5. written

[dorkwonder]

[After growing tired of scribbling all over walls, starts writing in his journal.]

loneliness + alienation + fear + despair + self-worth ÷ mockery ÷ condemnation ÷ misunderstanding × guilt × shame × failure × judgment n=y where y=hope and n=folly, love=lies, life=death, self=dark side

[writes the equation over and over.]

Comments

[sworn]

[This is getting out of hand.]

You there. Are you alright?

Dictated.

[dorkwonder]

Nothing is alright. Nothing is good. All is lost.

ditto!

[sworn]

[She mutters a Thalassian curse under her breath]

Are you wounded? Physically?

[dorkwonder]

Read it! Read it and know! [Raises his voice.]

[sworn]

What you are writing is nonsense to anyone other than yourself. If you wish to say something, say it coherently!

[dorkwonder]

IT IS THE ONLY THING THAT MAKES SENSE!

[sworn]

[She winces at the yell. These ears aren't for show!]

There's no need for shouting. Keep yourself together and tell me, do you have any physical wounds?

[dorkwonder]

I don't. They don't matter. Accepting the darkness within you is all that matters. Don't resist it, be with it.

[sworn]

[Aw shit, not this. This is the Sha all over again.]

That's preposterous. You must fight these feelings. Do not let yourself be overcome!

[dorkwonder]

Fight it? [Starts laughing, sounding completely unhinged.]

There is no fighting it. There's nothing worth fighting for. The only thing you can do is give into it.

[sworn]

Only a weak person would say such a thing.

[Still, she knows this poor young man is probably too far gone to really know what he's saying.]

[dorkwonder]

All of humanity is weak.

[sworn]

That would be unfortunate for humans. If it was true.

[dorkwonder]

It is. Humanity hates itself and is toxic. It needs to be eradicated. It needs to embrace Darkseid.

[sworn]

And you are somehow the new voice for all of humanity?

[dorkwonder]

I AM THE VOICE THAT LISTENS!!

[sworn]

[WHY IS YELLING NECESSARY. She's covering her ears again, and growling in anger.]

Enough! You speak only for yourself. May the Light have mercy on your soul.

[dorkwonder]

[Because he MAD. In fact, he is screaming in fury.]

THERE IS NO MERCY! ONLY SUFFERING! SOULS ARE FALSE HOPE!

[sworn]

[She was going to try to keep him distracted with conversation, but she can't. His screaming's too much for her, and she has to shut the journal.

She really hopes he has friends that can talk him down from this.]

[hellofist]

[She recognizes some of that as what she saw written in the hallways near where she found Stephanie, so it isn't too hard to put two and two together.

Mostly two and two add up to kicking Tim in the face as hard as she can to put him out of the game until they figure out what the hell is going on here, but she intends to keep that to herself. She stalks the hallways trying to find him, following the scrawled words and symbols until finally there he is, still writing. She doesn't want to talk to him at all, she can see he's not there, not really. It's just someone wearing Tim's body right now.]

Tim. Put journal down, come here.

[Don't make her chase you down.]

[dorkwonder]

[Tim ignores her. After filling five pages with the equation, he begins to fill the equation in. There's some blood splatted across his clothing and skin. Some of it is his, more of it belongs to others.]

[hellofist]

[She comes closer, shouts this time.]

Tim!

[dorkwonder]

Shh. [Turns around, holding a finger to his lips. His eyes stay trained on Cass, searching her for something. Within a few seconds, a twinkle of recognition appears in his eyes.]

I'm ready now. [Climbs up onto his feet, reaching to grab Cass by the shoulders.]

[hellofist]

[She sees him now, some small part of him that's knit itself back together. There's no way to know how long it will last, so she lets him get his hands on her. Hopefully what he's ready to do is explain what's happened to him.]

For what?

[dorkwonder]

I'll be your Robin. We'll do it. We'll do things the right way. [Tim leans in closer to her, a mixture of excitement and something dangerous in them. Tightens his hold on her shoulders as a long, wicked grin crosses his lips.]

I finally understand.

[hellofist]

Understand?

[She purses her lips and shakes her head, because what he understands doesn't actually matter. If he were saying these things to her under different circumstances she'd be happy, so happy, but now she just wants answers or for him to stop talking.]

What happened to you? What... did you see?

cw: self-harm

[dorkwonder]

Everything. [Steps away from her, reaching into his pocket to take out a scalpel he had found on the way. For once, Tim is the one following in Damian's footsteps. Drags the scalpel across the palm of his right hand, tearing through his flesh until blood spills over. Raises a hand to his face, dragging them across his eyes.]

See? I'm your Robin.

[hellofist]

[She had expected him to attack her, once the blade was out. She hadn't seen his intention until it was too late but now she's on him, kicking the knife from his hand with little care for broken fingers.]

No. My Robin- wouldn't hurt his girlfriend. Saw what you did- to Stephanie.

[The mask of blood... she has no idea what to do with that, so she puts it to the back of her mind, something to be dealt with after he's unconscious.]

[dorkwonder]

[Howls as a sharp stab of pain tremors through his fingers. Stares at his fingers, tilting his head, causing the blood to run down his nose and cheek.]

I SAID I WAS YOUR ROBIN! [Snarls at her before launching himself at her. Swings his left hand towards her face, trying to plant his knuckles into her cheek.]

[hellofist]

[Dodging him is easy, so she does and shoves her foot between his to trip him up, hoping to get him on the ground. If she can manage that, she can pin him down and try again for answers. If he still won't give them, then she can just knock him out.]

[dorkwonder]

[The two end up going down on the ground with each other. The advantage Tim has on the ground is that avoiding his blows is much more difficult from close range and he can make it difficult for her to pin her, since their difference in strength is minimal compared to their difference in skill. Wrestles with her hands to break free, while throwing his head forward several times, trying to connect with a headbutt.]

[hellofist]

[The headbutt is a dumb idea. She drops her head and leans into it, driving the hardest part of her head into into his nose. It might break, but it will definitely bleed after all the force he had going into this. While he's dazed, she takes the opportunity to knock his head into the ground, hard enough to knock him out after the blow to his face.]

[kryptonian]

[Between dealing with Blues and chasing after little kids and trying to get to the bottom of this stuff, she's had a hard time keeping up with her friends, but she's also known that her friends are together and resilient. That's what the Bat Family always is, and even if she worries, she knows they'll get through.

But this, this is seriously troubling.]

Where are you, Tim?

[dorkwonder]

Where I am needed. [Mutters his response, returning to drawing his equation.]

[kryptonian]

Not helpful. Come on!

[dorkwonder]

Not helpful? NOT HELPFUL!?NOTHING IS HELPFUL! ALL IS LOST! ACCEPT THE DARKNESS! [screaming into the journal]

[kryptonian]

[Shouting back!!]

You're out of your mind! Nothing is lost YET! Snap out of it, Tim!

[dorkwonder]

ACCEPT IT! [Sounds like he's alternating between banging on his journal and shaking it.]

[kryptonian]

No!

I'm coming to find you.

[dorkwonder]

NO! [Drops his journal, taking off to run.]

[kryptonian]

[TIM X(

She's going to look, but if she comes across other shit in the meantime, she has stuff to do.]