13499/When you Need a Pick Up

When you Need a Pick Up
Date of Scene:	04 December 2022
Location:	The Flyp Down, Gotham City
Synopsis:	Jason Todd, after a massive fight in a junkyard, picks Phoebe up from College Night where she'd gotten into a fight at a hipster bar. The two talk about life, the Bat Family, and broken ribs.
Cast of Characters:	Phoebe Beacon, Jason Todd

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Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    It was a punk bar aimed at the younger crowd with a decent cross-section of Gotham life; punks, goths, and the occasional person who's slumming looking for sometrhing more entertaining than watching TV at home where it's safe.
    Phoebe's tracker had gone off here, at their 'College Night', and there had been a brief report on the police blotter about a fight.

    Incidentally, Phoebe's tracker had gone off about the same time. Not that she needed an out, really.

    Phoeb had her hair up in bantu knots with bright orange pins stuck through them. She was wearing matte black cherry lipstick with matching eyeshadow, perfect winged eyeliner, and an orange GOTHAM U T-shirt (gotta show the School spirit at College night, after all) and a black leather jacket, a black-and-orange skirt in tartan, gray thick leggings against the gotham cold and her combat boots. She is currently in mid argument with someone who looks like he could be a bouncer, but the symbols on his jacket are decidedly anti-nice-person.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd was already out on the town. More correctly, he was on his way him from a particular junkyard and a certain battle royale. Or rather, Red Hood was on his way back. Bruised ribs, maybe a broken hand. He was one of the lucky ones. The ones that were the worst off had gotten themselves dead.

Getting the chirp from Phoebe's beacon... made Jason curious. It wasn't like she couldn't take care of herself or that it mattered what she did on her nights off of patrol. She was her own person.

But something about it made his Hood-Sense tingle. Instead of heading home for a long hot soak to sooth his ribs, he turned his Mach 1 toward the punk bar and reached to the dash controls. Flipping a switch as he cut through an alley, the matte black '69 Mustang's paint rippled and shifted to a glossy cherry red and the rims shifted crimson to black. Street legal plates slide into place and Jason Todd's street car emerges from the other end of the alley.

Accelerating, he made his way toward the bar.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Well. The Beacon went off because someone punched her where it was in her jacket, sewn in, and absolutely insisted that she keep it on on account of 'that one time you ended up in Montana'.

    Which came from Laura, not from the Batfam.

    The bigger man is getting in her face, red-faced as he shouts a couple of slurs at her, saying there's no room in Punk for 'her kind'. Phoebe just looks like she's trying to decide which bones to break on this guy, and the actual bouncer who removed the two of them looks positively unhappy with the situation in general.

    She had sent a text to Alfred that she was fine, out with a friend, looking to temporarily go deaf and get into teenage mischief.

    Had not counted on Big Dumb Jerks.

    She caught the shine of the glossy cherry red out of the corner of her eye.

    So did the guy he was arguing with.

    "Now that is a nice piece."

Jason Todd has posed:
The car rumbles up menacingly. No less so than the dark haired man with a brief shot of pain showing across his features. One that would be missed by those who didn't know him.

The leather jacket is non-descript enough but the pants are those of Red Hood. As are the boots. And the pistols in the shoulder rigs hidden under the jacket.

None of these things would surely be lost on Phoebe.

Walking up, Jason looks directly to Phoebe as if the aggressor wasn't even there.

"Hey. Nice night to be out. Thought I'd see what you were up to. Anything good here tonight?" His hands are in his pants pockets. He still hasn't bothered to look at the aggressor. But someone who knows him would realize it's all a bait and switch. Just waiting for the man to say something or make any sort of aggressive move. Just one.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe, of course, was trained to pick up on people's pain expressions. It's one of the reasons she mother-henned the Outsiders. One of the reasons she was picked up immediately for the Night Brigade. She drops her gaze a moment, looking to the clothing he was wearing, and she breathes out.

    "Must have been a butt dial." she states to Jason, though concern for him is battling the desire to punch this guy -- who has about a hundred pounds on her -- and she shrugs.

    "Someone giving me and my friends trouble 'cause I don't have the right look for this place. I thought I looked cute."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd looks at her closely and nods. "Mmm. Okay. But that's too bad. I mean. You could make a tarp look cute." He shrugs and glances up at the sky then back to her.

"Well. I won't interrrupt or take over your evening. Long as you're doing alright, I'll just head inside and get a drink then head out." He offers her a smile. "Have some fun, okay?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Sounds good, I'll join you." Phoebe states, wanting to stay close to JAson. Neither of them in 'work clothes' (well, Jason's not wearing a mask), and she turns to go back in when someone grabs her shoulder to pull her back out. Phoebe tenses, and there is a flash of red light in her left fist before she gets it under control.

