Tenterhooks

[Vars]

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Name: Rus Rasport

Gender: Male

Age: 17

Superpower: Energy manipulation; Rus can transmit his energy into objects and then manipulate them by will. This allows him to create the illusion of telekinesis, but in reality he's just manipulating the extension of his own energy. For this to happen, he needs to initially touch the object. He can also change the form of her energy within objects to do many things including explode.

Appearance: Rus is rather short, only 5'5". He's of Polish and Turkish descent and his skin reflects that. He has bright green eyes with flecks of brown. His hair is wavy, thick, and often tied in a low pony tail at the nape of his neck. While he has muscle, it's more like runner's muscle and doesn't bulk anywhere on his body. Because of this, he's often seen as an average guy.

Personality: Rus has a pretty big personality. He likes performing and being on stage, even applying for performing arts colleges. Rus talks a bit and enjoys social get togethers. He also values his alone time and knows when he's had enough of people. He's not very keen on meeting new people intimately and would rather everyone stayed at acquaintance distance. Nevertheless, Rus is fun to hang around and enjoys a flare for the dramatic.

Bio: Rus was born in NYC before moving to Dakota when he was 2. His father worked as a technician. At 16 Rus was caught in a gang war in Dakota. His older brother had already joined one side and left the family. Rus followed one night to the docs where he was caught in the Big Bang. A few days later, he developed his powers. At first, he wanted to show everyone, but with Bang Babies causing trouble and his own father vehemently against them, Rus kept quiet. In secret, he trained and learned his limitations. Before the cure was created by Dr. Todd, Rus and his family moved to pursue new job opportunities and for Rus to potentially go to college.

Name: Jason Todd AKA The Red Hood

Gender: Male

Age: 22

Superpower: Was brought back from the dead once but technically has no superpowers. Above average intelligence, expert marksman, adept at acrobatics and martial arts.

Appearance: 6', 225lbs. Green eyes. Short black hair. Generally wears a brown leather jacket and black shirt, pants, and gloves. His costume is the same but armored with a red bat logo on the torso, a red biker helmet, and a guard belt with either waist or thigh gun holsters. He wears a red-tinted black domino mask beneath the red helmet. Regular | Costume

Personality: Simultaneously cocky and unsure of himself. Trying to come to terms with the crappy hand he's been dealt in life yet trying to redeem his second chance. Secretly seeks approval but is in denial of such goals.

Bio:
Jason was Batman's second Robin. After some time, he was killed by the Joker, only to be later revived via Lazarus Pit thanks to Talia Al Ghul. Talia paid to have him trained even further than what Batman had done, and he became very militaristic. Consumed with rage, he eventually went back to Gotham to confront Batman on why he had replaced him as Robin and had not killed the Joker.

Determined to make a difference with his second chance at life, he began killing off all the crime lords in Gotham. Batman brutally shut Jason's plan down and gave him a different perspective on how to do things. Virtually ex-communicated thanks to his conceitedness, Jason is now trying to settle down and find his place in the world...

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Jason Todd comes back to life and tries to control crime in Gotham as the Red Hood. After a crushing emotional and physical defeat at the hands of Batman, Jason turns tail and runs elsewhere.
Trying to start over and figure out the right way to deal with his second chance at life, Red Hood finds himself framed for the attempted murder of Green Arrow II. A Bang Baby by the name of Rus just happened to witness the ordeal and might be the only one who can help...

A 1x1 between Vardoger and Abalint.

RP Posts below​

 

[Vars]

It was about midnight on a sunday at Star City's largest hardware store. The store wasn't open to the public, but they were conducting their annual inventory. It had been going on for hours. An exhaustive process involving brain numbing scanning and counting, any associate involved dreaded the day and wished nothing more to never have to be involved. Fortunately, or rather unfortunately, for them, tonight happened to be when a bunch of masked individuals went in for a raid.

One street over, Jason Todd leaned on his motorcycle while taking a bite of a Big Belly Burger, solemnly thinking to himself how many stars you couldn't see from Star City. As he chewed, his eyes wandered over to some strange movement at the hardware store. Why would someone raid a hardware store? Or even a group of guys? It was all a little precarious, but he was motivated to take action nonetheless.

Wrapping up the uneaten half of his burger, he tossed it in its take out bag and then into the saddle bag of his bike before attaching his domino mask to his face and getting the special bike helmet out from under his seat, replacing it with his inconspicuous black one. Placing the red helmet on his head and adopting the persona of the Red Hood, he quickly crossed the dead street on his bike, sped through the hardware store's parking lot, and was even able to ride through the (amazingly open) automatic doors.

He found himself in the lumber section, one the men holding an AK to the ceiling and telling the miscellaneous inventory associates to get down. The Red Hood put his kickstand down and jumped off the bike, his gloves hovering near the guns at his thighs.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he proclaimed, a voice modulator projecting an unmuffled voice through his helmet to the outside.


