Inbox (Etraya)

[cantilevers]

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[leastdramatic]

[Jason snorts. He had barely slept since the drama started]

That obvious, huh? Just give me a nice stiff whiskey.

[For a moment, Jason thinks about if Vander could spike his drink with a drug to incapacitate him. But again, he wants to keep establishing trust. So he leaves it to Vander to take care of his drink order]

[cantilevers]

[Vander had also been at an increased vigilance since Damian had originally contacted him. However, his 'normal' was not sleeping all that much since arriving here, and all this did was change where he was awake rather than for how long. He expected he looked sleep deprived but then again, he had always been good at hiding such in public appearances.]

Coming right up.

[He rose from their table and crossed to the bar, leaning over it to talk to the bartender and ordering a double for Jason. He made a point of telegraphing all of his movements so it was hopefully clear that he wasn't hatching some plan to knock Jason out cold with drugs.

He returned with a tumbler and slid it across the table.] Best stuff they have. It's on the house. [Dad joke because he both worked here and everything was free anyway.]

So, who talked the kid off the cliff?

[leastdramatic]

[Jason's body language seems casual but his eyes follow Vander as he walks over and orders his whiskey. Jason wants this to be a peaceful conversation but he's still suspicious enough to be on guard and consider the possibility of a sneak attack.

When Vander returns, Jason takes his tumbler]

A couple of emergency family meetings. It took a bit.

[He holds up his glass in an almost sarcastic toast]

Cheers to hopefully dodging metaphorical and literal bullets.

[cantilevers]

[He settled into his seat again and pulled his own tumbler closer to himself again, turning it with his fingers as he inclined his head in understanding. There had been quite the flurry of conversation and action on his side of the lane, though his side was ramping up rather than de-escalating.]

Group intervention work in your family, or is it just a flurry of one-on-ones trying to manage a situation?

[He lifted his own glass and tapped it lightly against Jason's in return.]

I don't always dodge. It depends who I am standing in front of to protect.

[leastdramatic]

The latter.

[He drinks]

I get it. Sometimes you just gotta take the hit. Other times, it’s better to outright avoid the whole thing.

[And in the BatFamily’s case and until there’s a new development, they’d rather do the latter]

Especially when it’s not just for your own sake.

[cantilevers]

He's a kid, I understand that. But sometimes you punch the wrong guy and the community pulls together. Hopefully he learned a valuable lesson about jumping the gun.

[The corner of his mouth twitched upwards. Jason was half his age but understood the principles; that was the value of a life on the street. Lessons came hard and fast, and they both knew making the wrong play could cost.]

Well, there was a hit I didn't take, and it cost me dearly. Now I'm less inclined to move than ever.

[He brought his tumbler to his lips.]

Your family going to pull together, I expect? The way you spoke of them before was they fight a lot but come together when it matters. I assume that will hold true in this case?

[leastdramatic]

It always holds.

[The answer comes out easy but internally, Jason's concerned about what happened between Damian and the younger Bruce. With how often the youngest Wayne likes to talk about being the "superior Robin" and trying to demonstrate it, Damian quitting as Robin is almost unimaginable. The fight had to be serious.

Memories of when Jason fought Bruce and then getting benched as Robin briefly rise up.

Jason pushes those memories down and sips from his tumbler]

Things might be a little awkward for a bit but we always find a way to patch things up.

[Maybe they all just need some more time to cool off]

[cantilevers]

Good.

[Even when family was fighting, even when they disagreed or agreed, even when they parted ways for a time, it was important if the circumstances allowed for family to stick together. There were some where that didn't hold true, but Vander had been mostly fortunate with his own experiences. He hoped that Jason's could find their way.

However, even he understood that all families were different. Adoption was an added layer that few estimated correctly.

He shrugged his shoulders as he considered, watching Jason carefully.]

Maybe some time apart to let the emotion die down. Not too long otherwise there could be estrangement. How do you think your family will be treating those of my world going forward after all this?

[leastdramatic]

Respectfully I hope.

[The BatFamily has a bad habit of attracting or generating drama somehow. Sometimes it was amongst themselves. Other times though, outsiders somehow and unfortunately get pulled in. Not helping matters now is the intel Oracle had dug up about the Zaunites.

Jason's aware that Vander's trying to read him and if his intentions were real. He seems unbothered though]

Bare minimum, respectfully keeping distance. Like I said, we don't want a fight.

[cantilevers]

We weren't looking for a fight either, yet here we are on the other side of that unfortunate theatrics. Respect just might be the most either side can hope for.

[Vander couldn't speak for the other Zaunites, but he knew that Silco was on the move. Jinx was a wildcard who seemed to be lost in her own interactions but also wasn't someone to mess around with. He could hope both settled, yet only one of those he thought had actual potential.

