two | memory (two kids, you and me)

[bamboozlement]

Night - that’s when you do your work in this stoplight-colors uniform, eyes and identity concealed behind a red domino mask. You’re out patrolling on your own tonight, and the sounds of an altercation ring out from the darkened alley below, sounds you find all too familiar. Three well-muscled men - thugs - have a fourth man cornered on the ground; he’s younger, unruly red hair tied back with a white bandanna, either too drunk or too apathetic to fight back as the other three take turns kicking him down over and over again.

“... Call yourself a superhero? You dirty lowlife drunk …” one says, showing the bottom of his boot to the side of the redhead’s face. This is your cue to jump in. You call out from the rooftop above with a easy-going tone that manages to still mean business.

“That, coming from a guy wanted for assault in three different counties?” The thug looks up in surprise, trying to discern who’s speaking, and you work quickly, hurling a bat-shaped boomerang at his head, knocking him out and to the ground. The second man you take out with a five-ball bola thrown and wrapped around his neck as you leap to the ground, not missing a beat in your banter: “They really don’t make anonymous thugs like they used to, huh? Look how easy you break.” You land next to the last of the thugs and crack your elbow right into the side of his head, and he too slumps to the ground, unconscious.

You step forward out of the shadows toward the redhead kneeling on the pavement in bewilderment, a triumphant smile curving your mouth. “There. That’s better,” you say. “You’re Roy Harper, aren’t you?” (You know exactly who he is.) “I’m Robin. Version two, actually - although I bet you could figure that out on your own.”

“Why,” Roy asks, eyes turned up on you, “why are you helping me?”

“They took these from you back at the bar,” you say, holding out a bow and quiver of arrows for Roy to reclaim. “I thought you’d want them returned. My predecessor told me once that you were a good friend of his, before you fell off the wagon. I wanted to let you know I’m here if you ever need a friend.”

Roy takes his weapons and pulls himself to his feet, shaking his head. “I don’t need friends,” he protests, a slight slur blurring the edges of his words, “friends just let you down.” You smile knowingly, because you’ve said the same thing in the not-too-distant past.

“We all need friends, Roy.” You produce a grappling hook gun from your belt and aim it at the nearby rooftop. “You change your mind, just come find me.” You fire the gun and follow the wire up into the night, leaving Roy standing in the alley below.

“I’ll be waiting.”

audio; un: j.doe

[and not too long after that memory broadcasts, jason's voice follows, sharp and shaking with rage at the intrusion:]

Get. Out. Of my head. NOW.

Comments

audio un. angel

[unknownmoirai]

[It might be better to say nothing, except that she doesn't feel right leaving things like this.]

I am sorry. [Though she hadn't had a choice but to watch the memory play out in front of her.] Are you alright?

[bamboozlement]

[jason makes a sound too angry and bitter to truly be called a laugh.]

Sure. I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?

[unknownmoirai]

You just seem upset.

[Sorry, she takes things a little to literally at times.]

[bamboozlement]

Something got in my head and broadcasted one of my very private memories without my permission. That’s invasive as hell, and yeah, I’m pissed about it.

[unknownmoirai]

So before... you were being insincere?

[She's at least learning.]

I am sorry. I know it isn't my fault but I wish I could help somehow.

Audio | UN: RighteousFather

[10milliondollars]

[Because he hasn't learned his lesson about sharing his thoughts on strangers' memories, Rhys has to poke in to this one. It's...interesting. He has to know if Roy ever came back.]

Yeah, memories get shared randomly. We don't get control over that. But hey, what about Roy? Did he ever come find you?

[bamboozlement]

Did you miss the part where I said to get out of my head? It’s none of your damn business.

[roy is ... a very sensitive subject, yes. complicated. jason’s best friend, and they hadn’t spoken in ages after jason left him and their partnership back in los angeles. jason hadn’t even seen roy until he’d pulled him out of that brutal bat-beatdown right before jason ended up here.]

[10milliondollars]

Well, I'm not really in your head, or I'd know how things turned out. I assumed that was aimed at the Network itself~ Sure you don't wanna talk about it? I've got plenty of experience in the Helping-Your-Bro department.