[spoili]Note to self: Onomatopoeia (New Earth)
Use him at some point[/spoili]

 

[alint]

Rus was taking the overnight shift at Star City's largest hardware store. It was the best job he could find that paid enough to cover basic living expenses while not interfering with his classes. He was a simple stocker who just did as he was told. His manager was pretty wound up that night and was going through things rather meticulously. It made Rus wonder if something was up tonight. Rus glanced at his phone for the time and sighed. The sun hadn't even come up yet, there was no hope in sight. As he grazed his hand against a metal sheet, Rus wondered what would happen if he just moved it with his powers. It wouldn't be that hard. Plus, it'd save time and energy...but Bang Babies aren't always greeted kindly. Rus knew this as fact since the aftermath of the Big Bang.

With a heavy sigh, Rus continued his work until he heard loud gunshots echo through the store. It was like a movie; one Rus didn't want any part in. Unlike in Dakota, these criminals weren't meta-humans, rather they were just normal people robbing a store. As these criminals started rounding up the rest of the employees, Rus dragged his hand across as many metal sheets as possible. By doing this he was transferring his energy into the sheets incase anything happened. Not long after, the criminals had rounded everyone up, which included Rus and 24 other co-workers. All were unhinged by the events. Most stayed quiet, while some muttered only to be yelled at by a criminal. The manager had been separated already, probably to open the money safe. Rus rolled his eyes. His family moved to get away from crime, yet it seemed to follow.

"This sucks ass," Rus stated under his breath, prompting a criminal to point his gun at Rus's chest. Just as he did this a strange man appeared on a bike, rather flamboishly. Rus raised an eye brow because it wasn't as grand an entrance as Static often used, but it was nonetheless impressive. The sheer cockiness of the man filled the immediate air around him. This character was full of weapons and dressed neck to toe in black. The only color was his helment, the bat symbol on his chest, and the brown jacket.

"What the fuck!" a criminal exclaimed as the strange man taunted them. Immediately gunfire rang out. Rus, afraid for his co-worker's lives, threw his arms wide and immediately the metal sheets he touched previously sprun into action. They created a barrier between the gunfire and the people. With this barrier, most of Rus's co-workers ran. Rus decided to do the same as he left the metal standing as a safe guard. The sound of bullets ricocheting off the metal prompted Rus to double the metal over. It appeared that the metal had a mind of its own as it moved to protect the workers.

When it appeared everyone had exited, Rus stayed back. He knew that his manager was probably being held captive somewhere. As Rus ran through the store, he grazed several different objects including patio blocks and a few boxes of nails. Rus knew the store pretty well and guessed that his manager was in the money room. Re-appearing in main area where the gunfire erupted, Rus locked eyes [or at least he thought he did] with the stranger. Glancing towards the far side of the building, Rus nodded trying to tell the stranger where his manager might be. As he did this he sent the patio blocks to knock out several criminals while the nails punctured their weapons. While this was successful, Rus didn't realize how many criminals there were and miscalculated. Now pinned behind a large shelf in the lumber section, Rus cherry picked a few objects to throw at the criminals, but this time he also sent blocks of wood. When the wood got close enough, they exploded. But Rus couldn't stop all of them, actually he was having trouble with a small handful of criminals. The stranger on the other hand seemed to be having the time of his life. What did I get myself in to? Rus thought as he closed his eyes for a moment.

 

[Vars]

The villain of the show looked to Red Hood only briefly before changing targets. At this, Red wasted no time in pulling the pistols from their holsters and giving the man two in the chest first.

While this was occurring, the other men in the raid had already spread out over the store to create more mayhem. The first man Red had shot down had barely fallen to the floor before more strange things began to take place. Nearby rolls flashing unraveled themselves and started forming barriers between the action and the employees.
Strange, he thought, but Red didn't have time to dwell on it before running back to his motorcycle. There was no time for a witty comeback, nor did it appear there was any audience to witness it, so he withheld on his exit from the downed man and magical metal sheets.

The vigilante rode his way to the back of the store, making much faster time than he would've if he'd run. Presumably, whatever the criminals wanted would be in the back. The engine's roar reverberated off the walls of the warehouse, only furthering the image of his next flashy entrance.
Which wasn't quite as flashy as he'd hoped, as he had to ditch the bike just outside the narrow hallway to the employee area.

Reaching the money room by foot was no difficult task however, and there was hardly any time to distinguish where the engine noise was coming from amongst the echoes before the sights of Red Hood's pistol found who he assumed the head hauncho was threatening the manager of the store with lethal force.

The manager was cowering at the safe when his assailant noticed Red. "Who the hell are you?" he bellowed.

"The Red Hood," was the response. "You're gonna put that gun down now, and forget your night's plans," Red stated, attempting to be persuasive as he inched forward.

