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ragingbookdragon · 3 years

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So Live A Lie, Just Tonight, And Burn Out Bright

Batsis x Hal Jordan One-Shot

Word Count: 3.8K Warnings: Explicit Language, Mature Themes

Author's Note: I decided to compile that one Batsis "story" into one doc, and I added the alternate ending for the one anon who asked! Enjoy! -Thorne

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“Alright, easy sis, easy,” he worried, watching her carefully for signs of pain flickering across her face as he helped her off the bike.

She scowled, managing to drag her injured leg forward. “Quit nagging. I’m—ngh—fine.”

“You’re on emergency oxycodone and you’ve got a broken femur,” he retorted. “I’m nagging until you’re in surgery.”

“Ugh, stop reminding me.”

Someone hauled her off her feet with a quiet, “I’ve got you.”

She grunted in pain laying on the gurney. “Thanks, dad.”

“Miss Wayne, are you alright?”

Her eyes found Alfred’s. “I’m good. I just ne—motherfucker!” she yelped, glaring at her father who was squeezing her thigh. “Hey! That’s broken, jackass! Quit!”

Bruce grunted. “You need an ORIF now.”

A pinch in her arm made her twitch and she turned her attention to Alfred who was uncapping a needle. “Alfred, what’s that?”

He shook his head. “Nothing to worry about, Miss Wayne.” Smiling, he stuck the needle into the line. “You’ll feel better when you awaken.”

Her vision blurred rapidly, “Gonna take…a nap…now…” her head lolled, and Bruce met Alfred’s gaze.

“Call Damian. He’s got the steady hand we’ll need.”

***

“How’re you feeling?” Jason asked, setting a cup of juice on the bedside table.

She blinked slowly, staring at her fingers. “Why are my fingers like this?”

“Like what, Queenie?”

“Bendy,” she replied, flexing her fingers. “It’s fuckin’ weird.” She looked at him. “I feel weird.”

He snorted, nodding at Dick and the others who were walking in at the sound of her voice. “You’re on hydromorphone, sis.”

“Hydro—what-what?”

“Hydromorphone, sister,” Damian said. “It has increased your threshold for pain and reduced the perception of it.”

She stared at him like she hadn’t heard a word come out of his mouth. “I didn’t understand a single goddamn word that you just said.”

Snickers sounded around her, but her head was up in the clouds and she rested back against her pillow. Her family gathered around her, sitting up on the bed, and suddenly she cocked her head up, squinting at each of them.

“Sweetheart? What’s wrong?” Bruce inquired.

“Where’s Dick?”

“I’m right here, sis,” he answered, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. “What’s up?”

“Why’d you break up with Kori?”

His eyes widened. “I—what?”

“Kori. Tall alien with the shooty-hands.”

“I know who she is. What about our breakup?”

“Are you kidding me? That woman is spectacular, and you broke up with her. She’s gorgeous, wicked intelligent, fantastic in bed and—”

“Wait, back up there,” he interrupted. “Good in bed? Did you sleep with, Kori?”

“Oh yeah, totally. I was her rebound after you.”

Dick blinked while the others cackled. “Have you…have you slept with any other exes?”

“Of yours? Or in general with the family’s exes?”

“Wait,” Jason said. “Have you slept with any of mine?”

“Did you date Artemis?”

He shrugged. “Sort of?”

“Then, yes.” She looked at Bruce. “I slept with Selina too, but to be completely honest we were both drunk and I don’t think either of us remember.”

“I uh—” he started, then quieted. “I didn’t know you were gay, sweetheart.”

She let out a ‘pfft’. “I’m not.”

“Oh, you’re bi, then?” Dick smiled and she shook her head.

“Nah, I like the wine but not the label.” She grinned. “I’m a lover of people.”

“How many superheroes have you slept with?” Tim questioned and she pursed her lips.

“Uh…I dunno…kinda lost count.”

For a moment no one said a word, then Jason asked, “You know how we call Dickhead the fuck-boy? Can we refer to you as that now? I think you’ve topped his count.”

Her eyes narrowed into a glare and she pointed at him, though she was seeing double, so it was entirely possible that she was pointing at the wall. “Keep that up and I’ll sleep with your best friend again.”

“You slept with Roy?!”

“I was talking about Kyle, but Roy works too.”

“OH MY GOD! IS THERE ANYONE YOU HAVEN’T SLEPT WITH?”

She thought for a moment, then offered, “Diana. But I asked her out last weekend so it’s up in the air until our date.”

***Part Two***

There was only one rule that everyone collectively followed in Wayne Manor and that was: no excessive noise until after twelve P.M. It was mostly influenced by Alfred who’d more than once pulled out the shotgun but surprisingly, mornings were usually calm and quiet. Keywords: “Were” and “Usually”. There were some special cases.

An ear-splitting scream shattered the silence of the breakfast room and in an instant, everyone was jumping from the table, sprinting towards the staircase to find out what was quite possibly murdering their eldest sister. As they neared the staircase, they came face to face with her as she stood behind the banister, her hands gripping the railing until her knuckles started whitening.

“Sis, what’s wrong?” Dick worried, already starting to come up the steps, Jason and Tim close behind.

“I’m late,” she whispered, and they leaned forward.

“What was that?” Bruce inquired, brows furrowing, and she looked at him.

“I’m late.” Her voice was firmer this time.

He blinked. “How long?”

“Two months.”

“Wait, what’s going on?” Jason questioned, shaking his head and she scowled.

“My period’s late, jackass.”

She wished she’d taken a photo of their faces, because nothing would ever amuse her as much as the way their jaws went slack, eyes widening in total shock. Running a hand down her face, she groaned, “Oh my God. I knew something was up. I completely forgot about it.”

“Sooooo…” Tim drawled out with a recovered grin. “Who’s the daddy?”

Her eyes narrowed and she shot him a glare. “Shut. Up.”

“C’mon sis, someone—some guy did it for you.” Jason quipped. “Who’s the lucky man?” he paused, seeming to remember something. “How many superheroes have you slept with in two months? That have dicks, of course.” She clenched her jaw and his eyes widened. “Oh no. Oh no…is it, Roy?”

“It’s not Roy!” she hissed.

“Kyle?” Dick offered and she shook her head.

“No. I’ve only slept with one guy in the past two months.”

“Who was it sister?” Damian quizzed, placing his hands on his hips. “I have yet to meet anyone acceptable for you to populate with.”

“Thanks Damian,” she griped, then groaned. “Oh God, I know who it is too. And I wish I didn’t.”

“Why’s that?”

Her eyes found Tim’s. “Because we were drunk as hell after a League mission.”

“Who is it?” Bruce grunted and she met his gaze.

“You’re not going to like it.”

Something passed between them, and his eyes narrowed. “Please don’t say that’s who you slept with.”

She nodded, pressing a hand to her face, hiding her embarrassment. “Mhm.”

“You slept with him?”

“Unfortunately.”

Jason looked between his sister and father. “Wait, I’m confused. What’s going on?” A snort sounded beside him, and he looked over, seeing Dick in tears. “Why are you crying? What’s so funny?”

Dick cackled. “SHE SLEPT WITH HAL JORDAN!”

Another round of slack jawed brothers appeared in her sight, and she hissed. “It was an accident!”

“YOU’RE HAVING A BABY WITH HAL JORDAN!” Dick gasped, starting to drop to his knees from laughing so hard. “OH MY GOD, YOU SLEPT WITH THE GUY DAD HATES THE MOST!”

“You slept with Hal Jordan?” Tim gagged. “Ew.”

“Sister, I am disgusted in your choice of partners for children.” Damian noted and she scowled.

“I hate all of you.” she looked at Bruce.

He sighed heavily, a defeated father…or maybe a defeated grandfather. “I’ll go call Hal…and order prenatal vitamins.”

She ran a hand down her face. “I’ll call Leslie and get in for an exam.”

“Holy shit,” Jason gasped. “We’re gonna be uncles!”

***Part Three***

He shifted the phone to rest between his ear and shoulder, hands busy pouring coffee into his cup. “Hello?”

What are you doing right now?

“Bruce? Is that you?”

Answer the question, Hal.

He rolled his eyes and frowned. “Well, it’s nine A.M., I’m making a cup of coffee. I know bats are nocturnal, so this might come as a surprise to someone like you, but rest assured it’s a normal habit for us normal folks.”

How fast can you get to Gotham City?

“Willingly?” Hal chuckled, setting down the coffee pot to grab the phone. “What’s going on?”

I need your…help…with something. And I need you in Gotham as fast as you can get here…please.

He almost dropped both the phone and coffee mug. “Did you just say you need my he—” the line went dead with a click, and he pulled the phone from his ear. “Asshole,” Hal scowled and shoved the phone in his pocket, before putting the mug down. His body flashed green as he suited up and he sighed. “Can’t believe I gotta go to the land of the living dead at nine A.M.”

***

He rubbed his temples as he disconnected the call, barely suppressing the sigh that wanted to escape him. “Are you mad at me?” he heard behind him, low, scared, and worried; he shook his head.

“No.”

She leaned against the desk, staring down at the side of his head. “Are you disappointed in me?”

Bruce sighed this time. “At your basic lack of common sense and sleeping with a team member despite the fact that I’ve told you time and again that inner-team-dalliances only end badly? Yes.” He turned his eyes to her. “But for being pregnant? Never.”

“Doesn’t seem like it, dad,” she muttered, crossing her arms over her chest; he watched them lower to hold her stomach.

“I think Hal Jordan’s an idiot,” he stated. “If it seems like I’m upset, it’s because he’s going to be my grandchild’s father and I’ll have to be nice to him now.” She huffed a laugh and he reached over, placing a hand on her arm. “It’s going to be okay, sweetheart. We’ll take care of this.”

“I know, it’s just…” she sighed. “I never expected this to happen.”

“No one ever does,” Bruce answered. “Have you contacted Leslie yet?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I’ll go see her around three.” Grunting, she muttered, “Figured if Hal got here in as soon as possible, we’d have enough time to sit and talk about this before we went.” She ran a hand over her face. “God, I can’t believe I Hal knocked me up.”

“Please don’t say that,” Bruce griped. “I don’t like that phrase.”

“But that’s what happened, dad. I got knocked up by Hal.”

“Why do you hate me?” he scowled, dropping his head into his hands. “How did this even happen?”

Sighing, she recounted, “After the mission in Brazil, Hal invited Barry back to Coast City for a drink and Barry invited me.” She shrugged. “I didn’t wanna be rude even if I am typically antisocial, so I accepted, and we got there and found a bar. After a couple hours, Barry had to get back to Central and we just decided to keep drinking.”

She grunted. “Hell, by seven thirty we were already gone so we got a ride back to his place and he offered to let me stay the night and one thing led to another and—”

Bruce raised his hand, effectively silencing her. “I can infer what happened after that.” He rubbed his temples. “Let’s just wait for Hal to get here, yeah?”

“Yeah,” she agreed, falling silent.

***

Alfred cleared his throat. “Master Jordan, is here, sir.” They both looked up from the Batcomputer at the test pilot.

“Thank you, Alfred,” Bruce said, and the butler nodded, ascending the steps.

Hal walked towards them. “So, what’s the deal? Why do you need me?”

Bruce looked at her and she sighed. “Actually, I’m the one who needed you to come here, Hal.”

His brown eyes darted to hers, a flash, a recognition of something and he nodded. “Aright. What’s up?”

“Dad…give us a moment?” he nodded and stood from the Batcomputer, walking to the medical section on the other side of the cave. She waved Hal over. “You might wanna sit down.”

He did, albeit suspiciously. “Why are you acting so…weird?”

“Hal,” she said, then looked at her hands. “I’m…ah crap.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, brows furrowing.

She took a deep breath and admitted, “My period’s late and there’s a good chance I’m pregnant.”

For a moment, Hal didn’t say a word, then he burst into laughter. “Oh, that’s hilarious!” he held his stomach and wiped his eyes. “That’s a good one.”

“I’m not joking, Hal,” she spat. “In the last three months, you’re the only man I’ve had sex with. If I’m pregnant, you’re the father.”

He stopped laughing at that. “Are you being serious?”

“Dead.”

Hal ran a hand through his brown hair and let out a shocked breath. “Holy hell.” She watched him and he gaped at her. “W-what…what do we do?”

“I’ve got an appointment with Doctor Leslie at four. You’re welcome to come along if you’d like.”

He nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I will.” Swallowing thickly, he said, “Does he know?”

“Dad? Yeah. They all do.”

“They?” he repeated, eyes wide.

“My brothers.”

“You told them we slept together?”

She chuckled. “Apparently a year ago under heavy meds, I admitted I slept with Dad, Dick, and Jason’s exes.” She shrugged. “There’s not much I keep from them.”

Hal’s eyes shifted to Bruce’s back. “Can’t imagine the Big-Bat is happy about this.”

“Oh, he’s not. He thinks you’re an idiot, but judging by the look on your face, you already know that.”

He scoffed. “Your dad likes to think he’s smarter than everyone else.”

She cocked a brow. “He is.”

“And it seems like you’re following that strain well,” he shot back, and they glared at each other before cracking smiles.

“If this is real, we’re going to be some parents, huh?”

Hal could sense the fear in her voice, and he stood in front of her, placing his hands on her hips. “Hey,” he murmured. “No parents are perfect. And we’re sure as hell not.”

“If this is supposed to cheer me up, it’s not.”

“I’m not trying to cheer you up. I’m trying to reassure you,” he corrected, squeezing her hips lightly. “We’ll work through this, and we’ll do it together.”

She gazed at him then heaved a sigh and leaned her head on his shoulder. “Thanks Hal.”

“Don’t mention it,” he chuckled, then murmured, “But if we really are going to be parents, should we tie the knot?”

“Absolutely not.”

***

“Hal, for the love of God, will you sit down?” she griped. “You’re starting to make me anxious with all that pacing.”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair before shrugging off his bomber. “I can’t help it,” he retorted. “I hate waiting.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed.” She rolled her eyes. “Leslie’s working as fast as she can. Just sit down and be patient.”

Hal paced for another minute before collapsing into the seat beside her; she took his hand in hers and rubbed her thumb on the back of his hand. “What are you doing?” he asked, and she hummed.

“Comforting you.”

“Why?”

She looked at him. “Because you’re worried.”

“How are you not?”

“I am,” she commented, and he scowled.

“You don’t look it.”

“Well, that’s because I was trained to retain my emotions a as child,” she retorted. “It helps when I’m dealing with children who are scared.”

“I’m not a child,” Hal hissed, and she snorted.

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“You know what? I’m gonna—”

The door opened and their mouths snapped shut as Leslie walked in with a smile. “Good afternoon.”

“Hey Leslie,” she greeted, then glanced at the papers in her hand. “So? What’s the verdict?”

Leslie handed her the file and she looked it over. “Case of irregular period, dear.”

She blinked and said dumbly, “I’m not pregnant?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Our bodies act up sometimes, even when we’re grown. Irregularities can still happen even now.” Clearing her throat, Leslie added, “But your blood and urinalysis came back negative. You’re not pregnant.” She looked between Hal and her. “With the results, you’re free to leave.”

She stood to her feet, but when Hal didn’t, she tugged his hand. “Hal,” she whispered. “Come on.”

He staggered to his feet. “Yeah, I’m coming.” He disappeared out of the clinic room, and she sighed, then looked at Leslie.

“Thanks doc.”

“Of course.”

***

They were quiet on the park bench, watching the sun reflect off the water and listening to the birds singing in the sky. “So…I guess that’s a relief,” Hal stated, and she nodded.

“Yeah. I guess it is.” Laughing, she said, “I mean could you imagine if I were actually carrying your kid?” when he didn’t laugh, she looked over at him. “Hal?”

He blinked, shaking himself out of his thoughts. “Yeah, couldn’t imagine it.”

“Hal,” she plead. “Are you upset that I’m not?”

“What? No. No, I’m relieved you’re not pregnant, but…” he sighed and shrugged. “I dunno at the same time as scared as I was, I was happy, you know? Ready to step up and be there for you.”

She lowered her gaze to his hands and reached over, placing hers over his and he took it, squeezing. “Well, look at it this way. This was the universe telling you that you’re ready to be a father and this was the universe telling me that I’m not ready to be a mom or your baby’s mother.”

Hal gazed at her for a moment then chuckled. “Yeah, I guess it is.” He squeezed her hand again and climbed to his feet, flashing green as his suit appeared. “Now that everything’s sorted out, I should be getting back to Coast City.”

“Sounds good,” she agreed, standing to her feet.

“Can I drop you off anywhere?”

“Nah, I’m gonna walk around for a bit,” she said.

Hal took to the sky then looked down at her. “If you ever find yourself ready…call me?”

A shocked laugh bubbled in her chest, and she shook her head. “Not a chance in hell, Jordan.”

“Come on, don’t you think it would be fun to have the old Bat call me his son in law?”

Giggling, she waved him off. “Get out of here, Hal.”

Winking, he replied, “See you later, babe.”

She couldn’t help but chuckle and watch him leave, then she shook her head. “Ridiculous.” But a small smile was still on her lips as she headed down the street.

***Alternate Ending***

She gazed numbly out at the water, not sure if she should feel surprise or shock, but whatever emotion she was feeling had completely dumbfounded her. She was pregnant. Her hands had unconsciously pressed tight to her stomach, and she felt sick more than anything. Sick, scared, ashamed, every emotion that came with sleeping with a coworker—and every TV show and movie where the woman got pregnant from the affair.

How was she going to explain this to her family? To her friends? How was she going to face their scrutiny? Pregnant out of wedlock? With the biggest skirt-chasing, arrogant asshole in the galaxy? She’d take the brunt of their scathing opinions. He’d get off scot-free. He’d—

“(Y/N).” Someone’s hand rested on her shoulder, and she blinked, suddenly brought from her stupor and she looked over at him; his gaze was full of worry. “Are you okay?”

Instantly, she felt angry, and she jerked away from him, standing to her feet. “Am I okay!” she shouted. “You got me pregnant! Do you have any idea what this is going to do to us! To our reputations! To mine!”

Irritation etched across his face, and he stood to his feet, getting in her face. “It takes two to tango, (Y/N). We both did this—not just me.”

Her mouth opened to retort sharply, but damned if he didn’t have a point and she shut her mouth, tasting something bitter as she looked away. “I’m going home.”

She turned and his hand shot out, grabbing hold of her arm. “Wait, I don’t want you going alone.”

“Let go of me.” She hissed, trying to pull away, but he tightened his grip.

“No. It’s too dangerous for you to be out alone.”

(Y/N) scoffed. “I think you’re forgetting who you’re talking to Jordan. I’m—”

“The mother of my child.” Hal declared and she gaped at him. “I know what you and your family think of me. I know you think I’m an arrogant asshole and yeah, I’ll admit that I am.” He pulled her to him and wrapped his arm around her waist. “But if you think for a second, I’m going to let you wander around this bat-shit crazy city alone while pregnant, then you’re the one who’s being arrogant.”

He searched her gaze. “I’m many things, (Y/N). But I’m not going to abandon you or shy away from whatever this is.”

She swallowed thickly. “What do you mean ‘whatever this is’? Parents?”

“Us.” Hal said. “Maybe it’s just my big head, but I see the way you look at me. Yeah, I annoy the hell out of you, but you care for me.” He reached up, cupping her cheek. “And I care about you too. More than just what teammates should for one another.”

(Y/N) didn’t know what to say, because he did have a point. Hal was an annoying prick who at many times provoked her into physical confrontation, but on the other hand, there was nothing she loved more than fighting with him, because she knew he found it just as amusing.

Her gaze lowered and she felt tears well in her eyes. “I’m scared, Hal.”

“I know. I am too,” he murmured. “But we’re going to get through this.” He tipped her head up, catching her eyes once more. “We will get through this. Together.”

(Y/N)’s lips wobbled, and she tried for a lighthearted comment. “Isn’t fraternization against the rules?”

Hal grinned. “Only in the military.” He winked. “Last time I checked—we’re not in it.”

She laughed, leaning forward, and pressed her forehead to his. “How’s everyone going to react to this?”

He shrugged. “Probably with shock. I mean about me getting a girl pregnant? Not likely. Getting you pregnant? More likely.”

“Shut up.”

“I think we should consider getting married though.”

(Y/N) pulled away and stared at him. “Excuse me?”

Hal looked at her. “(Y/N), we should think about getting married. I mean, we’re gonna have a kid together. Might as well tie the knot while we’re at it.”

She merely blinked and spun, walking off. “Nope. Not happening. I’ll be your baby-mama, but I am not marrying you.”

“Hey! Wait up!”

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olivia-anderson-fanfic · 4 years

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Satisfied, Part 12

First

I’m going to start answering comments at the bottom but before the taglist now so you guys can get straight into the chapter (unless it’s really important like taking a break or something)

Also I’ve decided to move all the Wayne kids closer together in age. Damian’s 18, Tim is 21, Jason is 23, Dick is 25

~~~

She didn’t go to the coffee shop the next day. Partially because she wasn’t getting her overpriced coffee paid for (at least not without a lot of whining), but mostly because she wanted to do some research where people couldn’t see her.

She sighed as she flipped between all fifty of her tabs, resting her head on her hand. She could hear Tikki trying, and failing, to make her something to eat in the kitchen.

Who could the bat family be? They had to have a lot of influence and/or money to get as much information as they did. She flipped through the most wealthy people in Gotham and its surrounding area, but where was the cutoff? How was she to know that they weren’t middle class people who saved for expensive things?

And then there was the tiny case of the near-slipup on the rooftops. Nightwing was about to call Robin something. He wouldn’t have been saying ‘friend’, he wouldn’t have had to pause like that. What had he been about to say? She hoped it wasn’t ‘boyfriend’, they had what seemed to be a 10 year age gap. Her best assumption was they were going to say ‘brother’, which implied at least most of the bat family was related.

Her eyes found their way to the tab with a picture of Bruce Wayne. He was standing alone, his kids never had pictures taken of them out of respect for their privacy, but everyone knew of his penchant for adopting kids with dark hair and blue eyes.

Great. She’ll never know, then. How was she, a designer, supposed to get close to the Bruce Wayne?

On a completely unrelated note, the next day she stood outside of a gate with Tim. Her eyes locked on the weird symbol on the gate, trying to place where she’d seen it before, but her brain couldn’t seem to find it. Oh well, it was probably just one of the rich people she’d researched yesterday.

Tim placed his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “You can not let my dad adopt you.”

She gave a small eyeroll, pushing his hands off and smoothing out her dress. It had taken forever to get a dresscode out of Tim, because he insisted that ‘you could wear a burlap sack and my family would love you, just relax’, but he eventually just told her formal. Not helpful. There’s levels of formal, Tim. She had settled for a plain red dress with a black belt.

“I don’t think my parents would be all that excited if I traded them out after a few days here.”

He nodded. “That’s good. Use that.”

“Use tha--?”

The gates swung open.

Tim took a deep breath as if to steel his nerves. “At least Damian isn’t here. You get to meet the nicest of the family first.”

“Why isn’t he here?”

“He got out of it,” he shrugged.

They stepped inside. She stared up at the high walls. She pulled out her phone and took a picture in case she messed up with Tim’s family so bad that she wasn’t allowed back.

The moment she walked in someone pulled her into a hug. “Thank you!” He cried.

Marinette blinked and gave him a short pat on the back. “You’re... welcome?”

He pulled away and held out a hand to shake. “Sorry, I was just so excited to meet the person who got him to take a day off. I’m Dick.”

“You’re... you’re what?” She said, her eyebrows shooting into her hair.

Dick rubbed the back of his neck. “Oh, right, French. I’m Richard but, in America, that gets shortened to ‘Dick’.”

She blinked once, then just chose to accept it. “Nice to meet you, I’m Marinette.”

“How’d you do it?”

She gave a small shrug as they began walking to the dining room. “I don’t know. He just offered.”

Dick sent her a skeptical look, then looked at his brother as if to confirm.

“In my defense, she looked really stressed.”

“More stressed than you usually do?” Came a voice from above. She looked up to see yet another guy leaning over a railing to look at them.

Marinette raised her eyebrows. “I thought you guys were adopted, how do you all look exactly the same?”

The newest grinned. “Dad’s got a type.” He hopped the railing and landed next to them.

She narrowed her eyes slightly as she took a better look at all of them. Tim’s dodge could be put down as self-defense, but hopping a railing and landing without getting hurt?

She blinked as a hand was thrust in her face and gave a weak smile. “I’m Marinette, nice to meet you.”

“Jason.”

Her brain was blaring alarms, trying desperately to tell her something, but it all came out as ‘AHDKFSFHDLKSNDG’, which wasn’t all that useful.

She shook his hand.

It wasn’t until she walked into the dining room and her eyes landed on the Bruce Wayne that she finally figured everything out. Her hands flew to her mouth as she stared at him in stunned silence.

Then she wheeled on Tim and pulled him down by the collar of his shirt. “You’ve been a Wayne this whole time? Why didn’t you tell me?”

He had the decency to look sheepish. “I didn’t want you to use me for my money.”

“Please, I knew you were rich from the get-go, it wouldn’t have mattered if you were ‘goes to Disney twice a year’ rich or ‘could buy Disney if you wanted’ rich. You should have at least warned me outside the gate!”

Bruce dropped something on the desk and Marinette squeaked quietly, letting go of her captive. It was a file of some sort. Crap, was this an interrogation or something? Was that a rich people thing? Do they do in-depth research on people that talk to their kids?

The man slid the file over and she opened it to see... adoption papers?

“Wow, you really weren’t kidding,” she mumbled as she flipped through them. She glanced up at Bruce. “How did you get these so fast?”

“I have them on me at all times at this point,” he explained.

She blinked a few times and then slowly closed the file. “I’m sorry, but I have parents already.”

Everyone (except Tim) seemed stunned. She heard Jason whisper: “Is that allowed?”

Despite the slight confusion, everyone took a seat at the table. There was quite a few seats, but she was amused to see all the kids opting to sit next to her.

Dick rested his head on his hands from his spot across the table. “So, what do you know about Ladybug?”

She did her best not to tense.

“Subtle,” said Jason sarcastically from her right. He turned back to her and gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry, ‘bout that. He’s been obsessed since she appeared, and most of his research has been a dead end. He’s grasping at straws.”

She forced a small laugh. “I’m too clutzy to ever be Ladybug, you can ask anyone.”

Dick groaned. “And I don’t suppose you know who it is?”

“Nope.”

Jason, apparently eager to change the subject every two seconds, asked: “How’d you two meet?”

She glanced at Tim, who was shaking his head so fast she thought it’d pop off, then turned back to his brothers and father. “We met at the coffee shop. He spilled coffee on me.”

She heard Tim’s head hit the table as he groaned.

Jason was cackling. “Awwww, Tim is in a coffeeshop AU!”

Dick grinned. “Next you’ll tell me he offered you free drinks for life or something.”

“Well, actually,--.”

She couldn’t even finish, Jason was laughing so hard.

Bruce seemed less amused. “I would hope that he did, and for the shirt. too.”

She smirked and looked at Tim, who seemed to sense what she was going to do before she did it. He sent her a short look, a ‘don’t you dare’, before she spoke: “Actually, he revoked my coffee privileges.”

The poor kid sighed and closed his eyes. His father was glaring daggers at him, so, after a few seconds of him struggling, he finally gave in. “Fine, I’ll pay for coffee again.”

She cheered and gave Jason a high five.

Dick rolled his eyes. “You’re children.”

“Like you’re so much better!” Complained Jason. “You’re only two years older than me!”

Marinette rolled her eyes and reached out to poke Tim’s face until he finally looked over at her.

“He lives!” She cheered softly and he shook his head and sat up some, a smile playing across his lips.

Bruce chuckled and leaned back in his chair. He’d been watching the four for a little while. They seemed like they’d get along...

“Tim, have you invited her yet?”

Tim went red.

“I’ll take that as a no. Do you want to do it or should I?”

The kid took a deep breath to steel himself, then gently poked her shoulder for her attention. The moment she looked at him, though, he froze and couldn’t seem to get any words out.

Marinette’s head tipped to the side. “Um...?”

Bruce rolled his eyes. “I’d like to, on behalf of my son, invite you to the Wayne Gala.”

To everyone’s surprise, the girl didn’t smile, or thank him, or really react positively at all.

Marinette released a quiet sound, like a balloon deflating, as she slumped into her seat and covered her face in her hands. Tim rubbed her shoulder comfortingly.

“What’s wrong?” Came Dick’s voice.

“Six!” She cried.

“You have something against musicals?” Said Jason.

She lowered her hands just enough to glare at him. “I have to make six outfits in four months.”

“You don’t have --,” began Tim.

“I have to! Make! Six outfits! In four months!”

~~~

When Marinette is done with the gala outfits will I show you what they look like?

I’ll do you one better. I’m showing them now because it took a longgggg time and I KNOW I will forget if I wait until then.

I tried to match their personalities with their posture and clothes. I kinda forgot Penny’s character though lol so now she’s kinda like Nathalie.

Also that took forever. If ya’ll want that again you gotta pay me. Christ.

Why is she making an outfit for Adrien if they aren’t friends?