[Not that he'd ever had to deal with substance abuse. Vaughn was too high-strung for that. The guy rarely had anything with a high alcohol volume, but he still needed Rhys's help quite often.]

[bamboozlement]

Helping?

[the sound jason makes isn’t quite a laugh - it’s bitter and angry, entirely lacking mirth, an imperfect facsimile.]

OK, smart guy, with all of your experience, try this one. Roy didn’t find me - I found him, locked up on bogus war crimes charges in the armpit of the entire planet. [qurac. the same place jason was killed, years ago. ah, memories.] After he got rescued, we teamed up to fight some bad guys, do some good - even started our own little rent-a-hero business. His idea. And d’you know what happened? He almost died because he was dumb enough to get mixed up with me, because he was dumb enough to have me for a friend. This group of mercenaries kidnapped him, tortured him on a live internet stream, put it to a poll where viewers could vote on whether they’d kill him or let him live.

[and all of that? it frightened jason, enough that he broke off their partnership and pushed roy away, thinking that enforcing distance would be safer for both of them.]

He was right. Friends just let you down.

[and in jason’s mind, he’s the one who’s the letdown. like he told roy when he left - he couldn’t be the hero roy wanted him to be.]

So I’m dying to hear how you’re gonna help me with this.

Voice un: theboneless

[ragnarsson]

I doubt anyone here is in a mood to have their memories shared.

[Ivar actually sounds serious for a moment. But only one and then it revers to his usual amused sarcasm.]

But I'll take what entertainment I can get.

[bamboozlement]

Dude, I am only gonna say this once - don’t.

[ragnarsson]

[Ivar makes a tutting noise, clearly not taking the warning seriously at all.]

Tch. Everyone here is so damn sensitive.

[bamboozlement]

Yeah, funny thing about people - they tend to take offense to invasions of private thoughts.

audio; un: justaaron

[dadenergy]

[He recognizes the desire to help in "j.doe". It's a quality in himself that's never died, even though the world's tried many times to kill it.]

Everyone does need friends, Jason. You weren't wrong.

[And neither was 'Roy'. Friends do let you down.

Or you get them killed.]

And that's all I'm saying on it. You didn't ask for anyone to see that.

[bamboozlement]

No. I didn’t.

[and he feels like screaming. somehow, he manages to keep his tone even.]

I wasn’t right - I was just a stupid kid. Y’know what happened to Roy, when he finally took me up on that offer? I almost got him killed. No one needs that.

[dadenergy]

You almost got him killed, Jason. But you didn't. That wasn't a guy who can't take care of himself. That was a guy who wasn't trying to.

[bamboozlement]

Back then? Yeah, I wouldn't argue with that. But that was a long time ago. He got better.

[... ish.]

You don't get it. I'm not a good guy to hang around. Everyone who tries always ends up paying for it.

[roy almost died. jason couldn't save his mother, and she did die. and artemis and bizarro - who could even guess what happened to them after the ship exploded?]

audio un:pnwsalex

[11calls]

I'm really sorry that the network decided to show something of yours, Jason.

[bamboozlement]

[jason hates his life more than usual today.]

It's fine. I mean, this Sphere thing is gonna have a lot of regrets about getting into my head, but I've been through worse.

[which is a roundabout way of saying thanks, but that's the best jason can manage at the moment.]

Too bad I didn't end up here when I'd lost all my memories.

[actually, he gave them up, but hey, details.]

[11calls]

[Alex's frown is audible at that.]

You've lost all your memories, like full on amnesia before?

[She's leaving the comment about being through worse alone. For the moment.]

[bamboozlement]

Wasn’t amnesia, not like you’re probably thinking. But yeah. It’s ... kind of a long story. Basically, I know a guy who can take memories right outta your head.

[gristle]

Do you know Spiderman?

[bamboozlement]

[siiiiiiiigh.]

Nope. Where's he from? Maybe I'll go introduce myself when I get outta here.

[gristle]

New York. But I knew him in a place called Riverview.

[bamboozlement]

Never heard of Riverview, but I’d know if this guy was working in the New York I know. I’m from New Jersey, and word travels in the masked vigilante community. [most are so paranoid and territorial, they keep tabs on the rest. jason’s no exception.] He dresses up like a spider?