Source_R@t

⊹ ࣪ ˖ I got a secret ˖ ࣪

[sourcerat]

✶Introduction✶

Hey. I’m Tuya but nobody calls me that. Some people call me a nuisance but I prefer to call myself an equal-opportunist. You’re a sucker in Gotham if you’re not. But you can call me Tu or Tua. I stay here because where would you go? I wouldn’t say I love the people but I love the city. The smells, the sounds, the feels.

I mean you can try to get me out of the city, people’v tried. But come on, it’s in my veins.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

//RP starter. Anyone can interact!!//

[A crackling noise could be heard as a radio was turned on.]

A bit of pained shuffling could be heard in the background with the broadcast, a few seconds of buzzing silence before a voice could be heard.

".. Hello..? This is, " The speaker would cough a few times, before being able to speak again. " - Robin. If.. any-anyone can 'ear this, please..." Then it'd go silent again, turning to a crackly, anxious static.

It'd connect a second time, the operator refusing to let the radio fail, let him be lost again.

"Please help.. Anyone? This is.. R-Robin. Location... 'Rkham. Abandoned wing. 'M injured.." He'd say, clutching the radio close enough for anyone on the other side to hear his laboured breaths.

Even the simple act of picking the radio off the floor— where the last goon had thrown it, leaving him on the ground as well, had exterted him. Four months of starvation and continuous gross force feeding, torture and lack of movement had weakened his muscles.

[sourcerat]

An abandoned wing? Well Tua wouldn't mind that at all. She had been trying to get out of Arkham for almost a month now. They seemed to have doubled the security since last time.

She looked up at the man who the radio belonged to. Some big brute that was just cannon fodder for the even bigger fish. "Tough day?" She asked. He was as dumb as a bolder, and barely grunted in response. Luckily dumb was where Tua filled the gap and as soon as he left she followed.

It wasn't hard, just trail behind, keep your head up, threaten anyone who stops you with 'the big man'. Whoever that was. She didn't really care. If all went according to plan she'd be out before they noticed. That was the plan until she ran across the boy. She noticed the smell first, then everything else hit her all at once, the sight, the breathing, the slow migration of mold down the walls towards the boy. "Fuck-" She mumbled, clenching her fists. She had a strong stomach, she had seen bad. This was worse.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

The boy on the ground didn't look quite alive. More dead-ish, obviously only skin and bones. A victim of starvation. That and his hollow cheeks were haunting, but what was worse was the blood.

He was covered in it over his pale rags– yellow-grey.. tattered cape, and almost brown outfit. Bleeding all over.

But still, at the noise he made a sound. Drifted back into a miserable consciousness, blinking swollen eyes up at her, up at the light she'd brought in.

But instead of recognizing her as safe, he cowers. Weak arms scrabble at the floor, barely moving at all for how hard he's trying to get away. It barely looks like effort– if you didn't count in the laboured, wheezing breaths he makes. The radio is already dropped. If it's — If she's another working for him, he can't be seen with it. Can't try to get out when he's this weak and close to death.

[sourcerat]

“Holy Shit-“ She looked around before bending down and snatching the fallen radio. She snapped the back off and pulled out the spring, maneuvering it into the cell lock. It wasn’t like it was a high security lock, it was maybe only a few years younger than the rest of the rotting prison.

“Come on“ She reached a hand in. Yeah, this was probably the stupidest decision of her life. What was she going to tell her boss? That she just had to save this corpse of a boy? Yeah. That’s exactly what she would do. He could maybe make a good soldier, all cleaned up, in a few months. It paid to have someone in debt to you. Especially if you had so few. “Take the day, won’t ya?” She snapped.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He winced at her voice, feebly shaking. But the boy steeled as much as he could, pale eyes darting to her hand. Move, he thinks. He has to move. So he does, scrabbling forwards to her hand as best and as fast as he can.

He has to listen. Always has to, because he fears the consequences of not. The consequences of another bone breaking, another injury, another... The thought caves in his empty stomach. He'd be sick with the anxiety if he had anything to heave up.

Closer to her, now, he tries to prop himself up as best as he can. It's a pitiful attempt, he falls back down almost immediately. But it's a willful attempt. He'll do anything to be helpful.

[sourcerat]

Tua grabs his arm and yanks him forward. “You’re mad slow.” She pulled him along, her fought orange jumpsuit somehow cleaner than his once pristine suit, now left to unrecognizable rags.

She led him down a dark tunnel, but it was going somewhere and it looked pretty damn abandoned. It was almost pitch black but she kept her footing, one hand around his wrist, one reaching out in front. “Tua-“ She called back to him quietly, “Tha’s me. ‘m like the second coming of houdini.” She joked, glancing around in the dark. She really wasn’t but Arkham wasn’t as secure as they said on TV once you really got to know it.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He stumbles forwards, trying not to cling to her or fall flat on his face while they walk. His legs aren't broken, but.. they look as if a break healed wrong. The boy doesn't say anything about the pain from his legs, no less the way he limps. He can't complain, won't.

He almost falls quite a few times once they get to the tunnel, when he does fall he picks himself back up as quick as he can, already faint from the simple act of walking.

"Tua." He echoes, raspy. His voice is like a shiver, barely audible. " 'm..." He pauses. Can he tell her?

[sourcerat]

”Stop” Tua stopped dead in her tracks, listening to the drip of water. It was cold. They were standing in a draft. A… draft! The air was moving, just barely, but it was.

She had caught it, the slight whistling that ate at the brain of trapped inmates. A way out. Her hand left Jason’s wrist as she ran them against the stone wall, her nails dragging through the muck and algae. “Here-“ She pushed and the wall, or rather the door, gave way, the rusted metal almost disintegrating under the pressure. She fell through onto te floor as a singular ray of light passed over the hall. A search light, breaking through the sliver of a window in the old closet.

“See- what’d I tell y’a” She pulled herself up and brushed her knees off. “Houdini.”

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He stops, falling forward once she lets go of his wrist. Slowly, he picks himself back up, silencing any groans of pain before they escape his lips.

Then he's up again, and he leans against the wall, squinting at her in the dark. His legs are weak, but he steps closer. The light is awe-worthy, and he stares at it, stilled.

"'re you.. taking me out..?" He asks, hesitantly. He shouldn't leave. But he has too. But.. Batman? Surely he's looking.

[sourcerat]

"Yeah, you fucking busted?" She carefully pulled the broken window pane off. "Or you jut gonna sit there?"

She crossed her arms. If he wanted to fucking say he could, she wasn't going to stop him. But night was dwindling and time was running out for her to get out. Someone had probably noticed her absence by now, if not both of theirs.

"Get caught? Go back? Spend a few more weeks in the meat locker? No thanks." She pulled him up onto his feet. "Come on' dipstick."

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

"No– no," He says, quickly, desperation in his voice rising like water. He jolts as she pulls him along, limply. ".. W' can go."

Would..? He can go. It's.. Would Batman still want him? Not after this, surely. But there's more than Batman. And.. wouldn't Bruce take him back? He hasn't forgotten, he's sure. He's still been looking.

That's the thought he clings to as he slowly follows Tua.

[sourcerat]

She watched him quietly, helping him through the window with little problem, it wasn't like he had any body left to fill up the space. She struggled for a second but made it out in record time. "Shit come on-" She tugged him through the back and between a small gap in the fence and building, a blind spot she had made use of on multiple occasions.

"Can't get spotted." She made her way around the back and out into the street, the air felt... lighter, still crisp with night. "Come on I know a place for clothes." A place. Sure. Definitely not the dumpster behind the nearest charity shop.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He continued, looking around the place– now a dark, dim street with wide eyes. He was out. Maybe if he squinted he'd see a few stars in the dusk, maybe he could linger a moment to look for them. But there was no time. Surely he wasn't someone who was able to spend time on things like that, anymore.

But he was out of the asylum. Out. Free like a bird and buzzing with the struggle of walking this way, when he'd thought an escape would be impossible. Why wasn't Tua dropping him off, now? Leaving him in some ditch?

"Thank y'." He murmurs, quickly, trailing after her. "Thank you so much." It's really all he can say to his rescuer.

[sourcerat]

“Yeah-“ Tua rolled her eyes pulling her jumpsuit closer. It was cold. She was definitely raised in Gotham, it was hard to blame her for not offering anything to Jason when she was just barely warm enough herself. It wasn’t a giving city. It took and took and then asked why you were crying.

“Never told me your name” She peered over the edge of the dumpster and rolled her eyes. “Nothin’ here.” She groaned and glanced to the sky, scanning. It wasn’t any use to break out only to get caught immediately by a spying bat.

The night air was nice but it was biting. A low mist had blown in from the harbor and it hung low over everything. Whatever clothes had been thrown out- if any- weren’t there anymore. Probably snagged by faster hands. Thats just what it was in the city. Eat or get eaten. Freeze or let others freeze.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He doesn't really notice the chill, all too grateful to be breathing fresh air. How long had he been down there? Time was thick and aged down there. Slow like a gutter swollen with leaves. It felt as if he could've spent ten years down there without realizing.

He trails behind her, trying to lean up the side of the dumpster to see. It hurts his hands, so he slides back down and doesn't try again. It doesn't look like there's anything there, anyways.

".. Jason." He says, following her slowly. Where will she go now? Leave him? He wouldn't be irritated if she did. Just.. this was more then enough.

[sourcerat]

“Cool.” She looked down at him and groaned, “You’re not getting anywhere like that.” her arms looped under his armpits and she hoisted him up. “Come on, there’s a window around here somewhere.”

She pulled an old keyboard out of the dumpster and moved her way to the front of the store. The keyboard went flying into the window with a crash. Glass was everywhere. In record time Tua was scampering over the glass and rifling though the racks of second-hand clothes. “What size are you? Double zero?” She went hangar after hangar, throwing what she didn’t want onto the floor.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He winces, surprised, as she hoists him up, awkwardly. ".. 'Kay." He says, quickly, turning to scamper after her to the best of his ability.

The boy tries to peek into the dumpster again, glancing up when he sees the keyboard. He frowns. What's she going to..?

He stares at the storefront, startled by the breaking glass. As she clambers inside, he watches, wearily, eying Tua.

"Y– mhm!" He stammers, quickly.

[sourcerat]

"You just going to stand there?" Tua asked, beckoning him him. "So- Jason- Jaceee.... Jace." She worked the name in her mouth, bouncing it around. She nodded, squinting at a pair of sweatpants in the dark. "What do you want?" With her free hand she gestured out to the store, ladened with every genre of clothing imaginable.

There was an alarm system but this wasn't the nicest part of town, and break-ins happened so often it was rare the police every showed up. Who was going to stop them anyway?

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He steps closer, trying to avoid the shards of glass on his shodden boots. Jason winces at the sound of his name in her mouth, almost a greasy noise or like sucking on chalk. He pales.

"Anything 's fine." He starts, glancing around, a bit overwhelmed by the racks. "Maybe.. maybe a hoodie 'an something.. comfortable? Inconspicuous?" He hopes that's good. That it's not too much to ask of Tua. The choice is hard for him— harder then he would've imagined, but.. maybe Bruce would be proud.

[sourcerat]

“Here-“ She tossed him a dark red hoodie and black sweatpants. “No one ‘ll spot those.” She pulled off her jumpsuit right there and pulled on her own hoodie and shorts before taking her sweet time tossing her hair in the grimy store mirror. Like time didn’t matter.

“What were you in for Jayce?” She asked, clicking her tongue. “Your first time in Arkham? Jus’ assumin’ based on-“ She pointed him up and down, referring to his clothes, his limp- “-All that.” A smile danced on her lips, unable to take it seriously. She had done this too many times to take it seriously. Maybe she had been a bit more scared five, eight, ten years ago but today it was just a regular tuesday.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He takes them weakly, immediately scrambling to take off his rags and get on the hoodie and pants. He still feels grimy from the asylum, but.. the clothes are the best he's had in a long time.

He bites his lip at her question, looking back anxiously, unable to match her playfulness. Can he tell her? Maybe?

".. Captive." He murmurs. "He got me, 'guess." He says, hoarsely. And send a glance around, making sure that the clown isn't hiding somewhere, preparing the next trick. He shudders.

[sourcerat]

"Him? The big B?" She asked, stepping out if the broken window. "Yeah... Bat's got me too. Sons of Bitches." She glanced warily up at the sky. The mist a bit less cold now with stolen clothes on her back.

"I'm in the the whole nine yards." She helped Jason over the broken glass. At least she was wary of his injuries. "Arkham though? Even I thought that was a bit much. Most of the time they just throw me in Blackgate. Which has a slammin' womens section."

She paused and looked the boy up and down. "You're a kid huh. You kill your family or somethin'?"

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

"I.." He starts. Jason glances around, crossing his arms stiffly. She's... got the wrong idea. But he can't say he is— was Robin.

"I was in Arkham.. 'cause, uh.." He pauses. Can he.. "It wasn't Batman. I.. didn't kill 'nyone. The.. clown..–J, he.."

[sourcerat]

Tua glanced back at him and held a finger up to her mouth. “Sh. We’re in the Narrows man. Too close to the Mile.” The Mile, Amusement Mile. The joker’s territory, the last place literally anyone in Gotham with a sane mind would want to go. She pulled Jason down the street, her bare feet having no problem on the rough concrete.

he kept pulling him along, they must have been going west, toward the docks. Suddenly she paused and looked up, tugging her hoodie closer further over her hair. Up above, perching on the apartment complex was the Bat, and next to him - chin held high, cape dancing in the wind - was Robin. “Someone’s on patrol. Not for us though.” She started to walk away.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He freezes, and nods, cutting off his speech. He can't whine about him. Not right now, when the Joker is so close. The thought of that sends shivers down his spine, and he shifts on his feet painfully.

He follows her around like a lost puppy, and then stops at the sight of the Bat. Immediately, he wants to dart over, yell for Bruce, but.. he has to stay incognito. His identity is important. He can see Bruce later, surely.

He pulls his hoodie down further, and follows her with a nod.

