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confessedlyfannish · 7 months

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DP x DC Prompt #7

Robin is heretofore thought to be alone when he swings his katana behind him, almost catching the Adam's apple of his mother's new lover.

"Whoopsie!" Danny says, taking an agile step back, as if Robin's slice was a slip of the hand rather than a deliberate and likely fatal attack.

"What are you doing here," Robin demands, mask hiding the momentary widen of his eyes. No one sneaks up on the heir of Batman, least of all his mother's latest toy.

"I wanted to chat, just you and I," Danny says, as if they are standing on a sidewalk and not the rooftop of a forty floor building in the dead of night, Robin in full costume. "I know you were kinda caught off guard yesterday night."

"I was not caught off guard."

This is a lie. Yesterday night when Talia had appeared at the latest Wayne Charity Ball as the date of Daniel Fenton, an up-and-coming name in renewable energy, Father's dumbfounded look had been nothing less than genuine.

And even the Annoyance had choked on his non-alcoholic champagne when Talia had instructed Damian to greet his "new stepfather".

"Talia," Danny had said levelly, running a hand over hers placed delicately in the crook of his arm, "Remember how we were going to break this gently?"

"Darling, Al Ghuls do not require a gentle break," Talia had replied.

"What is happening," Tim had quietly muttered, squinting at the contents of his glass suspiciously. "What."

Tonight Danny is as calm as he was the previous night, looking amused if anything. Damian resists the urge to take another swing at him. Mother would probably not like that. Danny's affections towards her had seemed quite genuine, his eyes often on her with a light Damian reluctantly recognized from Grayson's many dalliances. And dare he say it, Mother had seemed to reciprocate.

"My mistake. Still," Danny says, "I was hoping to speak with you alone."

"I do not require another father," Damian says promptly. This is true. He already has a father, and a Grayson, and the other annoyances, and Alfred. "And you should not be speaking to a...minor...without their guardian present." He does not like saying this, as he is fully capable of being his own guardian, but Dick had been adamant once updated by Tim and Barbara that should Damian come in contact with Danny alone he was to say as such. He had extracted a promise from Damian after a high-pitched lecture via video call going on nigh an hour. Damian had been waterboarded, twice, and would have preferred a third time to one of Grayson's seminars on "stranger danger" and "parental custody". It had prevented him from going on patrol with Batman, who had left shortly after the gala, presumably to meet with his mother.

Batman had not succeeded, returning without a word. Red Hood, cackling, had pulled up behind him to congratulate Damian on his new "daddy" and loudly tell Oracle how Bruce had gotten an eyeful. An eyeful of what, Damian wasn't sure, and asking only made Jason laugh harder and Dick yell from the Batcomputer.

"Good thing I'm speaking to Robin, then," Danny says with a grin. Damian updates his mental file on the man to less of a goody two-shoes than previously thought. "And like I said last night, I'm not here to overstep."

"Then?" Robin asks crossing his arms.

"You and I are a lot alike, actually," Danny says. Despite the chill of the night, wind whipping at his hair, he seems very comfortable in his t-shirt and jeans.

Damian scoffs and Danny holds his hands up.

"Okay, I deserved that one. What I mean is, and bear with me here, I had a lot going on when I was your age, and my parents weren't always super...present. Their work kept them pretty distracted as we got older and more independent."

The background check they'd run indicated Danny's parents were scientists, his sister a therapist and women's self-defense instructor. The man himself had nothing remarkable on his record beyond a public intoxication charge in his early twenties, but that hardly meant anything. Talia Al Ghul's public record was nothing short of exemplary, one of the many facts that had made the judge reluctant to grant Bruce full custody.

"And listen, I know the way I was raised in the midwest is vastly different from your upbringing, and comparing the two would likely be condescending and a disservice to you, but I also know that while I liked my independence, I wish I had been able to talk to my parents more when things got tough."

"I fail to understand what you are saying," Damian says flatly. "Are you instructing me to speak to my parents as you believe I am having a hard time? And your basis for this incredibly incorrect hypothesis is you were once a teenager whose parents were neglectful? Also, this is certainly overstepping."

Danny's smile is sheepish. "It is, isn't it?"

Damian turns to leave.

"What I'm trying to say," Danny says loudly. "Is that I intend to stay in Gotham. I have some things I need to see to here so I'll be here a while.

"And this is important to me because--"

"Talia will be staying." When Damian continues to stare at him blankly, he clarifies: "With me. Here. I mean, we definitely will go on a honeymoon at some point, even though I'm not sure we're actually married no matter what Talia says about that ceremony--"

"Tt. Grandfather will never let Mother simply galavant around."

"You don't need to worry about Ra's any more," Danny says, straightening. His voice is firm and certain. "He won't be bothering you or your mother."

"That's impossible," Damian says sharply.

"You can ask Talia yourself." Danny pulls out a card. "This is the hotel we're staying at. Room 805. You are right that you definitely shouldn't come without your father's permission, but if he's alright with it please feel free."

Danny takes a step closer, and if Damian's quick grip on his katana bothers him he doesn't show it.

"I mean it Robin. I'm not saying Talia's going to petition for joint custody, and I'll make sure Batman knows that as well. I just want you to know she's here. If you ever want to...see her."

He holds out the card until Damian plucks it from his hand with a growl.

"And also, Damian?"

"What?" Damian snaps.

"Your mom talks about you all the time. I think she'd like to see you too."

"Tt." Damian says, eyes darting down to the card. When they flick back up, Danny is gone.

Damian pulls a quick 360, sword drawn, but the man is nowhere to be seen.

"Robin," Batman says in his comm. "Need you on the west docks."

His comm line was open the whole time, he realizes, but Oracle is uncharacteristically silent. A further investigation shows no time has passed since Danny arrived at the roof. Only the card clenched in his fist indicates he was ever there.

"On my way," Damian says, sheathing his weapon.

Hmph. Of course. His mother is no fool, least of all in her selection of lovers.

Upon arriving at the cave later that night, Damian exits the clock at the rear of the group.

"Father," he says as he clears the threshold. "I wish to spend time with Mother and Stepfather at their earliest convenience. Perhaps tomorrow after school."

Everyone stops still, turning to look back at him. Tim pauses mid-stretch, Steph's jaw drops, and Cassie smiles pleasantly at him. Even Alfred, a tray of freshly baked cookies in hand, blinks at him.

Bruce's mouth opens and closes, wordlessly.

"Absolutely not!" Dick Grayson screeches from the other end of the hallway, dufflebag in hand. Behind him Jason grasps the doorway, doubled over in laughter.

#dick ain't no one bad touching my baby grayson #danny: I think it's important I meet your son #talia: why tho #batman #batfam #in case it wasn't clear bruce thought this was some sort of trap #then accidentally peeped on two newly wedded people getting it on #damian wayne #talia al ghul #danny phantom #danny fenton #dp x dc #dp x dc au #dp x dc prompt #I also subscribe to the concept where this is a diff dimension #danny's been alive for a millenia #and talia is sam reincarnated #puppy dog stepdad ghost god loves his goth assassin single mom gf #my writing

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wolfjackle-creates · 1 year

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I'll Carry Your Heart with Me (Until I Find You Again): Part 3

And this is the third and final part of my hundred follower celebratory writing. The fic will continue past this, but it will be a while before I can return to it. I want to get back to Ghost!Robin and Bring Me Home first. This was a blast to write, though.

The angst starts here. Parts 1 and 2 were fun and fluffy. But things take a turn here. And it'll be quite a while before our boys can get back to happier times.

Mostly Jason POV with a short section from Danny's.

3.8k words. There wasn't a great place to break it up.

First, Previous

----------

Jason sighed as Danny flew out of his range of awareness, leaving him alone in his lair again. Though… he touched his lips which still tingled with cold and smiled to himself. At least this time he was left with some pleasant memories.

Turning his back to the swirling void, he entered the brick building that housed the most important parts of his home from before. Ignoring the kitchen, he walked through a door and into his bedroom. It was the only place he had yet to show Danny.

Though maybe he should change that?

He flopped down on his bed and touched his lips again before rolling over and burying his face in his pillow. God, he felt like a teenage girl. Was this why Dick liked to meet up with girls? Jason had kissed girls a few times before, but with Danny… It just felt so much better.

Maybe it was because his mouth was cool? Kissing him felt like a drink of fresh spring water on a hot day. Or perhaps it was the way they could project their feelings while kissing. And not needing to breathe was definitely nice.

He sighed and moved until he was staring up at the ceiling. How in all the realms was Danny interested in him? A dumb kid who got in over his head and died because of it.

Danny was still alive, too. With a sigh, he pushed himself up. He didn’t want his thoughts to go this way—he wanted to bask in their first kisses some more.

Would Danny get too old for him?

Alfred would have been able to set him right. Let him know if this was doomed from the start or if he might actually have something. And Dick… Well, first he’d tease. But after. They’d go to the gym and when he was tired out and sweaty, they’d go and get milkshakes or something and Dick would give surprisingly helpful advice. The type he couldn’t quite bring himself to ask Alfred or Bruce.

Bruce would be insufferable, of course. He’d insist on researching everything he could about Danny. Would probably stalk him, too. But after he was convinced Danny wasn’t trying to take advantage, he’d tell Jason to invite him for dinner. He thought they’d probably get along, too. While their personalities were quite different, their morals were a perfect match.

But no. He’d never get any of that. Because he had to be an idiot and die.

Though… did death have to be permanent? Danny had come back after all. And hadn’t several members of the Justice League died at one point before returning to life?

Could he do that?

Restless now, he got out of bed and made his way to the gym. These were the types of thoughts that only made sense when he was doing something physical. One routine in particular was his “thinking routine.” His dad would always call Alfred in if he saw Jason doing this one. How would he be able to come back?

Most of the stories he heard required something happen to the body on Earth. But he didn’t have that option. He was limited to the Infinite Realms. But… these lands were infinite. There had to be someone or something here that could help him. Maybe there’d be some information in Ghost Writer’s lair? What other ghosts had Danny told him about?

And then he remembered: Desiree. He froze, leg in the air as he was halfway through a kick. If he’d still been human, he would’ve fallen on his face.

Desiree had been able to rewrite reality so that Danny and Sam had never met. In doing so, she’d erased his death from ever happening. If she could do that, bringing Jason back from the dead would have to be a piece of cake. So long as he phrased his wish correctly.

Now that he had a new mission, he fell out of his fighting stance and made his way to the library. He had a wish with a genie to craft.

-----

With how time never seemed to work right in the Realms, Jason wasn’t sure how long it took him to craft his wish. But he finally had it. And this one shouldn’t backfire on him.

I wish I was alive again with a healthy body and intact mind.

Though he did continue trying to think it through. Would it be possible to twist this one? If it was, Desiree would find away. At least if Danny’s stories could be believed. And Ember and Kitty insisted that Danny downplayed his stories more than anything.

Which was hard to believe, even as a former Robin.

Now he had to find Desiree. And as much as he wracked his brain, he didn’t think Danny had given him any sort of clue as to where her lair might be located. And he didn’t want to just ask someone straight out. They’d try and dissuade him from going. Even worse since the only ghosts he really knew were ones Danny introduced him to. Apparently it was normal for a ghost to not leave their lair much for the first few years after death, so he hadn’t yet done much exploring of the Realms.

Though Danny had once tried to sketch him a vague map. Apparently things in the Realms had a tendency to move around a lot, but clusters did form among people of similar background. Medieval European ghosts clustered together in one area, Kryptonians could be found somewhere else, and so on.

Now, where did the ghosts from the Middle East gather? He looked over the map Danny had given him and chewed his lip as he tried to figure out where things were in relation to him. No sun or cardinal directions made it so much harder to orient anything. Which was probably the point.

But he did have some anchors to recognize. After being to Ghost Writer’s domain, he could find that again. And he’d once gone to visit Kitty and Johnny with Danny. So that was another point of reference.

Finally, he thought he had at least enough of an idea to get close. It would have to do, though Bruce would have insisted on more research.

But Bruce wasn’t here which was the entire point.

Well, that and he didn’t want Danny to get older and not want to date or kiss him anymore. It’d be fine for a few years, but what about when Danny was twenty or forty or whatever and Jason was still the same fifteen year old kid?

He shook his head. That didn’t matter because he’d be able to grow up, too. Dick would be there to tease him about his boyfriend. And Alfred would give him a hug and his favorite meal. And Bruce would help him finish school and get into a good college and would celebrate every passing grade with him.

With those pleasant thoughts, he exited his lair. He gave it one last look before setting off in the direction he believed would lead him to Desiree.

He hadn’t been traveling very long when he approached a lair who’s ghost was sending off such strong stay-away vibes that Jason was forced to go around. Putting him quite far off course. The ghost must have been strong to control such a large area of the Zone.

Gritting his teeth, he tried to reorient himself to get back on track.

Which is when he heard a menacing chuckle from behind him. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the whelp’s friend. You’d make such good bait. With you at the center of my trap, I may actually catch the boy and finally get his pelt for my wall.”

Jason spun, Robin costume appearing as he did. Behind him, his cape flared. “And you must be Skulker. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“I’m sure you have.” Although his face was just a mecha suit, it grinned viciously. “But you will not find me so easy to escape.” Compartments on Skulker’s shoulders opened and a flurry of small missiles flew out at him.

A wave of Jason’s hand brought up a shield that easily deflected the projectiles. He turned invisible and quickly changed position, sending his own ectoblasts back at Skulker. After months of sparing with Danny, he knew how to handle himself in a ghost fight. He could even hold his own against Johnny when he came to visit.

Of course, fighting with Skulker was not on the agenda for today. He just wanted to get to Desiree.

“Can’t you see that I have better things to do today? Go bug Ember or something!” shouted Jason.

The only response he got was another missile sent his way. Only this one tracked him. Reaching into his core, Jason sent out a burst of flame, exploding it before it could get too close. There had to be something he could do to end this battle sooner rather than later.

At the very least, he could get some distance between himself and Skulker. He retreated a bit, wishing that the Realms had more cover instead of being mostly open void.

And then he felt it. The stay-away feeling from the lair he’d avoided earlier. Skulker shouted something else, though Jason didn’t bother to pay attention to the words. Instead, he made his way closer to the lair. To his satisfaction, Skulker followed.

It wouldn’t do to project his own presence, so Jason pulled in on his power, keeping it coiled tightly around his core. He focused hard on not projecting any emotions. Danny taught him how to hide his presence from other ghosts in order to prank Dani who had tagged along to visit.

Now, to make Skulker really mad. Jason turned to face his attacker and stuck out his tongue and waved his hands next to his head. “Na, na, na, na, na, na!” he called.

“Whelp!” roared the other ghost as he pulled out a huge bazooka and shot several blasts.

Jason immediately turned invisible and pulled his aura in even tighter, flying away from his position as fast as possible.

Not even a moment later, a loud booming voice called out, “Who disturbs my peace?”

Jason didn’t wait to see what sort of ghost it was, he just focused on escaping. After who-knows-how-long flying, he slowed down and looked around. He couldn’t see Skulker anywhere. More cautiously, he let his aura expand again. There were some ghosts around, but none of them felt aggressive or seemed to pay him any mind.

Now he had to figure out where he was and how far off course he’d gotten. Looking around, the doors and buildings he could see all looked old. Stone walls and thatched roofs. Weathered wooden doors. So he was in the territory of older ghosts. Excellent. Though the architecture definitely looked more European than Middle Eastern.

He pushed on. No way was he going to turn back now.

After passing who knows how many lairs, he stopped for a moment to try and get his bearings. Obviously just continuing on was not going to work.

