2688/Asking the Wrong Brother

Asking the Wrong Brother
Date of Scene:	30 July 2020
Location:	Reclamated Theater - Rooftop
Synopsis:	Jason is pretty sure he is the wrong brother to ask about any of this.
Cast of Characters:	Tim Drake, Jason Todd

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Tim Drake has posed:
Tim is exhausted. Between work and trying to push himself more in training, plus everything he's doing with the Outsiders base, patrolling most nights... as is typical for him (to be fair, he's learned it from Bruce), he has simply pushed himself near to his breaking point where he'll simply crash for a day or three and hopefully recover well. It's always worked that way before.

After Carrie left, though, full of a little more energy, Tim spent a couple hours in the lab trying to parse the data he's recovered from the bloodwork and the pills Jason had purchased. He had already traced the knockoff Pez dispenser to a cheap knockoff manufacturing plant in China. No surprise. Some kind of party company.

He had shot Todd a text, inviting him back to the theater. However, instead of inside, he texted 'rooftop. I need some air. Mask optional.'

And so that's where Tim is, on top of the flat rooftop of the old theater. There are a couple of skylights towards the back of the building (one directly over the room claimed by Conner, unshockingly for the solar-powered Kryptonian), but Tim's up on the front side, sitting on the edge of the rooftop itself, his legs hanging over the street below. This area of town isn't too bad, there's plenty of light from the street lamps going up and down the street, and the waxing gibbous moon sends enough light on its own for Bats.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason too had picked up Bruce's habit of pushing himself too hard though his efforts of late have been focused on reconditioning his new base by day and kicking the shit out of bad guys at night. Added to that was the task of finding somewhere suitable to live as 'Jason Todd: Wayne Family Badboy'. He had an apartment under an assumed name but he knew he'd have to have something bigger and more public to sell the image, so that was on the radar too.

When Tim's text comes Jason was just about done his pre-patrol warm up, but deviates from the nightly routine, firing back to Tim:

> K.

A little while later Jason makes his way to the roof wearing his civilian uniform, leather jacket, jeans, t-shirt and an attitude. Seeing Tim on the edge he says, "If you texted me to talk you down, boy did you reach out to the wrong sibling," he jokes as he comes to sit down next to Tim.

Tim Drake has posed:
"Ha." Tim glances down the four story drop. "Technically I've jumped from higher." With a grappling hook and some other equipment. But the point is made. "But nice to know you care, Jay." He hands over a somewhat chilled orange Gatorade that's unopened as Jason takes his seat. There's another, already open and half drank, sitting on the ledge beside Tim.

"So. Conner's a Kryptonian. Hence why I may have borrowed a small amount of Special K from the vault. Just in case." Damian may be Bruce's biological son, but Tim's got the paranoia down pat. "That guy from the rave. He's my best friend. He also came back higher than a kite." Tim scowls a bit. For a moment the resembalance to Bruce is uncanny. "That doesn't make sense, right?" He leaves out the bit where Superman let himself into Tim's house looking for Conner when they were both hungover the next morning, because that's somewhat mortifying. "So. I didn't have Conner's blood, but I decided to run some more tests on what was left of ours."

Jason Todd has posed:
"Technically we all have, and likely this week too," Jason says about the heights as he hocks a loogie off the side of the building to the street below. "Four stories can do you in though if you fall right, tried it with a couple of dealers last summer," back during his rampage. "One went head first turned into pizza, the second guy," a smirk there. "Didn't get off so easy, legs first, isn't walking, talking or breathing without help." There's a dark sort of pride in that statement as he uncaps the drink and has a sip, giving Tim a little salute with the bottle before he does.

"Another one?' Jason asks as Conner's heritage is revealed. "What did they all get a group rate or something?" But the point is made. "Wow, so that shit actually got a Kryptonian high?" he says tilting his head a little in surprise saying, "Huh. Lucky us then for surviving. What'd you find?"

