[Good jump, buddy. You weigh about 80 pounds soaking wet. He steers them close to the cement wall of the tunnel, taking them by the hand again. The train is in the distance coming into the tunnel.]
Sixty minutes around the city! [He yells it over the start of the noise.] We'll ride about twenty minutes!
[The sound of the train bursts through the tunnel in an echo, drowning them out. Down here, it's easy to see how fucking fast these things fly by. He keeps a hold on Aquarius, walking down the length of the rock of the tunnel for a few yards, right about where the end of the train would be when it stops.
The blow-back of the wind when it coasts by is indeed strong despite the fact the train is slowing down. He waits with Aquarius in the dark against the wall for it to get to a stop.]
[stop be nice. but they let jason take their hand and they're watching down the tunnel as the train blows through. they jump a little, the noise startling them enough that they take a step back before correcting themselves to follow jason. they turn slightly to try and avoid the wind, stopping in jason's shadow a bit until the train rolls for a stop.]
A little more than I thought. Color me impressed.
[it's supposed to be dry but they. seem like they're ready to bolt and jump on this train while it's still moving. help.]
[Luckily, Jason is such a dorito that he blocks a lot of the brunt of the wind. Hateful.]
There are different stops, but it's an hour the whole way almost.
[He doesn't have to yell so much once the train has lumbered to a stand-still. They are just a bit off from the rear, so he pulls Aquarius along to the end. It isn't extended like an engine train, with a balcony to stand. But there are some rebar railings lining it up and down, and there's a little bumper of a ledge to stand on.
He shifts behind Aquarius and slides his hands under their arms so he can heft them up to grab the bars.]
Find some good footing and a place to hold on. We've got about two minutes.
I have time for whatever. [it's kind of quiet, but they're waiting as the train rolls to a stop. they really are just easy to cart around, letting jason pull them along until they reach the end.
this really just looks like a challenge, and they're here for it. okay but suddenly they're being lifted and there's a startled noise as they feel the air under their feet, kicking a little until they find the ledge and wrap a gloved hand around one of the bars.]
[He grabs the bottom of one of the bars beside them and hefts himself fluidly up with them in one smooth motion. Bats. He isn't on top of them necessarily, but he does lean against the outside of the train with his side in a way that kind of is shielding them? From falling off and stuff. But he lets them hold on because, for some reason, he feels like he can trust they know what they're doing mostly.
It's a connected vibe.]
Tuck close. Don't stick your head or arms or legs out. Nothing will really be jutting in the tunnel, but just in case. Don't want any painting amputation. We'll be outside in the city air first, then we'll go through the tunnel.
[The Tunnel.
Also, he is telling them all this because it's really hard to hear when they are going about sixty or so miles and hour on a track.
The doors of the train on the platform shut. IT'S BEEN TWO MINUTES? So fast! See. The exhaust of the brakes decompress, and the train jostles them both as it starts moving.]
[bats. aquarius doesn't seem to mind the sudden meat shield. maybe they're used to this. they also don't seem to be too worried about the fact they're about to go sixty mph since the hold is almost loose.
the vibe is very determined though. and excited. maybe a little manic to see something new and experience something more than speed.
but the instructions to tuck in are clear and they do so, turning a little closer to the end of the train itself and away from the walls of the tunnel. they whip their head around as the doors slide shut and then they look back at jason before there's a nod.]
[That makes him laugh. He really doesn't like that they have such a wild streak in them, but okay. Damn. It's better they're doing it with him than doing it by themselves.
The train takes off through the second half of the tunnel, picking up enough speed to spit them out full force into the open air once the tunnel ends. What's wild is the train is like a subway, looked like one, down in a kind of subway platform area, but when they come out... they're high in the air in the upper regions of a sprawling, industrial city. It's night, the windows of buildings are lit here and there. Cars honk and move below on the streets. A fog gathers over the water in the slit of the bay that can been seen on a side they haven't reached yet.
The stars can't be seen because of the pollution, but it does trap the city lights in a bubble--red, green, blue, violet. Coming out of the tunnel seems fast, but in the wide sky like this, it feels like they aren't moving so quickly.
Aquarius has a couple of minutes to take in the view before the upcoming tunnel.]
like yes, okay, they know this is a painting but it's still something that's not the wretched hotel. they hold onto the bar but they can't help but immediately turn their head every which way to try and take in all of the sights. why the hell are they in the air? is this normal? this is definitely not how they think trains are, so they're taking in everything gotham has to offer.
it's a dirty, dingy sort of city maybe, smog blocking the view of the stars, but there is a little flicker of longing that comes as they're watching everything. without thinking about it, they start to kind of scoot a little closer to the edge so they can look over the track and down into the city. they have a few minutes, right?]