“Thine garb is unlike any I have seen,” commented a voice from behind him.

Jason spun and came face-to-face with an elderly woman who he couldn’t help but describe as matronly. Her dress was extremely old and she had a head wrap, though wisps of shadow instead of hair were just visible under the fabric.

“No, ma’am. I’m just passing through.”

“A pilgrimage? Where dost thou go?”

“I… yeah. I’m on a pilgrimage. I’m trying to find the Middle Eastern ghosts. Er… Constantinople? The Ottoman Empire?” He had no ideas what the countries would have been called back when this woman had been alive and hoped he got wasn’t completely off. “In life, I had some teachers from that area and I wanted to see if I could learn more in death.”

She nodded in understanding. “Much can be learned in death that life left no time for. But thou hast been turned around. Thine destination is not in this direction.”

“Can you direct me?”

She smiled. “Certainly.”

Though once she started explaining the path, Jason sent out a few curses to the ancients. Why couldn’t things stay still in the Realms? From their current position, he was supposed to go down until he came to a lair which was a stone tower that flew red flags. Then he had to spin in a circle clockwise five times. When he stopped, he might be facing Queen Dora’s city. In that case, he had to fly in the opposite direction.

But he might also end up facing a fortress made of black stones and guarded by skeletons. If that happened, he should go left. If he found himself facing a forest with a waterfall, he should continue straight past it.

And for each option, another half dozen instructions followed. Thank the ancients Bruce had tested him on memorizing complicated directions constantly as Robin. He wasn’t sure how else he would have found the way.

“Thank you,” he said once she had finished.

“May thine journey bring thee peace.” And she was gone.

Jason repeated her instructions, going straight down until he saw the tower with the red flags. He spun. And found himself facing a medieval European city with a black and purple dragon flying in circles over it. On her head was a golden crown: Queen Dora. He turned his back to the city and flew in the opposite direction.

It took so long to come across the next landmark he was told to look out for that he was afraid he had done something wrong. But he had no other guide, so he kept going.

And eventually he found it. And the next one. And the one after that.

And finally, he noticed a change in the architecture. The towers became more graceful. The materials they were made of changed.

“Desiree!” he called.

No one answered. He kept going.

Every so often he would call her name. He let his aura spread to see if he could sense any powerful ghosts. The few ghosts that were around disappeared as soon as they heard her name leave his mouth.

For the first time, he started to wonder if this was a bad idea.

Just when he was about to give it up and turn around, a presence made itself known.

Amusement, curiosity, entertainment surrounded him.

The mix of emotions sent a jolt of fear up his spine. It felt so similar to how The Joker would laugh when he got them in a trap. How he laughed when he laid that last trap; the glee he projected as he smashed Jason’s bones with a crowbar.

“Who calls me?” echoed a woman’s voice in the void around him.

Jason forced his back to remain straight as he faced the direction he could sense the presence in. “My name is Jason! Jason Todd and I have a wish.”

Smoke gathered before him forming into a giant woman with long black hair and bright green skin. She smiled at him; it sent shivers down Jason’s spine. “Lucky for you, wishes are my domain. What do you wish for, Jason Todd?”

If he still had a heart, it would be beating fast in his chest. As it was, he was glad he didn’t have to breathe. Far easier to hide how much he was starting to regret this journey.

But no. He needed to do this. All his reasons for being here still existed. It was far too late to turn back now. “I wish I was alive again with a healthy body and mind intact.”

“So you have wished it, so shall it be!” Desiree waved her hands and Jason was surrounded in a wave of power. It twined around him. He was spinning and wind tore at his clothes. He slammed his eyes shut as laughter echoed in the tornado. He curled up, trying to protect himself from the unrelenting power.

And then everything was silent. It was dark and he was lying on his back. He pushed up and yelped when his head hit something hard right above his head. Where was he? What was going on? He banged on the top of the box he was in.

He needed out. He pushed and screamed. Something shifted and he pushed harder. It was cold, why was it so cold? Something broke above his head and he coughed as dust fell into his mouth. He closed his eyes and mouth tight and kept pushing. The surface gave. It poured down on him, but he pushed his way up.

Nothing could keep him trapped. Never again. When had he been trapped before? Where was he? He pushed through and his hand reached the other side of whatever he’d been trapped in. He pushed more. His other hand was free. He grasped and pulled himself free.

And finally he could breathe. And see. Someone was supposed to be here. Where were they? Why hadn’t they come for him? He needed to find them. They were here. They had to be. They wouldn’t have abandoned him. Not again.

Where were they? Where Were They?!

He pulled himself up. He stumbled. He kept going. He had to find them. The person, people?, who were supposed to be here. Why weren’t they here?

He took one step after another. They were nearby. A person! Right ahead! Was that them? No. It wasn’t. They were wrong! Why were they here? He pushed them away. They weren’t supposed to be here. They weren’t the right person. He kept going.

But everyone he found was not right. Why weren’t they right? Where were they?

The world got brighter. More people came out. They still weren’t right. It got dark. Where was he? Why was everything wrong?

Another wrong person. He tried to punch them. Only this time, his fist didn’t connect. They said something. The voice was wrong. He tried to kick, but that was stopped to. More people surrounded him.

His arms were pinned back. Then his legs. He couldn’t move. Why couldn’t he move? He tried to scream. Something was shoved in his mouth. He couldn’t scream. He struggled. He needed to get free. He needed to find the right person. Where were they? Where were they?

The world went black. When it lightened again, he saw a pool of green.

Green was safe. Green meant home and peace and an end to the fighting and the fear and the pain. He struggled, needing to get to it. But he couldn’t move his arms and his legs. And people were touching him. Surrounding him. Still the wrong people.

He thrashed and tried to scream. He wanted the right people. And suddenly he could move again. The people ran away from him. But that was fine. He didn’t want them near him. His legs hurt. And walking felt strange. But he stumbled forward. He needed to get to the green.

He sunk down deep and let the green take over. He breathed it in and everything made sense. This was right. This was home. The woman who brought him here was the right person. She was green and green was peace.

But when the green faded, all he saw was red. Red all over his hands and his arms and his clothes.

And he was so, so cold.

-----

Less than a week after their date (yes Jazz, he could admit it was a date now) at Ghost Writer’s lair, Danny returned to spend more time with his boyfriend. His boyfriend.

Only… when he got there, Jason’s lair was empty and abandoned. The island was entirely gone, leaving just the door. When he opened it, a layer of dust covered everything. The kitchen was filled with moldy food. Water overflowed the blocked sink. He floated above the floor, not wanting to step in the mess. What had happened? Where was Jason? The library. He had to be there. His hand shook as he turned the doorknob.

The mess in the library was almost worse. All the books had been knocked off their shelves and lay haphazardly all over the floor—spines broken and pages torn and bent. Jason hated damaging a book.

“No. No,” he whispered. This wasn’t real. A ghost’s lair reflected their state of being. Jason was okay. He had to be.

He backed out of the library. The gym. Jason always went there when he was upset. Only the gym was empty, too. It was in just as awful of shape. The punching bag had been split and it’s sand spilled over the floor. The weights were tossed about, the floor cracked under where they’d fallen.

There was only one more room. The only room Danny had never been in before.

With shaking hands, he opened the door to Jason’s bedroom. Clothes were strewn around the floor, torn and dirty. The bed was messy, but something was glowing under the covers.

He let himself land on the floor. He needed the connection to the world. Nothing felt real. The clothes piled on the floor meant his footsteps were silent, though his breaths echoed loud in his ears. It seemed to take forever to reach the bed.

His hand shook as he reached for the blankets and pulled them back one by one. Under the last one he saw what looked like a smoldering, black coal.

Jason’s core.

“No.”

Danny instinctively took a step back. That couldn’t be Jason. It couldn’t. He didn’t know how long he stared at the burning coal. He had to move. He stepped forward again and sunk to his knees by the bed. He reached forward and gently touched the core. It was barely warm to his touch.

It should have been an inferno. Jason burned so brightly. His breath caught in his throat. He couldn’t breathe. He fell the rest of the way down, face pressed into the dirty, dusty sheets. He flared his aura.

The core felt like Jason. It was him.

Danny pushed himself up enough to cradle it gently in his hands. How could Jason be so small? He held him to his chest and curled around him. Whatever happened, he’d make it better. He’d find out who had hurt Jason and he’d make them pay.

His eyes burned and the world grew blurry as he cried, curled around Jason’s comatose form.

-----

So, don't @ me about the "intact mind" thing. I will address that later in the fic. I promise it's not a plot hole!

Tag List

@britcision, @echoednonny, @adorablechaos, @letoasai, @saphjack, @emergentpanda-blog

#dpxdc #danny fenton #jason todd #desiree (dp)#dead on main #angst #and now the happy times are over #jason and danny both have some long roads ahead of them #i apologize for butchering the early modern english i had the guide ghost speaking #things will get worse before they get better #but they will get better #they just have to earn their happy endings #i honestly planned to stop writing after the kiss #but the rest of this flowed so easily that i had to continue

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yetanothergreyjedi · 1 year

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Ghosts of Our Pasts

DP x DC crossover

Damian Wayne and Danny Fenton siblings AU

Parts 1 & 2 Part 3.

Part 4

He looked more like Bruce than Damian did, which felt right for the brother that had died leaving the assassins.

Danyal's stance was not a League of Assassin's stance. It could be that he was trying not to look openly hostile, but if Dick was honest, it reminded him most of Wonder Woman. Danyal stood like he might throw himself into the air with no expectation of gravity pushing him back down. Interesting, but de-escalation first.

"Richard Grayson," Dick introduced himself with a wave, "But you can call me Dick."

Danyal's lips did the little twitch that everyone's lips did when he told them his nickname. Daynal didn't relax yet though.

"Hi, Dick, I'm Danny."

"I'm Tim, but we established that... and you know Damian..."

The silence stretched.

"Well, if that's all you guys wanted..." Danny took a few steps backwards deeper into the alley, never letting any of them out of view.

"I should have gone with you." Damian said. It was an apology; though someone who didn't know him might not realize. "...I did not understand, not until I came here..."

Danny closed his eyes, looking away for the first time, clearly internalizing something in Damian's words. With every second, he seemed to realize that no attack was coming, and none was going to come.

"Maybe we should go back to the coffee shop?" Tim suggested, good. A neutral, public place would ease at least some of the tension.

Danny grimaced, a hand coming to rub the back of his neck. "Yeah, I sorta... I need to head back there..."

"Okay, cool," Dick said, as if the tension still didn't require tools to cut.

The walk back was an awkward mess of everyone trying to stay in Danny’s eyeline despite the crowd and him pretending he wasn't nervous when he couldn't see them. Dick had already decided that if Danny ran again, he was going to make sure they let him run. Chasing would only make him trust them less, and Danny wasn't a criminal (probably).

He gave them all an unreadable look as they re-entered the coffee shop. Dick wasn't sure what to make of it until an older bald man declared, "Mr. Fenton!"

"Sorry, Mr. Lancer..." Danny said, every bit a sheepish high-schooler. He sat down at the table he'd been at before the chase as the older man began a lecture about safety in big cities and staying with the group. Well... that complicated things.

The barista called Tim's drink.

---

"Are you good, man?" Tucker asked as soon as Lancer's attention went back to focusing on the group as a whole and not just their table.

"I think so, Tuck, but, uh... this... I don’t know, I don't think the just chilling plan is gonna work..."

"Is this related to Gotham? I thought she gave you permission?"

"She didn't just give me permission, Sam, she welcomed me... I know why now... its just complicated..."

"So... is that why the Wayne's were chasing you?" It was said like a joke.

Sam's eyes widened when he answered. "Yeah,"

Tucker stuttered out a confused mix of excited syllables, "Does that mean we get to meet—"

"Their just people, Tucker." Sam reminded, "Spoiled rich kids who at least manage to cause a scene at every other gala, so they get to rank slightly higher than all the other rich kids, because at least their not boring."

"Sam!" Tuckers exclamation caught Lancer's attention. The teacher called on them to restate what he had said. Sam guessed correctly, Tucker and Danny did not, and so the lecture started over.

Danny patiently waited for the lecture to end before whispering, "You guys know how I'm adopted..."

"Yeah..."

"So..." Danny gestured to the group of siblings that appeared to be arguing over... napkins? What were they doing?

"Wait, you know the Wayne's? Why didn't you ever say something?" Tucker exclaimed.

"Uh... well, the League of Assassins stuff..."

"Uh huh,"

"Actually, thats a bad way to explain it... my biological father is Batman."

"The Batman?!" For all of her 'people are just people' talk, Sam was too excited.

"Yes, and I can't fully explain all this without getting into identity stuff."

"Danny, Danny, Danny, first of all fair, but second, how far off is Wes?"

Danny tried very hard to not react to that. Which apparently was the same as saying yes, so he shushed them before they could start.

"I don't know how he connects to the League. This is more secret than mine, okay?"

They sobered, argued that phantom was equally important, but Danny didn't budge. So they excepted it as a weird obsession thing and agreed.

"Wait so, how did you not end up a Wayne kid?"

"The assassins have access to ectoplasm and I traded some for my parents to hide me."

"I hate that that tracks."

"To be fair, I didn't understand how actually messed up it was until later."

"Wait, so is Batman apart of..."

"I don't know, I thought he was. But the fact that I'm not stabbed right now is a good sign."

"You say that like you were planning on letting yourself get stabbed..."

Danny sighed, "It would be easier to fake my death... or like, actually die for a few days, than to resist and have them realize I'd require ending."

"Great." Sam said with forced cheer. "How are we modifying the vacation plans?"

Part 5

Tag list:

Next part is finished but is a bit short, I will not post 5 until I have 6 written and 6 is being mean to me.

Edit: Part six bit me, so it's in time out. But the draft is finished.

@spectralstardustandphantomnights @avelnfear @idfk-man10 @blackroserelina @candeartist422 @mur-ururu @luer-mirin @insufferablecatenthusiast @skulld3mort-1fan @alonedustspeck @voidbornposts @meira-3919 @marshmelloe @aethernorwood @mimilikey @undead-essence @cloudminder @markus209 @everything163 @latheevening226 @roman4517 @moobloomrights @battybatbat @lumosfeather18581 @werv @ahyesanerd @pyramaniac @lexdamo @princessbelix @bun-fish @deeannthepan @edgyboi10000 @thatrandomsarahchick @busterkeel @aconitewolfsbane @spoopyspoony @bright-shade @spidey29phangirl @idontgetpaidenoughforthisshit @keimiwolf @u-a-wizard-jamie @gay-puff @bicerise @itshype @blackfoxsposts @icanneverdecide @lolottes @chubbypotato @jovialherringtacoghost @saltyladynightmare

@pastalavistamf @mysoulspiralbound @mj-arts-n-stuff @andaspoonfulofangst-whoops @apointlessbox

Apparently there is a mention cap on posts, who knew! I will see about the best way to add anyone else.

#danny phantom #dp x dc #dp x dc crossover #Ghosts of Our Pasts #part 4 #grey writes

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stealingyourbones · 1 year

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So, I got this idea a while ago but I'm generally a slow writer so while I plan to do something with it, I thought I'd share it to see if anyone else liked the idea and wanted to play with it, too.

What if Fright Knight isn't the name of a specific ghost, but rather the position of body guard/General for the Ghost King? The one we meet in the show is who Pariah Dark chose.

I don't see Danny being ok with using the same Fright Knight as Pariah Dark. At all. So, in typical teen fashion, he ignores it and hopes he just won't have to deal with it. (He's also ignoring Clockwork's increasingly persistent demands he gets crowned.)

