3728/Back from Below

Back from Below
Date of Scene:	07 October 2020
Location:	Valeria's Room - Four Freedoms Plaza
Synopsis:	Jason visits Val after escaping the Owls. Stories and sleep occurs.
Cast of Characters:	Jason Todd, Valeria Richards

---

Jason Todd has posed:
After the little meeting at the cave and like a dozen of those little sandwiches Alfred brought down, Jason slipped away from the manor, grabbing one of the civilian bikes from upstairs and made for the Hyperloop and from there, New York.

There were no texts enroute because as far as Jay knew his phone was either in the hands of the Court or somewhere in what's left of his home. However, he knew Val was safe and where to find her, so that's where he went.

So, as whatever time of day it was was dawning, he wasn't quite sure, he arrives at Four Freedoms, pinging the intercom to the living quarters, his bio scans letting him get through the earlier security locks. He didn't want to try these ones though figuring it was best not to just show up and surprise Val in what might be a volatile mood.

Valeria Richards has posed:
Val peers at the security alert, and warring feelings of anger and relief roil up inside her. She takes a deep breath, however, moving out of her room and yelling "I'LL GET IT!" back towards Frankie. Dad's probably lost in his lab, Mom... who knows. Something with the Foundation probably. She doesn't say anything over the intercom, simply buzzing Jason in, the doors flashing blue and locks whirring open to allow him access. She crosses her arms across her chest, tapping her foot with annoyance as she waits in the family room for him to come in.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jay eyes the door as it opens for him, no voice on the intercom, he wasn't sure if that was good news or bad, and idly wondered if he should have come bearing gifts. Though what did you put in a heart shaped candy box for girl geniuses? Microchips?

That though is swiftly put aside as he finds Val waiting for him, foot tapping arms crossed. "Hey," he greets, looking like hell. He has that tired slightly listless look of someone at the very edge of their limits. "It's really good to see you," he says, "Would have texted but my phone is MIA."

Valeria Richards has posed:
"You look like hell." Valeria had wanted to slug him. But as run down as he looks... her anger is tamped down for a little while at least. "Are you all right? Does Bruce know where you are?"

Jason Todd has posed:
"Yeah, Tim and I hit the Cave once we got free, Bruce knows where I am," he says, it wasn't like Jason had told him but he suspected the World's Greatest Detective could deduce where Jason went in such a hurry. "As for okay, no, I'm not okay, but I'm not in danger or wounded if that makes sense." He steps closer to her, but doesn't reach out for a hug. At least not yet.

Valeria Richards has posed:
Val gives him a once over, frowning. "You need a shower." That's an understatement. "And you look like you're about to fall over on your feet. I can't believe Bruce let you come up here like this." She does actually move to him then, slipping one arm around his neck and the other around his waist as if she's trying to keep him steady. "Have you eaten? I can get you something to eat and drink while you get a shower. You can use my bathroom, I'll steal some bodywash and shampoo from Frankie."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason had gone blind to how he smelled days ago, "Yeah, guess so," he reasons, given it had been forever since his last shower. "And Bruce doesn't let me do anything, I just went," he says though the offer of yet more food and a shower does sound amazing. "Had something at the Cave but I can eat and I'll take you up on that shower." Though as she holds him up, takes that moment to lean in and kiss her if she lets him. "Missed you like hell, Val." Then he lets her lead the way to the shower and the purloined wash and shampoo.

Valeria Richards has posed:
She gives him a quick kiss in return, then guides him to the bathroom, goes and bickers with Frankie for a few minutes over shampoo and bodywash and returns with some stuff less flowery-smelling than what she has in her shower, leaves Jason a stack of towels, goes BACK to bicker with Frankie over finding Jason something to wear (they ultimately 'borrow' some unstable molecules from Dad's lab while Jason is showering... they'll put them back, promise, just need something for him to wear while his clothes are thrown in the wash), leaves said molecules on the bed outside the bathroom for when he gets out, and then there's a small mess made in the kitchen (which results in more bickering) as an attempt is made to make something, it doesn't really work out, and then the Richards decide maybe ordering pizza is a better call.

