[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

[robintohood]

[Jason hadn’t even thought that he was being parental. He just considers himself not a big enough asshole to hurt kids]

What’re you gonna do if your battery does run out?

[levelshift]

[This feels a lot like Yomikawa behaviour to him, which in his mind equals parental. Jason is under no obligation to make sure he's okay, especially when he's intending on imposing on him for as long as he can.]

I'll head back to my apartment before it dies. But that's only if you're out here for that long.

[robintohood]

[Under his helmet Jason is scowling. He still hates the idea of anyone accompanying him for this. Sleeper is the one exception. For now, Accelerator is clearly not going to give up and there’s only so much time Jason can waste on arguing with him. He still wants to find the Joker]

Fine. But you better head out before that battery gets dangerously low.

[levelshift]

[All of this is annoying - the arguing, the time limit, the fact that Jason is insisting on doing something that could potentially be very, very dangerous - but this seems like the best compromise the two of them can come to. They're both stubborn, neither one wants to budge, so they get an imperfect outcome.

He nods firmly.]

I will.

[robintohood]

[Jason clicks his tongue in annoyance before using his grapple gun again to swing to the next rooftop. It’s going to be tough for him to split his attention between being concerned for Accelerator and finding the Joker]

[levelshift]

[Accelerator switches modes again and follows. It's clear from the way he's keeping his hand on the choker switch that he's being incredibly conservative in his battery usage, so he can stretch out those thirty minutes across hours.

Sorry Jason, you're going to have to deal with this kid for most of the night.]

[robintohood]

[Jason would attempt to shake off most other people if they were following him but Accelerator is an exception.

He takes more time than he normally would being perched on rooftops and scanning the area for potential Joker hideouts. He’s noticed how careful the teenager is being with his battery. He supposes he should give Accelerator some credit on that end, even he’s unhappy by this turn of events]

[levelshift]

[Keeping up isn't much of an issue right now, not when he can make use of his ability. It irritates him to no end that he can't do this all night, but there's nothing he can do. It's already a miracle that he's even up and walking around on his own.

So he does what he can. He doesn't expect Jason to give up at all, not when they're dealing with the bastard who killed him, and he doesn't want to talk him down. If he was in his position he wouldn't want to stop, either.

That's why he's quiet as they move from rooftop to rooftop, also looking around for any suspicious-looking people milling around when they stop.]

[robintohood]

[Eventually they reach towards a waterfront industrial area. Based on experience, Jason knows warehouses are popular with criminals. The Joker certainly has had his share of them.

He stops on the rooftop of one such warehouse and looks around. With his back turned towards Accelerator, he also softly sighs. He’s so tired, and not just from the evening’s activities. The entire month has been exhausting for him in more than one way]

[levelshift]

[As soon as his feet touch the roof of the warehouse he's switching modes again, acutely aware they've been wandering around for long enough that time is starting to become an issue for him. He doesn't say that out loud though, he doesn't want to be a bother until it becomes absolutely necessary.

He watches Jason's back, hears him sigh, and frowns a little.]

.... How long have you been looking for him like this?

[robintohood]

A while.

[Jason knows it’s too vague of an answer but he doesn’t want to admit that he hasn’t had any progress. It’s frustrating and exhausting. He’s both tired and wishes he would just channel his rage and sense of vengeance at the right target already]

[levelshift]

[That is frustratingly vague, so much so that even without Jason saying it out loud he can guess that progress has either been incredibly slow, or hit a wall early on. Probably the latter, if Jason is resorting to rooftop-hopping and scoping out warehouses instead of narrowing things down via specific gangs or individuals.

He can't very well just say "take a break," though. For one, he isn't that kind, and two, it's extremely unlikely Jason would listen.

So he weighs his options, and tries to come up with something else.]

Then maybe you need to come at this from a new angle.

[robintohood]

Tch. Would love to but I didn’t have much to start in the first place. It’s like he disappears into thin air and then reappears when we least expect it.

[Which is part of why Jason’s anxiety is through the roof this month]

[levelshift]

[Accelerator looks thoughtful.]

You're making it sound like the bastard can teleport, or something.

[robintohood]

[Jason huffs]

He didn’t have a healing ability before he got here but I got to see it for myself when I shot him center mass.

[levelshift]

[Hmmm.]

So you're saying he could very well teleport now.

[robintohood]

Unfortunately, it’s possible.

[levelshift]

.....

[Accelerator falls quiet for a few moments, putting his thoughts together.]

You know, teleporting is a power some espers have back home. But not a single one of the other Level 5s are teleporters.

[Maybe Musujime could have reached Level 5, but the fact is she's only a Level 4.]

Teleportation is one of those abilities that seems totally fucking ridiculous at first glance. I'm sure that's how normal people view it. It'd be hard for a normal person to wrap their head around the idea of an individual being able to compress space-time to instantly appear in a new location. But....

[He looks down at the warehouse, shrugging.]

But when you look at it from a different perspective, it's not that big a deal. Esper teleportation is simply eleventh dimensional movement. At the end of the day, it's still just movement. When you make an attempt at looking at it beyond the perspective of a normal person, from another angle, it's a lot less overwhelming.

[He sighs a little. There's a point to all of this, really.]

I guess what I'm saying is that no matter what this bastard can do, even if it's something like teleportation, finding him isn't some unsurmountable thing. You just need to stop and find a new angle. Otherwise, all you're doing is grinding yourself down doing something that isn't working.

[robintohood]

[Jason sighs. He can feel the emotional and mental exhaustion creeping up within him]

The Joker is probably the epitome of chaos theory. Part of his gimmick is his unpredictability. Sometimes he might shoot a goon in the face because they didn’t laugh at his joke. Sometimes, he’ll let someone live because he just feels like it. The list goes on.

[And he’s so tired]

[levelshift]

[A person that's the epitome of chaos theory? Accelerator snorts.]

Scientists who use particle accelerators often have to use chaos theory in order to complete their experiments. I'm the same way, sometimes I have to incorporate it into my calculations.

[He did have to use it way back, during that fight with that Level 0, when he had taken control of every air molecule in Academy City to create a plasma bomb. So his tone is confident.]

Like I said, just because it seems insurmountable doesn't mean it is. The fact that you think he's impossible to predict is even more reason to quit a method that clearly isn't working.

[robintohood]

If you got suggestions to what the alternate methods are, I’m all ears.

[Maybe it sounds a little defensive and aggressive but Jason truly is open to hearing another way to find his killer]

[levelshift]

[He isn't the least bit bothered by the hostility.]

I want a coffee, first. Are there any cafes open this late?

[robintohood]

There might be a couple of spots around. One's close.

[There's a small hesitation before Jason looks away from the docks and back towards the city]

[levelshift]

[Noticing that hesitation, Accelerator steps away from the edge of the roof.]

Great, lead the way.

[robintohood]

[Being mindful of Accelerator's battery, Jason uses the building's fire escape to climb down back to ground level. They're going to walk instead of jumping around]