They aren’t on bad terms, they just grew apart due to a difference in ideology. But, beyond that, she has her reasons. You’ll find out when Adrien comes by.

~~~

Taglist

@thatonecroc @comet-kun @trippingovermyfeet @swiftie-miraculer13 @nickristus-dreamer @moongoddesskiana @i-am-ironic @indecisive-mess-named-me @thebooki3h @insane-fangirl-of-everything @deepestobservationwombat @theymakeupfairies @fatimaabbasrizvi @clumsy-owl-4178 @fanofalittletoomuch @iamablinkmarvelarmy @nathleigh @lilkymilky @silvergold-swirl @dino-lovingreen-angel @thestressmademedoit @kissa-chan @ladybug-182 @alysrose-starchild @t1dwarrior-of-earth

#god really gave me all the talent huh #yea yea hubris will be my downfall whatever #timinette #timari #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #tim drake #red robin #maribat #satisfied

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thr-333 · 3 years

Note

Could you possibly do one where Mari/Mari and marine is/are the daughter/son of the joker?

I actually planned quite a lot for this after you asked but could never get my thoughts to make something comprehensive so I give up here's what I got!:

-Twins are Joker and Harleys kids born before the two split up(and so help me they will split up this story needs gay aunt Ivy)

-As you might know, these two clowns have another kid; Lucy. Harley left Lucy with her sister when she was born. In canon, she thinks Harley is her aunt but I would say in this fic she learned the truth when the twins were also dropped off.

-So the twins grew up in Gotham with their aunt and big sister knowing full well who their parents are; as such they make the responsible choice to suppress every part of themselves that resembles them and constantly dye their hair in an effort to avoid looking like them. You know healthy coping mechanisms. -

-Naturally, Marinette has brown hair with blue eyes and Marion blonde with brown eyes.

-Their personalities are a bit different from Mismatch.

-Marion is still a trickster and a trouble maker but this time around has Marinette fully involved and responsible for his shenanigans. He has a bit of a habit of talking to himself(or singing random phrases), sometimes in the third person; he hates when he does, so Marinette always tells him off. He’s always gets the impulse of dying his hair outlandish colors and will vehemently deny his favorite color is green.

- Marinette is crafty, both figuratively and literally. She’s smart, her mother is a doctor after all she can be manipulative to people that arent her(close) family to protect the ones she cares about. She has a deep-seated fear of becoming a trophy, an object to be put on display like her mother and so dresses the opposite and pushes away her love for fashion.

-They will always call each other Mari but if someone else tries they both answer its a nickname they strictly use for each other.

-In a world where Gotham exists it makes absolutely no sense that Gabriel wouldn't start his reign as Hawkmoth in Gotham(the place with the most negative emotions like geez) so that works out perfectly for the twins becoming heroes(Adrien can move to Gotham or be left in Paris to be kept safe your choice)

-Instead of the twins proving themselves by helping an old man up off the street they go a step further is beating up the thugs that try to rob him(all Fu’s set up of course). When they come home to find two mysterious boxes on their beds they make the only rational conclusion children of the joker would; it’s a bomb!

-Not wanting to get the police involved for obvious reasons they find the security footage(which gets the police involved in a different way) and start tracking down fu to see why he’s trying to kill him.

-And as you may recall at this point in canon Ladybug and Chat Noir are defeating an Akuma, well they're not here they’re off to beat up an old man so thats Batman’s job for the time being.

-The twins get caught up in the fight as civilians and are saved by Batman who immediately recognizes them(you don't think Batman has case files on all of Jokers hellspawn?) so that’s gonna be a problem later but never mind that for now~

-The twins track down Fu, who is wondering why they aren’t out fighting the Akuma. Long story short Fu comes back to the house with them and proves they aren't bombs giving them the miraculous.

-I’m a bit indecisive on the names. I thought Marinette would be Red Bug and Marion Black Cat(yes I know that names already taken I don’t care). But I thought Crimson Bug would work better because then their names would start with the same letters. Then I wanted alliteration like Black Bug and Crimson Cat but that obviously doesn't make any sense since Chats color is green not red-- then I realized it would be completely in character for them to call themselves that confusing everyone in the process so no one quite sure whos name is who(if you wanna write it go with whatever I just thought it could be funny)

-As for costumes Marinette's probably wouldn't be skin tight because deep down she really doesn't want to look like that but more practical armor or less form-fitting at least. Marion's hair turns green when he transforms something he freaks out about and Marinette's turns red(glowing or not either would look cool)

-So anyway they go off to defeat the akuma blah blah blah Batman seeing these two young untrained superheroes can only think of one thing: I have to adopt them. So that’s gonna be fun!

-Anyway they go back home trying to be sneaky and immediately get caught by Lucy: ”Don’t tell Aunty!”-- ”Oh I already know” (her names Delia by the way)

- So now the twins get a support system and a family that will look out for them unbelievable right? This support system immediately threatens Fu making sure he actually trains them and doesn't just set them loose on Gotham.

Anyway that's the end of my semi-cohesive plan and here's a vague outline for the fic:

1. Becoming ladybug and chat noir setting up adoption, and school(Bruce invites them to Gotham academy to keep an eye on the jokers children)

2. First day at school setting up Artemis(and by extension young justice), and own passions, Adrien is also at this school now so Marinette falls, Jason finds out falling in love with Marion

3. Becoming friends with Artemis, convinces them to give their passions a try, Marion runs from hood, some let me adopt you stuff also Jason's spite for Cat Noir

4. Skip a bit of time a few months or so, young justice need help Artemis suggest mari and mari, Marinette has a smackdown with batman about their heritage, at odds with young justice Artemis comes to their defense. Young Justice have an ‘oh’ realization on the job when Marion sings a lullaby to a scared child, now the young justice form the mari and mari protection squad

5. Doing ladybug and cat stuff batman approaches them again this time luring them into adoption with a partnership on finding hawkmoth, Red Hood and cat fight. Marion comes back all huffy and there's a scene with Lucy this time comforting them, Marion goes out to get air runs into hood marion bristles stirring Jason to meet him as a civilian, class come to visit, at odds with lila

6. Doing well at school even made a few friends when the Paris class come to visit completely under lila’s control, lila tries to slander the twins for not worshiping her only to out herself when she tells everyone they laughed at her(the twins never laugh), Jason also drops by further discrediting her, lila tries to throw their heritage in their face but they get support openly working with heroes as civilians, this little section ends quite happily with them being sort of accepted at school and batman tolerating their existence for not attacking the person who tried to make their life miserable

7. Time skip few years out of high school now, ladybug and cat are working well with gothams vigilantes widely considered part of the batfam even if no one knows each other's identities. As mari and mari they are doing good work mainly outside of gotham. Marinette is starting a fashion boutique with a little financial help from Wayne enterprises she also does costume design for heroes and villains, villains mainly because she can't stand their current outfits. Marion quite likes his music but isn't sure how he will feel in the public eye is great friends with Jason and the skip picks up with them officially starting to go out identities unknown. They are still hesitant about their identities in civilian life Marinette starting her business under a false name and Marion cant start his because of his heritage. Jason officially has to admit they are going out to the family is met with grilling by aunt and sister, joy by harley once she tries giving them sex advice they leave, his brothers tease and both are tense about Bruces reaction but he begrudgingly accepts. Are out as ladybug and Cat still snippy with hood but it’s not as bad they are closing in on hawkmoth. Go to hang out with young justice as well they aren't well-liked in Gotham but they’re fine with that(not really)

8. NOW things can go to shit joker finally has enough of them deciding to get a hold of them but I think it should be as ladybug and chat revealing their identities to the world. The twins are terrified rightfully so. Get saved now it’s weird between hood and marion, marion feeling betrayed Jason knew who he was and knew who his father was but still decided to date him and he just can't understand why. Adrien was so scared for Marinette and now they both have to work out why. Gotham is at odds the heroes they admire are born from a villain they fear. Bats are a bit weird feeling like they were tricked while also kind of acknowledging the twins are good people

9. Harassed in their everyday life now the twins go to young justice where they get met with awe for being established independent heros, bats there are acting weird but the twins say something to shift perspective leaving to let them mull on it. Jason tries to apologise saying he doesn't see Marion like that blah blah Marion has a breakdown asking how he can be anything but a villain. Marinette's having whiplash going from loved to hated and still dealing with the trauma of seeing her father. They snap. In public a big ol scene and they get akumatised everyone sees it, it’s on tv. Hawkmoth comes out to get their miraculous the batfam can’t beat him. He’s monolouging probing at their deepest fears when they snap back to reality realizing none of it’s true every part of them has worked to be good people and they are they don't hand over their miraculous beating the akumatizaton and beating hawkmoth while akumatised.

10. They are released from the hospital a few days later, getting hesitant recognition on the streets. It's not thunderous applause but it is something. Their family comes to pick them up, Adrien is crying to Marinette about not scaring him like that(her family took him in when Gabriel was revealed). Marion gets picked up by Jason they patch things over. They get accepted into the batfam and work as ladybug and cat for everything. Marion decides to start playing music and Marinette reveals her face to her fashion brand.

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vikingpoteto · 4 years

Text

middle children must unionize

read on ao3 ______________________

my contributior for @batfam-big-bang

Summary: Jason realizes no one is taking care of Tim - not even Tim himself. He decides to do something about it.

Notes: I can't stress enough how grateful I am for joining this event. First of all, stan the mods. Stan my beta reader team, @timmydrakewings, @stormleviosa and @sun-lit-roses. Stan my artist team @houser-of-stories, @reese-haleth and @anicomicqueen To all of these amazing talented people that, for whatever reason chose to help me with this story, I can't stress enough how grateful I am. ________________________

Jason doesn’t keep in touch with the Bats after Bruce’s gone.

Batwoman only trusts him as far as she can throw him. Dick is not easy to avoid, but Jason keeps their contact to a minimum nonetheless. Ninja girl doesn’t speak with him. Replacement… Well. Jason does have a weird professional relationship with the kid. As professional as you can get with someone you tried to kill. Barbara will probably never forgive him for making Dick cry so many times. Brat girl will probably never forgive him for trying to kill Replacement. The other one, whatever his name is, is low-key/high-key terrified of Jason. As for the gremlin... Well, he’s like 10? 11? Jason doesn’t hang out with children, not even assassin ones.

So yeah. Not on friendly terms with anyone in the Wayne family.

However he is an instigator at heart and, while whatever they’re doing in the Batcave is none of his business, he’ll be damned if he doesn’t finish one of his rare visits by stirring things up a bit.

Dick usually makes sure he doesn’t do anything too outrageous, but a distraction comes in the form of Gremlin, who shows up demanding to know why Dick is late for their training session or whatever. The brat sends Jason a scathing look but otherwise doesn’t acknowledge him. Dick only smiles patiently and waves Jason goodbye, leaving Replacement unsupervised. Before heading out, Jason approaches Replacement, who’s sitting by the batcomputer.

“So,” he starts. Jason notices when the kid flinches a little. Your regular guy wouldn’t, but Jason was once a bat too. “How does it feel to be replaced, Replacement?”

Replacement’s shoulders go stiff for half a second.

When he turns to face Jason, however, his expression is empty.

“Predictable,” he says.

Jason quirks an eyebrow up. “Meaning?”

“I was only a Robin because I was, how can I put this, a coworker?” Replacement turns his eyes back to the computer and starts typing. “It was a no-strings-attached sort of deal. Bound to end at some point.”

That’s… new.

“You’re legally adopted into the Wayne family,” Jason hears himself reminding him.

“Yeah, ain’t that a pickle,” Replacement laughs. “Can you guess who forced Bruce to do that? My money was on Dick, but now I think it was probably Babs or Alfred.”

Jason stares, unsure what to make of that. Before he decides, the kid stands up.

"I have always been a patch job, so being dismissed is to be expected. I'm just overstaying my welcome at this point."

“You can get dismissed? I thought this was an until-your-untimely-death sort of gig.”

That was not how Jason expected this conversation to go, like, at all. He had never seen Replacement looking so… worn out? Lifeless?

“I don’t know, man,” Tim frowns as though he made himself confused. “God, I’m sleepy. See you around, I guess.”

And Jason watches him leave the cave with his shoulders hunched and an empty stare. Dick and Gremlin are so preoccupied with their sparring session that they don’t seem to notice. Jason sticks around for a few more seconds, stunned, before he realizes what he’s doing. He goes home.

Jason can’t stop thinking about what the kid said.

It’s not that he didn’t think something of the sorts, especially when he was angriest at Bruce. He had thought about how Batman trained his children to be soldiers and, like soldiers, they could be easily replaced. After all, what was one more problem child joining their broken family? What’s another deadly brat being thrown at some creeps wearing literal clown costumes?

He did think of them as Bruce’s kids though.

Not that Batman had any expertise in healthy parenting techniques, but Jason didn’t have any healthy son experiences to compare so it didn’t matter much. They were Batkids for the better and mostly for the worse, and if something happened to them, well, the crusade must go on.

He never thought of Robin as someone that could be sent home out of the blue, like your average GC Pig. A disgrace to the family? Sure. See, kids, we don’t talk about cousin Jason. He got himself killed and came back all crooked. That’s what happens if you kill murderers or forget to brush your teeth. Still, the idea of being dismissed for no reason never occurred to Jason. It was absurd, because, as far as Jason knew, his replacement was the perfect little soldier. Why would he walk away?

Dick fought with Bruce. Jason… well. You know. Brat girl had to move cities or whatever? Or she died, but got better? Jason doesn’t really know anything about the chick. Either way, he knows she became Batgirl soon after. Tim, however, had nothing stopping him from staying masked. Why would Replacement talk about being Robin as if it was a summer job?

Does that mean that the wimpy kid Jason has been bullying was really that cold and detached?

He thinks about it until his head hurts and he starts remembering times with Bruce and Dick and Alfred and suddenly he doesn’t want to think about it anymore.

It’s a good thing Jason is good at compartmentalizing, because that’s what he does. He pushes thoughts of Batman and Robin to the depths of his mind and forgets about it.

He doesn’t find out until weeks later.

He’s not visiting the manor because he wants to. It’s just that there is this stupid encrypted information he needs for a case and he isn’t exactly tech savvy. He doesn’t think Barbara would do him a solid - she’s still ignoring him for… whatever. He doesn’t even know. Probably something about hurting Dick’s pwecious feewings or eating the last cookie Alfred made. Either way, Jason first tries contacting Replacement directly. Only when the kid doesn’t pick up he forces himself to go to the cult headquarters.

He needs that data, dammit, and whoever called programming logic, was out of their damn mind. If true, execute commands 1, 2 and IV, it said. If what was true? Jason read and read and still didn’t get what it was referring to. And why would someone name the commands regular numbers then just… throw a fucking roman number? Just to spice things up? Whoever wrote that damn code should get a bullet in the foot.

“Jay!” Dick grins at him, although he looks unamused by the fact that Jason is coming in through a window on the second floor. “You do remember that we have a door, don’t you?”

“I like to keep ‘em guessing,” Jason says. “Which room is the kid’s? I have a job for him.”

Dick tilts his head to the side, confused. “Damian is at school?”

And then there’s that. A lot to unpack. First, Jason is deeply offended that Dick thinks he would ever go there after Gremlin, the child that likes to criticize Jason's skills despite the fact that a) Jason was trained by Damian's father and then b)Jason was trained by Damian's mother. Second, Damian Wayne. Going to Gotham Academy. Does he wear the uniform? Does he have homework or does he threaten the teachers with a sword until they quit? Did anyone explain to him the concept of playing tag before he murders a bunch of 9 year olds? Jason has so many questions. If only he had time.

“I said the kid . The human one, not the imp.”

“Oh.” Dick seems taken aback. “Oh, he... Jason, Tim isn’t in Gotham. You didn’t know?”

Jason groans. “Are you kidding me? You annoyed him into leaving the planet with his alien friends again, didn’t you?”

“No, he… I actually don’t know where he is now.”

Jason blinks in surprise. So Dick didn’t pick Bruce’s habit of microchipping his kids?

“What do you mean you don’t know? How do you lose a whole Robin? The uniform is basically a traffic cone.”

Dick sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. Jason had seen Bruce do just that so many times he forgets for a moment whatever stupid joke he was about to make. When did his older brother become the dad?

“He left a while ago. He barely spent any time here at the manor after I gave Robin to Damian, so…”

Jason freezes. After I gave Robin to Damian, he says. Being dismissed is to be expected, the kid said weeks ago.

“Dick. What the fuck did you do?”

Dick looks surprised at the raw anger in Jason’s voice, even though he shouldn’t fucking be. Jason remembers the distant voice on that day. He did think that was oddly cold for Replacement, even if he was a calculating nerd. Except that wasn’t him being cold. That was him lying to himself.

Jason would know. He spent most of his childhood telling himself he didn’t need a loving father. A good part of his teenage years telling everyone that would hear that he didn’t care at all that Bruce kept holding him to the standards of the perfect son that went away. It’s a lot easier to pretend you didn’t care because it makes it hurt less when things are taken away. Jason was a fucking pro at that technique, so much he wonders how the hell he didn’t notice earlier.

“I did what I had to do,” Dick says, defensively. The way he does when he’s second guessing himself, but still in denial about it. “Tim’s a hero of his own right and he’s capable enough that…”

“That you fucking fired him?” Jason barks.

“Damian needs Robin, Jason! He’s just so lost and being Robin gave him a sense of purpose, allowed him to actually be a child.”

“No shit Gremlin is a child! What about Replacement? He’s, what, 15?”

“He’s 17, how do you not know your own brother’s age?”

“Whatever! He’s just a teen and you basically just told him to fuck off.”

Dick sighs. “Look, I tried to help Tim. Tim’s friends tried to help Tim. But he’s a mature person and he wanted some time for himself.”

Ain’t that a familiar song. A good dose of leave me the fuck alone while still wearing a goddamn bat on his chest and making sure to make enough noise to draw attention. He doesn’t like how close it hits to home, how Dick, who’s supposed to be the best of them, ends up being just as shit as recognizing emotions as any other Bat. Jason laughs without any humor.

Incensed, Dick’s jaw sets in challenge as he adds: “I trust Tim and I respected his choice to leave on his own mission, because he knows what’s right for him.”

“Keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night,” Jason says. “You’re right. Give the demon what he needs. Replacement is a grown ass adult because you respect him so much .”

“Jason, I didn’t say that…”

“He was never a kid here, Dick, even I know that. You all keep throwing shit at him, messes for him to fix ‘cause it’s fine, it’s little Timmy, he’s so fucking capable, he can take it. Have you ever considered that he was always an adult because you all are the fucking children?”

I have always been a patch job sounds awfully similar to I’m here because he got lonely after you left.

But apparently Dick is done exercising his brotherly patience and Jason hit a nerve.

“What do you know about him? You never bothered to talk to him, to spend time with him. You don’t know shit about Tim.”

Jason scoffs. Dick’s face grows unevenly red.

“You don’t, Jason! You were busy trying to kill him. Remember that bonding experience? Must have been fun for him. Having the hero he grew up admiring trying to murder him?”

Jason throws the first punch. Dick easily dodges, the motherfucker, the damn superior Robin.

Screw it, Jason thinks as they start yet another classic Robin Brawl that would only end when Ninja Girl mysteriously dropped from the ceiling and kicked both of their asses.

Jason doesn’t hear from the cave for a while. His phone gets a weird virus, so he guesses Oracle heard he pushed Dick down the stairs. He just tosses the whole thing away and decides that screw his stupid case with the weird code, screw detective work. The biggest detectives aren’t around anymore. He'll just call Kory and convince her to help torch the place up and hopefully the new Batman and Robin will have to deal with the aftermath.

The next time Jason hears from his brothers, it’s a frantic call from Dick that makes Jason’s blood turn into ice: freaking Ra’s Al Ghul is in Gotham doing his whole Head of the Demon thing. He grabs his bike and he’s still on the comms with Dick as he heads to the manor because Alfred is in there.

“What did Gremlin do?” he asks.

“Nothing,” Dick answers and Jason can barely hear him over the wind. He’s probably swinging around Gotham as he speaks. “It was Tim. Tim’s back and Ra’s is after him and everyone he cares about.”

Fuck. This is the kid Dick trusted to go out alone on a self-discovery journey or whatever. Jason wonders what the hell he had been up to get that much unwanted attention.

In the end, everything works out, kind of. No one on their side dies, but Tim does get thrown out of a window. Of a very, very, veeery tall building. Jason still thinks he got off too easy. As smart as he is, Tim shouldn’t have survived a run in with Ra’s.

Jason is curious enough about it to stay in the cave after the fact. He and Dick sit near Tim’s bed while Leslie works her magic. Dick doesn’t take his eyes from his little brother’s pale face for even a second.

“We almost lost him,” he whispers at some point. “Again, we… I almost lost him.”

“But you didn’t,” Jason says, voice flat. “You saved him.”

Dick bites his lower lip hard enough to break the skin. Jason punches his shoulder to snap him out of it.

“Jay, about last time…”

“Ugh, don’t apologize, you freak. Why can’t you just bottle up your emotions and pretend nothing happened like the rest of this stupid family?”

That makes Dick give him a weak smile. If not for the bottling up part, for the part in which Jason admits they’re a family.

“You were… well, not right. I still think Tim shouldn’t be treated like a sidekick anymore,” Dick continues, despite Jason’s disgusted noises. “But he shouldn’t be left alone either. No one in this family should.”

Jason pretends to be gagging long enough that Dick gives up on trying to be a sensible adult and returns to silently watching over his brother.

After that, it’s a matter of stalling and by stalling he ends up watching the other Bats. He finds from Alfred that Ninja Girl isn’t looming over Tim’s bed because she’s in Hong Kong. Brat girl comes and goes the whole night and Jason doesn’t understand why she can’t simply sit down and wait as a pile of nerves like Dick is doing. At some point, she reads the morning newspaper and starts making so much fuss the one Jason doesn’t know the name - Dave? Dylan? - takes her upstairs to calm her down. Damian is nowhere to be found

In the end, Jason manages to be there when Replacement wakes up. Everyone is busy celebrating, too elated that Replacement is fine, so much they forget Jason is still lurking around. No one sees when his face goes pale and he feels like he’s going to puke.

“How did you know I was going to catch you?” Dick asks.

Tim gives him a tired smile. “You’re my brother, Dick. I knew you’d save me.”

Fuck.

Fuck. It’s like looking into a goddamn mirror, except Tim is so much better at this than Jason ever was. So much that he might even be fooling himself.

But he can’t fool Jason. Dick wants to believe in the best of them, he wants them all to be sane and safe and happy - as much as a Bat can be, at least - but Jason is more of a realist. He knows no one can plan that far ahead. He knows Tim went to a meeting with the Head of the Demon fully aware that he would most likely be carried out in a coffin. Considering Dick’s misstep from a couple months earlier and the fact that Tim had already assigned him and Damian a task, Batman was the last person Tim was expecting to show up.

Of course Dick would save him, any of them. Despite his issues with Bruce, Jason had his hero worship towards his brother restored pretty fast. Dick, the golden boy, the perfect son, loved him no matter what and Jason loved him back. Knew now that Dick had love enough to go around for all of them - all of them. But did Tim know that?

Tim finished his little mission, wrapped it all pretty with a bow, making sure no one kicked the bucket. Except for himself. Timothy Drake-Wayne was the contingency plan for Batman’s contingency plan, but he didn’t care enough to make a plan for himself.

Bruce is gone. Dick is painfully blind. The Drakes are dead. Alfred has his hands full. The Behemoths or the Little League, or whatever the hell the super kids call themselves now, were just that. Kids. Jason curses to himself, because, if no one else will watch out for Replacement, it’s none of his fucking business.

It’s not.

However…

Jason doesn’t know how to put his not-plan in action. He can’t exactly walk up to Tim and say hey, I think we’re not so different, you and I, so I’m worried for your safety. I know I tried to kill you, but that like... two years ago, get over it. Let’s be friends.

Before he figures it out, he hears that Bruce is back. The real Bruce.

He doesn’t know how to feel about it, so he decides to put some distance between him and the family one more time as he takes some weeks to process. He goes out of town to hang out with his friends. He is done with Gotham bullshit for a while.

Unfortunately, Jason finds himself facing his worst enemy: the damn encrypted data.

He hates that dealers now do their thing through the internet. Who the fuck buys marijuana online? Where is the poetry in that? The class of being friends with the sketchy guy that lives around the corner and hangs out with you while you smoke? If they’re gonna sell oregano online to rich white kids, fine, but they’re selling heavy stuff to people that live in his territory and there is a thing bigger than just drugs, if Jason’s hunch is right. He could confirm it by cracking the numbers he stole from their stupidly unguarded computers.

Except the encryption is too complicated for him to access the files.

Well, isn’t that the perfect excuse to take a visit to the kid’s apartment.

Because that is the situation right now. The kid is emancipated, controlling Wayne Enterprises and living by his damn self. There is so much to unpack that Jason wants to throw away the whole suitcase.

He should probably do just that, or at least that’s what he thinks when he climbs to Tim’s balcony (in his head, he hears Dick’s voice going what do you hate about front doors, man?) and he is immediately pushed to the ground.

He is wearing his helmet, sure, but it doesn’t make it less painful when someone fucking stomps on his head, forcing his face against the floor.

“Fuck,” is all Jason thinks of saying.

He then kicks his assailant in the shin and is satisfied when they tumble backwards. Unfortunately for him, they - she - doesn’t fall over the railing, she just stays away long enough to give him time to stand.

A bald girl wearing a distasteful crop top glares daggers at him. She is already back on her fighting stance - one that looks way too familiar for Jason’s taste - ready to strike. And strike she does.

Her movements are similar to Jason’s - fast, strong, unpredictable, unfair - but she has the advantage of being more slender and having more freedom of movement in the small space. All Jason can do is defend himself and not get tossed over the edge. Who the fuck is this girl? Why is she attacking him? Doesn’t she know he is the freaking Red Hood? He just wanted the damn-

“What on Earth are you guys doing on my balcony?”

The girl freezes. Jason does not. He lands a punch straight on her nose and she falls backwards, her mouth opening in pain even if no sound comes out.

“What the hell, Hood!”

Tim rushes to the girl’s side.

“What the hell Hood?” Jason parrots, indignant. “I just got here and she attacked me!”

Tim frowns and turns to the girl. “Is that true?”

Instead of answering, the girl holds her bloody nose and glares at him. She uses her free hand to show Tim four fingers. Tim sighs.

“I know it’s the fourth time you’ve had your nose broken,” Tim gives her a wry smile. “But the three other times you had it coming. And maybe even this time. Why did you attack Red Hood?”

She makes the gesture of someone walking with two fingers then points at Tim’s balcony door. Jason doesn’t know a lot of ASL, but those don’t seem to be the same signs Cassandra uses.

“She attacked me because she thought I was trying to break in?” He asks. “You have a bodyguard now?”

Tim stands and holds out his hand to the girl. She begrudgingly takes it and lets him pull her to her feet. “Why don’t we all go inside before someone notices the Red Hood on my balcony?”

Jason grumbles in annoyance but does make his way in. Tim is right behind him and Jason can’t help but think he’s acting as a shield in case the girl wants revenge for her nose.

“Come here, Pru, I’ll get something cold for your nose.”

Jason takes a look around. As they cross the living room, he notices it looks like a shiny rich person apartment you’d see in a magazine. Jason wasn’t sure what he expected of Tim’s new crib, and he knows the kid just moved in, but the fact that the place looks like a hospital’s reception makes him feel some sort of way.

Fortunately, the kitchen is a bit better. Not much, but it’s something. There are papers spread across the table, dirty glasses in the sink, a mug full of black steaming tea, Tim’s laptop open on top of a pile of books, and there are pictures on the fridge. Jason remembers vaguely Dick mentioning that one of the kids had a thing for photography and another liked drawing. He has to assume Tim is the photographer as he takes a good look at them: one of Brat girl’s grinning face with a big heart magnet, one of Tim and Cassandra sharing the same reading chair, one of Bruce in one of those fancy sweaters he used to wear at home, one of Dick and Cassandra doing handstands, one of a red head kid, behind him Tim, a muscular girl and an even more muscular guy. Jason doesn’t need to be a detective to figure those, even without the uniforms, are Impulse, Wonder Girl and Superboy.

“So,” Tim starts. He hands the girl a pack of frozen peas and shrugs at her dirty look. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Without ceremony, the girl takes a seat by the table and tries to steal a glance at Tim’s laptop. He casually closes it and smiles at her. She scoffs.

“First, you explain the bodyguard,” Jason says, gesturing to the girl.

“Right. Where are my manners? Pru, this is Red Hood. Hood, this is Prudence.”

He doesn’t turn to her so she can read his lips or use gestures to speak, so Jason figures she isn’t deaf, only mute. Maybe it’s something like Cassandra?

“Really? Prudence? That’s ironic. ”

She shows Jason her middle finger. Definitely not deaf then.

Unlike Prudence, Jason doesn’t make himself at home. When he crosses his arms and doesn’t say anything for a minute more, Tim reads his silence correctly and adds, “We’re working together for a while and there are a lot of people that want us dead, so you’ll have to forgive her. She saw a suspicious guy trying to get into my place and she assumed the worst.”

Jason quirks an eyebrow. Tim can’t see his expression behind the helmet, but he sighs nonetheless.

“Come on. She couldn’t know I sometimes work with the Red Hood too.”

I sometimes work with. Ouch. Jason supposes that’s fair, though. Tim hasn’t exactly been informed of Jason’s newfound empathy or his protective streak.

“How did you know where I live, by the way?” Tim asks.

“Alfred told me you moved,” Jason says. “I got your address from Cassandra.”

Tim’s brows disappear under his messy fringe. “Really?”

Jason nods. “Took a lot of convincing before she believed I didn’t want to kill you in your sleep.”

At that, Tim snorts. He’s still grinning when he asks, “What did you want it for then?”

“Tech support,” he says as he fishes a small flash drive from his pocket. “I was hoping you could crack some files for me.”

Tim takes it and nods. “I’ll check it out. I’ll send the results to you as soon as I have them. Anything else?”

Again… ouch. Apparently imprudent girl is welcome to kick back and hang out, but Jason is just a fellow associate that came to hand in an assignment and promptly piss off.

Then Jason realizes that that was exactly what their relationship was like before Tim went around the world to fight Ra’s al Ghul. Damn.

Well. It’s not like he can take off his helmet and stick around when there is a stranger in there, especially when Tim carefully introduced him as the Red Hood instead of good ol’ Jason Todd. He just wanted to check on the kid and he did. No need to get all clingy. That’s Dick’s thing, not his.

It isn’t until much later that Jason realizes how pointless the visit was. He wanted to see if the kid was okay. He suspected he wasn’t, but it wasn’t like he had any idea of what to do about it.

Lucky for him, Tim looked a lot better than last time. Less dead eyed, more like he has some sort of purpose. The fact that Dick is included in his little photo collection must mean they made amends. Whether it was because Jason’s whooping Dick’s ass or in spite of it he’ll never know. Based on what he knows about Tim, the kid might have just worked everything out by himself and forgiven Dick on his own terms.

Despite his decision to take care of Tim from then on, Jason is definitely not great at it. He doesn't think he lost the rights to admonish Dick for not talking to his brother. The fact is Jason isn't great with words. He wants to help Tim through actions.

Still the question remains: how?

(And Tim emails him the files he needed 8 hours later and Jason worries that the kid didn’t sleep, which… great. This is just great.)

Less than two nights later, someone gets into Jason's frequency. He's about to head out for patrol when a creaking sound inside his helmet precedes a familiar voice slightly twisted by static.

"Red Hood, this is Red Robin. Do you copy?"

Right. He goes by Red Robin now.

"What you want, rep… kid?" Jason inwardly winces at his misstep.

There is a moment of confused silence before Tim mercifully decides not to ask what that was. "I'm pursuing a lead in your territory."

Jason hums. "What's it? I'll handle it."

"No!" Tim says too fast. "I mean… it's my case. I just thought you could take the night off? Please?"

This is supposed to be the smart Robin, right? He does know that Jason isn’t a complete moron, right?

“What’s in it for me?” Jason asks.

If this was Damian, he’d get a colorful death threat. If this was Dick, a winded speech on how brothers are supposed to have each other’s backs and he's just asking for a tiny favor, Jason, don’t make me make my ex-girlfriend hack into your phone and block Netflix again. Tim, however, knows that everything has a price and has an answer ready.

“You owe me for those files I decoded for you.”

Straight to the point. No bullshit. Jason is starting to really like this kid.

“Fair enough. You go follow your lead and I won’t murder you for being in my territory.”

“Always a pleasure doing business with you, Hood.”

Jason didn’t say anything about taking the night off, though.

Jason knows that, if he was working alone, Tim wouldn’t ask for permission. He would let himself in and out of Jason's territory assuming Jason wouldn’t even notice - he’d done it before as Robin, and Jason did notice but pretended not to. He can’t track Red Robin as easily, but the fact that he doesn’t want Red Hood around means there is something or someone he can’t control tagging along… and who’s the one person even Tim Drake can never control?

“Brat girl,” Jason mutters to himself, a cocky grin spreading on his face. One of his informants just confirmed he saw Batgirl driving whatever the fuck that is that capsule vehicle into an empty building just south of Jason’s place.