[sourcerat]

"Come on-" She pulled him along. "Bat's got a new bird recently-" She pulled him down an alley that would shield them from the watch of the gargoyle's. "Fucking annoying as hell. Quieter- but mad smart."

She navigated the streets as well as any kid that grew up in the Narrows, her bare feet speaking the language of the now well worn cobbles. The street was a beast of it's own. The Bat and his group would never admit to themselves but the maze of Gotham was much easier from above. It was one reason Tua hated them so much. They were cheaters. A sentiment she unfortunately shared with the Joker.

"Beasts they are." She moved between the shadows. It wasn't like how Batman had done it though. He had made the shadows feel like home, like he brought the light the decrepit street lamps couldn't. Tua didn't improve them, like most in the narrows, she thrived in them, taking on their sharp and hostile behavior as her own. Jason was pretty sure he heard her mumbling a few choice words under her breath every once and a while.

[solanineingotham]

Open RP Starter - Gotham Arrival

It was the first time Velithra had ever been away from the forest for this long, the journey to Gotham from Japan had taken ages. She didn’t have her powers since she was so far from the forest and subsequently could not fly. She missed her wings. Throughout her journey she’d found herself reaching to her back only to find nothing there. The air of Gotham was filled with a strong stench of death and darkness. It was wonderful. Sure, it wasn’t the comforting smell of poisonous flowers that she was used to but this was close as well as new and exciting.

Her mother had sent her off with a warning to be careful, she wouldn’t be immortal this far from the forest, and her father had kissed her on the head while sobbing about his baby girl growing up. Velithra hadn’t pointed out that she was hardly a girl at all, seeing as she was a spirit, but she hadn’t wanted to hurt the mortal man anymore than his emotions already were. 

It was dark and dreary, the cold air cutting into her skin and making her feel so very dead. It felt like home! She got a few stares here and there from some people with her eye-catching pink to purple long hair and light purple dress that shimmered under the moon, making her look ethereal and inhuman. The fabric of the dress was woven from the nymphs of the forest and had been given as a parting gift. Her purple eyes hardly helped the intrigued gazes either.

[sourcerat]

Tua had been following her for a while now. It was hard in Gotham to catch a glimpse of something so... living. Tua wanted it, wanted whatever made her smile and walk down the street without a care. Or, alternatively, take away whatever that was. Because it was unfair. It was unfair and Tua didn't understand. She wanted that. She wanted that smile that hair that- aura all around her.

She cleared her throat and tried in vain to brush the stains out of her hoodie. "H-hey-" She caught up to the woman, catching her by the shoulder and prancing in front of her. "Hey- Hi-" Despite her clearing her throat she had a permanent buildup of grime and mildew in the back of her throat that made her voice sound anything but smooth.

"I wanna talk-" Her accent pushed more than anything else. She jabbed her thumb towards the nearest ally. "Just 'way from the crowds, y'know?"

[solanineingotham]

“Oh, hello!” Velithra smiled without a care in the world, taking in the sight of the girl. She was like Gotham itself, dark and grimey. Velithra loved it. It reminded her of some of the creatures back in the forest.

“Away? Sure!” She was not yet used to city life, nor Gotham at all. The danger of going into an alley with someone you had never met was something she was unfamiliar with. Granted, Velithra did not have all of her powers but her flowers, butterflies, and poison were still there and ready to be summoned. Her mortality so far from the forest was a thing she was also not yet used to.

The alley looked like a hole of shadows, as if one would disappear and cease to exist simply by walking into it. “Is it this one you want to speak in? Ah, do you not like crowds? Or is it that it is hard to hear?”

[sourcerat]

"Yeah-yeah-" She stumbled back into the alley, her hand around Velithra's wrist. She pulled her into the dirty alley. Her eyes gleaming, the only part of her that seemed almost completely unaffected by the dirt of the city. "Just a bit over- here."

Her feet were quick, hopping from spot to spot as if they knew every tip and ledge of the city by heart. Her eyes constantly moving. Her hair, short and done by herself, as evidenced by the longer choppier bit in the back, danced with her movements. She knew completely what she was doing, having grow up in the city, navigating its non-euclidian geometry, a maze where every turn seemed to end up at the same frustrating dead end.

Her free hand flicked open a switch blade, a cliche but undeniably useful tool to carry. "Can I have that?" She gestured to the dress, tossing Velithra into the alley so that Tua was standing in the way of any non-vertical exit.

[solanineingotham]

Open RP Starter - Gotham Arrival

It was the first time Velithra had ever been away from the forest for this long, the journey to Gotham from Japan had taken ages. She didn’t have her powers since she was so far from the forest and subsequently could not fly. She missed her wings. Throughout her journey she’d found herself reaching to her back only to find nothing there. The air of Gotham was filled with a strong stench of death and darkness. It was wonderful. Sure, it wasn’t the comforting smell of poisonous flowers that she was used to but this was close as well as new and exciting.

Her mother had sent her off with a warning to be careful, she wouldn’t be immortal this far from the forest, and her father had kissed her on the head while sobbing about his baby girl growing up. Velithra hadn’t pointed out that she was hardly a girl at all, seeing as she was a spirit, but she hadn’t wanted to hurt the mortal man anymore than his emotions already were. 

It was dark and dreary, the cold air cutting into her skin and making her feel so very dead. It felt like home! She got a few stares here and there from some people with her eye-catching pink to purple long hair and light purple dress that shimmered under the moon, making her look ethereal and inhuman. The fabric of the dress was woven from the nymphs of the forest and had been given as a parting gift. Her purple eyes hardly helped the intrigued gazes either.

[sourcerat]

Tua had been following her for a while now. It was hard in Gotham to catch a glimpse of something so... living. Tua wanted it, wanted whatever made her smile and walk down the street without a care. Or, alternatively, take away whatever that was. Because it was unfair. It was unfair and Tua didn't understand. She wanted that. She wanted that smile that hair that- aura all around her.

She cleared her throat and tried in vain to brush the stains out of her hoodie. "H-hey-" She caught up to the woman, catching her by the shoulder and prancing in front of her. "Hey- Hi-" Despite her clearing her throat she had a permanent buildup of grime and mildew in the back of her throat that made her voice sound anything but smooth.

"I wanna talk-" Her accent pushed more than anything else. She jabbed her thumb towards the nearest ally. "Just 'way from the crowds, y'know?"

[anightlywing]

Poof! You've been cuddle pollened

You now feel like you're going to freeze to death if you don't get physical contact soon :)

// Open RP starter (anyone can interact!)

Dick feels the cold before he actually registers what happened. He's coughing into his arm but recently he feels like he's constantly been coughing, he scrunches his nose, shivering and blinking, stumbling back in the alleyway he's standing in.

"Shit...shit."

He says, rubbing at his arms and trying to hug himself to make it go away but it's no use, he feels like he's freezing. It reminds him of getting hypothermia in a way, but that's definitely not what this is. Dick is used to craving touch in a way, he's always been someone who thrives off of physical affection, and it's only become more apparent how long it's been since someone's actually...held him.

"No- no- not now, are you fucking kidding me?"

Dick hisses, speaking to himself mostly as he realizes what this must be. Fucking cuddle pollen. Goddammit. What is he even supposed to do about this? They barely have any antidotes for this type of thing like they do for the other types of pollen that Ivy usually uses, this is a whole other thing.

Dick grits his teeth and hugs himself tightly, trying to get that cold to go away, but the feeling only grows and becomes worse.

[sourcerat]

Tua had been out doing recon for Bane for a bit now. But now Ivy’s pollens had gotten involved and she was out. Not getting involved in that. She scrambled down from the rafters of the packed green house and made her way to the exit. Plants grabbed at her as she passed but she had safe passage through the greenhouse. She was one of the few ‘petty’ criminals in Gotham that was actually allowed to pass through Ivy’s turf. One of the few perks of growing up in the gutter, running errands for villains, is that the few ones that still had a heart let her pass through.

Her foot caught a rock on the floor and she tripped, her hands catching her fall. “Oomph-“ She pulled herself up gingerly, “Ow…” She blew the scrapes on her hand clean. Or as clean as they were going to get. Hopefully Nightwing hadn’t heard her. That was the last thing she wanted to deal with. Then her phone went off. Yeah she could have silenced it. But sometimes she needed to hear it. “Shit- shut up-shut up-“ She pulled it out, mashing the hang up button.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

//RP starter. Anyone can interact!!//

[A crackling noise could be heard as a radio was turned on.]

A bit of pained shuffling could be heard in the background with the broadcast, a few seconds of buzzing silence before a voice could be heard.

".. Hello..? This is, " The speaker would cough a few times, before being able to speak again. " - Robin. If.. any-anyone can 'ear this, please..." Then it'd go silent again, turning to a crackly, anxious static.

It'd connect a second time, the operator refusing to let the radio fail, let him be lost again.

"Please help.. Anyone? This is.. R-Robin. Location... 'Rkham. Abandoned wing. 'M injured.." He'd say, clutching the radio close enough for anyone on the other side to hear his laboured breaths.

Even the simple act of picking the radio off the floor— where the last goon had thrown it, leaving him on the ground as well, had exterted him. Four months of starvation and continuous gross force feeding, torture and lack of movement had weakened his muscles.

[sourcerat]

An abandoned wing? Well Tua wouldn't mind that at all. She had been trying to get out of Arkham for almost a month now. They seemed to have doubled the security since last time.

She looked up at the man who the radio belonged to. Some big brute that was just cannon fodder for the even bigger fish. "Tough day?" She asked. He was as dumb as a bolder, and barely grunted in response. Luckily dumb was where Tua filled the gap and as soon as he left she followed.

It wasn't hard, just trail behind, keep your head up, threaten anyone who stops you with 'the big man'. Whoever that was. She didn't really care. If all went according to plan she'd be out before they noticed. That was the plan until she ran across the boy. She noticed the smell first, then everything else hit her all at once, the sight, the breathing, the slow migration of mold down the walls towards the boy. "Fuck-" She mumbled, clenching her fists. She had a strong stomach, she had seen bad. This was worse.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

The boy on the ground didn't look quite alive. More dead-ish, obviously only skin and bones. A victim of starvation. That and his hollow cheeks were haunting, but what was worse was the blood.

He was covered in it over his pale rags– yellow-grey.. tattered cape, and almost brown outfit. Bleeding all over.

But still, at the noise he made a sound. Drifted back into a miserable consciousness, blinking swollen eyes up at her, up at the light she'd brought in.

But instead of recognizing her as safe, he cowers. Weak arms scrabble at the floor, barely moving at all for how hard he's trying to get away. It barely looks like effort– if you didn't count in the laboured, wheezing breaths he makes. The radio is already dropped. If it's — If she's another working for him, he can't be seen with it. Can't try to get out when he's this weak and close to death.

[sourcerat]

“Holy Shit-“ She looked around before bending down and snatching the fallen radio. She snapped the back off and pulled out the spring, maneuvering it into the cell lock. It wasn’t like it was a high security lock, it was maybe only a few years younger than the rest of the rotting prison.

“Come on“ She reached a hand in. Yeah, this was probably the stupidest decision of her life. What was she going to tell her boss? That she just had to save this corpse of a boy? Yeah. That’s exactly what she would do. He could maybe make a good soldier, all cleaned up, in a few months. It paid to have someone in debt to you. Especially if you had so few. “Take the day, won’t ya?” She snapped.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He winced at her voice, feebly shaking. But the boy steeled as much as he could, pale eyes darting to her hand. Move, he thinks. He has to move. So he does, scrabbling forwards to her hand as best and as fast as he can.

He has to listen. Always has to, because he fears the consequences of not. The consequences of another bone breaking, another injury, another... The thought caves in his empty stomach. He'd be sick with the anxiety if he had anything to heave up.

Closer to her, now, he tries to prop himself up as best as he can. It's a pitiful attempt, he falls back down almost immediately. But it's a willful attempt. He'll do anything to be helpful.

[sourcerat]

Tua grabs his arm and yanks him forward. “You’re mad slow.” She pulled him along, her fought orange jumpsuit somehow cleaner than his once pristine suit, now left to unrecognizable rags.

She led him down a dark tunnel, but it was going somewhere and it looked pretty damn abandoned. It was almost pitch black but she kept her footing, one hand around his wrist, one reaching out in front. “Tua-“ She called back to him quietly, “Tha’s me. ‘m like the second coming of houdini.” She joked, glancing around in the dark. She really wasn’t but Arkham wasn’t as secure as they said on TV once you really got to know it.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He stumbles forwards, trying not to cling to her or fall flat on his face while they walk. His legs aren't broken, but.. they look as if a break healed wrong. The boy doesn't say anything about the pain from his legs, no less the way he limps. He can't complain, won't.

He almost falls quite a few times once they get to the tunnel, when he does fall he picks himself back up as quick as he can, already faint from the simple act of walking.

"Tua." He echoes, raspy. His voice is like a shiver, barely audible. " 'm..." He pauses. Can he tell her?

[sourcerat]

”Stop” Tua stopped dead in her tracks, listening to the drip of water. It was cold. They were standing in a draft. A… draft! The air was moving, just barely, but it was.

She had caught it, the slight whistling that ate at the brain of trapped inmates. A way out. Her hand left Jason’s wrist as she ran them against the stone wall, her nails dragging through the muck and algae. “Here-“ She pushed and the wall, or rather the door, gave way, the rusted metal almost disintegrating under the pressure. She fell through onto te floor as a singular ray of light passed over the hall. A search light, breaking through the sliver of a window in the old closet.

“See- what’d I tell y’a” She pulled herself up and brushed her knees off. “Houdini.”

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He stops, falling forward once she lets go of his wrist. Slowly, he picks himself back up, silencing any groans of pain before they escape his lips.

Then he's up again, and he leans against the wall, squinting at her in the dark. His legs are weak, but he steps closer. The light is awe-worthy, and he stares at it, stilled.

"'re you.. taking me out..?" He asks, hesitantly. He shouldn't leave. But he has too. But.. Batman? Surely he's looking.