He was trying to do things different. The first guy was just a casualty-- the man was going to shoot him, clearly he had to shoot first. But this guy? This guy had a chance at redemption. Red still believed criminals should bite bullets, but he was going to at least make an attempt to be nice and give some options beforehand.

"Fat chance," the man mocked. "You ain't him."

"Him who? Batman?" This wasn't gotham.

"You ain't anybody." The criminal squeezed his trigger. Purely on instinct, Red ducked to the left and fired back, killing his attacker.
Damnit.

He looked to the still scared, but becoming slightly relieved manager still cowering in the corner. No choice, he consoled himself, turning his back on the man at the vault and running back to his main method of transportation.
He wasn't normally this lazy, but in a hardware store, there were plenty of wide aisles he could take advantage of. And he did just that as he rode back to the lumber yard, where the distinct sound of richotes were coming from.

Yet, when he arrived, the scene was from some Poltergeist movie. Half the hardware section seemed to be attacking the criminals. Red wasn't quite sure what to make of it until he realized there was a person behind the magical objects.

Wasn't that--? He vaguely remembered passing by some lone employee he ignored on his way to the money room. But, again, time was important as always, and he couldn't dwell on it. Even just the two seconds or so he'd stayed behind to make sense of the scene before him was too long.

Still sitting on his bike, he yelled: "Hey. Your boss is dead. That safe isn't gonna be opened, so what do you say we call this a night, huh?"

Having previously holstered his weapons to drive the bike again, he pulled his left pistol and kept it pointed to the floor, just in case he was going to have to use it again.

The men looked to him, a vigilante they surely had never seen nor heard of, then looked to eachother. The fight stopped briefly as they all exchanged glances.

Red cut the silence, "I'm not going to ask twice."

One of the men saw the opportunity and ran off while the other two aimed their sights on Red, who immediately followed with one bullet to each of their armed hands. Having their weapons knocked from them, they too decided to follow the one who fled.

"It's just not polite to make a man wait," he chuckled to himself.
Finally, something witty.

Red holstered his weapon and turned his head to the single employee left: The one he'd saved and the one with the strange powers.

Still sitting on his bike, he watched the man, who he was now realizing was actually a teenager. "Quite the abilities you have there," he said. "Maybe next time you won't need anybody to save you."

He put both hands on the handlebars and turned toward the exit, prepping to leave. This was all a little too easy. He had a feeling it was meant as a distraction for someone else. He wanted to get away for a bit and watch the area to see what would happen next, or if whatever plan was in motion simply dissolved due to his interrupting.

 

[alint]

Rus wasn't sure what just happened as the rest of the criminals were forced to flee by the stranger. As soon as the fighting started, the fighting stopped. Now, Rus realized his heart was pounding against his chest and adrenaline had kept him going. The fight wasn't something he was used to yet, which led to him falling to his knees in a huff. With everything back to a semi-silence, Rus heard the sirens. Too late, Rus thought to himself before standing to approached the stranger on the bike. After being addressed, Rus replied, "Thanks?" He wasn't sure what to make of the strange man. Not only was the man deadly, but he was also rather sarcastic. Rus could tell from the small quips uttered during the fight.

Leaning against the stacks, Rus wondered if he should say something to the man. It appeared that this stranger had other things on his mind and didn't want to deal with Rus. Clenching his fist, Rus decided to initiate conversation. "Hello, I'm Rus. Do you know what they were after?" This was the first time Rus was actually talking to a vigilante. While back in Dakota, he encountered Static Shock and Gear, he never really talked to them. This guy, on the other hand, was nothing like the vigilantes Rus knew. There was something so unrefined about him that peeked Rus's interest. He wanted to know more about this stranger and the history that tied him to crime-fighting.

 

[Vars]

Just as he had lifted his toe from the brake, he had to set it back down, turning his helmet's intimidating glare to the employee.
"No. I think this was a distraction. For someone else."

His head cocked the side as something interesting from the police scanner inside his helmet bugged his ear.
"I have to go. I'll be here all week."

He turned to leave again, only to give one last look to Rus before finally brining his left leg up to his bike and actually leave the premises. Except that, once again, he was interrupted.

His bike cruised ahead of his body, wobbling before crashing down right in the middle of the store's entranceway, whose doors opened for several seconds, tried to close, and then reopened again like confused elevator's. The thump and crunch of metal on metal and metal on hard plastic made the scene even more dystopian.

An arrow had pierced Red Hood in the shoulder. The force of it had somehow pushed him off the cycle and onto the floor. The vigilante was quick to sit up and grab the shaft, shattering the wood, his helmet making his surprised expression impossible to see. What the hell?