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim gives Jason a look, sighing. He takes a swig of his own drink. "It's weird. I've been chewing on it for the past couple of days, and reran everything this afternoon. It finished again. So, in our bloodwork... it was just MDMA and alcohol. But this is the weird part." He lets out a breath. "Jay, I was... not in my right mind. Maybe I'm a lightweight. I don't know. But you and Rose? You're used to drinking, and..." he trails off. "Rose is Rose. We didn't have that much." He looks back out over the street. "I couldn't account for the MDMA, because I didn't know how much the drinks had been laced with. But I COULD account for the alcohol."

Another drink, and a moment of quiet. "Two drinks each for Rose and I. Rough estimate on the amount of liquor in a mixed drink of that nature, in a three-quarters full 16 ounce cup. My blood alcohol level was on par with having had seven drinks, not two. And that played out for you and Rose as well."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason turns his head. "Well no wonder I felt like shit the next morning, but I figured that was just the drugs and embarrassment," he says. "But how did they manage that? Because if they managed to get three and a half drinks worth of alcohol into one drink that shit should have tasted like lighter fluid and it didn't."

He takes a moment to consider that, looking down at the street. "Been a bit since my science classes with Reed, anything we know of boost the effects of alcohol?"

Tim Drake has posed:
"A couple of things, but... not exactly? Uh, they usually just speed the absorption into the system." Tim looks frustrated. "Rose's MDMA levels were through the roof. I'm shocked she wasn't overdosing. She was..." he pauses, shaking his head. "God, I'm an asshole." He doesn't elaborate. "Ours obviously were reasonably high, but I don't know. It's like we both, you and I, had the equivalent of about two 'normal doses' each in our system. Which still isn't great. That seems off, though, lacing that much into that much alcohol." He frowns. "And the pills analysis keeps coming back strange too. There's definitely molly in it. But it's also... inconclusive."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason nods, "Well Rose also took that pill so, that plus whatever was in our drinks, still, that's a lot of kick for not all that much to work with," Jason muses as he considers the issue. "And who the fuck has that much molly just to give away, even with a seventy-five dollar cover charge."

The inconclusive bit though pings something, "So, like inconclusive like those other drugs you were looking at? As in the computer has no idea what it is?"

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim nods. "That's what I'm thinking. I tried to run a multi-spectrum comparison on the samples and the pills, but it keeps... failing." He looks very consternated. "And I don't know what the hell I'm doing wrong. I feel like an idiot. I keep fucking up everything lately." He finishes the last of his Gatorade, then drops the empty behind him onto the rooftop. He'll grab it later. "I should have realized we could have gotten drugged there. I should have realized WHEN we got drugged."

And he nods to Jason slightly. "And yeah. Regardless, that's a LOT of drugs in those barrels of alcohol. I checked the intakes for Gotham General, Sisters of Mercy, and Brightman. All three hospitals had... you guessed it... a huge uptake in MDMA overdoses, hyperthermia cases, and acute alcohol poisoning, from about 4am onward throughout the next day. Victims all between 14 and 28."

Jason Todd has posed:
"I mean, who would have expected someone to give away that much MDMA for free? That's some movie bullshit, couldn't have seen it coming," he says. "And this is me talking, so if you had fucked up, I'd be the one to rub your face in it. As for the scans, that's messed up, but given the Batcomputer couldn't figure it either, hard to say that's your fault."

Jason nods grimly, his face darkening when the fourteen year olds are brought up. "Well that's it for the Bodega boys then, putting them on the top of my list."

Tim Drake has posed:
"Where the hell are //they// getting it, though?" Tim scowls again. "I mean, they aren't exactly the wealthiest of street gangs, for one, but money aside... that's just PHYSICALLY a lot of this drug. It's a synthetic drug. Powdered until pressed. That's not easy to store. If someone was dumping... I don't know, a couple of gallon buckets of drug powder in the drinks... you'd think it would be noticeable."

He reaches into the pocket of his sweatpants, and pulls out a small baggie of the blue powder. "This stuff is something. The Joker wanted it. But it's Falcone that was selling it." His mouth sets in a straight line. "So maybe it's Falcone we need to start looking into."

