3444/Court of Owls: Red Dead Redemption Seven - The Darkness Swallows Us

Court of Owls: Red Dead Redemption Seven - The Darkness Swallows Us
Date of Scene:	19 September 2020
Location:	The Undercity, Gotham
Synopsis:	The Reds are a pair of self-rescuing Princesses, or something. Also, spandex.
Cast of Characters:	Tim Drake, Jason Todd

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Tim Drake has posed:
The darkness is complete.

Tim moves forward beyond the alcove, trusting that eventually they'll find another area that's got the dim lamplight once more. He moves slowly, dragging his feet across the ground as to not risk tripping over something he cannot see.

It's not long before the ground feels different beneath his feet. Stone. Some broken and cracked. There is no movement of air here.

It is dark, and the part of him prone to dark humor wonders if they are about to be eaten by a grue.

Jason behind him, Tim keeps moving slowly, forward, always straight forward: it's the only thing you can do in this kind of darkness... until he runs into something, literally. A wall. He carefully runs his hands along it. Siding. Old wooden siding, he can feel the cracks and the peeling paint. They were assuredly in the Undercity. It was the only explanation. But this time, not only did they not know WHERE, but they didn't have any of their usual tools with them. No weapons, save the knives they were carrying. No infrared or night vision. Not even a thief's light. Still, the wall in front of him was solid. Something to hold on to. So he does, bringing Jason forward to lay a hand on it as well. Now to decide... which way?

Jason Todd has posed:
Despite their grim situation the feel of that peeling paint and wooden wall that spoke of the Undercity floods Jason with a few moments of relief. They were no longer nowhere, they were somewhere even if it was a labyrinthine and dangerous somewhere and the Owls may be right behind them.

"Definitely missing my helmet right now," he says grimly as he tries to listen for any noise or feel any wind that might make left or right more appealing than the other.

Tim Drake has posed:
"Yeah. I feel naked without my mask and computer," Tim agrees quietly. "Stay here, I'll move right and see if I can find the front of the building. If it's the back, we'll go the other way," he reasons. "We'll move down the street. Maybe we'll feel some air and a way out."

He shifts right, slowly moving along the side of the building, his hand never leaving it until it turns. He forces back the mental image of whatever could be in the darkness... owls, monsters, sharp bits that he could get sliced up on. Then he slowly slides around the bend, toes stubbing on the front porch before he takes a cautious step up. The floor creaks but stays intact.

"Jay." His voice is still pitched low, but enough the other boy can hear him. "Right is okay for now."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason stays crouched by the building listening to the sounds of Tim's movements in the dark, listening for signs that anything else was moving out there too. He finds none by the time Tim calls for him and he rises, "On my way," he says moving to join Tim to the right of the building and picking up the conversational thread of a few moments before. "Yeah, feel that way without my guns. You know what this means right? We need to start practicing without our usual crap, y'know, if we ever get out of this place," he says, keeping his voice pitched low as well.

Tim Drake has posed:
It's slow moving. Fingertips still trailing along the front of the building, even as the wood creaks beneath their feet, Tim keeps moving forward. "Yeah. You know //he'll// insist regardless." He makes a short noise of pain, pulling his hand back, having cut it slightly on a broken bit of glass. "Broken glass. Watch out."

Jason Todd has posed:
"Maybe for you," Jason says of Batman insisting. "He doesn't call the shots for my training anymore," he says, though he was going to do that training anyhow, it made sense. When Tim cuts his hand on the glass, Jason tucks his blade in the belt of his Talon suit and yanks off one of his gloves and hands it to Tim. "Would suck to break out of that place only to have you die of tetanus or something."

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim takes the glove, sliding it over the bleeding hand. "We'll get out and get it cleaned up," he replies. "Thanks." They hit the end of the porch, and Tim gently and slowly tests downward with a foot, then steps down. Steps up and down are horrible in the darkness. Only a few more steps, and a stone fronting.

The darkness, and the street, continues for several buildings much the same. But eventually they reach the end, and there's nothing to hold onto.

"Straight?" Tim asks quietly.

Jason Todd has posed:
"Don't mention it," Jason says, probably meaning it literally knowing him. Though he follows behind and makes his way down in the darkness to the waiting street. "And good idea," he says about getting cleaned up. "Probably should get checked out for leftovers of whatever it was we drank the other day too." Focusing on the minutea of what they should do when they escaped helped, it was better than worrying /if/ they would escape.

"Straight works," Jason says, putting his hand on Tim's shoulder so that they don't get separated.

Carrying on a ways into the darkness, they find another wall after? it's hard to tell how long, it felt like miles but was likely no more than a couple of hundred feet. "I've got this one," he says, feeling around the edges with his gloved hand, brick this time, crumbled in places, and it smelled like something died behind the wall somewhere, he hoped it was only an animal, finally his hand finds the end of the wall, he feels around finding it was some sort of alley, narrow, maybe six feet across, walls on both sides less likely to get lost. Though where it lets out? He has no clue.