[sourcerat]

"Yeah, you fucking busted?" She carefully pulled the broken window pane off. "Or you jut gonna sit there?"

She crossed her arms. If he wanted to fucking say he could, she wasn't going to stop him. But night was dwindling and time was running out for her to get out. Someone had probably noticed her absence by now, if not both of theirs.

"Get caught? Go back? Spend a few more weeks in the meat locker? No thanks." She pulled him up onto his feet. "Come on' dipstick."

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

"No– no," He says, quickly, desperation in his voice rising like water. He jolts as she pulls him along, limply. ".. W' can go."

Would..? He can go. It's.. Would Batman still want him? Not after this, surely. But there's more than Batman. And.. wouldn't Bruce take him back? He hasn't forgotten, he's sure. He's still been looking.

That's the thought he clings to as he slowly follows Tua.

[sourcerat]

She watched him quietly, helping him through the window with little problem, it wasn't like he had any body left to fill up the space. She struggled for a second but made it out in record time. "Shit come on-" She tugged him through the back and between a small gap in the fence and building, a blind spot she had made use of on multiple occasions.

"Can't get spotted." She made her way around the back and out into the street, the air felt... lighter, still crisp with night. "Come on I know a place for clothes." A place. Sure. Definitely not the dumpster behind the nearest charity shop.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He continued, looking around the place– now a dark, dim street with wide eyes. He was out. Maybe if he squinted he'd see a few stars in the dusk, maybe he could linger a moment to look for them. But there was no time. Surely he wasn't someone who was able to spend time on things like that, anymore.

But he was out of the asylum. Out. Free like a bird and buzzing with the struggle of walking this way, when he'd thought an escape would be impossible. Why wasn't Tua dropping him off, now? Leaving him in some ditch?

"Thank y'." He murmurs, quickly, trailing after her. "Thank you so much." It's really all he can say to his rescuer.

[sourcerat]

“Yeah-“ Tua rolled her eyes pulling her jumpsuit closer. It was cold. She was definitely raised in Gotham, it was hard to blame her for not offering anything to Jason when she was just barely warm enough herself. It wasn’t a giving city. It took and took and then asked why you were crying.

“Never told me your name” She peered over the edge of the dumpster and rolled her eyes. “Nothin’ here.” She groaned and glanced to the sky, scanning. It wasn’t any use to break out only to get caught immediately by a spying bat.

The night air was nice but it was biting. A low mist had blown in from the harbor and it hung low over everything. Whatever clothes had been thrown out- if any- weren’t there anymore. Probably snagged by faster hands. Thats just what it was in the city. Eat or get eaten. Freeze or let others freeze.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He doesn't really notice the chill, all too grateful to be breathing fresh air. How long had he been down there? Time was thick and aged down there. Slow like a gutter swollen with leaves. It felt as if he could've spent ten years down there without realizing.

He trails behind her, trying to lean up the side of the dumpster to see. It hurts his hands, so he slides back down and doesn't try again. It doesn't look like there's anything there, anyways.

".. Jason." He says, following her slowly. Where will she go now? Leave him? He wouldn't be irritated if she did. Just.. this was more then enough.

[sourcerat]

“Cool.” She looked down at him and groaned, “You’re not getting anywhere like that.” her arms looped under his armpits and she hoisted him up. “Come on, there’s a window around here somewhere.”

She pulled an old keyboard out of the dumpster and moved her way to the front of the store. The keyboard went flying into the window with a crash. Glass was everywhere. In record time Tua was scampering over the glass and rifling though the racks of second-hand clothes. “What size are you? Double zero?” She went hangar after hangar, throwing what she didn’t want onto the floor.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He winces, surprised, as she hoists him up, awkwardly. ".. 'Kay." He says, quickly, turning to scamper after her to the best of his ability.

The boy tries to peek into the dumpster again, glancing up when he sees the keyboard. He frowns. What's she going to..?

He stares at the storefront, startled by the breaking glass. As she clambers inside, he watches, wearily, eying Tua.

"Y– mhm!" He stammers, quickly.

[sourcerat]

"You just going to stand there?" Tua asked, beckoning him him. "So- Jason- Jaceee.... Jace." She worked the name in her mouth, bouncing it around. She nodded, squinting at a pair of sweatpants in the dark. "What do you want?" With her free hand she gestured out to the store, ladened with every genre of clothing imaginable.

There was an alarm system but this wasn't the nicest part of town, and break-ins happened so often it was rare the police every showed up. Who was going to stop them anyway?

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He steps closer, trying to avoid the shards of glass on his shodden boots. Jason winces at the sound of his name in her mouth, almost a greasy noise or like sucking on chalk. He pales.

"Anything 's fine." He starts, glancing around, a bit overwhelmed by the racks. "Maybe.. maybe a hoodie 'an something.. comfortable? Inconspicuous?" He hopes that's good. That it's not too much to ask of Tua. The choice is hard for him— harder then he would've imagined, but.. maybe Bruce would be proud.

[sourcerat]

“Here-“ She tossed him a dark red hoodie and black sweatpants. “No one ‘ll spot those.” She pulled off her jumpsuit right there and pulled on her own hoodie and shorts before taking her sweet time tossing her hair in the grimy store mirror. Like time didn’t matter.

“What were you in for Jayce?” She asked, clicking her tongue. “Your first time in Arkham? Jus’ assumin’ based on-“ She pointed him up and down, referring to his clothes, his limp- “-All that.” A smile danced on her lips, unable to take it seriously. She had done this too many times to take it seriously. Maybe she had been a bit more scared five, eight, ten years ago but today it was just a regular tuesday.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He takes them weakly, immediately scrambling to take off his rags and get on the hoodie and pants. He still feels grimy from the asylum, but.. the clothes are the best he's had in a long time.

He bites his lip at her question, looking back anxiously, unable to match her playfulness. Can he tell her? Maybe?

".. Captive." He murmurs. "He got me, 'guess." He says, hoarsely. And send a glance around, making sure that the clown isn't hiding somewhere, preparing the next trick. He shudders.

[sourcerat]

"Him? The big B?" She asked, stepping out if the broken window. "Yeah... Bat's got me too. Sons of Bitches." She glanced warily up at the sky. The mist a bit less cold now with stolen clothes on her back.

"I'm in the the whole nine yards." She helped Jason over the broken glass. At least she was wary of his injuries. "Arkham though? Even I thought that was a bit much. Most of the time they just throw me in Blackgate. Which has a slammin' womens section."

She paused and looked the boy up and down. "You're a kid huh. You kill your family or somethin'?"

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

"I.." He starts. Jason glances around, crossing his arms stiffly. She's... got the wrong idea. But he can't say he is— was Robin.

"I was in Arkham.. 'cause, uh.." He pauses. Can he.. "It wasn't Batman. I.. didn't kill 'nyone. The.. clown..–J, he.."

[sourcerat]

Tua glanced back at him and held a finger up to her mouth. “Sh. We’re in the Narrows man. Too close to the Mile.” The Mile, Amusement Mile. The joker’s territory, the last place literally anyone in Gotham with a sane mind would want to go. She pulled Jason down the street, her bare feet having no problem on the rough concrete.

he kept pulling him along, they must have been going west, toward the docks. Suddenly she paused and looked up, tugging her hoodie closer further over her hair. Up above, perching on the apartment complex was the Bat, and next to him - chin held high, cape dancing in the wind - was Robin. “Someone’s on patrol. Not for us though.” She started to walk away.

[big-blue-of-tomorrow]

Sunlight in Gotham

//Open rp starter! Open to any Batman blogs, whose mun is 16 and older. This is set in the early years of their respective vigilantism and superheroing. They've never met, although they very likely have heard about each other. You're encouraged to be as mean as you'd like to Supes, if that is the direction you'd like to take. Honestly, with B's whole no meta's in Gotham thing, I'm expecting it lol.

Divider by: @saradika-graphics

Gotham smelled like wet brick and old smoke, the kind that clung to the throat even up on a rooftop. Sirens pulsed somewhere far below, smeared red and blue against the low clouds, and the alley mouth churned with bodies- too many for one man, any normal man. Clark stayed in the shadow of a water tower and watched anyway, cape held still against the wind, letting his eyes adjust to the rhythm of it.

Batman moved like the city had taught him, efficient, ruthless in the cleanest sense of the word. No wasted swings, no grandstanding. Just angles, leverage, fear used like a tool. A gang that had swaggered in loud and confident started dropping in quiet increments: a grunt, a thud, the scrape of boots on damp asphalt. Clark could’ve ended it in a heartbeat. He didn’t. He wanted to see the truth of the rumors with his own eyes.

And then a hand slipped into a jacket pocket, metal glinting under a flickering streetlamp. The click of a switchblade, the shift of weight, the timing aimed for the one moment Batman’s back was turned. It was the sort of cheap, cowardly hit that was technically legal in Gotham’s little ecosystem of violence, and it would’ve still found flesh.

Clark was already moving.

He dropped into the alley like a breath of wind, caught the attacker by the wrist before the blade could complete its arc, and eased the weapon away as gently as you’d take a sharp tool from a child. The man’s momentum carried him forward into nothing; Clark guided him down, controlled, harmless, leaving him sprawled and stunned rather than broken. The knife clattered onto the wet pavement, and the rest of the gang, what was left of them, froze, suddenly very aware of the new shadow that didn’t belong.

For a beat, the few gang members still upright just stared, eyes wide, faces draining as recognition hit. One of them stumbled back, voice cracking on panic. “Shit- it’s that alien- !”

That was all it took. Boots slapped puddles. Someone cursed. Someone dropped their gun just to run faster. They scattered into the dark like roaches when the kitchen light flips on, vanishing down side streets and fire escapes until the alley emptied out, leaving only the drip of rain and the steady, watchful presence of Gotham’s own shadow.

Clark turned then, a step back to give space, hands open to show he wasn’t here to escalate. The streetlight caught the blue of his suit, the red of his cape, and the small, earnest smile he couldn’t help offering even in a place like this.

“I’ve been looking forward to meeting you for a while now, Batman. I’ve heard a lot about you.” he said, voice warm as sunrise in a city that rarely saw it. “It’s a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.” He stuck out his hand for the Batman to shake.

[sourcerat]

Tua watched from the interaction from the shadows. Her eyes scanning the bodies on the floor. She was crazy, crazy enough to spend her time tracking Batman across the city and gangs' movements underneath. But not the kind of crazy that let people get close to the Masked man of Gotham himself.

She took not of the scene, the gang had had it coming. No one made noise in Gotham unless they wanted someone knocking at their door. Silence was the key to success. Many a long nights in Blackgate had taught her that. Take the silence, take the eyes slipping from your presence, don't make a name, don't make a noise and no one would even know you were gone. Well almost no one. The Bat had this annoying habit of keeping files on every criminal in Gotham, no matter how petty.

It wouldn't be smart for her to make herself known. It wasn't smart to even be there. In her defence, she had been tracking the gang not the Bats. But she was sure that excuse wouldn't spare her a swift return to her cell. She would have been wise to leave but something about the man's voice, the warmth made her hesitate.

He wasn't from here. Or at least not the gutter. No one from the gutter sounded like that. 'Specially not her. It reminded her of the adds on the train, the women's voices full of money and comfort. It was a voice you could wrap yourself up in. Against her better judgment she stayed in the shadows. Sure all the gang members that had ran would live to see another day but they hadn't heard it. The lullaby. The kind that urges men in the riviera to lay down their plows and take a nap next to warm pastures when the day was the hottest.

Tua had never been outside of Gotham other than a trip or two to Peña Duro with Bane. She had never even considered a mid day nap and could only compare it to the instant hot chocolate they served at St. Andrews for Christmas. So she stayed, because Christmas was far off and Summer was a fairy tale.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

//RP starter. Anyone can interact!!//

[A crackling noise could be heard as a radio was turned on.]

A bit of pained shuffling could be heard in the background with the broadcast, a few seconds of buzzing silence before a voice could be heard.

".. Hello..? This is, " The speaker would cough a few times, before being able to speak again. " - Robin. If.. any-anyone can 'ear this, please..." Then it'd go silent again, turning to a crackly, anxious static.

It'd connect a second time, the operator refusing to let the radio fail, let him be lost again.

"Please help.. Anyone? This is.. R-Robin. Location... 'Rkham. Abandoned wing. 'M injured.." He'd say, clutching the radio close enough for anyone on the other side to hear his laboured breaths.

Even the simple act of picking the radio off the floor— where the last goon had thrown it, leaving him on the ground as well, had exterted him. Four months of starvation and continuous gross force feeding, torture and lack of movement had weakened his muscles.

[sourcerat]

An abandoned wing? Well Tua wouldn't mind that at all. She had been trying to get out of Arkham for almost a month now. They seemed to have doubled the security since last time.

She looked up at the man who the radio belonged to. Some big brute that was just cannon fodder for the even bigger fish. "Tough day?" She asked. He was as dumb as a bolder, and barely grunted in response. Luckily dumb was where Tua filled the gap and as soon as he left she followed.

It wasn't hard, just trail behind, keep your head up, threaten anyone who stops you with 'the big man'. Whoever that was. She didn't really care. If all went according to plan she'd be out before they noticed. That was the plan until she ran across the boy. She noticed the smell first, then everything else hit her all at once, the sight, the breathing, the slow migration of mold down the walls towards the boy. "Fuck-" She mumbled, clenching her fists. She had a strong stomach, she had seen bad. This was worse.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

The boy on the ground didn't look quite alive. More dead-ish, obviously only skin and bones. A victim of starvation. That and his hollow cheeks were haunting, but what was worse was the blood.

He was covered in it over his pale rags– yellow-grey.. tattered cape, and almost brown outfit. Bleeding all over.

But still, at the noise he made a sound. Drifted back into a miserable consciousness, blinking swollen eyes up at her, up at the light she'd brought in.

But instead of recognizing her as safe, he cowers. Weak arms scrabble at the floor, barely moving at all for how hard he's trying to get away. It barely looks like effort– if you didn't count in the laboured, wheezing breaths he makes. The radio is already dropped. If it's — If she's another working for him, he can't be seen with it. Can't try to get out when he's this weak and close to death.

