thesphererp | two | memory (two kids, you and me)

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He’s a recovering alcoholic.

So go for coffee. Point is, meet up in public so he's got the choice to leave if he wants.

I don’t go for coffee.

[he’s just stubbornly making excuses now. and jason’s about to say something about roy not trying to contact him either, so surely that means he wants to be left alone, right? but that’s not exactly true. roy showed up when jason was in trouble, getting one of the worst beatings of his life from batman, pulled him off that rooftop, and then - then jason woke up here in the domes. they didn’t have a chance to talk, but from what jason remembers through his concussed haze, roy didn’t seem angry. he sighs.]

Look, I’ll think about, OK?

You should. Solid friendships shouldn't just be tossed away, even if you're trying to protect the other person.

[If there's one thing he's learned in life about relationships, it's that a best bro is priceless. Not that he isn't guilty of dropping Vaughn in favor of a couple of frat parties, but that's in the past now.]

[dryly:] What’s your policy on slam-dunking ‘em into a dumpster?

My policy is not to do it unless they try and stab me in the back. One of my friends double-crossed me, so I didn't bother springing her from her cell before I crashed our company's space station~

[So maybe he's not the best for giving advice about friendships.]

Wow. That’s pretty cold, even by my standards.

Well, she was involved in my demotion and was helping my arch enemy. I almost died. It served her right.

Got no argument from me. But is she still your friend, after all that?

She didn't survive. So I guess not.

[At least he sounds a little remorseful about it.]

Guess that’s one way to end a friendship permanently.

Guess so. I kinda regret it, but I can be incredibly petty, and maybe I'm not the most forgiving.

So why again am I taking relationship advice from you?

Learn from the mistakes of others? You're the one that's still listening to me.

[that’s a fair point.]

Maybe I’m just really bored.

Yeah, well, take it from me: Don't leave a guilty conscience up to chance.

[jason has plenty more to feel guilty about than how things went down with roy, but the difference is that with roy, jason actually has a chance to fix things, if he ever gets back home. jason makes a soft, mildly disgruntled sound.]

All right. I’ll take it under advisement.

That's all I'd ask of you.

[It might be slightly out of character for Rhys to want to be this involved in something that doesn't concern him, but the situation hit a little close to home. After experiencing the memory, there just wasn't any choice.]

Sorry for, uh...having intruded? I mean, it's not like you had a choice in sharing that memory.

It’s fine. I should’ve expected something like this to happen if we’ve all got electronics stuck in our heads. Don’t worry about it.

Okay...But hey, if you wanna commiserate, I'll never turn down drinks or coffee.

[... huh. how about that.]

You wouldn’t be trying to befriend me, would you?

[Friendship? Rhys? No way.]

You seem pretty smart, and I like having reliable acquaintances. It's more of a quid pro quo thing. I like to keep those partnerships amicable.

Uh huh ...

[that's exactly the kind of evasive thing jason would say.]

Well, I dunno about me being reliable or smart, but you're not wrong about amicable partnerships. Place like this, you can probably use all the partnerships you can get.

I'm sure you've got some useful skills, though. You're a vigilante. And of course I'm right. I didn't get to be a CEO without knowing a thing or two about proper alliances.

Do they have Machiavelli where you’re from?

Edited 2019-06-20 15:54 (UTC)

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