His mind instantly went to a bigger villian, but couldn't think of any archers from the rogue gallery. In fact, he was only vaguely aware of one archer, who was maybe in the Justice League? He'd never met the guy and didn't know much about him but-- Green Arrow. Shit. It just came to him.

Looking down at the fletching of the arrow in his lap, it was indeed green.

"You've got the wrong guy," Red Hood proclaimed, looking around, trying to discern where the archer hid.

"Do I?" Answered a disembodied voice. "You look pretty guilty to me."

Inside the helmet, voice analysis was occurring and it was able to pinpoint the archer's location effectively enough.
A couple aisles over, behind some wood and disgarded metal flashing.
Red pointed his gun over some sheets of plywood, still sitting on the ground.
"I don't want to hurt you."

The archer nocked another arrow and pulled back the drawstring of his bow. "Another funny thing to say from behind that gun of your's."

An audible agitated huff came from Red as he contemplated what to do. He doubted he'd be able to run quickly enough to avoid this guy's legendary arrows, and he definitely wouldn't be able to recover his bike before being taken down. And he didn't want to leave his bike behind...Assuming it even still worked.

At that moment, an opportunity presented itself. Or rather, perhaps the event Red was worried would happen all along. A shadowy figure walked up behind the archer. Red couldn't make out the details and didn't have enough time to switch to a visual mode in his helmet that would help identify. His gut just told him it was very, very bad. He changed his aim and immediately shouted, "Watch out!"

But Green Arrow misinterpreted it and flew another arrow toward Red, shooting the gun from the vigilante's hand. As the archer went to nock another arrow, the shadow behind him stepped forward and lowered its own gun toward the archer's face.

Green Arrow turned his gaze, and as soon as he was looking directly at the shadow, it shot him directly in the face. The noise reverberated from the warehouse walls, which only made the shadow, who was assumedly a man who wore complete black aside from a blue circle pattern on his face's one quiet utterance all the more creepy.

"Ｂａｎｇ."

Red stood and unholstered his other gun with his good hand, ready to fire at the shadow. But yet another arrow crossed his hand, shooting the weapon from his grip. "Augh!"

Another Green Arrow jumped on the scene. The shadow man disappeared before Red could do anything or the second Green Arrow could see. The much more alive Green Arrow went straight to his dead junior and grabbed him up in his arms. The wrathful gaze of Oliver Queen seared through the metal shelves at the shocked Red Hood for too many uncomfortable seconds.

Queen left with his son in his hands, rushing to a hospital.

Red took a few steps back, a couple seconds to collect himself, and then finally made a move to gather his guns. His hands were a wreck, bleeding everywhere, and the arrow was still sticking out the back of his his left shoulder, his jacket starting to become sticky with blood from that wound as well.

With grunts, he had managed to holster his weapons and make it to his bike, but didn't have enough strength to get it righted so he could ride it. Still a little dazed and confused, he kept trying to pull it up anyway, only losing more blood and energy in the process.

 

[alint]

Rus wasn't sure what to make of the entire scene. Things were insane as the sound of gunfire and arrows filled the large store's space. As he watched Red get shot with an arrow, Rus wondered if this was the famed Green Arrow that everyone talked about. Another superhero...Rus moved to get away from the chaos that followed superheros, yet it appeared that they followed him or they were everywhere. Either way, Rus was stuck in a situation he didn't want to be in.

Looking back to Red, Rus noticed that the man was losing a lot of blood. Rus, against better judgement, went up to the guy and took off his jacket. He pushed against the wound to help slow the bleeding before helping to support the bike with his other hand. "Dude, you're in pretty bad shape," Rus stated wondering if Red would object to this. Rus felt somewhat awkward helping him, but at the same time he couldn't ignore the man. "I can help you until you get somewhere safe. It appears like you might need some help," Rus continued knowing that he might be shoved away at any moment.

Rus glanced around in fear of the black shadow. While he didn't exactly see the man who shot the hero, Rus had a bad feeling in his gut. Growing up in Dakota with the many gangs, Rus learned at an early age to trust his gut on things. Already he felt the man's blood seeping through his shirt. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, but Rush didn't say anything.

-----------------------------------------
Oliver rushed over to Connor after hearing the gunshot. His mind raced as he gathered his crumpled son in his arms. Not only was the boy bleeding and barely breathing, but the man in the red mask was getting away. Oliver didn't stick around as he ran through the streets of Star City to the nearest hospital.

By the time Oliver got to the hospital, his body was trembling and his arms were about to give out. It wasn't that the hospital was far away, rather the mental toll of the night had revealed itself in physical tremors. The ER immediately took Connor into surgery before asking Oliver some questions about the boy's medical history and anything else they should concern themselves with. Oliver gave them the information, but he didn't really remember doing so. The night seemed to pass in a blur as he went through the motions. The ER staff offered Oliver some towels and a private bathroom to clean off the blood. This hospital seemed to respect the hero and his deeds, unlike some others. Ollie was grateful for that.

