#once again and always the joker as an individual should not matter to jason

[oifaaa]

Like obviously there's a ton of reasons why jason just didnt kill joker in utrh or in any subsequent comics after, first and foremost being that he's dc's little cash cow, but I always did like the in universe explanation being that Jason himself doesn't want the joker to die

Not bc the joker is important to Jason in anyway shape or form quite the opposite in fact, joker dying wouldn't benefit Jason bc the joker doesnt matter to him outside of being a living constant reminder of Bruce's failure that can be used to hurt both himself and bruce, if jokers dead then the healing process can start and Jason doesn't want that he wants to be angry and hurt

So Jason doesn't go kill Joker to get revenge bc he already got his revenge when he beat Joker with a crowbar in utrh and killing the Joker himself wouldn't bring him any more catharsis since he doesn't really care about the clown outside of using him as a prop in his ongoing feud with Bruce

[gothamcityangst]

tw: descriptions of torture

Everyone had seen it on the news the previous night. The news spread like wildfire. All the details had been leaked to the press in agonizing detail. They described the boys broken bones, his ribs shattered in five different places. A collapsed lung and a swollen, bleeding eye were mentioned as well. His spine was beaten so badly that it was cracked twice over, the coroner finding small fragments of bone around the outside of his stomach. And to finish it had been revealed that he'd been conscious for the five minutes before the bomb that killed him went off. Five minutes he lay on the ground.

The report closed by saying the Joker was responsible.

The week after Jason Todd died Harvey Dent called a meeting of the villains. The Gotham Sirens, Jon, Edward, Oswald and Harvey himself. The agitation was evident on everyone's face. Ed furiously scribbled riddles in his journal, Selina cracked her whip on the floor occasionally and Ivy was growing thorns out of every plant in the area.

"He didn't even kill the Joker after he put Batgirl in a wheelchair. What makes you think he's gonna kill him after killing the kid?" Harley yelled, her bat gripped tightly in her hand.

"Everyone has a breaking point. This should surely be his." Jonathan said.

"He won't. The Dark Knights moral compass wouldn't allow it. We all know he won't do anything." Ivy insisted.

"So I guess it's up to us then," Selina replied.

Oswald slapped his thighs as he rose from his armchair.

"Roight. Why should we even care? That bullocks has been a pain in my backside since he got introduced after the first one. Why should we care about avenging him?"

The sound of scribbling stopped. A rip of paper came from the corner of the room. Edward had scrunched up the paper in his hands. His face was painted with contempt, his eyes bordering on tears.

"Because he was a child, Cobblepot. Not like I expect a behemoth like you to understand but some of us still have morals. All of this yelling isn't why we're here. We're here because a child was brutally beaten and murdered and we're squabbling like children."

Everyone promptly quietened down.

"We can't take down the Joker individually. We all need to work together to make sure he doesn't kill anyone again." Selina placed a hand on Ed's shoulder. They haven't always been eye to eye on a lot of subject matters but for once they agreed.

"We're here to cast a vote. If it's unanimous we kill the clown. If it's not I'm doing it myself. Raise your hand now if you want to put a bullet in him." Harvey said.

Most of them were quick to raise their hands. Oswald reluctantly raising it as to not be the odd one out. When the consensus was reached Harvey cocked his gun and held it up. For once both sides of him were in total agreement.

"Let's go kill this clown."

[batmanandguano]

i could suffice for him, i knew

bruce wayne, jason todd, gen aka: bruce takes jason to a play. title taken from one of emily dickinson’s poems.

There’s something that’s bothering Jason. Bruce can sense it the moment the boy walked into the Manor.

Normally, the boy’s return from school is the highlight of Bruce’s day. While it is Alfred who picks him up, Jason has never failed to materialize before Bruce’s study to toss him a quick smile which already has the billionaire wrapped around the boy’s finger. Bruce loves having Jason around, loves his easygoing smiles and the way he dives into cakes — already the Manor is so much brighter. It’s a wonder that this child that he’s only known for a scant few weeks has this effect on him but truthfully, he thinks he’s never been happier —

And during Jason’s daily pilgrimage to see him, the boy’s shoulders are drooping although the smile that he gives is genuine.

Bruce’s always been perceptive and perhaps even more-so with Jason, if only because he feels no peace if Jason has none and when Jason’s happy, that happiness returns to him a thousandfold. Because the truth of the matter is that soft-hearted, sweet, generous Jason is his child and though Jason vehemently denies wanting a parent, his denials have grown a lot softer the longer he’s spent in the Manor and any mention of the boy’s name brings a smile to Bruce Wayne’s lips, his chest puffed prouder than any other parent.