"Found an alley this way," he calls to Tim.

Tim Drake has posed:
"One way is as good as another," Tim mutters, snagging a hand on the back of Jason's shoulder. "Lead on." Besides, alleys are good to hide in and duck down on the surface to escape notice. Can't hurt down here, since it's likely the talons are already looking for them.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason snorts at their circumstances, here was Tim trusting him and vice versa. Though he leads the way carefully and ably reaching the end of one alley, and then finding their way to a next, this time with Tim in the lead, then Jason, the streets were narrow and winding here, the buildings mostly wood. "Feels like a slum, but which one," he says. There were a number of old slums in the undercity to choose from.

Tim Drake has posed:
"None I recognize," Tim replies quietly. Nothing about this felt like the areas of the Undercity he was marginally familiar with. They hit the end of the alley they are traveling down, and Tim swears quietly, taking a deep breath.

He can smell water. Clean, almost fresh air, compared to the stale unmoving air underground. "Do you smell that?" He breathes in again. "There's a way out nearby."

Jason Todd has posed:
"Yeah, I can smell it too," Jason says taking a moment to let the smell in and try to center on the direction it was coming from. "It smells like the other side of this wall maybe?" he says, "We wanna risk climbing or do we circle back and try to find a way around?"

Tim Drake has posed:
The various dangers of what might be on the other side of the wall flash through Tim's head, but he sets his jaw in the darkness. "Who knows if we'll be able to find our way back to this point again. I say up and over." He begins feeling his way for a handhold... and finds the lip of a window. "Window." Pat pat pat. "Glass still intact." Pat. "Mostly. One pane missing near the top." His fingers move back to the bottom of the window and he begins tugging up, though not successfully yet. "Through may be a better option."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason begins to climb as well, and at first finds about as much luck as Tim. Then his hand finds a place where the boards are looser, more easily grasped, Jason chances it, grabbing on hand then foot, once he's up he feels for more hand and foot holds, finding the next set he pauses, calling out, "Come to my voice, the boards are lose here, then there's the frame of the window sill, going to try to get up higher, see if this will do the trick." He continues to feel his way upwards, straining to hold onto the rickety wall.

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim moves over, finding Jason and setting himself up over and under the bulkier young man, shoving a shoulder under Jay's foot to help steady him. "Here. Can you make it over?" He just hopes the other side isn't falling into spikes or something.

Jason Todd has posed:
The boost helps and once at the top Jay turns, and reaches down to help Tim up after him. "I'm at the top," he says, and once Tim's up there with him Jay peers down into the darkness again reaching down to test the far side of the wall. There weren't any solid handholds, and there was no clue of what was below them. "Fuck it," Jay says shifting on the wall so he can grip the edge and hang for a moment before he let's go, trying to land and roll to break the impact of his fall.

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim winces as he listens to Jay falling, but the sounds are... normal. A thud, a slight clatter. Another thud as he rolls into something. "You good? Clear?" he asks, and once he gets an affirmative, Tim follows suit, landing heavily and rolling. The fresh air definitely smells stronger here. "Fuck," he mutters getting to his feet and brushing himself off a bit. Most of the entries into the Undercity were in darkened basements and similar. No light. Without a bit of light, finding the entryway above was nearly impossible...

Until he hears a not-too-distant splash of water. The echoes underground make it hard to discern distance and direction, but he closes his eyes (unneeded in the dark, but it makes him feel better) and listens. He reaches out to find Jason's hand or shoulder. "This way I think."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason smiles for the first time in forever as he lands and isn't impaled by god knows what, still hurts like hell, but he can live with that. He gets up and calls the all clear, letting Tim take his arm when he feels the other Bat's hand brush against him. The pair wander in the dark, listening for that sound of water, it's elusive, echoing off the walls of the sometimes Undercity seemingly coming from everywhere at once.

It's in one of those moments Jason sees it, that glimmer of light from above, glinting like the North Star pointing their way. "There," Jason says an points before he realizes that's meaningless in the dark. "Light."

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim nods, hid face lighting up some, though the darkness doesn't show it. His tone does. "I see it. Boost me." Once he's boosted up, that water splashing him and trickling down below onto Jason as well, Tim feels around a bit and stifles a cheer. "Storm drain. God damn. It's a storm drain. Light ahead." He reaches up, and pulls himself into the storm drain, the cold water drenching him but he doesn't care. He turns around, sticking an arm down to help Jason up. "I'll pull you up. Let's get the hell out of here."