When the surgeon appeared in the waiting room, Oliver was quick to stand. The team was able to save the boy's life, but he was on life-support. Oliver was devastated. He nearly sank to his knees upon hearing the news. Due to Connor's condition Ollie wasn't allowed to visit the boy. Instead he was instructed to come back tomorrow and check on the boy. Ollie gave the hospital a phone number they could call should anything change.

Ollie went home and changed out of his costume and then in something more comfortable. He then researched everything he could about the strange guy in a red helmet. An article appeared originating in Gotham. It was about a strange vigilante in a red mask that dealt his own justice with bullets and guns. Already, Ollie didn't like the sound of that. He didn't sleep that night as he continued to research the 'Red Hood'. By morning, Ollie had read every article with any mention of 'Red Hood'.

 

[Vars]

Red tried to shove Rus away once, but it was so weak it was easily dodged.
"Maybe you could just fly us off then instead of trying to undress me," he muttered.

He had expected that adrenaline would kick in and he'd be fine. The shot in his shoulder shouldn't have been dire, though to be fair he couldn't really see the damage. And his hands.. Well, that was disappointing but they weren't blown off so surely he couldn't be losing that much blood. It probably just looked worse than it was. So why was he phasing out? Something in the arrow maybe?
Denial of the whole situation? Was Green Arrow a killer? Why were there two Green Arrows? Did he even actually see anything that had just happened? Flying shit, 2 green arrows, a shadow dude? Bad timing all around. Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Gotham anymore.
But even Gotham had its fair share of metahumans didn't it...?

He was able to get the bike up, maybe, halfway. His jacket was already off by this point, and he ended up dropping the bike again. "I don't need any help," he said, although that was categorically false. "Don't have anywhere safe, either."

He had money but he was too afraid to spend much of it. He'd been camping out. His bike was really all he considered his at this point. Bruce had certainly cut him off (or at least Jason was too proud to actually accept Bruce's offer of help) and it wasn't like his kickbacks from his short crimelord stint in Gotham had given him guiltless spending money.
What am I doing again?
His train of thought was wrecked.

He looked back down to the bike and tried to pick it up again, but as he bent over to do so, he just fell ontop of it, unconscious.
Maybe something was in that arrow? Didn't that green arrow use trick arrows? Fuuuuck, what did I just step into here....

He'd been caught completely off-guard. Not like him. Not a high moment.
Highly embarrassing.

 

[alint]

Rus wasn't sure what to do when Red passed out. At first, Rus almost dropped the man, not realizing that he was 225 lbs of pure muscle. Hoisting the man up, Rus commented, "I don't fly. That's not how things work." The tone of his voice implied some frustration coupled with genuine annoyance. Nevertheless, Rus pulled the man onto his back so that Jason's upper body was supported by Rus's shoulders and his legs dragged limp behind. Rus touched the bike and transferred some of his energy so that he didn't have to worry about supporting that as well.

Rus stuck to the back alleys of the city as he dragged the heavier man.After about half an hour of walking, Rus finally made it to his little hide out. It was in a small abandoned warehouse that was once a mom and pop store. Ever since Rus moved to Star City he had a special hide out to practice using his powers and to stay hidden from prying eyes. Rus dragged Jason into the small warehouse and dropped the man onto a sturdy metal table. The bike followed them and parked itself just inside the doorway. Then Rus removed the man's shirt to get a better view of the wound. It didn't look that bad compared. Rus knew what bad was since he witnessed a few drive-by shootings. Instead, Rus reached into the wound and pulled out the arrow. It was somewhat hard since he didn't want to disrupt anything else.

Rus's first thought was to get some medical help, but then he remembered how most vigilante's don't like doctors or that kind because of their 'secret identity'. Deciding to stay away from professional medicine, Rus gathered the small first aid kit from the back and did his best to patch Jason up. Rus decided that if Jason got any worse during the night, he'd take him to the hospital. For now, he'd just wait and see. The wound had a few make-shift stitches and a large bandage covering the opening. As for the blood, Rus tried to clean it, but he eventually gave up due to the sheer amount on his clothes. Rus had an extra change of clothes in the small warehouse and changed after taking a damp cloth and wiping some blood off. It was no replacement for a shower, but Rus couldn't leave Jason alone.

 

[Vars]

It had started as unconsciousness but had later transitioned into simple sleep, as Red didn't wake up til the next morning. He groaned loudly and turned on his side, grabbing at his head, which was still covered by his helmet.

He gripped for some hold in the back, which was difficult as his fingers were cut and sore from the previous night. After a few missed attempts, though, he finally reached where he wanted and a back piece of the helmet opened and he tossed the thing off, it hitting the floor with a hollow sound as he took in some deep breaths, his green eyes rolling back into his head briefly.

