[CLOSED] Drowning without water

[robintohood]

Who: Jason Todd (DCAU) robintohood and Sleeper solo_sleeper
What Jason is prevented from making a bad decision
When: 2/14
Where: Central City
Content Warnings: Mention of death, murder, and PG-13 level violence

[As soon as Dick contacted the BatFamily, Jason’s temper flared up. One moment he and Sleeper were at a safehouse in the heart of Backbreakers territory and strategizing how to further protect their territory from the attacking Atlanteans, the next Jason was ready to take his deadliest guns and kill whoever hurt Barbara. For Dick to sound as scared as he did on the comms meant that whatever happened was life-threatening. Jason wasn’t going to let the culprit get away with it.

Being in a bond with someone and sharing thoughts and emotions with them is both wonderful and a curse. In this case, it’s the latter. Before Jason could finish gearing up, Sleeper shapeshifted to restrain him]

Let go!

[At the moment, he’s furious at both whoever hurt Babs and his partner as he physically fights with his every being to break free]

Comments

[definecat]

[Sleeper knows Jason better than anyone except perhaps his doppelganger, and that means they reacted quickly. Yes, the whole situation is yet another layer to the SNAFU that is currently going on, but they don't plan on being as bad at keeping partners around as their parent. Their own certainty that going out there without a plan would do more damage than protect their family reverberates through the bond, even as the weight of a large tiger that probably feels more like wet concrete than flesh at the moment pins Jason in place.

The huge cat looks at the few gang lieutenants still in the room, and snarls dramatically.]

This just became a strictly private area. You have your orders, you know what to do. Anyone who disturbs us until told otherwise will be declared lunch.

[They won't really eat them, unless there's a damn good reason to make an example, but getting told you are only to be referred to as "Lunch" by your fellows has worked before.]

Now. Let's talk about how we do this without any unnecessary corpses, okay?

[robintohood]

[Jason makes another useless jerk against Sleeper’s weight. He feels Sleeper’s certainty through their bond but his own rage is still there and fighting. It’s bad enough that there was never any payback against the Joker after he shot Babs. Now some other thug got her and she was…

Jason shoves that train of thought away. Better to stay angry and try to do something than being helpless while a loved one suffers again]

The plan is obvious!

[definecat]

The kind of plan you're thinking about is the same one that led you to a warehouse in Bosnia.

[Sometimes it isn't about pulling punches. Jason's angry, but it isn't a productive anger. Payback might just cause more collateral unless done decisively. Starting a feud won't protect anyone.]

Think it through.

[robintohood]

[The comment is like a slap to the face for Jason. If it were nearly anyone else to mention the warehouse, it would only further piss him off. But he and Sleeper know each other extremely well at this point. He knows what Sleeper is trying to do. He's still not happy but the shock and knowing them as well as he does is enough for his fury to start to cool down]

It's still not right.

[definecat]

[Something shifts so that the weight isn't quite so crushing in its feeling as Sleeper lays on them. Easing away from wet concrete and more like weighted blanket, but still heavy enough that sudden movement is impossible. Sleeper knows they got their paw in the door, but getting things on track to a useful solution is still a work in progress.]

Agreed. But until we have more details about what and who and how bad, we need to keep it together. It might not be an isolated incident.

[robintohood]

[Part of Jason still wants to run and rampage but he's not actively fighting against Sleeper's weight now]

Him sounding like that is never good.

[More of the fear and less of the anger comes through the bond now]

You think it might not be a coincidence with what we're fighting?

[definecat]

It will take several minutes to get to his side, and we wouldn't be the only ones en route. Not to mention condensing organized resistance into a single space is a classic tactic.

I can't speak to it one way or the other with what we know.

[They are concerned, and cautious. Nothing feels quite right with everything. Too much stirring the pot, but for what end? Invasion? Destruction? They can't tell.]

You want to risk what you've built here crumbling because you leapt without looking? Rook and Heron are already responding. Probably others.

[And sometimes the hard decision is to stand back and hold the line.]

[robintohood]

[Jason hates it all. He especially the hates the waiting but but Sleeper's right. His body loosens slightly as his temper continues to cool down]

All right. We'll wait for now. We're moving together the moment there's something though.

[definecat]

Understood. But let's do our best not to have another downed bird.

[At that, they do let up, enough that if Jason decided he'd have enough of being pinned to the ground, he can get up and go back to strapping on gear. Sleeper understands too much. The anxiety of waiting, the fear of loss, the rage of needing to do something. But they also know that sometimes taking a little time to observe from the shadows means a much better chance of landing your prey.]

You need to learn to harness that fire instead of letting it consume you whenever it flares, partner. I'm not the kind of symbiote to go looking to trade in for a different model.

[robintohood]

[Jason gets up and this time, he's calm as he finishes putting on his gear. The action will at least give him some sense of control again and it's better to be ready at a moment's notice.

He's touched by Sleeper's comment about how committed they are to him. It's not a surprise but it always feels good to have the reassurance of how much they care about him]

It's the helplessness of not doing something. I've been there before.

[He watched his mother's addiction eat her away despite his best efforts. He's seen far too many innocent people in Crime Alley suffer. Gloria Stanson couldn't get justice before her death. His world's Barbara is permanently paralyzed and still the Joker lives. Jason's sick and tired of seeing and experiencing so much helplessness]

[definecat]

There's doing something and there's doing the right thing. You know better than to settle for the first when a little planning will get you the second.

[They don't point out that Batman trained him better than that because it's one too many sucker-punches than the situation calls for at the moment.]

If there's something to be done, we'll be a part of it. But I won't lose you because you refused to think because you were too busy feeling.

[robintohood]

[Jason puts on his jacket before walk back over to Sleeper and offering a hand to let them climb back on him and nuzzle. It's hard for him to stay angry at his partner for long. He trusts them with anything, including his own life]

Heh. You know my history with working with anybody.

[definecat]

I only have one example to go by. You never worked with those folks in Gotham.

[They nudge the palm, then shifting down to housecat scale they leap up to hang around his shoulders like a collar.]

And anyone who'd say you were fired clearly doesn't consider you an equal partner.

[robintohood]

[Jason reaches to give Sleeper scritches around their neck. At this point, it’s become a habit of his as a way to give affection to his partner and to ease his own nerves]

For a long time I thought I was better off alone.

[definecat]

You care too much to truly be alone. But it also means you get hurt more, and this is one of those really painful spots.

[They pause, flicking an ear towards the comm unit.]

Sounds like your sister pulled through. Why don't you see if we've got anything to help clean up?

[robintohood]

[Jason nods. He needs to shift his attention to the right priorities again]

The gang’s got their orders. We’ll come back here later.

[Then there’s a short pause]

Join me? Feels like web-slinging could do me some good tonight.

[definecat]

You've only to ask.

[Their substance glides over, blending into the uniform as they join together to share in a way nobody who hadn't experienced the bond would ever really understand. Even Sleeper was sometimes surprised by the depth of the connection, and how well they worked together.]

[robintohood]

[Even after nearly a year of being bonded, Jason still struggles the find the right words to describe what it’s like to be in a symbiote bond. It’s not the kind of relationship most humans experience. It’s far more intimate.

No matter how often he and Sleeper bond, Jason always finds it simultaneously thrilling and very comforting. It’s the very opposite of the lone wolf mentality he had. When they’re in sync as one body, there’s little need to debate. They just do it. They are one. They’re far more stronger together than separate. It’s the ultimate expression of how much they love and trust each other.

Once he and Sleeper are together, they open a window, fire from their wrist a string of black fluid at a nearby building, and then swing out]