Oracle is probably out of town again, otherwise she wouldn’t allow her precious not-daughter to be messing around with Tim in Jason’s territory. But then, if most of the rumors are correct, even Barbara can’t quite control the new Batgirl.

He wonders what the duo are up to as he lets himself into the abandoned place through a hole in the ceiling. Red Hood walks on the rafters in the dark until he can hear familiar voices. He stops on his tracks when he notices that Red Robin and Batgirl aren’t alone. Wonder Girl and Impulse stick out like bright red sore thumbs against Gotham’s darkness.

Red Hood hears enough to know they’re planning on saving someone - one of Impulse’s friends? - from a local group connected to Black Mask. Their plan is solid, but it’s hardly a task herculean enough to warrant the presence of a speedster and an amazon. Red Robin makes it sound like it’s absolutely necessary nonetheless, assigning each of them a role that fits their powers and going over every little detail. It’s the first time Hood sees the kid in a position of leadership and he thinks it suits him. He seems extremely at ease.

Actually… that’s not quite it. He’s not as wary of the world as he is when he’s with the Batfamily. Not Batman’s perfect mini-detective, not Nightwing’s model little brother, not WE CEO. He’s still very much a hero, a Robin, but it’s possible to see he’s seventeen under the cowl. Even his posture changes, his shoulders relax and he allows himself to be… God, himself. That must be the first time Jason sees Tim completely in his element, no tension, no (metaphorical) masks.

Real Red Robin stays close to his friends. Very close. Hell, Impulse is almost sitting on his lap, his arm firmly wrapped around Red Robin’s waist as he points at some sort of map his wrist pad is showing. Batgirl is clinging to his other side, her chin resting on his shoulder using the excuse to see better what he’s showing. Hadn’t those two broken up?

Then Red Robin says something so softly not even Hood picks up. The other three teens get tense. Impulse nods and disappears in a gust of wind as his friends wait in silence.

Half a second later, something hits Hood’s back at a very alarming speed because of course Red Robin noticed someone listening and sent his speedster friend to get him. He curses while he falls, barely managing to roll fast enough to avoid serious knee damage when he lands.

“Jason!” Red Robin whines not unlike an embarrassed child crying out mom, not in front of my friends!

“Maybe check who’s spying on you before sending a child bullet careening into their back, will ya?” Jason complains.

Wonder Girl frowns. “Is that…”

“The Red Hood,” Batgirl confirms in a flat voice. “Yup.”

“Isn’t he a criminal?” Impulse asks, genuine curiosity in his voice.

A facepalming Red Robin groans. “He doesn’t do crime anymore.” Under Batgirl’s skeptical glare, he corrects, “He doesn’t do bad crimes anymore. What are you doing here, Hood? You said you were taking the night off!”

“I said I wouldn’t shoot you for being in my territory,” Hood corrects. “But I didn’t say anything about your super friends, because I didn’t think you’d be breaking so many rules in so little time. Really? Bringing metas to Gotham?”

Red Robin simply shrugs. “What Batman can’t see doesn’t hurt him.”

Batgirl snickers and Hood grins a little under his helmet.

“Little Timmy,” he gasps, resting his hand on his chest in mock shock.

“Shut up, why are you here?”

“What, you can’t tell me there is a case and expect me not to follow up.”

The other three kids look from Red Hood to Red Robin. It’s obvious that whatever Tim’s verdict is, they’re going to accept it. Even Stephanie. And she knows Jason (sort of).

“Fine,” Red Robin groans. “But no shooting anyone.”

“No promises.”

Wonder Girl and Impulse are obviously wondering whether they’re joking or not. Knowing they’re completely serious, Batgirl makes a face and pokes Red Robin’s cheek. He frowns at her and the two of them seem to have a conversation consisting of weird mouths and head shakes for a moment. Jason would know. He and Dick used to do that all the time. Finally, whatever face Red Robin is making convinces her and she lets out a defeated sigh.

“Well then, ladies,” Batgirl deadpans, “let’s get this bread.”

Despite Dick’s best efforts, Jason never quite fit in with the Titans. With Tim and Stephanie, however, he can work.

Breaking into one of Black Mask’s hideouts is a piece of cake, if not outright fun. He has to hand it to Stephanie. She is not as cunning as Barbara or as deadly as Cassandra, but the girl can blow up a marijuana deposit like no one else.

Sure, the smoke makes them at least 30% high—all of them except Impulse, whose metabolism won’t let him get intoxicated, to which… Just R.I.P. you funky little man, Jason really feels for him.

Even with the little diversion, there were still plenty of crooks to fight. Wonder Girl takes care of most of them on her own— amazons, man —and soon enough Impulse comes running, carrying a dark-skinned boy wearing power-dampening cuffs who keeps yelling at them in Spanish. At that, Red Robin announces they’re retreating.

Tim looks a lot more comfortable with his peers than he is with the Bats. Part of Jason wonders if he could’ve been like that. If he would have ended up differently if he had actually stayed with the Titans and made friends like Tim had. He tells himself not to go down that path, because he is who he is, he certainly doesn’t make friends in that teen sitcom way and you can’t change the past.

He is genuinely glad that Tim has those friends, though. He’s glad that he can feel that way despite the hint of jealousy.

As they leave a ruined hideout behind, Wonder Girl and Impulse are drowning Red Robin in hugs and cheering so loud one would forget they’re still in Gotham. Their friend laughs with them even with the stress of being so rambunctiously rescued. Batgirl slaps her arm around Hood’s shoulder and admires the Titans being loud as if congratulating themselves on the job done.

If all of them— all of them—are still smiling themselves silly as they leave, it’s only 50% because of the marijuana.

Jason quickly learns that Tim doesn’t like owing people. When Jason asked Tim to crack some encrypted documents, he just needed the damn files. He didn’t expect the kid to show up to tear down the place when Jason decided he had enough reason to dismantle the operation.

“What, you can’t tell me there is a case and expect me not to follow up,” Red Robin quips as he nudges a goon with his foot. The man groans, but doesn’t get up. Seemingly satisfied, Red Robin crouches down and starts cuffing the man to another by his side.

“Remind me to never ask for your help again,” Red Hood says.

Red Robin glowers. “I saved your ass from getting stabbed about three times.”

“I shot the kneecaps of four guys trying to murder you, so don’t expect me to thank you.”

They hear sirens. Red Robin stands. “Well, guess our job here is done.”

Hood nods. It’s been a while since he fought side by side with a fellow Bat, just him and another Robin and... it was nice. Roy and Kori are great partners and all, but they don’t have the same training a Robin does. They don’t get the specific maneuvers and the subtle secret signs. The fact that it had been so fun fighting side by side with Red Robin makes Jason feel like his not-plan of taking care of the kid was finally going somewhere.

Then Red Robin stretches his arm to grapple his way out of there and gasps.

“Red?”

“Uh…” He is now pressing his hand to his side.

“Is… is that blood?”

“Uhhhh…”

“Did you get stabbed and didn’t notice, you freaking idiot?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he groans, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes over the cowl. “Why me?”

Red Hood sighs. “Relax, kid, it doesn’t look that deep.”

“I’m gonna have to call Batman,” Red Robin whines. “A’s gonna kill me.”

“Over a tiny stab wound? Don’t be a pussy, I’m sure you can stitch that yourself.”

“The stitches aren’t the problem, it’s just the medicine…” Red Robin says, making vague hand gestures. “I have no spleen.”

And then there’s that.

“I’m sorry. You what?”

Red Robin pulls a guilty face visible even under the cowl. Jason wouldn’t blame Alfred for killing him. He has no spleen and he just… decided it was a good idea to bring a staff to a gunfight at one of the grimiest places of Gotham.

Tim Drake-Wayne, everyone, smartest Robin to date.

Jason, however, decides not to kill Tim for his stupidity. He recognizes that particular frown. It’s the I-messed-up-and-I-don’t-want-dad-to-find-out face.

The GCPD sirens are getting closer.

“I’ve got a big collection of antibiotics back at one of my safehouses,” he mentions casually. “I could patch you up so A doesn’t have to.”

Tim’s wide eyes are evident. Jason wonders if this is him being able to read the kid too well or if Tim straight up sucks at hiding his emotions. It’s probably a bit of both.

“You know. As thanks for helping me.”

“I thought you wouldn’t thank me.”

“Don’t push it, kid.”

By now, they can see the red and blue police lights.

“Lead the way.”

He rolls his eyes and drags the kid to his bike. He really hopes the pigs didn’t see them, because it’s bad enough that a hero showed up to Red Hood’s bust, he doesn’t need any cops thinking that he kidnapped Red Robin or any shit like that.

“Are we going to the one behind the new theater or the one around crime alley?” Tim casually asks.

Jason freezes halfway through mounting his bike. “How the fuck do you know about those?”

“I know the location of all of your safehouses,” Tim admits.

“Batman knows about my safehouses?”

Tim quirks an eyebrow. “Last time I checked, I’m not Batman.”

...oh.

That’s… nice. Kind of. A confirmation that he can trust the kid to have his back.

“Smug nerd,” Jason mumbles.

Tim only chuckles in response. They set off to Jason’s place.

The rest of the night is peaceful. At least for a Bat’s standards. Jason helps Tim disinfect his wound and stitch it closed while Tim raids Jason’s medicine stash until he finds the ones he needs. Jason promises to hook him up with his supplier so he doesn’t have to rely so much on the cave. By the time they’re done, Tim’s lips are permanently curled upwards.

When he starts shuffling awkwardly as if looking for a way to say goodbye, Jason nonchalantly announces where he can find clean towels and clothes, as if this is a thing they do everyday. Tim seems baffled, but thankfully he doesn’t call Jason’s bullshit and obediently heads to the bathroom. By the time he’s done, Jason is fixing a meal for the two of them and some stupid movie is on TV—never the news, god, Jason hates watching the news.

Like a skittish stray, Tim is unsure of what to do with himself at first, but he catches the cue fast enough. He sits on the couch all stiff and restless until something on the screen grabs his attention.

“You like Wendy the Werewolf Stalker?” Tim asks, eyes wide.

“Do I like fucking what?”

Jason just needed the background noise to avoid freaking out about how weird he’s being right now. Apparently, that was the wrong answer. Tim launches a rant on how amazing Wendy is and half of it goes over Jason’s head. He just gets that apparently Tim and Superboy both have a crush on this werewolf hunting chick and they used to spend hours watching her instead of doing actual work at Titans Tower.

He also manages to actually eat the food Jason made, which is a win in Jason’s book.

It’s a nice night, overall.

It becomes, not a habit, but a thing. Tim sometimes shows up to one of Jason’s safehouses needing a stitch job or medicine. Jason doesn’t know how he nails which one Jason is at currently or if he just goes to every single one still bleeding until he finds Jason. Or even if he just lets himself in and takes care of his wounds without any help. If so, Jason wouldn’t blame him. He’d choose his crappy hideouts over Tim’s soulless apartment any day.

On the third time it happens, Tim isn’t hurt at all. He just wants to bitch about Vicki Vale stalking him and his supposed ex-fiancée that he's actually trying to date. Jason feeds him real food, as usual, and listens to what he has to say, as unusual. They end up on the couch watching A Nightmare on Elm Street, which, oddly enough, has Tim getting overly enthusiastic about going to bed because he’s curious about the magic behind Freddy Krueger. Jason tells him to let him know if any dream demons show up when he leaves Tim dozing off on the couch.

Tim starts texting Jason. At first, it’s all very professional. Messages like 1 of the stupid crooks in your territory almost killed robin yesterday do smth abt it followed by I don’t care that he’s a demon in a kevlar vest Hood you didn’t have to deal with nightwing crying afterwards!!! Then they slowly shift into something more casual on the lines of is dis u? An d attached a picture of Elizabeth Bennet wearing the red Power Ranger helmet which… What sort of context led to that meme being created?

Jason pretends not to care, but he preens with pride when Tim laughs at his dark jokes. Stupid gallows humor that would have made Bruce call an expensive therapist and Dick squirm in discomfort have the kid snorting coffee out of his nose.

It’s like they’re friends.

Part of him sometimes toys with the idea of them being normal kids —or as normal as you can be in Gotham—and he realizes that he would’ve made friends with Tim so fucking fast. Dick is the golden child and all of them would end up worshiping him and respecting him as their older brother, of course. Tim would be added to their family and Jason, not-murdered, regular problem-child Jason, would resist him at first, but he would soon see that he wasn't just an annoying nerd. He was a fun, annoying nerd. They would gang up on Dick, as younger brothers ought to do, and Jason would protect Tim from bullies and Tim would use his good son credit to get Jason out of trouble with Bruce.

This, however, may be as good as it gets for people with their fucked up upbringing. Jason already knew Tim wasn’t your regular spoiled rich boy and they bond over having shit childhoods even if they don’t talk about it.

All in all it feels nice to be looked up to. To have the kid come to him when he’s in trouble. To have someone looking at him with a shine in his eyes like the one Jason has when he looks at Dick. It makes Jason feel like he’s worth something. He sees Tim get comfortable with him after weeks of acting like a stray cat and he knows the kid feels the same. It’s a new feeling for both of them.

It’s like they’re really brothers.

Being part of the Red Robin fan club, Jason finds out, gives him good credit with the Bats.

Bruce and Dick are always going to be concerned about Jason’s slightly loose moral compass. Gremlin is always going to hate him because he’s a Gremlin. Barbara tolerates him at best.

Stephanie, however, shows up unannounced to one of Red Hood’s busts and laughs it off when he complains about Batgirl ruining his rep. She then invites Jason to watch a movie with her since they finished early. He thinks that’d be very weird, so he refuses. Unbothered, she says an airy “Maybe next time” before leaving.

He thinks a shadow once told him to come by the manor more often, almost giving him a heart attack. He thought Cassandra was in Hong Kong, for fuck’s sake; when did she come back?

One time he texts Tim for tech support and no one but the Signal shows up at Jason’s doorstep with a codebreaker and a list of instructions from Red Robin. Duke doesn’t look as wary of Jason as he once was and the two quickly fall into friendly banter, complaining about Tim’s nerdiness.

Jason knows if he asked Steph about it, he would never hear the end of it. Cass isn’t the easiest person to hold a conversation with. He guesses Duke is decent enough not to dwell on it, so he asks,

“Why are y’all suddenly okay with me?”

Duke quirks an eyebrow at him. Fortunately, he’s smart enough that Jason doesn’t need to explain further. “Tim trusts you,” he says simply. “Tim is the holder of the one brain cell of this family, so long we follow his cues, we’re golden.”

Jason doesn’t know what to say to that.

“Why, you don’t want us around?”

He mumbles something about it not being a big deal. Duke shrugs it off and changes the subject. Jason knows he’s doing it for his sake, because Duke might be the kindest person in their whole messed up family. Jason feels bad for refusing to learn his name for so long.

So it seems like two-thirds of the Batgirls and Signal were always less worried about Jason’s past than they were about his rivalry with Robin III.

And, fine, Jason does get a little jealous of that but he’s mature-ish enough to take what he can get. Plus Stephanie is funny as shit and it’s always fun to annoy Barbara by getting Batgirl involved in his fights, especially when Red Robin is around to back him up.

Everything is sort of nice now.

Sometimes, however, Jason wakes up in a cold sweat with the taste of copper in his mouth and a nightmare gunshot still ringing in his ears. He tried to kill Tim. He could’ve killed his little brother. He’s thankful for the times the nightmares come when Tim is sleeping over, because he can walk to the living room and check on the kid. Remind himself that Tim is alive and breathing under the old blankets and that he’s forgiven Jason. When he isn’t around, Jason is absolutely not above calling him in the middle of the night, making up a stupid case he needs Tim’s help with. For all his smarts, Tim never seems to realize Jason’s true motives.

Now that he thinks about it, he notices that Tim is on good terms with a lot of people that tried to kill him. Jason. Damian. That Prudence girl. He doesn’t find out the details, but he does hear something about Stephanie fucking him up and she’s now his best friend. Jason is more than a little concerned about that forgiving side of his.

Red Hood hates a lot of things. If he were to make a list, it’d take days to write it all down. He knows for sure that on the top of that list would be clowns. There is nothing he hates more than clowns.

Scarecrows are a close second, though.

Definitely close to a tie as he watches Red Robin stumble. “I think…” he mutters. “I think my rebreather is broken.”

“ Shit.”

Red Hood has to think fast. Fear gas is every-fucking-where and he lost sight of Scarecrow three canon-fodder crooks ago. He doesn’t have an extra rebreather, because he’s wearing his helmet and that does the job. He’s used to fighting alone. Not that having another rebreather would do them any good now that Red Robin has already breathed the nasty toxins.

In the end, Hood decides to take the defeat for what it is: a defeat. He throws a smoke bomb on the ground and grabs Red Robin by the waist, ignoring the startled squeak the boy lets out. They need to get out before Scarecrow’s goons realize what they’re doing.

“Stay with me,” Red Hood hisses. “Whatever you’re hearing or seeing, it’s not real.”

They’re five minutes away from his nearest safehouse. It’d be faster to take one of their bikes, but he can’t risk it in case Tim starts hallucinating halfway there. They can make it there swinging, he can keep his brother out of danger.

“I’m fine,” Red Robin says. The way he’s limp in Hood’s hold, says otherwise. “We’re going home. We’re safe.”

“We’re going home. Close your eyes. Focus on my voice.”

He does it.

“It’s just us now,” Hood reassures him. “We’re on the way to a safehouse where no one can find us and you can rest until the toxin is out of your system. Safe, easy.”

“Steph is fine, Bart is fine, Cassie is fine,” he chants, “Cass is fine, Alfred is fine, Dick is fine, Tam is fine, Pru is fine.”

He keeps listing people that are fine, because of course his fears are all about his friends being hurt. Surprisingly, Hood recognizes all of them. He’s heard Tim talking about all of them repeatedly and he knows their names and personalities, even if he doesn’t have all the faces to match. He isn’t surprised that his friends come first then their family.

“That’s right, kiddo,” Jason encourages. “Who else?”

“Dad..” Tim’s eyes shoot open. “Dad’s gonna kill me. Dad, Dad will know I’m Robin, he’s- He’s gonna take Robin away from me, I can’t- This is the first time I’m being useful.”

Fuck.

“Your dad isn’t here. And you’re not Robin, kid, you’re Red Robin,” Jason reminds him.

“That’s… that’s right. I failed him. I failed Dick, so…”

Double fuck.

“That’s bullshit,” Jason says, but it’s hard to keep the conversation going while he’s carrying Tim’s weight.

They’re two minutes away from safety before Tim starts struggling to get away from Jason. He doesn’t say anything else, which may be more concerning, he just grunts with the effort and squirms. Jason really hopes no one was paying attention enough to notice what looks like Red Hood kidnapping a terrified Red Robin.

“Shit- Stay put, Red, we’re almost home,” Jason says.

Tim’s breath catches and returns, erratic, and Jason can’t bear to look at his horrified face, he hates to see the utter fear that has his brother’s already pale complexion turn ashen, his lips pressed into a line so tight it has got to hurt. Jason starts listing the names of the people that are supposedly fine and that catches Tim’s attention long enough that Jason can swing straight to the fire escape of the abandoned building where he set his hideout.

He sets Tim on the dusty mattress on the corner in a hurry and tosses his helmet aside. He starts undoing Tim’s safety measures so he can remove his cowl. Unlike Jason, he doesn’t wear a domino mask beneath it and Jason makes a mental note of talking to Tim about that later.

“Almost there, Timbers,” Jason says. He rips off his own domino without caring about the sting, hoping a familiar face will help. “I’m here. Now, where do you keep your fear gas antidote? I know you carry some around.”

Tim unconsciously reaches for a particular capsule on his bandolier. That’s enough of an answer for Jason, who pushes his hand away not as gently as he should and reaches for the small vial inside.

“Jay,” Tim whines. “Jay, you’re okay, right?”

Jason blinks, confused. “Of course I’m okay, Timbers. I’m right here.”

And as he rushes to grab the first aid kit under the sink, Jason starts to freak out. This gas isn’t causing hallucinations as much as it’s making Tim feel paranoid, it seems. What if it’s a new formula? What if the antidote doesn’t work? What if Tim keeps having anxious thought after anxious thought, until his heart gives in and-

“Jay!” Tim calls, desperate. “Jay, we have to get Kon! He’s- He’s in danger.” He starts getting up.

“Nope!” Jason pushes him right back into the mattress. “Kon is fine, he’s invulnerable, remember? He’s probably doing superdouche stuff in Metropolis.”

“He’s not, he’s- He’s gonna kill himself, Jay!” There are tears welling up in his eyes and Jason feels like someone just punched him in the gut. After all the shit they went through, he had never seen Tim cry. “He’s gonna sacrifice himself to save everyone, I can’t lose him, please, I’ll do it instead. He’s- No! Please, don’t do it!”

There we go. There are the hallucinations they all know and hate. Tim stretches out his hand as if he’s reaching for an invisible Superboy, so Jason takes the opportunity to start rolling up his sleeve and cleaning the inside of his elbow. Lucky for him, he always has a sanitized syringe. Now he just needs Tim to stay still.

What if it doesn’t work? What if I make it worse?

“Kon El, no,” Tim gasps. “KON EL! CONNER!”

Jason had never seen Impulse going full speed. But he did meet Barry Allen back when he was Robin and he never forgot the deafening noise of someone breaking the barrier of sound. More familiar is the noise of his freaking wall exploding. Before Jason realizes, he’s being ripped away from his screaming brother. He hacks and struggles, but there isn’t a lot he can do when a kryptonian steel arm presses against his throat, effectively pinning him to the wall.

“Give me one reason not to kill you,” Superboy growls, his eyes already glowing red.

Jason would be impressed with the boy’s ability to look murderous if he wasn’t about to have his head melted. He struggles a little more. Superboy doesn’t even seem to notice. Jason then pathetically raises the syringe in his hand and manages to choke out:

“A-antidote.”

Superboy blinks once. His eyes return to the regular shade of blue. He blinks twice. His expression shows only confusion when he releases Jason, that promptly falls on his knees. Jason coughs, touching his throat as if to make sure it’s still intact. Damn clone.

“What happened to him?” Superboy demands.

Tim isn’t trying to get up anymore, but rather convulsing on the same spot, screaming wordlessly in horror, tears streaming freely down his pale cheeks.

Jason coughs some more before he’s able to say something. “A-ask that first next time, will you? It’s… it’s fear gas.”

“And, what, am I supposed to believe you were helping him?” Superboy snarls.

Jason groans. He doesn’t have time for this. Tim has his eyes firmly shut and every scream, every time his voice breaks, it feels like someone is slashing at Jason’s chest, robbing him of air almost as effectively as Superboy did.

“I was about to do that before you interrupted,” Jason shows him the syringe again. “What do you think?”

Superboy squints at him, unhappy with his response.

“We don’t have time for that,” Jason snarls. “At this point, he’s gonna have a heart attack. I need you to hold him still.”

Superboy bites his lip in hesitation but Tim screams his name again and he winces as if the sound is kryptonite for his ears. Finally, he nods and crouches down by the mattress.

“It’s okay, Rob,” he says. “I’m here now. I’ve got you.”

At that, Tim miraculously relaxes for a second. Jason kneels by his side again and holds the outstretched arm Superboy is keeping still.

“Don’t hurt him,” Jason warns. Judging by the look Superboy gives him, the only reason he’s not getting the laser eye treatment is because he’s the only one around capable of helping Tim.

“No,” Tim whines. “Not Jason…”

Jason freezes. Superboy’s eyes start to glow again.

“Not Jason, not again,” Tim continues, delirious, his expression twisting in pain. “Please, please, don’t, help him, HELP HIM!”

Jason stabs the needle into his pale skin and it’s a miracle that he does it right, because he is shaking. Fuck this. Fuck Scarecrow. It’s wrong, it’s horrible to hear Red Robin begging like that. He hates the way the kid startles with the needle. He’s thankful that Superboy makes sure Tim stays put, because he doesn’t think his trembling hands could do that now.

“It’s okay, Timbers,” Jason hears himself saying, “it’s over now.”

“Please,” Tim sobs again, “I- I’m gonna solve this.”

God. Jason grabs his hand. “You did enough, baby bird. You solved enough already.”

Tim whimpers, but finally starts relaxing. It seems like the antidote is working its magic and the boy falls right asleep.

Superboy refuses to leave, much to Jason’s chagrin. It doesn’t surprise him, though. Conner is Tim’s favorite conversation subject when he’s in a good mood and apparently the clone is ready to just fly to Gotham if he hears Tim’s voice.

“You know, metas aren’t allowed here,” Jason reminds him.

Superboy has been stomping back and forth around Tim’s mattress. He's so angry that Jason is worried he’ll break the floor any minute now, but he stops to give Jason the biggest, meanest glower of the night. He doesn’t look anything like the mental picture Tim painted of him. Even with his ripped skinny jeans and 90’s leather jacket and dumb earrings, Superboy looks absolutely murderous.

“I’m not going anywhere until I see that Tim’s fine,” he says.

Jason sighs.

“Why are we here?” Superboy snaps. “Why didn’t you call Alfred or… or Batman or…”

“Because we don’t do that,” Jason cuts him. “Red Robin is not Batman's sidekick. If we can solve shit without involving Batman, we don’t involve Batman.”

It’s their unspoken rule, Jason knows that since the first time they fought side by side - the first time they had a sleepover - and he brought Tim home to patch him up. They don’t call dad or their older bro if they’re in trouble, because that’ll lead to them being in more trouble. They simply watch out for each other as much as they can.

Superboy isn’t happy with that explanation, but, before he can murder Jason for real, Tim stirs.

Jason and Superboy are kneeling by his side at the same time, which says something, since Jason doesn't have superspeed.

“Timbers?” Jason calls.

“Jay…?” Tim mumbles and his voice is still a little raw from all the screaming. He blinks and his eyes set on his best friend. “Conner? What are you doing here?”

“You called,” Superboy says simply. “I told you all you had to do was call my name.”

“How’s the head?” Jason asks. “You're still smart, right? You can’t afford to lose your brain cells, Timbers, with your ugly face they’re all you have.”

Tim snorts. Then groans. “Fuck off, Jason, don’t make me laugh.”

Jason smiles at him and he doesn’t notice the weird look Superboy is giving them.

“Rob? Do you remember what happened?”

Tim starts to sit up and Superboy is faster than Jason in wrapping an arm around his shoulders to steady him. He helps Tim rest his back against the wall and the grateful look Tim gives him makes Jason frown a bit because he feels there is something there he’s missing.

“Hmmm… We were fighting Scarecrow,” Tim says. “Fear gas, broken rebreather...” He looks at Jason as if seeking for confirmation. When Jason nods, he continues, “Jay got me out of there and the rest is… Wait. Where is Scarecrow? Did he escape?”

“That should be the last of your worries, Timothy, you almost died of fear,” Superboy scolds.

Tim sighs. “Oh, to be a young vigilante in the XXI century… passing away of fright.”

Superboy doesn’t get it, judging by his expression, but Jason does and he laughs out loud. He doesn’t miss the way Tim’s lip quirk up.

“See, baby bird, this is why I wear a helmet and so should you,” Jason says.

“Okay, but have you considered that we’d look stupid if we were all the man in the iron mask?”

Jason raises an eyebrow. “God forbid a whole family fighting criminals in leather fursuits look stupid. We wouldn’t fucking want that.”

Tim laughs, even if his voice is still a little hoarse, and Jason is relieved.

He is so relieved to see his brother fine that he doesn’t pay attention to the fact that Superboy still has his arm around Tim’s shoulders. That Superboy’s eyes get all soft when Tim laughs. That Superboy looks a little hurt when he offers to fly Tim home, but Tim refuses, saying that he’d rather spend the rest of the night here.

“I mean, if that’s fine…?” He glances at Jason, reminding him of those first sleepovers, when he was still unsure whether he’d be welcome or not.

Jason is so done feeling or letting his brother feel like an outsider. “The mattress is big enough for both of us, I don’t see why you’d go back to your own apartment when you can just sleep on a perfectly good mattress on the floor.”

“Hm. Cool then,” Superboy says, but instead of flying out through the giant hole he made on the wall, he shifts his weight from one foot to another awkwardly, clearly stalling.

Both brothers notice it. Neither has a problem interpreting Superboy’s fidgeting. Jason finds it annoying, but Tim gives him a pleading look. Jason sighs.

“You can stay too, big guy, but you gonna have to sleep on the floor.”

Superboy’s face lights up and he definitely doesn’t look like he wanted to melt Jason’s head just a couple of minutes ago. He rambles that it’s all good, he just needs to text Ma Kent to let her know where he is and he’s used to sleeping on the floor of the barn with Krypto and the cows (Jason would find that more upsetting if he didn’t know there is a cow somewhere in the Wayne manor too and Damian sleeps in the cave with it all the time).

In the end, Tim bullies Jason into giving Superboy the thickest blanket he has around. He tries suggesting he should sleep in the blanket and let Jason and Superboy share the mattress, but shuts up mid sentence under their glares.

It’s probably the most awkward sleepover so far, but Tim grins at Jason, grateful, and turns his back to him to be able to talk to Superboy in hushed whispers.

Jason tunes out their conversation and focuses on the fact that he did it. He saved Tim. It doesn’t make up for the times he fucked up in the past, but it sure makes him feel better about the present. He’s also thankful that Tim stayed instead of going to his own place. Hearing your little brother scream in fear for your life isn’t something enjoyable and Jason is sure he would have nightmares about if it wasn’t for the fact that Tim was laying right there in front of him. It’s the sound of his brother’s muffled laughter, mixed with Superboy’s, that lulls him to sleep.

Jason should have noticed then. But he didn’t.

For an intelligent guy, Jason can be really stupid sometimes.

The thing is… Jason is smart. He’s not Tim Drake smart, but he’s still a good detective. He’s also fairly sociable. Or at least he used to be, before he, you know, died and went through all the trauma, etc. He is no Dick Grayson, but he can hold a good conversation, pick up the right social cues, all that crap.

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t mess up sometimes.

You see, months go by. Red Hood and Red Robin don’t often go on the field together, after all it’d do a number to both of their reputations, but, when they do, one of them always ends up injured and the other carries him home. It’s like a curse, the universe telling them to stick to their off-patrol partnership. Then a couple of weeks go by and they miss the feeling of fighting side-by-side and there they go again.

Tim keeps showing up at Jason’s place whenever he feels like it and he even hangs around Jason’s visiting friends sometimes. Kori adores Tim from the first time she puts her eyes on him. Roy takes a little longer to warm up, but even he can’t resist the kid. Jason likes it. He likes having his brother around. He likes that they get on like a house on fire.

So much he forgets Tim is a master of hiding shit.

On the week nearing Tim’s 19th birthday, Jason goes to his apartment. He doesn’t realize until he’s halfway there that he hadn’t been to Tim’s place since the night he met Prudence, which is odd, because it’d been basically a year and a half. Still, Tim goes over to Jason’s place all the time. The fact that Jason doesn’t repay the favor has everything to do with the fact that Jason hates Tim’s magazine apartment and nothing else.

Right?

Instead of going for the door, Jason uses his signature move and just swings to the balcony. The door is unlocked - Jason really has to have a talk with Tim about security, they’re in Gotham, for fuck’s sake - and he lets himself in.

To Tim’s credit, the place looks more well lived in now. There are mismatched pillows on the couch, a forgotten mug and a couple of books on the coffee table. Jason recognizes his copy of The Count of Monte Cristo and makes an annoyed sound noticing Tim’s bookmarker is still somewhere in the middle of the book even if it’s been weeks since Jason let him borrow it.

“Tim?” Jason calls. It’s half past nine, a little early for vigilante standards, but…

He hears the sound of someone sputtering and coughing from the kitchen. There he is.

Jason heads there and finds Tim desperately grabbing paper towels to clean coffee he apparently just spilled on his bare chest.

“J-Jason!”

“Jumpy aren’t we?” Jason comments. “What’s up, baby bird?”

It’s clear that Tim had just woken up, judging by his messy hair and the fact that he’s wearing nothing but red sweatpants with Superman’s symbol all over. His mildly terrified expression is weird, though. Tim is usually slow in the morning, but not that easy to startle.

“What are you doing here?” Tim whispers, clearly panicking.

The fact that Jason never visits Tim’s place suddenly comes to his mind. The possibility of him not being welcome hits him and it’s surprisingly painful. He thought they were doing well, that the kid liked him. All this time, was he being arrogant?

As his brain scrambles for something to say, something to think, he notices a sound that he hadn’t registered before: the shower.

Suddenly Tim’s rapidly reddening cheeks and doe wide eyes gain a new meaning. Jason forgets the hurt and a sly smile stretches on his face.

“Oh my god. Oh god, this is priceless. Baby bird, do you have a lady guest from last night?”

Tim makes a weird choking sound and this is too good, Jason is too delighted, look at little Timmy go, already getting it. (Jason would’ve chosen different pants for the morning after, but alas.)

Then a voice calls out: “Sweetheart, are you okay?”

A male voice.

Tim’s face becomes three shades darker, now perfectly matching his pants. Jason’s grin is now frozen on his face, his eyes wide with the realization.

The shower stops.

“Tim?” The voice calls again.

“I’m fine, Kon!” Tim responds and his voice is surprisingly even, considering he looks like he’s having an aneurysm.

That’s a bat for you. Master of hiding their emotions.

Sort of.

Kon, Tim said. Jason realizes that Tim isn’t wearing Superman merch. The sweatpants are Superboy themed.

Jason still remembers Superboy’s protective streak all those months ago and the fact that he woke up to the two of them holding hands - at the time, he thought nothing of it, because it had been a stressful night and he didn’t blame either boy for wanting to make sure the other was okay - and he thinks of all the subsequent times Tim went on and on about Conner and how a couple of weeks ago Tim just stopped mentioning Conner altogether.

God, Jason is the worst detective ever.

Tim pushes Jason out of the kitchen and towards the living room, presumably farther from the bathroom where his boyfriend with super hearing was showering.

“Fuck,” Tim mutters, “ fuckfuckfuck… ”

And he looks and sounds so distraught that Jason loses all the eagerness to tease him, concern quickly replacing any initial surprise he might have been feeling.

“Look,” Tim murmurs, looking anywhere but at Jason’s eyes, “it’s not… we’re just…”

Tim scrambles for words and this is so unlike him - Tim always has a plan, always knows what to say - it takes a moment for Jason to catch up on why he’s a stuttering mess. Jason had been so excited to find out his little brother had a boyfriend he forgot he lived in a world where homophobia was a thing.

“Timbers, chill out.” Jason grabs Tim’s hands from where they’re still resting on his shoulders. “It’s just me.”

Tim dares raise his gaze to meet Jason’s and it hurts a bit to see still a little fear in his blue eyes. Jason gives him an encouraging grin.

“I can’t believe you officially bagged a kryptonian. Way to go, kid.”

His shoulders slouch in utter relief right before he starts blushing again. What a cute kid.

“You keep calling me kid. You’re not that older. And don’t say it like that,” Tim mumbles.

“Like what? Like you’re snogging Superboy?” Tim punches him on the shoulder and Jason laughs. “Now I know why you were in such a hurry to leave the manor, you wanted your own place to bring your boyfriend over…”

