thoughtformed | [Private texts.]

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[Private texts.]

[text to Jack Harkness.]
~~Jack, cut off Torchwood access to Jason right away. He's gone off the~~
[Discarded unsent.]

[Text to Dick Grayson (NW)]
~~Watch your back. I don't think Jason's doing as well as I thought he was doing yesterday.~~
[Discarded unsent.]

[Text to Kate Bishop.]
~~Kate, I need a consult. Something's wrong, but I want to keep it quiet until I know how wrong. Can you~~
[Discarded unsent.]

[Text to Loki.]
I need your help.
[Sent.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Helper reporting for duty!

It's Jason.

He's got me in a shell game with three abandoned buildings rigged to explode.

Shell games are your thing. And you're his friend. I don't want him throwing everything away.

Help me figure this out and stop him while there's time. And help me keep this quiet.

We're friends.

If we're gambling involved has to be stakes. What are his?

If I find what building he's in, the buildings don't blow. He says he's in one of the three. Of course, he didn't tell me which three. I'm compiling data and surveillance files as we speak.

If I was running a game like this, I'd be elsewhere. But if I was running a game like this, I wouldn't want to be caught. I'd want to prove I was right. I've fought... I've lost count of how many people I've fought who'd play it that way.

But maybe he wants to be found. Or maybe he doesn't care.

I can solve this. But I don't know if I can do it in time, on my own.

Od's bloo

No one cares what you'd do! Shut up. This isn't about Tim Drake, it's about Jason. You're not Jason, so it doesn't matter. We have to figure out what Jason would do.

Thanks, I got that. That's why we're talking.

He want to be found, or he wouldn't give us a chance to find him.

And you know what? I don't care even if he doesn't. We're going to save Jason.

Yes.

What happened?

The school thing bothered him. And the double dose of Grayson.

At least since he came backfrom the dead, Jason's always thought he didn't measure up to Dick' standard. Or Bruce's standard. Kind of the same thing in this case. He wants to do better. But to do better his way.

Then we find him with a way to do better.

I thought we had one. Everything was going well...

Okay. Preliminaries. I have a short list of nine buildings he might target. Records show them abandoned, they're near prominent nonfictional districts or criminal hot spots where he wouldn't mind collateral damage, and they have approaches that aren't actively covered by Vigilance surveillance, which he'd know, since he has access to the network.

One more psych factor, too. Damian threatened him with a crowbar when Dick showed up. That's... how Jason died, the first time around. The crowbar, I mean, not Damian.

I have an idea.

I'll be right there.

See you soon.

[he's quick. there in a flash! when he's not thinking, his intentions are there with him. he shows up at Tim Drake's door with a tome that's almost as heavy as he would be if he wasn't an Asgardian. he hefts it in his arms and lets himself in, squirming and setting the book in the middle of the floor. it's old, but the bookmarks in it are napkins and brightly colored pieces of papers (sometimes with stupid handdrawn pictures on them). he seems to know exactly where to turn.]

You know he's in one of those nine?

Yes.

[Tim's voice is sure. Loki's right. Jason wants to be caught. That means he's really there, really playing by at least some of the rules -- and three of these nine are the buildings he wired. Tim's sure of it, in several ways he could rationally lay out and a few more he can't explain quite as easily.]

You have a way of finding him?

I have a way of being in nine places. It will have to be enough.

[he begins to pushing things out of the way. tables, chairs, stacking them together in ways that they suspiciously look like they're going to fall. he then starts to roll up any rugs so they're left with clean floor.]

[Tim joins in the effort immediately, but there's a frown creasing his face.]

Does your way work on me? Or do you have a way of being invisible? Because I'm the one he's expecting. If he sees you, instead... do you know how he'll react? Because I don't.

[he goes into his pocket, fumbling with a piece of chalk. he begins drawing something from tome and onto the floor.]

You can come with, but I'm coming too. Er, so we'll think of that when we get there.

I wasn't going to try to stop you. I asked for your help, and I meant it.

... I'm not sure the island is ready for nine of us.

You misunderstand.

[and he's drawing as quickly as he can, occasionally looking awfully focused as he copies the runes.]

I'm going to amplify portal spell thingy. I'll be able to make nine, one to each one of your warehouses. Can you get me still images?

[it was the only spell he knew. the one that his Evil-Self had taught him before he had left. he knew that his sorcery was sloppy, and he had used it occasionally, mostly in basic summons of various creatures around the Nine Realms, but he had never bothered to learn.

no, he would be too much like him.

the thoughts pass through his mind with each stroke of the chalk against the floor. the runes grew outward, circular, and when he was finished they covered the entire floor.

this was different, he told himself. this spell he was using was to save someone.]

That's better. Still images, coming right up.

{Leaving Loki to the circles, Tim called up his files, scrolling through them one-handed on his smartphone while setting up and plugging in a projector with the other. In a minute, he had them, nine steady pictures on a blank space of wall.]

[he takes the images in his hand, going through them just once (it was all the time he had) trying to commit it to memory. he tosses them behind him and stands in the center of the circle, steadying his breath.]

All right, let's do this. Please, please work.

[he begins speaking again, but it's not English. it's some dialect of Norse that probably hasn't been used for a few hundred years. the lines by his feet begin to glow, panning out slowly outward as he continues his chat. the runes lift from the chalk in a dim green light.

around him the nine circles around him crackle to life and Loki swoons a bit.]

So where to, first? The last one, most likely. That's where he'll be.

At this point, you know him better than I do. Your call.

Edited 2013-06-18 01:23 (UTC)

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Suddenly action.

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