[Closed] Happy Deathday

[robintohood]

Who: Jason Todd robintohood and whoever has CR with him
What: Jason dealing with his deathday anniversary
When: December 20th to 21st
Where: Central City
Content Warnings: PG-13 level violence and mentions of self-harm and suicide ideation

[The closer it gets to December 21st, the less present Jason Todd the civilian is. It's harder to catch him at the Descendant during this month because he hasn't been there as often as he usually is. He's not spotted as often at other places either his favorite libraries or any bookstores. Meanwhile, there's an increase in Red Hood appearances.

At first, the crime lord is seemingly burying himself with his work and trying to regain what his gang lost last month. Plenty of fights with other gangs, muscling in on territory, dodging bullets from mobsters. The beatings he dishes out on goons seem to have intensified. But as December 21st creeps closer, even most of that work gradually gets less attention from him.

The beatings continue though with a change in what information Jason wants out of his victims.

In place of most of his crime lord work are solo recon missions. Lots of decrepit properties are checked. Unused fairgrounds, warehouses, and even empty properties that used to be toy stores get searched. Jason's always on the lookout for reports of gruesome crimes involving things like deadly laughing gas, frozen smiles, and clowns too. Jason knows the Joker loves gimmicks.

For all of Jason's vigilance though, there's not even a chuckle or any other hint of the mass murderer. The quietness feeds into how unsettled Jason feels. He’s expecting something to happen. That's how the Joker works sometimes. He’s a sick freak who likes to put his own twist on special occasions.

So Jason keeps searching around Central City. That's what he tells himself what he's doing. He has so much rage, fear, and other negative feelings he doesn't want to contemplate. Once he finally kills the Joker he’ll finally feel at peace.

It’s either December 20th or it's December 21st when one might spot the Red Hood in Central City.

He could be zooming all over the streets on his motorcycle. He could be curbstomping and bludgeoning someone with a tire iron outside of a dive. He might be lurking on a dark rooftop overlooking the city, or staking out a waterfront warehouse.

Whatever the case is, he’s clearly in an extremely foul mood]

((OOC: My contact information is on this journal's profile and I'm in the game's Discord server. Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns as well. I also have a feedback post.))

Comments

[levelshift]

[The cold weather hasn't deterred Accelerator from drinking his canned coffee. Sure, he wishes America sold hot coffee in cans, but the cold brew is better than nothing.

School is out for winter break so he doesn't need to worry about getting up in the morning, which is why he's out doing a coffee run despite the late hour. Getting mugged or harassed also isn't an issue, since the battery for his choker is charged. He isn't the least bit concerned, despite the neighbourhood not being the safest.

He hears what's sounding like some kind of altercation in front of the dive bar before he comes around the corner. Not that surprising to him, and he's planning on just walking by and not getting involved because it's probably two drunks scuffling.

He comes around the corner, and stops when he sees a familiar helmet.]

....

[That's Jason's helmet. That's Jason. From the build he's guessing it's the younger one, and he's beating the shit out of someone with a tire iron, right there on the street.

Of course, Accelerator is no stranger to violence. He knows it intimately. For him, violence has always been easier than peace. In addition to that, working for the Society and living in Central means it's something pervasive and unescapable in his life.

But this is a little different. Jason has become something of a parental figure to him, different from the vast majority of adults he's encountered. There are only a few he would consider under that umbrella, and....

And there's really only one of them he's seen this level of violence from in person.

He knows Yoshikawa shot and killed Amai Ao, but he never witnessed it and in general she isn't a violent person. Yomikawa had straightforwardly told him she would never raise a weapon against a child, so even though she's volunteer law enforcement he's never seen her be violent. He knows the older Jason is completely capable of violence but he's never seen it firsthand, only the end result.

That leaves Kihara Amata, the scientist who developed his ability. The guy that he modeled his personality and sense of style after. The piece of shit who nearly beat him to death twice, the first time in the street on a night like this.

Jason is nowhere near as bad as Kihara, the two aren't even comparable. But Kihara is the person who comes to mind as Accelerator stops on the sidewalk, watching and unsure if he should interfere like he did with the prior fight Jason was involved in.]

[robintohood]

[Jason’s not looking to kill two-bit goons tonight but he’s not feeling sorry about beating the hell out of anyone either. Not his fault if someone decided to be stupid and tried to be a smartass to him.