[It's a cool view! Aquarius is valid. They do have a few minutes of time to be able to look out over Gotham, churning and rolling with endless living.
He doesn't reach out to grab Aquarius to keep them from leaning, but he does keep a few hawkish eye on them to make sure they don't slip or get sucked off. He will put his hand on their shoulder if he needs to, but he trusts them not to be too stupid.
Well, not to be too stupid here.
He does lean down near their head, though, to talk above the sound:] You cold?
[thanks for trusting them, jason. they seem to know their limits, leaning far enough to look but still easily keeping their balance and hold of the bar. but they turn when he speaks up and shakes their head.]
No. This isn't bad at all. Probably moving too fast to be cold anyway. [and even if it was cold they likely wouldn't mind.]
[He laughs a little. Okay, macho man.] If you get cold, you can have my jacket. [But he leans back up since they said it was fine. Their hands were too fucking cold already, so he doesn't know whether to be worried or like "can't be worse than that."
Gently, he nudges their shoulder, then points a bit around the train ahead of them. The tunnel is coming. Aquarius can already see, peeping out from the darkness inside, a little bit of color...?]
I'll be okay. [shhhh. they are very tough!! but in all seriousness, they really don't mind. they've been in far worse places with far worse conditions, and this is...still better than being inside the hotel. reasonably, they are aware they're inside the hotel still, in a painting, in something that isn't quite real, and there's maybe a bit of dissonance with what but they're more interested in what's ahead.]
...this is that tunnel you told me about, right? The one that was tagged.
[they apparently listen to jason more than they let on, and they're also moving again as if to get a better look.
it's wild, a little, to see how more normal people live and the things they do. normally it's debatable if aquarius would care, but...it's been a while. and this is something that, whether he'll really say so or not, is somehow important enough to jason to make note of. so there's nothing but curiosity as the train zips along.]
[The illusion of the train moving too slow disappears as the front goes into the tunnel. Everything speeds up, but it isn't so fast it's over in the blink of an eye. The tunnel is a little long.
Technically, this shows up with black light, but shhh. The inside walls of the tunnel from one edge all the way overhead to the other edge are covered in different, glowing graffiti. Everything from words to more intricate art, all in places that would make anyone wonder how they were done with a train passing through from time to time.
It's very cool. And kind of trippy to speed through.]
[the tunnel is long, and aquarius falls silent as they immediately watch the graffiti pass them by. it's bold and it's bright and it's all over the place. aquarius isn't trying to jump off the train, but they're whipping their head this way and that to try and soak all of it in. there isn't enough time. it's...very different than what they're used to, they think, and they seem to be trying to memorize everything.
and if they step back into jason to get a better look of the wideview, so be it.]
[Using him as a cushion is fine. He reaches up to put a steadying but not distracting hand on their shoulder to make sure they don't flap away in the wind trying to look at all the cool graffiti.]
Tagger's magic.
[Trying to logic it out will ruin all of the fantasy and mystery of it, he thinks. So he doesn't give any explanation. Maybe Gotham fairies did it. Otherworldly beings, spirits. Things like that. The tunnel is a good two or three minutes which seems short numerically, but it's actually rather long speeding this fast.
And then it's gone. Whisked away like exhaling breath. The outside of the tunnel, on the face, has a pair of neon glowing eyes watching them move on into the distance.]
[they continue to watch, enthralled for a brief moment before there's a weird sort of out-of-place feeling of something like melancholy. the train speeds along, and then it's gone. they stare at the neon eyes for the longest time, refusing to break contact.]
I'm...not usually one for bright colors. But that's pretty awesome.
[He gives their shoulder a squeeze of reassurance, then lowers his hand. They can have a little of Jason's amusement and understanding through the mind-meld.]
Yeah? I told you. Didn't think I'd get to show you, but that's fine.
[He points around them into the distance.] You see the top of that big ass mansion out there beyond the city? The one on the hill just over the trees? [It's outside of the city, but they can see a glimpse of it through the buildings as they go along in the open air again.]
I'm more of a visual person, I guess. Showing is better than telling but I didn't think it'd be a possibility right now either.
[but they turn, peering at the place beyond the trees.]
Reminds me of...[but they go quiet, even if there's a jab of irritation in their mind-meld palace.] Is that where you went after he found you? I can't say I'm surprised it's kind of removed from everything.
