six; video

[kingofrooks]

... Uh. [ Bruce looks at the camera for a moment before taking a soft breath. ]

Has anyone seen a small, ten-year-old boy around lately? Dark hair, blue eyes, really polite... he's really ten-years-old, not affected by Ripley or... anything else like a lot of people are, lately. [ He pauses. ]I tried calling his NV but it's switched off, and I can

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Action; later later (after Clark leaves)

[under_thehood]

[Jason has been sitting on the roof for a while now, since the post, but the boy scout beat him to the punch. Still, the vigilante remains tucked away in a corner of the roof, leaning against the lip as he sits and trying to ignore the urge to eavesdrop. He knows that this could quickly devolve into a fight, that Jason could be provoked into taking some revenge on his father, that Bruce would likely want Jason to get in a few good jabs, but after their slightly civil encounter with the wall-tentacle-thing, the teenager doesn't know if he wants to

[kingofrooks]

[ He's been feeling the heat of eyes on the back of his neck for a while now, and he knows it's someone wanting to look for him. So he isn't entirely surprised when Jason pops in- though he is by the civilian clothes, by the look on his face.

Bruce blinks, turning around. ]

Jason.

[ Quietly, testing the waters- uncertain about how best to react. ]

[under_thehood]

[Jason honestly doesn't know what to say or even if he wants to comfort or start beating on Bruce for destroying his relationship with Talia. So, instead of saying anything, the vigilante simply takes a few steps further before sitting down. He doesn't know if his presence is a comfort or if it's now only a reminder of Bruce's failure, that perhaps his father had wanted him to stay dead. Still, for once they weren't fighting yet.]

[kingofrooks]

[ No, they're not. But they're not doing anything either, because he's leaning against the wall, looking out to the streets still- a futile effort to look for a boy that he knows won't be there. But he tries, nonetheless- if only because there isn't much else to do.

When he speaks, his voice is deliberately neutral and flat. ]

You're not in uniform.

[under_thehood]

I don't know which one to wear.

[It's an admission of identity loss that he doesn't know he's making. Jason Todd is just as dangerous as Red Hood, as Darkwing, or even as Robin. He's a threat in any form and while that makes him feel powerful, it also means there's no such thing as a civillian identity and he feels stupid for even trying. He's made himself into this and he'll deal with it. He remembers the first day he put on his uniform and how awesome it felt.

It's also a subliminal way of asking which one Bruce wants, if Bruce even wants him. A second-rate son, a second-rate Robin.]

[kingofrooks]

[ It's an admission that is more telling than Jason expects, Bruce thinks. I don't know which one to wear- in their occupation, that was as good as saying that he doesn't know who to be. And isn't that the problem? That Jason is no longer Robin, and not yet Red Hood- and he's not considering the other uniform he wore to be permanent.

He cocks his head to the side. ]

I didn't give you a chance to find a place of your own before. [ His voice is low, a murmur. ] You're Jason [ simply ] and whoever else you wish to me, I will accept it.

[ Even if it's Red Hood. He might hate it, but he will respect it, because it's Jason's decision to make. ]

But the choice is yours.

[under_thehood]

[Bruce's words have just as much gravity as Talia's last ones to him: Cross the line. It's a direction, somewhere to steer his life that's been careening off course since his arrival in Port, his revenge paused as he struggled just to manage. And for a moment, it seems too big a decision to make. Robin was handed to him, Red Hood was given to him, Darkwing was suggested, but who was he? Was he nothing more than a ripple in the water, passing briefly? Or was he someone who truly wanted to make a difference, beyond personal desires? Who did he belong to? Did he want to "belong" to anyone?

The world seemed to dim, to quiet, and the seventeen-year-old found himself deep in thought, questioning every moment of his life as he stood at the crossroads. Maybe he was just a fluke, a genetic mutation in the DNA of reality, a cancer that would eventually kill everything it spread to. Maybe he should have stayed dead. His shoulders feel suddenly heavy with an unexpected weight, pushing him down further into the muck of confusion

[kingofrooks]

[ Bruce looks at him for a long moment.

He's been thinking- if- if the loss of Damian had caused him so much... uncertainty, confusion, pain- what would it like, to lose Jason again. To have him be dragged back to Gotham via the Core, leaving Bruce behind- again?

He doesn't know if he can actually deal with that. Closing his eyes, he turns, and walks across the rooftop. ]

While you're waiting, come with me.

We still have work to do.

[ It's a gamble. ]

[under_thehood]

[Jason has always enjoyed the distraction of the job when dealing with any kind of uncertainty or pain. It distracted from nights of crying over his parents' pictures before discovering Shiela, it distracted him from nights of crying over the fact that Bruce had taken on another Robin and essentially replaced him, it distracted him from the nights of crying over the presence of Damian and what that truly meant to the vigilante as an adopted son. So, when Bruce offers that distraction, Jason glances up from where he's sitting. He doesn't need a uniform to do the job properly; he'll just need to be more careful; he's fought druglords and dirtbags without a mask and cape.

But, none of them ever survived to identify him.

He pulls up the hood of his red jacket and tightens the strings a little before standing. The hoodie, at least, is familiar and comfortable and has been dragged all over the world with him.]

Then let's get to work.

[kingofrooks]

[ The hood of the jacket reminds him of Damian and the completely illogical hood he has on the Robin costume. His lips quirk a little, and he doesn't resist: ]

The hood cuts off your peripheral vision. Anyone can sneak up from behind you.

[ But he doesn't wait for Jason's answer: he's already swinging off, moving through the air. Heading off to Sector Nine, because the monsters are always more numerous there. ]

[under_thehood]

[The sarcastic "duly noted" is lost on his lips as Bruce is already swinging away. He jumps off right afterwords and for a second there's nothing but them and it's perfect. Would things have been like this if Jason hadn't died? Would they have continued to work together? Would Bruce have waited for him to recover? For a moment, the vigilante considers what could have happened if he'd found Bruce while walking through Gotham while braindead, but he brushes it out of his mind as the night breeze ran through his hood as he arcs across another building.]