Flash forward and he's in Gotham. This could be part of a standard he gets adopted by Bruce Wayne fic. Maybe he and the bats know each other's secrets, maybe they don't. But Danny meets Jason for the first time and is all: "What the fuck brought you back to life?" This can be in front of the others for comedy or maybe he chases Jason down after the first meeting and does it in private for angst. Dealers choice.

Well, he drags Jason to the Far Frozen with half-baked explanations so Frostbite can fix his corrupted ectoplasm issue. And while there Jason gets a crash course in ghost biology.

With Danny in the Ghost Zone, Clockwork comes up and tries to force the coronation to happen. Takes one look at Jason and offers him the position of Fright Knight. Bribes him with the cool sword it comes with.

Jason accepts.

When they return to Gotham, Jason is super over protective of Danny. Mostly because he cured his pit rage, but also because it's his literal job now. He starts referring to Danny as King Brat or My Liege at all times.

If you like, he can also be all "Hey, dad" (some of his father issues went away with the pit rage) "So, I'm the general of an inter-dimensional army of beings that the US government has declared war on. I'm gonna have to fight on their side. So if we don't want an all out war waged on US soil, can we get the Justice League in on this to straighten things out?"

And Danny's like "No! No wars! I don't support this!"

And Jason is all "Sorry, My Liege, but my job is to keep you safe. And the US government attacked first. I don't need your permission to defend you and your people."

And everyone's just super confused until they all sit down with the League to go over the Anti-ecto laws.

Extra, extra bonus points. Jason helps create a study plan for Danny to learn the politics and history of the Ghost Zone along with finishing his normal schooling.

Ooooooo I enjoy your funky little mind thoughts sm.

Jason becoming Danny’s Fright Knight is something I dont think I’ve ever seen explored before. This is super cool.

It’d be neat to see the Fright Knight title slightly change Jason.

He’s now stronger, faster, able to think quicker, higher endurance, anything that could benefit him in martial or long range combat to protect his king? He gets a slight buff of said abilities. The title is something granted to one chosen person by the Ghost King, that position has a bit of ghost magic bullshittery tacked onto it.

Jason is much more alert and aware of Danny at all times, almost like a second sense. He’s extra protective because the title requires him to be but he also is extra protective because the Fright Knight title MAKES him protective. It’s an ingrained sense info his entire being now. Its his sworn duty to protect the King.

#danny phantom #dp x dc #dc comics #writing prompts #dp x dc prompt #dpxdc #bones replies #wolfjackle

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elizabethemerald · 1 year

Text

Son of the Red Hood: Part 3

Diana sat in her seat surrounded by her peers among the Justice League. It was a full meeting between the primary members of the League and the so-called Justice League Dark. The magic users were in the midst of informing the rest of the League about a minor demonic incursion that they had routed. The full meeting for such a minor event wasn’t strictly speaking necessary, however Batman did love to host these debriefs.

She let her eyes rove over the Bat for a moment before returning her focus to the Zatanna as she spoke. She wondered if he even knew he was harboring a powerful king trapped in the form of a child? Truly Kronos- Clockwork’s riddle was not so difficult to parse. She wondered if it were a requirement of his position that he give his advice in a manner that was as unclear as possible or if his many millenia were simply weighing on his mind.

Zatanna seemed to be wrapping up her part of the debrief and it looked like Batman was about to call the meeting adjourned. Before he could she leaned forward and cleared her throat. Bruce immediately turned his glare to her, not that she cared, he didn’t like the meetings he planned changing from the set itinerary.

“If I may,” she waited for Zatanna’s nod before she continued. “I was investigating a matter in the library of Themyscira when I came across a name. There was little other information available and the author spoke with great fear of the name. What do you know of a being known as Pariah Dark?”

Constantine had been trying to subtly sip from his flask as she spoke and when she dropped the name he spit his drink all over a very annoyed Flash. For how fast the man is capable of moving you would think he would be able to dodge a spit take.

“Where did you come across a name like that?” Constantine almost shouted, standing from his seat.

“In the archives of Themyscira. I just said that. Why? Have you heard of it before?”

“Pariah Dark is only one of the greatest world ending- no reality ending entities in existence!” Now he was shouting. Completely unnecessary, she was only a few feet away from him. Thankfully out of spitting range. “The King of Ghosts could make Trigun look like a child playing with matches. It took an entire council of the oldest and most powerful of his kind in order to defeat him. If someone is messing around with a power like that, you need to tell us.”

Diana kept her face carefully neutral, giving him a considering look. It would seem that even the most well informed of the magic users of the League weren’t aware that there had been a change in power among the Ghosts.

“Thank you for your warning. I will ensure that these tomes are better secured where curious eyes could not stumble upon them.” She gave them a magnanimous nod of her head as Constantine took several large swallows from his flask. Zatanna turned to him with a smirk on her lips.

“Wasn’t the Ghost King one of the beings you sold part of your soul to?” She asked him.

“Well yeah, sure. It’s not like he was going to be around to collect you know?”

Diana contained her smile with difficulty. That would be interesting to deal with eventually. Pariah Dark may not come to collect, but maybe this new boy king would. Maybe having a child having partial ownership of his soul would teach Constantine to be more careful of what he does with it.

Bruce made eye contact with her across the table, even with his mask she could see his slightly raised eyebrow. She merely gave him a smile and a small nod of her head before she stood and left the table as the meeting broke up.

Jason and Dick were seconds away from either tearing their hair out or going for each other’s throats. Dick had watched over the sleeping Danny while Jason quickly and methodically removed the guns, knives, explosives, more guns, or other weapons from his apartment. Some were removed to the bedroom where Jason said he would be getting a gun locker to keep Danny out. Most he had to move to other safe houses.

Then Danny had woken up. Jason didn’t have any macaroni and cheese in his house, which was apparently the only thing the tot wanted to eat so Dick had to run to the corner store to pick some up while Jason tried to look over Danny’s injuries. Except when Jason pulled out the medical kit Danny panicked and wouldn’t let him come near him because Jason would “pull him apart.” That caused another flood of green to fill Jason’s vision that Danny had to clear away with all the sternness a child of five could muster.

Once his vision was once again clear, he managed to get Danny to sit still and let him look at his injuries with multiple promises that he wouldn’t hurt the kid, would never hurt the kid and if anyone else tried to hurt the kid he would make them regret it. The vivisection scar on Danny’s chest was fortunately healed, apparently it was a much older injury, and Jason was able to treat the burn on his side easily enough.

Jason was almost filled with rage all over again when he saw how many other scars Danny had on his little body. There were Lichenberg Figures carved from his hand up to his heart. There were multiple old burn scars on every different part of his body. The one part that seemed to have been spared was the boy’s face.

So of course Jason was already furious when Dick finally returned to the apartment. Apparently Dickie-Bird had problems with almost getting mugged, getting yelled at by the store clerk and then had a kid steal his bag of groceries and had to chase them down. He wasn’t even in uniform, maybe the people of Crime Alley could just smell cop on him. Now the previously calm Dick was bubbling with his own frustration that even Danny’s powers over the pits could do nothing against.

Dick showed just how bad of a cook he was and burned the macaroni, somehow, setting off the smoke detector which made Danny panic, then he had started shouting over the beeping that Dick was making it wrong and Jazz always made the macaroni just how he liked it. Why was his sister the one primarily doing the cooking, not his parents? All in all the three boys were angry, frustrated and at least one of them was on the verge of tears when they heard a knock at the front door.

Jason grabbed a gun as he went to check the door despite Dick’s dirty look. He checked the peephole in the door and was surprised to see Barbara Gordon sitting in her chair. She made a “get on with it” gesture to him, apparently able to tell he was behind the peephole. He opened the door and was further surprised to see Barbara had brought Steph and Cass with her and all three were carrying a variety of grocery and shopping bags.

“Aunties Steph, Cass and Babs here to the rescue!” Steph said in a sing-song voice.

Jason didn’t move from the door, only glaring at them all.

“Did Dickie call you?”

Barbara didn’t put up with attitude and instead rolled forward forcing him to either move or sacrifice his toes to her wheels. She rolled her eyes as she entered, with the other two Batgirls coming right behind her, Steph with an enormous smirk on her face and Cass looking in curiously, trying to catch sight of Danny.

“Dick told you himself that I was the one to notify him that you were leaving your turf and you know I monitor the family’s coms, especially when you’re involved.” Barbara said.

Jason wanted to rage. He wanted to be furious that they were monitoring him like a wild animal, watching every conversation he had with the others lest he return to his murderous ways. He waited for the green to fill his vision again as the Pit Rage took over. Yet nothing came. It seemed like even the Pits were tired. He closed the door behind them with a weary sigh.

“Smart choice.” He said quietly, drawing a concerned look from Barbara.

Steph was knelt in front of a very shy looking Danny offering him a hand to shake. He slowly shook her hand and gave her a smile before having to hide his face for a moment.

“I’m your Auntie Steph. This is your Aunt Cass.”

Danny gave Cass a small wave. Cass signed to him in return. Then to the surprise of everyone there, Danny began signing back, enthusiastically carrying on a conversation with both of his new aunts in both babbling English and in ASL.

“Hey kiddo, where did you learn how to sign?” Jason asked in surprise.

“Jazz taught me!” He said, happily signing what he said as we went. Jason realized his name sign for his sister was a “J” that twisted into an “I love you.” That was cute as hell.

With multiple aunts in the room, Jason banished Dickard from the kitchen and set about making actual quality mac and cheese. Among the numerous bags the girls had brought was all manner of things a single dad would need to care for a five year old. Somehow, Babs had even gotten clothes that were perfectly sized for Danny, just from what she could see of him in the mask vids.

Eventually with a dinner done that was deemed “good enough” by Danny, Jason is finally able to sit down and relax. He can’t help but feel something burn inside him. Danny was there, safe and seemingly happy, this kid who already had such an impact on him even in the few hours he had known him. His family… his family was around him. Like they hadn’t been since before he died. Maybe he could do this, maybe he could take care of this kid. At least until they could find his parents and his sister. He just hoped wherever they were, they would still let him be in Danny’s life.

#dp x dc #danny fenton #jason todd #diana prince #son of the red hood #cassandra cain #john constantine #dick grayson #barbara gordon #stephanie brown

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lovibitchez · 10 months

Text

I'd like to thank @nocturnalchaos for their kind review of this story. It actually made me go back and fix a few things I disliked about this and they helped me find my will to write again. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You really did help me through some hard times. Also, I have yet to edit it, so I do apologize for any errors. I wrote this at work on my phone.

2 years ago…

"What do you want from me, Rae!" Jason yelled from outside the door of Raven's room in the tower. Even if he wasn't technically on the hero side, Dick trusted his brother enough to be in the tower.

"The truth!" Raven yelled, leaning against the door to prevent Jason from trying to pry his way in. She would use her powers, but she couldn’t quiet trust them at the moment. Jason and Raven had been…. somewhat dating for the past few months. Well, not dating. Sleeping together. They were good friends at first, but after Raven came banging on the door to his apartment with tears in her eyes and a broken heart, they had been a little closer than usual.

"You want the truth! Yes! I slept with Rose! But it was before we started our little escapade!" He was frustrated. It all started with a stupid tabloid about Jason, son of Bruce Wayne, being seen with a blonde beauty with one eye at a bar. "Last week, that was business! She had intel on a drug ring I've been looking for. I don't know why you're so pissed. We aren't even dating!"

Raven opened her door a small crack just to see the frustration on Jason's face. His hair was a mess from constantly running his hands through it to keep calm and his eyes were almost overflowing with the pit. "How would you feel if you saw me with someone else?"

Jason froze, "Why would I care? It's your life."

Wrong answer. Raven gave him a bone-chilling look before taking a deep breath, "Goodbye, Jason Todd." She shut her door before teleporting out of the tower. That was the last time Jason saw Raven.

Four months later, the Titans were no more. Budget cuts in Jump City and the Justice League taking over, it made it impossible for the Titans to stay around. The Titans were all given identities, and some were given Halo-Rings to look more human.

Dick moved to Blüdhaven where he continued to be Nightwing and Detective Richard "Dick" Grayson with his new wife Kori as she continued her freelance modeling career. Victor mainly worked at the watchtower, being a member of the Justice League, but when he was back on Earth, he worked at an auto body shop dating Karen, otherwise known as Bumble Bee. Garfield was in college working on his veterinary license. And Raven? She disappeared. Not having a life on Earth before the Titans, she only had her fake identity and a GED she established before the team disbanded.

No one knows where she went, or if she was even on Earth still.

Until today…

Red Hood was notorious for keeping companies ensured. Some were small local businesses that paid him in food and a safe place to hide out while others were large clubs that paid him well to keep the ruffians and cops out. Tonight was one of those nights.

“Mama’s House” was a strip club that also worked as an underground Hen House. The girls were instructed to keep a sense of anonymity while in the club while servicing clients.

Jason was always impressed by the look and size of the club. Red velvet walls adorned with White silk curtains as decorations. The three stages separated by two rounded bars in between. For an illegal business, the place had some class. All but the owner. Oscar Danny. A large bearded man who required his girls to call him “Big Daddy”. It wouldn’t surprise Jason if he often sampled his girls, but that was Oscar’s business.

Or, it was. Jason sat at the bar, waiting for Oscar to get out of his “meeting” with one of his girls and decided to have a drink and a look around. After grabbing his old fashion, he walked over to the main stage where his heart almost stopped.

She looked different. Long jet-black hair, pale pink skin, and bright blue eyes. But he could recognize her anywhere. The way her body rolled against the pole, how she teased her hair when she was dancing like no one was watching. He watched her drop to her knees with her legs spread.

She rolled her hips to the rhythm of the music, stirring something deeply hidden within Jason. Yes, last but something more. It was like seeing an oasis after being stranded in the desert for weeks without water. She was a refreshing sight for his dark world. She always was. But he fucked it up.

He felt the pit surface as he watched. Her hips faltered for a moment so brief, Jason thought he blinked. But he couldn’t look away. Watching her do the things they used to do in private, put on display for dozens of men. The pit was bubbling in his eyes and he feared what he might do if she didn’t stop.

As if some deity heard his prayers, the music ended and she quickly sauntered off the stage. Jason’s feet moved before his brain could tell them to. His vision was blurred, all but her.

______________________________________________________________________________

Raven felt his presence the second those heavily tinted doors opened. She had hopped he wouldn’t recognized her. She looked different. She looked normal.

Raven stood on stage, the spotlight almost blinding. Her soul self snuck into the shadows, following Jason around the club until he was up close to the stage.

She probably didn’t need to use her powers. It’s kind of hard to miss a tall man in a red hood. But she needed to know why he was here. Was Jason looking for her? How did he find her? Why is he in his hero gear if he wanted to talk to her? Does he know? Raven’s blood ran cold at the thought.

Soon, the song ended and she quickly left the stage. Unfortunately, she wasn’t allowed into the back. Not yet. She had to walk the floor and accept request.

She left the stage only to run into Jason.

“Act natural” she thought to herself. Raven lifted her head to speak but no words came out. She stood there, looking up at him, desperately trying to stay calm. But it was hard for a multitude of reasons. His emotions swirled around like a storm. His anger was palpable. Like a dish coated in pepper. Yet, there was something sweet under it all. Something not like lust but it left the same taste in her mouth all the same.

“Excuse me,” She squeaked, her voice betraying her confident demeanor.

“Raven.” He breathed her name out like it was a prayer. As if seeing her was the only thing that has ever mattered to him. And maybe it was. Maybe he regrets what he said. Or maybe he was here for another reason.