Jason sat up, his black hair slick with sweat and his domino mask barely still sticking to his face. His left hand gripped his head and he groaned again. It was clear now that the reason he'd passed out was not from blood loss, but likely from a concussion instead. His head was killing him. Had the fall from his bike really been that bad? What kind of arrow could even do such a thing?

Speaking of arrows... He tried to bring himself back to reality and check himself. His right hand held him up on the table while his left went from his head to pass over the skin of his chest and the area where the arrow had been in his shoulder. Instead of what he expected, it had been bandaged up.

Jason looked down at the wound as best he could while attempting to lift the gauze. He found a really sloppy stitching job. Good enough, though, he thought to himself. He put both his hands back on the table to take his weight while he closed his eyes again, still feeling the concussion. Him? Concussed? It just seemed like such a slap in the face after all he'd been through. But he supposed it could've been worse.
He could've been dead.
Again.

After a few seconds, he opened his eyes again and decided to try and stand. He made slow work of slipping off the metal surface and onto his combat boots, feeling uneasy the entire way. He kept a sore, bandaged hand tightly against the lip of the table as he finally took in his surroundings.

Keeping one hand on the table's edge, he used it as leverage while he stretched to reach his jacket a few feet away. Still a bit unstable, he did manage to reach it after some effort, quickly swiping it back toward himself to look at the damage. A small hole in the back and a lot more blood than he expected, but not enough to scare him away from putting his jacket back on, covering his currently bare chest.

Another few seconds were taken to recover. He clearly wasn't going to go anywhere for at least a few hours in his current condition. Taking stock of his surroundings, he attempted to look for his savior... Or captor. Probably savior though, considering his whole not-currently-dead status.

 

[alint]

Rus stayed awake for most of the night. He didn't mind that much since he worked overnights anyways. For a second, Rus went out and got a coffee in the early morning hours, but that didn't help much. With his head leaning heavily against the back of the old couch. Thinking back to the night, Rus wondered if he'd have a job by the morning. Word was probably spreading that he was a mutant of sorts, which might cause some problems with his co-workers. As negative thoughts swirled through his mind, Rus started to doze.

Rus was in a daze when Jason awoke. At first, Rus wasn't aware of Jason's movements, but when the man pushed himself off the table, Rus jerked awake. With tired eyes, Rus asked, "H-hey, are you alright? Maybe you shouldn't be moving yet." With Jason's helmet off, Rus got a better look at the man's face. While it was still obscured by the thin domino mask, Rus felt better seeing more of the man's face. The mask made Jason seem almost supernatural in a way that Rus didn't particularly like. Something about full covering wasn't something Rus was used to.

Moving toward the man, Rus offered a hand. He was hesitant since the man seemed a bit off. "I tried to fix your wound. I wasn't sure if I should take you to a hospital..." Rus didn't know where this conversation was leading, but he didn't really care. His brain was on over drive at the moment, running on coffee and sheer will power. "Do you need anything?" Rus continued to ask. He didn't realize how he bombarded Jason with questions.

 

[Vars]

After putting the jacket on with a grimace, his savior finally came into view. Whether he'd been there the whole time and Jason had only just noticed him, or whether he'd simply just walked in, the vigilante was unsure. In either case, Jason was feeling pretty disappointed in himself for not noticing.

"You again?" He groaned. "Thanks.... I guess."

He turned back to the metal table, leaning forward against it while his right hand instively pressed against the domino mask, as it had felt like it was falling off.

"No... No hospital was the right decision... The stitches are good enough..." he tried to get through all the questions, cycling through them one by one.

"It's just a concussion," he muttered. "I'll probably be fine in a day or so." Hopefully a few hours, he thought to himself.

He put both hands back on the table and looked around for another place to sit. "Food... Maybe. Water."

He scratched his head. "Cold shower later. New shirt. I could use a lot of things."

With a sigh, he looked back to Rus. "What happened? I don't remember after Green Arrow left. There was two of them right? I didn't just hallucinate that?"

 

[alint]

Rus wasn't sure what to reply to as Jason bombarded him with information. Feeling somewhat intimidated by the man's facial expressions, Rus replied as best he could, "There's no shower here, but I have some wash cloths and running water. I tried to clean up the wound a bit, but I really don't know much about arrow wounds. I'll grab the food in the fridge." Rus scurried to the refrigerator in the corner of the room and pulled the fridge's entire contents into his arms. He then brought them over to a table near Jason explaining, "There's a few apples, soda, cold pizza, a half tub of ice cream. Please help yourself." Rus wasn't sure if Jason would even accept the food. He then went to the sink and filled a glass with tap water. Rus didn't have bottled water and wondered if Jason wanted something else to drink. Placing the glass near the food, Rus then pulled out a t-shirt from a box full of extra clothes. It was the largest shirt he had since Jason had a good amount of muscle. "Here," Rus stated, somewhat jittery, as he handed Jason the shirt.