[The irritation is amusing to him which they'll feel, but it's not a mocking one. It's a :handshake: one. He gets it.]
Put me in a boy's home for a while. But that's where I went after, yeah. When he came back to get me. It's his little castle he can look down over what he thinks is his city. His city, his rules. Blah blah.
[Bruce Wayne is Hades now. Actually, this tracks a little which is unfortunate.]
Yeah, I know. I think the worse part is he isn't entirely removed. He tries to be, but he loves people. He loves them so much he controls them without thinking about it so nothing happens to them.
[they continue to stare at Wayne manor for a bit.]
I know people like that, too. Trying to reason with them is a pain, unless you have a ton of patience and a lot of arguing. Tradition and history tend to drive their actions half the time because that's something they can control.
[the tunnel swallows them up and the outside world disappears. there's a soft noise of confusion like they weren't immediately expecting it, but they finally turn their head back to jason to stare up at him. this is a boring tunnel so they aren't missing anything.]
[They are so funny. But this tunnel is boring, so it's fine.]
Depends on you, buckaroo. You hopping off, or are you staying on? Doesn't make any difference to me. I've been on this loop plenty of times. So, what d'you say?
[Aquarius has the choice to decide. They getting off, or are they going around Gotham?]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Sixty minutes around the city! [He yells it over the start of the noise.] We'll ride about twenty minutes!
[The sound of the train bursts through the tunnel in an echo, drowning them out. Down here, it's easy to see how fucking fast these things fly by. He keeps a hold on Aquarius, walking down the length of the rock of the tunnel for a few yards, right about where the end of the train would be when it stops.
The blow-back of the wind when it coasts by is indeed strong despite the fact the train is slowing down. He waits with Aquarius in the dark against the wall for it to get to a stop.]
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A little more than I thought. Color me impressed.
[it's supposed to be dry but they. seem like they're ready to bolt and jump on this train while it's still moving. help.]
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There are different stops, but it's an hour the whole way almost.
[He doesn't have to yell so much once the train has lumbered to a stand-still. They are just a bit off from the rear, so he pulls Aquarius along to the end. It isn't extended like an engine train, with a balcony to stand. But there are some rebar railings lining it up and down, and there's a little bumper of a ledge to stand on.
He shifts behind Aquarius and slides his hands under their arms so he can heft them up to grab the bars.]
Find some good footing and a place to hold on. We've got about two minutes.
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this really just looks like a challenge, and they're here for it. okay but suddenly they're being lifted and there's a startled noise as they feel the air under their feet, kicking a little until they find the ledge and wrap a gloved hand around one of the bars.]
Two minutes can be an eternity, you know.
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[He grabs the bottom of one of the bars beside them and hefts himself fluidly up with them in one smooth motion. Bats. He isn't on top of them necessarily, but he does lean against the outside of the train with his side in a way that kind of is shielding them? From falling off and stuff. But he lets them hold on because, for some reason, he feels like he can trust they know what they're doing mostly.
It's a connected vibe.]
Tuck close. Don't stick your head or arms or legs out. Nothing will really be jutting in the tunnel, but just in case. Don't want any painting amputation. We'll be outside in the city air first, then we'll go through the tunnel.
[The Tunnel.
Also, he is telling them all this because it's really hard to hear when they are going about sixty or so miles and hour on a track.
The doors of the train on the platform shut. IT'S BEEN TWO MINUTES? So fast! See. The exhaust of the brakes decompress, and the train jostles them both as it starts moving.]
Ready?
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the vibe is very determined though. and excited. maybe a little manic to see something new and experience something more than speed.
but the instructions to tuck in are clear and they do so, turning a little closer to the end of the train itself and away from the walls of the tunnel. they whip their head around as the doors slide shut and then they look back at jason before there's a nod.]
More than ready. [let's go!! sightseeing!!]
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The train takes off through the second half of the tunnel, picking up enough speed to spit them out full force into the open air once the tunnel ends. What's wild is the train is like a subway, looked like one, down in a kind of subway platform area, but when they come out... they're high in the air in the upper regions of a sprawling, industrial city. It's night, the windows of buildings are lit here and there. Cars honk and move below on the streets. A fog gathers over the water in the slit of the bay that can been seen on a side they haven't reached yet.
The stars can't be seen because of the pollution, but it does trap the city lights in a bubble--red, green, blue, violet. Coming out of the tunnel seems fast, but in the wide sky like this, it feels like they aren't moving so quickly.