“I-“ Raven took a deep breath, desperately trying to keep up her façade around him. “Who?” she asked fainting innocence.

Jason let a deep breath out through his nose before speaking, “Raven, I-“

“Mr. Hood!” a thick Boston accent broke his gaze, “good to see you again! It’s been months!”

“Oscar.” Jason quite honestly couldn’t stand the man. The only reason he was willing to insure this place was for the girls.

“Did I finally get a girl you’d like?” he laughed, “how ‘bout you two go upstairs. Free of charge, of course.”

“But-“ Raven chimed in.

“I don’t want to hear it. Mr. Hoods been good to us! He deserves to let off some steam.”

“You know what?” Jason said, never taking his eyes off the small woman, “I think I’ll take you up on that offer.”

Oscar smiled brightly, “she’s a hot one isn’t she.”

“She’s something alright.” Jason turned from Raven and followed Oscar up the spiraling staircase.

Raven took in a sharp breath and followed behind at a distance. Oscar had led them to the farthest room from the stairs. Raven took a deep breath as she stepped into the velvet covered room. Raven always hated the design in these rooms. Red velvet lined the walls and coated the floor. The round silk covered bed sat in the center of the room. Everything was littered with hearts. Neon hearts hung on the wall, heart shaped lamps and even a heart shaped chair sat in a small corner next to a heart shaped corner table. This room cost more than her apartment yet it looked so cheap.

Jason stood at the foot of the bed, watching Raven’s every move. She stood by the door with her head held high. She was here physically but her eyes were clouded with thoughts of being anywhere else.

“You treat him good, girlie.” Oscar huffed, “If I get one more complaint about you, you’re out of here. I don’t care about your little “situation”.” Raven only nodded at him, not trusting her voice. Oscar turned to Jason, “Just bring her back in one piece,” he winked before leaving and shutting the door.

Jason watched Raven, unsure of what to say. Raven was on the verge of a panic attack. Her chest rose with every deep breath and her legs faltered as she stepped closer to Jason. Jason took a step closer, reaching an arm out to grab the shaking woman.

“Raven,” he sighed. His arm wrapped around her stomach as he brought her in for a deep hug. Jason leaned his head on Ravens, taking in her scent. Even through the hood he can smell the lilacs in her hair and the old parchment she was often fond of reading. It was her and there was no doubt about that. “Fuck I’ve missed you.”

A part of her wanted to sink into his arms like she had before. But the part of her that he hurt wanted to push him away. To tell him to get out of her life and to never come near her again. Raven stood shocked for a moment before carefully prying out of his grip.

“I-I’m sorry.” She whispered, “I don’t know who you’re talking about.” The lie rolled off her tongue so easily. As if she had practiced for the moment for months.

“Cut the shit, Sunshine,” Jason growled out. He took off his hood and placed it on the bed. “You may be in disguise but I can always tell if its you.” He took a step closer and she moved back. “What are you doing in a place like this?”

Raven’s eyes never left Jason’s. His eyes had turned a dark shade of green as the pit spilled out. He was on the verge of chaos and Raven knew she had to calm him down. But something inside her seemed to snap.

“I could be asking you the same thing,” she growled back. “I thought you were done being the bad guy.”

Jason crossed his arms, thankful she finally dropped the act, “I collect insurance from those who need it. That’s all.”

She scoffed, “like a common thug.”

“Hey, I’m helping people. Not shaking my ass for every Tom, Dick, and Harry that pays me to!”

Raven was taken aback by his comment. The hurt she felt all those years ago bubbled up and fueled her rage, “Well I’m sorry I don’t have daddy’s bank account to fall back on!”

Jason growled, pushing Raven against the wall, “And this was the only option? Honestly, Raven, I thought you were better than this.”

“And I thought you were more understanding.” She glared at him. “Wasn’t your mother a stripper?”

“And now she’s dead.” Jason breathed out. Jason felt like Raven had just driven a knife into his chest and twisted it. Bringing Bruce into this was one thing, but his mother? She knew damn well that was a sore spot for him. “She was desperate!”

“And I’m not?” She scowled, “You honestly think I would work here if I had a choice!”

Jason took a deep breath, trying to calm the raging pit inside him, “You could have asked for help.”

“From whom, Jason? The Titans? They’re long gone! And the Justice League would never-“

“You could have asked me!”

Raven couldn’t help it. The laugh that came out of her was cold and humorless, but a laugh, nonetheless. “Right, let me just call up the asshole that-“ She stopped herself before she could continue the thought.

“That what? Left you? Hurt you?” He ran his hand through his hair, taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, “Shit, Sunshine. I’m sorry, okay. I shouldn’t have said what I said. I just didn’t know what was going on.”

“Bullshit!” She hissed, “You knew damn well how I felt about you and acted like it was no big deal!”

“I know, okay! I fucked up but please, just talk to me! Let me make it up to you!”

“No,” She shook her head, “This isn’t something you could just make up for Jason. We can’t just go back.”

“Then we shouldn’t.” He stepped closer, watching to see if Raven would move away. He sighed with relief when she didn’t. “Let’s go forward. Let me help you. I can-“

“It’s not that simple, Jason.” Raven held herself as she looked at her feet, “There’s something I need to tell you. Something I should have told you that day.” Jason stood still as Raven searched for the right words to say, “I was…” she paused, finding it almost impossible to speak. “I have, you have,”

“If you can’t say it, then don’t. Just, don’t disappear again.” Jason reached out to Raven, carefully bringing her into another hug. “Shit, Little Bird, I looked everywhere for you.”

“You did?” She squeaked, sinking into his arms.

“I fucked up the second I said that to you. I am so sorry.” He held her tight. For the first time since that day, Jason felt at ease. He always did when Raven was in his arms.

“Jason, we-“

There was a knock at the door and Raven could hear crying. She quickly pulled herself out of his grip and rushed to the door. When she opened it, a large woman carrying a crying baby stood there with a look of irritation.

“Finally. She hasn’t stopped crying for the last twenty minutes and it’s starting to piss me off.”

“She must have missed a feeding,” Raven’s voice was soft as she picked up the child, “Shh, I’ve got you,” She cooed.

Jason stood where Raven had left him. A thousand things were running through his head. Whose kid was that? Raven’s? Who’s the father? Was it his? Was it a clients? Jason saw red for a moment. The thought of Raven being in that situation, being used and tossed to the side, being alone with someone’s child. Had she been doing this alone?

The woman took a quick peak into the room and scoffed, “Didn’t know you were with someone.”

“I can take her from here. Thanks Sister Anna.” The woman scoffed and walked off, leaving Raven with her daughter.

“I-“ She held her daughter close in her arms, “This is Lillian.”

“Is she?”

“Yes.” Raven answered, hushing the frail child in her arms. “Um, do you mind if I?” She gestures to the bed. Jason said nothing. He moved slightly to the side and gestured for her to sit.

Raven took cautious steps towards the bed to sit and removing her bikini top. Lillian wasted no time latching onto Ravens nipple.

“How old is she?” Jason asked, watching the baby drink from her mother.

“Fifteen months, I think.” Raven sighed, “Jason, this is your daughter. She’s why I was so desperate.” She looked up at Jason, tears threatening to spill out. “I shouldn’t have kept her from you. I’m so sorry.”

Jason examined the child. She was almost a carbon copy of Raven. She had Raven’s nose, pale skin, and jet-black hair. If it wasn’t for her teal eyes, Jason wouldn’t have believed her.

“I have a daughter.” He whispered. “She’s,” Jason couldn’t find the words to say. His vision started to blur and he could feel his nose drip. Was he crying? Jason never cried. “She’s perfect.” He choked out. Raven turned away from him, bringing her attention back to the baby in her arms. Lillian had slowly stopped suckling on Raven’s breast, her eyelids heavy.

Jason bent down to Raven’s level, holding out his hands, “Can I?” he asked, gesturing to the half-asleep child. Raven hesitated for a moment before carefully handing Lillian over to her father. Jason carefully held her in his arms. Lillian was staring up at him with groggy eyes. There was a small smile on the baby’s lips. Jason let out a weak sob as he held her close, “Hi,” he whispered, “I’m a dad.” Jason wasn’t sure how to feel. He was a dad. He never thought it was possible.

“I didn’t think you could have kids.”

“I didn’t think I could either.” She admitted, “I’m a half demon and demons already struggle with fertility. But when we go into heat, it becomes possible for full blooded demons.”

Jason thought back to their time together. Throughout their time together, Raven had been in heat once. Jason remembers that week fondly. The way Raven had begged for him. The way she couldn’t hold back her moans when he was inside her. If Jason could, he would go back to those days. He would do things right. He would have told her how he felt the day she came to his door in tears.

“Let me be in her life.” He begged.

“Jason,” She placed a hand on his shoulder, “I didn’t mean to hide her from you for song long. I was hurt and scared. Everything just fell apart so fast.”

“I know. I can’t fix what I said, but please, just let me have a chance. I can’t lose you again.”

Raven wiped the tears from her face and nodded, “I can’t keep you away from her.”

Jason chuckled and nodded, “Can’t keep me away from either of you.”

Raven looked at the time, “Shit,” She mumbled, “I have to get back out there.”

“Wait,” Jason grabbed her arm, “Come home with me. Both of you.”

Raven thought for a moment than shook her head, “I don’t know if I can trust you yet.”

“Raven, please. I can’t let you keep working here.”

“Why would you care? It’s my life.” She stated coldly, repeating the words he told her that day.

“Raven,”

“I need to take Lily back to the daycare and I need to pay rent.” She carefully to Lillian from her father. “Come find me after my shift. We need to talk logistics.” Jason said nothing, he only nodded and stood up. He put his hood back on and followed her out the door.

It was two in the morning when Jason stood in the alley, chain smoking his second pack in the last hour.

“Dude, you gotta quit it with the smoking.” Roy chastised him, “She’ll be coming out soon. I hope.” Roy rubbed his hands together for warmth. It was freezing outside. The snow fell heavily on the streets just like it always did during the winter in Gotham. Roy was never one for the cold but Jason never seemed to care.

“I’ll stop when I see her.” Jason bit back, his nerves frayed from the earlier interaction. He was a father. No matter how many times he said it to himself, it still didn’t feel real. But she felt real. She was so small and so soft. Jason wanted to see her again. To hold Lillian in his arms just to remind himself that she’s real. That he has a child.

The back door to the club squeaked open and Raven came out holding Lillian bundled in a thick jacket and a blanket. Raven on the other hand, was in a pair of pants and a coat that looked like it had been worn one too many times.

“Sorry, it took me longer to get out than expected.” She held Lily close and walked over to Jason. There was a slight limp to her walk, one that Jason hadn’t noticed before.

“You okay, Sunshine?” He asked. Raven cursed herself under her breath. Of course Jason would notice a limp. After all, the world’s greatest detective trained him.

“Yeah,” She said a little too quickly, “I tripped earlier.”

“Another lie,” he thought, but chose to let it go.

“Raven!” Roy jumped out, giving the young woman a bear hug. “It’s been way to long!”

“Roy,” Raven gave her old friend a soft smile, one that made Jason’s heart drop. “It’s good to see you again.”

“And this must be Lillian,” Roy looked down at the baby asleep in her mother’s arms, “She’s adorable! Looks just like her mama.” He smiled brightly at her and Raven couldn’t help but return his smile in kind.

Jason walked over to the pair and held out his arms, “I’ll carry her.” Raven reluctantly handed her daughter to Jason who happily took her and wrapped her in his arms. Jason smiled down at the little girl, moving a strand of hair from her forehead. “We’ll take you home. That way we can talk in private.”

“I live just up the street.” She responded, walking ahead of them. They walked in silence, no one knowing what to say. Jason kept on peeking down at the baby in his arms, still unable to believe she was real.

“She’s a quiet baby.” Raven stated.

“She’s so small,” he whispered.

“I do what I can to keep her fed,” Raven snapped, not looking back at her ex-lover.

Jason winced, “That’s not what I meant.”

“So,” Roy cut in “How long have you been working for Oscar?”

“Just a few months. The diner I used to work at went out of business.”

“Such is the life of a Gothamite.” Roy chuckled. Jason couldn’t be more thankful that Roy was there. He kept the conversation lively and prevented any lingering hostilities between the two. That is until they reached the apartment complex Raven was living in.

Raven didn’t have to use her powers to feel their shock. Raven knew damn well how shitty her apartment was. The gray paint was chipping off the side of the building and there was a hole in the center of the roof. Luckily, Raven’s apartment was on the opposite side of the building to where the hole was. But that didn’t make the place anymore drafty.

She took out her key and unlocked the door. She entered her apartment and turned on the lights. Jason’s heart sank. The carpet had stains that must have been set years ago and the walls were covered in cracks. What relived Jason was the furniture. Ravens small living room had a small old gray couch and a tv. The floor was littered with toys and there was a large baby blanket. Her kitchen had an old stove and a small fried. The microwave had a dial instead of buttons and her coffee machine had seen better days.

“It’s no tower, but it’s better than the street,” Raven chimed in. She walked over to Jason and held out her hands. “Let me put her down then we can talk.”

“Let me,” Roy walked over, carefully taking Lillian from her father, “I’ll keep an eye on her while you talk.” Raven was about to protest when Roy spoke again, “I’ll call if she needs anything.” Roy held the sleeping baby in his and softly cooed, “hey, Lily. I’m your uncle Roy.”

Raven let out a soft sigh and waved Jason to follow her into a small room. Jason looked around her small room. The bed laid on the floor covered in blankets with a crib sitting next to it. There was a small dresser by the window and the closet was missing its door.

Jason looked back to the bed then up at Raven, “guessing the heater’s broke?”

Raven tugged her jacket closer to her chest and glared, “we’re serving, Jason. Lily gets fed and I’m making rent.”

“I’m not judging you, Raven,” he huffed, “I know you’re doing what you can I just wish you would have told me.”

“And what would you have done if I did?”

“I would have stayed.”

“Bullshit.” Raven hissed.

“Why are you so pissed at me? I’m not the one who hid our child from me!”

“I didn’t hide her!”

“Right, sorry. You didn’t hide her, you just never got around to telling me!” Jason took a step forward and Raven stepped back, wincing. “Your hurt.”

“I’m fi-“

“Don’t-“ Jason took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm that’s been brewing for hours, “don’t lie to me. Not anymore tonight.”

His voice came out so soft Raven could have sworn he was begging her. She looked away, trying to find any distraction from her own swirling emotions. “I can heal myself.”

“Then why haven’t you done it yet?”

Raven couldn’t hide from him anymore. The last two years have been hell. Hoping from job to job just to keep food on the table and debt collectors away. Her eyes burned with unscheduled tears and her legs felt ready to give out. She leaned against the wall, trying her damndest to keep the tears from flowing.

“I’ve gotten weaker,” she admitted. Jason took a cautious step closer, ready to grab Raven. They spent too much time together for Jason to not recognize when she was ready to collapse.

“Do you know what caused it?”

She shook her head, “my minds been a mess since I left the tower. And having a baby doesn’t really give me room to meditate or take care of myself.”

“Well I’m here now.” Jason took another cautious step towards Raven l, wrapping his arms around her and letting her fall into him. Jason missed her soft touch more than he realized. Having her in his arms again was a constant dream to him. “Let me help. If not for you, than for Lillian.” Raven let out a weak sob and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Her legs shook too much to keep her up, she slid to the floor with Jason still clinging to her for dear life. Her whole body shook with the force of her unshed tears.