Jason Todd has posed:
Tim doesn't have to tell Jason twice, a storm drain a fucking storm drain, it sounds so normal and smacks of freedom. He clambers up, accepting Tim's help and when he reaches the top he does a bit of contorting to get his feet up ahead of them against the storm drain cover and he pushes /HARD/. The metal grate breaks free of the grime holding it in place, grinding against the sidewalk, Jason turns again, blinking in the sudden daylight, before he grabs the edge of the drain and pulls himself up, then reaches back for Tim eager to share his new found freedom. "We made it," he says as Tim joins him in the light.

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim looks around. Jason is still in the talon costume, sans the mask. He's in torn and dirty slacks and a dress shirt, no tie, and one of Jason's gloves. He does grab Jason and move them both over out of the street and against one of the buildings. Bruce had made the Robins memorize the streets of Gotham until they could be dropped anywhere and know exactly where they were in moments.

Maybe that was overkill. But it helps them both in the moment. "Addison street. South side of Founders," Tim breathes. And about as far away from Bristol as you can get and still be in Gotham. No comms. No wallet, no cash, no phones. He frowns. "...Jay... you think the cache on Marple and Tunnes might still have something useful in it?" It was one of the older ones, and probably hadn't been updated in a bit. Still, there might be something. Anything they can use. Cash, at least.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason looks around, and nods, "Yep, Addison Street," he agrees as he makes himself get to his feet. He definitely looked out of place, not that Tim didn't look like some rich kid that got rolled. "That one still in use?" Jay asks at the mention of the cache. "That was from back in Dick's day."

He shakes his head, "Sounds like a place to start, worse case scenario, we find people and I can lift someone's phone," he says. "Just like I did when I was a kid."

Tim Drake has posed:
"Let's get there quick, then," Tim notes, before heading in that direction with Jason, trying to avoid being too conspicuous. It's a few blocks, and while they get a couple of weird looks, once they get to the building where the cache is hidden. Tim ducks around the alley, hunting for the hidden cache in the wall. He finds the hidden lock, tries a couple of the codes, cursing. "You know anything older?"

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason doesn't really register those looks he gets, he just keeps walking until they get to the building and slip inside. "Hmm," he says trying to think back over the old codes they used to use back in his day. He tries, one, two and a third before there's a beep and the door clicks open. "Here we go," Jason says, pulling open the door to step inside. It's a small space aluminum shelves and cabinets for gear, most of the good stuff had been cleared out but opening the cabinets he finds something. "Here," Jason says as he pulls an old Robin costume off a shelf and tossing it to Tim. It's the old style, no high tech HUD in the mask, short-shorts, tunic, cape, all in that spandex looking armour weave that Jason hated. The suit he takes down isn't much better, same material, blue and black, with an annoying collar, but at least it was a nightwing suit. He strips his Owl suit and starts pulling it on.

"This sucks but it's better than nothing," he says just as his leg stops halfway, the fabric gripping to his more bulky legs, "Son of a bitch," he curses trying to pull it on. It doesn't budge. "Crap, forgot how skinny Twinkle toes is," he says not liking where this leaves them for options.

Tim Drake has posed:
Tim eyes the material of the Robin suit. "There isn't even //armor// in these," he grouses, unbuttoning the remaining buttons on his dress shirt to start stripping down to put the costume on. But Jason's dilemma actually makes him snort with laughter for the first time in days. "Yeah, he's built more like me--" he stops. "Oh man, this is one of your old costumes isn't it?" Which means it's probably made for Jason's bulk, even if likely still a bit tight given the years of interim. And... it should stretch more than the Nightwing one might. He offers the bright red, green, and yellow Robin costume. "I mean, I guess try it." He at least stifles any further laughter, as he tosses his ripped dress slacks and shirt into a nearby dumpster before grabbing the Nightwing costume and trying to step into it himself.

It's a tight fight in places Tim is not okay with it being that tight. This was obviously from a younger Dick, too. But at least he can squeeze into it, even if it looks and feels awkward. He ties on the domino mask, scowling a bit. No HUD? This is the stone ages.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason just stares flatly at the Nightwing costume like it had betrayed him personally and doesn't even look at Tim as he pulls off the costume and thrusts it over in his direction. Taking the old suit from Tim he pulls it on, the cuffs of the shorts felt like they were cutting off blood flow, and holy hell did they ride up in the crotch, but he manages to get the shorts on, then squeeze into the tunic, the buttons hanging on for dear life.

"Yeah, these old suits are pretty primitive, even by my standards," he says puting on his mask and looking for something he saw on the shelf earlier. "Good news is we've got access to Batcave South now, which means we've got wheels." Though the idea of sitting on a motorbike in this thing is almost too painful to contemplate.

Tim Drake has posed:
"Yeah. Just a couple batcycles there, but that's all we need." Tim grabs the Talon costume and the knives, shoving them in the cache to retrieve later. No utility belts. No grapples. Just spandex and the fob. "Well. Six blocks and we'll have wheels. Let's get home."