    "We don't like her kind in our bars." The bigger guy states, taking a few steps forward to menacingly try to loom over Phoebe. "An' the bouncer said for us to handle it out here. So. We gonna handle it, little girl? Or are you gonna go back to your hood house an' go cry to the government about big bad--"

    Phoeb has a lot of patience. You need it in her line of work. However even she has a limit, and this guy might have hit it.

    He was also not wearing any protective gear, so that solid SNAP of his collarbone breaking was obvious and loud.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd was still wound up tightly after the events at the junk yard. But he was hurting. Even though he was primed for the man to be an idiot and make a move, Phoebe is quicker.

He almost didn't even see the movement, hearing the bone break before it registers.

The wailing of the bully so brave a moment ago now yowling in pain. As he falls to the ground, Jason follows him, squatting down beside him, knee pressing to the shoulder on the side with the now broken clavicle. "I'm sorry? I don't think I heard you clearly. You were trying to say that -Punk- has no room for those who don't fit in? Who are counter culture? Who are rebels?" He looks down at the man, applying more pressure if an attempt is made to get free.

"Well first of all, saying that doesn't make you Punk, it makes you a biggotted fucking asshole who has zero privilege or right to be here himself." He pokes at the broken bone with every word.

"Punk is and always has been welcoming to those outside of normal. The fact you have it wrong shows you've only ever been a patheic poser."

Despite the man's howling of pain, Jason leans in and grabs him by the collar and jerks him off the ground. "She hits harder than I do. But I have a lot less personal inhibition to hurting spineless cocksuckers like you. So run along to the ER and get yourself cared for - and don't say a word. If you do you're going to be eating your meals through a staw."

The anger in Jason's eyes flares as he shoves the injured guy away. "Get out of here."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Scott (the big mean fellow who just got his collar bone broken, and then aggravated in a most aggrevious and aggressive manner) might have chosen the wrong color pants to wear tonight. He was put off his game by the little bitch breaking his collar bone with an expert strike that his three years at Krav Maga wasn't prepared to handle, and then he's being pushed down, looking up at a hoodless Red Hood as his jaw drops, crying out in pain as he gets schooled, and then goes to retreat, tail between his legs.

    Phoebe has a case of the shakes though, her arms wrapped around herself before she whispers:

    "I need to get outta here. If you want a drink, I'll take a walk."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd watches Scottie run off. He looks to Phoebe. "I don't need a drink that badly. If you'd like company on that walk. Unless you'd like a ride someplace instead." His voice is calm and quiet now, the dangerous edge instantly gone as he looks to her, waiting her response.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "... yeah... can we drive somewhere. Just... just anywhere. Anywhere but here." Phoebe replies, and instantly goes for the passenger door of the Mustang.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd nods. "Alright." He wasn't here to take over her evening. But he was here and it seems she needs someone. So it's for the best. He walks to the drivers side and gets in. The engine roaring to life with an anger close to that which its driver often has. Pulling out of the lot, he heads away from the club. "Are you okay?" He looks over. "If you want to be quiet we can do quiet, too."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I should be asking you that. I saw your face when you got out of the car." Phoebe points out quietly, rubbing her shoulder a moment, then she leans her chin on her hand and gives Jason the side-eye. "You got hurt on the beat tonight, Jason? Or is it a special occasion?" she asks, brushing off her leather jacket, and then quietly looks down.

    "I almost lost control when he grabbed my shoulder. Straw an' the camel's back situation. I coulda set him on fire." she admits. "Not precisely Good Bat behavior." she snorts, and tilts her head back. "Nice to know that calmer heads prevail. Maybe he'll rethink his life philosophy as he's healing."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd ignores the attempt to mother hen him. Because this is about making sure she's okay. He knows he'll be okay. Just hurting. Which is par for the course for being a Bat.

"I saw and I could tell." He gently elbows at her shoulder and immediately realizes he should not have.

He manages to cover up 98.95999 percent of the wince that comes from stretching those ribs again. Something might be cracked. But he wasn't going to let it derail making sure Phoebe is okay foremost.

"I don't know. I'd have just told Bruce it was a case of spontaneous combustion. Totally freak event" he deadpans.

"We can hope he will. But assholes like that don't understand where they're wrong. Or why. It's always someone else to blame."

He steers the car out of the city. Eventually they're overlooking the city from the inland ridge beyond the western city limits. The cares of Gotham are only so many twlinkling lights in the distance that make it look like a model rather than a real location.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    He may ignore the attempt to mother hen him, but Phoebe mother hens with the best of them. She's learning from *Alfred*.