So by the time Jason is out of the shower, Val is laying on her bed, toying with her phone, Jason's shedded clothing already dumped into the washing machine with a ton of soap, and pizza should be arriving in 15 to 20 minutes, in theory. Oh, and wings, and three 2-liters, because there was more bickering about what to order.

Jason Todd has posed:
While all the bickering Jason stands under the flow of hot water, it feels foreign at first, tensing before finally relaxing and letting it flow over his body. He doesn't clean right away the feeling of relief brought about by the simple act of showering is too stark, to poignant after four days of hell. He cries then, leaning against the shower wall hugging himself with his arms, letting out the things he hadn't been able to let out in front of other people. Dropping the mask of the unfeeling Jason Todd that let nothing touch him.

After a few minutes it's over and the mask returns as he sets about cleaning up, before turning off the water and wrapping himself in a towel.

"Hey, took longer than I thought," he says, he still looks wrecked just a lot less brittle after his cry. "What are we having for dinner?" he asks making an effort to sound cheerful.

Valeria Richards has posed:
"Pizza. I burnt the toast and there was an //incident// with the mustard and we made an executive decision to let someone else cook. Also got some hot wings and some BBQ wings and... um." She checks her phone. "Breadsticks." She looks a little perked up. "Lots of carbs. You'll love it. Maybe. We got a carnivore pizza and a four cheese and..." she squints. "Whatever this 'Hawaiian Hot Stuff' is." She gives Jason a very obvious once-over in the towel and makes an innocent face. "Um. Took your clothes to get washed, so you're stuck in blue until then." She nudges a pair of more masculine-look bracers at the foot of the bed towards him a bit. "And I cannot promise I won't look while you put it on."

Jason Todd has posed:
"Incident with the mustard?" Jason asks, wondering how long HERBIE will be cleaning up the kitchen today. Though his mind is soon dragged to other matters when Val looks at him like that. "I suppose I can deal with giving you a show," he says, looking down at the bracers for a moment. "How do they work?"

Valeria Richards has posed:
Val blinks. "Just clip them on. Twist a little, and they'll do their thing." No point in getting into anything more complex. She sits up, drawing her knees up and watching.

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason nods dropping the towel to the floor then picking up each bracer and sliding it onto a wrist. "Hmm," he says, frowning at the devices. "What was the next step?"

Valeria Richards has posed:
Val moves off the bed and over to him, pressing her body in her own unstable molecule suit against him, leaning up to steal a kiss if he lets her, her hands moving to his wrists and twisting the bracers slightly. The blue molecules roll out of the bracers, covering him in a form-fitting bodysuit exactly like hers (or any of the Richards, really), right down to the 4 on the chest. They seem to ignore her as she's pressed to him and slide over his skin anyway, putting a thin barrier between them. This only takes a couple of moments.

Val steps back, giving him a considering look. "Mm. Shows off your shoulders. I like it."

Jason Todd has posed:
Another day and Jason wouldn't have let things get as far as activating the suit, but for now, he satisfies him with the kiss and then steps back and takes a look at himself in the suit. "Wow, this feels like wearing nothing, gotta be weird first time you go out in public with one of these," inane chatter to be sure, but it was soothing. He grins at the compliment however, "Do like what yours shows off as well," he says before saying "Make room, as he moves to join her on the bed."

Valeria Richards has posed:
She snuggles up next to him, handing her phone over to the 'handy' nightstand. "I can barely remember the first time I wore one. It feels normal after so long, honestly." Val sighs quietly. "You look like you're intact. They took you and then.. didn't hurt you or anything? You said you and Tim came back, so he's fine too?" She frowns a bit. "What did they take you for then?"

Jason Todd has posed:
Nodding about the suit, he pushes on into darker territory as he puts an arm around Val wanting to feel her close to him. "Yeah Tim's okay, and neither of us were hurt badly," he says at first. Getting the easy stuff out of the way. "What they wanted was Tim, they wanted him to be part of the Court of Owls and me to be his zombie murder henchman," he says in a tone of disgust. "They kept us in a room for days, letting these /things/ make pitches to us, offering us shit. Like making me stronger, harder to kill, and they promised Tim they'd get Rose back for him, but the assholes never actually killed her."

