one | audio; un: j.doe (go tell the world that i’m still alive)

[bamboozlement]

[this new voice is a little gruff and a lot to the point:]

Who wants to tell me which of these domes has a gym?

[meet jason todd, a guy who uses his fists to solve most problems, including his own brainspiders. he’s decided it doesn’t seem entirely fair that this place healed up all of the injuries he sustained back in gotham before his arrival - jason sorta thinks he deserved that broken arm, thanks. maybe if he’s lucky, he’ll end up with a sparring partner or two and a fresh set of bruises.]

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audio: un: justaaron

[dadenergy]

[He's right about one thing: Aaron doesn't recognize his voice. Of course, having just woken up from a dream in which 6 years passed, he's still working on sorting through a lot of the memories of this place, of yesterday, and the ones he collected in his dreams.]

The Rec dome is your best bet. [There's a brief pause.] J.doe, huh? You're new. I can understand wanting to maintain your anonymity, I can assure you we're not going to use anything against you. We probably can't. Not many of us are from the same worlds. [Another beat, as he lets that sink in for a moment.] I'm Aaron.

[bamboozlement]

[anything can be used against you, by anyone, and jason’s shorter on trust than his usual short amount, after what happened back in gotham. i was a fool for ever believing in you, bruce said, beating jason’s face in, and jason couldn’t even argue with that. he was a fool for trusting in bruce’s belief in him, for believing that he could could play by batman’s rules and make a difference, for thinking the family he’d cobbled together with artemis and bizarro would last.]

It’s kind of an inside joke. [because he died, get it? and all record of jason todd no longer exists. so that means he doesn’t exist. hilarious, right?] I wouldn’t read too much into it.

[but refusing to give his name would make him an immediate target of suspicion, which is one thing jason doesn’t need in this weirdass place, so.] Jason. Thanks for the tip - I could use a good workout.

[dadenergy]

Right. [It's possible, and Aaron doesn't know the kid. He's met people with sicker senses of humor, after all. Not all of them were funny, either.]

Welcome to the Sphere, Jason, for what it's worth. [There's a beat.] Yeah, keeping sharp's important. Here, it's easy to forget that sometimes. I could show you if you like.

[bamboozlement]

[he never forgets about the importance of staying alert and on his toes. that would be an excellent way to get dead - again.]

Is that dome hard to find?

[dadenergy]

No. Just take the tram. It's one of the ones that never moves.

[But he can respect when someone would rather be left alone.]

Tell you what, Jason. I'll answer any questions you may have about this place, or I can let you go. That's fair, too.

[bamboozlement]

[jason is pretty used to being left alone - that’s how he’s lived most of his life. and keeping to himself is probably for the best, he thinks, because look what happened to artemis and bizarro. look what happened to roy. anyone who gets close to him ends up hurt or hurting him.

but this aaron guy’s only trying to help. it’s weird, someone else trying to help him, but jason feels a tug of guilt for his standoffishness when aaron offers to leave him alone. letting a guy show him to the gym isn’t going to hurt anyone. probably.]

Waking up here’s kinda disorienting. [which is as close to an apology as jason can muster.] Some of the domes move?

[dadenergy]

[From his next response it's pretty clear Aaron got the message, as he chuckles slightly.]

Tell me about it. Try going to bed here and waking up 6 years older.

[Yeah, that's...a thing that happened.]

Yeah, or they disappear altogether. The Rec dome tends to stay in the same place, though. I'm sure there's a reason for that.

[bamboozlement]

Huh, [he murmurs, taking in that piece of information. domes that move and disappear. for what reason? sounds like a mystery he might need to look into.]

How’d you manage to pull the Rip Van Winkle act?

[dadenergy]

That's a question no one's been able to answer, yet. The Sphere never indicated it worked this way.

[bamboozlement]

I'm gonna take a wild guess that the Sphere isn't big on giving straight answers, about anything. Am I hot or cold?

[dadenergy]

Sometimes it does. Other times it doesn't speak at all. It claims that's because it's doing a lot of background processes but I don't know enough about computers to know for sure.

[bamboozlement]

Yeah, computers aren’t really my thing either. Now, this kid I know back home? He’d probably be able to crack it open inside of an hour - too bad he’s not here.

[probably for the best, given tim’s whole “poofed to time prison in an alternate dimension” episode not too long ago.]

So this Sphere thing’s a computer?

[dadenergy]

I think so? But if it is, no one knows where it came from. It talks like one.

[bamboozlement]

Then it must have some kind of power source. Anyone try pulling the plug? Maybe turning it off and turning it back on again?

[dadenergy]

I don't think it's that simple, and I also don't think it works like a typical computer...not that I know much about computers.

[bamboozlement]

Yeah, nothing’s ever that easy. [he sighs.] Guess I’ll just have to take a look and see if anything shakes loose.

[preferably after locating some explosives. that should help, right?]

[dadenergy]

I know what you're thinking, and no one's really been able to figure out how to get into that room.

[bamboozlement]

Gotta be a first time for everything. And I’m a creative problem-solver. I could use a project, too.

[dadenergy]

...what are you hoping to accomplish?

[bamboozlement]

Well, y'know what they say about idle hands, right?

[dadenergy]

Yeah. They usually mean to learn how to build a birdhouse.

[bamboozlement]

You seen any birds around lately?

[dadenergy]

...that's not the point.

[bamboozlement]

Sure it is. No point in building houses for birds that aren’t around. That’s a complete waste of time.

[dadenergy]

Then build a swing for the children.