He swings the tire iron one more time before yanking the goon by the collar and snarling at him]

Where?!

[The goon whimpers and manages to blubbers out that he swears he haven’t seen the clown since last year and he was too creeped out by him to work for him.

Jason growls and punches the man in the face before dropping him to the sidewalk]

[levelshift]

[He watches the scene, silently, and when he takes a step closer he hears that one word spat out by the goon. Clown.

It starts to click. He remembers the older Jason's memories, the warehouse and being beaten to near-death with a crowbar by a... clown. He doesn't have the full story here, but he's got enough pieces that he's approaching. Not to try and stop the very one-sided fight, but to get Jason's attention.]

... Oi.

[robintohood]

[A new surge of indignation rises up in Jason. He's in no mood for interruptions when he answers in a snappish tone]

What?

ᴏɴ ᴀ ᴅᴀʀᴋ ᴀɴᴅ ʟᴏɴᴇʟʏ ʀᴏᴏꜰᴛᴏᴘ

[heartofthedream]

It's hard to say how long she's been listening; the woman who can hear the thoughts of those as far away as the moon, who, with far further effort, can speak telepathically across the lines of some dimensional walls. Perhaps, since the beginning. Perhaps it passed too close to miss one of those nights. Or, perhaps, it's the slow ramping unceasingness.

She understands the mania roiling through the city better than she'd like to admit.

Her approach doesn't give itself the airs of normality. She's not there, and then she is, a girl alight in the darkness, in midair, not too close but not too far behind him, hovering above the rooftop where he's been a while now. Though it's not visible, a telekinetic shield hovers close, mere millimeters above her skin. One doesn't approach the dangerous while they are bleeding out, even metaphorically, without self-preservation—or respect.

"Find what you're looking for?"

[robintohood]

There are no mental defenses from Jason as psychic abilities aren't something he usually has to face. He's much more concerned with physical attacks. For anyone who can sense his feeling or thoughts, rage, fear, sadness, and exhaustion are flowing out of him like a river during a rainy day. He's trying to be focused on finally spotting and catching his quarry but the emotional miasma he's under distract him more than he would like to admit. So when Jean speaks, he's startled and whips out both of his guns as he spins to face her.

He nearly fires but he still has enough trigger discipline to stop himself. He doesn't put down his guns though.

"Maybe I'm just out for a little nighttime viewing," he retorts.

He recognizes Jean from a couple of previous encounters but this is the first time he's facing her as the Red Hood. He doesn't trust her to think he'll let him continue tonight's mission.

[heartofthedream]

Jean doesn't blink or look away from his eyes at the guns.

How many times has she stared down her possible death? (How many times has she died?) How many times has she set her hand, unguarded, into the mouth of a monster—knowing that it wasn't a monster, but something deeply wounded and capable of only acting from that wound, still needing more in the offer, in the being there, than in the self-preservation of space?

She's not in danger, but that's not the same thing as being safe.
But she didn't appear in the sky looking for safety.

"Nighttime or nightmare?"

It's an easy question, parrotted soft on the wind, without judgment.

[robintohood]

Jason remains on guard but something about Jean’s body language and tone suggest that maybe a fight isn’t her first priority. There’s no aggression like he would expect from Bruce, his other self, or anyone else who has tried to fight him over his moral code. However, that lack of aggression is only enough for Jason to keep talking. It’s not enough to lower his guns yet.

“Why does it matter to you?” He asks shortly.

Part of Jason knows it’s a stupid idea to be volatile towards someone who clearly has superpowers. Presumably she can do more than just fly. But he’s not in a social mood.

[demigoth]

Nico doesn’t go looking for the dead.

Popular misconception, really, that children of Hades prefer the company of the dead. No, thanks. He prefers the company of the vibrantly alive. And a quasi-gothic aesthetic doesn’t have to be macabre. He just prefers it that way.

The truth is, ghosts find him. They find you, too - you just don’t know it. Nico’s used to ignoring them. There’s too many shades drifting through the world, and he can’t help them.

He listens to the ones that’re more corporeal sometimes, like the Hurley sisters in Sunset Falls. Ghosts get lonely too. He only really makes an effort when the shade stands out.

Like there’s this one little blue shade in Central City that he always sees when he’s getting a hot dog from the good food truck. It hangs out in the old warehouse with the half-busted windows.

