10302/A-sledding We Will Go

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A-sledding We Will Go
Date of Scene: 03 December 2019
Location: Coventry, Bristol Township
Synopsis: Jason and Stephanie go sledding on Coventry Hill. Races are won, (aluminum) medals are awarded.
Cast of Characters: Red Hood, Spoiler




Red Hood has posed:
Jason almost feels like he should be wearing his helmet. Here he was on Coventry fricking Hill a grown ass man, in amoung all the kids, he felt like he should be hiding his face. What if Dick saw, or Tim, or Damian... Okay, fine a few college kids and parents too, but he felt like stood out like sore thumb and it showed, as he trailed along behind Steph, one of those metal disc things thrown over his back like he was Captain America, one hand looped into the hand hold to keep it in place.

"So, just wanted to say, I'm adding this place to our long list of Vegases...Vegi? I'm not sure what the plural is, but that," he offers as he adjusts his shades with his free hand. The shades weren't on out of embarassment, okay, not entirely, but because it was a clear and cold day, which left the snow covered Coventry Hill gleaming.

The kids didn't seem to mind, zooming down on sleds, and then running back up the steps cut into the snow along the side of the course. There were about a hundred sledders here today but the hill was big, and could accomodate it and down at the bottom saavy street venders were hawking hotdogs, roast chestnuts, and hot cooca and raking in a fortune.

Stepping out of the way of a trio of kids dragging a big plastic sled Jason takes the last couple of steps to join Steph at the top of the hill.

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie dressed with the expectation she's going to be down in the snow. She has on black ski pants and jacket that fit her snugly, the jacket having some faux-fur frills around her wrists. As if she needed to offset the normalcy of the rest of her outfit, she has a knit beanie with dangling tassels in vivid purples and blues, and gloves that share the purples enough to accessorize the hat.

Because when one is going to be screaming for her life in front of children while speeding out of control down a snowy hill? One should look fabulous.

Stephanie has one hand on the rope strung along the steps to give people extra support, the other is towing a toboggan through the snow alongside the steps, and there's a second of the metal disk sleds sitting on the toboggan. Any attempts by Jason to take the big sled from her for the trek up the huge hill resulted in a poke in the ribs and complaints about does he think she can't hack the climb?

Now they make it to the top, Stephanie turns back to Jason, her breath condensing into mist as soon as it leaves her. "See?" she tells him, her blue eyes hidden behind her own sunglasses, but that goofy grin of hers probably is enough by now Jason can picture the bright gleam in her eyes that would accompany it. And then she promptly just falls over into the snow on her back, breathing hard. "Curse you gravity. Making me look weak," she grumbles.

Steph pops back to her feet readily enough there was probably at least a large degree of jest in her exhaustion.

Red Hood has posed:
For all that Jason /claims/ not to care about his appearance, he seems to have goen out of his way to ensure that all his clothing fit that same black and red colour scheme he likes so much. In this case, a black ski jacket with red tubing around the edges and red flaps on the pockets. Pair with black ski pants, half-hiding his usual combat boots.

As for Steph, he had to agree she did look fabulous even on her ass in the snow. He grins.

"Good you're accepting you're gravity's bitch now, it'll might mean it'll give you some mercy later," he teases, offering her a gloved hand before she pops up on her own.

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie takes Jason's offered hand and his help rising. Getting on her feet and dusting clinging snow off of her backside. "No, I will not go gently into that good... partially cloudy day..." Stephanie says, motioning towards the ski hill and realizing the quote she was starting with isn't exactly time of day appropriate.

"And, yes, I'm good with adding this to our Vegases... Hrm. Vegi sounds off... ah, anyway. To our list," she says, also seeming unsure of the plural as well. Stephanie picks up the rope of the toboggan she'd dropped when she fell, and drags it over to where it won't accidentally get knocked free to slide down the hill without them.

She leaves it there, taking up the metal disk. "I swear, Alfred had a malicious gleam in his eye when he gave me these," she says of the rudderless contraptions which have been the cause of so many great family photos. "And his, 'I hope the two of you enjoy yourselves, Miss Stephanie' seemed like it had an unspoken, 'I only wish I was there to see the carnage' after it."

Stephanie moves to Jason's side, resting the circular sled on the ground as the gets her first look at the hill from the top. "Wow. Taller than I thought. And... are those like... jumps over there on the right?" she asks. A kid on a sled with runners goes shooshing down towards it, and indeed he flies and catches air, landing on the sled and hanging on for a few bounces before losing it.