As for Piltover, they seemed aware that stirring up the sister city folk was a terrible idea and stood awkwardly behind them. Jayce had made quite the mess of things by talking, but then again, the man had a horrible foot-into-mouth disease.]

Are you setting yourself to be spokesperson for your family then?

[leastdramatic]

[As far as Jason's aware of, he and Damian were the two in their family who have interacted with Zaunites. The others haven't and at this point, maybe it was for the best to keep distance. Covers still needed to be maintained and tensions were going to be high for a while.

Damian burned whatever bridges he had built with any Zaunites and Jayce, which left Jason...]

Yeah.

[Jason's expression, tone, and body language remain a mix of neutral and casual. But internally, he's been stressed and angry about the whole situation. It didn't need to happen and yet, here they were.

Dick was always the best diplomat in the family. He's the one who knows to how efficiently ease tension. Usually with a smile at some point too. There's a reason why he's the Titans' leader and why he's usually the one who can round up most of the BatFamily.

Meanwhile, Jason's well-aware of his preference for blunt approaches. Fists, threats, and violence were what helped him navigate through much of his life.

But Dick isn't in Etraya anymore and Jason had the foundations of a rapport with one Zaunite.

Jason hates that this the hand he's been dealt but but what other choice was there? Let the powder keg explode and have the whole family get dragged into a fight that shouldn't have been started in the first place?]

How about you? Spokesperson for the Zaunites?

[cantilevers]

[Well, joke was on Jason because Vander fully intended to put himself out there to meet more of this family and understand their dynamic better with each other. They seemed like a wild lot, and the threat would always be present because Damian didn't seem like the 'give up' type of teen.

He nodded his head at the confirmation, accepting it easily. While he would pass on the information, it was useless if no one cared about it. Still, an effort would be made.

Yet, he snorted at the absurdity of the question returned to him. He expected it, and maybe half a year ago he would have confidently said that he was but these days? He was just a guy lost in the shuffle and doing what he could to protect those he cared about. Whether they needed it or not was on them.

He lifted his tumbler to his lips and took a long sip from it.]

No. I'm not particularly a spokesman for anyone, but I know them well enough to run interference to focus their attention on me to distract from a more perilous situation. And I'll defend them. Zaunites stick together; it's been us against everyone else a long time. When you have nothing, you covet that which you do. [It was the rule of the streets, engrained and basically in their DNA these days.] I assume you know about that.

[leastdramatic]

[Jason nods]

That’s Surviving Crime Alley 101. Always watch your back. Trust is hard earned. Nothing comes for free.

[All were hard lessons he learned early on as a kid. While his life is much more stable now, he still relies on those approaches. They’re how he survives as a vigilante]

Of course you’d be all pissed about this.

[He takes another sip]

text; cw: drug usage

[zauneyete]

Hence why I didn't bother suggesting you keep it. They wouldn't be able to stand us having more than them.

[ Silco. Being. Silco...

And he doesn't address the shimmer. He's not going to. ]

Apparently we're bargaining for "Runeterra's Survival". According to what Aurora wants us to do.

[ Text doesn't convey tone, but well. Silco clearly hates it and hates that. He has nothing to bargain for other than continued survival, and that seems too easy. ]

Well, this child can control business that isn't ours. I'll ensure they think otherwise next time, if they go through with it.

[ silco......

He doesn't say how, of course. ]

If you control it, there are no such effects. Sevika has been using it for years with her arm. [ He's been using it for longer. ] Do you remember those old miners, the ones that couldn't do the work anymore, and how they were given those old medications. How some of them seemed to be just fine on them, and others took too many, spiraled, and then seemed to fall apart after a few years?

Addiction comes for anyone who is susceptible to it. It's all about control. You know that. Shimmer is novel, but it is not that novel.

[cantilevers]

And you watch the back of those who you have connection with.

[He appreciated the candor. He knew Jason understood the struggles better than most, which might have been one of the big reasons that he was here having a drink with the man rather than insisting this be done over text.

It wasn't this guy's fault his family member wanted to go rogue. Much like Zaunites, he was certain they were painted with a similar brush as this family.]

The logic made no sense to me. I've played soccer with kids that could kill with a literal look or some guy in a moody castle could blow up the city if he wasn't so morose or a near indestructible man flies around. No one yells about them, but a girl with a gun? It's unfortunate choices were made that she was the biggest problem around these parts.

[He finished the last of his finger of whiskey and set his tumbler aside.]

So, where do we go from here? We stand in our separate corners and handle our own people?