Valeria Richards has posed:
"...what?" Valeria blinks, looking confused. "Wait, they wanted you to be a zombie? And who is Rose? I'm assuming some girlfriend of Tim's but honestly I didn't really think he liked girls. Or... well, anything really. But what do you mean never actually killed her?" Her confusion is clear. "And what things? Like aliens or something?" That's something she understands easily. "So they had some kind of alien things asking Tim to join Team Evil and asking you to turn into a zombie?" She lets out a long breath. "Gotham is absolutely filled with crazy people, Jason. Move to New York where we just deal with the occasional alien hostile takeover."

Jason Todd has posed:
"Yeah the girlfriend thing was pretty shocking too," Jason offers wryly. "Especially when you meet the girl," he says before getting a bit more serious as he turns to face Valeria on the bed. "They wanted to kill you and Rose to do some magic shit that would make us dependent on them to get you back, if that wasn't just bullshit on their part. I know you didn't like being shoved in another box when things got dangerous but you not being caught saved your life and gave them way less leverage.So," he leans forward to kiss her. "Thank you," he says after the brief kiss is over. "And they said they were demons but aliens work just as well, and yeah, they wanted Tim to join their club, and me to be one of their owl ninja guys," he says with that disgust returning. "Might have got me to do it to save you, but without that fuck em, I'd rather die."

Valeria Richards has posed:
"Uggggh. //Magic.//" Val snuggles against him looking angry. "You don't know how to handle magic anyway. Also.... don't mention the magic stuff in front of Dad, it gets him going on rants. But..." she kisses him back. "I'm not happy you shoved me in a box and DIDN'T COME WITH." she scowls. "And no, you aren't allowed to become a zombie to save me, how does that make any sense at all? If someone was stupid enough to hurt me to try and turn you into a zombie, you go find my godfather and let him handle it." She mutters under her breath about idiotic finger wigglers with no common sense.

Jason Todd has posed:
"Wasn't an option at the time," Jason says of fetching Doom. "Though when I name dropped him they didn't seem scared, so be sure to mention that to him, I am sure he'll be thrilled. Anyhow Tim and I escaped when they had us fight, took us forever to find our way through the Undercity with no gear, but we made it and now here I am."

The breezy way he speaks of it all seems to come to an end though when he circles back to the benefits of New York over Gotham. "Actually might do that when the Owls are done. Just move up here and try to put Gotham behind me."

Valeria Richards has posed:
Val nods, running her fingertips over his chest. "I was afraid you were gone again. And wouldn't come back this time," she admits quietly. "We have our problems but Gotham just seems... awful."

Jason Todd has posed:
"There were times I thought that too," Jason admits. "And I was worried as hell about you until they said they never found you," he says, taking that hand of hers from his chest and kisses the tip of one of her fingers. "So, yeah, if you don't think I'm crowding you by coming up to New York, I think that's the plan when the Owls are done."

Valeria Richards has posed:
"Don't be surprised if you get roped into some kind of space-time-dimensional adventure," Val points out and shakes her head, laughing lightly. "Especially if Dad sees you like this. He'll get //ideas//."

Jason Todd has posed:
Jason smiles tiredy, "Is it crazy that some space-time adventure sounds like a nice break?" he asks. "Not sure if I am Fantastic Four material, I think your family would have as big a problem with the guns as mine does."

Valeria Richards has posed:
Val grins. "Depends on what the guns shoot," she teases. Running a hand through his hair, she leans over and kisses his forehead gently. "You're exhausted. Sleep, Jay. I'll wake you up when the pizza gets here."

Jason Todd has posed:
"Some high-tech stun lasers or something would be kind of cool," Jason has to admit. "For non-lethal options," though yes, he was getting tired. "Yeah, I think I'll shut my eyes for a bit," the words barely leave his lips before his eyes slip closed and he sleeps.