9799/The Murderbats Chat

The Murderbats Chat
Date of Scene:	27 October 2019
Location:	Batcave - Wayne Manor
Synopsis:	The black sheep of the Bat Family have a heart to heart. Nobody hugs, nobody cries, nobody decides to stay at the Manor.
Cast of Characters:	Red Hood, Robin (Wayne)

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Red Hood has posed:
Jason was still lingering around the mansion and cave, though by the packed bag on his bike he was going to be rectifying it shortly, returning to the Red Cave in the city. Though there was one last talk he needed to have and so, leaning back in the chair infront of the bat computer, Jason produces his phone and fires off a text:

Jason >> D, need to talk to you. I'm downstairs, good to come talk or do I need to make an appointment with your secretary?

He had no clue where Damian was at the moment so he figured downstairs would be good enough code for the Batcave. After that he pulls up an e-book on his phone to read while he waits.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian had been occupying his time on making the newest Batmobile. Though the lab was detached from the main Batcave, it required its own dyno and other automotive diagnostic tools.

  He was wearing coveralls and had been relatively clean, the most recent Batmobiles and Redbirds had been completely electric, the fluids used were mostly self contained. "What do you want?" He asks, wiping his hands with a rag as he approaches, then seeing the bag, he puts two and two together. "Oh."

Red Hood has posed:
Jason is quietly spinning in Bruce's chair as he reads when Damian arrives. Jason looks over, grinning at the sight of Damian in coveralls. "Executive by day, vigilante by night and yet has time for auto repair, you're an inspiration to us all," Jason says glibly as he puts the phone away.

The noticed bag and the reaction has Jason lifting a brow. "Going to miss me?" he asks his voice carrying more surprise than teasing. "Only going back to my cave, not leaving town yet, not until we have Batman back."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     "Someone has to work on the new Batmobile." He comments, plus he liked engineering almost as much as he liked animals.

  Damian's usually surly looking face wavers just a bit as Jason asks if he is going to miss Jason. "No." He responds, a knee jerk reaction.

  The boy stuffs the rag in his pocket, keeping his head down an extra second before looking back up at JT.

Red Hood has posed:
Jason gives a nod, "Make sure the hubcaps are secure on this one," he suggests with his lips curling into a bit of a grin. "Super easy to steal on past models."

Then comes the awkward brought about by a brief glimpse of actual brotherly feeling by two people so used to hiding theirs.

"Good," he Jason says to fill the silence. "We'll see each other enough anyhow, patrol, general ass kicking..." he gives a little shrug.

Then it was very much time to change subjects...

Jason checks over his shoulder towards the entrance from the manor then says, "But wasn't just all tearful goodbyes," he says with humour before getting more serious. "I actually wanted to ask you about what your mom and Ra's might have taught you about the Pits."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian wouldn't allow himself so show a modicum of relief when Jason comments about seeing each other again. Though he was indeed relieved, he liked the moments he was able to have with Jason, even if he wouldn't allow himself to admit it.

  "The Lazarus? They explained enough to me about them. Enough that Deathstroke tried to take my blood to experiment on it for. He wanted the secrets of the Lazarus for himself, and because of Grandfather and Mother...I have the essence of the Pit as well, even though I never set foot in one."

  "What do you want to know about them?"

Red Hood has posed:
"Yeah, them and that's good to hear," Jason says when Damian tells him he'd been taught about the Lazarus Pits, but that tune changes when Damian says the rest. "That's not so good to hear," he says about it's essense being in Damian's blood. "Hope you made Deathstroke bleed for that," he says as an aside, before getting back to the main thrust of the subject. "You know I've been in one right? That's how I got my mind back. I get hazy about who knows what around here sometimes."

He continues. "I'm wondering about the side effects. I didn't exactly get a 'You've Just Been Restored by Eldrich Goop' guide when the League did it, but I got the gist it doesn't really leave you the same." Or sane for that matter.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     "I did, he hasn't been seen since." He assures the other murderbat. Damian raised a brow. "My family is adamantly opposed to the concept of Lazarus Fever. And when I asked mother herself, she stood firm that the long term effects of the Lazarus were nil. I was not aware of your using one before. But from what they say, you should be fine." His pale green eyes, just like Talia and Ra's' before him glinted one the low light of the cave.

  "But then again, Ra's has been using it for seven hundred years. And most people say he is not the most sane person. It is all relative and subject to biases."

Red Hood has posed:
The news about Deathstroke is met with grim satisfaction. "Good."

The other news is met less enthusiastically, a frown claiming is face until that last glimmer of hope in the end. "I see," he says, then while he's processing, he takes a brief aside to say, "We'll have to talk about me and the League sometime." Then he's back to the topic at hand. "So basically it's a big question mark. Great. I'm guessing big daddy Ra's is the one with the most answers?" he asks with a frown.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian was one of the League's elite assassins, but even then there were things that were not revealed to him concerning League Affairs, Jason was one of them.

  "If you think you could trust any answers he gives you." He comments, mostly a side eye to Ra's. "Personally, I would not. He has his own agenda, and I would venture to think you and I would easily figure into that."

Red Hood has posed:
"Oh don't worry, I don't need answers so badly that I am going to step to Ra's, best case scenario there is he kills me, worst is I end up being a pawn in one of his schemes," Jason frowns at that. "And I get enough of that from Bruce."

Though he hesitates after that as if he's still considering it.

"Anyhow, mostly just grasping at straws, fucked up awhile ago, and it's easier to blame the Pit than to admit the problem is me."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     "Fucked up how?" Damian asked.

  "You know how many assassinations I have done since I was five? Five hundred and seventy six." He commented like it didn't weigh on him somewhat.