Red Hood has posed:
Jason smirks as Stephanie knocks trailing off her comment when she realizes it's the middle of the day. "I got what you meant," he tells her. "Vegas, Vegi, whichever."

Stepping off to the side with Steph and the tobaggan, Jason chuckles, "Yeah, he's got a bit of a... well not sadistic streak, but he likes to say I told you so, but hey, jokes on him if we get ripped up out here, I say we go to the Cave to let him patch us up."

That reminds him, "How's your arm?" he asks giving the formerly injured appendage a critical eye.

Though his attention quickly shifts out to the hill as he smiles, "If you'd gone with bigger instead of taller you'd have set me up for a 'that's what she said'," he points out as he turns towards the jumps. "Yeah, seems this place went hardcore since the last time I saw it. What do you say we give them a shot? If you're arm is okay of course." He handn't forgotten.

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie Brown lifts her arm that was injured, holding it up as if to test it, and then suddenly it falls and hangs limp, swaying back and forth from the fall as if she has no control of it whatsoever. "Right as rain," she declares of the results.

"Seriously though, it's in good shape. Damian admitted he added some extra to give that goop it's 'aroma', but, it's still the only container of it I have and it works great," she says of the League of Assassins balm he gave her after a bad run in with Stockholm and her henchmen.

Stephanie lifts her metal sled and trudges over a few more steps nearer to the lip of the hill. "You know what they say about tall hills, right?" she asks, wiggling her eyebrows above her sunglasses. She laughs in a way that suggests that's all she had on that joke though, and nods in agreement. "I think we teach this hill who is boss," Stephanie agrees. She moves to set her sled on the edge where it would start sliding downhill on its own if she wasn't holding onto it. She plops her ass down on it then, getting settled and finding the straps just inside the circular rim to allow one to at least try to hold on.

Red Hood has posed:
"Looks it," Jason says dryly before nodding at the true prognosis. "Yeah, tried some of that before it works wonders, shame they never taught me how to make it."

But then he wasn't really League, his training was bankrolled as an off the books project.

He smirks, "Sounds like D to mix something into it just to mess with you."

Jason follows Steph to the edge of the hill taking the sled of his back and holding it by the straps in front of him. "You get really tired climbing up them?" he answers with a smirk to her question... "No wait, that doesn't work, come back to me," he says.

Then as Steph gets set, Jason nods. "Well then, let's get with the kicking!" he says then without any further warning he jumps forward down the hill hitting the ground sled first with an oof and rocketing down the hill towards the jumps... and slowly turning him as it went.

"Oh crap," Jason says as he finds himself turning sidewise and carrying on towards the first jump.

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie grins at the punchline offered for the joke she attempted, the dark lenses of her sunglasses turned to face Jason. "How about, 'they are the most fun to ride'?" she asks. Maybe the comment makes her blush, maybe it's just the cold making her cheeks a little rosy. Stephanie lets Jason start sliding first. As he starts to accelerate downhill, he's accompanied by the comforting sounds of Stephanie's mocking laughter.

"You're so going to crash, Todd!"

Stephanie grins and then straightens her sunglasses like she were a pilot adjusting her goggles before battle. "Ok, my old arch-nemesis. We meet again," she tells gravity before she lifts her legs and gives a little hunch of her body to help start the sled going.

Gravity is waiting for her. Embracing her in its ever-loving arms and gently- Oh who are we kidding? Stephanie accelerates rapidly like she'd once kicked Isaac Newton's dog. Soon she's approaching ludicrous speeds as she follows Jason towards the jump.

Red Hood has posed:
Steph's repsonse Jason turning and staring at her for half a beat, before he grins. "Knew I liked you for a reason," he says before he jumps down the hill to start his reckless decent.

"I knoooooow!" comes his shout from down the hill as he hits the first jump still turned to the side.

He gets some serious air, unfortunately very wobbly unstable air, feeling that crash coming, Jason pops up midflight to crouch on the disk, then grabbing the sides uses his weight to twist around forward before landing.

Hey, they weren't just superheroes when they wore the costumes! The training was always there. Though that doesn't stop them from being unlucky or just plain dumb.

Jason hits the snow on the other side of the jump in a low crouch gripping both handles, and grinning... until he sees the bastards that made this course put another jump right after it.