    "If you want, I can fix those for you." she states plainly, leaning back in her seat a nmoment as they speed through the city, and she gives a snort of laughter at the 'freak event'.

    "I'm pretty sure there is not enough magic in the world to make Bruce believe that one." she comments to Jason quietly, and then rides in a satisfied silence as they move beyond the city -- to her credit she only holds onto the chicken bar once on a hard turn, but that's more a habit. Her face gave away the large amount of concern she had for turning that fast!

    And then they're out over the ridge. She'd come out here a couple of times.

    ... just not with another person. In their car.

    "... this looks like a perfect set up to catch serial killers." she murmurs.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd shrugs. "It's nothing serious" it hurts more than he wants to admit. But it's a Bat thing to try to avoid help. Not because he doesn't want Phoebe to use her abilities, but because he is trying to just cope with it. At least while they're driving. He actually drives relatively sane. If only because of those ribs.

Parking, he leaves the car running because it's Gotham in winter. He just turns the headlights off, leaving the parking lights on to show there is a vehicle present.

"There was a winner take all fight in a junkyard outside the city earlier. Two hundred crooks and mercs and bounty hunters. Half a million dollars for whoever could survive four hours in a junkyard sized cage match. I got word of it at the last minute." He shifts gingerly. "Lady Vic was there. Probably some others. Most were small time or no-time. A lot of them are dead now." He glances over as if to assure, "Not by my doing."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I'm familiar with the concept." Phoebe replies dourly, and she unclips herself and turns towards him, giving him a 'are you really gonna fight me' look and wiggling her fingers.

    "Every once in a while something similar goes out for mages. IT seems like one of those things where there's never really a winner except the host. Which inevitably? Some kinda brain-slug, necromancer, or mid-level marketing ploy. 'Bring two mages with you, one to turn and one to burn'." Phoebe states as she rolls her shoulders.

    "And I would assume if you did kill a bunch of small time or no-time crooks you wouldn't be talking to me about it."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd says, "Some crazy redneck family. Hog Boss and his kids. Never had a run in with them in Gotham before. Seemed like a way to try and cull the herd of idiots. A few of them decided to jump me. One of them was a big SOB." And so bruised or cracked ribs.

He looks to Phoebe directly. "I told Bruce I wouldn't kill. I haven't since then." Come close. Made some criminals wish they'd died. But no killing. "No reason to assume. Just because I can, doesn't mean I do." Any more."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe looks up at Jason, and she searches his eyes for a moment. And she gives a nod. "Then I owe you an apology." she states softly and she leans back against the door. She won't heal Jason unless he gives the OK. She does run her hand over the white tattoo'd circle on her left wrist, encircling her hand.

    "I'm sorry." she whispers, drawing her dark eyes up to Jason.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd shakes his head, "Phoebe you don't owe me anything. I'm telling you because I haven't got anything to hide from you." He meets her gaze. "I'm far from innocent in a lot of ways. I've done a lot of bad things. But I haven't broken my word. Despite a number of times I've sincerely wished I hadn't agreed to Bruce's demands. It would have been so much easier."

He sighs, wincing a little with the breath. "But easy isn't always right. Something I'm still.. kind of learning over again." He closes his eyes a moment.

"I'm hurting, Pheeb. I think it's more than bruised ribs." He fall silent for a few heartbeats.

"I could use your help. If you'd be willing."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "What is right is typically not what is easy." Phoebe remarks, and she motions that Jason move around and take off his jacket as she shifts forward, and tries to find a good angle. It would probably be easier in the back, but that pain coming from Jason wasn't saying there was a lot of time.

    "Here, lean back against me." she states, shifting herself around and moving the seat back to try and make leaning back over the console as comfortable as possible. She smelled like soft leather, roses and black pepper, and she was already switching to medical mode. She stretches her fingers out.

    "Sounds like you might have bruised some organs in the fight."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd isn't moving fast but it isn't like he has a punctured lung or internal injury beyond the ribs. Gingerly he eases his jacket off and then shifts around in the seat to face the driver's door. "Not sure how well I can lean back from here." He tries and grunts. "MMn. This is as far as I can go." And he's holding on to the steering wheel to keep from just toppling over and taking the gear shift to the spine. No one made muscle cars with room for activites such as this to be easy.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Yeah, this car wasn't meant to apply heals." Phoebe states, and then offers as a joke: "Could always move to the back seat for ultimate awkward." she states with amusement, and then she pushes herself forward a little to may her hands on Jason's shoulders, closing her eyes and trying to relax with one leg goign a bit between the seats in order to try and get Jason comfortable.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd snorts and winces. "Ow!" which causes him to tense more which.. causes him to wince more. He tries to relax when her hands are on his shoulders. Breathing slowly, he sits still, staring out the window into the darkness as he waits for her to, literally, work her magic.