Jason Todd has posed:
"I can ask any of the Bodega Boys that are still conscious when I'm done with them," Jason says about where they got all the drugs from. Though as guesses go Falcone isn't a bad one. "Makes sense, he'd have the resources to pump this stuff out in those quantities and protect the production when the word gets out about it."

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim nods slowly. "Well. Starting there, I guess." He unzips the baggie. "Before you got here, I took some clean bloodwork. Conner's a Kryptonian. Rose has... some kind of healing abilities or something. Things never hurt her for long. You..." he glances over to Jason. "You're not the same as you were before," he says carefully. "Cass is an Amazon and Bart's..." he shrugs. "I'm the only normal one. So..." He goes to tilt the contents of the bag into his mouth. This is a small sample bag, maybe a tablespoon at most in it.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason nods, "Yeah, you could say that-" he begins about not being the same when he spots Tim about to sample the drug himself. "What the shit," he curses reaching out and snatching the bag away and tossing it off the side of the building "What the hell are you doing? You want to end up dead? Jesus fuck, you want me to have to be the one to call Bruce about this? Oh hey, Tim's dead, OD, I had nothing to do with it. You fucking asshole."

Tim Drake has posed:
"It's a calculated risk!" Tim replies angrily. "And yeah, I figured if anyone could actually handle whatever happened it //would// be you. You think I didn't think hard about this? Whatever this is, it's not showing up on any screens. How can I isolate it in the bloodstream? How can I make sure none of this happens again?" He looks... guilty. Extremely guilty, and angry. "We need something to test it on, and who else would work?" He slumps a bit, looking stressed. "And..."

There's a long, quiet pause.

"I don't think it would actually do anything by itself. But I want to be sure."

Jason Todd has posed:
"No. That was being stupid," Jason counters with a shake of his head. "And of course I could handle it, only did it a half-dozen time with my /mom/ but you think I want to relive that shit?" he asks.

He lets out a breath, downs the rest of his drink and tosses the empty down onto the street, watching the empty plastic container bounce before rolling to the curb. "If you want to test it, then I'll bring us back a Bodega Boy. Easy fix," he says with a shrug. "And sure as shit better than letting one of us take that hit."

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim sighs, sitting in silence for awhile. "You're probably right." He doesn't say anything else for a bit, brooding. Which isn't entirely like him anyway.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason is content with the silence at least at first, getting his own anger under control. "What's up with you, man?" he asks finally. "This shit isn't you."

Tim Drake has posed:
"I don't drink. I don't get... altered." Tim says quietly. "Some people say it changes you when you are. Bruce says it just makes you more inclined to do the things you would do anyway." He shrugs. He's quiet for a little bit after that.

"I liked that feeling the other night. Maybe too much. That's dangerous." He shakes his head. "And I don't like who I was."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason rubs a thumb against his brow. "Yeah, it can change people, usually not for the better, and it's okay to like the feeling as long as you're not going to do it again. If it helps any if you start using, I'm going to find out and I'm going to kick your ass and drag you to rehab myself. I've done enough picking up after junkies for one lifetime."

He lets out a breath through his nose. "So what'd you do that was so bad?"

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim glances over at Jason and snorts derisively. "You'll probably just tell me I need to go save some kittens or something to make up for it," he snarks darkly. "But no. Its... complicated."

Tim leans forward, looking at the sidewalk below and then sighs. "So... Rose tried to get me drunk before. She succeeded, once. She had been drinking a lot too, and she tried to get me to..." he looks a little uncomfortable, and then he just sighs. Its Jason. Walking around it is likely to just get him mocked mercilessly. "She wanted me to sleep with her. I walked out. I didn't want to do something she might regret later. I mean... she apparently didn't take that too hard because...." he laughs, slightly embarrassed, "she practically dragged me to bed for the first time a few days later."

He grips the edge of the rooftop as he talks. "But she was sober. But the other night? God, Jay. She was fucked up, and I didnt pull back. I didn't stop, and I didn't think about the consequences. I'm an asshole."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason sits there looking at Tim for a long moment before he asks. "So?"

There's another beat before Jason says, "You got fucked up with your girl and you banged, welcome to humanity Timothy Drake. That shit happens."

