metalogs | miles from where you are I lay down on the cold ground (canon update catch-all)

Dylan is visibly relieves when Sleeper arrives, though he doesn't let up just yet. "Head injury. In shock. Heart was stopping. I'm keeping him going right now. He was hit by some kind of... sonic canon? Right after someone opened an airlock into space."

Even focused on the task at hand, he tries to ease some tension with a joke: "Typical stuff for your family, apparently. There's... some brain injury. Sleeper guided me through checking it out and I think he'll be okay. I didn't want to mess too much with it though."

The sonic cannon idea is... really, something he needs to talk to the Apollo kids about, but that idea gets squashed immediately. It's just one of those horrible, inappopriate thoughts that floats up from the subconscious.

He does know what an airlock is, and that there's no oxygen in space. He wishes he didn't, in the context of this moment. Tim's lucky... Nico's worried that his friends might not be.

"He was dying," Nico says quietly. He's not going to pretend that he wasn't. "It feels - wrong, now. Like someone paused the movie." Like Leo did, but at least this time everyone won't think Tim's dead for months and he's just hanging out on an island with Calypso.

Jason walks over closer to Nico. He senses how shaken up the teenager is.

“So one moment you were all just hanging here and then the next… new memories and new injuries?”

Sleeper doesn't bother saying much, just helping to reverse the symptoms they can sense through their contact with Tim so Dylan doesn't have to work so hard.

"Well, I didn't go anywhere..." they feel the need to point out, although it's more to try to lighten the mood. "I think Tim will come around before too long. Shock, a concussion, I don't feel anything else that can't be handled easily without interference."

They nuzzle Dylan gently, giving him some reassurance that he's done well. They don't need to talk just yet if he doesn't want to.

Dylan pulls back a bit, his eyes going back to normal, though his fingertips are still attached. He's infinitely grateful for Sleeper's aid here; They've got a far better understanding of the physiology inside a human than Dylan does. His hands are busy when Sleeper nuzzles close, but Dylan lets the relief it brings radiate through the hive.

He takes a breath, slowly and gently pulling his arms and fingertips away from Tim. Now that there isn't an immediate threat of death, he feels okay stepping away and letting his own healing take over, with assistance from Sleeper.

Dylan stands up, and for the first time he's really able to take stock of what's changed. He has conflicting memories of where he was an hour ago, but it seems like his physical state has become a mishmash of both sets of memories. He's covered with various cuts and bruises, including a cheek that's still bleeding. His height changed, too; He's an inch or two taller now, and thinner — the muscle definition he'd gained here still remained, but god, he's hungry. Before his two realities converged, one of him hadn't had a decent meal in... a while, instead grazing on whatever he could scavenge. Seems that hunger has carried over.

But there's more important things to worry about right now. Tim's injuries are stable, but Nico was panicked, and Dylan needs to make sure he's okay, too. He makes his way over to where Nico and Jason are, sitting down next to Nico and leaning back against the wall. He knows Nico generally doesn't like being asked about how he's feeling, so he opts for a different conversation starter:

"I'm sorry I called you a dumbass."

Edited (changing "ten minutes ago" to something longer) 2023-11-07 05:58 (UTC)

He hates that Jason and Dylan are both gravitating to him in this moment, with Tim unconscious in the room. He's fine. Even the scratches on his face are scabbed over and healing.

Nico wishes he could pass through the floor and let them talk to each other. As he's stuck between them and leaving would be awkward or... possibly involve some child of Hades dramatics, he'll answer Jason and ignore Dylan. "Yeah. But Tim's the only one injured."

Jason remains worried for all three teenagers despite Nico’s response.

“Looks like you’ve all had a hell of a shock,” he says.

He then takes out his cell phone.

“I gotta let the rest of the family know Tim’s okay. We didn’t know where he went.”

He then sends an encrypted text to a groupchat before looking back at the others. He mentally notes all the physical changes Dylan and Nico appear to have gone through.

“How are you two?” He asks.

Dylan's eyes are pointed to Sleeper and Tim, but his gaze is distant. As the memories from home are processed, it's like experiencing the trauma all over again. He hates it. He doesn't want to think about it.

Clearly Nico doesn't, either.

"I could go for some curry."

Tim chooses that moment to finally start waking up, eyelids fluttering a few times before his eyes actually open. His head hurts - though maybe not as bad as it would if there wasn't an oozecat helping out - and he's not exactly 100% sure what's going on, but at least he's not as panicked as he was the last time he was awake. That's probably an improvement.

"Wh...?"

"Shh," Sleeper says, having realized a bit before this that Tim was beginning to wake up. They're mostly just laying on him, using skin-to-skin contact to monitor various things and appropriate painkillers. "Don't try to move just yet, everything's fine. You're safe."

They raise their head a little to glance around the room, well, aware of tension and panic being a little higher than normal, but hoping folks will be on the ball.

"Maybe something a little milder than curry. Japanese?" Okay, maybe they just want a cuisine that has raw options...

Upon seeing Tim awake and knowing Dylan and Sleeper were doing their best to monitor and heal him, the tension in Jason’s body eases, though he’s not entirely ready to relax yet.

“Yeah, sure. Japanese curry for us and a sashimi special for Sleeper,” he says before checking his phone.

“Dick’s going to be here soon too,” he then continues before petting Sleeper. It’s a gesture to show his appreciation and perhaps to calm himself down as well.

"Yeah. Okay." Dylan says flatly. "Japanese place. Sushi. Curry. Maybe some ramen. Something expensive." He leans back, eyes distant. "Something expensive. Then..."