For the most part he is a decent 'patient' but he still squirms a little.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Sorry -- try to relax a little bit. This is awkward. So awkward. Like, accidentally forgot to remove the curlers awkward." she mutters quietly, and she rests her hands on Jason, and focuses her own healing powers.

    It's warm, and tingly. Her fingertips glow slightly, tracing little trails that disappear before reaching the palms of her hand.

    Instinctively, she tries to find the worst places; the places that need healing the most, recovery to make him stable.... medically.

    "I know it's not very comfortable."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd grunts once, focusing on staying as relaxed as he can be. There was no value in complaininga bout this. She was doing this to help him. A favor. He had no right to complain about how uncomfortable the angle was, that it felt more like a blade being jabbed in his right side than it did simple bruising. All complaining would do is distract her.

Keeping silent and focusing on keeping his breathing slow and measured, he lets her work.

Quietly through clenched teeth he murmurs, "... 'v had worse. S' not bad."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe sets her lips in a thin line.

    "As hypocritical as it is coming out of me, just because you were hurt doesn't mean you have to put up with the pain." she breathes out, then takes a breath in.

    "... did you get *stabbed*?"

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd grunts again. "I asked if you'd help so I didn't have to put up with it Pheeb.." His breathing is more shallow because of the pressure and awkward angle.

"Not stabbed. Just had my kidneys and my ribs pounded on. Few of them on my right side feel like they're cracked. Guess they could be broken. Really not much difference." Except where a broken rib could be poking at things internally it oughtn't be.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe takes a breath, and she opens herself wider to The POwer Cosmic. She feels it, tapping against that shard of Creation buried inside of her soul. Her hands glow brighter, her fingers curling a little protectively against Jason as she works more into him, seeking out those jagged breaks in his ribs, like a balloon inflating to put everything back to right. To cease his pain, jangling nerves are soothed. Oxytocin and Serotonin are released.

    "I'm glad you did. I like helping people. It's why I used to sneak out of the house at night."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd can feel the healing begin. And like the last time, it feels no less funky this time. He clenches his jaw in spite of himself. He doesn't pull from the grip of her fingers on his shoulders, the muscles strong and a little tense under her grasp. Mostly from the curious angle of the moment. He can feel things moving. Or sense that he can. But the pain seems to be dulled. The rush of naturally produced drugs make it easier. Not knowing how much she encouraged his system to produce, he'll have to see if he's safe to drive in a little while, of course.

"... I.. am too. Feels better already. Even if it feels strange, too. Better than the Lazarus Pit though, no question" he jokes.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I wouldn't know." Phoebe whispers, "I've been warned against them. Even my ancestors thought they were poison for the ka." she purses her lips "That would be kind of part of your soul."

    Phoebe breathes out, and then she pulls one hand up, keeping the other on Jason's near shoulder.

    "Worst should be over. I'm just gonna keep my hand here to make sure there's nothing crazy that needs my attention. Your kidneys took a friggin' beating." she mutters, turning so she can sit the right way -- but backwards, her back to the dashboard, sitting cross-legged and faciing the back of her seat so she can keep a hand on him.

    "Lovely view of the city."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason Todd laughs weakly. "Wasn't my choosing. But without one I wouldn't be here. So my opinion of them is slightly skewed from the agerage person who knows about them."

He nods quietly. ".. guy was seven feet. Easy. Fists like bricks. He looks over at her as she shifts positions and offers a tired smile. "Thanks Pheeb. Really." Then he laughs. "Considering you're looking at it through the back of your head..."

He takes a slow breath to test. It feels better.

"Going to move to the back seat. The front seats flip forward enough to give more room and still have a view of the city. .. think I could probably use a cat nap after... all of this."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "And now you're stealing Church's naps. Deplorable." she gives a small grin. "All right. If you wanna cat nap, I'll keep watch. The neat thing about the magic? It keeps working for like, a half hour after I release it. So there's this energy inside of you right now that is probably looking at your spiritual signature and going 'what the heck'." she yawns herself, and stretches her arm as she sort of leans the seat back, and then tumbles to the back seat behind the driver's side.

    "My ancestors wrote upsettingly little about what I am. Apparently it was just something everyone in the stupid village knew." she mutters. "... also I think I sat on my phone and cracked it. Again." she mumbles.