"Aw hell," Jason curses as he hits that jump gets airborne before tumbling and coming down hard in the snow, rolling a few times and sliding to the edge of the hill. "Oof," he says already getting back to his feet.

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie is not far behind Jason. She starts to rotate as well, but reaches out to drag a hand slightly to keep her facing down the hill, so she can watch Jason. She lets out a whoop! to accompany his successful trip over the first jump, watching him fly through the air and land the sled under him with a skill that few normal people would manage, let alone the kids that are watching and begin cheering Jason on!

Perhaps inspired by Jason, Stephanie grips both handholds, sitting on her butt upright on the sled with her legs out in front of her. She goes over the jump, arms extending away from her as she pulls her legs back between her and the sled. When girl and metal disk hit the snow again, Stephanie lands on her stomach, her legs behind her.

She raises one first in a victory wave. It's almost like saying, "This is too easy," one of a superhero's biggest mistakes.

Stephanie hits the second jump and like Jason, finds it more difficult. She hits it at an angle that has her corkscrewing out of control in the air. The sled flies one way, Stephanie flies the other. Both continue sliding down the hill on their own, Stephanie on her stomach, bits of snow shooting up into her face. She slides to a stop, nearly hitting Jason.

The blond looks up, glasses and faces with bits of slushy snow clinging. She stares at him a moment lying there on her belly and then lifts both arms as much as she can. "Victory!"

Red Hood has posed:
Jason was all ready to keep sliding after Steph but like him that second jump proved to be tricky and he chuckles as he steps out of the way of her sliding form, putting a foot out to stop her.

"I don't know how you do that," Jason says with a shake of his head as he reaches down to help her back to her feet. "Stay that damn happy all the time," he laughs. He knows it's not all the time, he's seen her sad, but still those times were few and far between. Especially when compared to a grumpy gus like Jason.

Not that he'd ever call himself that. He was brooding thank you very much.

Helping Steph to her feet, Jason reaches up a hand at first, like he was going to wipe off the snow before he thinks better of it and steps back to let Steph handle it. Too many mixed messages after their talk at Steph's place.

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie takes hold of Jason's hand as she's easily pulled back to her feet by him. She ends up facing him, looking up at the taller man. Her tongue touches her lips for a moment and then she grins at him. "I don't know. I'd claim it's from surrounding myself with quality people who cheer me up," she says, taking off her sunglasses and pulling out a microfiber cloth to wipe the snow from them with, the girl's blue eyes lifting back to Jason to gleam as she finishes, "But I want to make sure that comment wouldn't go to your head," she tells him, reaching up to pat his chest briefly.

She turns away then, the talk at her place also on her mind and so she puts her mind in motion, looking about for the sleds. "There they are. Well, we didn't die or break any limbs on this trip. So, we obviously need to go again," she says, grinning over her shoulder at Jason as she jogs over to retrieve them.

Red Hood has posed:
Jason smirks, "Right like I'd let that get to my head," he says. "Besides what other quality people do you hang out with, I mean other than Carrie, Babs, Damian, Alfred... damn it when did I stop hating so many people. I need to fix that," he grumbles good naturedly to himself as he trails after Steph because of course they were going to do it again.

He starts treking up the hill his long legs letting him catch up to her easily, "So toboggan this time?" he asks. "See if the two of us together are better or worse than the two of us on our own?"

"You know. so long as nobody stole it."

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie retrieves both of their sleds and brings them over, handing Jason's over to him while she straps her own across her back like Jason had earlier. Though it is a bit larger on her. "I hope not. Though I kind of figure if someone was going to take it, it would be to use it on the hill," she says, glancing up for sights of the old, well-cared for toboggan anywhere on the slope.

She has her sunglasses back on, and falls into step with Jason as they head for the steps up. "So much hate," she says with a feigned shake of her head. "You're like, a character from one of those Christmas specials. The Hate-Miser," she tells him, her toothy smile resulting and flashing over to him.

Stephanie glances back up the hill again and says, "Oh, I think I know where I'd place my bet on that," she tells him of whether the two of them are better, or worse together. Though, lest there be too much time for him to consider meanings to her words, Stephanie bends down to scoop up some snow and lob a snowball at him. Gentle enough even a not-superhero could dodge it or knock it aside if he wished.

Red Hood has posed:
Jason takes the offered sled slinging it onto his back at the same time Steph did, before he too looks for the old sled, and sees it up at the top of the hill.