He had spent so many nights these past few months sleeping on the street, breaking into buildings to escape the rain. Even when he'd made it back to his home in New York, it had been a cesspit, with utilities cut off and teeming with rats.

But now, he was back in Central City. Where his real home was. Where a penthouse apartment awaited him. "Some sleep, maybe." Maybe he'd ask if Nico and Tim wanted to sleep over, if they were feeling up for it.

The conversation happening around him isn't soothing, exactly, but it's certainly low-key enough that if he had any residual panic happening, it's gone now. He's confused, mostly, how he got here and why there's a cat on his chest, which is why he promptly ignores Sleeper's advice and struggles to sit up. "Jason...?" he says under the hope that maybe Jason will explain what is happening right now.

“Hey. I’m here,” Jason says, still concerned. He gently puts a chest on Tim’s chest to keep him from moving up too fast. “The others found you injured. Sleeper’s patching you up. Don’t move yet. Dick’s on his way to see you too.”

Jason would rather wait until Sleeper gives the okay than risk letting Tim move before it was safe for him to do so.

"Don't move too fast, but nothing's really wrong right now. Make sure to stop if you feel dizzy," Sleeper advises, letting Tim pull away, knowing they've got enough done that it shouldn't be a problem. "If you don't want to have someone rousing you because of the concussion, I would prefer to be where I can monitor that aspect when you choose to sleep."

They give a flick of their tail that shows just how soon they expect that to be.

Sleeper's damage report draws Dylan's attention, and for a moment, his thousand yard stare is reeled in and he focuses on Tim. He smiles weakly, offering a soft nod, even if Tim's too out of it to really catch his gaze.

Dylan's glad to hear he's doing better.

There's a sound at the window as Dick slides through and into the room. He stops long enough to take off his mask, given he's not trying to hide his identity from anybody in the room. But it also shows how worn he's feeling for a moment before he rallies, making his way over. "Tim? You awake?" Then, to the others, "How is he?"

“‘m okay,” Tim says from underneath the alien cat that is currently administering medical aid. At least it’s not emergency medical aid anymore. “They’re trying to decide on dinner? I think?” He adds helpfully. There, Dick is caught up on events.

Jason ignores Tim’s answer as he jumps into the conversation.

“He had a head injury and his heart had stopped after getting hit by a sonic cannon and someone opening an airlock to space,” he replies to Dick. “Dylan and Sleeper have been healing him and he’s safe for now.”

"Not completely out of the woods, but nothing urgent. Concussion, but I can manage the pain and inflammation until it's no big deal," Sleeper corrects. Because it's not perfect, but Tim's not going to keel over because of it.

"Not really sure the whole situation, but there are a few benefits to being able to integrate with another being when there are health issues."

They're not pushing, but it's right to get the facts out there.

Sleeper's words would normally breeze right past Dylan; The both of them had explained their biology time and time again, this was nothing new.

But it hits something raw inside Dylan this time. He pales, remembering what he's seen and felt in Tim's memories. These injuries had been caused by a friend who'd betrayed his trust.

Betrayed him under the control of an alien symbiote.

There's a sick, twisting feeling in his gut. Dylan's felt a lot of things toward his powers and his heritage before — Elation, anger, comfort, confusion, among other things — but this is the first time he's felt... ashamed. Disgusted.

"Yeah," he says, rising to his feet. "I'm glad I could be here to help stabilize him." Dylan saved his life. He knows that, just as he knows the creature that had seized Jaime's body wasn't a Klyntar. It has nothing to do with Dylan or his family; There was no connection at all.

So why does he feel like this?

"I should give you guys some space," he says, making a beeline for the door. He motions for Nico to follow, but doesn't wait to see if he actually does. "Let me know if you need anything else."

He doesn't wait for an answer before exiting to the stairwell that leads back down to the bar.

Dick definitely notices a change in Dylan, the way he immediately closes off. But he doesn't know the boy well enough to figure out what may have caused it. Or how to help. So he just lets the other two boys leave.

Because it's not like his mind is really on that. Because Tim is on the floor and Sleeper and Jason have both just said that he nearly died and there's a stricken, sick look on his face for a moment before he shuts it down. Hides it behind the very real concern and worry and love that he feels for all of his brothers.

He puts the mask away, walking over to drop to his knees beside Tim's head, brushing the younger boy's hair away from his forehead. "Thank you, Sleeper. That's a lot better for everybody than people staying awake for a full day. And no caffeine."

Tim’s aware that’s something’s changed with Dylan before he left, but he’s not up to putting the pieces together yet. Or thinking heavily about any implications of what he just went through. Now that he’s here, and his full memories are settling in, having been home not long ago feels almost unreal, but at the same time, more real than this?

He struggles to sit up a second time, which hopefully no one is going to block since Sleeper okay’d it. (He’s not sure how he feels about whatever Sleeper’s doing to connect to him right now. He might be trying not to think about it.)

“I’m okay. It’s mostly just a concussion now, anyway, so - “

Jason frowns. He too noticed the change in Dylan’s body language before the teenager left. For now though, he has to trust that he’s with Nico and that Sleeper will join him soon. Dylan will at least won’t be alone. Jason will have to check on him later as he wants to look over Tim first.

“It still sounds like you went through a lot,” Jason says. “And it’s gotta be jarring as hell to suddenly get new memories.”

"Call me if anything changes, but between the three of you, I doubt there's going to be any issues until after dinner," Sleeper says, getting up and moving away to go after Dylan and Nico. If it's really important, Jason will fill them in once the chat is done, but some talks are better with only family.

"If it helps, think of what Dylan did as CPR without the risk of cracked ribs. I just handled the medication aspects to get the right responses where needed to help with pain, swelling, and anything else."

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