[sourcerat]

“Holy Shit-“ She looked around before bending down and snatching the fallen radio. She snapped the back off and pulled out the spring, maneuvering it into the cell lock. It wasn’t like it was a high security lock, it was maybe only a few years younger than the rest of the rotting prison.

“Come on“ She reached a hand in. Yeah, this was probably the stupidest decision of her life. What was she going to tell her boss? That she just had to save this corpse of a boy? Yeah. That’s exactly what she would do. He could maybe make a good soldier, all cleaned up, in a few months. It paid to have someone in debt to you. Especially if you had so few. “Take the day, won’t ya?” She snapped.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He winced at her voice, feebly shaking. But the boy steeled as much as he could, pale eyes darting to her hand. Move, he thinks. He has to move. So he does, scrabbling forwards to her hand as best and as fast as he can.

He has to listen. Always has to, because he fears the consequences of not. The consequences of another bone breaking, another injury, another... The thought caves in his empty stomach. He'd be sick with the anxiety if he had anything to heave up.

Closer to her, now, he tries to prop himself up as best as he can. It's a pitiful attempt, he falls back down almost immediately. But it's a willful attempt. He'll do anything to be helpful.

[sourcerat]

Tua grabs his arm and yanks him forward. “You’re mad slow.” She pulled him along, her fought orange jumpsuit somehow cleaner than his once pristine suit, now left to unrecognizable rags.

She led him down a dark tunnel, but it was going somewhere and it looked pretty damn abandoned. It was almost pitch black but she kept her footing, one hand around his wrist, one reaching out in front. “Tua-“ She called back to him quietly, “Tha’s me. ‘m like the second coming of houdini.” She joked, glancing around in the dark. She really wasn’t but Arkham wasn’t as secure as they said on TV once you really got to know it.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He stumbles forwards, trying not to cling to her or fall flat on his face while they walk. His legs aren't broken, but.. they look as if a break healed wrong. The boy doesn't say anything about the pain from his legs, no less the way he limps. He can't complain, won't.

He almost falls quite a few times once they get to the tunnel, when he does fall he picks himself back up as quick as he can, already faint from the simple act of walking.

"Tua." He echoes, raspy. His voice is like a shiver, barely audible. " 'm..." He pauses. Can he tell her?

[sourcerat]

”Stop” Tua stopped dead in her tracks, listening to the drip of water. It was cold. They were standing in a draft. A… draft! The air was moving, just barely, but it was.

She had caught it, the slight whistling that ate at the brain of trapped inmates. A way out. Her hand left Jason’s wrist as she ran them against the stone wall, her nails dragging through the muck and algae. “Here-“ She pushed and the wall, or rather the door, gave way, the rusted metal almost disintegrating under the pressure. She fell through onto te floor as a singular ray of light passed over the hall. A search light, breaking through the sliver of a window in the old closet.

“See- what’d I tell y’a” She pulled herself up and brushed her knees off. “Houdini.”

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He stops, falling forward once she lets go of his wrist. Slowly, he picks himself back up, silencing any groans of pain before they escape his lips.

Then he's up again, and he leans against the wall, squinting at her in the dark. His legs are weak, but he steps closer. The light is awe-worthy, and he stares at it, stilled.

"'re you.. taking me out..?" He asks, hesitantly. He shouldn't leave. But he has too. But.. Batman? Surely he's looking.

[sourcerat]

"Yeah, you fucking busted?" She carefully pulled the broken window pane off. "Or you jut gonna sit there?"

She crossed her arms. If he wanted to fucking say he could, she wasn't going to stop him. But night was dwindling and time was running out for her to get out. Someone had probably noticed her absence by now, if not both of theirs.

"Get caught? Go back? Spend a few more weeks in the meat locker? No thanks." She pulled him up onto his feet. "Come on' dipstick."

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

"No– no," He says, quickly, desperation in his voice rising like water. He jolts as she pulls him along, limply. ".. W' can go."

Would..? He can go. It's.. Would Batman still want him? Not after this, surely. But there's more than Batman. And.. wouldn't Bruce take him back? He hasn't forgotten, he's sure. He's still been looking.

That's the thought he clings to as he slowly follows Tua.

[sourcerat]

She watched him quietly, helping him through the window with little problem, it wasn't like he had any body left to fill up the space. She struggled for a second but made it out in record time. "Shit come on-" She tugged him through the back and between a small gap in the fence and building, a blind spot she had made use of on multiple occasions.

"Can't get spotted." She made her way around the back and out into the street, the air felt... lighter, still crisp with night. "Come on I know a place for clothes." A place. Sure. Definitely not the dumpster behind the nearest charity shop.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He continued, looking around the place– now a dark, dim street with wide eyes. He was out. Maybe if he squinted he'd see a few stars in the dusk, maybe he could linger a moment to look for them. But there was no time. Surely he wasn't someone who was able to spend time on things like that, anymore.

But he was out of the asylum. Out. Free like a bird and buzzing with the struggle of walking this way, when he'd thought an escape would be impossible. Why wasn't Tua dropping him off, now? Leaving him in some ditch?

"Thank y'." He murmurs, quickly, trailing after her. "Thank you so much." It's really all he can say to his rescuer.

[sourcerat]

“Yeah-“ Tua rolled her eyes pulling her jumpsuit closer. It was cold. She was definitely raised in Gotham, it was hard to blame her for not offering anything to Jason when she was just barely warm enough herself. It wasn’t a giving city. It took and took and then asked why you were crying.

“Never told me your name” She peered over the edge of the dumpster and rolled her eyes. “Nothin’ here.” She groaned and glanced to the sky, scanning. It wasn’t any use to break out only to get caught immediately by a spying bat.

The night air was nice but it was biting. A low mist had blown in from the harbor and it hung low over everything. Whatever clothes had been thrown out- if any- weren’t there anymore. Probably snagged by faster hands. Thats just what it was in the city. Eat or get eaten. Freeze or let others freeze.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He doesn't really notice the chill, all too grateful to be breathing fresh air. How long had he been down there? Time was thick and aged down there. Slow like a gutter swollen with leaves. It felt as if he could've spent ten years down there without realizing.

He trails behind her, trying to lean up the side of the dumpster to see. It hurts his hands, so he slides back down and doesn't try again. It doesn't look like there's anything there, anyways.

".. Jason." He says, following her slowly. Where will she go now? Leave him? He wouldn't be irritated if she did. Just.. this was more then enough.

[sourcerat]

“Cool.” She looked down at him and groaned, “You’re not getting anywhere like that.” her arms looped under his armpits and she hoisted him up. “Come on, there’s a window around here somewhere.”

She pulled an old keyboard out of the dumpster and moved her way to the front of the store. The keyboard went flying into the window with a crash. Glass was everywhere. In record time Tua was scampering over the glass and rifling though the racks of second-hand clothes. “What size are you? Double zero?” She went hangar after hangar, throwing what she didn’t want onto the floor.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He winces, surprised, as she hoists him up, awkwardly. ".. 'Kay." He says, quickly, turning to scamper after her to the best of his ability.

The boy tries to peek into the dumpster again, glancing up when he sees the keyboard. He frowns. What's she going to..?

He stares at the storefront, startled by the breaking glass. As she clambers inside, he watches, wearily, eying Tua.

"Y– mhm!" He stammers, quickly.

[sourcerat]

"You just going to stand there?" Tua asked, beckoning him him. "So- Jason- Jaceee.... Jace." She worked the name in her mouth, bouncing it around. She nodded, squinting at a pair of sweatpants in the dark. "What do you want?" With her free hand she gestured out to the store, ladened with every genre of clothing imaginable.

There was an alarm system but this wasn't the nicest part of town, and break-ins happened so often it was rare the police every showed up. Who was going to stop them anyway?

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He steps closer, trying to avoid the shards of glass on his shodden boots. Jason winces at the sound of his name in her mouth, almost a greasy noise or like sucking on chalk. He pales.

"Anything 's fine." He starts, glancing around, a bit overwhelmed by the racks. "Maybe.. maybe a hoodie 'an something.. comfortable? Inconspicuous?" He hopes that's good. That it's not too much to ask of Tua. The choice is hard for him— harder then he would've imagined, but.. maybe Bruce would be proud.

[sourcerat]

“Here-“ She tossed him a dark red hoodie and black sweatpants. “No one ‘ll spot those.” She pulled off her jumpsuit right there and pulled on her own hoodie and shorts before taking her sweet time tossing her hair in the grimy store mirror. Like time didn’t matter.

“What were you in for Jayce?” She asked, clicking her tongue. “Your first time in Arkham? Jus’ assumin’ based on-“ She pointed him up and down, referring to his clothes, his limp- “-All that.” A smile danced on her lips, unable to take it seriously. She had done this too many times to take it seriously. Maybe she had been a bit more scared five, eight, ten years ago but today it was just a regular tuesday.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He takes them weakly, immediately scrambling to take off his rags and get on the hoodie and pants. He still feels grimy from the asylum, but.. the clothes are the best he's had in a long time.

He bites his lip at her question, looking back anxiously, unable to match her playfulness. Can he tell her? Maybe?

".. Captive." He murmurs. "He got me, 'guess." He says, hoarsely. And send a glance around, making sure that the clown isn't hiding somewhere, preparing the next trick. He shudders.

[sourcerat]

"Him? The big B?" She asked, stepping out if the broken window. "Yeah... Bat's got me too. Sons of Bitches." She glanced warily up at the sky. The mist a bit less cold now with stolen clothes on her back.

"I'm in the the whole nine yards." She helped Jason over the broken glass. At least she was wary of his injuries. "Arkham though? Even I thought that was a bit much. Most of the time they just throw me in Blackgate. Which has a slammin' womens section."

She paused and looked the boy up and down. "You're a kid huh. You kill your family or somethin'?"

[arkhams-knighted]

RP starter

AK sat against the wall of his cell, staring at the frosted glass between him and the hallway. It was white in here. Too white. A sedated, sterilized white meant for the calmness of the patients. The crazy ones.

He wasn't crazy. Well, not as much of a psycho as the others, he was sure. And the white walls—heavily padded, for his solitary confinement while they found out what exactly to do with him, were the opposite of calming. Even in an entirely different environment, he was still captive. Again.

He didn't quite know what to think of that.

They'd taken his armour, his guns, stripped him of all that made him the Arkham Knight, and he was nameless again. A young John Doe, too easy to tell he wasn't even eighteen under the armour. He wouldn't tell them his name. It was just AK. Even without the suit.

There was no way out, not this time. No Deathstroke to help him here, no saviour, not even the hope of one. But hell, he'd never had hoped for long back then.

And in a way, all he could feel like was that he was back there. Back in that dingy room, tied down, rust in his breath and dirt in his lungs, watching his own blood pool beneath him and dry. Laughter all he could hear.

And for a moment, fantasy mixing with reality, a crowbar in the side, he could hear it. Laughter. Cruel, cruel laughter.

He blinked, shoving at the false noise, pushing the memory of that time back, away. He'd lived that for over two years, he'd promised himself he wouldn't again. He would escape, would free himself and reach his goal.

[sourcerat]

Solitary seemed really like the only hard line in Arkham, at least, for Tua. She had been once. Cold. Inescapable. But she wasn't in the cell this time. She was the one holding the keys, after snatching them from a man four time her size in his sleep. She looked down the row of nondescript doors. This was going to take a while.

Eventually she reached AK's cell, not the one she was looking for but she had been just opening them as she went. That way she could tell which ones she knew her boss wasn't in. She took one look at him, with her scrappy deep brown eyes and shook her head. "Too scrawny... and too... young." She couldn't have been more than a year or two older than AK herself. And with her Clorox jug of home brewed venom, and a few stolen used needles, she was off, back down the hall, leaving AK just as confused as the few people before him. And his door completely open.

She was the type of person Arkham had been made to contain. Flippiant, rash, completely driven by one specs goal. With proper therapy and time she might be able to become a normal functioning member of society. But Arkham had barely helped anyone and she was too caught up to making it to the top first.

She wouldn't find the Joker in Arkham right now but she'd already let a few low-level villains out. All the high security prisons were a bit farther down anyway.

[theboundlesswaves]

// OPEN RP STARTER (free for anyone to interact)

cw: child abuse, injury, physical abuse

There's a small girl walking around the streets of Gotham. Her face is bruised; her hair is brown and short. She's been walking for a while now and she's very tired. Clara doesn't like Gotham that much, it's different from Coast City and she misses home. She misses her mother too, despite it all.

Clara is hungry and exhausted, her father wouldn't let her into the house last night, so she's been wandering for a while. It's raining out and she can feel the water soaking into her jacket and shirt. She's cold now.

It all comes to a head though when she trips over a curb and falls down onto the sidewalk right near an alley. She hisses, looking down at her knees, they always tend to be bruised, but now her right knee is skinned and bleeding and she thinks she has glass imbedded in her left knee. She hates how dirty Gotham is, and she can't help the tears that spring to her eyes, but she tries to push it down and away.

[sourcerat]

Tua paused as she passed by the girl, her rain boots unintentionally splattering water everywhere. She liked the rain. It was the only thing that actually cleaned the city, mother natures last desperate attempt to salvage the city. It was going to turn torrential soon.

She glanced up at the sky, squinting against the onslaught of water. No one was coming for the kid. Unless Batman was around but it was too early in the day. She checked her phone and supposed she had time to deal with it. She didn’t really like kids, too loud and too unpredictable. But maybe one kid wasn’t that bad. And it wasn’t safe, especially for a young girl.

“Hey-“ She kicked lightly at the kid’s back, not even enough to hurt, just enough to startle. “It’s rainin’” That much was obvious, what did kids even like talking about?

[theboundlesswaves]

Clara flinches harshly at that, lurching backwards and looking up at the girl with wide eyes. Her face is bruised, a cut on her forehead as well, but those seem to be healing. Older wounds. Her knees are the ones that are bleeding right now.