“Is everything alright?” He turns to face him because sometimes Jason has trouble at school. While the boy is academically brilliant, Bruce also knows that in an environment where the only thing that matters is the size of your family’s bank account, Jason has a tendency to get into fights. There’s been more than one incident where both he and Alfred has been called into the principal’s office to witness Jason sitting there, smirking with a busted lip and an ice pack telling him that ‘B — you shoulda seen th’ other guy.’ And more often than not, it’s in defense of someone else because at least, and oh how he has worked to make it so, Jason bears the Wayne name now —

Jason doesn’t look any worse for wear this time. His tie’s askew and the upper button of his shirt’s unbuttoned. He nods his head and grins. “Yeah,” he says before dropping his backpack onto the ground and props his feet onto the coffee table. It’s a little ritual which used to be a little fight between them but Bruce’s absolutely lost the will to tell Jason to take his feet off the table. “You don’t have any meetings, do ya?” he asks and when Bruce shakes his head, Jason pulls out a book from his backpack and starts to read. Two days a week Jason comes over and reads until Bruce’s finished with work and they go out to dinner. There’s a slip of pink paper being used as a bookmark and Bruce turns his head to look at the piece of paper —

Right as it’s snatched back by Jason. “Sheesh, privacy B!” he says before quickly stuffing the page back into his backpack. There’s something uncharacteristic here because Jason’s always been careful with his things, especially papers from school. It draws his curiosity though for now, he’ll let the boy keep this secret. Bruce logs off his computer, tells his secretary to go home early for the day, and grabs his coat and Jason’s backpack.

-

They don’t call his alter ego the Greatest Detective In The World for nothing and after making a few discreet inquiries to the trophy moms who make up the PTA of Jason’s school, Bruce’s learned that auditions are being held for the school play. Auditions are held the week following the next and practice, in order to placate the academic rigor of the preparatory school (or to keep the kids busy while their parents are closing billion dollar deals or gallivanting off to the Maldives), is held from six to nine in the evenings.

Combine that with Jason’s tendency to sing show-tunes when he thinks nobody is listening and the mysterious piece of paper that’s set him on edge — it’s not hard to deduce that the boy wants to audition. And because Bruce Wayne has no subtly, he brings it up at breakfast. “I hear that they’re holding auditions for Les Miserables,” he says, casually.

Jason sets down the cereal in his hand. “Has anyone told you that your tendency to figure everything out is actually really creepy?” he asks, before picking up the milk.

“Creepier than going out at night dressed like a Bat?” Bruce teases back, before his tone turns pensive. “Do you want to audition?”

Jason waits for a moment before replying, hand twirling the bowl of cereal. “I think it’d be kinda cool,” he admits. “You know — the Jean val Jean’s a complicated character and requires a big vocal range. Though I’m pretty sure that Jeremy’s going to bribe the Drama Head since he’s applyin’ to Tisch this year and need it for his portfolio. I’d like to play Enjolras though,” He’s grinning, despite himself. ”I think he’s got some wonderful ideas B, like overthrowing the bougerois — and the fact that he looks out for everyone there. He’s also got the best song, “Do You Hear The People Sing” is an absolute masterpiece — though I dunno if you like the part about angry men, an’ ”

But then Jason shrugs again, “It conflicts with our other job, an’ it’d probably be awkward telling Miss Brown that I can’t come to practice because the Joker’s escaped Arkham again or that the Penguin’s planning on turnin’ Gotham Park into his personal ice rink. Plus I don’t need to play hero when I actually get to be one,” He offers Bruce a lopsided grin before digging into his breakfast with gusto.

But Bruce doesn’t miss the way Jason’s breath quickens when he speaks about Enjolras and the play. He doesn’t miss the fact that Robin’s prone to theatrics and that there’s a ten page, single-spaced essay that Jason’s wrote last year on classism in Les Miserables which had earned the highest grade in the year. The want in the boy’s eyes as he speaks about plays and musicals and books during the early mornings — the fact that at the very least, Jason deserves to be a child.

In a sense, Bruce knows that bringing a child into his battle against the darkest corners of the night is folly; he’s witnessed that after seeing Dick nearly get shot by one of the Joker’s henchmen. He should not have brought another child into this life and some nights Bruce could not help but worry, even though he knows that Jason loves being Robin. Knows that Jason’s no less capable than Dick Grayson despite the differences in their fighting styles, the way that Jason’s laughter and quips are always tinged with vengeance and pride, different from Dick Grayson’s youthful insouciance.