Rus could use a good night's sleep, but he knew that his mind wouldn't let him doze now. Responding to the other question, "Well, I'm not entirely sure, but there were two archers and another figure that didn't exactly look human..." To be honest, the shadowy figure reminded Rus of Ebon. Memories of the crime from Dakota City followed Rus. While he desperately wanted to join the fight, something always kept Rus away from the action. Maybe it was Static. Maybe it was his father's dislike for Bang Babies. Maybe it was his own insecurities. Either way, Rus never tested his powers until yesterday and now he was in an abandoned warehouse with a rather shady vigilante.

 

[Vars]

Jason found a chair and sat in it, slowly regaining some power over his sense of balance. He sighed at the bad news of there being no shower. It was alright, he mused to himself. It wouldn't be the only time he'd been delegated to the baby wipe bathing system. And arrow wounds? Yeah, Jason didn't know much about them either. Mostly just push them all the way through so the arrow head doesn't screw you up while pulling it out.
He wasn't sure if Rus had followed that advice, but considering he still had control of his arms he assumed either way it hadn't been a big deal.

Soon, the entire contents of the refrigerator were dumped onto the table before him, and Jason was faced with the terrifying decision of apples or cold pizza. He reached for the pizza, mostly because he felt too tired to be bothered chewing an apple. The other foods weren't very conducive to healing ans so he ignored them.

After pulling the pizza toward him, he took the glass of water and drank it, leaning into the back of the chair. After finishing half the glass and placing it on the table, he took the shirt from Rus, his brows furrowing slightly when he noticed the kid shaking.

"Yeah. That's right... I remember now..." he said, staring down at the glass of water at the table while he thought back. And recalled the glare the second Green Arrow gave him.
That's when it hit him.

"Oh shit. I think he thinks I killed him."

Jason's left hand went to his head again, pulling a bit at his black hair. If one well-timed arrow gave him a concussion, what could more revenge-fueled arrows do?

"You know I didn't do that, right?" he turned to Rus, his hand falling back down to the chair's arm. "I wasn't there to kill anyone. Specially not a... A leaguer."

He eyed Rus up and down, then narrowed his eyes. "Are you afraid of me?" he completely changed gears. "Why did you save me if you're afraid of me?"

 

[alint]

Rus was quick to respond to Jason, "I'm not afraid of you!" It was the truth. Rus felt somewhat safe with Jason around only because of the sheer arsenal (haha get it?) Jason carried. "Last night just reminded me of where I grew up. Lots of crime and now lots of super powered fights," Rus explained as he rubbed his hands together. Feeling out of place, Rus quickly took a seat himself.

Looking across to Jason, Rus wondered if there was more he could do for the guy. "I can get you more food. I haven't really eaten much since last night either," Rus offered as he thought about his roommate. Since Rus was at college, he lived in a small apartment with a roommate. The two got along well, but didn't really know each other. It was more like two strangers living together. Rus knew that if he revealed his powers and status as a Bang Baby he'd get thrown out instantly. The landlord didn't exactly welcome what he considered 'trouble makers'. Then again, the landlord was skeptical because Rus came from Dakota City, a place known for its crime.

"I saved you because you saved me. I probably would've died if you hadn't helped when you did. I was running on empty there." The memory of being pinned down behind a large shelf and a makeshift barrier wasn't pleasant. "Besides, you could've died and the cops probably wouldn't have helped that much. They didn't where I came from, especially when it had something to do with gang violence." Rus didn't have great interactions with cops. It wasn't that he disliked them inherently, rather he was wary of them, prompting Rus to keep out of trouble.

 

[Vars]

Jason leaned back a bit, away from Rus's proclamation. Okay then.

"No, this is fine," he said, turning back to the pizza and idly tapping the table next to the plate with his index finger.

"Well. You're welcome," he stated in response to him having saved Rus. "And..." he sighed. "Thanks. I was really taken off-guard there." He ran a hand through his hair.
"Won't happen again." That last line was mainly for himself. Mentally collecting his scattered brainpower and preparing for the future.

But maybe he shouldn't prepare for the future just yet. He did have some pizza in front of him he should concentrate on.

He let the shirt lay in his lap and folded the pizza in his hands, eating the slice slowly.

After some time, he finally decided to go into a bit of idle conversation. "You know, you weren't bad back there. You never tried the vigilante thing?"

 

[alint]

Rus couldn't help but laugh at the comment. It was like Jason read his mind or something. Despite the complement, Rus replied, "I don't think it's the right thing for me." Not to mention his parents would freak. Besides, it wasn't like Rus had much of a persona. Static was talkative and funny. Gear was punny. This guy was...scary. Rus shrugged to himself as he imagined himself on the streets fighting crime. The image was something outlandish while still being realistic. Rus knew that he wasn't cut out for the superhero thing, but he still wanted to try. Nevertheless, he couldn't give into that thought.