"Um...I- I know?"

Clara says, confused by the observation. She curls into herself a bit. The girl seems to be protecting herself. Cautious.

Usually she's better at not interacting with strangers, but if she's not sure if she has the energy or will to run right now, too exhausted from walking all day instead of going to school. She's not even sure where she is right now.

[sourcerat]

"So get under a stoop or somthin'" Tua frowned. Kid was going to get hypothermia or something. "Or go home. Or jus' literally anythin' tha's not like- in a gutta?" She wasn't the easiest to understand, her accent some weird mix of Puerto Rican and Brooklyn.

Despite not being that big at all she towered above the girl, her back providing a small break from the rain. "Y'a parents' are gonna be tight if y'a got 'em." She shrugged, Her eyes shifting back and forth, checking.

[theboundlesswaves]

"I was...I was walking around. I don't know where my house is and my- my Dad says I'm not allowed right now...he- probably doesn't care, but- but I never went to school today because I got lost so he won't- won't be happy about that."

Clara says, her voice is quiet, soft and shaky as she tries to explain herself. She hugs herself and tries to make herself smaller. She hadn't meant to be a bother to anyone. She moves to stand, stumbling a little and catching herself on the wall of the alley.

"I- I'm sorry for bothering you, I'll leave."

Clara says quickly, staring down at her feet and not looking her in the eyes.

[sourcerat]

Tua grabbed her by the back of Clara's top, "Hold on kid. Come here" She sighed, pulling her under the nearest overhang to shield both of them from the rain. She bend down in front of her, brushing her wet hair out if her face, her finger grazing the cut on her forehead.

"How's you get this shiner?" She lightly poked one of the bruises on her face, just enough to garner a physical reaction. "Also speak up. I can't hear you over the rain." Most days Tua would have moved on but... this was different. She actually had a chance, once in her shitty life to do something good.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

//RP starter. Anyone can interact!!//

[A crackling noise could be heard as a radio was turned on.]

A bit of pained shuffling could be heard in the background with the broadcast, a few seconds of buzzing silence before a voice could be heard.

".. Hello..? This is, " The speaker would cough a few times, before being able to speak again. " - Robin. If.. any-anyone can 'ear this, please..." Then it'd go silent again, turning to a crackly, anxious static.

It'd connect a second time, the operator refusing to let the radio fail, let him be lost again.

"Please help.. Anyone? This is.. R-Robin. Location... 'Rkham. Abandoned wing. 'M injured.." He'd say, clutching the radio close enough for anyone on the other side to hear his laboured breaths.

Even the simple act of picking the radio off the floor— where the last goon had thrown it, leaving him on the ground as well, had exterted him. Four months of starvation and continuous gross force feeding, torture and lack of movement had weakened his muscles.

[sourcerat]

An abandoned wing? Well Tua wouldn't mind that at all. She had been trying to get out of Arkham for almost a month now. They seemed to have doubled the security since last time.

She looked up at the man who the radio belonged to. Some big brute that was just cannon fodder for the even bigger fish. "Tough day?" She asked. He was as dumb as a bolder, and barely grunted in response. Luckily dumb was where Tua filled the gap and as soon as he left she followed.

It wasn't hard, just trail behind, keep your head up, threaten anyone who stops you with 'the big man'. Whoever that was. She didn't really care. If all went according to plan she'd be out before they noticed. That was the plan until she ran across the boy. She noticed the smell first, then everything else hit her all at once, the sight, the breathing, the slow migration of mold down the walls towards the boy. "Fuck-" She mumbled, clenching her fists. She had a strong stomach, she had seen bad. This was worse.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

The boy on the ground didn't look quite alive. More dead-ish, obviously only skin and bones. A victim of starvation. That and his hollow cheeks were haunting, but what was worse was the blood.

He was covered in it over his pale rags– yellow-grey.. tattered cape, and almost brown outfit. Bleeding all over.

But still, at the noise he made a sound. Drifted back into a miserable consciousness, blinking swollen eyes up at her, up at the light she'd brought in.

But instead of recognizing her as safe, he cowers. Weak arms scrabble at the floor, barely moving at all for how hard he's trying to get away. It barely looks like effort– if you didn't count in the laboured, wheezing breaths he makes. The radio is already dropped. If it's — If she's another working for him, he can't be seen with it. Can't try to get out when he's this weak and close to death.

[sourcerat]

“Holy Shit-“ She looked around before bending down and snatching the fallen radio. She snapped the back off and pulled out the spring, maneuvering it into the cell lock. It wasn’t like it was a high security lock, it was maybe only a few years younger than the rest of the rotting prison.

“Come on“ She reached a hand in. Yeah, this was probably the stupidest decision of her life. What was she going to tell her boss? That she just had to save this corpse of a boy? Yeah. That’s exactly what she would do. He could maybe make a good soldier, all cleaned up, in a few months. It paid to have someone in debt to you. Especially if you had so few. “Take the day, won’t ya?” She snapped.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He winced at her voice, feebly shaking. But the boy steeled as much as he could, pale eyes darting to her hand. Move, he thinks. He has to move. So he does, scrabbling forwards to her hand as best and as fast as he can.

He has to listen. Always has to, because he fears the consequences of not. The consequences of another bone breaking, another injury, another... The thought caves in his empty stomach. He'd be sick with the anxiety if he had anything to heave up.

Closer to her, now, he tries to prop himself up as best as he can. It's a pitiful attempt, he falls back down almost immediately. But it's a willful attempt. He'll do anything to be helpful.

[sourcerat]

Tua grabs his arm and yanks him forward. “You’re mad slow.” She pulled him along, her fought orange jumpsuit somehow cleaner than his once pristine suit, now left to unrecognizable rags.

She led him down a dark tunnel, but it was going somewhere and it looked pretty damn abandoned. It was almost pitch black but she kept her footing, one hand around his wrist, one reaching out in front. “Tua-“ She called back to him quietly, “Tha’s me. ‘m like the second coming of houdini.” She joked, glancing around in the dark. She really wasn’t but Arkham wasn’t as secure as they said on TV once you really got to know it.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He stumbles forwards, trying not to cling to her or fall flat on his face while they walk. His legs aren't broken, but.. they look as if a break healed wrong. The boy doesn't say anything about the pain from his legs, no less the way he limps. He can't complain, won't.

He almost falls quite a few times once they get to the tunnel, when he does fall he picks himself back up as quick as he can, already faint from the simple act of walking.

"Tua." He echoes, raspy. His voice is like a shiver, barely audible. " 'm..." He pauses. Can he tell her?

[sourcerat]

”Stop” Tua stopped dead in her tracks, listening to the drip of water. It was cold. They were standing in a draft. A… draft! The air was moving, just barely, but it was.

She had caught it, the slight whistling that ate at the brain of trapped inmates. A way out. Her hand left Jason’s wrist as she ran them against the stone wall, her nails dragging through the muck and algae. “Here-“ She pushed and the wall, or rather the door, gave way, the rusted metal almost disintegrating under the pressure. She fell through onto te floor as a singular ray of light passed over the hall. A search light, breaking through the sliver of a window in the old closet.

“See- what’d I tell y’a” She pulled herself up and brushed her knees off. “Houdini.”

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He stops, falling forward once she lets go of his wrist. Slowly, he picks himself back up, silencing any groans of pain before they escape his lips.

Then he's up again, and he leans against the wall, squinting at her in the dark. His legs are weak, but he steps closer. The light is awe-worthy, and he stares at it, stilled.

"'re you.. taking me out..?" He asks, hesitantly. He shouldn't leave. But he has too. But.. Batman? Surely he's looking.

[sourcerat]

"Yeah, you fucking busted?" She carefully pulled the broken window pane off. "Or you jut gonna sit there?"

She crossed her arms. If he wanted to fucking say he could, she wasn't going to stop him. But night was dwindling and time was running out for her to get out. Someone had probably noticed her absence by now, if not both of theirs.

"Get caught? Go back? Spend a few more weeks in the meat locker? No thanks." She pulled him up onto his feet. "Come on' dipstick."

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

"No– no," He says, quickly, desperation in his voice rising like water. He jolts as she pulls him along, limply. ".. W' can go."

Would..? He can go. It's.. Would Batman still want him? Not after this, surely. But there's more than Batman. And.. wouldn't Bruce take him back? He hasn't forgotten, he's sure. He's still been looking.

That's the thought he clings to as he slowly follows Tua.

[sourcerat]

She watched him quietly, helping him through the window with little problem, it wasn't like he had any body left to fill up the space. She struggled for a second but made it out in record time. "Shit come on-" She tugged him through the back and between a small gap in the fence and building, a blind spot she had made use of on multiple occasions.

"Can't get spotted." She made her way around the back and out into the street, the air felt... lighter, still crisp with night. "Come on I know a place for clothes." A place. Sure. Definitely not the dumpster behind the nearest charity shop.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He continued, looking around the place– now a dark, dim street with wide eyes. He was out. Maybe if he squinted he'd see a few stars in the dusk, maybe he could linger a moment to look for them. But there was no time. Surely he wasn't someone who was able to spend time on things like that, anymore.

But he was out of the asylum. Out. Free like a bird and buzzing with the struggle of walking this way, when he'd thought an escape would be impossible. Why wasn't Tua dropping him off, now? Leaving him in some ditch?

"Thank y'." He murmurs, quickly, trailing after her. "Thank you so much." It's really all he can say to his rescuer.

[sourcerat]

“Yeah-“ Tua rolled her eyes pulling her jumpsuit closer. It was cold. She was definitely raised in Gotham, it was hard to blame her for not offering anything to Jason when she was just barely warm enough herself. It wasn’t a giving city. It took and took and then asked why you were crying.

“Never told me your name” She peered over the edge of the dumpster and rolled her eyes. “Nothin’ here.” She groaned and glanced to the sky, scanning. It wasn’t any use to break out only to get caught immediately by a spying bat.

The night air was nice but it was biting. A low mist had blown in from the harbor and it hung low over everything. Whatever clothes had been thrown out- if any- weren’t there anymore. Probably snagged by faster hands. Thats just what it was in the city. Eat or get eaten. Freeze or let others freeze.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He doesn't really notice the chill, all too grateful to be breathing fresh air. How long had he been down there? Time was thick and aged down there. Slow like a gutter swollen with leaves. It felt as if he could've spent ten years down there without realizing.

He trails behind her, trying to lean up the side of the dumpster to see. It hurts his hands, so he slides back down and doesn't try again. It doesn't look like there's anything there, anyways.

".. Jason." He says, following her slowly. Where will she go now? Leave him? He wouldn't be irritated if she did. Just.. this was more then enough.

[sourcerat]

“Cool.” She looked down at him and groaned, “You’re not getting anywhere like that.” her arms looped under his armpits and she hoisted him up. “Come on, there’s a window around here somewhere.”

She pulled an old keyboard out of the dumpster and moved her way to the front of the store. The keyboard went flying into the window with a crash. Glass was everywhere. In record time Tua was scampering over the glass and rifling though the racks of second-hand clothes. “What size are you? Double zero?” She went hangar after hangar, throwing what she didn’t want onto the floor.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He winces, surprised, as she hoists him up, awkwardly. ".. 'Kay." He says, quickly, turning to scamper after her to the best of his ability.

The boy tries to peek into the dumpster again, glancing up when he sees the keyboard. He frowns. What's she going to..?

He stares at the storefront, startled by the breaking glass. As she clambers inside, he watches, wearily, eying Tua.

"Y– mhm!" He stammers, quickly.

[sourcerat]

"You just going to stand there?" Tua asked, beckoning him him. "So- Jason- Jaceee.... Jace." She worked the name in her mouth, bouncing it around. She nodded, squinting at a pair of sweatpants in the dark. "What do you want?" With her free hand she gestured out to the store, ladened with every genre of clothing imaginable.

There was an alarm system but this wasn't the nicest part of town, and break-ins happened so often it was rare the police every showed up. Who was going to stop them anyway?

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He steps closer, trying to avoid the shards of glass on his shodden boots. Jason winces at the sound of his name in her mouth, almost a greasy noise or like sucking on chalk. He pales.

"Anything 's fine." He starts, glancing around, a bit overwhelmed by the racks. "Maybe.. maybe a hoodie 'an something.. comfortable? Inconspicuous?" He hopes that's good. That it's not too much to ask of Tua. The choice is hard for him— harder then he would've imagined, but.. maybe Bruce would be proud.

[sourcerat]

“Here-“ She tossed him a dark red hoodie and black sweatpants. “No one ‘ll spot those.” She pulled off her jumpsuit right there and pulled on her own hoodie and shorts before taking her sweet time tossing her hair in the grimy store mirror. Like time didn’t matter.

“What were you in for Jayce?” She asked, clicking her tongue. “Your first time in Arkham? Jus’ assumin’ based on-“ She pointed him up and down, referring to his clothes, his limp- “-All that.” A smile danced on her lips, unable to take it seriously. She had done this too many times to take it seriously. Maybe she had been a bit more scared five, eight, ten years ago but today it was just a regular tuesday.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

//RP starter. Anyone can interact!!//

[A crackling noise could be heard as a radio was turned on.]

A bit of pained shuffling could be heard in the background with the broadcast, a few seconds of buzzing silence before a voice could be heard.

".. Hello..? This is, " The speaker would cough a few times, before being able to speak again. " - Robin. If.. any-anyone can 'ear this, please..." Then it'd go silent again, turning to a crackly, anxious static.

It'd connect a second time, the operator refusing to let the radio fail, let him be lost again.

"Please help.. Anyone? This is.. R-Robin. Location... 'Rkham. Abandoned wing. 'M injured.." He'd say, clutching the radio close enough for anyone on the other side to hear his laboured breaths.

Even the simple act of picking the radio off the floor— where the last goon had thrown it, leaving him on the ground as well, had exterted him. Four months of starvation and continuous gross force feeding, torture and lack of movement had weakened his muscles.