"Looks like it's still there, and people say Gotham is full of crooks," he quips with an easy smile.

As for his role as the Hate-Miser, he replies, "Bah humbug," with a shake of his head. "Are you saying I need to be visited by three ghosts?" Jason asks. "Cuz' if you send Tim, Damian and Dick dressed up in sheets I'm punching all three of them," he tells her firmly.

Jason's brows raise for a moment at Steph's comment, okay, fine his mind went that way too, but then he's ducking a snowball, scooping up snow and chucking one back. The hastily made ball mostly broking up in the air. "Low blow Brown."

Spoiler has posed:
There's not much one can do with a disassembling snowball coming her way. It's kind of like shrapnel, bit of it falling on her and leaving Stephanie laughing. "Just so you know, my mental visual was Tim, Damian and Dick with sheets over their heads but no eyeholes. Bumping around into anything trying to find you," she says with a laugh.

She dusts the snow off herself, and pulls off her awesome knit hat with the big tassels, leaving her hair to stream unrestrained for a minute while she dusts snow out of it, then doffs the hat again.

The steps up to the top are tiring for kids, and adults, but they aren't that bad for a pair that are in shape like Jason and Stephanie. As evidenced by the way they start passing people, having to step into the snow to go around them. "I think the crooks mostly come out at night," she counters. "I wonder how long the toboggan would last though if we left it? Not that I'd do that with Alfred's sled." Ok it isn't Alfred's sled, it's Bruce's and he probably doesn't even know he has it. But still.

They come upon a little girl of about four who is being left behind by her brothers. "Come on, want a hand up?" Stephanie asks the little girl. She nods and Stephanie picks her up. "Let's beat them to the top," she says, removing her sled to shed some weight, and offer it to Jason to see if he'll handle it for her. If he does, she and the little girl hurry up the steps. The girl's brothers see them coming and try to hurry their pace. But they are kind of tired. Stephanie and the little girl pass them and reach the top of the hill. "Girl power!" Stephanie says, raising a fist. "Guwl Powah!" the girl says, raising both fists. Stephanie grins and sets her down to wait for her friends, while she waits for Jason.

Red Hood has posed:
Jason pauses as if conjuring that mental image himself. "Yeah, that sounds like them," he says, not really but when did Jason Todd let a little thing like the truth get in the way of putting his 'brothers' down.

Once Steph's hat is secure, Jason heads on up the stairs, passing kids left and right, careful not to brain them with the big sled he's got on his back. "Yeah, heard that too," Jason says wryly of the crooks. "And really? Not long, even in Coventry, there's always sketchy people around places like this, so much noise, so much distraction, easy pickings." Three guesses how he knows that.

When the sled is handed to Jason he nods and takes it easily, though as Steph (predicatably because, duh) starts catching up to the boys he yells after them, "You going to get beat by a girl! Run!" he laughs as the boys pour on the speed but Steph and her passenger blow right by them.

As Jason reaches the top he grins to the boys, "Better luck next time, besides its 2027, little old school to be hating on girls," he teases them.

"Good job," he says to Steph when he joins her, passing her the sled.

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie waves good bye to the girl as she joins her older brothers. A rare victory for her probably with the trio of them, and she's letting them know. It leaves Stephanie with a huge grin shining at Jason as he joins them at the top. "Thanks," she tells him as she takes the sled back.

The smile lingers just a moment but Steph turns away before it lasts for too long. She goes over to get the toboggan. "We leaving the metal ones here, or sending them down with us?" she asks as she straightens it out so they can push it over to the hilltop. "And... do we dare the jumps on this? Or do we take the easy side without them?" she asks, motioning to the side that is much smoother.

Stephanie turns back to Jason. "Going to remind you about that one. Old school to be hating on girls. Though... ah, nuts. You'd just tell me you /are/ old school, wouldn't you?"

Red Hood has posed:
"No problem," Jason says as the sled is handed over. "Consider it your..." he glances at the sled. "Aluminum metal for uphill running."

It's hard to tell if the smile is noticed, Jason's eyes are covered by his shades, and as a Bat he's good at a poker face, though he does smile a little though whether that's becaus of Steph's own smile, or that the girl was headlocking and noogieing the younger of her brothers it's hard to tell.

"The things we missed as only children, huh?" he says wryly not quite sure if he'd really want blood siblings or not. He wasn't too sure about his adopted ones most of the tfime.