After a few minutes of muffled sobs, Raven had regained enough composure to continue. “What happened, Sunshine?” The softness in his voice had almost brought her back to tears, but she managed to push them down.

“Oscar,” she whispered, “he got upset that Lily interrupted us and he thought you left mad about it.”

“So he hurt you?”

“I could have been worse than just a twisted ankle.” She mumbled

Jason saw red. How could he not? The woman he’s been searching for and the mother of his child was in a dangerous situation. He held Raven tight and carefully lifted the ankle of her pants. Her alkies heel was purple and had started to swell.

“I tripped.” She repeated her statement from earlier, “I technically didn’t lie.”

“But how did you trip?” He gently grabbed Ravens chin, inspecting her face and neck for any markings.

“You won’t find anything. My powers may have weakened, but I can still heal small bruises.”

“so he hit you.” He didn’t state it as a question. Son of the world’s greatest detective, he could figure it out from just the little information she gave him. Oscar got mad, hit her and she tripped in her heels. “Raven,”

“I know,” she cut him off, removing her but I needed the money.”

“I know.” He sighed. There was an awkward pause before either spoke. “Listen, I know I can’t convince you to quit or rely on me until you can get a different job, but please. Let me help.”

“Okay,” Raven conceded, “for Lily.”

“For Lily,” He repeated, “and a bit for you.”

She chuckled, “if it helps you sleep at night, sure.” Jason felt his heart skip a beat. The sound of her laugh was a rare treat to hear. He missed it probably more than he thought was rational. But he missed everything about her.

“I should put Lily to bed, I have to work tomorrow.” Raven carefully stood, Jason helping her.

“With that ankle?”

“I have to pay rent somehow.”

“But-“ Jason cut himself off. He knew damn well telling Raven what to do was a pointless fight. “okay. I’ll be picking Lily up tomorrow before you head out.”

Raven froze for a moment, unsure of what to say, “is your place baby proof?”

“yeah. We still have a bunch of Lians old baby stuff. I’ll put it together before I pick her up.”

She nodded, “okay.”

“I’ll be here around noon?” she nodded, opening the door to Roy holding a sleeping Lillian.

“She was an angel,” Roy smiled, handing the sleeping baby back to her mother.

“Thank you, Roy,” she held Lilian close and looked up at Jason, “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” he looked down at his daughter, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Lily” he whispered, gently patting her head.

Raven watched the men leave. She let out a shaky breath when she was finally alone with her daughter. “Well, I guess you will have your dad in your life.” The baby cooed in her sleep, cuddling into her mother’s chest. “Let’s get you to bed.” Raven carried her to bed carefully putting her in the old crib. She carefully put a blanket over the top of the crib, giver her daughter enough space to breath.

Raven quickly got ready for bed, wrapping her ankle before crawling into her bed and passing out. By tomorrow, her ankle should be healed, but Raven still remained cautious.

_______________________________

Jason walked down the sidewalk, Roy following close behind with a smile on his face. "So..." Roy said, elbowing his friend, "How does it feel to be a dad?"

"I'm not sure," Jason hummed, his face scrunched in a look of thought, "I'm angry Rae hid it, but I guess I'm... happy?" He sighed, "I'm not sure. I'm probably going to fuck it up like my folks did. Or worse, like Bruce."

Roy scoffed, "Please! You should learn from it! Plus, I think Raven is a good mom. Did you see how she held her! Man, if Jade acted like that towards Lian, I'd-" There was a swift kick to Roys' ribs, making him fall to his knees, "Noted," he groaned.

"You should know not to say shit like that."

"why?" The archer huffed, getting off the ground, "you've never cared when I've talked like that before? Is it because of-" There was another kick. But not to his ribs, Roy cupped his groin as he fell to the floor, trying to breathe, "Noted." He squeaked, voice higher than normal.

"Say one more word, and I'll make sure you can't have another kid." Jason snarled, the pit almost overflowing, which seemed like the running theme tonight. Roy shut up as they walked the rest of the way home in silence.

#jayrae #jason todd #teentitans #raven teen titans #batfam #dc comics #roy harper

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npcemi · 11 months

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Welcome to my Meet Cute where Jason is a hopeless romantic whose inner voice is essentially a Jane Austen novel.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/47612662/chapters/120002992

Jason was forced to dress up in a suit to attend a Wayne family gala for the Wayne Foundation scholarship. Jazz and Danny are scholarship students. Sam is forced by her parents to attend. Jason falls in love at first sight, sadly someone dressed like a spoiled trust fund brat is not Jazz's type.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. However, it is well known by those who know the Wayne family intimately, know that they exist in direct contradiction to this truth. Yet, those who attend these grand galas are so fixed on the idea that they are the pillars of this truth. Jason had come to find their shared delusion quite comical.

The mass appeal of allowing them such beliefs of a grandiose nature has made it so they can live their nightlife with ease. Even if it is nothing more than a fabrication. Bruce, the inevitable end of the man with a great fortune marked the start of a man of a generous heart with six children, five of whom were wards. A loving patriarch was a far more tasteful fabrication than that of a single bachelor with more adventurous tendencies.

Unfortunately being brought back into the fold meant that even as a rogue, Jason's presence would be required. In order to avoid the committee of vultures that is the Gotham socialite scene, Jason made his way toward the rear of the hall. Once he arrived at his destination after avoiding several greetings from overly ambitious social climbers, Jason found himself in the company of two rather odd individuals.

One, a young man, who if he was being honest with himself. Looks like a spitting image of Jason and the majority of his brothers. Jason really hoped this one does not come from a background comparable to his own or any of his siblings for that matter. Lest he has another sibling before the night is out.

The other is a young woman dressed in all black with bold black makeup and purple coloring on her lips. The two teens' mutual scowls of displeasure meant the three of them were of a similar opinion when it came to having their presence at the gala be forced upon them.

"I take it you two don't want to be here either?" Jason asks, watching the young woman begin to visibly shake with laughter. It's peculiar how the boy rolls his eyes as if Jason's intelligence was lacking for asking such a mundane and obvious question. If anything it shows him to have a rather crass and sardonic disposition. Jason was sure they could get along quite well.

"No, my parents dragged me here and I dragged Danny." The girl gestured to the boy, Danny, who nodded and voiced his descent only agreeing to come because of the intimate relationship between the two.

"Hey, we're in the same shitty boat. My adoptive dad made me come here too, the name's Jason." Jason said with a smile, happy he found some kindred spirits at this rather taxing spectacle. The girl introduces herself as Sam Manson. Having unfortunately grown up in these circles despite his rather humble beginnings. he has heard of the Manson family.

They are a family that is well known and has a humble fortune. One they owed to being descendants of the inventor of the deli toothpick cellophane-twirling device. They were more social climbers than committee vultures. Belonging to the group only by a small margin in comparison to the likes of the Wayne, Queen, Luthor, or Masters families. If Jason was being honest, the Mansons would fit in better with a group of mockingbirds, regardless of their own desires.

"Anything fun to do around here besides stand and talk?" Sam asked and Danny looked like he watched the last of the poor girl's brain cells leave her head.

"Sam, this is an event for rich fruit loops to kiss ass and your parents to try to find you a 'more appropriate' boyfriend." Jason couldn't help but snort at the way the boy mocked the elder Mansons. It was as unbecoming as it was necessary. It was well known the Mansons would consistently and continuously make an attempt to pair their daughter with any potential suitor. It doesn't surprise him that they would do so even when their daughter was clearly courting a boy the spitting image of any Wayne child.

Before Jason would be able to respond, a voice that sounded rather pleasant on the ear despite its exasperation, bellowed from nearby.

"Danny, Sam there you are, I have someone I need you to meet!" The woman had cerulean eyes and red-orange hair that fell to her shoulders like fine silk. She was in an emerald green dress that aggrandized her small athletic frame. However, any personal reverie Jason was engaged in was cut short by the woman and the man she had brought over for introductions.

"Danny, this is Bruce Wayne. He's the one who sponsors both of our scholarships." The girl was bright with glee not even noticing Jason's own downward turn. Something he was rather thankful for at the moment.

Bruce Wayne is as complex as he is simple. The mask of a loving patriarch, the mask of promiscuity, or the mask of the Bat. It never mattered because, in the end, no one knows which is Bruce's truth. It couldn't be the loving patriarch no matter the attempts to persuade otherwise. Those in the family knew his adventurous spirit had waned in the past years, now he preferred to spend his personal hours exclusively with Selina Kyle. If asked, Bruce would say it was the Bat that was his truest self, however, it didn't take a psychiatry degree and a stint at Arkham to know that the Bat was just another mask to hide his childhood traumas behind.

Bruce, Danny, and Sam all greet each other rather amicably. Though Danny whispers something hushed about being beholden to another rich froot loop who probably has a secret lair in his basement.

Jason's joyous laughter at Danny's correct assertion is cut off by a rather pointed glare from Bruce. It is however easy for Bruce and Jason to fall into a familiar rhythm as they do at these functions. They're able to maintain the facade of a happy family with polite conversation and occasional jabs. The woman, Danny, and Sam are surprised to learn Jason by all counts, is a Wayne. He was hopeful they can tell that he didn't quite fit with the usual Wayne pedigree. He denied the opportunity to encourage the notion when Bruce re-enforces the fabrication they used as coverage for their lesser-known activities. This is all in spite of what Jason was attempting to relay.

Jason never had the opportunity to correct such misconceptions. It was his fate to be cut off at the first utterance of his attempt by Mrs. Manson. Who decided that was the moment to come barreling into our conversation, much to the disdain of everyone in attendance.

“Sammy-Kins, I see you’ve met Bruce Wayne. Hello Mr. Wayne!” Her remarkable boldness and enthusiasm are truly something to behold, considering she found a way to strategically place herself so as to exclude Danny, the angel Jason had yet to know the name of, and himself from the conversation.

“Mrs. Manson It’s nice to see you, I’d love for you to meet my son Jason Todd-Wayne and two of the Wayne Scholarship students, Jasmine and Daniel Fenton.” Bruce repositioned himself, escorting the rest of us back into the engagement.

“Actually I go by Danny.”

“And I go by Jazz.” Jazz, that was this enchanting woman’s name. A woman who changed the very rhythm of Jason's heart. Whether that was for the best or not, will be an adventure all its own.

“I didn’t think Daniel had the grades for any scholarship, let alone one this prestigious.” Mrs. Manson tilted her head in an obvious slight on Danny’s intelligence. It is a shame the poor woman is under the delusion of her own over-estimated intellect. Any who managed to spend more than a few spare moments with the woman would see the fact clear as day.

“Oh my son Tim looked at Danny’s submission for aerospace engineering personally and was very impressed,” Bruce said with a smile that seemed to see through the slight the woman intended. The woman's scowl was soon becoming a source of joy, never in his life had he met someone so disagreeable and so desperate. Social climbers like her usually were better at being more subtle and significantly more polite.

“While grades do play a part, the Wayne Foundation is very understanding of exigent circumstances that may hinder a student’s grades,” Bruce added to the conversation. Bruce took great pride in his understanding and charitable reputation. This is one area Jason, unfortunately, can’t find fault in, after all, he was a common thief when he was taken in by Bruce.

“Well, that is very kind of you, Mr. Wayne. Sammy-Kins why don’t you and Jason go find a spot to talk, or maybe we can arrange another time you two can…” Bruce correctly guessed the group's collective discomfort with what Mrs. Manson was trying to accomplish.

“I’m sure my son can arrange his time how he sees fit Mrs. Manson,” Jason had to admit he was relieved that Bruce stepped in when needed. However, any future heroics on Bruce’s end when he received a notification on his phone. He gave Jason a familiar nod before making a quick exit. Mrs. Manson deterred from further advances by Bruce’s exodus from our conversation, also made her leave. Unfortunately, that meant Jason also had to take his leave. The other side of the Wayne family duality calling.

“I’m sorry to leave you guys hanging, but I gotta go, although before I clear out, Jazz, did you wanna grab coffee tomorrow, if you're still in Gotham that is?” Jazz’s sheepish reply to his advance was adorable as it was heartbreaking.

“I’m sorry I can’t.” In his heartbreak, Jason clearly lost any and all ability to form an intelligent thought. The only word that came out of his mouth was “oh.” Her brother took the opportunity to further his pain by rubbing salt in the crevice forming in Jason's heart.

“Sorry my dude, you’re just not her type. She’s into bad boys who wear leather Jackets, ride motorcycles, and are likely to commit a violent felony.” Sam continued Danny’s malice upon his emotions, “Jazz really isn’t into spoiled rich kids with daddy issues.”

#jason todd #jazz fenton #dpxdc #dpxdc au #Jason Todd can be a little dramatic

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channajen · 1 year

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"BATMAN, MEET TEAM PHANTOM" chapter 46 is up! Sorry for the delay! The story is almost completely posted. It's been such a long journey--this was my first really long fic. Thank you to everyone who has read it and passed it along!!! 👻👻👻 Here is the link to chapter 1: LINK 1. This is story 5 in my "Ghosts in Gotham" series. Series link is here: LINK 2.

Summary: It's time for the techno-geek expo! Danny, Tucker, Red Robin, Cyborg, and Technus have spent the day in engineering bliss, and now it's time to show off! Much fun is had. This is Danny's day to engineer and chill...

Teaser below cut...

....

The older heroes had made the right call when they decided to give Danny a day to put everything down and just have a day with friends and one of his favorite hobbies. Everyone could visibly see how much tension had leaked off the King throughout the day—so much so, that he looked completely at peace when the last circuit was soldered and the last wire screwed in place. It had been a good day; it was a day that the young King had needed. The members of the Justice League who showed up for the “product runway show” that the group was putting on that evening could all feel the peace in the room. Bruce made a note to make sure Danny had at least one day like this every so often to recharge the young man’s internal “batteries”. He briefly wondered if taking a day off to rest, recharge, and simply have fun would make him a better Batman. That was something he would have to think about later, when he had more time for introspection. Perhaps he would discuss it with Alfred…

Several members of the Justice League were invited to see what projects the young heroes had come up with during the day. No one honestly expected much—not from a group as young as the ones who had been working all day—but everyone who was invited came to the event, just to show their support. A few extra human eyes were there as well. Lucius Fox, Silas Stone, and a few other trusted League allies were there. Of all of them, only Lucius and Silas expected the show that was to follow.

One by one, each engineer that had been invited to today’s workshop came to the center stage—typically with a trolley of some sort—and presented their alpha-stage inventions to the audience. They explained what they had created, what it did, how it differed from traditional Earth-based tech, and the power levels each invention required to run.

The human members of the audience had difficulty believing that the small group of young adults could have created the things that they did in the time that they had done it, but they stayed in their seats out of respect for Danny’s position.

For himself, the king in question showed off his gravity lifter/transporter, and had Tucker demonstrate it’s usefulness with the app the young pharaoh had written. Several people outright asked just how the young man had written such a complex program in half a day. Both Danny, Technus, and Tucker all laughed at that. Danny responded to unbelieving scientist that “some people are just smarter than others.” Which, of course, made the rest of the people in the room laugh.

It turned out to be a good thing that Tucker’s intelligence had already been backed up. As it was, half of the audience nearly walked out in disbelief when Tucker proudly debuted his inter-dimensional communication device. It would need a lot of work and refinement to bring full cell and Internet service to the Infinite Realms, but the basics of the device sat proudly on a rolling cart next to the podium. The problem was that no one could conceive of a way to get cell phone and Internet service across the dimensions. Many argued with Tucker and each other about whether the invention was real, or just some kiddie prop set up to fool the scientists.

