multiversallogs | I promise I shall never give up

Entry tags:

I promise I shall never give up

Who: Stephanie Brown, Hermione Granger, Jason Todd
What: Hermione patches Steph up, Jason is a door to door violence salesman
Where: Steph's place!
When: Early morning, just after this
Notes: I am all up in yr log comm. Also I'm bad at html so if this looks weird somehow, bear with me while I fix it
Warnings: Injuries, discussions of violence, Jason Todd

By the time Steph slips into her backyard after the long, slow trip home, it's light outside. She's grateful that she's in a less busy part of Skulkford, because there's no one around to see how pathetic she looks, and there's no one to tip off the militia that she's here. She knows she should have gone to her safe house and gotten changed, but she had a feeling that even if she'd made it there, she wouldn't have made it home. She's just glad she left a spare key hidden by the back door, because she doesn't have the energy to break into her own house, and she hadn't taken a key in case she'd gotten captured.

Once inside, and with the door relocked, Steph drags herself into her bedroom, grabbing a clean towel as she goes past the linen closet. Her suit isn't as waterproof when it's got slashes in it, and the river seeped in, leaving her feeling wet and grimy. With the adrenalin rush gone, she finds her hands shaking as she drops the towel on her bed and picks up her CiD, but she has something she needs to do. It occurred to her on the way home, as she was trying to figure out how not to die, that she knew someone who could help. Hermione and her had discussed healing magic, and Steph is in desperate need of it now.

need a big favour: can you come over asap? having trouble with a work thing, need help with the stuff you were teaching me a few weeks ago.

She thinks it might be too risky to just say I need help, in case the militia are monitoring the network to find whoever was responsible for the altercation tonight. It might be overly paranoid, but she feels justified in being paranoid at the moment, and just hopes that Hermione understands what's not being said; she prays the reference to their magic lessons will be enough.

That done, and once she's sitting on the edge of her bed, she pushes her cowl off, then fumbles for the release on her cape, sighing in relief as the weight leaves her shoulders and the cape and cowl ends up on the floor -- she can pick it up later. Her gloves go next, but when she tries to reach for the zip at the back of her suit, the pain makes her give up that idea instantly. She'll just have to stay in her suit for a little longer, hopefully Hermione will be here soon.

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Hermione pauses for a moment, and then keeps applying her ointment to the last of the bruises, saying nothing for a short while as she grits her teeth and marshals her thoughts.

Perhaps she ought to tell Steph that violence doesn't solve problems. And then she looks at the bruises, the scars, thinks- she couldn't undo her own suit after what they did, thinks- a man beating kids-

How could she possibly have the gall to even think it? How could she ever be so stupid as to tell her violence doesn't solve problems when she can see all this?

Anyway- there was the war.

"Good."

When the word leaves her lips, it frightens her, but she doesn't regret it at all. Quickly, though, she moves on, shaking her head and putting the lid back on the jar with unnecessary force- her hands trembling slightly, but not much. "I didn't see anything. I had no idea."

A beat.

"Steph, if I can help- and I think I can- I want to."

It seems stupid, embarrassing, but she holds out, her expression earnest and positively shining with a desire to do something. She's struck by that familiar feeling of you, what could you do, a bookworm with no mates in a city she doesn't understand- what are you going to do, research at them- but she ignores it. She can help. She's a war hero. She's a Gryffindor. And she'll do what she thinks is right.

When she hears Hermione put the lid on the jar, Steph turns back around to face Hermione, her expression gentle. She wants to say thank you, because the guilt sits heavy in her chest and knowing that people don't hate her for what she's done helps make it easier to deal with.

The offer doesn't quite surprise her - she's seen what Hermione can do - but it's nice to know that her friends are the sort of people who will make that offer, "Thank you," It feels alright to say it now, "I think you can, too, and I'm more than happy to have your help."

Steph didn't just call Hermione because she's handy with a wand, she called her because she's trusts her and this only confirms that.

"I have a feeling this might be why Jason's here, too. A few nights ago, my friend and I went after another militia agent featured in a different transmission. We ran into Jason and another vigilante, but I idn't know it was him at the time." She'd still backed him up when they voted to kill Jennings; she wonders what Jason thought about that. Another Bat willing to kill. She also wonders if she should warn Hermione about what the man downstairs is capable of.

"Well."

She feels on edge, super-charged, and yet riding it out, in control. It's a good feeling. Let's do something about this. Scratch the 'good'; it's a brilliant feeling.

"If there are a lot of people willing to do this-" euphemistically referring to fighting against the Militia as if she's wary of saying the words aloud, and perhaps she should be "-we'll need a certain level of coordination."

She glances towards the door. "Ready to go down and see what he has to say?"

"We have the Oracle," She's aware Hermione won't know what that means, but it's something she needs to say for herself; they have Oracle. She adds some explanation for Hermione's sake, "She can coordinate the whole world if she needs to."

"Yeah, I'm--" A pause, she looks down at herself, standing there in a half peeled of Batgirl costume, a sports bra and covered in bruises and ointment, "I'm half-naked. You can head down if you want, I'll get changed."