“That’s not why I left and who said anything about a boyfriend? Maybe this was just a one night stand.”

Jason gives him a condescending look. “Timbers, I might have not realized you’re gay, but I do know you. You’re a boyfriend kinda guy.”

Tim rolls his eyes and mumbles something about assuming shit. “I’m bi,” he says.

“Cool,” Jason says, a shit-eating grin never leaving his face.

“Fuck,” Tim groans and lets himself fall on the couch. “How do you de-escalate an emotional situation so fast?”

“It’s a Bat thing, and you know how to do it too. All of us are trained to avoid emotions like the plague.”

“I was not prepared to come out when I got up this morning,” Tim admits.

Humming, Jason finally realizes that Tim doesn’t want to skip the emotions for this one. He sighs. The things he does for his brothers.

“It’s not a big deal, though,” he says. “I mean, you’re happy right?”

“I’m never happy.”

“Don’t quote Zuko. You started the real talk. You don’t get to bat your way out of it now.”

A sigh. “I’m happy. Conner is… the best.”

Jason nods. “Then it’s all good. I’m sure all the others would say the same.”

“You can't tell them!” Tim snaps, his eyes suddenly wide with panic again. “Seriously, Jay, you can’t-”

“Calm down, kid,” Jason cuts him off. “When did I make a habit of spilling your secrets to the B-man? It's none of their business.” Tim visibly relaxes and Jason adds: “Actually… Want me to make your house Dick-proof?”

“...what?”

“I mean, not kryptonian dick, you’re clearly into that,” and he ignores it when Tim pops him on the back of the head. “I mean Dick Dick, our brother. I could set up a better security system so you don’t have to worry about one of your siblings walking into something scarring, especially the clingy one.”

“No security system can stop Dick’s clinginess.”

“How do you think I keep him off my place?”

That’s when their little pow wow gets interrupted by more kryptonian skin than Jason ever wanted to see as Conner walks in with nothing but the smallest of the towels wrapped around his waist.

“Babe, what is--” He notices Jason and slips on literally nothing, barely catching himself before falling on his ass. “ Shit- I mean, nothing, I mean, we were just binging Wendy!”

Jason doesn’t say anything, but he does give Tim a look that says it all. He wasn't judging earlier, but he is now. Tim gives him a look that definitely means shut up.

In the end, Jason stays for breakfast.

It’s only mildly awkward, because he and Tim fill the silence talking about the latest case Jason’s working on while Conner makes them pancakes. Judging by the fact that he’s getting the ingredients from a bunch of plastic bags, he must have brought all the food with him. If anything, Jason is grateful that he and Alfred are no longer the only people trying to get Tim to eat actual food.

When Tim turns to Conner for his opinion, leaving Jason to enjoy his coffee, Jason looks around and notices that there are new pictures on the fridge. There are some of those disgustingly cute pictures of Tim and Conner, their cheeks pressed together as they make weird faces for the camera. There is a picture of Conner by himself and, again disgustingly, he is smiling at the camera as though the most precious person in the world is behind it. Both pictures are held by a sun magnet. There is a new candid shot of Cassandra, one of Alfred-Alfred holding cat Alfred, a new one of Dick and even Damian is in there.

And, his heart stops for a second, because now there are pictures of Jason as well.

They’re carefully placed far from each other, but there are three different pictures. There is one of Jason wearing his Lord of the Rings shirt, eating cereal on the couch, a confused expression on his face. He remembers when Tim took that picture, because Tim waited until Jason had his mouth full before calling hey Jay? and snapping the picture right as Jason looked at him, his cheeks like a chipmunk's. The second picture is a candid of him smiling, leaning against the rail of some safehouse balcony. The shot was carefully framed to not show anything distinct of the surroundings, just Jason and Gotham’s sky.

The third one is a selfie. In it, Jason is asleep, his lips parted and face relaxed, his head resting on Tim’s shoulder. Tim has a shit eating grin on his lips as if there is nothing funnier to him than his giant older brother falling asleep on him in the middle of movie night. Tim had the decency of drawing a mustache on Jason’s face to decrease sappiness, but that effect is ruined by the fact that the picture is held by a magnet that was clearly Iron Man but Tim had painted it red to look like Jason’s hood.

Jason had sworn off killing, at least for a little while.

But he would gladly kill again for his little brother.

As he gets ready to leave, he turns to Conner and deadpans, “I don’t have to tell you that I can and I will make kryptonite bullets, do I?”

“Jason!” Tim scolds.

“What? I’m the first of the family to find out. Least I can do is taje care of the shovel talk.”

“Stop threatening my boyfriend.”

Conner blushes profusely and mouths the word boyfriend with marvel and ugh. Just… ugh . Jason is happy that Tim is happy, but he and Conner are apparently that kind of couple and Jason wants to have none of it.

“So, first we kill Damian,” Jason starts.

“No,” Tim says.

“Aw, come on, you didn’t even consider it!”

Cassandra waits until they decide their plan of action (it’s probably going to be Tim’s) and keeps her expression carefully neutral as not to show which one of them she agrees with (Tim).

The thing, Jason realized, is that all of them have favorites in their family and knowing that makes it easier to tear them down. Dick can fuck off with his I love you all equally bullshit, because he clearly always favors Damian. Damian swings between Batdad’s little boy and Nightwing’s murder baby. Tim will easily lose focus whenever Steph is involved. Steph is oddly protective of Duke, for some reason. Cassandra is mostly neutral. She’s everyone’s favorite, including Bruce’s, but she’s also the deadliest of them all so she is no one’s weakness. She does, however, have a soft spot for Tim over any of her brothers. Since Jason became close friends with Tim, he entered Cassandra’s selective protection bubble and he’s now, by all definitions, untouchable.

Or at least that’s how he felt when she chose him for her team right after Tim.

“We kill Dick first,” Tim knocks down the little Nightwing action figure on the carpet. “Cass, you’re the only one who can take him down. Jay and I distract the others while you do the job. Damian will get personally offended by that and will grow reckless.” He knocks down the little imp figurine. “I can take care of him then. Steph will be hiding somewhere ready to strike. She is best in close range combat. Jay, I need you to take her down before she gets too close.” He pushes down the Barbie doll someone dressed as Batgirl, because apparently they couldn’t find blonde Batgirl merch and they were very offended. “Then we win.”

He may sound impressive, but the whole time he’s speaking he has his head resting on Cass’ lap and she is carding her fingers through his hair as a villain would do to their evil pet cat.

“Can’t I murder the demon brat?” Jason complains.

Tim glares at him - again, not very intimidating while he’s basically lying on his sister’s lap.

“You know Steph would wipe the floor with me. You’re the only one I can trust to get her.”

“Unless…” Jason turns around. “Du-”

“No.”

“Come on, I’ll give you ten bucks.”

“Jason, we’re all rich, you can’t buy me.” Duke doesn’t even raise his eyes from his book. “Plus last time I let y’all drag me into this shit, Steph knocked off one of my teeth with Tim’s staff.”

“If you hadn’t killed me, then she wouldn’t have taken revenge,” Tim argues.

“And yet you’re planning to kill Dick counting on the fact that Damian will try to avenge him.”

“Wet blanket,” Cassandra says.

Tim and Jason go into a giggling fit as Duke sputters, too indignant to put his thoughts into words.

In the end, Duke still doesn’t join them.

As they expected, the enemy was listening to their plan - Jason is sure Dick was against it, but Stephanie and Damian are definitely not above spying - nonetheless they still played their parts as expected: Steph and Damian tried protecting Dick first and foremost, but not even the two of them combined could take Cassandra. Not with Jason and Tim backing her up.

Cassandra knocks Dick down and sits on his back. The large yellow paint splash on his chest proves that he’s dead. Rather than being upset, Dick starts doing push ups with his sister there as the rest of his siblings and Steph fight to death.

Unfortunately, Damian wasn’t as angered by Dick’s demise as they expected and is still a good match for Tim. Until Tim gasps and goes Titus, don’t eat that! It was an obvious ploy, but still got Damian to let down his guard and whip his head around looking for his precious dog. Tim shoots him without hesitation and Damian goes on a rage soliloquy.

Jason would appreciate it if he wasn’t having such a hard time with Stephanie. Apparently Barbara has been feeding her steroids, because the girl is now as quick as a ninja. She hits Jason in the kneecaps with Tim’s staff - they’re not even in the same team this time, how the fuck did she get Tim’s staff??? - and shoots him point blank in the chest. And damn, that shit hurts. He bets it’s purple under his shirt too.

Steph is mid celebration when her victory whoop turns into a pained groan. Twin splotches of red and yellow bloom on her back as Cassandra and Tim lower their guns.

“Fuck,” Jason complains. “Couldn’t’ve done that before she killed me?”

“We win,” Cassandra says.

“Shouldn’t you be fighting to the death now?” Dick asks. Now that Cass is off his back, he’s lying on the side like one of your French girls. Jason wishes Cass would shoot him again.

“I would never betray Cass,” Tim says.

“We rule together.” She walks to him and stands on her tiptoes to kiss his forehead.

Tim grins a wicked grin because he knows he is Cassandra’s favorite and everyone can die mad about it.

Steph and Damian start shouting their complaints at the same time while Dick laughs his ass off. From his lawn chair, Duke is glaring at them as if he can’t believe he’s legally related to any of these weirdos.

His gaze meets Dick’s and his older brother looks absolutely elated with pride even though all of their siblings are yelling about paintball.

Jason simply smiles back.

#jason todd #tim drake #red hood #red robin #batfam #batfam big bang 2020 #poteto writing #red bros #collab

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kimberly-spirits13 · 4 years

Text

Burning Kingdoms and Runaway Rulers Pt. 1

Pairing: Dick Grayson x reader

Note: So, this is an OC reader insert where this story is taken from the story of an OC I have but instead of the OC, it’s reader. I didn’t really know if I wanted to post this but then again, why the heck not. This is the same OC that I used for that mood board one time, I’ll post it at the bottom if you ave no idea what I’m talking about/ So part one is an intro and it takes place the night that you arrived in Gotham. The italics are what happened before that

Warnings: Mentions of death (not explicit)

Word Count: 1,808

To say you weren’t close to people was an understatement. The fire found a home in you and you were too busy trying to keep it contained to be concerned with those around you. Some children are born with tragedy in their blood, it was something you’d gotten used to seeing in people other than yourself. The last light in someone’s eyes before the kill, the glimmer of hope of a better fate, it was telling. You saw it in ballrooms and on battlefields, but now you were somewhere different. Now you were in realms unfamiliar to your senses. Adaptation was a choice, but in order to return home, survival was key-

-3 Months Ago-

No one knew where you were. You intended to keep it like that. The assumed lost Princesses of Amara was not be forgotten until it was your time to return home and reclaim the throne. That was a nice thought. Going back home and resuming life as usual. If everything was normal, you’d be on a mission into the rebel country of Ingram off to kill one of the high rulers to whom was setting the country into total and mass chaos by order of your father, the supreme ruler and king of your home planet. But that was yesterday’s news and your old team’s mission. Today you were in Chicago, on Earth, the only near planet you had never visited.

The clock on the wall was the only thing keeping you company besides the ever -intrusive thoughts bogging down your memories of the past 48 hours. It all happened too quickly, the death of your family, the fall of an ancient monarchy, and the discovery of the hidden Chamber of Magic in the core of your home planet, something that you were immortally entrusted in keeping safe in all past and future lives you might have lived. It was something to take time in understanding.

Your father, a man of top royal and intellectual status was never a truly sane man as some tend to be. He kept it well under wraps as far as you were concerned. It wasn’t until one time, in a fit of dismay and disarray in one of his now more frequent walks, he discovered the chambers that you wandered through every night in the shadows of the hallways and the glow of the golden strands of light that floated ever weightlessly through the air without anyone’s knowledge. That was when he discovered it. Amidst the ancient and crumbling catacombs, down winding stairs, and across underground streams of magic that might have replaced a mass amount of water, he found the source of all magic in this universe. He found what you were entrusted in keeping safe your entire existence. That was when he went mad.

On the night of his breaking, you were coming back from a mission meant to take down part of the Ingram Royal Army. It had been a success but the mission was draining and the royal guards still needed you, their leader to keep yourself in your place for one last briefing before they could disperse. You were sitting at the front of the ship when a guard came to you saluting you before handing you a letter with the golden seal of the Amaranian king and then leaving. You carefully opened it and read it, finding out, much to your horror that he was holding your family, the rest of the royal family hostage and would only let them live if you relinquished all your power to him.

That was where it began, the ending however, was much worse. Your entire family was dead now including your father. His blood was on your hands, but the rest? His. You finished off the traders in the guards and carried on, leaving on a ship, no possessions but your training and coordinates to Earth.

The chime of the bell snapped you out of your never- ending trance in time for you to realize the time. A few seconds later, the shadow of a ship graced the window and floor of your hotel room floor. It was time to leave Chicago, it was time to leave for Gotham. You knew not of what would happen in this crime filled city, only that your guide told you to go. That was enough for you to leave with Batman. That was enough for you to think of possibly starting a new life.

You leapt out of the window and on to the roof of the building before being met by the bat clad vigilante.

“Queen Y/N.” He greeted formally calling you by your newly gained title, “Are you ready to leave?”

“I am, and please, just call me Y/N, I am no princess nor queen on this planet.” You answered before getting into the jet.

“Very well... Y/N, I have accommodations for you at Wayne Manor as said. Alfred, my butler has prepared a room, if you’d like to change it, you may seeing as this will most likely become your permanent residence.” The bat explained as the city disappeared from under you.

You gazed out of the window and watched as the world seemed to become smaller and smaller, clouds rapidly going in and out of view. It was mesmerizing to see but you were pulled out of your thoughts for the 100th time tonight once more.

“I assume that you would like to carry on fighting?” He asked shooting a glance your way.

“I-I would.” You answered.

“What name will you go by?” Batman asked, “You don’t have to rush, but you do have to follow my one rule.”

“Let me guess, this is going to be the opposite of what I was raised to do and I suspect an impulse training segment. I cannot kill? Is that your rule Mr. Wayne?” You said rolling your eyes.

“It is.” “And for simplicity’s sake, please, call me Bruce.” Bruce stated making a sharp turn and then diving down, “This isn’t the Thanatos Royal Army anymore, this is Earth, this is Gotham. By code, people allowed to work in Gotham as vigilantes cannot kill.”

“And you are going to make me partake in vigorous training to control the possible impulse or habit of killing those guilty of a crime? People who might not have committed crimes against the high or superior kingdoms, or even those who make their citizens beg for quick death rather than life, but instead a different breed? The Gotham made mass killers?”

Bruce sighed, “Yes. As much as you question it, this is not debatable.” He informed you in a stern tone.

You kept a neutral expression, but that did not mean that internally, you were questioning this man’s will to live or even intelligence on the sharp turn and his rules. You were however pleasantly surprised to find him landing in a massive cave, and a boy, around your age coming down a stair case.

“Hey B!” The young black -haired teen said.

Bruce nodded at him, acknowledging his presence before turning to you as you landed next to him from jumping out of the jet with no sound at all.

“Y/N, this is Dick Grayson, my ward.” Bruce said as you nodded, “Dick, Y/N L/N. Y/N has just arrived from her home planet Amara, I expect you to make her feel welcome.” Bruce emphasized the last part.

“You got it Bruce.” Dick said before turning back to you, “Do you want me to show you your room?”

“That would be most appreciated.” You replied following him before meeting Alfred.

“So, you’re a queen?” Dick asked as you two walked around the house and up the stair case in the front.

“Technically. I have not had a proper or official coronation yet, however, I am the successor to the now empty throne.” You replied, a ping of sadness hitting your chest.

“I’m sorry.” He said, “I lost both of my parents when I was younger. Used to be part of the circus.”

“My condolences.” You said, “How long have you resided here?”

“I’ve been here around 4 years now.” Dick answered turning down another hall, “Trust me, once you get used to everything, it’s not totally terrible.”

“But I’d presume that there are some terrible things. More than the fighting?”

“Yes, flashing lights, paparazzi following everywhere, sometimes B, he’s well, not that great with emotions and opening up so that gets weird. You should be fine though, and if you need anything, I’m always here.”

“Thank you.”

Dick led you to your new bedroom, opening the door to let you inside first. There was one other door, leading to a bathroom, a massive bed, a small desk, nightstands on either side of the desk, a sitting chair, dresser, and bookshelves. On the floor by the bed, a Persian rug. The room fit the theme of the manor very well in your opinion. It did not however, fit your idea of a suitable bedroom. Bruce said you could change it, so you would tonight when Dick wasn’t in the room as to not make you seem ungrateful.

“It’s lovely.” You said walking in further, “Thank you.”

“It’s no problem really. I’ll leave you alone now, but if you need anything, but room is the next one to the left.” He said, “Alfred has already prepared the room with whatever you’d need but clothes, you can get those tomorrow.”

“Oh, there will be no need for that.” You said before walking to the closet.

“What are you doi-“ Dick stopped talking when he saw you mumble something to the air and put your hand out.

Without warning, the closet was filled with Earth clothes. That was something you were informed was important by your guide. They were your mentor or sorts. It came straight from the magic in the core of your home planet and was eternally bound to you as an advisor, something you found yourself needing more and more as of recently.

“T-that was amazing!” Dick exclaimed.

“Thank you.” You smirked some, “These are suitable Earth clothes to you, correct?”

“Oh yeah, perfectly normal clothes.” He looked around not noticing anything wrong with what he saw.

You nodded when he told you goodnight and left your room. You changed the room to your likings when he did leave, but after that, you had work to do on these people. It was important that you knew who you were “bunking “ with for the next while and what was to possibly be expected from these next few days, weeks, or even years. Your guide would be by your side, but also something that you had just gotten used to, a laptop. It was a strange thing, but at least it beat the old royal archives, even if those were more magical.

Okay so that’s the mood board that this is inspired by. Anyways, I hope that you guys liked this one and are also staying safe and healthy. Have a wonderful week and day and take care of yourselves!

#dc comics #dc x reader #dc characters #batfam x reader #batboys x reader #batfam #dick grayson x reader #dick grayson #dick grayson imagine #dick grayson x y/n #young justice x reader #young justice #young justice robin #young justice robin x reader

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ellana-ravenwood · 5 years

Text

“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore...” 1/3 - Batfam x Reader (Marvel crossover)

A while ago, my computer got wrecked and I couldn’t afford to buy a new one. People suggested I open a “GoFundMe” and all and I ended up doing it. A lot of peeps came to my rescue, and I was able to buy a new computer...This story is for one of the people that helped. Thanks very much, Anna, for your 35 euros. It’s a huge amount (at least to me) and it really made my life better and helped achieve the goal of a new laptop. I hope you will like this story :

PART 2 My masterlist blog : @ella-ravenwood-archives

__________________________________________________

“Klarion, NO !!”

“Klarion yes ! Hahahaha”

“You have no idea what it will do, you-”

Too late.

But of course, as if someone like Klarion would wait and listen to the Batman trying to reason with him.

Nope, double nope. He wanted to do it, and he didn’t care much about the consequences right now, as he was too excited ! Maybe he’ll regret it later, but that was his future self’s problem !

Klarion’s laugh is the last thing you hear, as a bright light encircles you all.

Your mother instinct kicking in, you grab your nearest kid, who happens to be Jason.

Frankly, as he’s the tallest out of all your children and is even a bit taller than his father, you can’t actually do much to protect him really. But when this specific instinct kicked in, you didn’t think about the technicalities of things, and just acted, grabbing his arm and yanking him to you. Holding him tightly, feeling like this was very important.

Damian wasn’t far either, and you were reaching for him when your world turned upside down. Your last sight was of your youngest boy trying to get to you…

A heavy dread fell on you, as you felt yourself being flung all around, clinging to Jason so you wouldn’t lose him too. Because as you saw Damian’s image fade into the light, it felt like this. Like you just lost all your kids but Jason. And lost Bruce too, while being thrown…wherever.

************

Klarion stole “Michael’s sword”.

The actual Archangel Michael.

It belonged, as of late, to Zauriel, a fellow Justice League member. But Klarion stole it, and ran away with it. And in a cruel twist of fate, he was last sighted in Gotham City and it was bestowed to your family to find him and bring the sword back. Zauriel was on his way when you caught up with the “Witch Boy”.

You found him below the city. In an old abandoned subway station, long out of use because weird things always happened in it. The city closed it down decades ago, putting all the problems it had on a disfunction in the electric system...But you knew the truth.

John Constantine took a look a while back, and said it was a place to keep an eye on as it had all the specificities to have gates open, whatever that meant really. He didn’t actually give more details...Typical Constantine.

Obviously, Klarion didn’t choose this place randomly.

Of course he didn’t.

Michael’s sword. A weapon capable of “tearing through realities” (according to Zauriel).

A place known to be favorable to “gate opening”.

Klarion.

Nothing was random. Duh.

************

And here you were, feeling like you’d been falling for ages. Just falling and falling, or were you standing still ?

All your senses were confused, and you couldn’t figure out wether your head was up or down. When the light finally died down, and you opened your eyes, you were…exactly in the same place ?

Still in that old abandoned subway station.

Except it was just you and Jason now.

The rest of your family was nowhere to be seen.

You let go of your son, who was looking very green.

Jason has always been car sick, so that weird trip across the light, not knowing wether you were up or down, must have been a nightmare for his weak stomach.

You almost smile at the thought of what people would think if they knew the ruthless Red Hood couldn’t handle an hour car trip without getting really nauseous (and oh my God you still remember the “Dineyworld’s tea cups debacle” for his 9th birthday).

Yes, you almost smile at the thought.

But you don’t.

Because right now, your biggest worry wasn’t the fact that your kid might throw up (though you took a few steps away from him, worst case scenario, you’d comfort him after), instead, it was...where were your other children ? Where’d they go ? And Bruce ? Were they ok ?

You could only hope that just like you, they just ended up...elsewhere. But were safe. Because except for Jason feeling nauseous, he didn’t seem to have anything wrong with him. And you were definitely fine.

At least, the thought of this was comforting. There was no reasons that you and Jason came out of “this” (whatever “this” was) unharmed, and the rest of your family would get hurt...Right ?

And that dread that took over you as the blinding light appeared came back full force. When you started to be tossed around in that “light” (or were you just standing still and everything moved around you ?), that feeling that you might lose your family forever wouldn’t leave you.

Zauriel used Michael’s Sword to change dimension, and you assumed this was what just happened, right ?

What if you all ended up in different universes ? How would you ever get back to each others ?! Oh God did that mean that Damian was on his own ?! But he was so young !! And Tim too !

Oh who were you kidding ?

The fact that even Dick, who was a grown man, or Bruce, who clearly could handle himself, were alone stressed you the hell out too.

Because who knew where they’d end up ?! What if they were in a hostile world ?! You were starting to hyperventilate a little bit at the mere thought of not seeing them ever again, when you felt a comforting warm hand on your shoulder.

“Are you ok, mom ?”

This brought you back to your senses in a matter of seconds.

Every time one of your kids would try to reassure you, this motherly instinct that was always inside you would kick in. Because in your head, you were supposed to comfort them in tough times. Reassure them when they were scared.

Be there at their worst moments, ready to pick them up.

You smile at him, and take a good look around. And that’s when you start to see the slight differences between Gotham’s station and this one.

The architecture is almost same, but the colors aren’t. And there, in the corner, instead of the “Gotham City” you’re used to see, it reads “New York City”. Mm. Which NYC though ?

It seems like you’re in a similar world, at least the subway looked the same. But what would you find once you’d get out ?

You turn to Jason, who looked more worried about you than the situation he was currently in, and with a smile, you say :

“Well my boy, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore...”

************

One quick look around, and Bruce knew he wasn’t in Gotham anymore.

He knew his city by heart, and though some of the architecture was similar, he was sure he wasn’t home no more. He actually was pretty certain to be in New York City.

When the light died down, and he opened his eyes, he was in an alleyway that could’ve been one in Gotham but wasn’t.

And his family was gone.

So Bruce entered his “dark mode”, as you’d call it. Where he shuts out all of his emotions and focuses on whatever the problem he’s faced with is.

It was his “defensive mode”, the one he would enter to not lose his mind. Because right now, if he was thinking for too long about the fact that you all most likely were scattered in different dimensions...he would lose it.

The chances of ever finding all of you were extremely low, even if he managed to find Klarion and Michael’s sword. There were billions and billions of different dimensions, and Bruce was already calculating the probabilities of ever finding his kids and wife again...It would most likely take him a lifetime to even just find one...

So Bruce didn’t think about that, and instead focused on his surroundings.

He was pretty sure he was in New York City. And that he was in a World similar to his original one. It wouldn’t quite make sense for Klarion to use the sword just to move through space. He could always just use magic...Mmm...This was arising another question.

Why did Klarion need the sword anyway ?

He already had the ability to travel through dimensions by opening gates. He never struggled to do it, so why would he need Michael’s sword ? Bruce was trying to think of every possible reasons, but he couldn’t quite find any.

Mainly because even if he was trying to shut down his emotions, he couldn’t help but think about what happened to you and his children. If you were harmed in any way, he had absolutely no way of knowing. Which was driving him crazy.

And what if you’ll never see each others again ? Bruce didn’t think he could survive living in a world without any of you...No. No he couldn’t think about that, or he’d crumble ! Ok. First things first.

He installed trackers in your costumes a long time ago (he was pretty sure that, except maybe for Tim, none of you knew that fact). There was a slim chance you’d all end up in the same world, but there was still a chance. Even if it was just one of you, it was better than none.

Bruce Wayne was never really a hopeful man. Life taught him that hoping for good things to happen never ended well...But right now, as he activated the trackers, he hoped to every gods he knew that you did indeed beat all statistics and ended up in the same World.

The familiar “beep” of the trackers resonated in his earpiece. One. Two. Three. Four. And five. And...

************

Damian opened his eyes after the bright light disappeared and...He was standing on the roof of a building, all alone.

“Ummi ?”

Was the first thing to come out of his mouth.

The last thing he remembered, was trying to hold onto you. But the light “grabbed” him and threw him all around...and here he was.

At the top of this building.

All alone.

Was he still in Gotham ? Most likely not. His father’s briefing of the situation said that Michael’s sword had the ability to “transport” people into different dimensions. Was it it ? Was he in a different dimension ?

It looked similar enough to his. He bend down to look at the streets below. Cars, people dressed like they were dressed in Gotham, dogs on leash (of course Damian would notice the dogs).

Yellow cabs. Mm. So he was in NYC huh ?

He twisted his neck to try to see more of what was happening down there. Maybe there were some things that weren’t quite like back home. Or maybe there would be a confirmation that he was still in his own World, but just not in Gotham anymore ?

Damian was wishing with all his might that the sword malfunctioned and send Klarion to another dimension, but only send him and his family through space, and teleported them in other places of their own world. Because if you were all scattered through multiple dimensions, how would you ever find each others ?

Even if Damian felt in his heart that nothing could stop you or his dad to find him...realistically it would still be very difficult right ? If not impossible ?

He’d like to think that nothing was impossible for you, when you entered “full on mom mode”, but this was quite the situation. He hunched over the side of the building even further, thinking that maybe he could-

“You shouldn’t bend down that much at such a high height, buddy. If you fall, you’ll be as flat as a pizza.”

Damian turned around in one move, taking a fighting stance, ready for whatever.

In front of him was a guy, raising his hands into the air to show he meant no harm, and wearing a red and blue costume from head to toes, with...was that a spider drawn on his chest ?

************

Dick couldn’t breathe, and he couldn’t understand why.

The blinding light wasn’t enveloping him anymore, but he still couldn’t figure out where he was, or wether the world was up or down. He flailed his arms around, trying to get his balance back, but all his senses were disoriented.

Everything was so cold as well, the world around him was so damn blurry and Dick just couldn’t find an exit to it all.

He felt like he was slowly loosing consciousness when...

Someone grabbed his arm, and then he felt a similar sensation than when he was in the light, but not quite the same thing.

And all of a sudden, he could breathe again, and the world was slightly warmer.

“Mein Gott, what would make a man want to jump into the Hudson river by such a weather, I wonder !”

River ? Oh. It would make sense. Now that Dick could breathe again, and he slowly started to regain his senses, it did feel like he was in water. But after whatever that light travel was, he was just too confused to understand what was going on.

He slowly opened his eyes, and was faced with the most eclectic group of people he ever saw.

“Ya alright bub ?”

One of them asked. Dick rubbed the dirty water completely out of his eyes and finally took a good look at them, sitting up on the cemented dock they dragged him on (he assumed they were the one that got him out of the water somehow?)

The man who talked was short and stocky, very hairy too. Definitely not conventionally handsome, and yet he had an aura about him that made Dick think he must be quite a man !

Next to him, was the most beautiful woman Dick ever saw. Tall, dark skinned, incredible white hair... She looked worried about him, and if Dick had regained all his senses by then, he would have most certainly said the cheesiest pick-up line that ever existed ! Wow !

Finally, right next to her, was a...fuzzy blue man ? He had a bright friendly smile and...a tail ? Um, ok ? I mean, Dick saw weirder in his vigilante career but somehow, those three made him feel like he was actually in a dream.

However as his brain slowly started to function normally again, he just as slowly came to the conclusion that...Ah of course. Michael’s sword. Other dimensions. Mm. Where the Hell did Klarion send him, exactly ?

And were was the rest of his family ?!

************

Tim knew immediately he wasn’t in his original world.

Mainly because he was immediately faced with a tall blond guy threatening him with a hammer (????) and a massive green...man (?????) in purple shorts.

The light barely disappeared, and his eyes were just adapting to the surrounding daylight, that he heard a thunderous (haha) voice yelling :

“WHERE IS MY BROTHER ?!”

And bam, he was held upside down by the huge green man. Strangely, his hand around his ankle was rather delicate, given the size of him...Tim had no doubts that that dude could crush him if he wanted to. But for now, it seemed like holding him upside down was enough.

Tim was known to be one of the most quick witted of your family, and that was for a reason. Even as he just came out of a very confusing event, where all his senses were attacked, his brain was working a hundred miles per hours.

This was definitely not his World, his family was gone, and those two guys were definitely meta-humans (if they were humans). They were most likely some of this dimension’s heroes. Tim came to this conclusion thanks to their costume, and the fact they didn’t immediately kill him. Then again, maybe they were just waiting to question him about that “brother”, and were actually villains.

A quick look around and it seemed like this world was somewhat similar to his, as he saw cars passing by a bit further. Him and the two dudes where in a park, and given how big it looked, even as he saw everything upside down, Tim guessed it must be Central Park.

After all, this particular place was easily recognizable.

Connections were quickly made in his brain, and only a few seconds passed as he came to all those conclusions.

Ignoring the voice in his head whispering to him that his family was probably lost in other dimensions too, and that it would be statistically impossible to ever find them again if it truly was the case, he focused on his current situation.

“Where is my brother little man ? We know he’s been in contact with you for the past few months, now tell us where he went ?!”

Brother ? In contact with him for months ? Once again, Tim’s quick thinking definitely came in handy to him.

“I think you have the wrong person, and that we have the same end goal !”

“Is this a trick ? We won’t fall into it, if you’re working with my brother you cannot be trusted !”

“Wait let me finish ! My name is Red Robin and I’m pretty sure I’m not actually from here. I come from a place called Gotham City, and I was, along with my...sidekicks, following a guy called Klarion who stole a sword that allows people to travel through dimensions. I think he’s the guy you’re after.”

The blond man seemed to think about what Tim just said, looking at him deep in the eyes, as if trying to see if he was lying or not. It seemed like what he saw in Tim’s eyes satisfied him enough as he gestured to his friend (?) and the green dude put Tim back on the ground (once again, being surprisingly delicate for his size and stature).

“Alright, I looked into your soul and decided you were a trustworthy man. Well. Trustworthy boy, really. After all our radar indicated multiple places where gates to other dimension opened, so it means that not just my brother’s friend came in. I am called Thor Odinson, from Asgard. And this is my good partner Hulk.”

Thor ? As in…God of Thunder Thor ? Well, the hammer suddenly made sense.

“Hulk happy no smash little man. Hulk not like hurting little men.”

“Um. I’m…also happy you didn’t … « smash » me.”

Tim said a bit awkwardly, and the green giant smiled widely at him. It was kind of cute. But also terrifying. Tim turned towards Thor and asked :