[sourcerat]

An abandoned wing? Well Tua wouldn't mind that at all. She had been trying to get out of Arkham for almost a month now. They seemed to have doubled the security since last time.

She looked up at the man who the radio belonged to. Some big brute that was just cannon fodder for the even bigger fish. "Tough day?" She asked. He was as dumb as a bolder, and barely grunted in response. Luckily dumb was where Tua filled the gap and as soon as he left she followed.

It wasn't hard, just trail behind, keep your head up, threaten anyone who stops you with 'the big man'. Whoever that was. She didn't really care. If all went according to plan she'd be out before they noticed. That was the plan until she ran across the boy. She noticed the smell first, then everything else hit her all at once, the sight, the breathing, the slow migration of mold down the walls towards the boy. "Fuck-" She mumbled, clenching her fists. She had a strong stomach, she had seen bad. This was worse.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

The boy on the ground didn't look quite alive. More dead-ish, obviously only skin and bones. A victim of starvation. That and his hollow cheeks were haunting, but what was worse was the blood.

He was covered in it over his pale rags– yellow-grey.. tattered cape, and almost brown outfit. Bleeding all over.

But still, at the noise he made a sound. Drifted back into a miserable consciousness, blinking swollen eyes up at her, up at the light she'd brought in.

But instead of recognizing her as safe, he cowers. Weak arms scrabble at the floor, barely moving at all for how hard he's trying to get away. It barely looks like effort– if you didn't count in the laboured, wheezing breaths he makes. The radio is already dropped. If it's — If she's another working for him, he can't be seen with it. Can't try to get out when he's this weak and close to death.

[sourcerat]

“Holy Shit-“ She looked around before bending down and snatching the fallen radio. She snapped the back off and pulled out the spring, maneuvering it into the cell lock. It wasn’t like it was a high security lock, it was maybe only a few years younger than the rest of the rotting prison.

“Come on“ She reached a hand in. Yeah, this was probably the stupidest decision of her life. What was she going to tell her boss? That she just had to save this corpse of a boy? Yeah. That’s exactly what she would do. He could maybe make a good soldier, all cleaned up, in a few months. It paid to have someone in debt to you. Especially if you had so few. “Take the day, won’t ya?” She snapped.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He winced at her voice, feebly shaking. But the boy steeled as much as he could, pale eyes darting to her hand. Move, he thinks. He has to move. So he does, scrabbling forwards to her hand as best and as fast as he can.

He has to listen. Always has to, because he fears the consequences of not. The consequences of another bone breaking, another injury, another... The thought caves in his empty stomach. He'd be sick with the anxiety if he had anything to heave up.

Closer to her, now, he tries to prop himself up as best as he can. It's a pitiful attempt, he falls back down almost immediately. But it's a willful attempt. He'll do anything to be helpful.

[sourcerat]

Tua grabs his arm and yanks him forward. “You’re mad slow.” She pulled him along, her fought orange jumpsuit somehow cleaner than his once pristine suit, now left to unrecognizable rags.

She led him down a dark tunnel, but it was going somewhere and it looked pretty damn abandoned. It was almost pitch black but she kept her footing, one hand around his wrist, one reaching out in front. “Tua-“ She called back to him quietly, “Tha’s me. ‘m like the second coming of houdini.” She joked, glancing around in the dark. She really wasn’t but Arkham wasn’t as secure as they said on TV once you really got to know it.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He stumbles forwards, trying not to cling to her or fall flat on his face while they walk. His legs aren't broken, but.. they look as if a break healed wrong. The boy doesn't say anything about the pain from his legs, no less the way he limps. He can't complain, won't.

He almost falls quite a few times once they get to the tunnel, when he does fall he picks himself back up as quick as he can, already faint from the simple act of walking.

"Tua." He echoes, raspy. His voice is like a shiver, barely audible. " 'm..." He pauses. Can he tell her?

[sourcerat]

”Stop” Tua stopped dead in her tracks, listening to the drip of water. It was cold. They were standing in a draft. A… draft! The air was moving, just barely, but it was.

She had caught it, the slight whistling that ate at the brain of trapped inmates. A way out. Her hand left Jason’s wrist as she ran them against the stone wall, her nails dragging through the muck and algae. “Here-“ She pushed and the wall, or rather the door, gave way, the rusted metal almost disintegrating under the pressure. She fell through onto te floor as a singular ray of light passed over the hall. A search light, breaking through the sliver of a window in the old closet.

“See- what’d I tell y’a” She pulled herself up and brushed her knees off. “Houdini.”

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He stops, falling forward once she lets go of his wrist. Slowly, he picks himself back up, silencing any groans of pain before they escape his lips.

Then he's up again, and he leans against the wall, squinting at her in the dark. His legs are weak, but he steps closer. The light is awe-worthy, and he stares at it, stilled.

"'re you.. taking me out..?" He asks, hesitantly. He shouldn't leave. But he has too. But.. Batman? Surely he's looking.

[sourcerat]

"Yeah, you fucking busted?" She carefully pulled the broken window pane off. "Or you jut gonna sit there?"

She crossed her arms. If he wanted to fucking say he could, she wasn't going to stop him. But night was dwindling and time was running out for her to get out. Someone had probably noticed her absence by now, if not both of theirs.

"Get caught? Go back? Spend a few more weeks in the meat locker? No thanks." She pulled him up onto his feet. "Come on' dipstick."

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

"No– no," He says, quickly, desperation in his voice rising like water. He jolts as she pulls him along, limply. ".. W' can go."

Would..? He can go. It's.. Would Batman still want him? Not after this, surely. But there's more than Batman. And.. wouldn't Bruce take him back? He hasn't forgotten, he's sure. He's still been looking.

That's the thought he clings to as he slowly follows Tua.

[sourcerat]

She watched him quietly, helping him through the window with little problem, it wasn't like he had any body left to fill up the space. She struggled for a second but made it out in record time. "Shit come on-" She tugged him through the back and between a small gap in the fence and building, a blind spot she had made use of on multiple occasions.

"Can't get spotted." She made her way around the back and out into the street, the air felt... lighter, still crisp with night. "Come on I know a place for clothes." A place. Sure. Definitely not the dumpster behind the nearest charity shop.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He continued, looking around the place– now a dark, dim street with wide eyes. He was out. Maybe if he squinted he'd see a few stars in the dusk, maybe he could linger a moment to look for them. But there was no time. Surely he wasn't someone who was able to spend time on things like that, anymore.

But he was out of the asylum. Out. Free like a bird and buzzing with the struggle of walking this way, when he'd thought an escape would be impossible. Why wasn't Tua dropping him off, now? Leaving him in some ditch?

"Thank y'." He murmurs, quickly, trailing after her. "Thank you so much." It's really all he can say to his rescuer.

[sourcerat]

“Yeah-“ Tua rolled her eyes pulling her jumpsuit closer. It was cold. She was definitely raised in Gotham, it was hard to blame her for not offering anything to Jason when she was just barely warm enough herself. It wasn’t a giving city. It took and took and then asked why you were crying.

“Never told me your name” She peered over the edge of the dumpster and rolled her eyes. “Nothin’ here.” She groaned and glanced to the sky, scanning. It wasn’t any use to break out only to get caught immediately by a spying bat.

The night air was nice but it was biting. A low mist had blown in from the harbor and it hung low over everything. Whatever clothes had been thrown out- if any- weren’t there anymore. Probably snagged by faster hands. Thats just what it was in the city. Eat or get eaten. Freeze or let others freeze.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He doesn't really notice the chill, all too grateful to be breathing fresh air. How long had he been down there? Time was thick and aged down there. Slow like a gutter swollen with leaves. It felt as if he could've spent ten years down there without realizing.

He trails behind her, trying to lean up the side of the dumpster to see. It hurts his hands, so he slides back down and doesn't try again. It doesn't look like there's anything there, anyways.

".. Jason." He says, following her slowly. Where will she go now? Leave him? He wouldn't be irritated if she did. Just.. this was more then enough.

[sourcerat]

“Cool.” She looked down at him and groaned, “You’re not getting anywhere like that.” her arms looped under his armpits and she hoisted him up. “Come on, there’s a window around here somewhere.”

She pulled an old keyboard out of the dumpster and moved her way to the front of the store. The keyboard went flying into the window with a crash. Glass was everywhere. In record time Tua was scampering over the glass and rifling though the racks of second-hand clothes. “What size are you? Double zero?” She went hangar after hangar, throwing what she didn’t want onto the floor.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He winces, surprised, as she hoists him up, awkwardly. ".. 'Kay." He says, quickly, turning to scamper after her to the best of his ability.

The boy tries to peek into the dumpster again, glancing up when he sees the keyboard. He frowns. What's she going to..?

He stares at the storefront, startled by the breaking glass. As she clambers inside, he watches, wearily, eying Tua.

"Y– mhm!" He stammers, quickly.

[sourcerat]

"You just going to stand there?" Tua asked, beckoning him him. "So- Jason- Jaceee.... Jace." She worked the name in her mouth, bouncing it around. She nodded, squinting at a pair of sweatpants in the dark. "What do you want?" With her free hand she gestured out to the store, ladened with every genre of clothing imaginable.

There was an alarm system but this wasn't the nicest part of town, and break-ins happened so often it was rare the police every showed up. Who was going to stop them anyway?

[sometimes-wrongiseasier]

blood.

(open rp! anyone can interact :D)

this was a stupid deal anyways, he didn’t want to talk to black mask and his people anyways-

but he went, and he got his ass kicked, and now he was here.

a random construction yard, only 20 feet away from the sidewalk. blood dripped lazily down a cut on his head, he felt as it became slightly tacky against his scarred skin.

jason sucks in a [crackly] breath and attempts to clear his throat.

he startles at the lack of modulation to his voice.

of-fucking-course the voice modulator broke, because he need more shit to deal with.

as he presses a hand to the stab wound against his side he hears footsteps approaching…

[sourcerat]

"You shittin' me?" Tua propped his chin up with the edge of her boots. God they smelled- well they smelled like the Gotham pier. Old fish and used machine oil.

She pulled her phone out and turned the flashlight on, not bothering to spare his eyes from the glare. "You're the real deal man?" Her eyes eyed his side arm cautiously, her hand twitching towards it. It could make a pretty penny.

[sometimes-wrongiseasier]

jason immediately snaps his gaze towards them with a sharp growl.

“what’s it to you?” he grumbled, attempting to cover the youth in his voice.

[sourcerat]

Tua dropped her head to one sholder bending down slowly. Her hand flew out. Expert fingers pulled his gun from the holster. She danced back. “Nothin’. I don’t get in bat business.”

The gun at least could go for a good amount, no number, untraceable and fairly new. Her eyes drifted from the gun to the Black mask’s building towering above them. “Or Black Masks’.” She shivered before taking a few steps back. Roman was scarier than any Bat. The Bat’s threw you in Blackgate or Arkham. Roman skinned you alive.

[sometimes-wrongiseasier]

jason jolted slightly.

“i’m not a bat.” his eyes glowed a soft green, visible just between the break in his helmet.

he let her take the gun- he had plenty to go around, jason didn’t mind losing one.

“gonna sell it?” he asked, vision blurring before clearing.

[sourcerat]

"Look like a bat. Fucking talk like a bat." She pocketed the gun and danced back a few steps. "Not one of Black Masks' that's fo sure." Her nose wrinkled and she looked around. "You're a bat."

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

//RP starter. Anyone can interact!!//

[A crackling noise could be heard as a radio was turned on.]

A bit of pained shuffling could be heard in the background with the broadcast, a few seconds of buzzing silence before a voice could be heard.

".. Hello..? This is, " The speaker would cough a few times, before being able to speak again. " - Robin. If.. any-anyone can 'ear this, please..." Then it'd go silent again, turning to a crackly, anxious static.

It'd connect a second time, the operator refusing to let the radio fail, let him be lost again.

"Please help.. Anyone? This is.. R-Robin. Location... 'Rkham. Abandoned wing. 'M injured.." He'd say, clutching the radio close enough for anyone on the other side to hear his laboured breaths.

Even the simple act of picking the radio off the floor— where the last goon had thrown it, leaving him on the ground as well, had exterted him. Four months of starvation and continuous gross force feeding, torture and lack of movement had weakened his muscles.

[sourcerat]

An abandoned wing? Well Tua wouldn't mind that at all. She had been trying to get out of Arkham for almost a month now. They seemed to have doubled the security since last time.

She looked up at the man who the radio belonged to. Some big brute that was just cannon fodder for the even bigger fish. "Tough day?" She asked. He was as dumb as a bolder, and barely grunted in response. Luckily dumb was where Tua filled the gap and as soon as he left she followed.

It wasn't hard, just trail behind, keep your head up, threaten anyone who stops you with 'the big man'. Whoever that was. She didn't really care. If all went according to plan she'd be out before they noticed. That was the plan until she ran across the boy. She noticed the smell first, then everything else hit her all at once, the sight, the breathing, the slow migration of mold down the walls towards the boy. "Fuck-" She mumbled, clenching her fists. She had a strong stomach, she had seen bad. This was worse.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

The boy on the ground didn't look quite alive. More dead-ish, obviously only skin and bones. A victim of starvation. That and his hollow cheeks were haunting, but what was worse was the blood.

He was covered in it over his pale rags– yellow-grey.. tattered cape, and almost brown outfit. Bleeding all over.

But still, at the noise he made a sound. Drifted back into a miserable consciousness, blinking swollen eyes up at her, up at the light she'd brought in.

But instead of recognizing her as safe, he cowers. Weak arms scrabble at the floor, barely moving at all for how hard he's trying to get away. It barely looks like effort– if you didn't count in the laboured, wheezing breaths he makes. The radio is already dropped. If it's — If she's another working for him, he can't be seen with it. Can't try to get out when he's this weak and close to death.

[sourcerat]

“Holy Shit-“ She looked around before bending down and snatching the fallen radio. She snapped the back off and pulled out the spring, maneuvering it into the cell lock. It wasn’t like it was a high security lock, it was maybe only a few years younger than the rest of the rotting prison.