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim blinks incredulously at Jason. "I could have hurt her." He doesn't say the other dozens of thoughts and stressors going through his head. They all come down to that anyway, in one form or another. "I lost control of myself. And the worst part is I would do it again, because it felt //that// good." He shrugs.

Jason Todd has posed:
"Really? I mean, even fucked up, Rose would kick your ass if you did something she didn't want to do," Jason says, his eyebrows arching. "Get over yourself, you let loose, it's life it happens," he says. "Up to you what you do after. But it's not a big deal."

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim actually laughs a little at that. "Mm. She probably would, I guess." There's a pause. "I'm sorry about this. I just... I can't let anything like that happen again." He does finally quirk a half-grin, though. "She is my girl, though. I'm still not... exactly clear how it happened. But I'll take it." He sighs. "Though I have no idea how to make any of that right. I have no fucking clue what I'm doing. It's all guesswork and I feel like an idiot." He snorts.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason shrugs, "Don't apologize," he says, before grimacing at the idea that Tim can't let himself do it again. But then Bruce did teach them all to be hard on themselves. He moves on, snorting at the idea of Tim and Rose. "She's probably getting soft, plus that, how did she put it, 'attentiveness and task focus' probably doesn't hurt either."

As to the rest? "Asking the wrong person about how to manage dating a girl. I didn't date when I was alive and since I got back it's just been hookups, easier, fewer explanations," he shrugs. His phone bings and he checks it, before turning the picture of Dick flying around with Supergirl towards Tim. "You're asking the wrong brother for dating advice."

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim eyes the picture and rolls his eyes. "Yeah well. Dick is Dick and I don't think he even has to think about it. Women just fall at his feet, powered or otherwise, and he doesn't have to try." Then he squints as Jason's early comment clicks. "...oh for fucks sake." He turns about the same color as the costume he wears. "When did she tell anyone..." He actually facepalms. "I guess that means I'm not fucking up that part nearly as badly as I thought," he mutters from behind his hand.

After a moment he pulls his hand back to the side of the rooftop. "Yeah well. I don't even hook up. Conner's no help either, he just basically gives me a thumbs up and shoves me towards sleeping with her more." He grimaces. "Not that I'm complaining about that. With her." He shrugs. "And its disturbingly nice to wake up with someone in the morning. Eh. I don't know. I feel like I've jumped off the bridge off the Narrows into the damn bay, and without a lifejacket and I have no idea how to swim."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason shakes his head. "No idea how he does it," he says. "Though always wondered about Kryptonians and if they're, you know, that strong /everywhere/. Guess we'll know if Dick ends up in the ICU tonight," he snorts.

As for Tim's embarrassment, Jason laughs. "Guess not," he says clapping his younger brother on the shoulder, not hard enough that he'd loose balance just enough to unsettle him just a bit, because Jason is a dick. "And yeah, I definitely remembered that part of that night, not a whole lot else. Definitely not any hugging."

"From what I hear, that's fucking romance man. There's a reason I stay away from it. Distracts from the mission, leaves you all busy flying with Supergirl, or wondering how you make a relationship work with a big furry mutant or a one-eyed-white-haired-assassin," he shrugs. "Don't need the drama. Anyhow Rose should be pretty easy, she doesn't do bullshit, just talk to her, she'll damn well tell you what she's thinking."

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim grips the edge of the roof as he's jostled. He lets out a sharp intake of air. "I guess. It can't possibly be that easy but what the hell. Worth a shot." He tries not to think about how half of their conversations get interrupted by Rose pulling off her shirt or something. Probably just coincidence it happens so often, turning the conversation into a distraction. "This drug stuff really has me bothered, too. Nothing about it makes sense. But I guess... we just have to dig deeper." He spins on the edge of the rooftop, hopping back off onto the roof proper. "And hopefully get it figured out before anyone else gets hurt."

Jason Todd has posed:
"There we go," Jason says as he turns around and gets to his feet as well. "That's the annoyingly cheery replacement I know and loathe," he says good naturedly as he stretches. "Well you handle the nerd end of things, I'll go try to beat the info out of some Bodega Boys."