“Thor ? So your brother is…Loki ?”

Thor looked surprised, and, raising his eyebrows and becoming suspicious again, asked :

“You know him ?”

“Well, not really. I just know my North mythology. Which I guess isn’t mythology in this World…Mm, interesting.”

“Do you always talk to yourself like that boy ?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Sorry about that. So. Loki. Is he the God of Mischief here too ?”

“Yes he is ! How do you-”

“Sorry to cut you off mister Thor, but I think I might know what is going on right now...”

************

“Well, I guess our only option is to go up ?”

You tell Jason, looking at the stairs that seem to be the only exit out of this place. Your son is about to reply when...he just start to stares at you, eyes wide. You barely have the time to ask what is going on that he jumps on you and tackles you to the floor, protecting you with his entire body.

And then...

Then nothing happens.

“What the hell Jace ?!”

You say, pushing him off of you though he seems reluctant to move.

What got into your son ? He’s looking around like a crazy person now, until his eyes focus on a specific spot and he gets one of the batarang he stole from his father out and shoots.

“OUTCH, MOTHERFUC-”

There’s a soft sound of someone falling on the concrete, and you can’t help but be very confused about what the hell just happened. Who the hell just yelled and...what ?!

Jason bolts on his feet and runs towards the source of the sound. He disappears in the shadow for a few seconds, before dragging a man out of it.

Your son looks absolutely pissed, even though he’s the one that shot that...who was that dude ?

He was wearing a red and black costume and could very well have been a super from your World. But you’ve definitely never seen him before. He had the batarang stuck in his shoulder. In his hand he had...a laser pointer ?

And all of a sudden, connections were made in your head. Jason throwing you on the floor and covering you with his body, then getting angry, the stranger with a batarang in his shoulder, the laser pointer...You crease your eyebrow and turn to your son, hitting him on the chest.

“Don’t you ever do that again !”

“Outch, sorry mom but I thought he was going to shoot you ! What was he doing pointing a laser at you for no reasons like that anyway ?!”

“What ? No that’s not the problem, that guy’s definitely fishy. I’m mad about you protecting me by jumping in front of me like that ! What were you thinking ? If something happened to you I don’t know what...AAAAH !”

You hit him once more and turn around, trying to hold back the tears that came to your eyes and choking on your own voice. Damn it. They always did that. Your kids and Bruce. They always goddamn jumped in front of a bullet or some stupid shit like that ! Not realizing you’d rather die than live without one of them.

You already had to live through the death of almost all your sons. You couldn’t handle this kind of thing anymore. So whenever they’d do such a thing, you’d get all choke up and angry at them. How dare they...how dare they ?!

Jason was rubbing his neck awkwardly, not knowing what to do as you turned your back to him and was sniffling loudly...man, you could be so sensitive sometimes. Though he guessed the fact that he was basically ready to sacrifice himself for you was reason enough to shake you up.

He was about to reach for you when the stranger who was playing with that damn laser pointer started to move again. Without thinking about it Jason reached for him and immobilized him on the floor, saying :

“Not so fast buddy. You’re gonna tell me who you are and what you want with us ?!”

“Wow wow wow, if you want me to explain stop blocking my airways like that “buddy”. Sorry for the bad joke ok ? I haven’t been a superhero for long, I don’t know all the specificities about the job ok ? But you know what, don’t joke around with laser pointer, dully noted.”

“Jason, let him go. You’re knee is most definitely stopping him from breathing. It’s quite something he managed to say such a long sentence really...”

Reluctantly, Jason let go of the man, but kept a careful eye on him. If that guy was trying ANYTHING, especially towards his mom, he was dead. And Jay didn’t care that he promised not to kill anymore, if one of his family member was in danger, he wouldn’t hesitate !

“Pfewwww. Thank you lady, you...Oh. Wow. You’re beautiful. Do you want to ma-”

Rolling your eyes, you catch your son’s arm before he shoots yet another batarang, and make a head gesture to the stranger so he’d continue talking.

“Ok sorry, it’s your mom, I get it, you don’t like hearing about how hot she is. You’re defending your daddy’s honor...if um, there is a daddy ?”

“There is one yes. And he’s extremely jealous, and some would say violent.”

You roll your eyes again. Though Jason isn’t wrong, if Bruce was here, you’re pretty sure another batarang would have been thrown. The dude with the laser pointer continue :

“Ok ok sorry. I’ll stop now. My name’s Deadpool, I’m a hero in training and was send by the Avengers to fetch you two.”

Silence. Deadpool ? Avengers ? ...hero in training ? But “Deadpool” takes your silence as you not believing him so he adds :

“Ok ok, heroes aren’t suppose to lie either I heard. So what if I wasn’t really send by the Avengers ? And what if I’m not really in training but more like stalking them to see how they’re doing things ? Is there really a difference ? They were coming to get you anyway. I just reached you first.”

A few more seconds of silence, and as your brain is trying to work everything out, “Deadpool” starts to hum an elevator music. Jason is the first one to break the silence :

“You said “they” were coming to get us ? How do you know where we were ?”

“Ah ok so, and I know that totally not because I hacked into their surveillance system and am spying on it, but I heard them talk about dimension gates opening kind of everywhere in New York, and having to check it out. So I got one of the location, that happened to be the one that was the least specific because, I guess since you’re underground their surveillance system wasn’t as performant...like I’m pretty sure there’s lead in those walls so...maybe it’s like a certain hero wearing his underwear above his pants, can’t see through it ?”

“Did you just refer to Superman ?”

“Who ? I have no idea what you’re talking about. But in any case they’re looking above ground. I think they don’t know this old abandoned subway station exist. But I do. And here I am, finding you before them.”

“Ok um...”

“Deadpool.”

“Right, Deadpool. You keep referring to “them”, who are they ?”

“The Avengers !”

“Ok...”

“The Justice League of this universe.”

“Did you just-”

“No. I didn’t.”

“You’re-”

“I’m not. Hey now come on, Cap and Iron man are just up there, I bet they’d love to meet y’all. And maybe I’d get back on their good side if I’m the one bringing you to them.”

You exchange a look with your son, and you know you’re both thinking the same thing. There is NO WAY you’re going to follow that mad man. But then he says :

“By the way they’re not the only team that was sent all around NYC to find you and the others that arrived at the same time than you. I’m assuming you know them ? If you want to see those other guys again, you should follow me.”

Once again, you exchange a look with your son, except that this time, it’s full of hope. Could it be ? Or is he lying ? He doesn’t really have any reason to lie, after all, but what if ? Was this a false hope and you were about to get your heart crushed when you’ll realize he’s not talking about the rest of your family ? What if it’s a trap ?

You have no knowledge of this world after all, those Avengers could very well be super-villains or whatever.

But as you look at the man, and though you can’t really see his face with his mask...your guts are telling you he’s saying the truth.

And so, making sure Jason was on board, you nod and follow him out of the abandoned subway station. Still being ready to fight, just in case.

************

The trackers are on, and Bruce’s heart starts to beat like crazy.

They all turned on, and you were all very close from each others ! By some miracle, you all ended up in the same universe ! Or did Klarion plan this ?

Ah but for now, Bruce couldn’t think about that, because you were all here. In this World. Not scattered across the multiverse. He was going to see you all again. He was going to see you all again !

For some reasons, you were all converging towards the same place. Bruce’s eyes narrowed. Were you ok ? Oh if you were harmed, he was ready to let hell break lose on whoever did anything to you !

Now, his heart was beating to the rythm of his stress.

What if you were all hurt ? What if you had been less lucky than him and fell on ill intentioned people ? Kidnapped ? What if you ended up in a part of town that was hostile ? After all, he knew nothing of this world, except for the fact it was somewhat similar to his own...but to what extent ?

Bruce’s mind was racing, raging, he was-

“Seems like he or she is already gone.”

“Ah come on Clint, we didn’t even look.”

“Well nobody is here. And honestly I don’t really fancy looking for “someone” we don’t even know in the entire city. You can though, I’ll look at you while eating pizza. There’s a great restaurant just around the corner from here and-”

Bruce, hidden in the shadows, was listening intently to the two strangers who arrived.

One was wearing a black and purple costume, and had a bow strapped to his back. The other one was a woman, wearing all black, crazy beautiful red hear surrounding her face.

They were clearly looking for him, and as Bruce wondered why their wrist watches started to beep.

There was a small silence, as they seemed to listen to something, and then the man the woman called “Hawkeye” turned to her and said :

“Ah, well I guess we won’t have to search for anyone now huh ?”

“I wonder why Spider-Man is calling us back. He said it was important to thoroughly check any discrepensies the system was showing, and now...”

“Ah well you know what they say, Stark is a genius. People rarely understand geniuses. People like us. Normal, totally normal people.”

The woman scoffs and shakes her head, before saying :

“Ah well, I guess there’s some news. Come on smart ass, let’s go see what is up. They said they caught some of them, I’m curious as to what actually happened...”

Some of them ?

Bruce’s blood froze and boiled at the same time.

Were they talking about his family ? Looking at the trackers on his 3D map, Bruce calculated the direction the two strangers were taking and...it seemed everyone was converging to the same spot.

Without hesitating, Bruce started to follow them.

***********

“I’m not here to hurt you. What are you doing up here all alone ? ”

Damian didn’t lose his fighting stance, and eyed the man with the spider costume suspiciously.

“Who are you ?”

“Ok ok calm down little dude. I’m really not here to fight ok ? Unless you’re here to fight. Are you ?”

“Depends, do you want to fight ?”

“Not particularly. Especially not with a kid.”

“I’m not just a regular kid !”

“Yes, the mask and cape makes that much clear. Are you a super ? I’m one too, I’m one of the good guys !”

“That’s exactly what a villain would say !”

“Ah, you got me there...um...Listen, I’m really not here to fight ok ?”

“Who are you ?”

“Spider-Man.”

“Spider-man ?”

“Spider-man.”

“...You have spider superpowers ?”

“Pretty much. Anything a spider does, I can do too.”

“Spiders can do a lot of things...”

“I can do a lot of things. And even more.”

Damian detected no animosity in that “Spider-man”, and slowly disengaged his fighting stance.

“I’m Robin.”

“Ok. Ok cool. Like the bird ?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. Can you do what birds do ?”

“...Not really. Metaphorically, I guess.”

“Oh. Ok. So um, Robin, what are you doing here ?”

“I’m not sure. We were after a...bad guy, and then I ended up here.”

“We ?”

“My parents and brothers.”

“Ok ok. And where are they now ?”

Damian didn’t know why, but faced with that Spider guy, he felt all his emotions about the possible loss of his family surge all at once. Maybe it was because, even though he was fully masked, Spider-Man was reminded him of his older brothers ?

There was a sort of brotherly aura surrounding that guy.

And so Damian’s shoulder flopped down, and letting his sadness catch to him, he said, voice breaking at the end :

“I don’t know...”

Damian could feel the tears slowly rising to his eyes. It was so strange.

But that Spider-Man made him want to show his true feelings ? Again, must be because he reminded him of his older brothers. But it was also the fact that Damian knew now that he wasn’t in his own world, and that there was a high chance he would never see his parents and siblings ever again.

And all that emotions ? Well until then he kind of kept it in check, but faced with Spider-man’s gentle voice, Damian kind of cracked. It didn’t happen to him often, that he felt like the kid he actually was. But here, in this other world, all alone...Well, he just wanted his Ummi.

And she wasn’t there. And it was scary, and lonely, and what if he was going to never see any of his family member again ?! But Damian still stayed strong. He did not cry. Though he really wanted to.

“Um ok, ok. Where did you see them last ?”

“Before the light.”

“The light ?”

And without quite knowing why, Damian started to say everything that had happened so far to that total stranger. But there was just something about Spider-Man, that made the boy instantly trust him.

Maybe it was his gentle voice, or the fact he wasn’t rushing him. Maybe it was how he first talked to him, or how calm he seemed. Or maybe it was how clearly Damian could see that he was indeed one of the good guy, and had a kind heart ? Your youngest son didn’t even talk to Spider-Man for more than a few seconds, but he felt it in his guts.

He was definitely one of the good ones. Maybe one of the best ones.

Damian wasn’t quite sure why, but he just trusted him.

“Ok so that would explain a lot. I’m um, from a team of superheroes ? We’re called the Avengers.”

“What are you avenging ?”

“What are we avengi...um...nothing in particular. It’s just our name.”

“Oh.”

“...Anyway. We have a defense system against invasion from other dimensions okay ? And it went haywire not long ago. Multiple gates got opened.”

“Multiple ? How many ?”

“I don’t know, a few. I just received a call from mister Stark, and he gave me your location.”

“How did you know I wasn’t a bad guy ?”

“You’re just a kid.”

“The guy who send us here is also technically just a kid.”

“Yeah well...My spidersense didn’t went on when I approached you so...”

“Spidersense ?”

“Like a sixth sense that warns me whenever a threat is about to happen ?”

“Sounds useful. And made up. Spidersense ?”

But as he thought about it further, Damian actually realized it didn’t sound that ridiculous in the end. After all, his father also had the bad tendency to put “bat” in front of every words too...

“Well it’s not made up. And it usually helps me knowing wether people have good intentions or not. And you ? You weren’t hostile. Just scared.”

Well, that much was true...Damian really was scared. Scared to never see his family again.

“Listen, come with me and we’ll try to clear things up ok ? Try to find your parents and brothers, ok ?”

Yes. Yes there was definitely something in Spider-Man that reminded him of his older siblings. He had Dick’s way of talking, and Tim’s talent to find exactly the right words. But also Jason’s stupidity. Geez. “Spidersense” ?!

But all of that made Damian want to trust him. Ah, it’s not like he had much other options anyway...

************

“Wow, this is so cool ! I mean, I flew on someone’s back once, but this is so much-aaaaaaaaah- cooler !”

Damian was holding onto Spider-man’s back who was flinging from building to building thanks to his webs. They were going so fast, and Spider-man was so in control of their fall and all ! It was awesome !

“Haha right ? Ah look, that’s the Avengers’ tower !”

“Oh geez, can you be more obvious ?”

Damian couldn’t see it, but under his mask, Spider-Man blushed a bit. It’s true that the place wasn’t particularly discreet, what with the gigantic neon lighted “A” on the side of the building...

************

At first, he thought they were going to think he was crazy. But then the short hairy man said “he ain’t lying” and they just kind of rolled with it (later, Dick would learn that that said guy had the ability to “smell” when people lied).

Plus they apparently heard weirder in their lives. Which didn’t really surprise your son much, they definitely looked like they went through many adventures.

After Dick explained what had happened to him, and his theory as to how he actually ended up in the goddamn Hudson river, they started to do some explaning themselves in return.

Dick had to admit, this was all a lot of informations for him to take in, right after almost drowning. But he was aware all of this was important. He was stranded in an unknown world, the more he knew the better it was. Even more so since he was learning valuable informations.

Like the fact that “Storm”, “Nightcrawler” and “Wolverine” (the name of the people who saved him) were where he appeared after the defense system from a team called the “Avengers” received warnings that tears in the reality were opening kind of everywhere in NYC.

A guy named...Tony Stank ? Or something like that ? Dick received so many infos that he didn’t catch everyone and everything’s names.

In any case, that guy settled a security system all around the World that would instantly detect any otherworldly threats after their dimension was attacked by aliens years ago (man could Dick relate...), and that’s what warned them about the tears in reality.

They told him there had been seven gates opened, and Dick’s hope went high all of a sudden. Seven ? Including him ? His mom, dad, Jason, Tim, Damian and Klarion. Plus him. Seven. Please, oh please Gods make it so that it really was his family members, and not other errors because of whatever Klarion did with the sword.

But for now, Dick climbed into a car with his saviors, hoping they’ll be able to help out find the rest of his family (if it really was them in the other gates). Thanks to “Wolverine” they trusted him, and were now bringing him to...

“So, we’re going to the...Avengers’ tower ?”

“Exactly mein Freund. It’s quite the place. Not as interesting as the Xavier Institute, but still quite the place. Wolverine here was giving us a private visit of the building. We’re not Avengers you see ? We’re X-Men, but Wolverine here is both.”

“The...Xavier Institute ? X-men ?”

“Our school for mutants. And our team of mutants.”

“Mutants ?”

“Yes, mutants. People with special abilities.”

“Superpowers ?”

“Here we go.”

The woman called “Storm” (a codename, certainly. Dick himself told them he was called “Nightwing”, just in case) rolled her eyes and said :

“Nightcrawler, relax on all the informations. The poor boy is going to be completely lost. We already told him a lot.”

Dick gave her a thanksful look. He already started to like a lot those three people, but he was having an information overdose and couldn’t follow much anymore. And so, for the rest of the way, he started to talk to them about his original world. It was more relaxing to do so, really...

************

“So you think that Klarion, is the one that communicated with my brother ?”

“I’m almost 100% sure yes, their personality seems to really fit each others.”

“On a scale from an angry raccoon to Ragnarök, how dangerous the both of them could be together ?”

“Well I’m not too familiar with the Loki of this World, but if he’s anything like in the mythology stories from mine ? Then we’re very close from total Mayhem indeed.”

“So, Ragnarök.”

“Yes, Ragnarök.”

Tim said dramatically, as Thor’s eyebrows almost joined each others in the middle of his brow from the force with which he creased it.

“That’s not good.”

“You don’t say.”

“No, I do say it.”

“It’s an expression...”

“An expression of what ?”

“...Nevermind. So, where are we going ?”

Tim was sitting on Thor’s back as he was...swirling his hammer around so that he could fly ? And Hulk was following them closely, jumping from building to building.

“The Avengers’ tower. Where my friends are. They’ll find a solution for sure, they’re very smart. Like you.”

“How do you know I’m smart ?”

“Well little man, you kept your cool as Hulk was holding you upside down, and managed to form theories as to what is happening in matter of seconds. Even an idiot like me can get that you’re very smart.”

“Thank you. I don’t think you’re an idiot.”

“Oh believe me, when it comes to hitting things ? I’m great. But I often let my emotions overwhelm me and tend to just jump into a situation without forming a plan first.”

“Well, at least you seem very self-aware of your flaws ?”

“Not even ! I’m only repeating what Bruce told me.”

“Bruce ?”

“Yes, the green guy down there. Sometimes he’s Hulk, sometimes he’s Bruce.”

“Ah, kind of like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ?”

“Exactly like that ! Well when he’s Dr. Jekyll, he’s very smart too. And a great therapist.”

“He’s a therapist ?”

“No, he’s a scientist.”

“Oh. Ok...”

There was a short silence, before Tim started again :

“I still don’t think you’re an idiot. If you truly launched yourself in a situation without thinking, then you would have crush me with your hammer, right ?”

Thor’s face brightened, and he turned to him :

“Ah, you’re right !”

“I think you’re too harsh on yourself. Don’t listen to what Bruce says, Bruces have the tendency to think they know everything but they can definitely be wrong.”

“You know a Bruce too ?”

“Yes, my dad.”

“Is he like my Bruce ?”

“He’s also somewhat of a scientist. And he says things like your Bruce seems to say a lot too.”

Tim smiled at Thor, who smiled back. For some reasons, your son felt like he could trust that Thor guy. He seemed a bit too naive for his own good, for sure, but he also seemed very kind. And no matter what he thought of himself, Tim knew he wasn’t as stupid as he said he was.

He probably just had some confidence issues (even though he was technically a damn god !), and if he was hanging around geniuses he...Oh god. Tim stopped his thinking, as he realized he was starting to sound like his father !

But he didn’t have time to be freaked out by that thought, as Thor said :

“Well, we’re here ! The Avengers’ tower !”.

************

“Ah, seems like we’re the first here. You can sit down and-”

“DAMIAN !”

Spider-man jumped to the ceiling in surprise, and turned to the source of the sound. It was a woman, with a costume kind of similar to the boy he took with him to the tower. And with her, was a guy he never saw with a red helmet, and...Deadpool ?!

The boy stood up from the seat he just took, and ran as fast as he could towards the woman. And from the way she grabbed him and held him tight against her heart, Spidey guessed it must have been his mom.

For some reason, the fact that this little one found his mom back made Peter incredibly giddy. He didn’t know that kid since very long, only a handful of hours (time for them to cross New York thanks to his webs), but he already felt oddly protective over him. As if he was his little brother or something.

“Oh my God, are you ok ?”

“Yes yes I’m fine, are you ?”

The woman was now checking every inch of Robin’s body, looking for bruises and such, inspecting his face with attention. Satisfied that he seemed unharmed, she went back to hugging him, kind of suffocating the poor kid a bit.

“I was so scared I’d never see you again...”

Damian held you back with force, clearly sharing your fears. But everything was alright now. Well, not quite everything as most of the family was still missing. But at least, he wasn’t alone anymore. He had his Ummi back. And you always found ways to soothe and reassure him. No matter what the situation was.

Jason approached his mom and little brother, and ruffled Damian’s hair. His heart skipped a beat as Damian let go of his mom to hug his older brother. The boy’s head barely reached above his belt (Jason really was the tallest one), but he hugged him back.

Of course. Damian truly was afraid he had lost his family for good, so he didn’t care to keep up appearances and act as if this all thing didn’t touch him. He was glad to have one of his big brother back, he was gonna show it.

Distracted by that heartfelt reunion, Spider-Man didn’t notice Deadpool slowly moving towards him. It’s only when the man whispered in his ear :

“Hey Spidey...”

That once again, he jumped to the ceiling, sticking up there with ease...And then he came back down, his mask creased in “anger”.

“What are you doing here Wade ?!”

“Ah well you see, I found those two at one of the tears location. I found them BEFORE Cap and Iron Man. But when I wanted to go introduce them to Cap and Stark, they started to shoot at me ! At us ! So we narrowly escaped and I took them here.”

“Of course they shot at you Wade, after what you did last time we saw you ! And how the hell do you know about the tears ? And how did you get into the building ?!”

“Ok. What did I do last time ? Don’t remember a thing. Also for professional secret reasons I can’t answer your two other questions. What if you use my informations to infiltrate the Avengers ?”

“...I AM an Avenger ! And you’re not !”

“Are you sure it’s not the other way around ?”

“No I-”

“Um, excuse me, but could you two fight another time ? We have bigger problems in front of us.”

Spidey turned around, to be faced with Thor and Hulk. And a third person he never saw before, but again, his costume was similar to Robin.

“Tim !” Damian saw him first, and rushed to him. And oh Tim knew that his little brother must really have been through quite an ordeal, if he was calling him by his first name AND hugging him like that.

Well, getting thrown into a different dimension and separated from your family was quite traumatic really. So traumatic in fact, that Tim didn’t quite register immediately that by some miracle, he just found half of his family back !

After a few more hugs, and you not wanting to let go your two youngest son...

“Ah, it’s a cute tupperware reunion ?”

A voice with a heavy German accent said from the entrance. Jason, who was the closest from there, got tackled first...by Dick.

The voice was Nightcrawler’s, and he just had arrived with his friends and Dickie. And your oldest son definitely didn’t hide how relieved he was to be reunited with his little siblings and his mom.

Only one person was missing now, but there was no reasons to think he got transported into another universe than this one. And hope wouldn’t leave you, as you thought of your husband, hoping a team of those “Avengers” reached him too...

Ah. They reached him alright.

Right after you gave a huge kiss on your oldest son’s cheek to welcome him back, two new people entered...dragging your Bruce tied up behind them.

What the hell ?

Ah but of course, maybe he fell on people that were a bit more...heated than those on whom you fell (well, you admit that that Deadpool guy was quite something really) and got into a fight ?

You couldn’t possibly see him lose though. What happened ? What power did those two persons hold to manage to catch your husband like that ?

Oh but as your eyes met his, you suddenly realized his angle and before you could warn him that they weren’t hostile, he already entered in action.

He got rid of the metal ropes tying him up. And as the archer and that redhead woman who brought him in just stared in amazement, he tied them up with some of his batropes, and they both fell heavy on the floor. He then managed to jump in between you and your kids, and the rest of those “Avengers” people.

“I don’t know who you are, but know that I rigged the entire building with enough explosives to do a lot of damage, and help us escape. So let us go without any fight, and nobody will get hurt.”

Oh man. Oh geez. It’s in those moments, that you remember how much of a badass your husband could be. You’re pretty sure there was heart in your eyes, as you just stared at him in all his glory, standing protectively in front of his family, and daring a bunch of clearly powerful superheroes to do something...

Meanwhile, the archer and the redhead untangled themselves from the batropes (proof that they were exceptional beings too) and got into a fighting stance, while the rest of them stayed completely flabbergasted as to what was happening.

“Father wait ! They’re not bad...I think.”

“Yes just a second dad. You’re not one to jump to conclusion usually, what got into you ?”

Bruce turned to Damian and Tim, who just talked, and, his face as stoic as ever, he said :

“Well once I noticed we were all going in the same direction, I made myself known to them...And they attacked me without any warning. Which made my deductions as wether they were friendly or not very easy.”

“Wait a second dude, what did you expect us to do ?! You jumped out of the shadows, dressed like a goddamn nightmare. Of course our first instinct was to fight !”

The archer said, bow still in hand.

That’s the moment Captain America and Iron man decided to chose to come in. And who is the first person they saw ? Deadpool, who somehow managed to sneak to the “Bat” side for some reasons.

And then they saw Clint and Natasha in a fighting stance, and a guy dressed like a bat just as ready to throw hands. Of course, their first reaction was to-

“STOOOOOOOOOOOOOP !!”

The loud scream took everyone by surprise, and they all put their hands to their ears...damn that was a strong voice.

The Hulk was the one that did it. He settled himself in the middle of Bruce and the others, and just...pushed them. A tiny little push.

They all fell flat on their ass. And you couldn’t help but laugh at the vision of your stunned husband falling over like a child.

“You listen to little man. He knows.”

The green juggernaut added, and he pointed to...Tim ? Oh. Oh no. Your poor baby. He had a serious case of stage fright. And there, as so many people stared at him...

But it seemed like the vision of his father and clearly powerful people falling as if they were mere keel in a bowling game had a sort of soothing effect on him. You know, like imagining your audience in ridiculous clothes or something ?

Plus seeing how surprised his father was was quite something, therefor, a smile on his face, he said :

“Yes. If you could please let me explain everything and hold the fighting for a little bit ? It’d be very appreciated. Thank you very much, Hulk.”

“Welcome.”

The giant said, waving his hand as if it was nothing.

************

You were so proud. So proud of your little boy (who wasn’t so little anymore). He had figured out what even his father didn’t think about (though he had a theory close to the one his son had, and obviously lacked some crucial details...like the fact that Thor’s brother, Loki, was involved).

“So that Klarion guy is planning on teaming up with Loki ?”

Clint asked, still eyeing your husband suspiciously.

“It certainly seems like it, yes.”

“Wait a minute, Thor, I thought Loki was in locked down on Asgard ?”

Thor suddenly became very red, and avoided the man who was called “Tony Stark”’s eyes.

“Um yes. Well. I guess he um..”

“Fooled you again ?”

“Yes.”

The entire Avengers team present, plus that “Nightcrawler” fella, and “Storm” lady, rolled their eyes. Clearly, it wasn’t the first time Loki did something like that.

“So, we have to find them then...”

“Klarion was probably the one that appeared at Brooklyn Bridge. Vision and Scarlet Witch are the one that went over there, but they still didn’t find a thing.”

Captain America said. Bruce answered :

“They won’t find him. Unfortunately, Klarion is a very resourceful kid. And I think I know what he wants to do with that sword now...”

“What ?”

“Well, you see, Klarion doesn’t need an artifact to travel from universe to universe. He can open gates thanks to magic. But he can only cross them alone. Well, his cat somehow is able to follow as well..but the point is, he couldn’t travel with someone else. Now with the sword ? He could just use his own powers, and his partner could use said sword. I actually think he brought us here as a test...And it clearly worked.”

“Wait, you mean that once Klarion and my brother find each others, they’ll have the ability to...travel through universes ?”

“Yes.”

“Well, that’s really not good...You were right little man, Ragnarök level.”

There was a heavy silence as the news sunk in in everyone’s mind. Every persons present had witnessed really weird and dangerous things, in their lives, and they all came to know exactly when a situation was dire.

And this one ? Two kings of Mayhem reunited and able to go from one universe to another ? Definitely a very dire situation...

“Well, we need to find that kid !”

Thor exclaimed, but you shook your head, being faster than your husband to answer :

“It’s not that easy. Klarion has certain...powers, to hide himself. None of our technology will work, and unless you guys know someone who has the power to know where everyone in the world is...It’s really not going to be easy. I guess we have to start from the Brooklyn Bridge and try to find clues and-”

“Wait. Sorry to interrupt you Darling, but I think I have an idea.”

Bruce turned to whoever dared to call you “darling”, and glared at him. It was that short hairy guy that brought Dick back. And though you were thankful he apparently helped save your son...how dare he call you “darling” ?! And hey, HEY ! Why were you blushing ?! You never blushed when people flirted with you, you always brushed them of nonchalantly, or sometimes somewhat flirted back when Bruce pissed you off...But you never blushed !

“Someone who can find anyone in the World you say ? I think I know just the one.”

Everyone was turned towards Wolverine (who seemed completely oblivious to Bruce’s glare, but definitely noticed you blushing as he winked at you...Bruce saw red, and it’s only thanks to all his sons getting a hold of him that Logan wasn’t suddenly attacked by a very angry man “twice” his size and could finish his sentence) :

“We have to go to the Xavier Institute. And we have to talk to its headmaster. We have to go see Charles Xavier.”

To be continued...YOU CAN FIND PART 2 HERE : clickclickclick

__________________________________________________

And here, the first part of this fic. This is basically the INTRODUCTION to this new series so it’ll most likely be the weakest chapter..it’s to settle everything ya know ? So that’s why some characters might be more quiet blahblahblah...I’m basically planning of splitting them into teams and..Well you’ll see ! This was just a small introduction to get the Batfam in the Marvel World !

I originally wanted to write just a funny one shot ya know ? But um, as usual I ended up being completely lost in my own head and wrote a plot much more complicated than I originally planned...I’m still gonna try and write some funny moments and all. I basically just will have more time to write about more characters haha. Ya wanna know something funny ? I jumped in this without knowing exactly how many parts there would be. So 1/??????, I have a feeling this will be my longest series so far, I just want the Batfam to meet so many of my fav characters...So I hope you’ll like following the Batfam traveling across the Marvel World (oh I really want to write them in the Savage Land and in Wakanda...) in pursuit of Klarion and Loki !

Aaaaah...So much for saying I’d never write series ever again huh.

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batboysandgirls · 4 years

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Tim Drake x Reader - Explosions And Other Saturday Morning Activities - PART 4 - FINALE!

PART ONE HERE, PART TWO HERE, and PART THREE HERE! Title: Explosions And Other Saturday Morning Activities - PART 3 Pairing: Tim Drake x Reader Summary: You’ve made it out of Black Mask’s lair alive, and it’s time for you to have dinner with the batclan, including Bruce Wayne himself (who you still can hardly believe is Batman). After the dinner, you know you’ll have to decide to make your move with Tim... or let him go. But you’re not one to give up easily! Notes: Canon-typical descriptions of violence and injuries. Words: 5.4k Taglist: @silentwhispofhope, @ashfromthesol, @oh-no-my-ravioli, @katelynkargol, @rhymeswithrason, @grincheveryday, @ivysfaves, @hanliz2211

You awoke in a very nice bed that was not your own. You should be terrified, but the well of terror in your heart was empty. Now, you were just tired.

You slowly sat up. You were wearing a silk white nightgown, which might be the softest thing you’ve ever worn. You were also laying a king sized bed, which might be the first time you’ve ever had a king sized bed to yourself. It was a large bedroom, sparsely decorated. There was an empty desk, a mostly empty bookshelf, and a dresser. The dresser was against the far wall, and you could see your clothes folded and washed on top of it. To your left, there was a set of glass doors leading to a balcony. They let in an enormous amount of light, making the whole room bright. It almost seemed like a dream, although you were pretty sure you were awake.

Looking around, nothing had clicked for you as to where you were, but, somehow, you felt pretty safe. At this point, if someone was going to kill you, they probably would have succeeded.

You swung your legs over the size of the bed, and there was your phone on a side table. You almost reached to check your messages, but you didn’t. Instead, you walked out to the balcony. The wind blew gently, and you took in the view of beautiful gardens. You didn’t seem Gotham, and you couldn’t even hear it… had to be pretty far out from the city.

Huh. Maybe this was a dream. Or, since you were all in white, was it… no. No, no, no.

(You probably weren’t dead! You’d know! Right? You’d know if this was the afterlife… right?)

You turned back to the inside, and there was Tim standing in the doorway. OH! Thank goodness. Tim was here… okay, so this must be Wayne Manor. Pretty house, pretty gardens, way outside of the city proper. Made some sense. Still not sure how you got here, but that wasn’t much of a concern.

(You weren’t dead! Hooray!)

“Tim,” you said, your voice coming out a little soft and a little hoarse.

“How are you feeling? I was afraid you’d wake up confused about where you were.” He walked over next to you, and you smiled.

“I first thought this all might be a dream. Then, I thought I might be dead and this is what happens after.”

Tim raised his eyebrows, alarm on his face, and you laughed.

“But I saw you and thought—that’s right, Tim lives in a mansion outside of Gotham. I’m alive.” Tim looked like he was about to apologize, and you shook your head. “No, no. That’s just how my brain works. I assume you guys took me back with you after you stopped Black Mask?”

