fourth leap | from a tablet in no way traceable to that other kid Robin's

[pixieboots]

[ Dick’s sitting in a nondescript corner of what’s probably the cafeteria, facing the screen at a front and center angle that could almost pass for a little rehearsed. He’s tired and drawn, posture curled in and oddly small. He has a hand in his hair, awkward and unsettled. If he's been practicing this, it's not showing much. ]

I, um. Hey.

I just wanted to say I’m turning myself in now. As one of the guys who brought down the systems and took over the base. [ Specificity is important. His eyes aren't on the tablet anymore, but he's still speaking. ]

-Which I know I could’ve done couple of days ago. But I didn’t because I thought maybe... [ a faint, rushed breath out. ] –maybe I could still fix it. And maybe it’d just be easier if I didn’t say anything. [ For the people in jail. And the people on the outside. ]

...But it wouldn’t be. That would just be me letting somebody else take the whole rap for something a lot of people already know I had a hand in. And then not speaking up is on them too. So it has to be this way. [ He’s thinking about you, Kate. 8( ]

...Anyway. That’s just the good news. Just- I wanted to do the right thing. Not just now, but then too. And I still believe in all the same things I did before, which is... [ he has to say it, he can’t let it go. ] –yeah, they’re real people. I know they are. But when it comes to fighting their own war they’re just getting people killed.

But what- what I did about it wasn’t okay. Guys like me, we- [ It's a little specific, that word. ] -we have to follow the law even when we don’t like what it says. When we start to let the system go, that’s when everything falls apart. That’s when people get hurt. And that- I know me knowing that now doesn’t change what happened, but... [ It’s a thought that trails off unfinished. ]

But whatever the other guys get, that’s what needs to happen to me too. [ the word "mutineer" is pretty noticeably pissing. And there’s a belated moment where he stops, halfway out of his folded up pose. He’s not in a position to make demands, he knows that. But- ]

...The one condition is that you don’t get a package deal out of this. You just get me.

[Barely five minutes later, there's an addendum to this post, coming from the same tablet but in audio, and the voice is very much not Dick Grayson's.

Steph's tone is sharp, but steady:]

I want you all to know that this will be discussed with Rosyln, but no one is to even think about laying a hand on him. The same goes for any accusations or harsh words you might wanna start throwing around, regardless of what he claims to have done. From this point on he is under my supervision and protection, and he won't be harmed.

[She might have been against the mutiny, but she doesn't trust the people on "her" side either, not when so many of them were howling for blood.]

Don't test me.

Hey, I didn't!-

[The feed cuts again. Replies by Dick probably delayed ICly! ]

Comments

[eyecontact]

[he nods, unhappy.]

I did it.

[it being the obvious.]

[pixieboots]

[ For a moment he just stares. ]

...Without asking?

[eyecontact]

[he's making it a point to look away, look toward the door as he nods. it's a whole lot more complicated than that, but he's not willing to give himself the benefit of that.]

[pixieboots]

Well, that explains a few things. [ There's more curiosity in his voice than condemnation.

He doesn't know Syllona, not well. But if Jericho does, then... ]

Okay pal, you tell me. You had a reason, so what was it?

[eyecontact]

[something he can't easily sign; he doesn't even bother trying, and instead resorts to typing out onto a draft page on his tablet.]

I wanted her to get away from the fighting.

[pixieboots]

[ There's a guilty twitch to his shoulders; his head ducks and he hopes against hope Jericho won't notice. That he won't think for a second that there's anything in his tone but neutral, genuine-sounding curiosity.

He can't mess this up now. ]

What was she doing in the middle of things?

[eyecontact]

I didn't ask...she told me she wanted to be part of it.

[he's frowning hard at this, reliving that horrible encounter – and the one hours after when she finally woke up...realizing he never let her have her say. give her side. he just made the choice and decided she needed to be moved somewhere safe.

isn't that...what superheroes are supposed to do? what friends are supposed to do?]

[pixieboots]

So you wanted her out of the way.

[ Like it's ever as easy as that. But there's some forced levity in his tone. ] She's just a girl, right? She'd get hurt if she stuck around.

[eyecontact]

[his face flushes a deep red at that, feeling a horrible twisting in his gut. the way he says it makes it seem so...so petty. or ignorant.

both, really.

he looks down at the tablet, deleting the last sentence and...lifting his hands away from it to let his face settle against them, cold palms against burning cheeks.]

[pixieboots]

Hey... [ Something he'd said was wrong. And he knows what it is, because he knows and Jericho has to know now that Syllona was anything but in the way. That she was working just like they all were, for a purpose and a cause.

He can't say that, not even now. He squirms and studies the bedspread instead. ]

You were trying to do the right thing. Like everybody else, right? [ He reaches out only a little tentatively to drape his arm across his shoulders in a more comforting gesture. ]

Maybe she just needs some time to cool down.

[eyecontact]

[his shoulders sag in compliance to the mood, and Joey lifts his head just nods sullenly. it's more for Dick's sake, for the sake of agreeing to something he wants to be true, but...remembering how angry she looks convinces him it's just not going to happen.

it doesn't take long to sink against him, if only through merit of shifting in place.]

[pixieboots]

[ He keeps his arm where it is; Jericho seems to need the hug so badly and maybe after everything that’s happened it’s what he needs too. If Syllona means that much to him... ] It’ll be okay, Pal.

[ As if he can know it for sure, just by saying so. ]

She has to come around.