Danny had thought long and hard as to whether he would maintain a public persona as Daniel Wayne, or if he would simply remain Danny Phantom, Ghost King. He decided that, for today, at least, he would just be Daniel Wayne. That led to the difficulty of explaining how he could open a portal to another dimension. The issue was solved by Technus, who came up with the brilliant idea of a fake “portal”. Danny would open an actual portal inside of the arch that was the entirety of the fake portal, and it would look like advanced science...

To read the whole chapter, go HERE

Many thanks to all who read and have read this story and keep it going forward! You peeps rule!!! 👻👻👻

#danny phantom #batman #justice league #dc x dp #dp x dc #ghost king danny #jazz/jason #WFA batfam #Bruce is a great dad #danny gets a day to really have some fun!

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ao3feed-brucewayne · 1 month

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The Unnecessarily Dramatic Death of One Jasmine Fenton

by Rowan_the_Escapist After her brother ascends to the throne of the Infinite Realms, Jazz Fenton becomes a psychologist working at Arkham Asylum, a job that requires her to go to a surprising amount of charity galas. At one of these galas, she meets a couple of Waynes, is attacked by ghosts, and makes a new friend. (and also dies) *TW at the beginning of fic--don't read if squeamish about blood Words: 8955, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Danny Phantom, Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Wayne Family Adventures (Webcomic), DC Extended Universe, DCU Rating: Mature Warnings: Major Character Death Categories: F/M Characters: Jazz Fenton, Danny Fenton, Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne Relationships: Jazz Fenton/Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Danny Fenton & Jazz Fenton Additional Tags: Battle Couple, Confusion to Lovers, They met at a gala, Bruce Wayne is Jason Todd's Parent, Jazz Fenton-centric, BAMF Jazz Fenton, Ecto-Contaminated | Liminal Jazz Fenton, Dead Jazz Fenton, BAMF Jason Todd, They trauma bonded your honor, Eldritch Danny Fenton, Ghost King Danny Fenton, Blood Loss, Like seriously blood loss is kinda part of the plot, Major Character Undeath, Character Death, like seriously she dies in this fic, she's not DEAD-dead, but still, Soulmates, it's really more like soulmate-ish but whatever, Anger Management, blood used in creative non-traditional ways, Rated For Violence, No Sex, Fluff and Angst, idk what Phantom Planet is and at this point i'm too scared to ask via https://ift.tt/qynN5J3

#IFTTT #bruce wayne #batman #the dark knight #the caped crusader #gotham #dcu #dc #ao3 #ao3feed

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ladylynse · 5 years

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Whirlwind: Jake should be used to ominous predictions by now. Randy should know better than to blindly follow McFist. Adrien should think twice before sneaking away. And Danny should’ve expected something like this when he got that phone call. (Secret Quartet crossover)

Part 6 [FF | AO3] - for the :D Anon, who very kindly donated to my ko-fi.

(Part 5 | Timeline post)

-|-

6:46 PM

“My name’s Phantom,” Danny said once they were inside. The fire and subsequent soaking had not been kind to any electronics in this place, so he didn’t mind talking plainly. No one was going to follow them inside without them noticing, especially not with the dragon basically guarding the entrance, and it wasn’t like any cameras were going to be functioning right now. “I’m friends with the Am Drag.” He’d avoided flying or any other obvious uses of his powers while they were out in the open. No need to parade his secret (or rather, the fact that ghosts are real) around to the public, after all; this was going to be enough of a mess for Jake to deal with without that.

The dragon hadn’t exactly been inconspicuous.

“Why the cheese are we in here instead of fighting out there?” the Ninja asked, flinging an arm behind him. “The Am Drag might be a friendly dragon, but that one isn’t!”

Danny sighed. “Look, um, there’s something you need to know about dragons. Hopefully I’m not violating some super secret code thing by telling you this, but they can take a human form. I mean, they have a human form, not just a dragon form. Which is probably the only reason they still exist and aren’t, y’know, just a myth.”

Danny couldn’t see much more than the Ninja’s eyes, but they didn’t look impressed. “Okay, so the lady I saw turn into a dragon is a dragon, and she just snapped?”

“Not…exactly.”

The Ninja rolled his eyes. “So what, exactly? Do you even know?”

“I think so.”

“That’s encouraging.”

Danny frowned at the Ninja’s sarcastic tone. “This is a big mess, okay? The magical world is supposed to be kept secret. So that dragon? Not easy to explain away!”

“Magic’s not secret,” the Ninja said incredulously. “It’s just…. It’s just magic. I mean, the people in my town don’t know there’s a sorcerer trapped beneath it, but they aren’t total shoobs. They know it’s not normal for people to regularly turn into monsters. But they just kind of…accept it, you know? Because I’m around to protect them. Or at least I’m supposed to be. But it’s not like they think it’s all some kind of new technology. People have been getting stanked in Norrisville for centuries.”

Danny blinked. He wondered if Jake knew any of that. He still wasn’t really clear on how the whole ‘American Dragon’ thing worked, and he had enough trouble keeping Amity Park safe, let alone feeling responsible for an entire country. Maybe there were different magical creatures who monitored smaller regions—individual states if not counties—who were then expected to report back to Jake when something was amiss. That would make more sense. Gramps was probably fielding all that stuff for him right now, while he was still in school….

“Hello, Earth to Phantom.” The Ninja was waving a hand in front of his face. “Is it normal for you to space out like that?”

“Shut up,” Danny scowled. “I was just thinking.”

“About how to get us out of this honkin’ mess?”

“About how it started,” Danny said, though that wasn’t strictly true; he’d been thinking about that earlier, though, so he figured it still counted. “The woman you saw. I think…. If it’s who I think it is, her name is Susan. She’s nice, normally—”

“When she’s not flaming people?”

“When she’s not corrupted. Did you see any butterflies?”

“That’s what does it?” The Ninja didn’t wait for Danny’s nod of confirmation. “Yeah. It’s, um, not the first one I’ve seen today, either. The first lady didn’t go all dragon-y. More…weird fashion sense, with this pen that could create invisible walls and trap you while she criticized you. That was her thing. She was a critic. The Critic. Chat Noir helped me defeat her. You know him? He distracted her while I got her pen.”

“I…know of him,” Danny hedged.

“He’s a good guy,” the Ninja said, confirming what Danny had suspected since his fight. “These corrupted people? They’re after him in particular. And, like, other stuff, but definitely something he has.”

“His ring. A Miraculous.”

“So you know this already?”

“I don’t think I have it all straight.” Danny bit his lip. He and Jake couldn’t do this alone, and he might’ve accidentally burned his bridge with Chat Noir. He might not be willing to help them. The Ninja, on the other hand, probably still would. At least, he hadn’t given Danny any reason to think he wouldn’t. “I know…. I know we have to beware of the butterflies.”

The Ninja nodded. “Sounds like. They’re probably connected to this Hawk Moth guy. Or girl. I dunno. I just heard the name. Susan or whoever you said she was was talking to them.”

“You saw him? Them?”

The Ninja shook his head. “No, I just heard half a phone conversation, except without phones being involved. Thing is, this guy’s MO is super familiar to me. I think they might’ve teamed up with someone I know. The Sorceress.”

Danny could not recall anything in the vague prophecies Jake had repeated to him that might allude to a sorceress. “Are you sure?”

“Well, not exactly, but from what I’ve seen? Definitely a possibility. Just because I trapped her in the Land of Shadows, doesn’t mean she didn’t find another way out. Again. And she might be trying to gather her power before attacking Norrisville.”

“She’s the one you were worried about, then.” He figured he could grill the Ninja on this whole ‘Land of Shadows’ thing later—when the Sorceress turned up, if she did, or when this mess was over, if she wasn’t involved.

The Ninja shrugged. “Yeah. Worrying about her is practically a requirement. And if she’s not involved, good, but she might be the reason this Hawk Moth person can do whatever it is with the butterflies. It’s basically stanking people.”

Danny didn’t need to know what stanking was to guess what it meant. “I think Hawk Moth is using the Brooch of Metamorphosis to change people. That’s what gives them their power. We were told we had to beware the butterflies. It’s the Butterfly Brooch.”

“The what?” The Ninja stared at him. “And what do you mean, you were told to beware the butterflies? Who told you?”

“Um. Would you believe me if I said oracles? The Am Drag has friends.”

“Wait, there’s a honkin’ prophecy?”

Danny sighed and recounted everything the oracle twins had told Jake—about him having friends to help him fight off the attacks, how they’d be facing threats they hadn’t dealt with before, and how they needed to beware of the butterflies.

The Ninja looked torn between incredulous and impressed. “That’s a lot clearer than anything I’m ever told,” he complained. “All I got was that to cleanse the soul, one must first clear the mind.”

“That’s…not straightforward?”

“No! It doesn’t tell me how to deal with the Sorceress!”

“But that’s my point. Maybe it’s not the Sorceress. Maybe it’s just this Hawk Moth. I know Jake’s dealt with magic users before. He might’ve run into her, or at least someone like her, so she wouldn’t exactly be a new threat, or a new kind of monster, or whatever.”

“Who’s Jake?”

Oh, crud.

Danny knew there were a lot of secrets Jake was tasked with keeping surrounding the magical world. He’d even kept Danny’s, once he’d learned it, from his family and friends. But if the Ninja had dealt with a sorceress and a sorcerer on what sounded like a fairly regular basis, maybe that counted as already knowing about the magical world. And maybe, if he used that as a technicality, Danny could fill in the Ninja without getting into more trouble. (He’d never asked Jake how much trouble he’d caused last time. He…hadn’t really wanted to.)

Besides, it would be a lot easier to get through this if they could use their real names, too.

And there had been that thing in the prophecies about getting help from friends.

And the Ninja had been trying to help.

“Jake’s the American Dragon,” Danny said. “Susan’s his mom. She just…shouldn’t have dragon powers. Normally. It skipped her generation.”

“Wait, what?”

“And I’m…not just a ghost.”

“You’re supposed to be a ghost?”

“I go by Phantom! How did you not figure that out? You call yourself the Ninja.”

“Yeah, because I’m actually a ninja. But Phantom could’ve just been a cool nickname. It’s not like you….” the Ninja trailed off, probably because Danny had crossed his legs and started hovering before holding up his hands and turning them invisible.

“Ghost,” he repeated, dropping back down the floor. “But also…not.” He changed back, watching the Ninja’s eyes widen even farther. “I’m Danny.” In for a penny, in for a pound. “Danny Fenton.” He stuck out his hand. It felt a little formal, but it would confirm that he was flesh and blood, which would be kinda important after insisting that he was a ghost.

The Ninja reached up to pull off his mask, and there was a flash of red and a flourish of cloth, and then a purple-haired teen grinned at Danny and gave his hand a quick shake. “Randy Cunningham. This is so bruce. I can’t believe you’re a real live ghost. I mean, I get to meet a dragon and a ghost in one day? This is the cheese. Howard is never going to believe me.”

“Don’t tell him,” Danny said quickly. This Howard obviously wasn’t here, but the fewer people who knew the details, the better. “People really aren’t supposed to know, and it’s bad if this gets out.”

“You have people like McFist after you, too?”

Danny had no idea who McFist was, either, but he nodded. “Yeah, we all do.” He hated to admit how wrong they’d gotten this, but— “This Hawk Moth person is probably after Chat Noir, and—”

“I don’t think Hawky knew Chat Noir was here,” interrupted Randy. “The critic lady was surprised to see him, and she said something about him being in a foreign country. And she wouldn’t know that, so Hawk Moth must’ve told her. Through their mind meld or however that works.”

Danny pulled a face. “Great.” To think Jake had thought Chat Noir might be working with Hawk Moth. They’d really messed this up. “I’m going to call Jake and catch him up. You…keep an eye out for Chat Noir. I don’t think we need to worry about Susan until she makes a move.”

“You still want to call the evil dragon lady Susan?”

“She’s not evil. She’s corrupted. And…I don’t know what else to call her. It’s not like she’s told us. But just…don’t use her name unless you’re talking to me or Jake and no one else can hear you.”

Randy frowned. “You said Jake’s her son, right?”

“Yeah?” Danny hoped Randy wasn’t about to ask for clarification on how dragon genetics worked, since he had absolutely no idea beyond the whole ‘skipped a generation’ thing. He couldn’t even explain his own genetics.

“He’s the shoob who’s responsible for all this.” Randy waved a hand around at the destruction. “I saw him and his mom. They looked like prime targets for the Sorceress. That’s why I saw what happened to her. I was keeping an eye out because I thought she was gonna get stanked.”

“So you know what Jake looks like in his human form.” That would make things easier. “Great.” Danny dug a couple of Fenton Phones out of his pocket and handed them to Randy. “Here, keep these on you. One’s for Jake; the other’s in case you see Chat Noir before I do. I wanna loop him in. And, um, apologize.”

“Apologize?” Randy echoed, but he was already shoving the Fenton Phones into his pocket. “For what? And why do you have spares? Did you invent these things?”

“My parents did.” He wasn’t going to go into the whole ghost hunter thing; it wasn’t important right now. “And, yeah, they’re useful, but they’re not always the most durable, so I’ve got spares. Just…a limited number, so try not to break or lose too many. I don’t exactly live around the corner.”

Thankfully, Randy didn’t press him on the whole ‘apology’ thing. Or maybe he’d already forgotten about it. “So what’s the plan? I’m still going to keep my eyes peeled for signs that this is the Sorceress, just in case, but I can’t fight that dragon by myself.”

“I don’t think you need to. Remember how I said she was testing you?” At Randy’s nod, Danny continued, “Well, now she knows you can do whatever you did to try to fight her. Which means she’ll be that much harder for you to surprise. And if you’re right about the weird mind meld thing, Hawk Moth will know, too.”

“So?”

“So that’s bad. Because Jake thinks they’re after something. Something besides Chat Noir’s Miraculous, apparently, if they weren’t expecting him. Look, Jake’s family…. They have a shop full of magical artefacts and stuff like that. So he’s probably not wrong about Hawk Moth’s motives. I mean, half the ghosts I fight want to take over this realm, so bad guys being obsessed with power isn’t exactly rare.”

“You’re a ghost and you fight other ghosts? What, do you live in the most haunted town in America or something?”

Danny rolled his eyes. “Safe bet that I do, yeah.” He held out his cell phone. “New plan—”

“Wait, what was the old plan?”

“—you call Jake and tell him about Chat Noir and Hawk Moth and what you saw happen and everything else. He’ll fill you in on whatever else you need to know. I’m going to do some recon.” When Randy took his phone, Danny changed back. “The fewer people who see what we’re doing, the better.” He tapped his Fenton Phone, adding, “Shout if you get into trouble,” before turning invisible.

He wasn’t sure if Susan had the same dragon abilities as Jake, so he wasn’t sure if she’d still be able to see him, but he knew he wouldn’t be easy to spot this way.

And whether they were fighting a magic user or a Miraculous user or both, he didn’t want to make this easy on them.

XXX

6:54 PM

Jake went ahead to do a quick scout to assess the situation so he could tell the others what they were flying into.

Trouble was, he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

Most of the crowd was still there, grumbling and wet and talking amongst themselves or on the phone, and he could see TV crews and paramedics and other people like that, but no ninja.

And, more importantly, no dragon.

He flattened his wings to his sides and dove into an alley, pulling up at the last moment and startling a leprechaun who looked like he’d been on his way to the stock exchange. Mumbling his apologies as the leprechaun muttered curses and picked up the fallen gold pieces, Jake let fire burn away his dragon form and peeked carefully out of the alleyway.