It’s not very tall.

Nico knows they died young, and that’s… that’s a whole mess. Ghosts usually linger in important places. Where they lived. Where they died. Nothing good happens to a kid in an abandoned warehouse.

He thinks about the shade a lot. It keeps him up at night. It woke him up this morning with the horrible thought that the kid was going to spend another Christmas there.

That’s stupid, he’s chided himself all day long at school. He doesn’t know what holidays the shade celebrated. This isn’t his problem, as he shelled out the money for a twelve pack of Mountain Dew and four Happy Meals.

Will would be so mad about how much power he’s using without telling anyone, Nico thinks as he looks at the hole he’s ripped open in the floor of the warehouse’s basement. Well, he couldn’t dig a grave through the foundation without a lot of zombies, so he made it work by calling up a horseshoe of huge, jagged rocks to crack the ground apart. Their slick black surfaces catch the flickering green firelight licking up through the spiderweb of cracks in the foundation. Nico turns off the flashlight on his phone.

He sits at the foot of the grave - the tallest rock is opposite him, doing a good impression of an obelisk - and begins to chant in Ancient Greek with the solemnity of a priest. The sodas are emptied into the pit with a sense of ceremony, and the fizz grows louder when the Mickey D’s splashes in. In no time at all, the hole is filled with roiling, murky green liquid. The food colouring is almost fluorescent in the green firelight.

The skittering sounds of rodents falls away into deafening silence. Vaguely humanoid shapes drift into the warehouse, all seeming intent on the green pool.

[robintohood]

Jason had been searching up and down the industrial area for any signs of the Joker. So far he found no sign of him.

While on the rooftop of a warehouse, he spots strange lighting from next door. Ominous green liquid was not at all what he was expecting and stirs up painful memories for him. Also alarming him is seeing Nico right there are the edge of the pool.

He jumps over to that warehouse. His heart begins to race as he checks the skylight for a closer look inside. All sorts of possible scenarios are coming to his mind. Has a League of Assassins member arrived? Does this Earth have its own version of Lazarus Pits? Has Nico been captured for his abilities? Nothing Jason is thinking about is pleasant.

CW: Previous injuries/death of a child

[demigoth]

The chanting stops abruptly as one of the larger shades gets too close by the grave. Nico throws out a hand towards it with a sharp command, “That’s not for you.”

Most of the shades glide backwards, faster than they’ve moved before, repelled by the force of Nico’s will.

He looks at the smallest ghost and beckons it closer. “I only want to talk. Have a drink and tell me your name.”

The ghost knelt at the edge of the pool and bent down to drink, slowly resolving into definition and full, if muted, colors. A boy, maybe thirteen years old, with blue eyes and dark red-purple bruises on his jaw and temple. His shirt is stained red.

[robintohood]

Jason’s heart breaks when he sees the child ghost. It’s too easy to imagine how the boy had met his demise. Jason has heard too many horror stories of when children were the victims.

He quietly picks at the skylight and opens it. Then he carefully and quietly climbs in and lands on the rafters. He wants to see and listen more.

It… doesn’t seem like Nico is in danger? Instead, it seems more like he’s trying to help. It makes sense though as he’s a child of Hdaes.

[avatarfortruth]

One moment, the tire iron is lifted. Poised there in the air, ready to whistle down through the freezing air; destruction and death in the form of cold metal and boiling rage.

In the next moment, golden coils have looped around it, keeping it from its descent. "Red Hood."

Diana sounds disappointed. The lasso gleams in her hands, the line between her fingers and the tire iron held taught. "That's enough."

[robintohood]

Jason feels the yank and sees the familiar golden glow. He knows he has to let go now that Diana’s around. Meanwhile, his victim flees as soon as the bludgeoning stops.

Jason let goes of his weapon and turns around.

“We were finished anyway,” he calmly retorts. It’s only because of his respect for Diana that he somewhat scales back his temper but for Jason, even that feels it could be tested tonight.

[avatarfortruth]

"Yes, you are."

The victim now safely out of reach, she loosens the lasso, coiling it back into her hands. It stays there, at the ready, the only sign that she's willing to take this confrontation as step further, should it be necessary.

For now, she watches him levelly. "You were going to kill that man."

[robintohood]

"Would've been no big loss," Jason replies simply and coldly.