“Come on“ She reached a hand in. Yeah, this was probably the stupidest decision of her life. What was she going to tell her boss? That she just had to save this corpse of a boy? Yeah. That’s exactly what she would do. He could maybe make a good soldier, all cleaned up, in a few months. It paid to have someone in debt to you. Especially if you had so few. “Take the day, won’t ya?” She snapped.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He winced at her voice, feebly shaking. But the boy steeled as much as he could, pale eyes darting to her hand. Move, he thinks. He has to move. So he does, scrabbling forwards to her hand as best and as fast as he can.

He has to listen. Always has to, because he fears the consequences of not. The consequences of another bone breaking, another injury, another... The thought caves in his empty stomach. He'd be sick with the anxiety if he had anything to heave up.

Closer to her, now, he tries to prop himself up as best as he can. It's a pitiful attempt, he falls back down almost immediately. But it's a willful attempt. He'll do anything to be helpful.

[sourcerat]

Tua grabs his arm and yanks him forward. “You’re mad slow.” She pulled him along, her fought orange jumpsuit somehow cleaner than his once pristine suit, now left to unrecognizable rags.

She led him down a dark tunnel, but it was going somewhere and it looked pretty damn abandoned. It was almost pitch black but she kept her footing, one hand around his wrist, one reaching out in front. “Tua-“ She called back to him quietly, “Tha’s me. ‘m like the second coming of houdini.” She joked, glancing around in the dark. She really wasn’t but Arkham wasn’t as secure as they said on TV once you really got to know it.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He stumbles forwards, trying not to cling to her or fall flat on his face while they walk. His legs aren't broken, but.. they look as if a break healed wrong. The boy doesn't say anything about the pain from his legs, no less the way he limps. He can't complain, won't.

He almost falls quite a few times once they get to the tunnel, when he does fall he picks himself back up as quick as he can, already faint from the simple act of walking.

"Tua." He echoes, raspy. His voice is like a shiver, barely audible. " 'm..." He pauses. Can he tell her?

[sourcerat]

”Stop” Tua stopped dead in her tracks, listening to the drip of water. It was cold. They were standing in a draft. A… draft! The air was moving, just barely, but it was.

She had caught it, the slight whistling that ate at the brain of trapped inmates. A way out. Her hand left Jason’s wrist as she ran them against the stone wall, her nails dragging through the muck and algae. “Here-“ She pushed and the wall, or rather the door, gave way, the rusted metal almost disintegrating under the pressure. She fell through onto te floor as a singular ray of light passed over the hall. A search light, breaking through the sliver of a window in the old closet.

“See- what’d I tell y’a” She pulled herself up and brushed her knees off. “Houdini.”

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He stops, falling forward once she lets go of his wrist. Slowly, he picks himself back up, silencing any groans of pain before they escape his lips.

Then he's up again, and he leans against the wall, squinting at her in the dark. His legs are weak, but he steps closer. The light is awe-worthy, and he stares at it, stilled.

"'re you.. taking me out..?" He asks, hesitantly. He shouldn't leave. But he has too. But.. Batman? Surely he's looking.

[sourcerat]

"Yeah, you fucking busted?" She carefully pulled the broken window pane off. "Or you jut gonna sit there?"

She crossed her arms. If he wanted to fucking say he could, she wasn't going to stop him. But night was dwindling and time was running out for her to get out. Someone had probably noticed her absence by now, if not both of theirs.

"Get caught? Go back? Spend a few more weeks in the meat locker? No thanks." She pulled him up onto his feet. "Come on' dipstick."

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

"No– no," He says, quickly, desperation in his voice rising like water. He jolts as she pulls him along, limply. ".. W' can go."

Would..? He can go. It's.. Would Batman still want him? Not after this, surely. But there's more than Batman. And.. wouldn't Bruce take him back? He hasn't forgotten, he's sure. He's still been looking.

That's the thought he clings to as he slowly follows Tua.

[sourcerat]

She watched him quietly, helping him through the window with little problem, it wasn't like he had any body left to fill up the space. She struggled for a second but made it out in record time. "Shit come on-" She tugged him through the back and between a small gap in the fence and building, a blind spot she had made use of on multiple occasions.

"Can't get spotted." She made her way around the back and out into the street, the air felt... lighter, still crisp with night. "Come on I know a place for clothes." A place. Sure. Definitely not the dumpster behind the nearest charity shop.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He continued, looking around the place– now a dark, dim street with wide eyes. He was out. Maybe if he squinted he'd see a few stars in the dusk, maybe he could linger a moment to look for them. But there was no time. Surely he wasn't someone who was able to spend time on things like that, anymore.

But he was out of the asylum. Out. Free like a bird and buzzing with the struggle of walking this way, when he'd thought an escape would be impossible. Why wasn't Tua dropping him off, now? Leaving him in some ditch?

"Thank y'." He murmurs, quickly, trailing after her. "Thank you so much." It's really all he can say to his rescuer.

[sourcerat]

“Yeah-“ Tua rolled her eyes pulling her jumpsuit closer. It was cold. She was definitely raised in Gotham, it was hard to blame her for not offering anything to Jason when she was just barely warm enough herself. It wasn’t a giving city. It took and took and then asked why you were crying.

“Never told me your name” She peered over the edge of the dumpster and rolled her eyes. “Nothin’ here.” She groaned and glanced to the sky, scanning. It wasn’t any use to break out only to get caught immediately by a spying bat.

The night air was nice but it was biting. A low mist had blown in from the harbor and it hung low over everything. Whatever clothes had been thrown out- if any- weren’t there anymore. Probably snagged by faster hands. Thats just what it was in the city. Eat or get eaten. Freeze or let others freeze.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He doesn't really notice the chill, all too grateful to be breathing fresh air. How long had he been down there? Time was thick and aged down there. Slow like a gutter swollen with leaves. It felt as if he could've spent ten years down there without realizing.

He trails behind her, trying to lean up the side of the dumpster to see. It hurts his hands, so he slides back down and doesn't try again. It doesn't look like there's anything there, anyways.

".. Jason." He says, following her slowly. Where will she go now? Leave him? He wouldn't be irritated if she did. Just.. this was more then enough.

[sourcerat]

“Cool.” She looked down at him and groaned, “You’re not getting anywhere like that.” her arms looped under his armpits and she hoisted him up. “Come on, there’s a window around here somewhere.”

She pulled an old keyboard out of the dumpster and moved her way to the front of the store. The keyboard went flying into the window with a crash. Glass was everywhere. In record time Tua was scampering over the glass and rifling though the racks of second-hand clothes. “What size are you? Double zero?” She went hangar after hangar, throwing what she didn’t want onto the floor.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

//RP starter. Anyone can interact!!//

[A crackling noise could be heard as a radio was turned on.]

A bit of pained shuffling could be heard in the background with the broadcast, a few seconds of buzzing silence before a voice could be heard.

".. Hello..? This is, " The speaker would cough a few times, before being able to speak again. " - Robin. If.. any-anyone can 'ear this, please..." Then it'd go silent again, turning to a crackly, anxious static.

It'd connect a second time, the operator refusing to let the radio fail, let him be lost again.

"Please help.. Anyone? This is.. R-Robin. Location... 'Rkham. Abandoned wing. 'M injured.." He'd say, clutching the radio close enough for anyone on the other side to hear his laboured breaths.

Even the simple act of picking the radio off the floor— where the last goon had thrown it, leaving him on the ground as well, had exterted him. Four months of starvation and continuous gross force feeding, torture and lack of movement had weakened his muscles.

[sourcerat]

An abandoned wing? Well Tua wouldn't mind that at all. She had been trying to get out of Arkham for almost a month now. They seemed to have doubled the security since last time.

She looked up at the man who the radio belonged to. Some big brute that was just cannon fodder for the even bigger fish. "Tough day?" She asked. He was as dumb as a bolder, and barely grunted in response. Luckily dumb was where Tua filled the gap and as soon as he left she followed.

It wasn't hard, just trail behind, keep your head up, threaten anyone who stops you with 'the big man'. Whoever that was. She didn't really care. If all went according to plan she'd be out before they noticed. That was the plan until she ran across the boy. She noticed the smell first, then everything else hit her all at once, the sight, the breathing, the slow migration of mold down the walls towards the boy. "Fuck-" She mumbled, clenching her fists. She had a strong stomach, she had seen bad. This was worse.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

The boy on the ground didn't look quite alive. More dead-ish, obviously only skin and bones. A victim of starvation. That and his hollow cheeks were haunting, but what was worse was the blood.

He was covered in it over his pale rags– yellow-grey.. tattered cape, and almost brown outfit. Bleeding all over.

But still, at the noise he made a sound. Drifted back into a miserable consciousness, blinking swollen eyes up at her, up at the light she'd brought in.

But instead of recognizing her as safe, he cowers. Weak arms scrabble at the floor, barely moving at all for how hard he's trying to get away. It barely looks like effort– if you didn't count in the laboured, wheezing breaths he makes. The radio is already dropped. If it's — If she's another working for him, he can't be seen with it. Can't try to get out when he's this weak and close to death.

[sourcerat]

“Holy Shit-“ She looked around before bending down and snatching the fallen radio. She snapped the back off and pulled out the spring, maneuvering it into the cell lock. It wasn’t like it was a high security lock, it was maybe only a few years younger than the rest of the rotting prison.

“Come on“ She reached a hand in. Yeah, this was probably the stupidest decision of her life. What was she going to tell her boss? That she just had to save this corpse of a boy? Yeah. That’s exactly what she would do. He could maybe make a good soldier, all cleaned up, in a few months. It paid to have someone in debt to you. Especially if you had so few. “Take the day, won’t ya?” She snapped.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He winced at her voice, feebly shaking. But the boy steeled as much as he could, pale eyes darting to her hand. Move, he thinks. He has to move. So he does, scrabbling forwards to her hand as best and as fast as he can.

He has to listen. Always has to, because he fears the consequences of not. The consequences of another bone breaking, another injury, another... The thought caves in his empty stomach. He'd be sick with the anxiety if he had anything to heave up.

Closer to her, now, he tries to prop himself up as best as he can. It's a pitiful attempt, he falls back down almost immediately. But it's a willful attempt. He'll do anything to be helpful.

[sourcerat]

Tua grabs his arm and yanks him forward. “You’re mad slow.” She pulled him along, her fought orange jumpsuit somehow cleaner than his once pristine suit, now left to unrecognizable rags.

She led him down a dark tunnel, but it was going somewhere and it looked pretty damn abandoned. It was almost pitch black but she kept her footing, one hand around his wrist, one reaching out in front. “Tua-“ She called back to him quietly, “Tha’s me. ‘m like the second coming of houdini.” She joked, glancing around in the dark. She really wasn’t but Arkham wasn’t as secure as they said on TV once you really got to know it.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He stumbles forwards, trying not to cling to her or fall flat on his face while they walk. His legs aren't broken, but.. they look as if a break healed wrong. The boy doesn't say anything about the pain from his legs, no less the way he limps. He can't complain, won't.

He almost falls quite a few times once they get to the tunnel, when he does fall he picks himself back up as quick as he can, already faint from the simple act of walking.

"Tua." He echoes, raspy. His voice is like a shiver, barely audible. " 'm..." He pauses. Can he tell her?

[sourcerat]

”Stop” Tua stopped dead in her tracks, listening to the drip of water. It was cold. They were standing in a draft. A… draft! The air was moving, just barely, but it was.

She had caught it, the slight whistling that ate at the brain of trapped inmates. A way out. Her hand left Jason’s wrist as she ran them against the stone wall, her nails dragging through the muck and algae. “Here-“ She pushed and the wall, or rather the door, gave way, the rusted metal almost disintegrating under the pressure. She fell through onto te floor as a singular ray of light passed over the hall. A search light, breaking through the sliver of a window in the old closet.

“See- what’d I tell y’a” She pulled herself up and brushed her knees off. “Houdini.”

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He stops, falling forward once she lets go of his wrist. Slowly, he picks himself back up, silencing any groans of pain before they escape his lips.

Then he's up again, and he leans against the wall, squinting at her in the dark. His legs are weak, but he steps closer. The light is awe-worthy, and he stares at it, stilled.

"'re you.. taking me out..?" He asks, hesitantly. He shouldn't leave. But he has too. But.. Batman? Surely he's looking.

[sourcerat]

"Yeah, you fucking busted?" She carefully pulled the broken window pane off. "Or you jut gonna sit there?"

She crossed her arms. If he wanted to fucking say he could, she wasn't going to stop him. But night was dwindling and time was running out for her to get out. Someone had probably noticed her absence by now, if not both of theirs.

"Get caught? Go back? Spend a few more weeks in the meat locker? No thanks." She pulled him up onto his feet. "Come on' dipstick."

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

"No– no," He says, quickly, desperation in his voice rising like water. He jolts as she pulls him along, limply. ".. W' can go."

Would..? He can go. It's.. Would Batman still want him? Not after this, surely. But there's more than Batman. And.. wouldn't Bruce take him back? He hasn't forgotten, he's sure. He's still been looking.

That's the thought he clings to as he slowly follows Tua.

[sourcerat]

She watched him quietly, helping him through the window with little problem, it wasn't like he had any body left to fill up the space. She struggled for a second but made it out in record time. "Shit come on-" She tugged him through the back and between a small gap in the fence and building, a blind spot she had made use of on multiple occasions.

"Can't get spotted." She made her way around the back and out into the street, the air felt... lighter, still crisp with night. "Come on I know a place for clothes." A place. Sure. Definitely not the dumpster behind the nearest charity shop.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He continued, looking around the place– now a dark, dim street with wide eyes. He was out. Maybe if he squinted he'd see a few stars in the dusk, maybe he could linger a moment to look for them. But there was no time. Surely he wasn't someone who was able to spend time on things like that, anymore.

But he was out of the asylum. Out. Free like a bird and buzzing with the struggle of walking this way, when he'd thought an escape would be impossible. Why wasn't Tua dropping him off, now? Leaving him in some ditch?