Predictably, the view wasn’t any better down here than it had been from above. But as he walked closer to the crowd and could pick up more of the scattered conversations, he knew there had been no miraculous fix, no magic that had caused everyone to forget what they’d seen. They all knew very well what they’d seen: a ninja fighting a dragon. Thankfully, the conversation tended to be more along the lines of how such a stunt had been pulled off than the fact that it was real.

“I don’t care how you do it, Viceroy! I want a Robo-Dragon! If this Ninja is anything like our Ninja, your next WND won’t be a failure!”

Well, most of it, anyway.

Jake tried to get a good look at the speaker without making it too obvious that he was looking. He didn’t know what a WND was supposed to be, but while robot dragons and ninjas weren’t exactly magical, there might be some overlap of relevant interests. And he did not want Rotwood to make friends with someone who could provide him with new technology to capture proof of magical creatures. Especially someone with enough resources to both attend this spectacularly expensive gala and just demand that a robot dragon be built, with no doubt in his voice that it would happen.

“Hanni, honey, you promised you wouldn’t work while we were on this trip,” the woman next to the man said. There was a steel edge in her voice that even Jake could recognize, and the man blanched.

“You can have another week of vacation if it’s done by the time I get back! Just get to work!” he yelled, and then he hung up and turned to the woman that was probably his wife. Jake realized with a start that he had a robotic arm and quickly looked away, not wanting to be caught staring. He was pretty sure the prosthetic had had a brain in it. With eyes. That was…messed up.

Even by his standards.

“You can buy a second dress,” the man offered.

“I don’t want a second dress. If I decide I do, I’ll buy it anyway. What I want is for you to do what you promised. The Ninja’s back in Norrisville; can’t we enjoy our vacation here?”

“Of course, sugar plum,” the man answered quickly. Jake wasn’t sure he believed him—and he rather doubted the woman would—but he couldn’t afford to eavesdrop much longer. He didn’t need anyone recognizing him from earlier, especially when he hadn’t even been thinking long enough to put on a different jacket. He was lucky he was dry; that might be his saving grace, since everyone else who’d been caught inside was still dripping or at least distinctly damp.

He would probably have to figure out where Norrisville was, though, and bring it up with Gramps. It sounded like another place they’d need to keep an eye on. Ninjas and robots didn’t scream magic, but it was…weird. And any place that was weird enough had magic somewhere, even if it was buried deep.

“I’ll see if there’s any word from the organizers,” the man said. “See if they’re setting up another venue or what the plan is, now that the dragon’s dealt with.”

He didn’t say it like the dragon was something that surprised him.

Okay, Jake was definitely going to have to check out this Norrisville place when this mess was over.

He waited a moment longer, hoping the man would say how the dragon had been dealt with, but he didn’t, mostly likely because his wife had been beside him the entire time and knew the answer. Jake wished he could ask, but that would mean drawing attention to himself. He moved on instead, avoiding the various TV crews and the police and grateful that he couldn’t spot Rotwood.

Trixie and Spud were on the case, but Rotwood would try to get around them. Not that there was anything he could do if the dragon was gone. Well, not anything beyond talking to a news station and insisting that, now that everyone else had seen the dragon, it was proof that he hadn’t been making anything up. Proof that the magical world did exist, that his studies weren’t theoretical, that—

Jake’s phone started to ring, and he answered immediately. “Yo, Danny, what happened to the dragon?”

“What do you mean what happened to the dragon?” It wasn’t Danny’s voice. It was the Ninja’s. Oops. “Can’t you see her? Isn’t she there? Or aren’t you here?” While Jake tried to figure out how to answer that without giving everything away, the Ninja added, “I’m Randy, by the way. Danny filled me in.”

Aw, man, why did Danny keep doing this to him?

Well, at least if Randy ran around dressed as a Ninja, he might already know about the magical world and get a pass. Hopefully Fu or Gramps would be able to come up with a good reason to let him keep whatever magical artefacts he had his hands on. They’d gotten the Dragon Council off Jake’s back about this secrecy before, at least when he could vouch for the people who had found out about it.

“Whaddaya know?”

Randy caught Jake up on his conversation with Danny and everything else he seemed to figure Jake had missed and needed to know. Jake wove through the crowd, trying not to give away much of anything in case someone happened to be listening to his side of the conversation, and tried to figure out if he could get into the building without being seen. He had his doubts. Why hadn’t Danny come to grab him instead of going off to do reconnaissance on his own? That would have been so much easier.

But Danny wasn’t terribly used to help, aside from whatever his sister and friends could give from the ground, and something like scouting would have always fallen to him—at least when he needed to fly to get the best view of things.

“Meet me outside,” Jake finally said. They might as well have the rest of this conversation face to face. He wanted Randy to be wrong, for this dragon lady to be someone other than his mother, but he had a picture of her on his phone. It would be an easy enough thing to verify. And then he’d know to warn the others. Especially Haley. He hadn’t given her too many details when he’d called her, figuring the fact that he was calling her to begin with would be enough for her to understand that this wasn’t some practice drill, but now that he knew it was their mom…. “I’ll wait on the corner across the street.” He didn’t need to give a description, not if Randy really did know who he was.

He just…. If Chat Noir really wasn’t their enemy, how were they going to figure out who was? It wasn’t like cat boy would be in the mood to tell them now. He might just attack them on sight, and Jake wouldn’t be able to blame him for that. He kinda doubted Randy would be able to act as much of a buffer, either.

He'd messed up.

You’ll have friends to help you out, Kara had said, but why couldn’t Sara have warned him that he’d make a powerful enemy if he didn’t think things through?

Well, Jake knew the answer to that, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

Sometimes, it would be a lot easier if he didn’t know anything about the future.

XXX

6:48 PM

Adrien didn’t have a clear view of the dragon. Getting to where he’d needed to go had taken longer than he’d hoped—he wasn’t convinced he was that much faster in Paris only because he knew his way around; these buildings weren’t what he was used to, either—and now that he was closer….

Now that he was closer, he couldn’t even see the dragon anymore. He’d had a glimpse of a shimmering purple-pink wing a few long seconds ago, enough to tell him that it wasn’t the same dragon he’d seen earlier, and then it had gone behind a building. By the time he’d gotten onto the rooftop of said building, the dragon was gone.

He spent more precious time scanning the skies for a departing akuma, just in case the Ninja had gotten here ahead of him again and figured out where the akuma was hiding, but there was nothing.

There were, however, television crews on the ground, and no longer just the ones who’d been sent to cover the gala. He’d taken enough of a risk showing his face earlier; how many times could he potentially be caught on tape before footage of Chat Noir in New York City turned up on the internet in a spot where Alya could find it? Sure, she wouldn’t necessarily connect the fact that Adrien Agreste and Chat Noir were in the NYC at the same time, not with any seriousness, but….

He couldn’t afford to risk it.

Of course, he couldn’t afford to let Hawk Moth get away with whatever he was trying to do, either.

If Alya figured it out, if her accusations of him being Chat Noir went beyond a joke she sent to Nino, then he’d…. He’d have to give up being Chat Noir. Give up Plagg, give up spending so much time with Ladybug, give up the freedom wearing the mask gave him.

But he wouldn’t deserve to be Chat Noir if he didn’t act now, all because he was too selfish to risk losing everything.

Still, that didn’t mean he shouldn’t be careful. The hooded sweater he’d bought wouldn’t do much to conceal his identity, but he’d be less conspicuous wearing that—even with the hood up, even in a crowd like the one below—than he would be as Chat Noir or Adrien Agreste. He should be able to pass as a curious bystander. Hopefully.

The alley below was empty, so Adrien extended his staff and then let it slowly collapse, bringing him back to ground level as quickly and quietly as possible. He ducked behind a dumpster before whispering for Plagg to pull his claws in, and he tugged the hood as far down over his eyes as it would go before straightening up.

“We shouldn’t be here,” Plagg whispered to him as he settled next to Adrien’s neck, hiding himself in the shadow of the hood. “I can smell the magic from here.”

“It’s just Hawk Moth,” Adrien murmured back. “You saw the Critic earlier.”

“This isn’t the same. It’s not the same as that ghost kid, either. Or the Ninja. They all smell different.”

That was enough to give Adrien pause. “Hawk Moth didn’t send Phantom? Why didn’t you tell me that on the roof? Or in the mall?”

“There were more important matters to discuss.”

“Like what?”

“Like getting me my camembert.”

Adrien rolled his eyes, even though he knew Plagg wouldn’t be able to see the movement. “I gave you the last of what I had with me.” He’d eventually decided to go back and ask the concierge at the hotel where would be the best place to go to get some more, and the man had graciously offered to order some in for him and have it sent up to the suite. Sure, the Critic had attacked before Adrien had had a chance to rest, and then Phantom had attacked him, and now this dragon had turned up, but…. But even if the cheese wasn’t there when Adrien went looking for it, Plagg would at least be able to eat something.

He might not be able to get back out into the fray as quickly as he’d like the next time he transformed and used Cataclysm, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’d had to duck out in the middle of a fight to feed Plagg.

Even if it would be the first time doing so without Ladybug around to cover for him.

If the Ninja was still around, whoever he was, maybe he’d be willing to step in again.

Adrien would certainly need help cleaning up this mess and the one ahead, whenever Hawk Moth decided to activate the Critic’s akuma.

Granted, he hadn’t seen any statues of the Critic about, not like they had with Stoneheart. Maybe the akuma hadn’t proliferated yet? Or maybe the dormant akuma had taken on a different form?

Or maybe Hawk Moth had found a better target and recalled the Critic’s akuma before it had multiplied. Adrien only hoped he could be so lucky. But if this dragon wasn’t someone who’d been akumatized by Hawk Moth…. “Plagg,” Adrien said, overriding the kwami’s complaints, “if this isn’t Hawk Moth’s doing, whose is it?”

The kindly old man in the electronics store in Chinatown had reminded him more of Master Fu than anyone else, and the teenager hadn’t exactly struck him as evil, either. He’d been helpful, if a bit preoccupied, and if Plagg hadn’t warned him to leave—

“It’s an old magic you don’t want to get mixed up in.” Plagg paused, but he must have known that wasn’t enough. “Dragons are real,” he finally said, “and I can smell their magic at work here. It’s very distinctive—a little similar to Longg’s, but sharper—and if you have any doubt, the fact that you’ve seen two dragons should put that to rest.”

Adrien didn’t know who Longg was. He didn’t ask, figuring Plagg would tell him if he could, at least if he figured it was important. Of course, Plagg’s idea of what was important could be fairly skewed, but Adrien had learned to live with that. “What about Phantom? Or the Ninja?”

“Phantom’s a ghost.” Something in Plagg’s tone made Adrien’s spine crawl, but maybe that was because he’d seen firsthand how dangerous Phantom could be. And to find out he wasn’t even alive…. How could Adrien hope to stop him, if it came to that? If he decided he wanted the Miraculous— “The Ninja’s magic is more recent, relatively speaking. This millennium, anyway; not like the dragons. He doesn’t have a Miraculous, but he’s got at least one magical artefact helping him out.”

“And at least he’s an ally,” Adrien murmured. “He only ever tried to fight the Critic, not me, even after she mentioned the Miraculous.” But he was an ally Adrien might never see again. Whatever he’d said earlier, he wasn’t really a partner, not like Ladybug. He might have just been passing by, in the right spot at the right time, and come to help because he was a hero.

He could just as easily be gone, leaving Adrien to deal with this mess by himself.

Between Hawk Moth, the ghost, the dragons, and the fact that Nathalie and the Gorilla were surely looking for him by now….

“We need to figure this out fast,” Adrien said. “I don’t know how much time we have.”

“Not enough,” Plagg murmured. Adrien might not have heard it ordinarily, soft-spoken as it was, but with Plagg right under his ear, he heard it this time.

He hoped Plagg was wrong, and not just about how much time they had, but he couldn’t afford to take any chances.

Taking a steadying breath, Adrien left the safety of the alley and went in search of the dragon.

(see more fics | next)

#secret quartet #danny phantom #rc9gn #miraculous ladybug #adjl #crossover #fanfiction #sq fanfiction #my writing #ladylynse #snippets #crossover snippet #dp snippet #rc9gn snippet #ml snippet #adjl snippet #thanks again :D Anon!

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ekat-fandom-blog · 1 year

Text

"Meets Me, Meets Me Not"

Bruce didn't want a soulmate. He saw how having a limited amount of words made people think harder about what they wanted to say. It didn't matter that his job required him to talk to people, he could always write it down or go the route Stephen Hawking did with text to speech.

Another reason he didn't want to meet his soulmate was his Justice League coworkers. He saw what losing your soulmate did to a person. J'onn might be coping now, but he hadn't been when he came to Earth. And what happened with the alternate version of Clark and how the entire Justice League became dictators after Lois died. Too many villains already knew his identity. It would just put his soulmate at risk.

Jazz had always wanted to meet her soulmate. She wanted someone she could talk to for hours on end. She wanted to never have to worry about not having enough words to finish a conversation with her brother. She didn't want to ever worry about not having words at all and worrying that a ghost or other villain would ruin any device she used to communicate with others.

She saw how happy Danny and Valerie were together after they'd found each other. She saw how they began to naturally balance out because of the other. She wanted that.

Valerie told her about an old trick. Showed her that no matter what flower she chose or how many petals the flower had originally, it always ended with the same answer. Showed her some scientific research on it. "Meets me, meets me not" was always accurate. The reason most people don't play the game is because if someone got "meets me not" it meant they'd never meet their soulmate in their lifetime.

So, she grabbed a flower and started. "Meets me," pick, "Meets me not," pick, "Meets me," pick, "Meets me not," and kept on going until the last petal.

"Meets me not."

#dc x dp #dp x dc #dcxdp #dpxdc #dcxdp soulmate au #jazz x bruce #parentsyndrom ship #parent syndrom #gray ghost #this made me a little sad #i'm gonna make another soulmate au prompt #2 combined soulmate aus #first one is “you have a set amount of words you can say unless you meet your soulmate”#second one is “meets me meets me not”

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daresplaining · 5 years

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Hey, Idk if you know this but imma ask you anyway cause I think you’re cool. ANYWAY, how do other hero’s react when they find out Daredevil is blind? (You have any HC’s that go along with it?)

Hi, and thanks! I’m happy that running a comics blog is considered cool.

This doesn’t actually come up as much as you’d think, because this kind of revelation almost never starts with people discovering that Daredevil is blind. Matt is (mostly) good at pretending he can see while in costume, since that’s an illusion he feels the need to maintain. Instead, what usually happens is this: someone (a fellow hero or otherwise) will learn that Matt is Daredevil, they’ll assume he fakes the blindness, Matt will then explain about the hypersenses, and that will be that. Sometimes he’ll be asked to prove it, but not always.

[ID: Excerpt from Kesel’s Daredevil run. Matt and Foggy are standing together in an office. Foggy has his back to Matt (and the reader).]

Foggy: “Okay, Matt– you can stop pretending, now.”

Matt: “Foggy–?”

Foggy: “This whole ‘blind’ thing. I know you’re really Daredevil! Some ‘best friend’– lying to me all these years… playing me for a fool…”

Matt: “No, Foggy– you’re wrong! I thought you understood… I really am blind, from a childhood accident that heightened my remaining senses–”

Daredevil vol. 1 #353 by Karl Kesel, Cary Nord, and Christie Scheele

[ID: Daredevil and Karen Page are sitting together in a large, fancy, primarily green sitting room.]

Karen: “And, your brother ‘Mike’… the aerial explosion in which you ‘died’… even your ‘blindness’… they were all nothing but ingenious frauds!”

