and dice jason currently. )

[Jason yells out in pain when he gets stabbed in the shoulder and is forced to let go of his sword. He hates this. He should be just as good as his double but he keeps missing his mark tonight. The bastard even took off his armor and yet, he still can't get it right.

Despite the danger of ripping open his wounds even more, he tries to shove older Jay off of him. He doesn't want to admit who's been the better fighter tonight]

( it's just too bad for junior, isn't it? because jason's more than used to squirmy assholes, and he's decided the best way to get junior to knock it off is to dig that knife deeper into his shoulder.

reaches with his fucked, bloodied hand to start prying at junior's hood. )

Usually I'd avoid stabbings when playing 'round like this, but I saw what Sleeper did for you last time. You'll be fine, won't you sweetheart? ( purposefully condescending. junior started this, after all. ) You still wanna see how tight my leash is?

[Jason loudly groans in pain again as the knife goes deeper into his wound. Then his helmet's pneumatic latch is activated and the helmet hisses open, leaving his head and masked face exposed. His expression twists into a snarl]

At least I don't got one.

[It can easily be said Jason's best and worst trait is the sheer stubbornness he has once he sets his mind on something. It's all too similar to a hungry dog with a bone]

Edited 2023-09-20 12:30 (UTC)

Uh huh.

( jason leaves the knife in junior's shoulder, while the one he'd put into his other forearm dissipates. he flicks his wrist, pulling loose another throwing knife which he's holding in his uninjured hand. raises it up to press the tip against the underside of junior's jawline. doesn't put enough pressure against it to break skin, but the threat is there. )

Y'know, I'd forgotten how much of a baby face I had when I started out. Look at you-- ( the knife flicks up to drag across junior's cheek. ) --still workin' on filling out, even here. Wonder how your lackeys would feel if they saw you like this.

( the knife digs in, just hard enough to cut. )

You think they'd still follow you, knowing how easily I kicked your ass?

[Jason knows the older man is taunting him and it's pissing him off. The combination of someone with his face taunting him while he's beaten up, heavily bleeding, and feeling trapped is sending him into a rage spiral. It's mentally sending him back to a particular night when he was in a warehouse in a similar state.

And just like that night, he answers the taunts with a spit to his enemy's face. Additional slashes to his face be damned]

( boy is he glad he put on the hood. not only for pissing junior off more, but he'd be a lot more irritated if spit landed directly on him.

as it is, he leaves it to drip down as if it wasn't there at all. drops the knife down, so he can lean in closer to junior. gets right in his face. )

Oo, good comeback. Very fierce. I'm terrified. ( his voice raises a little, mocking. ) Please, mister crime lord, don't spit on me again.

Edited 2023-09-20 17:01 (UTC)

[Adrenaline and rage are trying to override the physical pain Jason's feeling. He struggles again to get older Jay off of him, causing his injuries to further open and bleed more. It's humiliating and infuriating the position he's in and he wants to just beat the man's face in until there's nothing]

Go ahead and try. We know you care about B's code as much as I do.

No.

( jason's weight shifts up onto his knees, not quite pinning junior down under his weight but also using it as leverage so he can't just buck him off. his bleeding hand raises, curls into a fist, and slams itself into junior's nose.

it's meant to be humiliating. it's meant to show junior how weak he is. how far he has to come yet. how much stronger jason is, because he's pissed off junior gets away with murder, literally, but jason can't. that the rules only apply when bruce feels like it, that if he started going hard again, dick'd sigh disappointingly at him or lock him back up again. fuck this stupid kid and how nobody seems to give a shit what he pulls, whereas jason's just not allowed. )

[A gush of blood comes out when older Jason punches the younger one in the nose. The latter's face is a bloodied mess now, just like the rest of him.

And yet, he's still struggling still won't shut up. He still wants to keep fighting and prove he's better]

Why not? You were so ready before. Not tired yet of being the redeemed one yet? Still okay with following their rules?

You want me to put you out of your misery. You want to be done, but you don't know how to quit.

( it's not pity that keeps his hits lighter than he could go for; it's resentment, jealousy, it's the need to make this stupid shitty kid suffer as jason has. he's raising his fist again, as if he's planning on going for another hit, but--stops before he throws it. )

There's no redemption for either of us. You know that, don't you? You're a piece of trash, you're always gonna be trash. An' I ain't saving you from having to live with it.

[Jason instinctively flinches before older Jay stops himself short of punching him again. When the hit doesn't land and the man keeps talking, Jason glares back. He doesn't want any damn pity]

Good thing we're right where we belong then. You still got that itch. You're just dying to beat the hell out of anyone that's royally pissed you off before squeezing the trigger. Wanting to go for headshots and none of this rubber bullets bullshit. It felt good to have that kind of control and you know it.

[At the core, older Jason isn't any better than him. He's just been through more shit, including the family's influence despite how much they've hurt him]

You ever stop an' think about the goons you kill off?

( there had been a particular kill that hit jason hard, back in new amsterdam. the only one he'd broken his deal with bruce for. she deserved it, he doesn't regret killing her one bit, but-- )

Ever think about who they have waiting back home for them? I know you do your research, but how 'bout those ones you just offed? Do they have kids back home, waiting for their daddies to return home to them? Were they desperate for cash, out of options, and being a lackey for the D'Amicos was the only way they could get by? Were they born into it, and couldn't find a way out?

( doesn't matter. he's not waiting for a response, he's dropping his fist to slam it into junior's jaw. )

But you're right. It felt real good.

[There's another loud grunt of pain when he gets punched in the jaw. He spits out blood afterwards. Most of his body is in pain now. It's going to hurt a lot getting back to a safehouse]

Willis was garbage.

[The statement is said quietly and with depressed resignation. Older Jason is right though. More often than not, younger Jason doesn't think too hard on the goons he kills. They knew what they signed up or they did something shitty enough to earn a death sentence is how he usually justifies it. That kind of thinking is part of how he can keep doing his work.

If he thinks too hard on it, it might send him in a spiral and uncomfortable realizations about himself and the cycle of violence and crime he and so many other families fall into]

Edited 2023-09-20 23:30 (UTC)

( willis was garbage, but he was still jason's dad. jason still lost him too young, even if losing him saved him a lot of pain in the long run. but willis doesn't mean jack shit in correlation to this: he died, jason mourned for him as any alley kid would, and it was over.

he's not digging into it any further, there's no point. he's made his already; junior's down for the count, if it wasn't for sleeper that'd take weeks to heal up. jason doesn't go in for another hit, just pushes his weight up onto his knees and climbs up to his feet. moves to walk away from junior. )

Call your cat. Or do you need me to do it for you?

[In a defensive and angry tone]

I got it.

[Thanks to the symbiote bond, Sleeper probably already sensed something was wrong anyway. Now he's just lying in a pool of his own blood, facing the night sky. Pain throbs all over him and he too weak to do much else]

Yeah.

( if junior has it, then he's done here. jason--makes his way back over to his bike. leaves the hood on as he gets back on it and drives it away from the warehouse.

he'll need a bit, to burn off the anger. and staying here any longer really isn't a good idea. )

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