There’s always a part of Bruce who thinks that perhaps he should tell Jason (and Dick before him) to focus on his studies. That the boy’s seen enough of the rougher side of Gotham and that Batman doesn’t need a sidekick in his war — but he knows how Jason would take it. Jason, despite everything, still feels a need to prove himself — Bruce’s seen the gleam in his eyes, the words made in jest said too sharply, he knows Jason’s fears, of blood trumping nurture, the way he stares down criminals with eyes too old for his age. He knows that Jason wrestles with fears of inadequacy and perhaps it’s Bruce’s own fear after dealing with Dick’s anger, but he knows that he cannot lose Jason, that he cannot let Jason go —

What he wants for this boy is to give him the world.  

What he can do is this.

It’s a small sacrifice that Batman’ll have to make but Bruce Wayne’s a father.

“Hey, Jay — have you ever been to a theater?”

-

They take a trip to Metropolis’ Broadway District where Les Miserables is playing. It’s a new showing, the lead’s quite a famous musical actor and while tickets have already been sold out, there are certain advantages in being Bruce Wayne. Namely the fact that he ends up with the best seats in the theater with complimentary champagne and a meeting with the cast during intermission, plus one.

Jason’s been growing so they take him for his suit fitting and it’s a testament to his excitement that he doesn’t complain even once during the entire process even though Bruce knows that he hates wearing suits. He says that they’re constricting and uncomfortable. Jason does get to pick the tie though and when Bruce sees his choice — a red, silk tie with diminutive little birds — he can’t help but smile. They’ve slicked back his hair and to anyone else in the world, this is Jason Wayne — the second and much loved son of the scion of Wayne Industries and he feels a rush of pride. Bruce wants nothing more to proclaim to the world that this is his son and isn’t his boy wonderful? He swallows down his pride instead because he knows that any mention of father and parent still sometimes sets the boy on edge and claps him on the back instead.

He expects Jason to immediately start chattering and is not disappointed when Jason turns towards him, eyes wide and smile huge as he starts telling Bruce about the various facts he’s learned from the internet and from reading the brochure. “Did you know that the musical requires over five thousand individual pieces of clothing, B? Imagine how hard it would take to wash everything,”

“I assume they send it out to a subcontractor,”

“Yeah but B — it’ll probably have a ton of chemicals. I hope the actors are okay. Oh, and this takes place in 19th centuryParis — you’ve read the book, right? A lot of people think that it takes place after the French Revolution, in English Lit, Conner wrote his report about how the revolution impacted the attitudes towards the French aristocracy during that time but he was wrong. This June Rebellion was before they started chopping off all the heads,”

“The heads of the aristocracy, hm?” That’s one way of putting it.

Jason tries to roll his eyes, but the effect was ruined by how widely he’s beaming. “Don’t worry B — I’ll protect ya,” he grins, magnanimous. “If we were around during that time, I’ll figure out plans to sneak us out even though I’m pretty sure you’d have been on the Marat’s Most Wanted List. Though,” he pats Bruce on the cheek. “I think they’ll take a bit more kindly to Batman, he seems more of a man of the people type — “

He’ll play along. “And how would you orchestrate your escape now that you’re also a part of the ‘One Percent’ as you so like to call it?”

Jason scrunches up his nose. “I have friends, B — plus, I wouldn’t be a useless aristocrat. And neither would you, I feel. You’d be like the Marquis de Lafayette or a Revolutionary version of a Musketeer except far less corrupt. And I could teach you argot probably, that’s the Paris dialect that Eponine speaks in the books. I think I’d like to learn — do you think Mademoiselle Dufarge knows?”

“Didn’t Victor Hugo call argot ‘the language of the dark night’?”

“Yeah and I’m pretty sure — “ Jason leans in close, his eyes shining clandestinely before wagging his eyebrows. “If anything our friend, the Dark Knight, should know how to speak it and should teach it to his brilliant, precocious, and clever ward with a affinity for languages,”

“You mean Dick Grayson?” he teases.

“Bruce! That’s it! I’m not saving you and your batty friend’s ass again — ”

-

There’s a few people that Bruce had to meet, business associates and the director of the theater who’s here to personally thank Bruce Wayne for his generous donation — it’s tedious work, smiling until his cheeks hurt but Bruce’s played the vapid, doting billionaire patron of the arts for long enough that it’s second nature. He laughs at all the right times and tells a few jokes which sends the gaggle of society matrons and academics into peals of laughter. But the thing with Brucie Wayne is that he never says anything of substance. Bruce’s always been intelligent but Brucie isn’t — a few superficial remarks and some razzle dazzle normally holds enough for him. They’ve been talking about adding him to their board and he’s already running out of things to say when he sees a flash of red tie and curls.

