And she’ll do whatever she wants
And when she moves every jaw’s gonna drop
And I do but I don’t want her to stop
I want, I want I want whatever she’s got
DftD (ToDAtL) | Chat | Jay and Roy
“Born again, then.” [Roy rolled his eyes, turning his arm as Jason moved it, lessening the tension. He had a knife wedged in between the flesh and prosthetic not days ago, and the wound was still sore, limiting consensual movement when he wasn’t high on adrenaline.] “Hey, a little consideration, there are nerves hooked up to the thing.” [The red head flexed his fingers, tried not to ask why Jason even bothered with questions if he knew all the answers.] “Yeah, that’s about right. Insides got a blade or two, small tools. Totally inspector gadget..”
[He resisted the urge to sigh, never liked talking about his arm, even if Vic ensured it was totally sweet.] “I can tie my shoes, use my bow, take a shower with it. It responds to nerve signals just like any other limb. The weight is meant to match my real arm, lift as much and it even tells me the weather.”
“Amazing. So it’s fully wired in?” [If Jason had been the type to wear glasses, he would have peered over the lenses at Roy just then, eyes narrowed in half interest for his words, barely having enough focus left from the examination of the metal arm.] “Incredible. I didn’t know that the tech was this up to speed. No serial numbers, so I’m guessing it was a custom job. Luthor? Wayne? No, not them. Huh. Is that a fucking Rasberry pi board? Dude. You could literally add software to this. Did you know that?”
Fireside | Jason and Kory | Blackout
Jason turned to face her and the princess’ eyes met his dead-on, fingertips curling around the armrest of her seat. She listened to him, silent as he spoke, despite the fact that there were multiple points she could have — and should have — interjected at. He trailed off as he mentioned Dick, and Kori’s gaze finally lowered. How could she forget the true purpose of why she’d suited up, even for a moment? The young boy would always be their priority; they couldn’t necessarily save him from ending up as fucked up as they were, but they could very well try.
Her line of vision was still pointed toward the floor as Jason swiveled back to look out the front of the Dragon, and Kori sighed. They’d both failed Dick. Jason was at least around, but Kori? She’d all but relinquished every responsibility she had, distanced herself from the people that mattered, left Dick in the wake. How was that fair to the boy? She looked up when she heard Roy’s name and had Jason still been facing her, he would have noticed the flare of anger that made itself visible via the brightening of her hair. That was a low card to play, even for him. Kori shook her head at his words, eyes cast toward the ceiling.
“Of course not,” she replied, tone sharp, “My leaving was in my control, yes, but you and I both know I would have been more of a hindrance than a help back then.” Her jaw clenched. “I’m still not of much help as it is, and you seem to be functioning well enough without me, anyway.”
“Functioning, sure. I could have used the backup, though. Why do you think I have this new armor? People out there, they’re crazy. Metahumans. Aliens, for fuck’s sake. Look at what happened to Metropolis! A quarter of the city got destroyed."
Jason stopped talking abruptly, running a hand through his long hair. With a sigh, he resumed speaking.
"Shit’s rough, Princess. I missed you. Can’t tell you how hard it is to be alone against the city.”
Sad eyes met hers, and the emotion revealed there was unsettling. He never let himself get like this, not ever. Not since the showdown between himself and Bruce had he even teared up. But here he was.
“I need you. Starfire.”
Pirate Smile | Texts | Jay and Kory
Jay: He’s lucky I didn’t dislocate his jaw.
Kori: Yes, he’s lucky YOU didn’t. He wasn’t so lucky when he got to me, though.
Jay: Is he still alive?
Kori: If he died again, don’t you think I would have texted you first?
Jay: Fair enough. Any bone damage?
Kori: Hopefully.
Jay: Remember. You’re the one that fell in love with him.
Kori: Why do you think I hit him?
Jay: Never change, Kory.
Kori: As if I could.
Kori: I take it you’re taking the stray in?
Jay: He’s still in the system here. I’m not gonna stop him.
Kori: Where’s he been staying? He told me he’s been here a week.
Jay: No clue. Didn’t ask. Didn’t care, really. He just showed up in my library yesterday, looking like he’d crawled out of a septic tank.
Kori: He didn’t look any better when he came around mine, honestly, though I suppose the shiner you gave him only contributed to that.
Kori: Speaking of which… do you think you or Henri can come over and fix my door? I may or may not have ripped it off of its hinges and I’d rather not have to explain what happened to a carpenter.
Jay: I’ll come over tomorrow. Might as well get reacquainted with your apartment. 10 a.m. okay?
Kori: I’ll just be getting off my shift around then, so that sounds perfect. Want me to make breakfast? I’ve got plenty of eggs.
Jay: Sounds great. I’ll come hungry. Tomorrow is an eight mile run. Mind if Roxy comes with?
Kori: Of course not! I’ll grab some of those bones she likes on the way home from work. Any other requests? We could always do lunch, too, if you’re still around. I doubt it’ll take you that long to fix a door, though.
Jay: You still got a copy of Princess Bride?
Kori: Never leaves the DVD player. It’s been ages since I’ve watched it, though.
Jay: Breakfast and a movie. And a repair job. See you at 10.
DftD (ToDAtL) | Chat | Jay and Roy
[Sighing, though with the resignation of someone who knew the request was coming, Roy tugged both his sweater and shirt off over his heand in one go. He tossed the ofeending fabrics aside, rolling his shoulders once as he stared up at Jason, uncertainty in his eyes. He licked his lips.] “Say something, man. With that judging look of yours, I feel like a virgin on prom night.”