"Oh god no," Jason says of the jumps. "Do you want to deal with Alfred's 'I'm dissapointed in you' face? I don't. I'm a grown ass man, and it still makes me feel guilty as hell." As to the metal sleds, "Send them down, might want to hit up the hot cocoa after this."

"Pfft," Jason says. "I hate on everyone not just women, there's no school for that new or old, there's just me," he proclaims without a hint of seriousness. "I just figured teasing the kids about being beaten by a girl would get under their skin."

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie holds the round sled up just below her neck and gives a wave to everyone around her like she were on a medal podium. A number of the kids just stare for a few seconds, wondering what's up with the crazy blond girl. "Feel like the National Anthem should be playing," she says as she lets the disc-sled drop.

She walks over to Jason's side and watches the siblings, the razzing done and giving way to boasting over who is going to have the best sled ride next. "I think I could have handled that," she says in a thoughtful tone. She leans her shoulder over to Jason's for a moment. "I've not received it as often as you," she says of Alfred's look. "But... yeah. Pretty much. Guilty," she says. Though Alfred has been sparing her that look since certain events.

Stephanie trods over through the snow to the toboggan. "Cocoa is sounding good," she agrees. "You have some good ideas now and then, Todd," she tells him. She looks down at sled. "Are we ready to do this?" she asks. If so Stephanie will push her metal disc sled down the hill, and then move to sit in the front of the toboggan.

Red Hood has posed:
Jason eyes the kids walking by eyeing Steph like she was a crazy woman and wonders when he stopped being one of those people. Maybe it was like that thing about boiling frogs, (which was bullshit btw) but maybe she just increased the goofiness around him slowly until he stopped noticing. Either way, he can't miss the cue to (badly) hum the national anthem with a grin.

"There, feel like a champion now?" he asks. "Though I should warn you, the Russian officials are contesting your win."

Jason continues to watch the siblings wrestle. "Dunno, always felt crowded when Dick and Babs were around the manor," he admits. "Well okay, mostly Dick, Babs and I alway got along, even when she was dressing me in drag... " he gives a smile there. "But yeah, definitely think I was born to be an only child. I like my space."

"And yeah, didn't get as many of those faces as you'd think, Alfred and I were pretty close." But he did get more than his share.

"Thanks, and you're not annoying /all/ the time Brown," he says as he gets onto the toboggan behind her, one arm wrapped around her middle, the other ready to help push off.

Spoiler has posed:
Jason earns such a smile from Stephanie as she hears the hummed Star Spangled Banner. White teeth gleam as she nods her head to him about feeling like a champion. "I do," she says in a warm voice, before laughing and making a fist to shake. "Those darn Russians," she says with a sigh and a shake of her head.

"I have a feeling that you probably deserved every one that Alfred gave you," Stephanie muses to Jason as she gets settled on the sled. She scoots all the way forward, her legs underneath the curved portion, and letting Jason fit his legs along either side of her. She reaches out to help edge the toboggan forward near to the edge. They get right up there, and Stephanie looks off to the side.

About 20 feet away is another toboggan. There's a brunette in front, in a white snowsuit and a green hat. Behind her is a red-headed man in a blue snowsuit with yellow trim. They both have sunglasses on. And they look over at Jason and Stephanie. Stephanie looks back at them. They look back, the man's lip having a little derisive curl as he looks at Jason. The moment has the feeling of two cars pulled up to a stoplight, the drivers looking over at each other.

Red Hood has posed:
Jason laughs at that toothy grin, shaking his head, before chiming in about the Russians, "Always making trouble and not appreciating fine butts," he says with a callback to their last talk of Russian scores, wiggingly the butt in question just a bit before anyone noticed.

"That's cold, Steph, cold," he teases. "No one wants to deserve Alfred's disapointed face." That didn't mean he didn't deserve them though. As Steph settles in, Jason settles in around her, turning his head a half second after her, to see their rivals across from them.

"Did that guy just snear at me?" he asks Steph. "Oh we got to kick their asses, stupid Coventry preppies," he says before calling to the other sled. "On three?" then whispering to Steph. "On two," while they wait for the other sled's reply.

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie's grin had grown a bit at Jason's butt-wiggling. "No appreciation for proper booty-moving," she agrees with a forlorn sigh.