She moves without waiting for a response, sitting down on the bed, but as she starts tugging off the rest of her costume she looks up at Hermione, "Feel free to turn him into a frog if he's annoying."

The blood gone and the door shut, Jason stands at the sink in a casually domestic pose, wringing the rag he'd used. As Hermione comes down, he glances at her out of politeness, but says nothing. He may not personally like magic, but he'd be a fool to alienate her. ... Any more than he already has, though Jason being Jason, he doesn't think of his earlier behavior in those terms. New people do have to be poked a bit to see what happens.

There's one glass in the sink and he looks at it for a second, clearly debating whether or not to wash it while he's here. Steph would probably find that snide even if it's not meant to be. It's just there, he's bored, and he's trying not to snoop.

"Oh- alright," Hermione says, giving Steph a sheepish smile. "I'll try and keep him in line."

And then she's gone, padding down the stairs, her mind whirling.

She wants to see the transmissions- wants to know what the plan is. And she wants to know, too, who 'Oracle' is. But there will be time for questions, she thinks as she slips into the kitchen, making a conscious effort to find him.

"Hullo," she says, voice even, sounding like she's determined not to be put off or intimidated. "Steph'll be down in a moment." Nothing about her voice or demeanour suggests she's going to leave them alone, either; her rather prim and unassuming look is distinctly deceptive.

"All right," he says, dropping the rag on the side of the sink and turning to lean against the counter as if he's perfectly at home. His hands rest against the edges on either side of him rather than closing off by crossing in front of him. Now that Jason isn't posturing, he's more of just another guy, though given the situation, that may not actually be more 'normal' than how he acted before.

"So you heal." It's conversational, the kind of carefully non-interrogative that indicates that's what he'd really like to do but has at least learned to refrain, to invite an answer instead.

Hermione leans in the doorway, arms crossed- defensive, perhaps. She takes him in carefully and gives an awkward smile at the mention of healing--

"I do magic," she corrects. "Healing's one of a plethora of applications for it. But yes, I...can heal, to a reasonable extent, though I've never had the formal training that actual Healers by profession go through."

"You fight too?" He watches her, but there's neither skepticism nor eagerness in his voice. Shiva and Cassandra Cain are tiny women, Tim looks like a J. Crew model, he used to run around in shortpants: appearances and mannerisms don't play the most important role in his assessment of combat skills. Maybe there's something about Hermione that, to him, screams librarian. That doesn't necessarily mean anything. It's not like you can only be a librarian.

As Steph proves. And Kate, too, for that matter. ...And Martel.

The staff of the Library of Blessed St Brian are collectively terrifying, really.

"Dueling is another part of magic," she responds, rather carefully, as if 'fighting' isn't a verb she wants to be associated with. As if she can't blow holes in things, basically. As if she isn't particularly fond of, for instance, fire spells.

A beat, and-- "I'm fairly sure you're angling, so I ought to tell you that Steph's told me quite a bit and I'm pre-" Well. No. She's not prepared to help. She's going to help. "I'll help."

Jason nods, though the apparent acceptance proves mildly deceptive.

"Good. We need it. But you should know there won't be much dueling. There's gonna be fighting and killing."

It seems reasonable to surmise that dueling may have a different usage for her, but at the same time, he thinks her choice of words there was deliberate. In turn, his voice is even and deliberate as well.

"I only mention it because one of us didn't want to kill the Militia member the other night. I'd prefer to know about those kinds of views before we get out there and get each other killed."

The calm neutrality of it only serves to underscore how very far from neutral he must feel about this matter.

Hermione's lips twist- but only very slightly. She glances to the side, then back.

(Was it Steph, the one person who had argued against killing?)

"No one's above self-defence, or defending someone else," she says, which is something of a non-answer, meant to give herself time. "There are some things you have to do." Hard to feel guilty about devoting years towards killing Voldemort, after all. That wasn't murder. No, she's proud of that. "'Have to' being the important phrase. I'm not a pacifist, but I'm not a murderer or an assassin, I'm-"

A soldier? Again?

She pauses, works out her next statement in her head.

"I'm willing to do what it takes to make things better, not to get revenge or to make more people suffer, no matter what they've done and what they deserve," she says, meeting his eyes steadily. "I think there's usually a better way than killing."

Usually.

He doesn't have to say 'not this time' like he did with Kate, and in appreciation of that, Jason nods again, like he hasn't heard this distinction before, like it doesn't sometimes grate on him — he doesn't consider himself a murderer or assassin either, though others might disagree on the first — but the moment, it genuinely doesn't bother him. He'll take this kind of support over none at all.

Wordlessly, he offers her a slip of paper with his CiD number on it.

Hermione hesitates and then takes it, pulling her CiD from her pocket and entering it there and then- and sending a message his way with nothing but her name attached to make sure he's got her number as well.

"Thank you. There."

And she's back- going from war hero to awkward librarian in ten seconds flat.

