7009/All-Blade: The Long Ride Home

All-Blade: The Long Ride Home
Date of Scene:	23 March 2019
Location:	Gotham City
Synopsis:	Jason and Kitty get information on a ride home. And Kitty gets only more stubborn.
Cast of Characters:	Red Hood, Shadowcat
Tinyplot:	All-Blade

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Red Hood has posed:
See. Here's the deal with having a girlfriend. You nearly get your lung ripped out by an anctient evil that you were trained to defend yourself against, and suddenly they won't take no for an answer when you want to go off to find out what happened.

As the smoke dissipates from the Untitled that carried out the attack on Kitty, Tim, and Jason, the later of the three frowns. "Going to have to cut the weekend short, Kitty." he offers rather undiplomatically. Of course, this presents a problem, because Kitty is his ride home.

She would have to want to show off the Avalon that Bruce had brought for her. He glances to Kitty, and heads for the passenger's side door as he puts away the copper blade he had with him. Hopefully she's civil enough to drive him home. Right?

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde keeps the copper pipe in hand as they head over to the car. She unlocks it, though Jason already is keyed into it so he can enter via code or thumbprint as well. The slender brunette slides behind the wheel, waiting for Jason to be seated and belted before she replies, "No, of course I understand. We'll pack fast and get a flight. I'll let people know I'm going to be gone," she tells him as she pulls out of the parking space and then turns out onto the street to head home.

"So what exactly is this we're dealing with? Is she human, or something else?" Kitty asks, as if he hadn't indicated she wouldn't be coming with him. Because that was just for Tim's benefit, obviously.

Red Hood has posed:
"Kitty, you're not going." Jason is resolute on this. As he settles into the passenger's seat - maybe he decides this is a good time to buckle up. It's going to be a bumpy ride. "You have your duties to the school, Janet, all of that. And this is a part of my past I'm not sure I want to share with you yet." he lets out a breath as he slumps into the seat.

His arms fold over his chest and he cuts a side-eye at Kitty as he setles in. "It was just a start. That was a feeler. A message. It's only going to get worse, and you're not prepared for what I need to do. I need to call in some favors, and do some things that won't exactly be approved of. By anyone."

Shadowcat has posed:
"I'd say your past has decided to share itself with me, whether you were ready or not," Kitty tells Jason. She glances over to him but mostly keeps her eyes on the road. "Jason. We're in this together. I know you can probably take care of this alone. But you don't have to. I have a responsibility to you as well," Kitty says.

"And if that thing is anything as bad as she seems, I think the world's better off if I'm spending my time with you helping stop her. That's part of what being an X-man is all about," Kitty says. That's the first time she's mentioned the name of her team to him. She looks over to him. "Just trust me to be there and have your back. Just like I know you'll have mine," she says.

Red Hood has posed:
"He's not telling you because he doesn't know." comes a voice from the back seat. Jason grabs the pistol that is in the glove box - don't ask when he stashed it in there, Kitty - but when he glances in the rearview, he lets out a breath and frowns.

"Your timing sucks, Essence." he mutters.

"You are a hard man to find when you want to be, Jason."

In Kitty's back seat is a woman of very pale skin and stark white hair. Her outfit seems to consume her whole frame and is made from the shadow itself. Her eyes are /empty/. Dark pits that are lightly made up, with stitches going from her eyebrows and curving along her scalp.

"So it's true?" he asks Essence.

"Yes. Ducra is dead. It is time for you to come home."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde's eyes jerk up to the rear view, and she then turns to get a look at the woman in the back seat directly, a hand going over to rest on Jason preemptively should they need to get out of the car immediately.

As Jason doesn't react negatively to the sudden appearance, Kitty relaxes a bit. But keeps her hand in contact with him just the same. Her eyes flit back and forth between the road and mirror, keeping an eye on the woman that Jason named Essence.

Kitty says nothing for now, not interrupting their conversation. She continues driving, the car making a smooth right onto the next road, a few blocks from Jason's brownstone. Outside the air is brisk and a light wind stirs the branches of the few trees planted in spots along the streets, their branches just starting to have a few buds here and there as if they've sensed Spring nearing.

Red Hood has posed:
As they drive, Essence gives the smallest of smiles. "You always chose the smart ones, Jason." she says in a tone that suggests she may know that more than most.

"You had your shot, then you were banished. Now talk."

Essence sighs. "Your impetuence is as terrible as always, Jason. Always rushing into things. But in this case, I'll allow it." She lifts her head for a moment, those empty eyes looking back into the mirror and locks with Kitty's. As if sharing and baring her soul to the other woman, she starts her story.

"It begins at the dawn of man. There were nine of them. Brothers and sisters. A clan." she explains, taking Kitty back to that time, where they are emerging from their caves and going on a hunt. They are high in the mountains - Kitty can't quite place where they are - but it's cold. Freezing. They are high up. Her breath is shallow - it's hard to find oxygen where they are - it is thin.

"They sought shelter from the coming storm. They found it in a cave higher than they had been before.

As they went further down into the cave, they come across a pit of darkness - pure black. The youngest of them, a woman with a young child herself, is trying yo convince the others not to approach. But the oldest male does not listen.

He drinks from the pit - and the darkness consumes him - and one by one, the darkness spreads, enveloping and devouring each of the siblings. "It started with the weakness. It went. One by one - from the depths of the planet's very core as it devoured each one of them. The last - Ducra - held out the longest. She defied the evil that had consumed her brother and the others. And it was there that the Untitled was born. And the All-Caste with it."

Kitty's vision returns just in time for her to realize that she's nearly made the whole drive home - guided by an unseen hand as the woman in the back glances towards Jason. "With Ducra gone..."