But the nearby couple and their challenging looks put the kibosh on that discussion. "I think he did," Stephanie agrees. She looks back over to the brunette, Stephanie pointing to her eyes and then to the other woman. The other woman just gives a determined glare back.

"Oh, it's on," Stephanie agrees. The other pair have slight grins at the corners of their lips, suggesting it might be in jest. But seriously, can Jason and Stephanie take that chance!?

Stephanie has to fight to suppress her laugh at Jason's instruction to go on two. The other man nods and calls over to them, "On three." He pats the woman in front of him and then says, "One...."

Red Hood has posed:
"Right?" Jason asks before the whole showdown begins. Once it has he nods when the couple confirms the count, "Two," he says and then reaches down to help push them off hoping that Steph was doing the same while the couple keeps on counting.

Or at least that's the plan, they could be dirty cheaters too.

Once they're off however and for a brief moment of detente with Stephanie's arch-nemesis gravity aids them as they begin to speed down the hill.

Spoiler has posed:
The woman in the other pair pushes off on two also, while the guy is sitting there waiting for, "... three!" Stephanie meanwhile is pushing with her hands for all she's worth to get them over the lip of the hill.

Once over the edge, something quickly becomes apparent. Stephanie letting Alfred know they wanted to use the toboggan, meant Alfred took care of the toboggan. And Alfred doesn't half-ass when he's doing his job.

The ski-wax rubbed into the bottom of the toboggan quickly makes a difference, Jason and Steph's sled picking up speed rapidly. Stephanie lets out a whoop, keeping her head low to avoid wind resistance. One hand moves to rest atop of Jason's that is holding, while the other holds onto the front of the sled as they shoot down the slope, going faster and faster.

"Ha hah hah!" Stephanie laughs as she steals a glance back to see the sizeable lead they are opening up on the other sled. "We're going to need one of these with a certain logo on it!" she calls to Jason.

Red Hood has posed:
Jason is all ready to flip the couple the bird when they push off on two only to find that they're cheating too.

Then the toboggan picks up speed, and then some more speed besides. "Haha," he calls back at the other couple flipping them the bird.

"Definitely!" he agrees. "Helpful for when the Batmobile loses a wheel," he says quoting the popular Gotham version of Jingle Bells.

He glances back again and sees the other couple pushing like mad with their hands to keep up, they were making good time but it wasn't enough, however the dog sprinting onto the hill in front of Steph and Jason's sled was danger enough,

"Look out!"

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie is basking in their near victory. She's competitive enough that whether it's taking down some mafia goons, or racing a couple who thumbed their noses their way, she wants to win. But maybe she's counted the gold medals before they are hatched. Forged? Awarded anyway.

The sight of the dog up ahead gets a gasp and Stephanie grabs the front of the sled with both hands, twisting it hard and leaning to try to turn the sled. The dog gets spooked and reverses direction, making matters worse since Stephanie had steered them that way.

She finally throws herself to the side, still gripping the toboggan which is already leaning way over from the maneuver. Unless Jason does something to save the day, it's likely going to tip over completely!

Red Hood has posed:
Jason cringes when it looks like they might hit the dog, both the first and second times, but then they're leaning waaay over to the side. Jason wraps his arms and legs around Step as something of an anchor and then throws his weight against the tilting of the sled landing it back on the snow.

Though their detour cost them precious distance and they now neck in neck with the preppies. "Okay Steph, let's get these guys," he says loosening his grip so she can stear, using his free hand to try and push the sled faster as the enter the home stretch.

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie gives a whoop as Jason manages to save them from the kind of limb-breaking crash that Alfred is no doubt to hear about upon their return. The toboggan is righted and Stephanie steers it back straight down the hill. "I mock you, gravity. You're nothing," she taunts, trying to get her old enemy to tug on them with everything it's got.

Side by side the two sleds hurtle down the hill, the sounds of the kids, and even adults at the bottom, yelling as they cheer for one sled or another. It's going to be close, the two sleds neck and neck.


  The sneer is gone from Jason's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate,
  He pounds with cruel violence the ground at a rapid rate;
  And now the other sled slides fast and now they take the lead,
  And now the air blows by Steph, whistling with their speed.

  Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,
  The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
  And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,
  But there is no joy in Coventry--the mighty Bats have...


... totally kicked the other couple's asses. Zooming past them at the bottom, the sled going all the way to the snack vendors, a round of cheers going up for the victors from the parents who are watching.