What's one more dead goon? It's what one signs up for when they decide to make a living off of being a criminal lackey. He's certainly seen and experienced some of that.

He eyes Diana, trying to assess her intentions.

[purplexing]

[Jason's not the only one out checking out abandoned places at night. It's not an unusual time for the turtle to operate, although right now Donnie isn't looking into crimelords or anything of the sort. He's simply searching for somewhere unused that he can borrow for a night, and maybe keep as an external space to work on bigger projects. Buuut he's trying not to get ahead of himself.

Rooftops are his choice route, and whenever there are enough buildings of like height, he crosses them the old-fashioned way, darting along them, a dark blur of green and purple. He pauses at a ledge, eyeing the streets below and the adjacent and most importantly, decrepit-looking buildings before dropping down into an alley.]

[robintohood]

[Jason’s already broken into a decrepit-looking building Donnie might be eyeing. It was easy to sneak in through the skylight. Now he’s creeping inside, looking for any signs of recent habitation. It feels as though every other step he takes, the old floorboards creek and groan. He’s not using a flashlight for now as his helmet has a night vision mode]

[purplexing]

[The light that suddenly filters in from outside might be negligible for how dark the alley is. Donnie carefully lowers the slats of wood that had been covering a broken window after making the nails dissolve. Not as fun as taking a chainsaw to the thing but it's effective, and watching things just disappear with a touch is... okay, it's weird.

He does a quick check for broken glass before slipping inside. His interests aren't nearly so specific as Jason's, which is why he activates the lights on his battle shell, a pair unfolding just behind his shoulders so he can have a better look at the state of things.]

[overlyprecocious]

Practically speaking, Tim should probably stay away from Jason during the anniversary of his death. It's a tricky time, and historically, the two of them haven't handled being together while Jason's upset very well. So one of his instincts is to just stay away, let him handle his feelings however he wants, and not make it worse.

But.

He remembers what it was like, being the other Tim, in another universe, who'd almost died at the Joker's hand. The memories have lost some clarity with time, and he never knew everything about what happened, but he remembers how fucked-up inside that Tim felt, and he doesn't know if that's exactly how Jason feels now, but he - he just doesn't want Jason to be alone entirely. At the same time, he doesn't know how to approach this, which is why he ends up tailing the Red Hood at some point, dressed in a dark hoodie and jeans because he doesn't think Jason needs to be seeing Robin right now if he spots him.

[robintohood]

It takes some time before Jason notices a tail. He wasn’t anticipating a kid following him at this time of night. The figure seems too small to be an adult so while Jason remains guarded and suspicious, he’s not on as high of an alert for a fight as he normally would.

“Awfully late for a stroll,” Jason calmly says while perched on a fire escape. He doesn’t realize yet that it’s Tim.

[overlyprecocious]

Well, at least Jason's being semi-chill about this, Tim thinks, not realizing yet that his camouflage is actually working. (It's usually safest to assume bats see more than most people would, but. Sometimes you end up assuming too much.)

"I like late-night walks."

[codicies]

The atmosphere in the apartment has shifted. He knows something is up, it's not lost on him that Sleeper has been spending more time with Jason as of late — especially now that "with Jason" apparently means anywhere but here.

He tries not to take it personally, pushing away all the anxious what ifs that creep up in his thoughts. Jason isn't tired of him. He promised he wouldn't be, after all.

There's a rare moment when he and Jason are at home at the same time. Part of Dylan wants to just hide away and let him do his thing, but... something tells him he needs to reach out.

"Hey," Dylan calls, stepping into the living room. At least he has a conversation subject ready. "I finished reading Dracula. It really wasn't what I expected at all."

[robintohood]

Jason’s been working to the bone this month juggling all of his work as a civilian and what he feels he needs to do as the Red Hood, particularly in finding the Joker. But Jason knows he needs a few moments of rest in order to function and not collapse. Today was one of those rare moments.

He looks up from his copy of Carrie to Dylan.

“Yeah? In a good way or a bad way?” He asks. He and Sleeper had been wanting Dylan to read more and hoped their recommendations would be a good base for the teenager.

[codicies]

"Well, the cowboy was a surprise, for starters."

He leans against the doorframe, idly messing with the hem on his shirt as he talks. "But I guess I didn't expect it to feel so... I don't know. Hopeful. I mean, it was scary, but you could really feel the camaraderie between everyone."