Aquarius has a couple of minutes to take in the view before the upcoming tunnel.]
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...OUTSIDE....
like yes, okay, they know this is a painting but it's still something that's not the wretched hotel. they hold onto the bar but they can't help but immediately turn their head every which way to try and take in all of the sights. why the hell are they in the air? is this normal? this is definitely not how they think trains are, so they're taking in everything gotham has to offer.
it's a dirty, dingy sort of city maybe, smog blocking the view of the stars, but there is a little flicker of longing that comes as they're watching everything. without thinking about it, they start to kind of scoot a little closer to the edge so they can look over the track and down into the city. they have a few minutes, right?]
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He doesn't reach out to grab Aquarius to keep them from leaning, but he does keep a few hawkish eye on them to make sure they don't slip or get sucked off. He will put his hand on their shoulder if he needs to, but he trusts them not to be too stupid.
Well, not to be too stupid here.
He does lean down near their head, though, to talk above the sound:] You cold?
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No. This isn't bad at all. Probably moving too fast to be cold anyway. [and even if it was cold they likely wouldn't mind.]
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Gently, he nudges their shoulder, then points a bit around the train ahead of them. The tunnel is coming. Aquarius can already see, peeping out from the darkness inside, a little bit of color...?]
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...this is that tunnel you told me about, right? The one that was tagged.
[they apparently listen to jason more than they let on, and they're also moving again as if to get a better look.
it's wild, a little, to see how more normal people live and the things they do. normally it's debatable if aquarius would care, but...it's been a while. and this is something that, whether he'll really say so or not, is somehow important enough to jason to make note of. so there's nothing but curiosity as the train zips along.]
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[The illusion of the train moving too slow disappears as the front goes into the tunnel. Everything speeds up, but it isn't so fast it's over in the blink of an eye. The tunnel is a little long.
Technically, this shows up with black light, but shhh. The inside walls of the tunnel from one edge all the way overhead to the other edge are covered in different, glowing graffiti. Everything from words to more intricate art, all in places that would make anyone wonder how they were done with a train passing through from time to time.
It's very cool. And kind of trippy to speed through.]
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and if they step back into jason to get a better look of the wideview, so be it.]
...how?
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Tagger's magic.
[Trying to logic it out will ruin all of the fantasy and mystery of it, he thinks. So he doesn't give any explanation. Maybe Gotham fairies did it. Otherworldly beings, spirits. Things like that. The tunnel is a good two or three minutes which seems short numerically, but it's actually rather long speeding this fast.
And then it's gone. Whisked away like exhaling breath. The outside of the tunnel, on the face, has a pair of neon glowing eyes watching them move on into the distance.]
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I'm...not usually one for bright colors. But that's pretty awesome.
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Yeah? I told you. Didn't think I'd get to show you, but that's fine.
[He points around them into the distance.] You see the top of that big ass mansion out there beyond the city? The one on the hill just over the trees? [It's outside of the city, but they can see a glimpse of it through the buildings as they go along in the open air again.]
That's B's house.
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[but they turn, peering at the place beyond the trees.]
Reminds me of...[but they go quiet, even if there's a jab of irritation in their mind-meld palace.] Is that where you went after he found you? I can't say I'm surprised it's kind of removed from everything.
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Put me in a boy's home for a while. But that's where I went after, yeah. When he came back to get me. It's his little castle he can look down over what he thinks is his city. His city, his rules. Blah blah.
[Bruce Wayne is Hades now. Actually, this tracks a little which is unfortunate.]
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It's always easy to be above it all when you're so far removed from people. You can do your job but still be hands off at the end of the day.
[...but there's a vague ping of understanding anyway.]
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Yeah, I know. I think the worse part is he isn't entirely removed. He tries to be, but he loves people. He loves them so much he controls them without thinking about it so nothing happens to them.
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I know people like that, too. Trying to reason with them is a pain, unless you have a ton of patience and a lot of arguing. Tradition and history tend to drive their actions half the time because that's something they can control.
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[Aquarius gets him, and there is a feeling of adjutant fondness as the second tunnel for the next stop swallows them up.
The brakes on the train hiss as it starts slowing down for the platform yards ahead. This tunnel isn’t as cool as the other one. :(]
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...staying? Or is this our stop?
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Depends on you, buckaroo. You hopping off, or are you staying on? Doesn't make any difference to me. I've been on this loop plenty of times. So, what d'you say?
[Aquarius has the choice to decide. They getting off, or are they going around Gotham?]
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