“Hey Bruce,” Jason strides towards them with a glass of — oh, is that champagne? The boy’s much too young to be drinking; they’ll be having this conversation later —

As if Jason could sense Bruce’s thoughts, he holds up the glass and thrusts it in front of Bruce’s nose. “Grape juice. Sparkling,” he says. “There were blueberries in there, but oh — “ His eyes widens comically. “Miss Simone,” he says, turning towards one of the women Bruce’s been speaking to. “I’ve loved your collection of essays on Euripides’ Orestes — and I think you totally deserved that Guggenheim Fellowship more than that bastard Lobdell, honestly — I think we could do with less works analyzing manpain,“

“Oh, I completely agree,” The lady smiles, indulgent. “And who are you, young man?”

Jason holds out his hand before flashing her a toothy grin. “I’m Jason. That guy’s basically my dad,” He says, poking Bruce on the shoulder. That mention of ‘dad’ brings a fierce wave of joy to his chest and he turns and ruffles Jason’s hair free from its gel. Jason, predictably, makes a face. “There’s a business guy looking for you, his name’s Judd or something and it’s regarding Wayne business,”

Bruce nods but not before shrugging helplessly, and dashes away like a — ha! — bat out of hell. “Sorry guys — business calls. I’ll give you the number of my secretary and maybe we can set something up,”

The last thing that he hears is Jason’s voice. “Miss Simone — I hear that you’re writing a criticism on curricular constraints in high school academia? If you need a case study, I’ve been taking this one Milton class but it’s honestly academic censorship at its worst — “

-

They’re finally seated.

This time Jason’s actually holding a glass of champagne. He’s allowed one glass, it’s high society tradition after all — any more and Bruce’ll actually have words with him but he seems to be enjoying himself, holding onto his pair of tiny opera glasses with the other. Bruce’s not sure what — or who he’s watching but it’s a traditional part of attending a theater production and so Bruce instead leans back and steals a green macaron from Jason’s package of sweets and waits for the curtains to rise. All the people below them look tiny, insignificant from their vantage point and instead he watches Jason, watches as his expression changes to one of awe as the lights dim and the curtains rise.

They launch into a song about the drudgery of the 19th century and he catches Jason mouthing the words, sitting up close in their box. The boy’s practically vibrating with excitement and Bruce knows that he’s made the right decision. He picks up his own glass of champagne and turns towards Jason, clinks their glasses together and goes to enjoy the show.

-

After Jean valJean ascends to heaven in Fantine’s arms and the final chorale sings of a world freed, Bruce finds himself clapping as loudly as the rest of them but perhaps still a bit quieter than Jason. There’s nearly tears in his eyes and Bruce feels a rush of fondness for this boy because Jason who’s never cried even after nearly getting shot, cries after musicals and after particularly moving books. Bruce, normally not one for musicals or plays or ballet, has enjoyed himself immensely and turns to see Jason watching him carefully.

“Hey B — you alright?” He asks softly, looking suddenly a little bit hesitant. “Hopefully that wasn’t too boring, since I know that’s usually — ” He’s fidgeting with one of his buttons. “What Brucie does and well, I just wanted to say that I’m grateful, I’ve never done this before but it’s well, always been one my dreams growing up. So thank you, B. ”  

Bruce reaches over, runs a hand through his hair, easy and proprietary. “I had a great time with you” he says. “And I was thinking that if you wanted to try out for the school play, I think we can push back our hours a little bit. Just for this quarter,”

Jason pauses.

“B, didn’t you say that nothing’s more important than the mission, though?” Jason asks. “I mean that is why you brought me here right,” he adds; at this rate, the button’s going to come off. “With everything here, it’s just — everything’s a disguise for the mission. That’s what you’ve told me, before — ”

Oh, is that what Jason thinks, even now? There’s a sharp implication there that he’s feared. But he needs — Bruce needs to be honest.

There is a sharp awareness in Bruce’s voice. “Jason — I — I want you to be happy,” he murmurs. Words have never come easily to him, he’s always been more of a man of action. “I — “ He could not push the boy away, but he’s already committed to it. He would see this through and it’s a terrifying thought, how much Jason already means to him. “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I — I think of you as my son. I want you to be happy Jason and I want to be the one to make you happy,” He’s tripping over his words now and Jason’s eyes are very wide. “I — you are happy here, right?“

But the thing about Jason is that he’s a quick study. He looks at Bruce and perhaps there’s something wet in the corner of his eyes but he reaches over and pulls Bruce into a hug because he’s always understood. There’s sticky hands wrapped around his neck and Jason smells like chocolate and fresh air and Bruce leans into the hug, pulls his arms around Jason and finds that his cheeks are hurting from smiling so much. Bruce doesn’t miss the quiver in Jason’s voice, doesn’t miss its open vulnerability.