"You've decided to side with the Untitled." Jason interrupts.

"Foolish as always. And quick to judge. It was one of the enduring things about you I didn't like. But I am the one that is left to carry on. My mother is gone. And you are my instrument."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde feels herself shivering as the cold of the mountain air sinks in to her bones. The shelter of the cave is welcome, until the sight of the black pit fills her with a sense of foreboding. The events play out and eventually Kitty's vision clears, just in time to find herself pulling into the brownstone's driveway.

She puts the car in park and turns it off. Kitty slowly turns in her seat to regard Essence directly. Then a glance over to Jason. "So these Untitled, the siblings. They were opposed by Ducra? And... she found others? This All-Caste were with her? What is it that these siblings taken by evil wish to accomplish?" Kitty asks, as if trying to understand all of the players and their motivations.

She looks over to Jason, judging his reactions to what Essence has been saying, as well.

Red Hood has posed:
"What does all evil wish to accomplish?" Essence asks Kitty, before she gives a small chuff of laughter. "You wanted to know why he didn't want you to go. You shouldn't go. You'll be safer for it."

Before Kitty can ask another question, Essence is gone from the backseat of the car.

Jason glances aside to Kitty as he reaches to unbuckle his seatbelt. "Kitty.." he starts to say, trying to find some way to convey his worry. And his fear. He knows that it's dangerous. "That pit that she mentioned? It's what became known as one of the Lazarus Pits. One of only a few around the world. The All-Caste protected it from being taken by the Untitled. If they get their hands on it..."

It brought Jason's soul back - can one imagine what shadows can do to it?

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde stares at the backseat as the woman is suddenly just gone. "Not even a *bamf*," she comments to herself with a shake of her head before looking back to Jason. Once he has unbuckled his seat belt, Kitty is reaching over to slip her hand into his. Lacing fingers with him. "I know that it's dangerous. And that you don't want to put me in harm's way. You're a good boyfriend for that," Kitty tells Jason, her eyes lit with warmth and emotion as she gazes at him.

"But this is something that needs doing. Better we stop them before they get control of this... this pit. Than after," Kitty tells him. She leans closer, resting her head against Jason's, forehead to forehead. "We're in this together, Jason. If they need to be stopped? Then we'll stop them together."

Red Hood has posed:
"You are a very stubborn woman, Katherine." Jason responds. He lets out a breath and reaches up to cup her cheek and meets her eyes. "Fine." he finally says.

"But you beter be as good as you claim." It's said not quite as a tease.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde leans her head tenderly into Jason's touch. "Of course I'm stubborn. Because I'm the right girl for you, Jason Todd. And it takes a stubborn woman to want to marry you one day," she tells him, her eyes warm as she gazes back over at him. Kitty reaches up and cups the hand atop her cheek with her own.

"I did help free your lung from... one of the Untitled," Kitty points out with a not-quite-teasing grin back. Still settling into the terminology for what they are up against. "So copper hurts them? Does anything else? Fire or electricity or.. is it just that?" she asks him. "And, what else do I need to know about them. What they can do?"

Red Hood has posed:
"I'm sure you'll change your mind.. five or six dozen times before that happens." If it does. Jason doesn't have the best of dating luck, after all. "But yes. You are a very stubborn woman. And it seems that I can't talk you out of this." he blows out a breath. "Yes. Only copper. And not refined. It has to be pure. Magic also affects them. They are made of shadows - but it's not the type of shadow that can be repelled with light. Don't underestimate Essence. She was only doing me a service for our former relationship. She is far more dangerous than you can assume."

"I'm going to need more help on this. Someone that can help in the terrain, and knows the art of hunting for artifacts. I may have to go call in some favors that are owed to me as well." Jason lets out a breath. "But you already opened that can of worms by inviting yourself on this one."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde reaches over to cup Jason's cheek, and then leans over to kiss his lips. "Have I shown the slightest doubt so far?" she asks as she looks into his eyes. "But at least you realize you can't talk me out of it. Which just shows that I've fallen in love with a -very- smart man," Kitty tells Jason.

She climbs out of the car then, bringing the copper pipe with her. Glancing at it, unsure it would have done much good or not as Jason spells out what they are up against. They climb the steps and open the door of the brownstone and pass inside before she continues the conversation.

"I see. I... well. I guess I'll have to see if I can get my hands on a magic sword then. It might be asking a lot," she tells him. She lets out a soft sigh, as if there's some reluctance there, but not so much to overcome the need. "So... what does it take for them to get control of this pit? Is it simply a matter of having possession and access to it? Or is there some means of accessing it that they would need to get hold of to do that?"

Red Hood has posed:
"That.. that is going to be a trip in itself. And I'm not sure what the price will be yet, Kitty. We won't know that until we find out what's there. I don't know what price Talia paid for me to be trained there." Jason admits as he moves to close up the car so that she can lock it up. He leans against the car for a moment before pushing off to follow Kitty to the house.

"These are things I wasn't I wanted you to know about yet." he admits with a push of his hand through his hair.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde waits for Jason inside the house. Turning back to face him. "I know that you weren't," she tells him. "I'm sorry that some things about yourself, have come to light in ways or times that you didn't choose, or want," Kitty says. She moves closer, and slips her hands down to rest on Jason's hips as she looks up at him.

"But none of them have lessened what I feel for you, Jason," she tells him quietly. "My feelings for you have only grown stronger over time." She rests her head forward, nestling it against Jason's chest as if she takes strength from is presence. For she does.

Red Hood has posed:
Leaning back against Kitty, Jason lets out a breath and holds onto her as tightly as he can. Because she's there. And he needs her there right now as much as she wants to be there.

There is a lot to do still.