"Thank y'." He murmurs, quickly, trailing after her. "Thank you so much." It's really all he can say to his rescuer.

[sourcerat]

“Yeah-“ Tua rolled her eyes pulling her jumpsuit closer. It was cold. She was definitely raised in Gotham, it was hard to blame her for not offering anything to Jason when she was just barely warm enough herself. It wasn’t a giving city. It took and took and then asked why you were crying.

“Never told me your name” She peered over the edge of the dumpster and rolled her eyes. “Nothin’ here.” She groaned and glanced to the sky, scanning. It wasn’t any use to break out only to get caught immediately by a spying bat.

The night air was nice but it was biting. A low mist had blown in from the harbor and it hung low over everything. Whatever clothes had been thrown out- if any- weren’t there anymore. Probably snagged by faster hands. Thats just what it was in the city. Eat or get eaten. Freeze or let others freeze.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

//RP starter. Anyone can interact!!//

[A crackling noise could be heard as a radio was turned on.]

A bit of pained shuffling could be heard in the background with the broadcast, a few seconds of buzzing silence before a voice could be heard.

".. Hello..? This is, " The speaker would cough a few times, before being able to speak again. " - Robin. If.. any-anyone can 'ear this, please..." Then it'd go silent again, turning to a crackly, anxious static.

It'd connect a second time, the operator refusing to let the radio fail, let him be lost again.

"Please help.. Anyone? This is.. R-Robin. Location... 'Rkham. Abandoned wing. 'M injured.." He'd say, clutching the radio close enough for anyone on the other side to hear his laboured breaths.

Even the simple act of picking the radio off the floor— where the last goon had thrown it, leaving him on the ground as well, had exterted him. Four months of starvation and continuous gross force feeding, torture and lack of movement had weakened his muscles.

[sourcerat]

An abandoned wing? Well Tua wouldn't mind that at all. She had been trying to get out of Arkham for almost a month now. They seemed to have doubled the security since last time.

She looked up at the man who the radio belonged to. Some big brute that was just cannon fodder for the even bigger fish. "Tough day?" She asked. He was as dumb as a bolder, and barely grunted in response. Luckily dumb was where Tua filled the gap and as soon as he left she followed.

It wasn't hard, just trail behind, keep your head up, threaten anyone who stops you with 'the big man'. Whoever that was. She didn't really care. If all went according to plan she'd be out before they noticed. That was the plan until she ran across the boy. She noticed the smell first, then everything else hit her all at once, the sight, the breathing, the slow migration of mold down the walls towards the boy. "Fuck-" She mumbled, clenching her fists. She had a strong stomach, she had seen bad. This was worse.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

The boy on the ground didn't look quite alive. More dead-ish, obviously only skin and bones. A victim of starvation. That and his hollow cheeks were haunting, but what was worse was the blood.

He was covered in it over his pale rags– yellow-grey.. tattered cape, and almost brown outfit. Bleeding all over.

But still, at the noise he made a sound. Drifted back into a miserable consciousness, blinking swollen eyes up at her, up at the light she'd brought in.

But instead of recognizing her as safe, he cowers. Weak arms scrabble at the floor, barely moving at all for how hard he's trying to get away. It barely looks like effort– if you didn't count in the laboured, wheezing breaths he makes. The radio is already dropped. If it's — If she's another working for him, he can't be seen with it. Can't try to get out when he's this weak and close to death.

[sourcerat]

“Holy Shit-“ She looked around before bending down and snatching the fallen radio. She snapped the back off and pulled out the spring, maneuvering it into the cell lock. It wasn’t like it was a high security lock, it was maybe only a few years younger than the rest of the rotting prison.

“Come on“ She reached a hand in. Yeah, this was probably the stupidest decision of her life. What was she going to tell her boss? That she just had to save this corpse of a boy? Yeah. That’s exactly what she would do. He could maybe make a good soldier, all cleaned up, in a few months. It paid to have someone in debt to you. Especially if you had so few. “Take the day, won’t ya?” She snapped.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He winced at her voice, feebly shaking. But the boy steeled as much as he could, pale eyes darting to her hand. Move, he thinks. He has to move. So he does, scrabbling forwards to her hand as best and as fast as he can.

He has to listen. Always has to, because he fears the consequences of not. The consequences of another bone breaking, another injury, another... The thought caves in his empty stomach. He'd be sick with the anxiety if he had anything to heave up.

Closer to her, now, he tries to prop himself up as best as he can. It's a pitiful attempt, he falls back down almost immediately. But it's a willful attempt. He'll do anything to be helpful.

[sourcerat]

Tua grabs his arm and yanks him forward. “You’re mad slow.” She pulled him along, her fought orange jumpsuit somehow cleaner than his once pristine suit, now left to unrecognizable rags.

She led him down a dark tunnel, but it was going somewhere and it looked pretty damn abandoned. It was almost pitch black but she kept her footing, one hand around his wrist, one reaching out in front. “Tua-“ She called back to him quietly, “Tha’s me. ‘m like the second coming of houdini.” She joked, glancing around in the dark. She really wasn’t but Arkham wasn’t as secure as they said on TV once you really got to know it.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He stumbles forwards, trying not to cling to her or fall flat on his face while they walk. His legs aren't broken, but.. they look as if a break healed wrong. The boy doesn't say anything about the pain from his legs, no less the way he limps. He can't complain, won't.

He almost falls quite a few times once they get to the tunnel, when he does fall he picks himself back up as quick as he can, already faint from the simple act of walking.

"Tua." He echoes, raspy. His voice is like a shiver, barely audible. " 'm..." He pauses. Can he tell her?

[sourcerat]

”Stop” Tua stopped dead in her tracks, listening to the drip of water. It was cold. They were standing in a draft. A… draft! The air was moving, just barely, but it was.

She had caught it, the slight whistling that ate at the brain of trapped inmates. A way out. Her hand left Jason’s wrist as she ran them against the stone wall, her nails dragging through the muck and algae. “Here-“ She pushed and the wall, or rather the door, gave way, the rusted metal almost disintegrating under the pressure. She fell through onto te floor as a singular ray of light passed over the hall. A search light, breaking through the sliver of a window in the old closet.

“See- what’d I tell y’a” She pulled herself up and brushed her knees off. “Houdini.”

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He stops, falling forward once she lets go of his wrist. Slowly, he picks himself back up, silencing any groans of pain before they escape his lips.

Then he's up again, and he leans against the wall, squinting at her in the dark. His legs are weak, but he steps closer. The light is awe-worthy, and he stares at it, stilled.

"'re you.. taking me out..?" He asks, hesitantly. He shouldn't leave. But he has too. But.. Batman? Surely he's looking.

[sourcerat]

"Yeah, you fucking busted?" She carefully pulled the broken window pane off. "Or you jut gonna sit there?"

She crossed her arms. If he wanted to fucking say he could, she wasn't going to stop him. But night was dwindling and time was running out for her to get out. Someone had probably noticed her absence by now, if not both of theirs.

"Get caught? Go back? Spend a few more weeks in the meat locker? No thanks." She pulled him up onto his feet. "Come on' dipstick."

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

"No– no," He says, quickly, desperation in his voice rising like water. He jolts as she pulls him along, limply. ".. W' can go."

Would..? He can go. It's.. Would Batman still want him? Not after this, surely. But there's more than Batman. And.. wouldn't Bruce take him back? He hasn't forgotten, he's sure. He's still been looking.

That's the thought he clings to as he slowly follows Tua.

[sourcerat]

She watched him quietly, helping him through the window with little problem, it wasn't like he had any body left to fill up the space. She struggled for a second but made it out in record time. "Shit come on-" She tugged him through the back and between a small gap in the fence and building, a blind spot she had made use of on multiple occasions.

"Can't get spotted." She made her way around the back and out into the street, the air felt... lighter, still crisp with night. "Come on I know a place for clothes." A place. Sure. Definitely not the dumpster behind the nearest charity shop.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

//RP starter. Anyone can interact!!//

[A crackling noise could be heard as a radio was turned on.]

A bit of pained shuffling could be heard in the background with the broadcast, a few seconds of buzzing silence before a voice could be heard.

".. Hello..? This is, " The speaker would cough a few times, before being able to speak again. " - Robin. If.. any-anyone can 'ear this, please..." Then it'd go silent again, turning to a crackly, anxious static.

It'd connect a second time, the operator refusing to let the radio fail, let him be lost again.

"Please help.. Anyone? This is.. R-Robin. Location... 'Rkham. Abandoned wing. 'M injured.." He'd say, clutching the radio close enough for anyone on the other side to hear his laboured breaths.

Even the simple act of picking the radio off the floor— where the last goon had thrown it, leaving him on the ground as well, had exterted him. Four months of starvation and continuous gross force feeding, torture and lack of movement had weakened his muscles.

[sourcerat]

An abandoned wing? Well Tua wouldn't mind that at all. She had been trying to get out of Arkham for almost a month now. They seemed to have doubled the security since last time.

She looked up at the man who the radio belonged to. Some big brute that was just cannon fodder for the even bigger fish. "Tough day?" She asked. He was as dumb as a bolder, and barely grunted in response. Luckily dumb was where Tua filled the gap and as soon as he left she followed.

It wasn't hard, just trail behind, keep your head up, threaten anyone who stops you with 'the big man'. Whoever that was. She didn't really care. If all went according to plan she'd be out before they noticed. That was the plan until she ran across the boy. She noticed the smell first, then everything else hit her all at once, the sight, the breathing, the slow migration of mold down the walls towards the boy. "Fuck-" She mumbled, clenching her fists. She had a strong stomach, she had seen bad. This was worse.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

The boy on the ground didn't look quite alive. More dead-ish, obviously only skin and bones. A victim of starvation. That and his hollow cheeks were haunting, but what was worse was the blood.

He was covered in it over his pale rags– yellow-grey.. tattered cape, and almost brown outfit. Bleeding all over.

But still, at the noise he made a sound. Drifted back into a miserable consciousness, blinking swollen eyes up at her, up at the light she'd brought in.

But instead of recognizing her as safe, he cowers. Weak arms scrabble at the floor, barely moving at all for how hard he's trying to get away. It barely looks like effort– if you didn't count in the laboured, wheezing breaths he makes. The radio is already dropped. If it's — If she's another working for him, he can't be seen with it. Can't try to get out when he's this weak and close to death.

[sourcerat]

“Holy Shit-“ She looked around before bending down and snatching the fallen radio. She snapped the back off and pulled out the spring, maneuvering it into the cell lock. It wasn’t like it was a high security lock, it was maybe only a few years younger than the rest of the rotting prison.

“Come on“ She reached a hand in. Yeah, this was probably the stupidest decision of her life. What was she going to tell her boss? That she just had to save this corpse of a boy? Yeah. That’s exactly what she would do. He could maybe make a good soldier, all cleaned up, in a few months. It paid to have someone in debt to you. Especially if you had so few. “Take the day, won’t ya?” She snapped.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He winced at her voice, feebly shaking. But the boy steeled as much as he could, pale eyes darting to her hand. Move, he thinks. He has to move. So he does, scrabbling forwards to her hand as best and as fast as he can.

He has to listen. Always has to, because he fears the consequences of not. The consequences of another bone breaking, another injury, another... The thought caves in his empty stomach. He'd be sick with the anxiety if he had anything to heave up.

Closer to her, now, he tries to prop himself up as best as he can. It's a pitiful attempt, he falls back down almost immediately. But it's a willful attempt. He'll do anything to be helpful.

[sourcerat]

Tua grabs his arm and yanks him forward. “You’re mad slow.” She pulled him along, her fought orange jumpsuit somehow cleaner than his once pristine suit, now left to unrecognizable rags.

She led him down a dark tunnel, but it was going somewhere and it looked pretty damn abandoned. It was almost pitch black but she kept her footing, one hand around his wrist, one reaching out in front. “Tua-“ She called back to him quietly, “Tha’s me. ‘m like the second coming of houdini.” She joked, glancing around in the dark. She really wasn’t but Arkham wasn’t as secure as they said on TV once you really got to know it.

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He stumbles forwards, trying not to cling to her or fall flat on his face while they walk. His legs aren't broken, but.. they look as if a break healed wrong. The boy doesn't say anything about the pain from his legs, no less the way he limps. He can't complain, won't.

He almost falls quite a few times once they get to the tunnel, when he does fall he picks himself back up as quick as he can, already faint from the simple act of walking.

"Tua." He echoes, raspy. His voice is like a shiver, barely audible. " 'm..." He pauses. Can he tell her?

[sourcerat]

”Stop” Tua stopped dead in her tracks, listening to the drip of water. It was cold. They were standing in a draft. A… draft! The air was moving, just barely, but it was.

She had caught it, the slight whistling that ate at the brain of trapped inmates. A way out. Her hand left Jason’s wrist as she ran them against the stone wall, her nails dragging through the muck and algae. “Here-“ She pushed and the wall, or rather the door, gave way, the rusted metal almost disintegrating under the pressure. She fell through onto te floor as a singular ray of light passed over the hall. A search light, breaking through the sliver of a window in the old closet.

“See- what’d I tell y’a” She pulled herself up and brushed her knees off. “Houdini.”

[stuck-in-arkham-official]

He stops, falling forward once she lets go of his wrist. Slowly, he picks himself back up, silencing any groans of pain before they escape his lips.

Then he's up again, and he leans against the wall, squinting at her in the dark. His legs are weak, but he steps closer. The light is awe-worthy, and he stares at it, stilled.

"'re you.. taking me out..?" He asks, hesitantly. He shouldn't leave. But he has too. But.. Batman? Surely he's looking.

[sourcerat]

"Yeah, you fucking busted?" She carefully pulled the broken window pane off. "Or you jut gonna sit there?"

She crossed her arms. If he wanted to fucking say he could, she wasn't going to stop him. But night was dwindling and time was running out for her to get out. Someone had probably noticed her absence by now, if not both of theirs.

"Get caught? Go back? Spend a few more weeks in the meat locker? No thanks." She pulled him up onto his feet. "Come on' dipstick."