Turning back to Jason, "You're more than welcome to stay here. No one comes around this area and it's pretty quiet. Since you seem better, I'm going out to get some fresh air. If you need anything just yell." Rus stood and smiled politely before walking out the door. Once outside, he took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. Vigilante, Rus thought to himself as he leaned against the small building.

 

[Vars]

Jason gave a slight frown at the quick end to that conversation. He ended up giving a dismissive shrug when Rus left to go outside, focusing he full attention on the pizza, which he continued to peck at. He went through the pizza slowly, and several minutes later, when he was finished, he stood up again and put his sense of balance to the test.

It seemed he had recovered much more quickly than he anticipated, and decided to use the luck to take off his bloody jacket, give his upper half a bath in the sink, then put on the shirt Rus had given him. He then washed his jacket in the sink as well, to the best of his abilities anyway, and after squeezing it out as much as possible, looked around for a place to hang it to dry. He wound up just throwing it over a chair.

He had taken his domino mask off, washed the glue off it and his face, and stuck the mask in one of his pockets. Thankfully, his pants had not been touched, same with his holsters which still held both his pistols.

Now, looking like a slightly scary normal person rather than an atypical masked crusader, he decided to go outside and ask Rus where his bike had gotten to. If Jason remembered correctly, he had food in the saddlebags still. It wasn't necessarily good food, but, it'd be more filling than the pizza, at least.

However, when he got to the door he noticed his bike was just inside it. He lost his appetite when he noticed the amount of damage down to the middle. It didn't look to be anything other than aesthetic damage, but it still pained him to see his bike look so badly dinged. Worse, he couldn't remember how it had even gotten that way. The markings didn't appear to be from anything that made sense. With a grumble, he decided that the events might come to him later, and he should probably gain more insight into his current situation and the kid he was hanging out with.

When he got outside though, he was bombarded with sunlight. For some reason, it hadn't occurred to him that it would be day. He visibly cringed, squinting and putting his hand over his head, trying to shield his green eyes while still making his way out into the open.

Once his eyes got used to the sunlight enough, he was able to look around and see that they were still on the road. Looking behind him, where they had been was some old store that had shut down. He wasn't sure where this was but it was practically a ghost town in this area. His green eyes hunted for Rus, and after finding him, he walked over. "Where are we?"

 

[alint]

Rus heard Jason come out of the building. Staying where he was, Rus waited for Jason to do something. He felt a bit awkward around Jason. Maybe it was because this was the first vigilante he's actually met. As Rus stood against the building, he watched Jason carefully. At first, he smiled at Jason before realizing the sun had blinded the poor man. Turning away, Rus stared out into the barren road. "This is part of the old district. No one really comes along here because the rest of the area is so built up. It's somewhat like the projects in most cities I guess. There's squatters in almost every building and many run-aways live in the buildings down the street. It's also close to the recycling plant, which makes a lot of noise, so people stay away if they can," Rus hoped this would be enough information for the man as he looked into Jason's green eyes.

With a look of shock, Rus started to stare at Jason. The green eyes were mesmerizing, but also made Rus realize that Jason was human. Breaking the gaze off abruptly, Rus apologized, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you didn't have your mask on." Now that Rus could see Jason's face, he wanted to know more about the man. "Did I introduce myself? I don't remember. My name's Rus. I'm a part time college student at Starling City U."

 

[Vars]

Jason shrugged. Why wear a mask anyway? What secret identity did he have to protect? Technically he was dead, and nobody knew him in Star City anyway. "Protecting" his "secret identity" was pretty much just an old habit at this point. Due to that and how weird Rus reacted to seeing his face, Jason wasn't exactly sure how he should feel in this situation. It was almost as if Rus thought he'd walked outside naked. Should Jason feel embarrassed or something?

"You did." he tried to shove his hands in his jacket's pockets, but ended up making an awkward hand motion when he realized he wasn't wearing a jacket. He gave a short "ahem" and crossed his arms loosely over his chest instead. "I remember that, anyway."

Bringing his hands down, he instead rested them on his gun belt. "I think you talk when you get nervous. Your introduction was a bit.... Weirdly timed. Anyway, I've never been to Star City so, thanks for the update."

His shoulders rose as he took in a deep breath, taking in the atmosphere of the area. "Looks nice." After his inhalation, the recycling plant's smell hit him and he tried to hold back a few coughs. "Nicer than where I grew up anyway," he forced through a pained chest while holding back the need to gag.
Note to self: Don't breathe in too deeply next time, he narrated to himself.

"My name's Jason," he finally said, after recovering. Turning to Rus, he extended out his right hand for a handshake. "I figure I should lay low for awhile. At least til I heal up, I mean."