He thinks - 

“I love you too, B —” Jason’s voice shakes. 

(He’s going to keep the boy for as long as he can.)

[brokaw22]

Fic: Reality or Nightmare

ff.net

Day Three of TImDrakeWeek: Prompt: Dream / Reality

Tim doesn’t know if this is reality or a dream, but if it’s a dream, it’s a nightmare.

He hits the ground hard, and groans. He doesn’t register the pain, which is probably a bad sign, but Tim doesn’t have time to worry about that right now. He needs to get up and keep moving.

They’re coming for him, and he’s out of anything useful to fight back with. His only option is finding an escape, although Tim knows that there’s only so long he can keep going with his current injuries. He doesn’t know what the hell happened or why they’re after him, but that hardly matters at the moment. All Tim knows is that if he doesn’t get up and find some way to lose his pursuers; his family is going to have another former Robin to bury, and they don’t need another dead Robin on their conscience.

The fact that his pursuers happen to be his family is also irrelevant. Tim assumes there was some sort of incident while Batman, Nightwing, and Red Hood were on patrol…most likely something involving Poison Ivy, Joker, or Scarecrow, or possibly all three, if the murderous intent in the other three is any indicator. Tim doesn’t remember anything before that first hit. He was standing on a rooftop, trying to track Robin’s location when a heavy boot connected with the back of his head. He never even heard Batman arrive. He careened into Red Hood’s fist, which sent him flying into Nightwing’s elbow.

From there it was a long series of attempting to block and dodge punches and kicks from all three of them, and failing more often than not. Tim managed to make a run for it after Red Hood pistol whipped him and sent him crashing down a fire escape, but he honestly doesn’t even know where he is anymore. The streets and buildings are blurring together and his lungs are burning with the need for air. He hears the distinct sound of a grappling gun being fired somewhere above him and his heart rate increases dramatically.

This can’t be happening. This can’t be real. He can’t lose them. Tim’s good, but he’s not this good. Not when his left shoulder is dislocated, his right knee feels like it’s going to buckle under his weight any second, and his vision keeps swimming. The blood dripping down his face from his hairline isn’t helping matters, and Tim can’t seem to catch his breath. He needs to rest, but there’s no time.  If this is a dream, he desperately wants to wake up, and if this is reality…well, Tim just hopes that this isn’t reality.

He stops dead, nearly slamming into Nightwing, who has blocked his path. Tim spins on his heel, narrowly dodging Red Hood. Jason hasn’t shot at him yet, though Tim doesn’t know why. Jason has been using rubber bullets since he’s started regularly patrolling with them, but at this range even rubber bullets would definitely do some serious damage.

Tim doesn’t make it very far before Batman slams into his back. Tim’s head thuds against the ground and it takes him a second to reorient himself. There’s a thick glove clad hand buried in his cape, dragging him back, and Tim scrambles to tear it away. He manages to escape and makes a break for it, but he doesn’t get very far before Jason knocks his feet out from under him again.

Suddenly, smoke envelops the entire area and Tim chokes on it. He shakily gets to his feet and hits into a wall. There’s movement from behind him. Someone is closing in on him, but Tim can’t tell who the shadow belongs to. He claws at the wall, trying to find a handhold, a lose brick, or something…anything to aid him in this moment. His pulse is pounding in his ears, or maybe that’s just his headache. Tim doesn’t know anymore.

His hands are bare and bleeding, but that doesn’t make any sense. He was wearing gloves only a moment ago. Tim’s breath comes out in short rasps, and he’d scream if he thought it would do any good. He’s failed and there’s nothing that he can do but accept whatever is going to happen next. He turns to the slowly approaching individual, bloody fists clenched and teeth grinding together.

Abruptly, there’s a flash of light, the deafening crack of thunder, and a sudden downpour that smothers the smoke. Tim’s drenched within seconds, but the figure is finally illuminated and he sees Robin approaching him, hands held out in a placating gesture. “Stand down, we need to go now!”

Tim tries to catch his breath, but instead coughs. He feels like he’s drowning on the raindrops cascading down his face. He shakes the water out of his eyes, ignoring how it mixes with the blood still seeping down his brow. “Where are the others?”

“There’s no time. Come with me now.” There’s something off about Damian’s voice. It isn’t fear, or his normal impatience. It’s…Tim doesn’t know what it is. He expected exasperation, taunting, or even criticism. This…this is new, and problematic.

Tim shakes his head. There’s something wrong here. He doesn’t know if Damian was exposed to whatever has caused Batman, Nightwing, and Red Hood to attack him. It doesn’t seem like it. After all, the others just came out of nowhere; they didn’t say a word, and they certainly didn’t try to lure him anywhere. No, they just attacked. However, this is Damian, and Damian has always been different. He’s always been an unknown factor. Tim’s wary, but even he knows that they can’t just stay here.

