you hear i'm declaring war; open-ish

[copsormasks]

WHO: Jason Todd (Titans), Bruce Wayne (The Batman), Jason Todd (WFA), Chrissy (Stranger Things) and others
WHEN: January, right after his canon update to post-death
WHERE: The Tower, Nova City, will update as needed
WHAT: Jason experiences his death and has Feelings about it.
NOTES\WARNINGS: DEFINITE mentions of violence and death, paranoia, fighting, etc.


Cause I Hit What I Aim For (Bruce Wayne, The Batman)
[Jason is busy scrambling eggs for him and Bruce in the kitchen when it happens. In one moment, he's stirring the eggs, hand on the handle of the pan and in the next, Jason disappears. Right out of Etraya's window of existence. The pan clatters to the floor, eggs spill onto the tile, but there's no sign of Jason. Another beat passes and then Jason is suddenly standing back at the stove-top, looking pale, his eyes distant before they roll back in his head and he collapses down into the mess of eggs. His head barely misses the edge of the counter as he goes down.

He stares blankly up at the ceiling, completely unaware of anything around him as the memories of the crowbar, that twisted face, play beneath the surface.]



Cause I Might End the Game For You (Jason Todd, WFA)

[Rest is what's been prescribed for Jason after he emerged from his apparent death at the hands of the Joker, but he can't stay helpless in a bed just waiting for the Joker to show up in Etraya. So he takes his new bike and runs, deeper into Nova City. He glances up to see a familiar face and his anger suddenly stokes white hot in his chest as he begins a pursuit.]

Hey! Asshole!

[He'll carry out this chase as long as needed to get up high enough to fight the older Jason. Why didn't they warn him?]



Could Laugh It Off and Keep Running (Chrissy, Stranger Things)

[The first moment he can escape Bruce, Jason runs. He takes to his bike and speeds across town to one person he knows he can trust, who has been there for him every step of the way. He nearly crashes as his disorientation continues to cloud his mind. He climbs the stairs two, then three at a time. He doesn't knock so much as bang on the door. He's determined to get in, to hide, to find comfort where he can.]

Chrissy!

[He's probably disturbing her neighbors but he doesn't fucking care. When she does open the door, he's pale, shaking, and sweating.]

Comments

[copsormasks]

[Jason has to slow his breathing to smell anything and focus on it.]

The bikes. My jacket. Eggs.

[leastdramatic]

[Jason nods]

What can you taste?

[copsormasks]

Threw up like ten minutes ago. [It was probably longer, but he can't seem to keep food down post-death.]

[leastdramatic]

Yeah, that'll do it.

[Jason isn't grossed out. He's more concerned with getting his younger self to breath again]

Deep breathes until you feel ready and present. Remember where you are right now.

[copsormasks]

We're... we're on the side of the road. [Jason's breathing seems to finally be calming as he's focusing on the present, on where they are.] Sorry.

[leastdramatic]

It's fine. It's not your fault. I've been through those moments a lot more times than I care to count.

[And it's still difficult when in the middle of an attack]

I've had them since my own... incident.

[copsormasks]

[Jason buries his face in his arms as the panic eases into sobs.]

I don't want them. I didn't want to die.

[He knows he's talking to the only person who would understand and yet he can't hide just how overwhelmed he feels.]

[leastdramatic]

[It's painful watching the young man as it's almost like seeing a mirror. But Jason knows his young self needs someone now, like how he did. No one was there for Jason after his death and revival but maybe there can be a difference here, however minute it is. So he powers through]

I know. I didn't want to either. All you wanted was to get things right, like I did.

[copsormasks]

[It's downright eerie to hear his own desires being spoken by another version of him.]

He was going to replace me. He had profiles on the computer.

[He had to prove himself or risk being discarded like trash.]

[leastdramatic]

[Jason furrowed brow deepens. Right. There were some questions Jason had right before the younger one spun into a panic attack]

Profiles of other Robins? He had contingencies for Robin?

[copsormasks]

He fired me. He didn’t want me any more.

[Jason hides his face in his knees.]

[leastdramatic]

[The profiles are concerning but Jason's also hating how similar this story is becoming with his own]

Why? What happened?

[copsormasks]

I has having nightmares. [Of a fall nearly to his death after a tangle with Deathstroke.]

He had like six profiles.

[leastdramatic]

[Not only is it upsetting to hear how similar their stories are but how extreme this particular Bruce seems to be. It's not right]

Completely removed you? Not just a temporary bench?

[copsormasks]

I was already benched. Made me talk to Leslie and then it wasn’t fucking enough.

[Jason crumbles.]

I wasn’t enough. So I had to prove I could do it.

[Hence the Joker.]

[leastdramatic]

He should've been there for you. Actually fucking support you like a real parent.

[God, what is it about Bruce Waynes across the multiverse that make him so poor in emotionally helping?]

I got benched as Robin. Overheard him talking to Alfred about how I was getting too angry. How I was losing it.

[copsormasks]

[Jason pauses, tears sliding down his face as he stares.]

Did he make you see Leslie?

[leastdramatic]

[Jason shakes his head]

He didn't get a chance to make me go. I ran away from the manor after that.

[He makes a humorless huff]

Guess I proved his point when that happened. I wound up walking around Crime Alley to cool down. Back to old familiar grounds, right?

[copsormasks]

[Jason nods and the similarity is uncanny as fuck.]

I had to prove I could--

[Jason shakes his head again, burying face in his arms.]

Fuck.

[leastdramatic]

You didn't want to go back to being a Crime Alley street rat. Being Robin was too important.

[Jason's tone isn't accusatory. He's speaking directly from his own experience]

[copsormasks]

[Jason lifts his head just enough to look at the older version of him.]

Yeah. Jason Todd ate out of dumpsters, Robin... was everything.

[leastdramatic]

[Jason nods sadly. He'll never forget what it was like when he was homeless]

Being Robin was like magic. You didn't have to steal tires or hubcaps anymore just to scrap by.

[copsormasks]

[Jason nods his head as emotion overcomes him again. Losing Robin-- he couldn't, he just couldn't lose Robin.]

Yeah.

[leastdramatic]

When I went back to Crime Alley, I found out my mom was actually a stepmom. My biological mom was still around. After that, I used the old man's funds to go to Ethiopia to find her.

[Jason takes a slow, deep breath before making himself continue with the story]

It was there I met the Joker. Turns out he had been blackmailing her. B had been tracking down the Joker as well and we decided to work together again.

[Even years after his death, Jason still struggles with telling anyone about what happened. But if there's anyone who needs to hear it, it's his younger self]

[copsormasks]

[Jason almost doesn't want to hear this. It's a different version of the tale that ends the same way.]

He beat you. Didn't he.