Red Hood has posed:
Indeed there is joy in Convetry as Steph and Jason beat the preppies to the bottom of the hill. P.S. Casey can suck it! Once they're down Jason flops backwards onto the sled looking up at the sky through the tinted lenses of his shades.

"Woo," he exchoes raising his fists into the air. When the surrounding parrents start to clap, Jason sits up casts about for the round sleds and hurries off to get them, calling for Steph to get up.

If she does when he returns with the sleds he repeats the medal ceremony gag, now that they had a real crowd to wave to.

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie slides to the side to lay beside Jason at first. "No canines were harmed in the filming of this race," she says with a soft laugh, turning her head to cast a grin over towards Jason.

She sits up then as the people begin to clap. She pops up to her feet, taking a bow as Jason trots off to get the other two sleds they sent down ahead of them. Stephanie waves to everyone. "That's right, we love you. Go USA," she says to a few. She spots the Coventry preppies and waves over to them as well. "Don't feel bad, you came in second but that's only because there wasn't anyone else in the race," she says, though it's kept soft enough they can't hear. She doesn't actually have any ill-will towards them, she's just hamming it up.

Stephanie laughs as Jason uses the sleds and medals again. "And you wonder how it is I stay happy," she says as a smile is flashed over to him. "Come on. Hot cocoa. Extra marshmallows. My treat," she offers.

Red Hood has posed:
Jason laughs as Steph flops down beside him and just because, he reaches an arm around her in a quick hug, before wiggling the arm free as he pops up to his feet.

He raises a peace sign to the people watching, throwing an arm around Steph's shoulder to complete the image. "Ooh, catty Steph, don't tell me you're developing a dark side," Jason teases, a little snark at their defeated foes was miles away from a proper dark side.

"What are you suggesting it has something to do with me?" Jason asks. "Because I assure you that's not on brand for Jason Todd," he grins he says grabbing his sled, and the rope for the toboggan and heading to the cocoa stand with Steph. "You're not a bad racing partner, by the way, I mean for a girl," he teases calling back to their talk at the top of the hill.

Spoiler has posed:
At the quick hug, and the later arm about her, Stephanie leaned into the pair of embraces, her own arm going about him for a quick hug back before she let go rather than linger too long. She has a smile on her face though as he grabs the sleds, saying, "Hey, you challenge the Queen, you... ah.. wait. I got this. Challenge the Queen, you best have a gentleman's gentleman waxing your sled. Ok that totally didn't work. Plus sounded dirty on some level," Steph says with an exaggerated sigh.

She watches him head over to get the sled. "Mebbe," she tells him in reply. There's a brief glance at the what the Russian judge didn't approve of, but Stephanie turns to get their hot cocoa order in. She hands the man money, turning back to Jason to stick her tongue out towards him for the "for a girl" comment. "You're so old school, Jason Todd," she tells him, removing her sunglasses and her blue eyes flashing at him. "Hey, I don't think we even needed Vegas for this-" She takes a step and slips on ice, her feet flying out and landing on her ass.

"Ok. Nix that. Vegas it is."

Red Hood has posed:
Jason doesn't fight any of the return hugs or embraces, despite how things had ended the other day and as for challenging the Queen and gentleman's gentlemen waxing your sled? Jason snorts derrisvely, "I can wax my own sled thank you very much," he says clearly seeing the double entantre and carrying on all the same.

"What I'm sorry," Jason says of Stephs taunt of him being old school. "I can't hear you from down there on your ass," he grins as he extends his hand.

"Definitely Vegas," he says helping her to her feet, "But just be glad we didn't get our cooca yet, or you'd be a lot warmer, and a lot messier."

He helps them get out of the way of other customers leaning the toboggan and his 'aluminum medal' against the the hot chocolate truck. "Don't think I asked if you got to do this much when you were a kid," he says glancing over to her and removing his shades, to rub at the place where they'd left two little red dots on his nose.

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie Brown is pulled back up by Jason, the young woman dusting her back and bottom off of snow as she chuckles to him. "Vegas, which means I can't use that waxing the sled yourself comment. Well, except with you in in private," she says with a smile to Jason.

She gives a warm chuckle and nods. "Yes, it could have been worse," she says, turning back to get the hot cocoa, while avoiding the icy spot. She brings the two steaming cups back. "Be careful, burn your mouth if you don't cool it first," she says as she passes one over.