“Yeah. They were going to drop you at your apartment unconscious. You passed out from exhaustion and stress apparently. But I said you were my girlfriend, and they let me and Bruce take you home with us.”

“Do you think the police officers had read the Buzzfeed article?”

Tim smiled. “Well, one officer giggled as I explained so I think she might have.”

“Our accidental celebrity relationship coming in handy, for once.”

“For once.”

The conversation lulled, and you found yourself gazing at Tim unabashedly. He was looking out over the back gardens, thoughtfully. He was so handsome, it was really unfair. All you wanted to do was to have him hold you, to run your hand through his hair, to tell him how incredible he is. But it wasn’t really the time. And though you were pretty sure Tim did like you a tad, you weren’t sure if he was thinking of anything serious. Fate had drawn you together once, and you’d been tangled together since then.

You were hoping the Black Mask incident would be the last of your brushes with Gotham’s heroes and villains, but your heart ached a bit at the odds that meant this would be the last of your brushes with one Tim Drake. Would Tim really be interested in a random intern who had a few freakish experiences that drew you closer to him? Would he have any free time to dedicate to a girlfriend totally divorced from his duties helping run Wayne Enterprises and from crime fighting? Probably not…

For now, though, you took in Tim standing before you. You let that be enough.

Tim finally turned to you.

“Well, I know Alfred’s made an amazing brunch for you. You should eat something. Then, you can just relax until we have dinner tonight.”

Dinner. Right. Dinner where Bruce Wayne, Batman, which is still weird, will tell you not to reveal the whole Batfamily’s secret identities and probably terrify you in the process. You should be worrying about that. Instead, you’re caught on something else.

“Alfred?”

“Alfred is the family butler, but he’s more than just that. He is family.”

You nodded and slowly realized how hungry you were. “Does he, um. Does he make good pancakes?”

Tim grinned from ear to ear. “The best.”

✹ ✹

“Maybe I was wrong earlier,” you said, mouth full of chocolate chip pancake, “Maybe I did actually die and this is some sort of heaven.”

“Wait, you thought you died?” asked Dick Grayson, eldest Wayne child and also Nightwing. Of all the superhero identity matching you’d done in your head, that was a no brainer. The butts were basically identical.

“A death joke! She’ll fit right in,” Jason said. Jason Todd, second Wayne child, also the Red Hood. Just from this pancake brunch, he quickly was becoming your favorite after Tim.

(You weren’t sure what he meant by the death joke, but you smiled anyway. That seemed to make him even more on your side.)

The youngest child, Damian, didn’t say anything to you, other than a few displeased huffs. Odds were he was Robin.

Cassandra, who was around Tim’s age to your understanding, didn’t say much either to you, but her eyes and smiles were endlessly kind. You weren’t sure of her identity… maybe she was just a normal person. That would be lovely.

(Tim told you that Duke, another brother a couple years younger than him, was out “on patrol,” which meant that he was probably the Signal. The lone daytime bat. Wild.)

Bruce Wayne did not appear at brunch, but that was probably for the best. You needed to work up the emotional strength to face Batman’s scrutiny tonight.

Alfred was working on that by fueling you with pancakes and calling you “Miss _____.” You called him “Mr. Pennyworth,” and he kind of seemed offended by the formality—but you didn’t give in.

Tim was definitely watching you the whole meal, amused and a little pleased. It was nice to know someone was paying attention to you, and nicer still to be able to tell they liked what they saw. You regaled the group with a humorous retelling of the Wayne Tower accident, as well as some weird encounters you’d had as an intern.

After brunch, you returned to the room you’d been in, getting dressed in your somewhat tattered clothes from the previous evening. You looked in the mirror, a little disappointed.

No, it wasn’t any insecurity about your body. You thought you looked pretty good, generally speaking. It was just that you looked more put together in the nightgown these people provided than in your own clothes. There were a lot of holes and tears in the fabrics from the glass exploding onto you. You hadn’t gone ham on your outfit with a pair of scissors for fun, but it kinda seemed that way.

Someone knocked at the door. You poked your head out and saw Cassandra standing there, holding a box.

“Hello,” you said, poking your head out.

“Hi,” she said, before handing it over to you. “Alfred made these. Adjusted my old things. Should fit.”

“Oh! Thank you! Currently, my clothes are a bit, uh, compromised.”

Cass just smiled with a nod and vanished down the hall. You put on the clothes and were delighted they fit perfectly. Did Alfred take your measurements when you were brought to Wayne Manor? That was a little weird, but very helpful. It was just a simple black sweater and a pair of jeans. No holes or rips or tears! And you looked good. Perfect. You wanted to look nice for this dinner, so you could come across as professional. Someone to be trusted with the batfamily’s secret identities.

(Not for Tim. No, certainly not to look good for Tim. Mhmmm. Nope.)

You spent the following few hours getting a tour of the Manor from Tim, who did compliment your outfit, which was not notable or anything, and just hanging out with him and his siblings playing Scrabble. The tour was cool, and Tim only blanched once when you asked where they kept all the bat stuff.

(“Um, Bruce didn’t kill me for having you find out my identity, but if I showed you the Batcave, he’s definitely freak.”

“So it’s a cave? Must be under the house then. That’s pretty sweet.”

“...”

“Is that aspect a secret?”

“Just don’t tell him you know that.”)

As you walked the Manor and played in a Scrabble tournament with the Wayne children, your eyes kept meeting Tim’s. You would both look away, but it was never long before you found the other’s gaze again. It made your heart weirdly full but also made you weirdly nervous.

(This dinner is the last thing directly tying you to Tim. It’s why you got lunch and the whole dating rumor started. After Bruce Wayne gets his say with you, Tim doesn’t have a reason to reach out to you. You could reach out to him, start something more, but does he want that? That look when his bright blue eyes find yours… you hope it’s not wishful thinking to imagine he wants that.)

Duke showed up midway through the Scrabble tournament, but he got to join in.

“It’s round-robin style,” Tim explained as he spelled out l-u-n-a-r off your r-a-t-i-o, “You can join in with whoever finishes next.”

“Only Dick and I made jokes about the fact Robin is literally in the name of the playstyle, if you’d like to immediately hop on that train while you wait,” you added.

Duke laughed at that, and you definitely liked this kid, too. Honestly, other than Damian being a little stuffy, this strange hodge-podge superhero family was quite wonderful.

Tim and Jason won the tournament, tied for most wins. Then Damian, then you, then Duke, then Dick, and then Cass.

“Words are hard,” Cass concluded as you all packed up the boards, and you couldn’t agree more.

“Dinner is about to be served,” Alfred said, stopping in the doorway. “If you all would please head to the dining room.”

You felt yourself tense up a bit at that announcement, and, suddenly, Tim was right next to you. He put a hand on your shoulder and gave it a little squeeze.

“It’s going to be fine. Our secret identities are much less secret than Bruce wants, but there’s not much he can do about you knowing.”

(You felt more tense about this dinner being over and having no excuses to see Tim than the actual meal itself. But that’d be a bit odd to tell him that, probably.)

✹ ✹

Dinner began uncomfortably normally. After you and the rest of the batkids sat down, Bruce Wayne entered and sat at the head of the table. Everyone went quiet as he took his seat, and then he smiled at you.

“Hello, _____. It’s wonderful to finally meet you. How are you?”

This was not the “attempt to reveal our identities and we’ll make your life hell” angle you were expecting.

“I’m, um,” you said, “I’m quite well. I slept great here.”

“I’m glad. It’s been a stressful week, hasn’t it?”

You found yourself laughing a bit too loud and too long at that. When you realized everyone was staring at you—

(Facial expressions. Dick: “oh god, Bruce.” Jason: “lmao.” Tim: “BRUCE THAT IS THE UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE YEAR.” Cass: “The shirt really does look lovely.” Duke: “Don’t smile, it’s not that funny, don’t do it, Duke.” Damian: “Ugh.”)

—you closed your mouth.

“Um, yes. Very stressful. I’m honestly looking forward to doing intern-y stuff again, without my life being threatened.”

“Would you mind reminding me what your internship is like?”

So you began to explain your Wayne Enterprises internship to Bruce Wayne, which was very strange. He was paying attention as you explained, asking some questions here and there. Alfred brought out the first course, which was tomato and cheese soup, and, by the time everyone had finished it, you had exhaustively detailed your intern duties. You snuck a glance over at Tim as Alfred took away your soup bowl and placed down the main entrée, fettuccine alfredo with chicken. You were afraid he’d look bored or worried, but he had an easy smile on his face, almost like you were a good dream he was having. That made your heart flutter a bit.

You fiddled with your pasta a moment before looking up to Bruce.

“Mr. Wayne, are we going to talk about the whole Batman thing, or…?”

You could see Tim’s easy smile fade a bit, and the table instantly became a bit more tense. Bruce’s gaze was a little heavier now, and you held up your hands.

“Look, I don’t want to cause any problems. I do not want to get involved in what is your little family activity. I won’t tell anyone your secret identities. I’m not even sure of Cass’s alter ego, honestly, but the rest of you—my lips are sealed.

“I guess I was thinking this dinner was going to be you grilling me on how important it is to keep all this secret and threatening to, like, pull my life apart if I try to tell someone.

“And I’m glad you haven’t done that! Don’t get me wrong. But, uh. I was a little puzzled,” you finished.

Bruce Wayne put down his utensils. He didn’t look angry, but he did look firm.

“_____, I want to make it very clear that, while I expect you to keep our vigilantism a secret, I invited you to dinner primarily as thanks for your help at Wayne Tower. My only plan to mention keeping our identities a secret was to take you aside before you left, after dinner, and remind you of that. I would not threaten you or your life in any way.”

“Oh. Right...” was all you managed before looking sheepishly at your fettuccine. You felt like the limp noodles before you.)

“I understand why you thought that. The safety of my family is more important to me than any secret identity. We’ve lost people before in this line of work—”

(You tried not to think of being eleven years old and hearing Robin had died on the news. You tried not to remember being, what, fourteen, fifteen, and seeing the report that the female Robin seemed to have died in the huge gang wars. Most clearly, you tried to not see the footage of the current Robin, his body bloodied, impaled a year or two ago. Someone draping a blanket over him, and the reporter choking up on camera. You tried not to think of those images. You tried, and tried, and failed.)

“—and the most important thing to me in all of this is that Tim is alive because of you. And I might have lost that fight with Black Mask save Nightwing and Robin coming to help. We owe you a debt, as does Gotham.”

For the second time in the past twenty four hours, you felt tears well up in your eyes. You sniffed and wiped them away, chuckling a little to yourself.

“Can I ask you something, Mr. Wayne?”

“Anything.”

You looked at him, his eyes cool like steel. Set, determined. “Does it ever go away?” you asked.

“Does what go away?” Bruce didn’t even look confused or unimpressed at your remark, just ready to answer once he understood.

(You squeezed your hands together. You could feel the scars from that day at Wayne Tower. The superficial burns were not fully healed, they probably wouldn’t be for months. And after you’d have these swaths of skin on your hands that were wrinkled, lighter or darker than the rest of your hands. And you were going to see those scars every day. For the rest of your life.)

You hoped he would understand. “The fear. The weight. Of all of it. Of everything.”

“No. You can’t stop being afraid, and you can’t ignore the trauma and the pain you’ve experienced,” Bruce said. “But you can, and you will, heal. You’ll learn to not let fear rule you. To accept your past and your pain, to know how to think about it and feel about it without being sucked in.”

(You wondered how much he was speaking to your experience, and how much he was speaking for himself.)

“It’s not easy, it’s not linear. But you’ll get there. With people who care about you supporting you. And if you ever need anything, and I truly mean it, anything, you let us know. Because we will help you too.”

You weren’t sure when you started crying as he spoke, but you were also smiling.

“Thank you, Mr. Wayne,” you said, voice only a little hampered by the tears.

Bruce Wayne smiled at you. Batman smiled at you. “Call me Bruce.”

✹ ✹

You were thirteen years old. You were walking in the Downtown Plaza after getting pizza for dinner with some friends. The entrance to the Downtown metro stop was maybe two hundred yards away when a storefront across the street exploded, as did a couple other buildings around the Plaza. Oh. Oh no. A bunch of gunmen ran out from it, grabbing people. There was screaming and dust and smoke and you tripped on something and there’s a man grabbing your arm—

Someone takes your other arm, grabbing your hand, pulling you away from the man as a silver stick (?) came down hard on the man’s shoulder. You leapt back, a vice grip on the person who pulled you away. When you turned to see who it was, you almost jumped again.

Robin—the newest Robin, he’d only been spotted a few times—was holding your hand in his left hand, and a bo staff in his right. The man who’d been after you was collapsed on the ground in front of you, and Robin, without letting go of your hand, tied the guy’s hands. He collapsed the staff, stuck it on his belt, pulled out some kind of little cord which snapped around the guy’s wrists automatically. Woah.

“Hold on, I’m getting you out of here.” He put an arm around your waist, and grabbed a grapple gun from his belt. You had no idea how he could see, but suddenly you were flying through the cloud of smoke. Then, you burst out of the smoke and you landed on the edge of this dust cloud.

“T-thank you,” you managed to say. Robin grinned at you. He looked like he was almost having fun. You guessed that made sense—superheroes liking superheroing!

“No problem. You aren’t hurt, are you?”

“No, I’m—” you gasped as you saw a silhouette in the smoke, towering over Robin’s figure. “LOOK OUT, ROBIN!”

Robin heeded your warning just in time, ducking down as a man swung a metal bat right where his head had been. His reach was so wide it passed a few inches in front of your nose. You leapt back as the man stepped out of the smoke, and you watched as Robin managed to strike him with the bo staff. However, this guy was huge, must be close to seven feet tall, way bigger than the guy who grabbed you earlier. He grimaced a bit as he got hit, but it was going to take a lot to knock the guy out. The tight frown on Robin’s face seemed to confirm that was the case.

Since the giant man was occupied with Robin, you looked around behind you to see if there was anything you might be able to grab to defend yourself. Or… well, that seemed incredibly dangerous.

(But this all was pretty dangerous already, wasn’t it? What’s a little more?)

There was a shattered piece of concrete a few feet away. A piece of rebar from inside it had broken off. You grabbed it, and there was the man’s back, turned towards you. Well, shoot your shot.

You swung the stick right into the man’s groin, and, WOW, that man screamed. The metal bat clattered to the ground. Robin did some super fast jabs, and the guy collapsed.

“Oh my god,” you whispered. “I can’t believe I just did that.”

“I’m very grateful you did,” Robin said, “But I should go rescue other people.”

“Yeah, no—I mean, no, or when—you—that’s probably—uh, yes,” you struggled to get out. You cleared your throat and tried again. “Um, yes. You should.”

(Not that it really mattered, but GOODNESS, could your brain work for this once? So you don’t sound like an inarticulate rebar-wielding madwoman? Particularly in front of a very cool superhero? PLEASE!)

Robin smiled at you throughout your efforts to agree with him, taking his grapple gun out again.

“Wait,” you said, taking his hand once more, “I just—thank you.”

He gave your hand a friendly squeeze. “Of course. Thank you.” Then he let go and grappled off, waving to you as he re-entered the cloud of dust and vanished from your sight.

You felt a little star struck after all that, but you turned away from the cloud and started to walk home. Life goes on.

✹ ✹

It had been a week since the dinner, and you hadn’t spoken to Tim. He dropped you home after you finished eating, and you desperately wanted to ask him if he would like to go out sometime or if he wanted to get lunch with you again. Instead, you said “Thank you” as the two of you exchanged very intense eye contact. You didn’t see Tim at work, either, which was to be expected… Different floors and all.

(It didn’t stop a part of you from being disappointed.)

You had tried for an hour to go to sleep and failed. You mind was too awake. It was a relatively nice evening out, so, at one in the morning, you wrapped a blanket around your shoulders and went up to the roof of the intern housing. The roof door was always open, and you let out an impressed breath as you took in the view.

Old Gotham was one of the prettiest areas in the whole city. Wayne Tower, the Clocktower, the city cathedral, the GCPD headquarters… all within your sight. You pulled the blanket a little tighter. There was the distant wail of sirens, music from a club a few blocks away, but it still seemed quiet somehow.

(You knew why you were up here. You knew. Silly, stupid, and deeply sad.)

You didn’t see anybody, didn’t hear anybody distinctly.

(There was a part of you that thought, maybe, he’d happen to be swinging past your building, that Red Robin would stop as soon as he saw you. He’d rush up to you and hug you tight. It would be nice.)

You pulled out your phone. Opened your messages. Scrolled for a second to find who you were looking for. It was worth a try, right?

You This is random but

You If you happen to be near Old Gotham tonight, I’m on my apartment’s rooftop

You I’d say I was stargazing or something but we live in a city, and I’m just staring into space and thinking

You Couldn’t sleep

You So if you want a break and some company, I’m around

You watched your screen for a second, eager to see if you could see the little “Tim-Drake Wayne is typing…” message to pop up. It didn’t, not even after two minutes of staring as if you could will it into existence. You put your phone away and just looked out again. In many ways, Gotham was an objectively terrible place to live. Like, you know, your workplace exploding and being kidnapped. You’d always dreamt of moving away after college. To another city. Maybe Metropolis, New York City, Boston—somewhere. But moments like these, alone on a Gotham rooftop with the city’s lights all around you, made you want to stay. It was home, after all.

“Can I join in the art of staring into space?” a voice said from behind you. You turned around and couldn’t help the huge grin that spread across your face at the sight of Tim.

“Oh, certainly!” you said. Tim sat down next to you, removing his mask. He looked tired, weary.

“Long night?” you asked.

“Yup. Two burglaries, a mugging, and a bomb defusal. All in an evening’s work,” Tim said, rubbing his eyes. “You texted at the right time. I needed a break.”

“Are most nights like this?”

“No. Well, I don’t always patrol. Sometimes I sit in the cave and work on a case, or I go out but just look for evidence. That’s usually a little less hectic. But when I’m out stopping crime normally, today is pretty par for the course.”

“When do you sleep?” you asked, and you raised your eyebrows as he started to chuckle.

“Sleep is… not a thing I do with much regularity. I try to get four hours in between patrol and waking up. Sometimes, if I’m really exhausted, I take a nap later in the day. It depends.”

“That’s deeply concerning,” you said in response, and Tim shrugged.

“Yeah, I know. It’s on my to do list. ‘Get a normal sleep schedule.’”

“‘Save Gotham (ongoing),’ ‘Get a normal sleep schedule,’ ‘Run a multi-billion dollar corporation…’ What don’t you do, Tim?” you said with a smile. “My to do list is currently ‘My laundry’ and ‘Intern stuff.’”

“There is one thing I meant to do that I haven’t,” Tim replied. You waited for about ten seconds, and he didn’t elaborate. Um. Weird.

“Uh, what would that be?” you prompted. Tim looked… nervous? He was looking at you, and something in his gaze made the whole situation feel a little less goofy and a little more intimate.

“‘Kiss _____,’” he finally said. “That was the last thing.”

You smiled, and then you leaned in and kissed him. At first, you just gave him a quick kiss, pulling back to see his slightly surprised but delighted face. Then, he pulled you closer to him and you kissed again. And again. And again. You ran your fingers through his hair, and his hands traveled down your back to your waist. You were acutely aware of just how strong this boy was when your hands danced across his chest. He was wearing this armored suit and still. Like, damn. You could feel that muscle. The boy was as kind as he was smart as he was ripped, and he was making out with you.

(This was even better than your fantasies. Real life is better. Who knew?)

You weren’t sure how long the two of you sat there, letting out what could only be described as an enormous amount of romantic tension, but eventually, you stopped making out. You just leaned your head on Tim’s shoulder as he wrapped your blanket around him as well.

If you looked closely, you could see the sixth floor of Wayne Tower across the street, where you’d stumbled upon an unconscious Red Robin about two weeks ago. That day had ended with you both covered in dirt and blood leaning against each other. With the stars above and blanket around you both, you had to say you preferred this current arrangement.

“Hey, Tim.”

“Hey, _____.”

“I really, really like you.”

“I really, really like you too.”

✹ ✹

bzfd.it/TimWayneGF-proof-twitter PROOF! Tim Wayne IS Going Out With That Intern, And She Pulls No Punches

Despite repeated denials of a relationship, Tim Drake-Wayne, adopted son of Bruce Wayne and the crush of many young Gothamites, is definitely going out with Wayne Enterprises intern, _____ ______. In an amusing tweet, ______ confirmed their relationship.

_______ @_______ me: should I say something about the #timistaken now that we’re actually going out tim: why me: because I’ve had so many things I wanted to tweet that involve you but couldn’t bc we weren’t public tim: sure I guess tim: wait what are you going to tweet 4:29 PM • 7/26/__ 5K Retweets 20.2K Likes

But that’s old news now. What’s fun to watch is her interactions with Drake-Wayne on Twitter. Let’s just say she’s enjoying her newfound public presence.

_______ @_______ guys @timdrakewayne keeps a skateboard in his office at wayne enterprises and has used it to get across the street to get lunch four times this week 5:31 PM • 7/29/__ 7.1K Retweets 30.2K Likes __________ @_______ Replying to @_______ the cafe we eat lunch at is 180 feet away from wayne tower. he uses. the skateboard. EVERY 👏 SINGLE 👏 TIME 👏 5:31 PM • 7/29/__ 896 Retweets 10.2K Likes

_______ @_______ me, frantically googling this morning: “should I be worried or endeared when my boyfriend texts me the title of a book he thinks I’ll like at 3:06 am” 8:02 PM • 8/3/__ 1.1K Retweets 10.6K Likes __________ @_______ Replying to @_______ Both? Both. Both is good. 8:02 AM • 8/3/__ 302 Retweets 3.3K Likes

Tim Drake-Wayne @timdrakewayne I feel like twitter was a kinder place for me before my girlfriend started exposing me on main 11:03 AM • 8/5/__ 5.1K Retweets 32.6K Likes __________ @_______ Replying to @timdrakewayne @ me next time 11:15 AM • 8/5/__ 6.1K Retweets 15.8K Likes __________ @_______ Replying to @timdrakewayne also 11:15 AM • 8/5/__ 321 Retweets 5.2K Likes __________ @_______ Replying to @timdrakewayne I love you 11:15 AM • 8/5/__ 7.5K Retweets 16.8K Likes

They’ve got a great dynamic. The couple was spotted seeing the new Star Wars movie together last weekend, which gives this last Tweet quote tweeting _____’s reply of “I love you” an extra special meaning...

Tim Drake-Wayne @timdrakewayne I know @_______

__________ @_______ I love you

11:21 AM • 8/5/__ 3.4K Retweets 11.6K Likes

You chuckled at the article Emily had sent you. Buzzfeed was actually amusing for once. You had no idea how they wrote that article so fast. It was noon! The last tweets were from a half hour ago. Had to hand it to them for immediacy. You slurped the last noodle of your lunch. You were eating your at your desk today, some leftover pasta from the spaghetti dinner you’d cooked up for yourself yesterday. No lunch with Tim today, you were both too busy. Still, the banter on Twitter had more than made up for it.

Putting away your tupperware in your bag, you checked your phone before finishing your lunch break. You tapped the home button to see your alerts and smiled softly.

(Oh, how much you loved this boy.)

MESSAGES 11:22 AM Tim Drake-Wayne: I don’t know if you’ve seen my tweet

MESSAGES 11:22 AM Tim Drake-Wayne: but that was a jest because in all seriousness

MESSAGES 11:23 AM Tim Drake-Wayne: I love you

(THAT’S IT! The end. This is so long. I can’t thank you all enough for sticking with this fic, for all the support and lovely messages...!! I hope you’ve enjoyed this. If in the future you’d like to see more of my fics, feel free to follow me or maybe if you’d like to be on a general tag list for Tim fics of mine, reply or dm and I can do that too??? I’m new to reader inserts on here but people do seem to do that. I have an idea for a fic about Tim and a reader who becomes a vigilante… one that involves time travel shenanigans… and some Jason fics too… ANYWAY!! I RAMBLE!! Worse than the reader in this fic’s own thoughts. Thank you so, SO much for reading! All my love to you guys ♡ )

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sunlitroom · 6 years

Text

Gotham s4e14 - The Sinking Ship, The Grand Applause

As I watched it, and some random observations here and there.

Previously on Gotham:

Oswald faked Martin’s death to keep him safe. Jim arrested Oswald for his murder. Victor is a lying traitor. Sofia played Jim for a dupe. I screwed up, Harve. Oh – Jesus – no, not the bit with Lee’s hand again. Ivy’s brief reign of terror. Oswald uses Riddler to plan an escape

As always, long post will be long. There are likely to be rambling digressions. Gobblepot might appear (although I welcome all shippers and non-shippers alike :)). There will be naked favouritism and naked not-favouritism. Broader comments at the end on plotlines and parallels and general direction.

An abandoned-looking house in the city. Martin sits with his back against the fireplace, guarded by hulking men, at whom he stares balefully while sketching them hanged in his little pad. As he turns the page to start a fresh sketch, he finds the next page has a message.

Do you want to escape?

He looks round quickly before reading and following the rest of the instructions. Going into an equally abandoned looking kitchen on the pretence of using the bathroom, he turns the gas on, and returns to the living room.

The men quickly smell gas. Martin smiles. They pull their guns before going to check more. The next message in Martin’s pad tells him to plug his ears. As he does, we see a missile glide through the kitchen window. There’s a huge explosion in the kitchen. Martin sees a figure emerging from the smoke in the hall who turns out to be Ed. ‘Uncle Penguin’ sent him, and now they’re going to get ice cream.

Cherry’s is under new management. In the ring in the centre of the club, we see Samson brutally beating a man. There’s not much in the way of cheering. Lee approaches cautiously, a hood covering her face.

Samson is boasting about how he’s in charge and he collects protection. We see the man’s terrified family watching from the crowd. He begs Samson,

Please, my family…..

Samson replies

Do I look like an animal?

He tells the man he won’t hurt his family, and promptly shoots him in the head. His family scream and surge towards the ring, horrified.

In the crowd – Lee is aghast. She leaves quietly.

GCPD. Harvey and Jim are in what is now Jim’s office. I wonder if Jim considers how much it might gall Harvey to sit in that office on the other side of the desk, given the circumstances?

Jim tells Harvey that before Don Falcone died, he warned him that he had no idea what he had brought to the city. Jim says he knows now that he was talking about Pyg. Jim says someone must have told him about Pyg, and that person also has evidence linking Sofia to Pyg.

Harvey asks Jim why he doesn’t just come forward with what he has. Jim wriggles, and says that it would just be his word against Sofia’s. Harvey’s visibly impatient with him, and says he’s just afraid that it will bring him down too. Jim says Harvey can be pissed at him, but that this is bigger than both of them.

He puts Harvey’s badge on the table and says he needs to know he can count on him. I dunno, Jim, I think you were still wearing your badge when you screwed Harvey over, so I don’t really think it’s a magical talisman, or anything.

Harvey takes the badge and says he hopes they take down Sofia – but he still wants Jim to pay. He adds that he knows a former Falcone assassin, the Scandinavian Skinner, and he wants to go find them. Jim makes to rise from his chair to join him, but Harvey brushes him off.

(An aside. This is the set-up for the later revelation that Mr Penn was apparently a crucial mole that the narrative never for a moment hinted at back in the first half of the season. It’s several kinds of lazy. It also ruins that lovely line of Carmine’s

You have no idea what you’ve brought to this city

At the time, that line sounded like it was about Sofia (I suspect it was, tbh, and this is a retcon to fill a plot hole). Carmine was finally acknowledging how dangerous his daughter was – out of her earshot, and right before she killed him. It carried a lot of weight. Now – it’s some stupid reference to Pyg, who Carmine apparently knew about all along. There, too, goes Jim and Harvey’s (and the show’s) weird notion that Carmine Falcone had some better code of honour than the other criminals. If he knew about Pyg and did nothing, then he was complicit.)

At Wayne Manor, there is a ruckus in the kitchen. Cans of food are rolling across the floor. Bruce approaches warily to find Selina rifling through cupboards, looking for something to eat. She said she needs help. Bruce clarifies that she needs money. She wants to get back something she fenced. Bruce asks why she doesn’t ask Barbara Kean, but Selina says she doesn’t want Barbara involved.

She promises him she’ll pay him back, and tells him that it’s the stuff she took from Roland Charles. Bruce realises she feels bad and tells her he’ll get the money. He also tells her there’s oatmeal cookies in the blue tin. He leaves, and Selina smiles – but still seems troubled.

At Arkham, a yelling Oswald is being dragged to some kind of guard’s station, where he’s told he has a message. We can see what looks like lots of Victorian maids in the background. Maybe that will be relevant later in Jerome and Jervis’ breakout.

The guard delivers a riddle, the answer to which is ‘knuckle sandwich’. Oswald receives a whopping punch in the face.

Harvey enters a delicatessen. We hear children laughing and playing, looking at sweets

Hello Agnes

The Skinner, it turns out, is an old lady – who tells Bullock she’s now retired. She looks away from him briefly to tell the children not to ruin their dinner. They promise her – apparently their grandma – that they won’t

Harvey says they’re looking for someone who might have acted as Falcone's eyes and ears when he was down south. She asks why she should tell him. He says they have a history, but she remarks that ‘history’ got her four years in a gulag.

Harvey threatens to tell her grandchildren about her past, and goes so far as to call to the children. She caves fast. She says Falcone only ever trusted the book-keeper who smelled of fish – but she heard he vanished. Harvey leaves.

(An aside. It’s debatable whether he would have gone through with it, but having Harvey use the woman’s grandchildren as a threat seemed ooc unsympathetic for him.

Was ‘Agnes Skinner’ a Simpsons reference?)

At the Falcone mansion, Sofia is throwing a tantrum about Martin’s disappearance. She sends Victor to Arkham to kill Oswald – knowing that this is the only leverage she has over him. Victor asks if he can take HeadHunter. Sofia doesn’t care, as long as Oswald dies choking on his own blood.

Harvey is also at Arkham, asking for Oswald. He finds him in the infirmary. Oswald sits up when he approaches – not clear whether this is somehow part of the escape plan. Harvey tells him (sarcastically? Not sure. Sometimes there’s an odd amiability in cop/criminal encounters in this show – but Harvey is generally angry in this episode) that it’s good to see him.

There’s a scream outside. Harvey runs out to investigate. It’s Victor and HH, looking for Oswald. Victor remarks that he though Bullock stopped being a cop, but it clearly didn’t take. He reintroduces HH to Harvey as Wendell.

Harvey tells them to walk away – but Victor says they can't. They draw their guns. I’m still generally cross at Victor – but good god those shoulder holsters do things to me.

Victor tells Harvey to step aside and he can live to get drunk another day. (this is the weird kind of amiability and sense of an actual relationship I was referring to earlier).

Suddenly, alarms start to go off. Harvey looks back. Victor and Wendell decide to try again later. An announcement comes over the tannoy system that Oswald has escaped. Harvey runs back into the infirmary. Patients there are yelling and hitting their own heads at the sound of the alarm, because this show’s depiction of Arkham just continues to plumb new depths every damn time.

Harvey looks out the window. He sees Oswald heading for a van, and Ed, leaping about like a giant grasshopper, shooting his gun into the air

Nygma

(An aside – we never actually hear how Ed broke Oswald out, because it doesn’t really make any sense that Oswald couldn’t manage it alone. He survived on his wits alone in season one – Oswald managed to negotiate his way out of a car that was seconds away from being crushed. He bested Ed last season. He managed to wrangle success from the Tetch virus mess. But to shove the plot along, he’s handed the idiot ball here.)

My wrists hurt and this bit was not wildly interesting. Bruce and Selina go back to the shop where she fenced the stolen goods, get into a big fight, make up, flirt a little, and then leave.

A street on the Narrows. Ed says he knew that Sofia would send hitmen when she learned Martin was gone. Oswald anxiously asks how he is. Ed says he’s snug as a bug in a rug. Oswald’s face lights up to hear that Martin is safe.

Ed hands Oswald his hat, and wants to boast about how he found Martin, which somehow involved Victor loving disco and Ed dressing up as an old Polish woman. Oswald, however, is not interested – and says they need a powerbase to fight Sofia. Ed smiles and says he knows – loosening his tie.

A makeshift office somewhere in the Narrows, where Lee is sitting at a desk. The door opens, and she pulls a gun – understandably wary. It’s Ed – posing as whatever iteration of himself he was before, I’ve virtually given up at this point. Lee smiles – genuinely happy to see him.

You're back. How are you doing?

Worlds better

He spots her hand, and asks what happened to it. There’s an interesting little break here. His voice when he asks the question is feigned – because he’s still pretending to be old Ed, but that only serves to underline the contrast with him quickly noticing that something had happened to her hand, and the look of concern, which seem genuine in comparison.

Lee said that Sofia smashed her hand with a hammer.

Together we can get that bitch back. She can't take everything we built.

Ed straightens his tie and calls to Oswald, saying that Lee can’t help them. A confused Lee asks what’s happening. Oswald tells her about their deal.

I let him out of his cage, he let me out of mine

Lee stares at Ed.

You're him. The Riddler

Ed stares back at her as he puts his hat on. Lee looks him up and down.

He says was hoping she was still running The Narrows and could help – but he guesses not. He’s still staring at her saying this and straightening his tie, even as Oswald tugs on his sleeve, and impatiently asks what they’re going to do now.

Walking away from the desk, Ed says he has a backup plan. He wants Victor Fries to put Oswald in a block of ice, and to offer him as a gift to Sofia – like a trojan horse. Oswald laughs incredulously and tells him to try again.

Lee walks over to them, and tells them to let her help. They continue to bicker and ignore her. She looks indignantly at Ed. Lee was infuriated to be overlooked during the Tetch debacle, too – so her annoyance here is consistent with her character.

You think I can't handle it

I know you can't

Lee holds up her hand. Ed’s eyes are again conflicted when confronted with her injury.

Look what she did to me. I will pull the trigger on that bitch myself

Ed says that’s tough talk, but only talk.

An impatient Oswald stops their squabbling, and says that they need muscle. Lee smiles and agrees with him

I can tell you where to look.

They both start paying attention to her. Ed and Lee decide to lock eyes again.

Don't you think he misses you?

As she says this, she smiles at Ed, who catches on and smiles back. Oswald asks who she’s talking about. Neither acknowledges his question.

(An aside. There’s quite a lot in that scene. Ed superficially discounts Lee’s usefulness in the scheme to oust Sofia, since she’s lost The Narrows – but there was an awful lot of conflicted glancing at her hand. In fact, there was an awful lot of staring at each other in general. The smiles they shared at the end were also private – reminding us that they now have a close relationship and shared history.)