[leastdramatic]

[Even with Oracle's intel, Jason knows there must be more to to Jinx's story and about what Vander's family is like. Rarely are things so black and white and even less so in places like Crime Alley or Zaun. The hextech weapon is still a concern but Jason's not interested in acting on it until there's further information and much more ideally, if they could collaborate with the Zaunites instead]

I guess so. It doesn't seem like we're in any good shape to have pints with each other for now.

[He highly doubts most of the BatFamily will be interested]

How are you holding up?

[cantilevers]

[There were plenty of details that both of them were missing about each other and their associated people. He had no doubt that the dynamics were messier than what appeared on the surface. Things were best kept behind closed doors, and he supposed that Etraya helped obscure the messier details from being discovered.]

Not yet. Perhaps in future when things settle out again, assuming that they do.

[He leaned back in his chair and shrugged his big shoulders nonchalantly.]

Not sure, honestly. It's been a busy few days, and I expect the ripples of this aren't yet fully felt by everyone. You?

[leastdramatic]

[Jason drains his tumbler before replying]

Honestly, the same as you. It's gonna be a while before the smoke from the aftermath gets cleared up.

[He shakes his head]

I love them but this is a mess none of us needed.

[cantilevers]

Agreed on both fronts. As if missions and the fate of our worlds isn't enough pressure, we now have to wrangle those close to us.

[He wasn't certain who had the harder job in that right now. Perhaps Jason has more people to keep an eye on, or maybe it was simply Damian acting out.]

Want another drink?

[leastdramatic]

If you don't mind, sure.

[Jason runs a hand through his white-streaked hair. He's definitely seen better days]

Robin doesn't speak for us about this matter.

[Maybe it was obvious now but it didn't hurt to reiterate the point]

[cantilevers]

[He pushed himself to stand, gathering both of their tumblers in one hand and looked down at Jason. He did wonder about the streak; it reminded him a little of Silco though the one Jason had was far more dramatic.]

I know. He's a kid doing something stupid because he thinks it's right, or he's angry about something, or he's bored, or because he wants attention of someone. Teens aren't reasonable and thinking about consequences isn't their strong suit.

[He was reminded of Vi who took his kids on a job topside, blew up a building and led to the crack down across the Lanes. He doubted she had thought much of the consequences, but they had come knocking, and that was a decision that she would live with the rest of her life.

He walked away to fill their glasses, this time with more than before. He again telegraphed his movements so Jason could see he added nothing to their drinks before returning again to his seat. He set the one tumbler in front of Jason.]

But I do know this problem isn't over.

text; cw: drug usage

[cantilevers]

I could talk them into it.

[The only reason he didn't still have one in the first place was Jayce prioritized Cait over himself, which was a fact that he accepted without complaint. However, people underestimated that if he put his mind to it, he tended to actually get what he wanted.]

If we go to war with another group, we'll be doing penance for Runeterra's sake for a long time. I know you won't quit if it goes that far, and if Jinx is threatened, I may not either. All this because a kid can't think consequences.

[Vander knew that Silco was on the move, and that was very dangerous. At this point, he didn't have the bandwidth to interrogate the man, and honestly, if this went south, they may need what Silco had. Topside might stand to the sidelines and let them walk their own path after causing the battle in the first place. Typical.]

She mentioned, yeah. You've also been using for years. [It wasn't a question. He knew it. Silco knew it.] I remember them. I remember them in squalor living in the dark eking out an existence for some time before they died alone and forgotten. They medicated their pain to start but soon they medicated to either feel something or feel nothing at all.

Control sounds about right. You've always been about control, and this is just another avenue to do that. And I bet like everything else you'll peddle, the sacrifice of a handful is worth the overall goal. The human cost of your mechanizations was just the price of business, a sacrifice to rally others.

If I take it, I hope I do become that monster again. I want to see that look of terror on your face. Though maybe me being in control under the influence would be frightening too.

[leastdramatic]

[Again, Jason carefully watches Vander’s movements as their glasses get refilled. He appreciates that civility is still being maintained.

He graciously takes his glass once it’s been refilled]

How so?

[Jason can hazard some guesses by what Vander means but he wants to hear it straight from him first]

[cantilevers]

[He took a cursory sip of his to assure Jason that it was safe. Well safe enough anyway.

He regarded the younger man for a long quiet moment to debate if his timing was worthwhile. He decided that he had enough respect for Jason to want to give the other man a heads up.]

Silco is on the move. His playbook is probably what we discussed before. That Pandora's Box is now open for real and no closing it.

[leastdramatic]

[Oh... This is going to get worse before it gets better then. Jason's expression darkens]

You're certain? Any mentions of a Dr. Jonathan Crane?