They have to get moving before the others return. However, that doesn’t exactly make sense, either. Tim needs to know where the other three are and where they went, but he knows better than to waste time asking such questions. Still, Tim doesn’t understand why the three of them would abandon their target. Unless…unless Batman, Nightwing, and Red Hood didn’t abandon their target. Tim wants to quickly glance around, find where they’re hiding and make a break for it, but he knows that would be too obvious, so instead he does what he does best.

Tim slowly approaches Damian. He makes a show of keeping his eyes locked on the kid at all times. Once he’s close enough, Tim moves as fast as he possibly can. He blocks Damian’s attempt to immobilize him, grabs a hold of Robin’s cape, and wraps it around him. Tim tugs the fabric as hard as he can, and uses it to position Damian perfectly. “I’m sorry,” Tim whispers before slamming his head into Damian’s, and shoving him away.

Tim sways as he takes off running, not even bothering to listen to the sound of Damian hitting the ground. The others have to be close behind him now, and he’s wasted valuable time. His heart is still pounding and his chest hurts from lack of oxygen. His vision dims again, but Tim pushes through it and keeps going. His boots can barely get enough traction on the wet cement and he nearly falls numerous times. Tim is only able to keep himself upright due to extensive years of training. He picks up speed as he blinks water out of his eyes and tries to think of some place to run to.

His mind blanks, and he’s pretty sure that he’s wasting precious breath panicking. Tim uses a light pole to help him make a sharp turn down a side street. His foot catches on the edge of an uneven sidewalk, and he slams into the pavement in the middle of the street. Bright lights bear down on him and his ears ring with the sound of a car horn. He’s too tired to stand or roll out of the way, so he simply shuts his eyes and waits for the pain to be over.

However, before the car can hit him, two strong arms wrap around him. “It’s okay; you’re safe now, little brother.” As Tim’s head lolls to the side, and the world around him goes dark, he’s struck with the thought that whatever Nightwing was hit with must have worn off, because that was definitely Dick’s voice.

XYZXYZ

Tim’s eyes open an indeterminate amount of time later, and he just stares at the dark ceiling of the cave. It takes him a second to realize that there’s a heavy hand in his and he looks down to see Dick clutching his hand with a white knuckle grip. He glances over at Dick’s face only to see that his older brother is fast asleep. Tim shifts, trying to assess the damage to his body, but just trying to move even that much sends a jolt of pain through his entire body.

His sudden gasp of pain has Dick bolting upright and leaning over him. “Finally, you’re awake. You gave us quite a scare, little brother.”

“What…” Tim coughs to clear his throat, and Dick immediately hands him a bottle of water. He downs as much of it as he can and works his throat a few times before trying to speak again. “What happened?”

Dick stares at him for a long moment, seemingly worried. “What do you remember?”

Tim thinks about the attack, about running, about nearly dying, and decides to just shake his head. He doesn’t know what’s real anymore, because it doesn’t make sense that Dick was there to save him. Not when he was one of the people who attacked him in the first place, and there are too many gaps…too many things that don’t make sense, so he settles on, “Not much,” and lets Dick tell him the rest.

Dick sighs heavily as he holds onto Tim’s hand tighter. “You were exposed to a new form of Scarecrow toxin.”

Tim breathes out a breath. There’s still a lot of information that he doesn’t have yet, but at least certain thinks are starting to make sense now. “Well, that explains a lot.”

Dick stares at him for a long moment, before launching into an explanation of what exactly happened. “At first, you were extremely uncoordinated and unsteady on your feet. We thought that we had plenty of time to get you back to the cave. However, we didn’t get very far before you had started to lose focus. You insisted that you could make it, but I should have known better.”

Tim coughs again and swallows. “Not your fault.”

Dick merely shakes his head, before continuing. “Yeah, well, after that, I assume whatever hallucinations you were having must have gotten pretty bad, because you ran away from us in terror. We caught up to you a couple of times, but you were fighting pretty hard to lose us.”

Tim nods, because that fits certain things that he remembers. “Yeah, I vaguely remember running, but what about the injuries?”

Dick sighs again as he shakes his head. “I’m not entirely sure how you got all of your injuries. I can tell you that some of them were self inflicted, but I’m pretty sure a portion of them were from when you slammed into walls and fire escapes while you were running away. You’re damn good at evading us, little brother, even while drugged.”

Tim’s not entirely sure if that’s a compliment or not, especially since he certainly didn’t think that a few hours ago. “Thanks, I think.”