Red Hood has posed:
"Shit," Jason says his eyes widening. He knew Damian had killed for the League but...damn. Though for what it's worth there's no judgment there, just surprise and okay, a little bit of professional admiration.

"Well this is going to look super dumb compared to those figures, but I killed a guy, a guy I was trying not to kill..." he begins but finds the words inadequate to the circumstances. He tries again, "I've taken out my share of people, and generally I don't regret it, but, well, you know, I was trying to start a life with Kitty, so when the guy who sold my step mom the hot dose that killed her got out of jail I figured I'd prove something to myself and just make sure the guy went back inside for the rest of his life. Not because of him, but for me, to show myself I dunno... I was worthy of a semi-regular life? Anyhow, didn't really work out that way, was working my plan, setting him up with a bunch of drugs to be caught with and I started talking to him..." he shakes his head. "He was going on about how he needed to get some hot ones out on the street and drop some fiends so they'd know he was selling next level shit, and," Jason snaps his fingers. "I don't even really remember making a decision, the plan just changed and I talked him down to the river, beat him to death and threw his corpse in the river."

"Like I said, sounds dumb, what's one scumbag right? But I dunno, it just sort of happened, I wasn't mad, I didn't plan it, it just happened, that's the part that's fucking me up."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian gives a shrug. "It is a fact of life. People die, I just facilitate that."

  He looked to Jason, then back to his hand. "Someone was trying to frame Drake for a murder. It threatened to expose the family secret. One of his ex-girlfriend's fathers was planning on blackmail. He found himself the victim of cardiac arrest." Damian slips out an ampule of clear liquid. "A mixture of my own making. Impossible to detect as the toxin degrades once exposed to hydrochloric acid."

Red Hood has posed:
"So, you're saying, so what? That I just murdered a guy I was trying not to kill means nothing?" Jason asks incredulous, but by his tone he seems to be giving Damian's opinion a degree of weight.

Then Damian produces the poison and Jason's mind moves from his own inner demons to the external ones that stalk, or rather stalked the family. "This was the whole thing with Carrie and Tim fake dating, right? You took the guy out?" he asks even as he asks he stands and extends a hand for the vial to take a closer look.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian would never tell anyone about what he did. But Jason, was a different story. Especially after these last weeks. "It does not mean you are going insane, it does not mean anything. Did you perform an autopsy? Who is to say he was not a moment later going to suffer an embolism and bleed out from the brain? He dealt in poison, peddling drugs to children. You did the world a favor."

  "I snuffed out a life that was threatening our family, and one who was going to use his knowledge to bring down everything Bruce fought for. I will not let anyone threaten my family."

Red Hood has posed:
Jason recognizes the trust being extended here, it was the same sort of trust he'd extended Damian by coming to him murderbat to murderbat. Even if all his concerns hadn't been lifted some had and that was enough for now. "No question, it's good that he's dead," he allows, that was never in question.

As to the other death, Damian's kill, there's no hesitation in his voice when he says, "You did the right thing, the guy knew our secret, he was a dirtbag, he needed to die. My question is how did he find out? Please tell me Tim isn't telling the random girls he brings home the family business."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian nods. "You were probably wanting to hear different from me. But I am not the best to ask about such things. Sorry."

  "I did not ask how he knew. I just knew that he knew and was threatening to go to the press about it. Anyone who knows about us is a liability. That is why I only told two Titans. Everyone else is unaware. Tim would also have to be able to bring home a girl to tell someone. So that is already highly doubtful."

Red Hood has posed:
"It's okay," Jason says with a shrug. "You did fine and honestly, not sure who else I'd ask," he lets out a breath. "And maybe you're right maybe it means nothing and I'm fine. Hell I hope so."

Still didn't sound convinced but it was going to take some time to let it process.

"Yeah, Tim having a girlfriend was the part that wasn't making sense to me in that story," Jason agrees with a sliver of a smile. "Though about the family secret, you know Tony Stark, the guy who couldn't wait to tell the world he's Iron Man? Yeah, Bruce said he figured it out, but before you start doling out more of that toxin, Bruce also says we can trust him." Jason was obviously skeptical.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     "I met him once...I wanted to stab him immediately." Damian admits about the Iron Man. "Anyway, it will not matter much anyway. He is one of those...ech. Avengers. Makes me want to throw up with the saccharine schemes."

  Damian thinks about it for a moment, looking about the cave, making sure no one was around other than those two. He walked up and looked up to Jason, and quickly wrapped his arms around him. Just about as long as it took for him to do that, he releases.

Red Hood has posed:
"Right? They're like the pop music of superheroes," Jason opines of the Avengers, laughing.

Then he's hugged. Briefly, but he's definitely hugged. He returns it just as briefly, with a similar look to make sure nobody was watching.

Released, he steps back, and glances at his waiting bag. In the time they'd taken to chat, the Red Cave had gone from feeling like a welcome refuge, to a cold and empty space. "You know, if you need an extra pair of hands in getting the new Batmobile ready, I might be able to stay an extra couple of days," he offers after a moment.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     There is no way that Damian has cried, none at all. That was...a side effect of his powers, yeah that's right.

  "That...would be useful." Did Damian need help with the Batmobile? No. But Jason's being here a little longer would be something else he needed. "I mean, if you would want to."

Red Hood has posed:
Weird, if there was crying, and nobody is saying there was, the normally sharp eyed Jason missed it and definiely doesn't seem to be more content to be remaining here with the family. Nope. Not all.

"Yeah, I can stick around, as long as you need me," Jason says with a nod, before taking off his jacket and throwing it on his bag. "So, lead the way to the new wheels, boss."