[ not as fast as barry, but it's still only about a minute tops. he's in uniform, but he doesn't bother keeping the cowl on once he skids to a halt. jason already knows who he is. ]
[ he's in full armor and helmet, of course, leaning against the guard-rail on the edge of the roof, and he taps the side of his helmet. there's data flickering over the inside of the faceplate's screen. ]
Thanks a bunch. I needed to calibrate my HUD's tracking system for you.
[ he says, haha, like they're actually going to get to have a real fight where that would be worth anything. ]
[ maybe wally should be taking him more seriously -- he did say he wasn't going to underestimate jason, and that's still technically true, because he's on guard, watching jason's every move intently -- but, well, he can't help but roll his eyes. go ahead and track him, it's not like he doesn't know jason could already do that before. it isn't hard to find him. he has one of those things called a routine, and jason already knows 90% of the people he knows. ]
[ is either one of them really at a disadvantage here? it's kind of up in the air. wally might be, in terms of lack of knowledge about this particular jason, but he can probably make up for that with speed if anything starts to go sideways. besides, he's pretty sure jason isn't that stupid. the jason he knew might have been impulsive and rash, but he had a good head on his shoulders. he was a good kid. and maybe wally feels like he has a responsibility to reach out, if he can, to make up for not being fast enough when he really needed to be. ]
I'm sure you would've found a way to do that, anyway. I think we both know that's not what this about.
Oh? Well by all means. You tell me what this is about.
[ whoever wally knew, this jason is older, not as old as dick but more heavily muscled. his outfit and weapons are vaguely military. he looks the part of a villain. ]
[ wally folds his arms over his chest, not defensive, exactly -- casual, more like, because he hates serious conversations. he's had enough of those recently. (which may also be why he's still avoiding a particular point of conversation with a particular someone they both know.) but, maybe it was stupid not to expect a serious conversation. one of them has to be, or they'll get nowhere. ]
It's about Dick. I'm not stupid, Jason, and neither are you. It's all a game, isn't it? You want to use me against him? Go ahead and try, if that's really what you want. But it's not going to get you anywhere. It's not going to solve anything.
[ annnd there's wally rolling his eyes again. and sighing. ]
You really think that matters? He knows who he can trust. And you're not on that list. And you won't get on that list by using me. It doesn't matter where I'm from.
[ he didn't really mean for this to turn into a pissing contest, but. whatever. ]
You think I want him to trust me? You think I care? He's the one that betrayed me. All of you betrayed me. Good riddance to that second Robin, what was his name? Doesn't matter, there's always a spare laying around somewhere. No one will even be able to tell the difference.
[ all of you, he says, and wally can't help but let that particular statement get to him. he wasn't even there, and he has no idea what happened to this jason, or what his counterpart might have been doing at the time. but he knows what happened to his jason -- so for a split second, it almost looks like someone slapped him, the way he recoils from the way jason is talking about himself, laying blame that is likely not unfounded, in one way or another. ]
I don't know what you want, Jason. Why are we even doing this if you don't care? You're angry, I get it. [ he doesn't, not really. he's just talking, now. trying to provoke him? maybe. but, really, he just wants to understand, even if there's no possible way he could, without being there. ] You want to take it out on him? Fine, I get that too. Maybe that's cathartic for you. But I'm telling you, getting to him through me is not a good idea.
He left me. He left me, and he doesn't get to find himself a new little buddy to pretend to be a big brother for and pretend he never did anything wrong.
[ 'big brother' yeah like wally isn't usually a little older than dick. also his accusations are totally unfounded in the sense that everyone had believed he was dead, and suggestions otherwise were probably not well tolerated by the batman. but part of him is still more angry about the fact that he wasn't memorialized-- that the robin name wasn't retired, that batman took another partner, that the world went on without him.
he takes a vicious satisfaction in watching wally react to his words. ]
What happened to the Jason in your world, huh? Is he dead? Tortured? Brainwashed? Did the Joker ever pay for it, or is he still alive and kicking, free to keep killing?
Big brother? [ he sounds as incredulous as he looks, and he's almost laughing, but not quite. it's just -- it is laughable, really, because wally has never been anything like a brother to dick, not in the way that jason was. it's always been something else; maybe not something more, but something else. ] If that's what you think he is to me, you really don't have a clue.
[ which probably wasn't the smartest thing to say -- or, at least, not the smartest choice of words. there's something vulnerable to the way he says it, an admission of something he shouldn't be admitting to jason, of all people. ]
[ his jaw sets. he rakes a hand through his hair. he doesn't want to talk about his jason, but it's jason's life, in one way or another, isn't it? he doesn't owe this jason anything, except maybe this much. ]
He's dead. [ and it hurts to even admit that much. he's always been terrified of not being fast enough, and jason's death was the culmination of all those fears. barry would've been fast enough, even from halfway across the world, if he had known. ] The Joker's holed up in Arkham. Has been for years. [ which is unusual, and he knows it. but maybe it just means arkham is finally doing something right. ] But there is a memorial -- to you. And I don't mean your uniform in the Batcave. It's a holographic statue below Mount Justice. [ and he'll just casually not mention the fact that it blew up. ] It may not mean anything to you, but Dick -- even Tim, after he became Robin -- they used to spend hours down there. No one's forgotten you, Jason. But we both know that not even death is enough to stop the crusade.
A fucking memorial doesn't mean anything if the trash that murdered me is still breathing. [ jason please you weren't actually the one murdered. ]
Arkham doesn't hold the monsters. You know that. Everybody knows that. They slither through the cracks and they get loose and then they kill more people, and everyone allows it. I wasn't important enough to avenge, right? Maybe if it had been Dick instead. Maybe all his precious team-mates would've given more of a shit.