Dick huffs out a breath as he rubs his thumb over Tim’s wrist. It takes a second for Tim to realize that Dick is feeling his pulse. “That said, Damian did finally manage to corner you after a while. At first, we thought he had gotten through to you, but then you attacked him and managed to knock him out. Trust me; he wasn’t pleased about that, by the way. Anyway, I found you shortly after that. You had collapsed in the middle of the street and were about to be hit by an oncoming vehicle.” Dick takes a deep shuddering breath before continuing. “I almost didn’t get to you in time.”

Tim squeezes Dick’s hand and gives him the most sincere smile that he can muster right now. “But you did.”

Dick nods, but he’s still rubbing Tim’s pulse point in his wrist rhythmically. “Anyway, you passed out shortly after that, but your breathing, heart rate, and temperature were all elevated. By the time I got you back to the cave, you were convulsing, and then your heart stopped. I…I didn’t think you were gonna make it, Timmy.”

Tim’s not exactly surprised. He remembers the chest pain and elevated heart rate. Not to mention, the way everything hurts right now, despite the fog of pain killers. Tim merely blinks a few times and gestures for Dick to come closer. Once he has him in range, Tim gathers his big brother into a hug, despite the pain. “It’s okay. I’m still breathing. I’m here. You got there in time, and I’m fine.”

Dick tightens the embrace, but only marginally, knowing exactly how much pain Tim is in. “What were you seeing, little brother? Why did you run from us?”

Tim merely shakes his head. None of them need to know the truth. “I don’t remember, and it doesn’t matter. You saved me, and that’s all that counts.”

Dick pets his hair before releasing him. “If you’re up for it, I’ll go tell the others your awake now.”

Tim smiles softly. “Yeah, that’s probably for the best.” He yawns as he snuggles back into the pillow behind his head. “I don’t know how long I’ll be awake, though.”

Dick pats his arm affectionately. “Just do your best to wait for Alfred and Bruce, okay?”

Tim nods, and does his best to stifle another yawn. “Love ya, Dick.”

Dick smiles before he turns to head up the stairs. “Love ya, too, little brother.”

Tim does his best not to jostle any of his injuries as he lies back and waits for the others. He yawns once again as he considers that, even with the pain, Tim definitely prefers reality over that nightmare.

The End

[dtswritingthing]

Movie Review: Power Rangers (2017)

I know this is intended to be a game news and review blog, but I haven’t had any news to post in like, two days, and I wrote this for school, so screw it.

I love Power Rangers. I love everything about it. I love the cheesy one-liners, the spandex suits, the big boxy robots, all of it. So you can imagine my slight trepidation when a big screen movie reboot of the original Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers was announced, featuring CGI suits and more humanoid robots. But, as was the case in my childhood, no matter how nervous I may be, all you have to do is slap Power Rangers on something, and I’ll cough up for it. Such was the case when I saw the film last night with two of my friends, both Ranger-fans in their own rights, in a theater packed with both children and adults (there was one guy wearing a Green Ranger bathrobe). In the end, it was a grand old time, but in retrospect, I have to wonder whether that was because of the actual movie, or the presence of like-minded individuals.

The Plot

At the beginning of the film, we get a brief glimpse at the Cenozoic Era, and a team of Power Rangers getting their asses handed to them by the Green Ranger, Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks). The Red Ranger, Zordon (Bryan Cranston), buries all of the Rangers’ Power Coins to keep them safe, and knocks Rita off a cliff into the ocean. Years later, in the city of Angel Grove, we see Jason Scott (Dacre Montgomery) botching some kind of prank involving a cow in a locker room, and ending up under house arrest and forced to attend Saturday detention for the rest of the school year. Here, in a very Breakfast Club fashion, Jason meets Billy Cranston (RJ Cyler) an inventor on the spectrum, and Kimberly Hart (Naomi Scott) a cheerleader who has been exiled from her social group. After Jason protects him from a bully, Billy offers to disable his house arrest anklet, in exchange for giving him a ride up into a gold mining facility on a local mountain. While on the mountain, Jason runs into Kimberly again, as well as two other high schoolers, Zack (Ludi Lin), a school-ditcher whose mother is ill, and Trini (Becky G), whose family has moved multiple times in three years. Billy blows open a rock wall, and the five find multicolored coins.