After Hermione had left the room, Steph stripped off the rest of her costume and left it in a bundle beside her bed; she's too tired to do anything about it. She grabbed a pair of loose yoga pants and a light hoodie from her closet, wincing only a little as she re-dressed. That done, she'd gone into the bathroom, turning the tap in the sink on and letting it run for a bit until it warmed up. A shower sounded like the most appealing thing in the world, to her, but she didn't have time so she'd just washed her hands, face and throat instead. She ran her wet fingers through her hair a few times, trying to get as much of the blood, sweat and river grime out of it as she could before she'd tied it up in a bun.

She feels a little more human, now. Enough that she approaches the kitchen in complete silence, listening to the conversation from just outside the entrance for a few moments before slipping in next to Hermione. She won't be put off by how casual Jason looks in her kitchen; if he's going to act like he belongs there, she can act like she doesn't care.

"Can I get you anything?" It's mostly directed at Hermione, Steph's hand light on her shoulder, but she glances at Jason as well, an eyebrow quirked as if to say the question is for him as well.

Checking his CiD and memorizing the number, Jason nods at Hermione as Steph re-enters. If he were more polite, he'd wait for Hermione to answer first, but he's impatient from having waited even though it wasn't long.

"Can I have your friend's number?"

It is such a careless request, except of course, it's about Kate and how they killed Jennings.

Hermione glances at Steph and gives her a smile, though she's checking her over for any damage she might have missed at the same time.

"No, it's alright, thank you," she insists. She hasn't put her CiD away, and fidgets with it a little.

It feels rather incongruous, such everyday demands when they're sitting together plotting something which could get them all killed. She's reminded of- well. Of Ron and of Harry. And she quickly closes the door on that memory, bringing herself determinedly back to the present.

Steph waits for Hermione's answer, responding with, "If you're sure." Then she moves away from Hermione, walking up to Jason and holding her hand out for his CiD, presumably to put Kate's number in.

"You won't make me regret this," It isn't a question, or even a threat. There is no or else, because it's an order. Steph is well aware that she isn't in a position to give orders to Jason, but it's Kate they're talking about (who else could it be?), and she absolutely doesn't give a shit what position she's in; Jason won't mess with Kate.

Edited (wurds were unclear) 2012-04-12 14:02 (UTC)

It goes against his instinct to hand it over to her, but considering she's in control of the information and it is her friend, Jason gives her the CiD. Like his apartment, it is pointedly unpersonalized. There aren't even any names, just number designations.

"I will get along with all your friends." He says, glancing at Hermione in so solemn a manner that a wink wouldn't have been out of place. But he doesn't, of course.

Hermione recognises that sort of look and gives a rather stern one in response, tilting her head in a really? sort of way. ...Already.

"Well," she says, not taking her eyes of Jason. "Did you just come here for a number?"

Which is rude, perhaps, but her tone is more curious than demanding. All the same, she's pressing on. She still feels oddly charged by what she's just stumbled into, and she wants to do something about it- or at least know what their plans are.

Steph resists rolling her eyes at Jason and just puts in Kate's number. Because she's trying to be nice(ish) to him, that's all she does, rather than taking a quick poke through his CiD; she hands it back as soon as the number is in.

As she waits for Jason to answer Hermione's question, Steph moves around the kitchen to grab a protein bar and pour herself a glass of orange juice. She needs the sugar and protein if she's going to - not pass out in the next few minutes. More than once, she has her back turned to Jason, which goes to show how much she trusts Hermione to make sure he stays in line.

"I'll get back to you after I talk to Kate." Jason accepts Steph ignoring him as easily as he accepts the CiD back, glancing at the number to memorize it before tucking it away again. "We can coordinate once we know her position. Assuming she agrees not to —" Pull a Bruce? Fuck us in the ass? He settles on a diplomatic, "oppose us, then we need to practice. I'd like to see what you can do."

The last is directed at Hermione, though he hasn't seen much of Steph or Kate either. But he has a slightly better idea with them. It isn't particularly challenging.

She glances at Steph. "Steph's seen." Though she knows that isn't particularly useful for him, she still feels like she ought to give some evidence that she's not all talk.

"I know somewhere reasonably out of the way where I can show you offensive and defensive magic. Things tend to get- er, explosive." ...Or maybe that's just her style. "It wouldn't be particularly wise to attract too much attention. That said, there are..." She spreads her hands, trying to express the multitudes of uses she can think of for magic. "All sorts of things I can demonstrate without needing somewhere too out of the way. All sorts of possible applications."

"She won't," Oppose them. Kate might not approve of killing but Steph is sure she won't tell them to stop, and definitely won't try to get in their way.

She nods around a mouthful of protein bar, to confirm that she's seen Hermione using magic. Once Hermione has finished talking, Steph just adds, directed at Hermione but meant for Jason, "And you're good with healing. I'd be dead on the floor if not for you."

The healing was half done when Jason showed up, but from the amount of blood, and how ragged Steph looks, he can probably guess it was pretty bad.

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I promise I shall never give up

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want Steph to come back in after this?

sure!

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