Ed is in the sewer, yelling for Grundy – saying he’s his best friend and pal, and smart again, and generally prancing about, enjoying the fact that there’s an echo. Ed is such an ass.

Butch approaches him. Ed condescendingly tells him he’s corralling allies to kill Sofia, and they need

A galoot like you for cannon fodder

He frowns, realising Butch looks different, and asks why he’s looking at him like that. Butch growls

Oh dear.

Butch says he’s not the only one who got smart. Ed fumbles saying that he helped him

Ed put out fire. Ed help Grundy

Butch says he’s not Ed anymore, and he’s not Grundy.

Back at Lee's. She’s relaxed, feet on the desk, waiting for Ed to come back to move on to the next stage of the plan. Oswald, meantime, is pacing, convinced that Ed has betrayed him already.

Lee tells him to calm down. Oswald snaps not to tell him to calm down, she has no idea what he’s been through. Lee calmly tells him that Ed will be here, and they will make Sofia pay. Interestingly, Lee doesn’t seem wary of the Riddler persona at all. The trust she has for Ed carries over – which raises the question of whether Lee now simply sees him as an integrated persona.

An agitated Oswald says he can't wait, and storms out. Lee rolls her eyes.

Jim and Harvey walking down a street in the Narrows. Harvey is wondering aloud how Ed got in touch with Oswald anyway. It’s called a plot contrivance, Harvey.

Jim looks annoyingly crisp and smart in his suit when I'm still mad at him. He’s told Harvey that the best way to find Oswald and Ed is to find Lee. As they head down the street, Oswald approaches. Jim and Harvey draws their guns

Or we could talk to Oswald right now

Oswald smashes a bottle and points it at them in warning. He asks what they’re doing there.

Harvey says they’re looking for an Arkham escapee, about so tall, limp, and a mommy complex.

Oswald manages to look so livid that he’s tearful

(An aside - Go take a fuck to yourself, Harvey. What on earth was that nastiness about? Aside from being mean and unnecessary – it’s not really in-character for Harvey. His first comment on encountering Oswald at the big showdown with Theo – in the midst of all the mayhem – was to tell Oswald he was ‘sorry about his mom’. So what’s this?)

Oswald tells Jim that the trumped up charges he used to put him away have lost their teeth – Martin is safe and well. Jim says if that’s the case, then produce him.

(An aside – Wow, Jim is capable of some mental contortions. So, he probably didn’t think Oswald actually killed Martin, but decided that the accusation was enough to justify arresting him, and even though he likely didn’t really believe the accusation himself, fell back on needing evidence to exonerate him)

Oswald quickly retorts no – Martin’s not safe until Sofia has been dealt with

Jim looks wide-eyed at Oswald’s statement. Why would he be surprised that Oswald wants revenge on Sofia? Anyway.

I think you and I both want the same thing, Oswald. We both want Sofia to go away.

(An aside – he’s falling back on the same line he used with Harvey: ‘yes I fucked up, but hey, we both have bigger fish to fry, so please forgive me and let’s not dwell on my fuck up’

Oswald says if that’s the case

Then turn around and walk away - let me do what I do

Jim can’t have that, though – he wants her in jail

Harvey and Jim mention Penn, and Oswald's eyes bulge with rage. He screams incoherently

That little weasel was working for her

Harvey tells him Penn worked for Carmine for years, and tells Oswald he needs to address his management style. Oswald isn’t listening, on another level of rage now, chanting to himself.

I’m gonna kill him

Jim approaches him, lowering his gun.

Oswald, Oswald - calm down.

Bizarrely, after everything that’s gone on between them– and there is a lot of everything – Jim’s voice manages to break through Oswald’s rage, and Oswald makes eye contact. Jim says they can make a deal. If Oswald tells them where to find Penn, then he’ll let him walk away.

There’s a long pained look, before Oswald says.

I don't believe you

(I ship this - so you can take it or leave it - but imo, part of Oswald looking pained in that moment was because he wants so much to trust Jim, and hates that he now can’t immediately do that)

Harvey interrupts and says that Sofia sent Victor to Arkham to kill him. She runs the Narrows now, and she’ll find him.

Jim and Oswald look at each other. Oswald drops his bottle and they face each other without weapons. Apparently there’s a specialist spa that Penn visits, and he’s probably hiding there.

Oswald walks past them. As he does, Jim says his name. He turns to face him. Oswald’s face looks raw and vulnerable. Jim actually manages a sincere thank-you, and extends his hand.

Oswald’s face softens, and he looks down at Jim’s hand, and - taking it – smiles.

Unfortunately Harvey Interruptus chooses this time to start going by the book, and cuffs him

Oswald yells they had a deal. Jim asks Harvey what he's doing, and Harvey says he didn’t agree to anything. Oswald yells as they walk away.

Lee watches from the shadows

As they get to the car, Oswald is still furious, but Jim tells him to relax, and that if the Penn info is good then he’ll still be rid of Sofia.

Victor and Wendell appear across the street. Jim quickly shoves Oswald into the car, which was technically protective, and so I’m taking it as a shippy moment and you can’t stop me.

Victor apparently has the sharpest hearing in the world, since he heard them mention Penn’s name from across the road. There’s a bit of back and forth, where they realise Penn is important.

A big shoot out happens, during which Lee swoops in and steals Oswald and the car. Victor and Wendell shoot after her before giving up. Jim tells Harvey they need to find Penn, and also need to find a car.

(An aside - Oh, Oswald. Your easy forgiveness here makes my fic writing life much much easier, but…sweetie, really. You have a very big Jim Gordon shaped blind spot. Between this, and calming down when Jim spoke to him, and making a beeline for him when he was infected with the fear serum, it seems that Oswald still sees Jim as a ‘safe’ person.)

At Sirens, Barbara has a terrible, terrible headache. She throws back a pill as Tabitha approaches, asking if it’s another migraine. Barbara nods, before asking what that stink is.

It’s Butch approaching, dragging Ed. There’s some back and forth nastiness, where Barbara realises that Butch is himself again. Which, interestingly, means that Tabitha didn’t share that information. Out of a sense of shame at her response to him? Wanting to protect him? Not having as close a relationship with Barbara anymore?

Butch tells them that Ed tried to recruit him to fight Sofia, so he brought him to Tabitha as a gift, after the whole hand amputation business. Why does this show hate hands so much? Oswald got a brooch pin through his, Butch got his cut off with a machete, Ed guillotined Tabitha’s, and Lee got hers mangled.

Anyway, Butch turns to leave. Tabitha calls after him

Don't just walk away again

What? Why wouldn’t he? Tabitha’s response to his reaffirming his feelings for her made pretty clear that she wasn’t interested anymore – and she didn’t complain when he left last time. Are we supposed to have forgotten that? I start to share Barbara’s headache.

Butch promises Tabitha that he’ll find a way to get back to what he was. Like – seriously, aside from the hair and skin, what’s the big problem here? Why is Butch living in the sewer, anyway? Some foundation and hair dye and he’s good to go. Butch, 99% of your trouble here is that your sleeves are too short and give you that weird ‘monster suit’ look. Just go see a tailor.

Butch leaves, kicking Ed as he does so. Tabitha watches him. Tabitha is wearing a seriously terrible satin shirt with weird, weird sleeves. If anyone should be living in the sewer, far from society’s gaze, it’s her in that shirt.

Barbara, meantime, grabs her head again – almost collapsing against the bar. Tabitha asks if she’s OK. Well – clearly not, Tabitha. Barbara says they should send him back to Sofia. She’ll torture him, Lee’s allies are gone, the rebellion is quelled. Once Sofia doesn’t need Ed, she’ll kill him. Same end result, less work.

(An aside – sorry, not remotely believable that Tabitha would pass up the chance to torture Ed herself. She’s generally sadistic, and enjoys torture – and she loathes Ed for what he did to her and Butch. But now she’ll hand him over? Nope.)

Back at the Falcone mansion, Sofia is pissed to hear that Oswald isn’t dead yet. She’s dialling the phone when Victor mentions Penn’s name, and goes very still. She says they have to find Penn before Gordon does. Victor asks which to prioritise, and she tells them to do both.

(An aside. Sofia’s temper and demands in this episode are another nice parallel with Oswald. It’s a reminder that the relationship was worth exploring and keeping a little more grey in terms of their similarities and understanding.)

Back at some location in The Narrows, Oswald thanks Lee for coming to his rescue. Lee tells him not to bother, she needs him to get to Sofia. Well, at least she's honest with him. Oswald sarcastically replies

Touching

Oswald can't believe they’re doing this without Ed and Butch – this plan will likely get him killed. Ah – so they’re at Victor Fries’ lair. Lee says she doesn't care, as long as it puts Sofia in the ground, and Oswald's jaw drops.

Victor F enters the room. Now my jaw drops, because good God, is Victor F in fine shape. He’s also cross at Oswald because he didn't follow through with funding him. We see him from another angle. I’m so happy.

Oswald smiles, and says that the failure to fund him was an omission he regrets and will rectify if given the chance

Victor opens a tap on a gas canister and sprays himself with something to cool himself down.

Oswald moves to investigate something in the makeshift lab. Victor grabs his arm to stop him

Don't touch that

Lee tells him he needs money for research, and Sofia wants Oswald. If he delivers her, then he can name his price. Victor hands him something. He says it’s short notice – but the best he can do. Oswald turns to Lee and starts to say if this affects his brain the way it did Nygma’s then it’ll be a disaster. He can’t afford….

We don’t know what he can’t afford, because Victor cuts in

Ready?

Oswald splutters. Victor doesn’t listen.

I don't care

Victor freezes him in a block, like he did Ed.

(An aside - I know, by this point, that I’m essentially on a hiding to nothing if I wonder about logic and reasoning – but why didn’t Oswald fund Victor? He knows what he’s capable of. He’s greedy for allies. Did he just not have the funds required? Did he never really intend to do it all (again, confusing, given how useful Victor could be to him). Did he forget? It’s not a big detail but – again – it fleshes things out to know.)

(Another aside – I think I need some of that cooling gas canister stuff. Wow.)

At Wayne Manor, Selina roots through the jewellery while Bruce ices his knuckles. She wants him to return it and he twigs that’s why she came. It wasn’t about the money. He clearly and carefully tells her that she didn’t kill Roland Charles, Ivy did. But Selina is guilty and ashamed. She asks what she’s supposed to say, ‘sorry’? Bruce says sometimes that’s enough, and they look at each other.

At the Falcone mansion, we hear drill sounds. The dentist we met before is torturing Ed. He comments that his strength of mind is impressive. Sofia pats Ed’s shoulder, and tells him he will tell her what she wants to know, or this will look like a pleasant dream

Ed laughs, and says OK

I can be done with the teeth, the eyes or the mind - what am I?

I can be humorous, but I’m never funny - what am I?

Sofia stabs him in the thigh with a scalpel, and demands to know where Oswald is.

Ed laughs and tells her he already did – but she’s too stupid to figure it out

Sofia jiggles the scapel in his leg. Ow ow ow. Ed screams in earnest. They’re interrupted – they have a visitor.

It’s Victor F – with a frozen Oswald. Ed turns and laughs – amused that they’ve gone through with his plan after all, and no doubt somewhat tickled to see Oswald in a block of ice.

Sofia asks if Oswald is alive. Victor F responds that he might be, and asks for a hundred grand. She agrees quickly. Should have asked for more, Victor.

The other hot Victor enters as he leaves, eyeballs frozen Oswald, and says he’s not even going to ask – but tells her they found Penn. A delighted Sofia kisses his forehead. She tells the other thugs present to take Ed to the docks, shoot him, and throw him in the river. Why does anyone bother doing this in this town? It’s the least successful murder spot in the city.

She smiles brightly and bounces out of the room

Let’s go get Mr Penn

Victor follows, grinning like the cat who got the cream. Wendell knocks warily at Oswald’s ice cube.

Jim and Harvey arrive at the Sumka spa. They walk into a main hall. Harvey speaks

What fresh level of hell is this?

Oh dear. Not to judge – but this is a lot of no.

Jim says they’re looking for Arthur Penn. The nurse says they try to guarantee anonymity. They spot Penn trying to escape. I’d rather exit this scene quickly without the need for description – so Harvey and Jim escort him out. The end.

At the Falcone Mansion, Oswald defrosts. Once out, he screams incoherently at the dentist about he must have been working for Sofia too. He asks where she is, before walloping him hard on the head and screaming in rage.

Lee is in the car. She answers her phone and asks excitedly if it’s done. Oswald tells her that Sofia left the mansion and is on her way to stop Jim. He tells her to meet him at the spa and they’ll kill Sofia together. That’s a bonding experience right there.

Ending the call – he spots Ed’s bowler on the table. The dentist tells him Ed wouldn't turn on him (but did he actually reveal his location through his compulsive riddling? Did anyone solve the riddles? I’m terrible at it). Oswald asks where he is now. The dentist tells him they’re at the docks, and Oswald has a visible internal back and forth on whether to go immediately to kill Sofia, or go to the docks to prevent Ed from being murdered.

Back at the spa with Jim and Harvey. Apparently, Penn worked for Falcone. He asked him to keep eye on Sofia. She found out, and made a deal – he had to report on Oswald. Harvey expresses distaste at his triple-dealing, and Penn indignantly tells him it’s how you stay alive. Sofia would let him live as long as her kept her one step ahead. She also asked him to put her in touch with Pyg - so he did, and then told Falcone right away.

Jim tells him they need a statement, but they’re interrupted by the arrival of Victor and Sofia. There’s lots of shooting. Sofia is wearing a terrible outfit – that soft pink trench-coat again, and high waisted white trousers.

There’s general mayhem, and Jim gets shot. He tells Harvey to get Penn out of there – he can make it until backup arrives.

Sofia advances, calling for him

James Gordon. We could have had a good thing, you and I - but you had to go and ruin it

Jim reiterates that Harvey should go, and makes it an order. Sofia tells her men to find Penn and get Gordon.

Jim stumble/runs into the kitchen. He takes another shot, from Sofia this time. He turns to shoot her, but he’s out of bullets, and staggers away, as Sofia follows.

Outside, Harvey passes Lee as he’s taking Penn away. Lee calmly strides past him, asking where Sofia is. Harvey says she’s in there with Jim. Lee doesn’t deviate pace or fluster, just tells him to take the car as she walks on. Harvey calls after her that Jim’s hurt bad.

Nearby, Victor and Wendell decide that the day’s more or less over at this point, and they should go get a milkshake.

Jim is stumbling, bleeding heavily. Sofia is ranting. She tells him he’s such a disappointment, and shoots again. She asks if it would have been so bad, being in the palm of her hand, letting her chip away at his soul little by little. Did he really have to rob her of her revenge?

Jim is on the floor. He tells her it wasn’t about him – he wasn’t going to give her GCPD. Jim – you’re bleeding pretty heavily and all, but she had GCPD. You were a puppet.

Sofia doesn’t buy this. She tells him of course it was about him – his pride and arrogance. What she wanted was no different than what her father had for thirty years. Jim states.

Your father - who you killed

Sofia doesn’t wobble for a moment.

Yes - he disappointed me, just like you

(An aside – Sofia’s murder of Carmine was probably her scariest moment in how he justified it to herself. A lot of her behaviour and beliefs are probably learned – her childhood sounds messed up. But we heard her use the old ‘he made me do it’ before with conviction, and hear it again here).

Sofia crouches by him. She tells Jim she still cares for him. If he begs for his life and asks forgiveness, then they can start over.

(An aside - ugh – Sofia has feelings for Jim, apparently. What did it for her? How easily he was duped by appealing to his ego? How judgily he looked at her before any of their sexual encounters? His eye-watering knack for hypocrisy? The way he immediately tried to drop her when she wasn’t useful anymore?)

Jim sits up slightly.

Sofia. Go to hell

Her face pinches, and she rises

James Gordon - this is where our story ends

Before she can shoot, though – she is shot in the back. She turns, face shocked.

You!

It’s a calm and smiling Lee

She pulls the trigger again – and puts a bullet through Sofia’s forehead

Yeah - me

Jim falls back to the floor, his head lolls to the side, and stares into Sofia’s open eyes. We get flashes of Lee trying to keep him conscious as he eventually blacks out.

(An aside – it’s notable here how purposeful and calm Lee was, and how little Jim factored into her actions. I’m sure saving him was likely pleasing – they have a history – but hearing he was in there didn’t produce a visible reaction, nor did her face change to see him on the floor. She was entirely focused on revenge.

There’s a narrative logic to Lee killing Sofia, in terms of Gotham’s rules. She was for a long time, and still is – in a sense – the closest thing the story has to a ‘good’ woman. She’s nurturing and protective. Her profession involves caring. Even before her current stint trying to revive the Narrows, she existed as a symbol in Jim’s story: the motivation for moral redemption, something to protect, something to long for - the ‘love of a good woman’ trope. For a long time, she hid her knowledge of Jim’s misdeeds – something she was only willing to use recently to protect people who had become more important to her.

In contrast, Sofia is set up as the wicked woman. She founds an orphanage as a front, and then uses one of the children to manipulate Oswald’s finer feelings. She uses the memory of his dead mother to do the same – serving up the goulash. She also preyed on his vulnerability about his physical disability. She uses sex to manipulate Jim, and uses his misdeeds to exert power over him. She endangers Martin. She murders her father. In just about any way a traditional narrative would function (and Gotham employs a lot of fairly traditional tropes) – she ‘fails’ at being a good woman. She’s cold where Lee is passionate, destructive where she’s nurturing, uncaring where she is protective.

In terms of narrative, then – Lee taking Sofia out is the kind of moral judgment you’d probably expect. That Lee does it herself, and later seems to enjoy using violence, I suppose raises questions of whether the story now sees Lee as ‘tainted’ by her actions.)

At the pier, Ed is being led, chuckling to the water’s edge. One of the thugs offers a bad riddle. Ed rolls his eyes, and tells them just to do it. Before they can they’re shot. Ed turns, and sees that it’s Oswald

He asks if he already killed Sofia, but he tells him no – she left the mansion to pursue Jim, and if he’d gone there he wouldn’t have made it to the pier in time. Ed is confused – Oswald gave up his revenge to save Ed?

Oswald looks out at the city. He tells Ed that trust is so very hard to find in Gotham, but he trusts Ed. Really? He thought he betrayed him, like, half an hour ago. Whatever, though. They both put their guns away and stare out over the water. Ed says he has a strong desire never to see this pier again. Oswald rolls his eyes, and heartily agrees.

(An aside - Oswald trusts Ed? This makes no sense either. Unless Oswald has essentially decided that Ed is ‘lawful evil’, and that digging up his father’s remains, humiliating in front of the public whose affection and respect he craved, and then attempting to murder him was a fair response to Isabella’s murder – and that therefore Ed can be trusted because he’ll only ever strike in retaliation. Play by the rules, and you’re fine.

To be honest, I’d find it more believable if he did it to fulfil a sense of duty to the Ed whom he essentially buried alive when he enabled the Riddler personality to come to the fore, and who is – in a sense – an unwilling passenger in all this. But hey – why bother grounding actions in personality and motivation?)

Jim wakes up in a hospital room, with quite a good colour about him for someone who was shot so much. Harvey is there. He tells him Lee saved him – even one-handed, she’s a damn good doctor. Sofia is apparently in a coma. Wow – really? Right through the forehead? OK

Jim frowns. He tells Harvey when he gets out he’ll confess everything. He has to come clean. Harvey tells him no. That would only benefit Jim’s martyr complex and make him feel better. He tells him if he wants to pay his debt he has to live with it, like he does. Oh Harvey. That would only work if Jim had a properly developed sense of guilt. You’ve made the same mistake as Sofia.

Jim says that Sofia wins after all. Harvey says it’s what the city needs.

Jim asks after Lee. Harvey says she went back to the Narrow – unfinished business.

Cherry's – where Samson is being beaten. Lee walks down the stairs, making an entrance, a hammer hanging at her belt. Samson yells that he’ll go. Lee smiles

Oh, I know - just not yet

She tells the men to hold his hand out. Samson yells no – but to no avail. Lee’s eyes light up, and she seriously goes to town on his hand – enjoying it quite a lot.

At Sirens, Barbara is in pain. Tabitha is going on about how they need to grab power, but Barbara snaps at her – in too much pain to listen. Tabitha strops off sulkily.

Barbara looks down at her hand -which is glowing white, like the thing Ra’s gave her. As she looks up, she sees him walk through the crowd. She stares in shock, the air around her blurring and jolting.

General Observations

Forgiveness is the name of the game today. It’s offered and accepted just about everywhere. Jim and Harvey seem to have worked towards a tentative truce, even though things are still delicate. Jim and Oswald have a meaningful handshake – forgiveness requested and granted hidden beneath the surface. Ed and Oswald eventually seem to have reached a truce that will enable them to cooperate when necessary and maybe even sustain friendship. Lee’s keeping Jim alive after he’s shot is mostly down to her personality and their history – but there’s also some tacit forgiveness in there, maybe, for his actions around Mario. There’s a lot of pain and history to go round – but as Bruce tells Selina, sometimes sorry is enough.

Except for Sofia. Forgiveness has to be offered, but she demands Jim beg her for it. In turn, she’s punished by Lee – who has no intention of offering forgiveness.

The practical result of all that is resetting the chessboard before the next big plot.

Harvey is back at GCPD, and Jim is still Captain. I’m not sure to what extent they’re completely OK with each other – but they’re working together now.

Oswald is out of Arkham. He’s established a truce with Ed which will enable them to cooperate. He seems to have forgiven Jim. Sofia is temporarily gone, and Martin is temporarily safe. He was willing to joint-kill Sofia with Lee.

Lee has embraced the darker side of herself. She’s back to running the Narrows, and is now a formidable power as well as on the side of her people. Her focus on getting revenge on Sofia was impressive, as was her calmness throughout.

Ed is currently in his Riddler persona. He’s mended fences with Oswald, but regained an enemy in Butch.

Ed and Lee warrant their own paragraph, I think. I’d be surprised if we don’t see things develop further there. We’ve already got the foundation of the Ed/Lee friendship, then we were shown Ed falling for her, then we got the little flickers of romantic expectation we saw from Lee in the previous episode. In this episode, they couldn’t keep their eyes off each other, and there was tension crackling all over the place.

Barbara’s having creepy headaches, Selina is pretty much awol, and Tabitha is trying to figure out how to grab power after they fundamentally backed the wrong horse. Sirens is pretty much in disarray.

Victor Fries has funding now. I think we definitely need to see more of him for important narrative reasons. Much more

Thoughts?

#gotham commentary #gotham s4e14 #the sinking ship the grand applause

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dontfeedthebabytigers · 6 years

Text

You’ve Got So Much Heart: Chapter 5

ao3 link (x)

last chapter (x)

first chapter (x)

When Batman was able to retrain all of the cultists and confirm that the package was a misdirect, he went to the rooftop, fists clenched and ready to defend his Robin. The sight of the Joker and Red Hood hogtied with grapple wire was not what he had expected. Only years of expert training kept Batman from displaying his confusion, but he almost slipped and showed his relief when his eyes landed on Robin. His partner sat on an AC unit nearby, a quick glance over didn’t reveal any major injuries, maybe some bruising on his cheek that was already clearing. Robin didn’t move towards him, just sat and watched as Batman walked towards him.

“Are you okay?” Robin wasn’t the best of keeping track of his injuries, so the nod he gave didn’t ease Batman’s concern. But just asking Robin was good practice for the boy to observe what his body needed.

“He’s fine.” Red Hood grumbled from where he was tied on the ground.

Batman glared at Red Hood, at the man his son had become. His eyes landed on the guns that were unloaded and disassembled next Robin, and he looked back over to Red Hood. This time felt more like an accusation than the regular contempt that Tim was familiar with.

“You can’t honestly believe that I would try to hurt him?” Even with all the family resentment that grew a little more potent every day he still felt something for the kid, something hard to place and abstract. Whatever he felt wasn’t easy to pull dissect in his mind, and there wasn’t anybody around in the single bedroom apartment that he was squatting in. So, Tim decided there were better tasks to focus on than whatever mess his family relationships had become.

“What are you doing here, Red Hood?” Batman asked with a bite in his tone that Time was used to hearing by now.

“’You’re welcome for the rescue, Red.’” Tim said with a deep growl that mimicked Batman’s before responding in a peppy voice--- not unlike the one he used as Robin. “Don’t worry about, I live to serve.”

“He can handle himself,” Batman said as Tim wondered how anyone thought that Superman was the sanctimonious one.

“That’s a great policy against that lunatic. Must have been why he was seconds away from cutting the kids throat.” Tim smirked when he saw a little twitch of a frown on Batman’s face. Finally, a reaction. “Don’t feel that you’re still three-out-of-four on Robin’s you’ve failed. Now, I never got the chance to finish high school, but if I’m not mistaken that’s still a passing grade.”

Batman had turned his attention to Robin during Tim’s jab, but the Boy Wonder looked anywhere but the white lenses of the cowl. The bravado dropped for a minute, and Batman went over to Tim and cut him loose.

“Thanks, Old man. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think there’s a gang war that needs my attention and thanks to the kid I have to go find some new weapons.”

Tim turned to leave him, but a strong hand grabbed his bicep.

“Red Hood,” Batman’s voice had that weird softness to it that Tim remembered from nights when he had fallen asleep in front of the computer, waiting for his dad to come home.

Every muscle in Tim’s body tensed on contact. He hated those memories and the way they made his gut twist and his trigger finger twitch. The only thing that kept him from ripping his arm out of his father’s grasp was a genuine curiosity of what Batman was going to say.

“Leave the Joker to us.” The Bat said. “Next time, I will have you arrested.”

Typical.

“Yeah, good seeing you too, Old Man.” Tim was about to leave when he stopped and looked at his little brother. “You are okay, right?”

Robin hid his confusion well, but Tim knew he wasn’t expecting any kind of interaction from how long it took him to nod. Tim thought that he may have seen a smile on the kid’s lips, but he called it a trick of the light and shot of his grapple to carry him away.

He was a twisting hurricane of emotions that only got more intense when he ran into Batman and Robin. Nightwing always acted entitled enough when Tim was a child that he could cut himself off and feel little for the loss of their relationship. He didn’t run into Bluejay much--- even after his brother moved back to Gotham--- and their mutual frustrations made up for the tension that had existed when Jason had first taken the title of Robin from him.

Batman and Robin were different. They were a mirror of a happier time, but a cracked and splintered one. Batman was colder now. Thought he had pulled himself together for the de--taloned bird. That ruthlessness only seemed to come back when Batman had to face what Tim had done, the failure he had become.

Tim couldn’t deal with this. He didn’t have the tools to even begin. What he did have was a utility belt and a semi-automatic at ‘home’ that called him. He had the city that killed his blood father and destroyed Tim in so many new and interesting ways. That seemed a good a place as any to start.

Batman, Robin, Bluejay, and Spoiler brought the Joker to Arkham, along with all the Laughing Widows that they could capture. Bluejay didn’t stick around and said something about staying in Jump City for the night, and Spoiler stormed off after hearing how Bruce treated Red Hood. This left Batman and Robin returning home to an almost empty Man. They showered without a word, and the silence was only broken when Bruce caught Dick in an attempt to sneak upstairs.

“Not so fast, chum. You know the drill.”

Dick threw his head back in a dramatic fashion that let Bruce know that not all the performing instincts had been removed from his ward. They went to the Med Bay, where Bruce pulled on a pair of latex gloves as Dick climbed on one of the many cots. Dick pulled off the Gotham Academy sweater--- one that Bruce recognized from Damian’s wardrobe--- with practiced ease.

Bruce got to work testing Dick’s range of motion--- each of his movements televised and in the same order that they always occurred. His ward seemed to be telling the truth when he said that he had no injuries. The light bruising that had been on his jaw was already a pale yellow and would be gone by morning. Physically, his son was okay, but there was something brewing behind his blue eyes.

“That was the first time you faced the Joker in a while. How are you doing?”

Dick shrugged, and other than that motion he seemed indifferent to the events of the night.

All of Bruce’s children had run-ins with the Joker, they ranged from disturbing to unspeakable in their horror. The encounters left his own stomach turning on the best night. He had expected that Dick would be immune to the horrors of the Joker after the trauma he had experienced at the hands of the Court. But the madman had his way of ruining minds. He frustrated Damian, drove Tim to extremes, angered Jason, and, somehow, managed to make Dick wake up in a cold sweat.

His ward would never admit his fear; he didn’t know how. Bruce would worry more if Dick wasn’t so good at bouncing back from the horrific encounters with the Joker. His unshakable optimism was a mystery to Bruce and catnip for the Joker. Maybe he shouldn’t have Robin out tonight, even if it was assumed to be a punishment. Better to be upset for a while then face another criminal intent on destroying his already corrupted innocence. Bruce wondered if Dick would listen to him, or if that would be the last straw. Dick had been a rule-breaker in the beginning, and Bruce was waiting for the day that his ward’s rebellious streak came back.

He would need to consult with the others before any decisions were made about Dick being allowed to confront the Joker. In the meantime, he chose to focus on the nasty bruise that he found on Dick’s shoulder blade.

“I see your nightly activities went smoothly,” Alfred commented on the lack of gaping wounds as he entered the Med Bay with a tray that carried two hot chocolates. “How are you feeling, Master Dick?”

Dick took his mug and held out a thumb up.

“Then there’s cause for celebration. How does blueberry pancakes for breakfast sound?”

Dick beamed at his grandfather that knew that Dick’s all-time favorite was blueberry pancakes.

“Of course, I don’t believe those pancakes would take nearly as delicious when the person eating them is sleep deprived. I shudder to think that any blueberry pancakes might go to waste.” Alfred put all of his Shakespearean training into his performance.

Dick’s sense of theater still needed working on as he was soon staring wide-eyed and worried at Alfred.

“A jest, my lad. However, I must insist you make up for last night with at least eight hours of rest.”

Dick considered, but he soon nodded in agreement.

“Why don’t you head up, chum,” Bruce said, snapping off the gloves and throwing them away. “I’ll join you in a few minutes to lock up the Manor.”

He nodded once, put the sweater back on, and jumped off the table.

Once they were out of his exceptional earshot, Bruce deflated with a curse.

“I take it capturing the Joker did not go as well as I had originally thought,” Alfred said handed Bruce his hot chocolate.

“He separated us, and somehow got the upper hand on Dick.” Bruce took a long drink from his hot chocolate and hoped it would soothe his nerves like the drink had when he was a scared child. “Red Hood was there too.”

Alfred looked down. “I see. How was Master Tim, did he look healthy?”

“He did, just pissed at me for the most part.”

“So, I see nothing has changed.”

“Maybe,” Bruce said. “He saved Dick”

“They were always close.” Alfred smiled as fond memories of laughter from happier times played in his mind.

“yeah, they were.” Bruce meant to say more, as he always did. He had a bad habit of only speaking his mind when it wasn’t necessary or wanted. “I should get up there to him.”

“Best not to leave the lad waiting,” Alfred said, and only when Bruce was near the stairs did he call to him. “Be sure to get some rest yourself, Master Bruce. I would hate if your pancake experience was anything less than sublime.”

Bruce’s mouth twitched in the small smile that he had gotten so good at over the years. He then headed up stone stairs and left Alfred alone as the butler pulled a picture from his breast pocket. It was old, two long creases in it from being folded for years. The photo stayed with him always. The only remaining photo of Timothy Drake that remained outside of the Manor’s attic. He smiled and held on to that sweet sound of laughter for just a little longer before folding the photo and putting it away again.

#you've got so much heart #miranda writes #dick grayson #tim drake #bruce wayne #fanfic

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camsthisky · 7 years

Text

Shuddering Darkness

ao3 | ff.net

Summary: Jason hadn't meant to let any of this happen. It happened anyways.

I've been working on this for the past couple months, and this is something like the fourth or fifth time I've rewritten it. The last draft was less than 6k. This one is about 400 words short of 8k. It's been a long time since I've had to wrangle a fic so much, but I just think it's because it's from Jason's POV and Jason's always tought for me to write in general.

Thanks to those of you who donated! I really appreciate it! And thanks to @preciousthingsareprecious for all of the suggestions!

“A case?” Dick asked, sounding bewildered. “And you need my help why?”

Jason scowled underneath his helmet. Dick couldn’t see it, but it was totally aimed his way, and it made Jason feel a bit better. He hated to go running to Dick like this, but he was running out of time and options.

An up and coming drug lord, Darren Sommers, was trying to expand his drug business by kidnapping children straight from the streets of Gotham and hooking them on his new experimental drugs. The more kids he hooked, the more people seemed to be interested. He was also one of the most revolting men Jason had ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on, and he’d met a lot of disgusting men. Killed a lot of them, too.

Only, most of the others didn’t have a lot of backup. Sommers did. Seven beefy guys armed to their teeth. All of them obviously professionals. Traps all around his base of operations.

Jason hated to admit it, even to himself, but he wasn’t going to be able to take this guy down by himself, especially when he didn’t know how Sommers was even getting to these kids on Red Hood’s watch.

He hadn’t wanted to go to Nightwing, but he wasn’t sure if waiting for a few nights to look for the help he wanted would damn even more kids. Some part of him thinks he should feel grateful it was Dick he’d run into tonight, instead of Bruce or the Demon Brat, but Jason’s not up to feeling the gratitude right now.

“I can’t figure out how Sommers is getting to the kids in Crime Alley,” Jason told him, crossing his arms in front of him, “so I need you to see if B has anything on the guy in his files. Something that gives me an edge.”

“I can do that,” Dick said pretty easily, but he was still giving Jason a weird look, doing that stupid head tilt thing that reminded Jason of a dog. “But you know you can check yourself. B isn’t going to mind you in the Cave.”

“I don’t have time,” Jason fibbed.

Which, yeah. He was stretched a little thin, but he might have been able to make time to search through the Batcmoputer’s files for a few minutes. But he and Bruce were still on rocky ground, and Jason wasn’t sure if showing up out of the blue was going to make the ground give out from under them. It seemed like half the time Bruce opened his mouth, Jason ended up wanting to punch his damn teeth out.

Luckily, Dick accepted the answer, even if it was with an understanding nod and a sad smile. “Yeah, no problem, Hood. I’ll get back with you tomorrow night.”