When they wake up the next morning, they find that they have all developed super strength, and we get a few funny moments of them toying with their powers. Returning to the mountain, the teens discover a derelict spaceship underground, and meet Zordon, whose consciousness has been uploaded into the ship, and his robot assistant Alpha 5 (Bill Hader). Zordon explains that Rita will be returning soon, and plans to create Goldar, a gigantic monster made of molten gold, in order to locate and exhume the Zeo Crystal, a stone that provides energy to the entire planet. To save the planet, the teens have to use the Power Coins to become the Power Rangers, a team of fighting heroes. Though incredulous at first, they decide to give being heroes a try, and we get a training montage of Alpha teaching them martial arts. No matter how skilled they become, however, they are unable to actually morph into their armor. Meanwhile, Rita has begun gathering gold from the city and killing whoever gets in her way.

Alpha shows the team the Zords, giant robotic dinosaurs, to motivate them, but when Zack takes the Mastodon Zord for a joyride and almost gets them all killed, he and Jason get into a fight. Billy tries to stop the two of them and inadvertently morphs, but is unable to hold it, and Zordon kicks them out of the ship in disgust, save for Jason, to whom he reveals that the only reason he wants them to morph is that the surge of energy it would create would allow him to return to life. That night, Rita attacks Trini in her bed, and tries to convince her to betray the team and give her the location of the crystal. Trini tells the others, and they go to confront Rita without their armor. They are defeated and captured, and Rita threatens to kill all of them unless they tell her where the crystal is. Billy, not wanting to see his new friends hurt, tells Rita that the crystal is under a Krispy Kreme (something they remind us of at least six times in this movie, in case you were wondering who paid for it). She kills him and frees the others to witness her triumph. The team takes Billy back to the ship and, united in purpose and resolve, gain access to their armor. Zordon uses the power surge to revive Billy, and the team finally morphs.

Rita pulls the gold from the mountain and summons Goldar, as well as an army of stone minions, the Putties. The Rangers fight the Putties off and, spotting Goldar heading toward the city, take off after him in their Zords (and we get a brief sting of “Go Go Power Rangers,” and you better believe the audience erupted in applause). The Zords manage to destroy the remaining Putties, but Goldar and Rita demolish the Krispy Kreme and find the crystal. The Rangers try to hold the line in front of the crystal’s fiery pit, but are pushed in. In the heat of the pit, the Zords merge together, and form the colossal Megazord. The Megazord defeats Goldar, and Jason offers Rita the chance to come quietly and be judged by Zordon. She refuses, and the Megazord slaps her into space. The Rangers are hailed as heroes, and reconstruction efforts begin, while the teenagers return to their normal lives, ready to answer the call if it comes again.

Thoughts

I mentioned The Breakfast Club earlier, and that’s a pretty apt comparison, considering this movie was essentially The Breakfast Club with superpowers and CG giant robots. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing; I like The Breakfast Club, and I like superpowers and CG giant robots. However, while each Ranger does receive a quick character arc, most of them capping off during a brief scene around a campfire, it feels like the flaws they mention are all they really have to define them. Jason’s botched prank cost him a football career and his dad is pissed off at him, and that… kind of resolves later when Jason, as the Red Ranger, pulls his dad from a burning car, but not really since his dad doesn’t know it’s him. Kimberly did something really bitchy to a friend and lost her social status, but the only one she actually confides this to is Jason, in the middle of the night, disconnected from any other scene. Zack is scared of when his mom will eventually die, but that doesn’t really explain why he ditches school and takes constant risks. We only get one scene of Trini’s family, in which she jokingly reveals her super powers to her parents and her neurotic mother demands she pee in a sample cup (funny, but not exactly introspective). And Billy… doesn’t really have any flaws. He’s autistic, yeah, but that doesn’t seem to bother anybody on the team. I’m not saying it should, but his condition seems at least notable enough that in teenagers, it would at least raise some eyebrows.

Still, even with a bit of poorly divvied character development, the Rangers do have an enjoyable dynamic once they get into the swing of things, passing notes in detention and spending time together in Zordon’s ship. Zordon himself is a bit of an asshole in this movie, in contrast to his kind and wise nature in the old show. Alpha balances him out with some quality comic relief, throwing out interjections and quips independent of whatever’s going on and doing his best to lighten the mood. Rita is just gleefully evil, nailing that perfect Joker smile; while she’s a little more intense than her old school space witch counterpart, I can always appreciate a self-actualized villain who knows that they’re evil and loves it.

As I implied at the start, this is a movie that is best enjoyed with like-minded individuals (a theater-full, if you can manage it). Multiple times, mostly when the Rangers first morph and the Zords deploy, the audience at my showing went up in whoops and applause, both from the die-hard fans and the little kids who didn’t know why everyone was excited, but enjoyed it nonetheless. Though this might not be a movie you should take your kids to, considering the surprising amount of death and cursing. If you like Power Rangers, and you have some friends who like Power Rangers, then check this movie out together and let the hype suck you in.