[It was remarkable. Mid bicep, skin met metal in a garish scar, ropy and horrid looking. The prosthesis itself was compact, but Jay could tell it housed a veritable wonder of tech. He snorted at Roy’s analogy, grabbing the fake arm by the wrist and rotating it.] “You haven’t been a virgin since you were 14. I take it you have full use? What’s the material, a titanium alloy? Lightweight. What’s all inside? Any weapons? How about range of movement? Cyberkinetics? I need details, brother.”
Fox On the Run | Batgirl and Red Hood | Flashback
HIs breath was ragged. He’d been sprinting for blocks now, keeping up with the shadowy figure maintaining his pace on the rooftops. Every time he looked up, he’d see it-a flash of red among smog and lights. She was running out of room to maneuver, too. The block after this one didn’t have any connected bridges, and unless she planned on grappling up a sheer wall of fifty stories, she’d be stuck. He took the gamble. Not pausing in his breakneck pace, he fired once, feeling the tug on his shoulder as his weight left his feet.
Five…Four…Three…Two…
He hit the gravel roof with powerful footsteps, letting his momentum carry him forward back into a sprint. He could see her cape now, flapping behind her just a few dozen yards in front of him. He dug into his reserves, straining to pick up that extra boost of speed as he tailed her, doing the required math in his head to adjust his next jump.
But she used a grapple. The extra half second she took to leave the ground was all he needed; a powerful flying tackle hit her around the waist, carrying her across the gap and onto the next rooftop. In seconds he was seated on her hips, panting as he removed the helmet. Leaning down, he smirked at Batgirl.
“Tag-you’re it.”
Whiskey, Whiskey, Whiskey | Jason and Eddie | Flashback
“Luckily for you, I am not in the uncomfortable habit of following people into bathrooms, then. Besides, it would only make you hostile, willing to disclose less.”
Eddie’s gaze did not waver beneath the scrutiny, though perhaps it would have been wiser to fake it. He had endured a life time of people trying to stare him down, because they were bigger, brutish, and thought they could frighten him. There was no malice here though, instead, Eddie felt as if this man with his strange iridescent irises was trying to bait him into asking questions. He wasn’t sure if it was bait he was willing to take.
“It is…an interesting effect."
How did you do it? Surely it had to be natural….But it didn’t look it at all. No infection he could think of off the top of his head, expansive database that it was, would produce such an effect. Jay didn’t appear to be high, and he would know if a new drug had been introduced into the respective club and bar scenes. And still, it was rare to find something that effected the eyes so profusely.
"Eddie,” he said evenly, watching the bottle with mild interest. Definitely not fond of not getting his own way, this one. “Nicknames don’t suit me.”
He relaxed, just barely, as he admitted his name. Something wasn’t right about this man, but what, he couldn’t tell.
“Eddie. Good to meet you. Come here often?”
There was no emotion, no flicker of interest in Eddie’s eyes. It was as if his surroundings utterly disinterested him. It reminded Jay of the Generals that he’d encountered in the Gulag, wholly unimpressed with anything not directly causing them harm. It was the look of a man who had seen hell, seen lives taken and spilled blood. Eddie didn’t seem the type to have served, and unless he had grown up in Eastern Europe, Jason doubted that he had been in war.
So what was it? Sociopathy? Drug addled psychosis? No, not drugs. He was too lucid, too clear. Perhaps just extreme apathy. After all, Jason could sympathize with not caring-hell, he’d made a living out of being uninvolved in his contemporary’s activities. He’d watch. Watch and deduce, see what exactly was going on with this unusual man with the sharp eyes.
Fireside | Jason and Kory | Blackout
She scowled at the use of her full name, eyes shooting daggers in Jason’s direction. His next statement elicited a scoff from her, and she was shaking her head before he’d even finished his sentence.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Jason, I wasn’t aware that the only friends I was allowed to have were people who traipsed around the city at night wearing masks,” she shot back, “They’re nice people, good people. That doesn’t make them my family.”
Kori looked away from Jason then, her gaze falling to the floor. No, her work friends weren’t here family. If anything, they were just a distraction from the growing distance between she and Jason, and the loneliness of her empty apartment. She knew Jason was only saying what he was to upset her, but damn it, he knew better than to think she’d ever value the people she hung out with from work over him — even if they had barely spoken in a year.
Her definition of family had always been a bit skewed; Kori had always been a firm believer in the fact that people chose their own families. Sure, she had a mother and a father, but they hadn’t raised her since she was twelve… she hadn’t even seen them since then. To call them her parents would be a stretch at best. At that age, she wasn’t even old enough to truly know them. Even if she’d only known Jason for a few years, he was her family. They shared a bond Kori would share with no one else, a bond that transcended arguments and distance. He knew that.
“Oh, really?”
She heard enough through the grapevine about what he’d been up to, but Kori was still unclear of any details. Of course, she wanted to know. That was the whole point of the conversation, wasn’t it? He could beat around the bush all he wanted, but they both knew she’d get him to talk in the end.
He took a deep breath, making sure the Dragon’s controls were set to autopilot. Then, he swiveled the seat, facing his angry former best friend in full.
"Kory. Look, man. It’s been months since we had a meaningful conversation. Other than that, I’ll send you a text when I need a pickup for a friend in the bus, or you come over and hang with Dick. Let’s not act like there’s love lost between us. If there was, we’d have worked something out. So focus, Princess. We have to rescue the wayward son, and I…"
He blinked, suddenly emotional. Dick was his legacy. His duty. His brother. And he’d let him be lost, let him be hurt and captured.
He swiveled back to the controls, focusing on the Gotham skyline, the small points of light still visible in the darkness.
"They’re more important things than our squabbles. Roy wouldn’t have wanted us to stop working together after his death. I mean, for fuck’s sake. I’ve been working solo. Is that what you wanted?”
It was quiet, barely veiled anger. He already knew the answer.
and all of this will never be the same again 