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[batricide]

@hafid.alghul| ■ ▲ ◌ ▼

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[batricide]

I'm sure I'll only regret asking now.

[reneger]

Yeah, you would.

( it's fine, he's got this. jason clasps a hand against damian's shoulder, moves to try and pull him up by the fabric of his collar. )

C'mon. We still gotta up our knife collection.

[batricide]

[ See if he ever trusts you again, you giant ass. He gets to his feet, maybe a little unsteady but nothing a hundred thousand hours of training can't stabilize. ]

I want a sword.

[reneger]

Weapons are illegal here, little D.

( damian's up, and jason slides his arm around both shoulders. keeps damian close against his side, just in case. this isn't a tolerance that jason has seen him test before, there's no need to be part of the reason why damian embarrasses himself now. )

How do you plan on hiding a sword?

[batricide]

In a cane.

[ DUH. He doesn't need you coddling him, asshole. He'll tolerate it for a second before pushing him aside to walk on his own. Maybe a little more carefully than he usually would. ]

[reneger]

( cute. his baby brother's all grown up. the push gets jason to back off, but he stays close even still. just in case. )

How 'bout through check points?

[batricide]

There has to be some kind of space-age material that won't set off the alarms. I can probably craft something out of plastic if I have no other choice.

[reneger]

Maybe we should just stick to a cane. You can beat people pretty well with one of those.

( a gross snort, before he's taking a step closer, leaning into damian a bit. )

Could just get a good crowbar.

[batricide]

[ You tool. He rolls his eyes. ]

If that's the way you want to deal with your demons, power to you. I prefer a different approach. [ Actually. ] Electrified lead pipe.

[reneger]

Had a taser built into my last vest. It was great, honestly. Even managed to catch Batsy off guard.

( he approves of this plan, in other words. )

I'll stick with a nice metal stick or small blade.

[batricide]

[ Not a bad idea. ]

The past few years I mostly just ended up fighting with my fists or a bo staff. But unless I can synthisize some 5-U-93-R that will just put us at a disadvantage against any metas.

[reneger]

5-U-93-R?

( jason doesn't wait for an answer, though. just starts leading damian down an old crappy alleyway. )

I'm not concerned over metas right now.

[batricide]

[ He follows after, steadier now with the fresh (ish) air. ] Metas tend to be the ones running the underground. It's something Luthor invented. Makes a normal man fight on par with a Kryptonian.

[reneger]

I prefer to get my ass kicked at my own pace, thanks.

( like he gets the appeal. but it's never been necessary for jason before, and he's not pushing the envelope now. )

What happened to brains over brawn?

[batricide]

[ He wisely avoids the truth. ]

The Greek Gods decided they wanted to take ownership of the world again.

[reneger]

And?

( look he can make educated guesses but it's better to hear it from damian himself. )

[batricide]

And we didn't let them. Needed to even the odds a little, though.

[reneger]

Damian.

( a very, very gentle nudge against his side, thank you. )

You don't need a drug to take down Greek Gods. You're smarter than all the rest of us put together. ( well. ) Except maybe Babs.

[batricide]

I don't need you to tell me that. I was thirteen and practically running the entire League.

[ But he sighs. ]

But I was also the only human, and a child at that, going up against superhumans. I know my limits.

[ and ]

And I am smarter than her. All I'm saying is sometimes superhuman durability is all standing between you and a broken neck.

[reneger]

Smarter than Babs?

( there's a low, thoughtful hum. as if he's taking the time to actually, you know. consider that. )

I'm not so sure.

[batricide]

Then you're a bigger idiot than I thought.

[reneger]

I remember way back when, ( story time isn't something he'd usually get into, but damian can use the reaffirmation. ) first meeting Babs, and even after Tim'd come around and I'd gone back to Gotham--all three of us always knew she was better than us. Better at the game, better at the banter. Smarter. More clever than anyone else.

After you came around? You overwhelmed the hell out of all of us. Babs included. ( now they're getting to the shitty part of town, full of abandoned buildings and homeless on every street corner. ) At ten you were outsmarting all of us. Dick couldn't keep up with you. Smarter, faster, a better fighter than every other Robin combined, but--

( with a hand extending out, fingers shoving into damian's short hair. )

Kinda your weakness too.

[batricide]

[ He swats at his hand, annoyed. That part rings true at least. Damian had stormed the scene in his own universe and demanded the spotlight, the attention, the approval - expecting something better than the League only to find more of the same. Just with a limiter that ensured that the cycle of crime would always continue.

But he'd followed orders. Twisted himself up into pretzels for parental approval, only to find it never good enough. ]

This is a travesty. [ is what he says instead of acknowledging anything Jason said, looking around, his eyes are on the people camped out on the streets. annoyance rising. ] They drive animals to extinction and still can't take care of their own.

[reneger]

Yeah.

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Yeah. <small( there's an idle glance to a young woman curled up on the sidewalk, blanket over her shoulders and eyes specifically looking anywhere <i>but</i> towards them. it--hurts, honestly. seeing people like that, especially the women and children. he and his mother were never homeless but they were two steps out the door, and when <i>she</i> was gone--he thrived off the streets. stole from whoever had enough, tore down everything that got in his way. )</small>

Just the way the world works, ain't it? Gotham was like this. Every other damn place in the world has these bits, too.

[batricide]

[ He watches for a moment longer, then turns his head. Granting them their small dignities. His anger isn't towards them. ]

No. It's only like this when the people on top don't care about the people below them. [ He went to those dark parts of Gotham after the Regime took over. The street corners were bare, the housing had been fixed, crime was eliminated.

Wasn't that greater than the value of a few small personal freedoms? ]