Stephanie spots a bench which has already been cleared of snow, and motions to it, moving to sit down. "Not much, no. Wasn't supposed to go too far from home, and my parents didn't really ever take me anywhere," she tells him. "Thankfully the gymnastics classes in the rec center were close by, and I qualified for free admission. That was kind of my refuge, three days a week in summer, twice a week during the school year," she tells him. "What about you? I know how you and Bruce met. And, generalities. But I don't know a lot about your life," she says.

Red Hood has posed:
Jason may check out her bottom as it's being dusted but only very quickly, before saying, "I'm willing to allow the waxing the sled one to be shared, but no context," he grins. Figuring that would be funnier anyhow, people trying to guess where that came up.

He takes it, "Yes mom," he says of the cocoa warning the takes a sip and has to bite back a curse as he burns his tongue. He does a good job of hiding it, but by how he tenses it's clear what happend even if he doesn't admit it.

"Yeah, did gymnastics growing up?" Jason asks, truly curious. "Me? I tried to stay away from home as much as possible, wasn't a lot to do but cause trouble, then when I got older my dad figured I needed to pull my weight and had me helping his crew sling rocks, usually just a runner, sometimes I'd serve the product, it was shitty work, but it gave me what I needed to survive when he got killed and mom ODed. But no, didn't do any sports or after school stuff, mostly just ran the streets."

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie Brown ends up giving a snickering, but warm, little laugh as she catches what happens with Jason's mouth and the hot chocolate. She doesn't rub it in though, just relaxes on the bench and says, "Alright, I'm sure it'll get a few laughs and curious looks from certain parties."

Stephanie nods about the gymnastics. It was her one real edge when she first took on her identity as Spoiler. Well, that and a level of stubborn determination that a mule could envy.

She listens quietly, a little frown given as she hears Jason's dad intentionally put him to work dealing drugs. "Damn. I think you got me on the dad was a criminal department. Mine never too me on his capers. Just, decided doing crime was more important than being in my life," she says. There's no sob story tone to it. Just said matter-of-fact and with a shrug.

Stephanie blows on her hot chocolate for a bit before taking a tiny test sip. Then another, small drink when she finds it's ok. "So we both missed out in this sort of thing then," she comments, glancing up at the sled hill. Her eyes go to some of the families at the bottom that are with their kids. Bundling them up to send them up the hill, or getting them ready to go home.

Steph glances over to Jason. "Thanks for this," she tells him, giving him a soft, lopsided smile and then looking away before the moment can become to tender for her. "I can't imagine Tim would have wanted to race them. And Damian would have insisted in boarding the other toboggan to remove organs from them before we reached the bottom," she says.

Red Hood has posed:
Jason appreciates the lack of comment but knows she knows he burnt his mouth, but all the same he agrees. "Exactly why I'm letting you tell people."

"I dunno, your dad was nominally a super-criminal, met him once by the way, when I was working with Bruce," he says of the Cluemaster, it was right before he died. "As close as Willas Todd ever got to that was working for Two-Face, which got him killed." Again no sob story, just matte-of-fact.

He nods looking out at all the happy families,"Yep, definitely missed all this, though to be honest, if I came here as a kid, I'd probably be boosting steroes and hubcaps from these people."

"Really? Tim wouldn't race? How was he working with Bruce again? Did he get a golden ticket out of a candy bar?" none of the past anger when it came to Tim, this was the usual snark that came with being Jason. "Right about Damian though. If it was Dick, the girl probably would have jumped ship to your sled so she could snuggle up with him." Though to properly represent his Bat sibs he adds: "And Babs wouldn't care if they won, she'd just ruin their credit scores for being dicks."

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie looks surprised about Jason having met her father. Though it only lasts a moment. "Right, that would have been you then," she says of one of the earlier times he was put away. "Not real smart. Leaving clues that lead to yourself. I mean, as much as I hate Riddler, at least his riddles aren't actually self-defeating. Well, usually." Ego is a great weakness after all.

Stephanie gives a little shrug. "Figured it all out. Guess he showed potential," she says of Tim. The blond girl starts breaking out in a soft chuckles. "Yeah, though Babs can be kind of competitive too sometimes. But you're right, she'd view 'winning' in a different light I imagine."

Stephanie gets a soft smile. "Barbara means a lot to me. I mean, you all do. But I kind of relate to her in ways I don't with anyone else. Don't tell her but she's kind of my hero," she says with a blushing grin.