And I'm sure you've already told that to Batman and everyone else a hundred times. Telling me isn't going to change anything. I'm not even -- [ he grumbles, frustrated, fidgeting in place because he can't just stand still anymore. ] I'm not even saying I don't agree with you. But it's not my call.
[ there's no point in arguing about batman's choices when he's not batman. but, no, jason is wrong about one thing, and it's enough to get wally to still again. ]
You don't know anything. You really think Bats would loose his morals for anyone? That's why he's Batman. And if you really think you were never as important as Dick -- that you aren't, even now -- I'm not going to waste my breath trying to convince you. You can self-fulfill your own prophecy. [ which, incidentally, sounds a lot more like go fuck yourself. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
private »
[ no arkham knight for you, buddy, it's time to make this personal. ]
why dont we have a real conversation
that doesnt involve hiding behind text messages
[ sure, dick told him to keep his distance, but he's never been very good at listening. ]
private »
lol its already private im dumb EXTRA PRIVATE THEN
tell me where
LMAO I WASN'T SURE EITHER easier just to EXTRA PRIVATE
THE EXTRAEST OF PRIVATES
we're both taking chances here
just tell me where
no subject
Let's see how fast you really are.
no subject
Fast enough for you?
no subject
Thanks a bunch. I needed to calibrate my HUD's tracking system for you.
[ he says, haha, like they're actually going to get to have a real fight where that would be worth anything. ]
no subject
[ is either one of them really at a disadvantage here? it's kind of up in the air. wally might be, in terms of lack of knowledge about this particular jason, but he can probably make up for that with speed if anything starts to go sideways. besides, he's pretty sure jason isn't that stupid. the jason he knew might have been impulsive and rash, but he had a good head on his shoulders. he was a good kid. and maybe wally feels like he has a responsibility to reach out, if he can, to make up for not being fast enough when he really needed to be. ]
I'm sure you would've found a way to do that, anyway. I think we both know that's not what this about.
no subject
[ whoever wally knew, this jason is older, not as old as dick but more heavily muscled. his outfit and weapons are vaguely military. he looks the part of a villain. ]
I can't wait to hear it.
no subject
It's about Dick. I'm not stupid, Jason, and neither are you. It's all a game, isn't it? You want to use me against him? Go ahead and try, if that's really what you want. But it's not going to get you anywhere. It's not going to solve anything.
no subject
[ listen to that jealousy yep. he might as well be marking his territory. ]
He's from mine.
no subject
You really think that matters? He knows who he can trust. And you're not on that list. And you won't get on that list by using me. It doesn't matter where I'm from.
[ he didn't really mean for this to turn into a pissing contest, but. whatever. ]
no subject
You think I want him to trust me? You think I care? He's the one that betrayed me. All of you betrayed me. Good riddance to that second Robin, what was his name? Doesn't matter, there's always a spare laying around somewhere. No one will even be able to tell the difference.
no subject
I don't know what you want, Jason. Why are we even doing this if you don't care? You're angry, I get it. [ he doesn't, not really. he's just talking, now. trying to provoke him? maybe. but, really, he just wants to understand, even if there's no possible way he could, without being there. ] You want to take it out on him? Fine, I get that too. Maybe that's cathartic for you. But I'm telling you, getting to him through me is not a good idea.
no subject
[ 'big brother' yeah like wally isn't usually a little older than dick. also his accusations are totally unfounded in the sense that everyone had believed he was dead, and suggestions otherwise were probably not well tolerated by the batman. but part of him is still more angry about the fact that he wasn't memorialized-- that the robin name wasn't retired, that batman took another partner, that the world went on without him.
he takes a vicious satisfaction in watching wally react to his words. ]
What happened to the Jason in your world, huh? Is he dead? Tortured? Brainwashed? Did the Joker ever pay for it, or is he still alive and kicking, free to keep killing?
no subject
[ which probably wasn't the smartest thing to say -- or, at least, not the smartest choice of words. there's something vulnerable to the way he says it, an admission of something he shouldn't be admitting to jason, of all people. ]
[ his jaw sets. he rakes a hand through his hair. he doesn't want to talk about his jason, but it's jason's life, in one way or another, isn't it? he doesn't owe this jason anything, except maybe this much. ]
He's dead. [ and it hurts to even admit that much. he's always been terrified of not being fast enough, and jason's death was the culmination of all those fears. barry would've been fast enough, even from halfway across the world, if he had known. ] The Joker's holed up in Arkham. Has been for years. [ which is unusual, and he knows it. but maybe it just means arkham is finally doing something right. ] But there is a memorial -- to you. And I don't mean your uniform in the Batcave. It's a holographic statue below Mount Justice. [ and he'll just casually not mention the fact that it blew up. ] It may not mean anything to you, but Dick -- even Tim, after he became Robin -- they used to spend hours down there. No one's forgotten you, Jason. But we both know that not even death is enough to stop the crusade.
no subject
Arkham doesn't hold the monsters. You know that. Everybody knows that. They slither through the cracks and they get loose and then they kill more people, and everyone allows it. I wasn't important enough to avenge, right? Maybe if it had been Dick instead. Maybe all his precious team-mates would've given more of a shit.
no subject
[ there's no point in arguing about batman's choices when he's not batman. but, no, jason is wrong about one thing, and it's enough to get wally to still again. ]
You don't know anything. You really think Bats would loose his morals for anyone? That's why he's Batman. And if you really think you were never as important as Dick -- that you aren't, even now -- I'm not going to waste my breath trying to convince you. You can self-fulfill your own prophecy. [ which, incidentally, sounds a lot more like go fuck yourself. ]