Jason nodded, and they went their separate ways, Dick—for once—not begging Jason to stay a few more minutes and talk, or come back to the manor, or find the other. He seemed to sense Jason’s rapidly declining mood, which wasn’t hard. Even Jason knew he was snappier than usual, no snark or sarcasm to be found.

Jason just wanted a bullet in Sommers’ head, so those kids wouldn’t have to worry if they were going to disappear next. Sommers was in Red Hood’s territory, and he was going to pay.

“He has a son,” Dick told him when he dropped onto the rooftop next to Jason. His voice was trembling, and he looked withdrawn. Angry, but he was bottling it up. Maybe if Jason knew Dick just a bit less than he did, he wouldn’t have picked up on it. But he did know Dick. And Dick was pissed.

“What?” Jason asked, his voice quiet, because he couldn’t have heard right.

“Sommers has a son,” Dick said again—and that was more than anger. That was rage Goldie was giving off in waves. No unusual for Dick Grayson, Jason knew, but a lot rarer nowadays. With the Demon Brat around, Dick’s temper didn’t show its ugly face much. But now? It was almost palpable. Jason would hate to be Sommers right now.

“What does that have to do with the kids disappearing?” Jason wondered, his eyebrows furrowing. “He—oh. Oh. Son of a bitch.”

“Yeah.” Dick didn’t sound so angry anymore. His shoulders dropped, and he ran a hand over his masked face. “He’s been using his own son.”

It made sense, as sick as it was. The bastard was using his own kid as a spy on the streets so that he could snatch the other kids. The other kids didn’t trust grownups, but for the most part, they were okay with other kids. A bit wary, but nothing like it’d be with an adult.

And somehow Sommers had come to that conclusion, too, and had used his own son as a means to an end.

This information made Jason’s gut twist in anger and revulsion, because Jason’s remembered another kid, eager to please someone he looked up to as a father, being given a uniform that would get him killed a few years later.

And Dick, too, had been Robin. Had created Robin, becoming something of a brightness for the people of Gotham to see and trust, or distract before Batman swooped in and took over the situation. The two situations lined up too well, and Jason felt as the anger gripped its claw in his skin. He knew from experience they wouldn’t let go anytime soon, so he embraced.

He would use it.

“I’m leaving,” Jason said, his voice wavering in his own rage.

Dick’s head snapped up. “I’m coming with you.”

“What?” Jason asked. “No way.”

“You already for me involved, Hood,” Dick argued. “Just let me help.”

Jason actually found himself considering it. Dick was an amazing fighter, and an amazing detective. Jason knew that working with Dick on this would double his chances of catching this guy before he got too far.

But. Working with Dick also brought up a few problems. He was already working with the Bats wat too often as it was, aiming for non-lethal spots when he was with them, and sometimes even using rubber bullets. If Dick tagged along, Jason would either have to intentionally not kill the guy, or Dick would try to stop him.

(He could always try to gut Sommers later, though, when Dick wasn’t looking, because this guy needed to be off his streets. Permanently.)

“Fine,” Jason said at last. “But we do this my way.”

“No killing.”

Jason gritted his teeth, even though he’d been expecting it. “Fine. You follow my lead, but no killing. Agreed?”

Dick shot him a smile. “Agreed.”

Jason turned away, taking out his grapple and shooting it in the direction he knew Sommers’ base was. He was going to get this bastard, and he was going to put a bullet through his head. He didn’t care how long he had to wait.

“What are we doing?” Dick asked, looking confused as they crept towards the skylight of the warehouse.

Jason didn’t answer, too busy peering in and—yes. There he was. Derek Sommers’ son was in the warehouse. He couldn’t have been older than twelve, fiddling with a game on his tablet, and Jason couldn’t help the disgust that roiled in his stomach again as he thought about how Sommers was using his own kid.

He had to try very hard not to think about Batman while he looked between the kid and Sommers, who was standing on the other side of the warehouse, talking on the phone as he looked over a stack of packages, probably all filled with the experimental drug.

“Red Hood?”

“Okay, here’s the deal,” Jason said, finally looking up at Dick. “I’ve cased this warehouse three times, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen his son here. We need to get him out of here before we can go all out.

“Problem is,” Jason continued, “there’s about seven bodyguards down there, all armed to the teeth. One of them is bound to be watching the kid, since he’s basically the delivery service.”

“We’ll need a distraction,” Dick realized. “You or me?”

“Me,” Jason replied immediately. “As soon I go in, you get the kid, and you get out. Hide him at the nearest safe house, and come back so we can finish the job.”

He probably could have worded that a little better, but Dick didn’t seem to pick up on it. Instead he shifted minutely, and grimaced at what they could see through the skylight.

“What?” Jason snapped.

Dick looked up at him. “Look, I know I agreed to follow your lead, but eight men is a lot to distract at one time by yourself. Maybe we should call Red Robin or Batgirl as backup, just in case this goes south.”

“We don’t have time for that,” Jason told him, his voice cold. “And I know the best way to take these guys down. They hit hard and pack heavy, so knock out their footing and they crumble. They’re not invincible.”

“Neither are you.”

Jason made an irritated noise in the back of his throat. “Look, Nightwing, this is the first time the kid’s actually been here in the past week and a half since I tracked Sommers down, and Sommers looks like he’s getting ready for another delivery. This can’t wait.”

Dick still looked unsure, but he sighed. “Fine, but the second something looks like it’s going wrong, I’m calling for backup.”

“Fine,” Jason spit out. “Now get ready.”

Once Dick had successfully snuck in, in position to grab the kid and beat it, Jason had eased open the skylight, making sure not to let the hinges creak. He threw a few smoke pellets in the direction of the men and the packages, and once they hit the ground, Sommers and the guards engulfed in smoke, Jason fell through the skylight himself.

He landed right on the edge of the cloud, watched as Dick snatched the kid and whisked him away in silence, and then he threw himself into the cloud, determined to take down as many men as he could while he had the advantage of surprise. He had to buy time for Dick to hide the kid and then loop back around to help him take these goons out.

The smoke lasted about three minutes, and in that time, Jason had taken out three guards (they didn’t go down as easily as he’d hoped). He had four left, and then Sommers himself. His opponents recovered, though, and that’s when the shooting started. Jason rolled away from a shot, taking covering behind a pillar, and shooting back when he got an opening.

He managed to take down one more guard when Dick suddenly fell from the ceiling, surprising one of the other guards, leaving two more and Sommers for Jason to handle. Dick took him out fairly easily, and Jason laid cover fire for him when the remaining men tried to go for him.

And of course, that’s when Dick decided to get even closer.

The thing is, Jason knew how to fight close combat. He was good at it, too. Still, he used guns for things like this, and he kept his distance, perfectly timing his shots to use the least amount of ammo as possible without getting his face shot off or something like that. He was good at both.

Dick, though. Dick was a close combat fighter through and through, and it was just now that Jason realized he wasn’t very effective in a firefight. Sure, Dick could weave and flip through a spray of bullets like no other, movements too unpredictable to shoot at properly, but that didn’t make him immune to a stray shot or two.

And when Dick elbowed one of the two guards still standing in the face, and Jason cursed when he realized how exposed Dick was in that position. Especially when the last remaining guard lifted his gun and aimed it at Dick—and Jason was sure Dick’s heart was the target.

“Nightwing!” Jason yelled, raising his gun, and not even hesitating to pull the trigger at the shooter.

He was too late, though. The guard that had shot at Dick crumpled to the ground at the same time that Dick cried out in pain, barely completing his swing to the face of the guy he was fighting before he crumpled to the floor.

He didn’t get back up.

Jason cursed again, hurrying towards Dick while the last guard stumbled around rubbing at his jaw. Sommers had slipped away during the fight, but Jason couldn’t care less at this point. Up close, Jason could see that Dick wasn’t bleeding from just one bullet hole, but three.

Dammit.

“Get up off your fucking ass, Nightwing,” Jason snapped, even as he hauled the unconscious vigilante over his shoulders in a fireman’s carry, and lugged him out of the warehouse.

That guard, the one Dick had hit in the face, was still moving, and Jason had seen a few more guards stirring. Not to mention that Jason didn’t think Sommers would stay hidden very long. Not while his kid was missing. No, they’d come after Dick and Jason the moment they regrouped. Jason needed to get the two of them out of here. Fast.

The problem was, though, the only safe house nearby was the one where Dick had stashed the kid, and if Sommers regrouped fast enough, Jason could be leading them right back to the boy.

Jason didn’t know where else to go, though.

After a few minutes of lugging Dick away from the warehouse, Jason finally found an alley where he could put Dick down for a moment and assess the situation.

He’d fucked up. Badly. He should have taken Dick seriously when he’d told Jason to call in backup. But he’d been so blinded by the fact that Sommers had used his own son, like sometimes Jason swore Bruce did without realizing, that he’d just gotten too angry. Let his emotions cloud his judgment.

Dick, Jason, Tim, Steph, and now Damian. All Robins thrown into a uniform at too young of an age. Now stuck they were all stuck in this world without a way out. There was no way that any of them could be normal anymore, and Jason thought that Bruce should have realized that after he died, and yet the Replacement had still become Jason’s replacement.

There were times that Jason thought that he was finally able to take a step away from thinking about that, about letting that fact cloud his judgement. But it infuriated him. Blinded him. To the point where he screwed up and made shitty decisions that led to his brother bleeding out without a safe place to recuperate.

He should have listened to Dick for once in his goddamn life and called backup.

But it was too late for shoulda, coulda, woulda’s and Jason needed to get back on track. Dick’s mouth was slack, his head lolling back against the alley wall. Jason had to take a glove off to check his pulse, and he sighed in relief when he found it easily. It was weak, but still there.

The bullets hadn’t hit anything that suggested that Dick was going to die here and now, either. There was a bullet in his right arm, one in his upper left thigh, and the last—the one that Jason had barely prevented hitting Dick’s chest—was in his right shoulder. No arteries hit. The Kevlar seemed to have taken most of the impact and slowed the bullets down.

So that begged the question, why wasn’t Dick awake by now? It couldn’t be blood loss. Jason had seen Dick lose more blood and stay standing, not to mention Dick had dropped like a puppet with his string cuts. Nothing like a faint.

Jason resisted the urge to punch something, and decided it was better to mark the problem of Dick being unconscious for later. Right now, Jason was a little more worried about where he was going to drag Dick’s ass to keep the two of them and the kid safe.

After putting a couple pressure bandages on the wounds to make sure Dick didn’t bleed out on him any time soon, Jason took off his helmet, took the comm. unit from Dick’s ear, and put it in his own. He didn’t have one that he could connect to the Bat frequency—which was just another gap between him and Bruce—but Jason was glad that Dick, at least, wore his. It would make things a little easier.

He tapped the comm. “Red Hood to Red Robin.”

“Red Hood?” Tim’s voice came in, sounding almost bewildered. “What are you doing on this line?”

“I’m borrowing ‘Wing’s comm.,” Jason said. “Nightwing’s down and he needs medical attention.”

“Take him to Leslie’s,” Tim told him, his voice strained. “Or the Cave. Just don’t involve Nightwing in your stupid grudge with—”

“That’s not the problem here,” Jason snapped. “We’re being pursued, we’ve got no mode of transportation besides grapple hooks, and Nightwing’s not in any condition to swing. Hell, he’s not even conscious. I need an extraction. Yesterday.”

There was a pause, a burst of static that had Jason flinching and rubbing his ear, and then Tim was back on the comms. “I’m on the way with the Batmobile, and I’m following Nightwing’s GPS. Hang on.”

“ETA?”

“Ten minutes.”

“We don’t have that kind of time,” Jason breathed out. “They could be on us any minute.”

“Give me something I can work with, Hood,” Tim growled, sounding too much like Bruce for Jason’s liking. “I can’t magically transport there. I’ve still got to drive all the way across town.”

“Sewers,” Jason said, the word tasting sour on his tongue. “I’m going to take Nightwing and hide in the sewers for ten minutes. They shouldn’t know to follow us in there, but it’s probably going to suck for Nightwing.”

“I can’t track your signal in there. I won’t be able to get to you until you get out.”

Jason thought hard and fast, putting his helmet on over Dick’s comm. unit and then lifting Dick back onto his shoulders. “We’re on the edge of Crime Alley,” Jason finally said. “It might be a little tricky, but I’m going to try to make it to Robbinsville. Where are you right now?”

“Upper West Side.”

“What are you doing there?”

“Long story. Robbinsville?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll be there in eleven minutes. Don’t die.”

“Been there, done that,” Jason told him.

“Fine,” Tim snapped. “Don’t let Nightwing die, then. He’s your responsibility until I get there. Red Robin out.”

Jason rolled his eyes, huffing out an annoyed breath. Sure, Tim seemed to have grown a back bone since Jason had last spoken to him, and Jason would be somewhat amused if the situation weren’t so messed up. But he’d also like it if Tim didn’t automatically start assuming the worst of him. He wasn’t going to mess up a second time.

Sighing, Jason for the manhole cover nearest him. Tim to go sewer diving. This was going to be fun.

Not fun. So not fun.

First of all, Dick was heavy, and trekking through sewer water with Dick on his back was horrible. Man. What Jason wouldn’t give for a shower. The worst part, though, was that Jason wore he could hear voices behind them, and he hated the burst of panic he felt at the thought of Sommers and his guard chasing them.

“Damn it,” Jason whispered, the word echoing around them. The walls felt like they were closing in, and Jason didn’t like the uncomfortable prickling under his skin. He didn’t want to stay down here any longer than he had to. It was too reminiscent of memories long past.

“Think…this way,” Jason heard someone say, the voice echoing and bouncing around the sewer walls so that he couldn’t tell how far away it was, and damn it all. They had actually followed Jason and Dick into the sewers.

And of course Dick chose that moment to groan in pain, and Jason heard another, “This way! I heard something!” coming towards them, and Jason hoofed it as quietly as he could. It was only when he passed by a small little alcove in the wall that he paused, barely large enough for Jason to squeeze through.

It would be unpleasant, and they’d be trapped if Sommers decided to look in there, but one look inside told Jason that it would probably just fit him and Dick. And with Dick on his back slowing him down, Jason would never outrun their pursuers.

Jason took the chance. It was their best option at this point.

It took some maneuvering, but Jason got them but situated in the hole just as Sommers and his guard—two guards, dammit. One was cradling his jaw and the other was limping. It looked like Jason hadn’t shot him enough times—passed by them.

“Where did they go?” the guard with the hurt jaw asked as he walked by.

“They can’t have gone far,” Sommers insisted, urging them onwards. “And based on their direction, they’re heading for Robbinsville. Keep going. If we don’t find them in the sewers, we’ll cut them off on the streets.”

Jason held his breath until the men turned the corner, and then kept holding it until all Jason could hear was indistinct murmurs that echoed along the sewer walls.

And then it was just Jason, Dick, and some sewer water in this uncomfortable hole. Lovely.

Jason sighed and let his head rock back against the wall. The only way for both him and Dick to fit and not be lying on top of each other had been to pull Dick practically onto his lap, Dick’s back pressed to his chest and his head resting on Jason’s shoulder.

He was just getting ready to lift them both out of this hellhole and start the long trek through more dirty sewer water when Dick groaned. Jason froze.

“Nightwing?” Jason asked.

Dick groaned again, rolling his head back and forth restlessly as his face scrunched up in pain.

“Hey,” Jason said. “I really need you to wake up now, because the less I have to carry your gigantic ass, the happier I’ll be.”

“Where’re we?” Dick slurred, and Jason couldn’t tell whether his eyes were open or closed with the domino mask on, but he supposed it didn’t matter either way. Jason was just glad he was even talking. “Jason?”

“Are you awake?”

Dick hummed, and then his nose wrinkled up. “Why does it smell like a sewer?”

“Because we’re sitting in a sewer,” Jason told him. Something had seemed to settle at the sound of Dick’s voice. “You dropped like a rock and I had to haul you out of that warehouse. Do you know how much you weigh?”

“Yes,” Dick breathed, sounding more exasperated than anything. Then he tensed up. “Backup?”

“Red Robin’s on his way,” Jason told him.

Dick didn’t respond to that. He stayed still, barely breathing, and panic rose back up in Jason. Had Dick fallen unconscious again—no. No, Dick was too tense for that. There was something else wrong, and Jason was just about to ask when Dick said, his voice barely above a whisper, “God, my shoulder hurts.”

“You got shot, genius,” Jason said, but his words fell flat, because Dick was keeping abnormally still. Which almost never happened. There wasn’t really a time where Dick wasn’t moving.

“Doesn’t feel like a bullet wound,” Dick told him, gritting his teeth, the tendons in his neck standing out, and Jason felt that panic double. There was something really, really wrong here. “I feel like I’m on fire or something.”

Jason was at a loss. The only way he’d be able to check Dick’s shoulder was if he took off the pressure bandage and the Nightwing suit. But in the sewers? That was just asking for an infection. Not to mention Jason could feel their time slowly slipping away from them. Eleven minutes. How much time had already passed? Seven? Eight?

Not to mention the fact that Jason was starting to feel the walls close in on him again. They were stuck here in this hole barely big enough for the two of them. It was dark, enclosed, and it was starting to feel more and more like a different time. And the only way Jason was stave off those memories was to keep himself focused on Dick. On their task.

They needed to get out of here.

“Can you walk?” Jason asked.

Dick grunted, and Jason took it as a yes. He was careful about levering Dick up, but maybe not as much as he could have been as they squeezed back out of the hole. Still, the entire time, Dick kept quiet. The only thing that told Jason how bad Dick was feeling was his tight expression and heavy breathing.

Jason pulled Dick’s left arm over his shoulders, wrapped his own arm around Dick’s waist, and they started forward. Dick leaned most of his weight against him, but Jason didn’t care at this point. It was better than carrying him.

Getting out of here, though, was probably going to be hell. But they had to.

After a short while, Dick apparently found enough breath to start talking sparsely again, but his voice was as tight with pain as his expression was, and Jason wondered if maybe he should tell the idiot to shut up or not. But just the thought of silence as they walked through the sewers made Jason want to let go of Dick and sprint forward, away from here, so he didn’t.

“I hid the kid in the safe house,” Dick breathed out as a conversation starter. “Called Oracle, too. She’s taking care of him until the Commissioner…can come pick him up.”

That made Jason feel a little better. “Did he go willingly?”

Dick‘s head drooped as he started to surrender a little more weight to Jason. Jason adjusted, and they kept going. “Kind of. I had to explain…the situation. He told us—" Dick laughs breathlessly. “He told us to kick his dad’s ass for him, though. Said if we didn’t, he’d do it himself.”

Jason huffed out an amused breath. “Wish I could have been there for that conversation.”

Dick hummed. “He reminded me of—of another spunky kid I knew. All he needed was a tire iron.”

“You weren’t even there for that,” Jason said, rolling his eyes.

“Didn’t have to be,” Dick teased. “I’ve heard the story enough to visualize it. Still can’t believe you smacked B with a tire iron.”

“I was a kid,” Jason defended himself. “And tires would have brought in a lot more money than begging. Especially those tires.”

Dick laughed again, but it had a slightly loopy quality to it, and he didn’t speak once he’d caught his breath. He was starting to lose the battle with consciousness, surrendering even more weight to Jason and barely picking up his feet as they moved forward. Jason didn’t say anything, though.

This was where the sewer opened up, and Jason could see their exit and zero bodyguards, so he figured they were pretty safe to climb up. Out, however, was a different story. They’d have to risk it, though, because Tim wouldn’t be able to find them otherwise.

“Okay, Goldie,” Jason said, shaking Dick back into what he hoped was awareness. Dick let out a pained breath and turned his head towards Jason, but didn’t speak. Jason swallowed and kept talking. “We’ve gotta climb out of here. The Replacement should be waiting on the streets above us, but I can’t get the both of us out of the sewers if you aren’t conscious. Do you think you can hold on?”

“Yeah,” Dick breathed, but it barely sounded coherent. Still, Dick shifted his arms to curl around Jason’s neck with a pained groan. His grip was tight enough that Jason took a deep breath, checked that his guns were reloaded, and started up the ladder.

It was a rough climb, that was for sure. Jason tried to go as fast as he could, because it was clear that Dick was starting to fade out again, but Dick as also heavy. Jason was about ready to die—again—by the time he pushed the manhole cover out of the way and out onto the street.

Out in the open night’s air, that unsettling feeling that had been crawling underneath Jason’s skin disappeared, so did Dick’s arms. They both laid on the pavement, Jason panting for breath and Dick most likely unconscious again at this point.

Jason couldn’t find it in him to care any less.

“Red Robin to Red Hood.”

“Go,” Jason said, trying to sound less exhausted than he felt. He wasn’t sure he succeeded but Tim didn’t comment on it.

“I’m tracking your GPS. ETA is about forty-five seconds.”

“There they are!” someone shouted from down the street and Jason groaned.

“Fucking hell,” he murmured. “Hurry up, Red.”

“Working on it,” was Tim’s annoyed reply, just as the gunshots started up again. Of course, it was too dark, and the goons were too far away to make any accurate shots based on how many bullets hit the sidewalk about twenty feet away from Jason, but the bullets could just as easily stray.

Twenty-five seconds. A long time when maniacs with guns were running straight at you and there was an unconscious vigilante you had to carry away from said gun-toting maniacs. Just as Jason was starting to push himself to his hands and knees, though, the Batmobile came screeching down the road from the other side, tires squealing as Tim rounded the armored car to act a shield from the men.

Jason sighed and slumped back down on the street below him. The door to the passenger side, which was closest to Jason and Dick, opened to reveal Tim, who hopped out immediately.

“Help me get him into the car,” Tim demanded, and Jason did as he was told. He was too tired and wound up to snap back. Together, they managed to drag Dick into the car and situated in the backseat. Tim climbed back in, Jason following after, just as the bodyguards made it to the Batmobile.

Tim stepped on the gas, and soon they were speeding through the city at eighty miles per hour, leaving the bodyguards far behind. Jason sighed and slumped into the passenger seat, taking off his helmet.

The silence in the car was palpable, and Jason couldn’t help but snap a sharp, “What,” at Tim.

“What was that?” Tim asked, gripping the steering wheel far too tight.

“What was what?”

“That!” Tim cried out, gesturing with one hand to the streets of Robbinsville they’d already left far behind them. “What did I just bail you and Dick out of?!”

Jason shrugged. “We were taking out a drug lord who was targeting a bunch of kids.”

“Taking him out,” Tim repeated. “You were going to kill him.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Probably,” Jason admitted. No use in denying it now. “Maybe not tonight. Why do you even care? I get why Batman would, but—"

“You’re kidding, right?” Tim yelled, cutting Jason off. He peeled his cowl off and turned wide eyes towards Jason. The kid looked—Jason thought he’d sounded angry, but Tim looked more scared than anything. “I just had to bail on Steph and Cass to save your sorry ass. I honestly wouldn’t even care if it were just you doing something stupid—”

“Contrary to popular belief,” Jason bit out, “I do know what I’m doing.”

“—but you went and dragged Dick into it!” Tim spoke over him, “who was supposed to be helping me, Steph, and Cass catch the Arkham escapees. We were a man short, and because I had to come bail you out, they’re down two people!”

“I didn’t force Dick into helping me, you know,” Jason said, a tinge of bitterness in his tone. “Goldie’s a big kid who made his own decision to ditch you guys.”

“Oh, I’ll deal with Dick when he’s conscious.” Tim’s grip on the steering wheel tightened even further, and he sped up, pushing almost one hundred mph. “But it was idiotic for you two to take on a case without at least telling someone where you were and what you were doing!”

“You can’t—"

Tim wasn’t listening, though. “But because you two decided to go off on your own without telling anyone, Dick’s hurt and no one even knew you needed help! You both could have been killed and nobody would have known until it was too late! God, I thought you actually learned something from the time you went off and got yourself—"

Tim cut himself, leaving the Batmobile in complete silence. Jason was honestly a little shocked. Tim sounded like he was channeling Dick, Bruce, and Alfred, all at the same time, and Jason wasn’t sure how to take it.

This was shy little Timmy? Sarcastic and exhausted to the point of bluntness, Jason got, but there was something of a leader in that voice. He sounded just like Dick did when he reprimanded Jason back when he was Robin. Or Dick leading the Titans way back when Jason got to hang out with them a few times.

Maybe it was all that time Tim spent with his team or whatever, but Tim was yelling at Jason like he was twelve, and he’d almost mentioned Jason going off and getting himself killed, and Jason didn’t appreciate either of those things at that moment.

Tim’s expression crumpled before Jason could ground anything out in response. “Will you just—Will you check on Dick? Make sure he’s okay? He’s too quiet.”

Jason let out a breath and compressed his anger, focused it towards being helpful. He could argue with Tim later, when Dick wasn’t passed out and bleeding in the back of the Batmobile.

“Fine,” he said, and he climbed into the backseat, where Dick was sprawled out across the seats, his mouth slack. Jason tapped a cheek experimentally, but Dick’s didn’t even twitch. So, Jason went about addressing the wounds. None of them had bled through the pressure bandages very much, which proved Jason’s theory that Dick wasn’t going to bleed out any time soon.

He took off his gloves, and with relatively clean hands, he peeled back each pressure bandage slowly, carefully, and checked each wound. He checked the shoulder wound last, and he was just about to push the bandage back down when he noticed—

Jason sucked in a sharp breath.

“What?” Tim asked, his heck craned towards Jason, but his eyes stayed on the road. “What is it? Is he okay?”

Jason breathed out, closing his eyes, because Bruce was going to kill him, and then Damian and Tim and everybody else Dick was friends with—which was a lot of people, so there would be a line of people waiting to just pummel him. He would probably deserve it, too.

Dick wouldn’t kill him, though, but that might just be because he wouldn’t be able to. Not with an injury like this.

“Jason?” Tim asked, his voice small.

“I think you need to get to Leslie’s,” Jason finally said. “Now.”

“Why?” Tim asked, taking a sharp turn and speeding towards Leslie’s clinic. “What’s wrong with him? Is he—he’s not going to die, right?”

“No,” Jason said, stripping off his leather jacket and using it to keep Dick’s right arm immobilized to his chest. Jason was just making all sorts of mistake today, and the self-loathing that tightened his throat was almost overwhelming. “But his shoulder—it’s bad. The sooner we get to Leslie’s, the better.”

Tim stepped on the gas, and Jason held Dick down, the rest of the ride to the clinic was spent in silence.

Two hours later, after Tim dropped Jason and Dick off at Leslie’s and then left to back Steph and Cass up again, Jason was sitting next to Dick’s bedside, his face in his hands.

This was so completely fucked up. Dick shouldn’t be unconscious, shouldn’t have had a bullet surgically removed from his shoulder, shouldn’t have been lying here unconscious and in pain.

But he was. All al because Jason couldn’t stop for two minutes and think.

And of course, that was when Bruce—Batman—walked in. He didn’t say anything to Jason at first, and Jason appreciated it when all he did was pull back his cowl and sit down next to Jason, staring at Dick’s unconscious face (from painkillers this time, Leslie had assured him, not because of the pain).

The sat there for a while, but with each minute that ticked past, Jason felt the tension grow stronger and stronger. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Aren’t you going to yell at me?” Jason asked, barely a hint of heat in his voice.

“No,” said Bruce, still not looking at Jason. He kept his steady gaze on Dick, and he didn’t elaborate.

“It was my fault, you know,” Jason continued, not sure why he was trying to get Bruce to be—something, he didn’t know. Mad, betrayed, sad, anything but this weird calm blankness. “I came up with the plan. I refused to call for backup. I didn’t immobilize his arm when I should have, and now he’s—”

Jason let out a frustrated breath, and they lapsed back into silence, but Jason was never one for silences when it came to Bruce. It was easier when there was yelling, but with Bruce not saying anything, Jason was having a hard time staying in control of himself. He wanted to punch or kick or shoot something, and for once, it wasn’t Bruce he wanted to do that to.

It was himself.

“Why aren’t you angry?” Jason asked again, even quieter this time.

“I’m furious,” Bruce told him, and Jason closed his eyes, a lump in his throat he hadn’t known still existed making itself known. It had been so long since he’d felt like he could disappoint Bruce like this and feel it. He hated it. “I’m furious that you two made such a rookie mistake. But yelling at you isn’t going to help right now.”

Jason opened his eyes again, swallowing past the lump, and said, “I guess not.”

Dick moaned in pain then, and both Jason and Bruce were on their feet.

Dick’s eyes cracked open, his baby blues bright with pain and hazed from medication. The fingers of his good hand spasmed wildly, like he was searching for something to hold onto, and Jason could only watch as Bruce slipped his hand into Dick’s, squeezing lightly.

“Dick?” Bruce asked lightly.

“Dad.” Dick’s voice was halfway between a sob and a plea, and Jason felt something in his chest tighten at the sound of it. He’d never heard Dick sound so broken before. Dick opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it once more before he was able to choke out, “Bruce, it hurts.”

“I know,” Bruce hushed him, using his other hand to sweep Dick’s sweaty hair back from his forehead, and Jason stepped back to make it easier for Bruce to crowd Dick’s space. “I know it hurts, Chum, but I’m here.”

Dick’s face crumpled up, and then there were tears streaming down his face as he looked up at Bruce’s face. Jason hoped it was just the medication that was making Dick like this, because Jason didn’t like watching Dick break down. It was like watching a city wall topple. A wall that Jason hadn’t realized could actually be broken down.

“The boy,” Dick whispered. “And Jason—”

“Jason’s fine,” Bruce told Dick. “And the Sommers boy is with Jim and Barbara. The police picked up Darren Sommers, too. Everything’s fine.”

Jason threw a look at Bruce. “But his shoulder—”

“—will be fine,” Bruce told him. “There weren’t any complications, and as long as we keep an eye on it, he should be able to start physical therapy in a few months.”

“Jason,” Dick whispered, his grip on Bruce’s hand visibly tightening. He didn’t look like he was following anything very well, his eyes still hazy with drugs he was on. He looked like he was seconds from sleep. “Jason was with me.”

“Relax, Dickiebird,” Jason said, leaning forward slightly so Dick could see him without moving too much. “I’m right here.”

Dick relaxed his hold then, and every ounce of energy left in his body at that moment seemed to fade, and then he rolled his head towards Bruce and whispered, “Don’t leave.”

“I won’t,” Bruce promised, and that seemed to be enough for Dick, because within seconds, he was asleep.

Jason ran his fingers through his hair, blowing out a breath. It had been a long night, and he definitely wasn’t going to leave Dick’s side when it was his fault Dick was even in this state. He sat back down heavily in his chair, and Bruce was letting go of Dick’s hand and sitting down next to him a moment later.

“You really got the guy?” Jason asked.

“Yes,” Bruce said, an edge of hardness in his tone. “They picked him up in Robbinsville, and the police have enough evidence collected against him to put him away. And his son will be living with his aunt in Metropolis.”

“That’s good.” Jason didn’t know what else to say.

Bruce was silent for a moment before he looked at Jason, who met his gaze evenly. He wasn’t one to back down from a fight, especially not against Bruce, no matter how much he knew this was his fault.

“Can you just tell me what you were thinking?” Bruce finally asked. “Why didn’t you tell anyone what you were doing? And why was Dick with you instead of with Tim and Cassandra?”

Jason tensed. “I don’t control Dick, you know.”

“He went with you for a reason, Jason,” Bruce told him, his voice calm, but Jason could hear the anger in his tone.

Maybe it was just his imagination, but it made that lump in Jason’s throat make itself known again, and he felt like he was twelve goddamn years old again, grounded because he’d made a rookie mistake and could have gotten him or someone else killed in the lapse of judgement.

The worst part was that he was completely right. Jason had made such a rookie mistake. Dick had come with him and wanted to call for backup, but Jason hadn’t let him. Jason had been so blinded by his anger that he’d thrown himself into the situation without stopping to think, and Dick had gone with him.

“I think,” Jason sighed, slumping back in his chair and letting his head hit the wall behind him with an audible thump, “that Dick was worried I was going to do something stupid. Guess he was right.”

“He was worried about you,” Bruce said, and he sounded tired and resigned.

Jason stared at the ceiling for a moment longer before he said, “Yeah. He tried to call backup, too, and I told him only in an emergency. The stupid idiot went along with my stupid plan anyways, and look where it got him.”

“Dick will be fine.”

It sounded like a practiced line, and Jason swallowed the anger that threatened to rise up. How often did Bruce say that in the face of one of his soldiers getting hurt? Did he say that while looking for Jason, only to find Jason dead?

“Yeah,” Jason said instead of voicing his thoughts. “Dick’ll be fine.”

“I’m getting you a new communicator,” Bruce said out of the blue.

Jason snorted. “Sorry, B, mine’s not broken.”

“It doesn’t connect to our private channel, though.” Bruce was giving Jason an odd look, something almost unsteady in his gaze. “The new one will. You radio if you need help.”

“I can take care of myself,” Jason hissed, sitting up abruptly. “I don’t need you to look after me like I’m some little kid—”

“It’s for emergencies,” Bruce interrupted, his gaze moving from Jason back to Dick, and Jason deflated, realizing the issue. “Radio if you need help.”

Jason forced himself to breathe. “Fine,” he ground out. “I’ll call one of you if I need help.”

Bruce nodded. “Good.”

And that seemed to be it. No yelling. No spitting words of hate and anger in the heat of the moment that they’d both probably regret only hours later. No glares or disappointed looks. Just acceptance and then silence.

Jason, though, didn’t want to break it anymore. The quiet moment, sitting here next to Dick’s bedside together without fighting, gave Jason a moment to breathe. To think.

And Jason thought that maybe receiving a new comm. wouldn’t be so bad. It may even be a step forward from this stupid dance he and Bruce seemed to be doing around each other, the one where they both got angry and refused to help each other. Maybe with a comm., Jason might even be inclined to use it.

“Thanks,” Jason said at last.

“Thank me by using it,” Bruce told him.

Jason nodded. “But only for emergencies.”

Maybe this meant things were getting better between them, and for once, that didn’t sound so bad.

#jason todd #dick grayson #tim drake #bruce wayne #dc #camryn writes #shuddering darkness

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