Matt: “Two out of three right, my darling! I never had a brother… and that explosion was trumped up to flush out a would-be blackmailer! But, I have been blind for years… perhaps in more ways than one!”

Karen: “Really blind? I don’t… understand…!”

Matt: “When you get down to brass tacks, Karen… neither do I! As Matt, I told you once about the childhood accident that blinded me! That story was true, but not the whole truth!”

[ID: A panel showing a montage of Daredevil doing cool acrobatic tricks against an orange background.]

Matt (off-panel): “For, in some mysterious way, the same mishap that robbed me of my sight… amazingly sharpened my remaining senses, to far beyond those of other men… enabling me to avoid disasters, and to perform athletic feats that few people even dream of! Taste… touch… smell… hearing… all my senses were heightened! Except perhaps for that secret ingredient called… common sense! Why else would I never have told you before… that I love you?”

Daredevil vol. 1 #58 by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan

[ID: Daredevil and Black Panther are swinging in tandem across the nighttime city.]

T’Challa: “DD… I know I promised no questions… but I have never comprehended how a blind attorney can battle crime with the best of them! –If you truly are blind, that is!”

Matt: “I am… but I’ve got some other super-senses that just won’t quit! Remind me to tell you about ‘em sometime!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #69 by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan

[ID: Daredevil and Spider-Man– who is in his black costume– are crouched on a rooftop, talking.]

Peter: “So… ‘Peter’, huh?”

Matt: “Yup. And in case you’re wondering, my handle is… Matt Murdock.”

Peter: “You’re kidding, right? I mean… Murdock’s blind… I mean… that is… uh, let’s go someplace and talk about this…”

[In the next panel they’re in Peter’s apartment, and in civvies. Matt is sitting on a chair, wearing a white shirt and blue pants. Peter is walking into the room, wearing a green shirt and blue pants.]

Matt: “Faintly acrid, but a nice apartment.”

Peter: “Boy, you really must be blind. And yeah, I had a fire recently. Let me understand– you could tell when you heard my heartbeat as Peter Parker and later as Spider-Man that we were the same guy? That’s some power. What do you call it?”

Matt: “Listening.”

Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man vol. 1 #110 by Peter David, Rich Buckler, and Bob Sharen

[ID: A panel of Luke Cage and Danny Rand– both in civvies– standing on a rooftop at night. They are looking up toward the viewer (at Daredevil, off-panel). Danny is holding up a newspaper.]

Luke: “You can put that down. He’s blind.”

Danny: “Oh, he really is blind. I thought he was pretending because of all the heat on him.”

Luke: “No, he’s really blind.”

Danny: “Oh.”

Daredevil vol. 2 #38 by Brian Michael Bendis, Manuel Gutierrez, and Matt Hollingsworth

These are just a few examples, but you get the idea. It’s very rare that someone figures out that Daredevil is blind without it being tied to a full-on secret identity reveal. The best example I can think of is this great moment from one of the Daredevil/Batman crossovers. Trust the World’s Greatest Detective to figure it out…

[ID: Daredevil and Batman are standing together on a rooftop at night.]

Bruce: “Let’s say you’re visually impaired. You favor your other modes of sensory input. A subtle inclination of your head when there’s a sound. An extremely slight flaring of your nostrils, probably indicating olfactory acuteness. You’re practiced– or possess sensory enhancements– making your powers of observation markedly proficient.”

Matt: “Thanks. Yours aren’t bad, either.”

Daredevil and Batman by D.G. Chichester, Scott McDaniel, and Gregory Wright

I love this because Matt’s blindness and powers would affect his body language, and I kind of wish that more characters– particularly those with combat expertise– would notice. As it stands, pretty much everyone who knows that Daredevil is blind also learns about his hypersenses immediately afterward, and since there’s always been a tendency for writers to allow Matt’s powers to get him out of situations that would generally require sight, his blindness doesn’t come up as much as I wish it would within the context of his actual hero work and team-ups. The little evidence available suggests that his fellow heroes are accommodating (we get little details, like the fact that the text on Matt’s Avengers ID card is written in braille) and they’re generally impressed by him, but they don’t make that big a deal of it. Sometimes they’ll forget he’s blind, but he is quick to remind them. In the wider context of the Marvel superhero community, a blind superhero isn’t that weird, no matter what Brainwashed Wolverine™ might claim:

[ID: Wolverine and Matt (in costume, but without his mask) are fighting in Matt’s apartment. Wolverine is slashing with his claws; Matt is trying to restrain him]

Logan: “Hands offa me, you blind freak!”

Matt: “This isn’t you that’s saying this. You have to fight it, Wolverine. You’ve just been reprogrammed.”

Logan (caption): “Listen to you, Murdock: talking like you’re some kinda super hero– Ever wonder why they didn’t ask you to join their fancy teams, big shot? Ever wonder why you always work alone? ‘Cuz you’re blind. Handicapped. Oughta hear the sick jokes they crack behind your back–”

Wolverine (2003) #24 by Mark Millar, John Romita, Jr., Paul Mounts

(This comes after a long rant about how Matt gets more dates than him. Brainwashed Wolverine™ was going through some stuff in this issue…)

One context in which Matt’s blindness does come up is in his interactions with other blind superheroes. In these cases, it usually serves as a source of bonding. Gerry Conway gives us this weird-yet-touching issue in which Matt encounters a blind hero from another dimension:

[ID: Daredevil is standing over a figure (Tagak), who is wearing a purple and orange skin-tight suit and a leopard-print mask that covers his whole head.]

Matt: “Now maybe I’ll get some answers! Like, number one… who you are… and number two… how you pretend to see– when you’re blind!”

Tagak: “How…?”

Matt: “Big clue: the way you hesitated just now… and let’s just say it takes one to know one!”

Tagak: “Then you…? It seems there is much to speak about, my friend!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #72 Gerry Conway and Gene Colan

Since Matt generally works so hard to hide his blindness while in costume, it’s notable that he shares this information with Tagak within minutes of meeting him– especially when he didn’t actually have to.

Here’s a more recent example, from after Matt has revealed his secret identity to the Inhuman superhero Reader:

[ID: A panel showing Reader sitting at a table, with Matt– in civvies and with his arm in a sling– standing next to the table.]

Reader: “Wait… are you really blind? Gotta admit, I kind of liked being on a team with another blind guy.”

Matt: “I’m really blind.”

Reader: “Then how…”

Matt: “You’ve got your tricks, Reader, I’ve got mine.”

Daredevil vol. 5 #609 by Charles Soule and Phil Noto

This example is a bit more complicated, since (spoiler alert) it’s all in Matt’s head, but 1. this conversation seems in-character for Reader anyway, and 2. the fact that Matt would want him to react this way is still significant.

And then there are the villains! One of my favorite examples of Matt’s blindness coming into play in his hero work is this great scene from Waid’s run, in which the Jester– having learned Matt’s secret identity but assuming that the blindness is just an act (as everyone does at first, see above)– sets a trap that is entirely vision-reliant…

[ID: Matt, in civvies, comes across a life-sized dummy of Foggy hanging from a noose. He perceives it in an unrecognizable form with his radar sense. This alternates with panels of the Jester, who is sitting in front of an array of computer screens and getting increasingly agitated.]

Matt (caption): “And what is this? A Jaycees haunted house? Who are you supposed to represent?”

Jester: “He’s staring right at it! Why– why isn’t he reacting?”

Matt (caption): “Real dead bodies have a distinct odor, Jester. This smells like foam rubber and latex. What were you trying to accomplish here? Fail.”

Jester: “React, damn you! That’s your best friend hanging from a noose! Anyone who’s ever seen Murdock in a fight knows the ‘blind lawyer’ gag is a put-on! Open your eyes!”

Daredevil vol. 3 #32 by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, and Javier Rodriguez

I don’t really have headcanons as much as I have a wish to see more of this sort of thing in the source material itself (though I would love to hear other people’s headcanons, if they have some!). We’ve come a long way, in general, from the “Matt’s senses more than compensate for his blindness” attitude that plagued early (and some more recent, unfortunately) Daredevil comics, and Waid’s run in particular made great strides in this area, but I always feel like more can be done. I want Matt to hang out with more of the Marvel Universe’s other blind characters (there are a bunch of them!). I want his blindness to come up more often in his team-ups with sighted heroes. We’ve seen antagonists target his hypersenses, but I was surprised and a little disappointed that, back when his blindness was public knowledge, his rogues didn’t try to use that against him. On the other hand, we got awesome things like this during that period…

[ID: A panel showing Matt on the street, in civvies, signing an autograph for a blind kid with a service dog.]

Daredevil vol. 4 #11 by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee, and Matt Wilson

…which is another of the many reasons I’m sad it’s over, as Matt/Daredevil interacting more with the non-powered disabled community is another thing I want– including negotiating his identity as a superpowered disabled person.

There’s a tricky line that needs to be walked in handling this aspect of Matt’s character. In making his blindness too prominent, or too debilitating, there’s a risk of turning him into a caricature or making it seem like a burden rather than a simple fact of his existence. Matt is a complex character, and his sensory array is only one part of that complexity. But he is one of the most prominent blind characters in comics– if not media in general– and I still feel like there are a lot of stories surrounding this part of his identity that haven’t yet been told, in the context of both the civilian and superhero sides of his life.

#nightwing1536 #Daredevil #Matt Murdock #Asks #Sensory Shenanigans #Adventures in Continuity

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lovelyirony · 6 years

Text

Checkmate

@thormlm

Tony Carbonell was good at what he did. He knew it, no one else did. Why? Because again. He was good at what he did. Tony stole stuff. Not snacks from the convenience store, not jewelry from an old lady’s home.

Documents that incriminated some syndicate. Paintings that no one in public had seen them. (Van Gogh had a crazy other side to his paintings, it was wicked.) And mostly, scammed enough people into forgetting his face. He was John Howard, Arno Stark, whoever he needed to be. He was not Tony Carbonell. He was just another face in the crowd. That’s how it was meant to be.

There’s a new cop in town. “Corrupt,” or so they say. Not corrupt, just a little bit more willing to get criminals in jail than most. They call him Captain. He’s also known as Steven Grant Rogers, served in the army for three years, honorably discharged. Awards and honors out the ass, a degree in art history, and a talent for making posters for local events on the side.

Captain is smart. He knows exactly where Tony’s kind hangs out, where they get information, and just what they call Tony.

They call Tony “Iron Man.” It’s a stupid nickname, earned a few years earlier when Tony did a job involving a safe. No one knew how he did it. How the safe was opened, because no one had accessed it in months. And then, of course, they don’t look at who accessed it all those months before. Who pays attention the morning cleaners?

Tony got in, he got out. No combination, just DNA processing. They don’t know how he did it, because a.) the man was dead, and it requires a recognizable strand of DNA to be done. b.) there were no relatives that thieves knew of.

Keyword: knew.

Tony robbed his own father, which really most people would have a problem. But as it turns out, Howard Stark was a piece of shit, and Tony really thought that the ruby cuff links and stacks of cash deserved to see the light of day and not rot in an iron safe in some “secure” bank.

But that’s not the point, is it? The point is that Tony has to deal with Black Widow texting him “lol ur in deep shit” with a screenshot of Steve Rogers texting someone that he would get Iron Man.

Which, you know, is great. Wonderful. Tony loves that he’s being pursued by a man with more resources than he needs to catch Tony. He loves knowing this all before he gets his coffee, the one that’s flavored Amaretto, and just sitting in his kitchen saying “shit.” He loves life. Wow. Tony wishes he could live forever, this is amazing news! Great, Tony might die!

Fact: criminals who are convinced that they will never get caught are the worst. Tony has met many criminals who boast and say they will never get caught. He smiles, says “okay”, and watches from the back of the courtroom as they get sentenced to forty years in prison, rotting. Tony knows that eventually, he may get caught. But he’ll get to that when he gets to it.

Tony calls Pepper first. She is his lawyer that he loves more than life itself, even though she has called him “an inconvenient goblin” and “really, Tony? This again?” She loves him, though. He knows that she does. So when he calls her and says

“Hey Pepper, I’m in deep shit! Fun!” She knows Exactly what’s going to go down. Someone is onto Iron Man. Which means that she is on standby just in case things go haywire.

“You might want to call Jim,” Pepper says. “You know how he gets when people threaten you.”

“Overprotective?”

“Careful,” Pepper suggests. “He’s not overprotective, you’re just reckless and paranoid.”

“Those who aren’t paranoid die, Pep. Consider me an expert on that.” Once upon a time, Tony had not been paranoid.

Then there was a car crash. An uncle who smiled and said it was so unfortunate, would Tony like to go on a trip to forget about it? Dubai, maybe? And then Tony ended up in Afghanistan where he was supposed to die.

But that’s the thing, sometimes, about Paranoia: it gets you out of some weird situations. Tony was supposed to die. But he’s just paranoid enough of dying that it didn’t happen.

Tony calls Rhodey up anyway. “Hello Rhodey! How are you today? I am doing Fantastically Wonderful, It’s So Nice Outside, What? No, I’m Not Bullshitting You--”

“Yeah, you are. What’d you do?”

“It’s more of what I’m about to do.”

“If you’re finally buying that Danny Devito cardboard cutout, I’m legitimately cutting you out of my will.”

“You can die?”

“This life around? Yes. What’s your point?”

“The Captain is coming after my ass.”

“Like...in a sexy way?” Tony splutters.

“You are Unbelieve, no, not that way. I cannot believe you thought that within, like, two months of knowing about the Captain, that he would even look my way.”

“So he’s looking your way,” Rhodey says. “But in a ‘I might be murdered’ type of way?”

“Exactly,” Tony responds. “So I may die in a couple of months to a year.”

Rhodey laughs. “You’re so stupid, no you’re not. You ate an egg roll from a gas station in the middle of nowhere and you survived. It’s fine.”

“I really feel like you’re not getting the severity of the situation,” Tony says. “The Captain is trying to catch me. And he knows more than enough about the criminal world to actually get the job done. He knows people.”

“Like who?” Rhodey says. “The guy’s in the police force. He just got awarded for rescuing a cat, I hardly doubt that the people he knows can actually pull this off.” He’s kind of laughing. “I got your back.”

“Against the Winter Soldier?”

Silence.

“Oh fuck. You’re screwed. You’re so screwed. Do you know how screwed you are?”

“Screwed as a nail,” Tony mutters. “So I’m going off the grid. I’ll catch you in a year or something. I don’t know. Off-the-grid schedules are tricky.”

“Don’t do anything weird, okay? Don’t, like, blow up the White House or something to escape.”

“I don’t have access to that much C-4,” Tony quips. “Bye, honey bear.”

Line goes dead. Phone gets smashed. Easy peasy, lemon whatever.

Tony has fine taste. He’s not gonna deny that much. He has Italian leather shoes, pants specifically tailored for his legs and ass, and a passion for the finer side of thread-counts and furniture. All acquired through a man who goes by Bruce and Bruce only. He used to be a radiation scientist, Tony actually knows about him. But then something went haywire, he has anger issues, and refuses to talk about deep-seated issues. Can you believe?

But Tony walks to the store, unassuming and beige with everything else. Ugh. Tony hates beige.

“Bruce! I have a favor to ask!”

“Yeah, what is it?” Bruce says. “If it’s murder, I charge money for my no-doubt-eventual-counselling sessions.”

“Nonsense,” Tony says. “I’m not doing murder, and the only thing I need for you to do is deny that I’ve ever shopped here.”

“Why?”

“Bruce, only scientists ask questions like ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’, and the damning ‘why’. You don’t need to know.”

“You forgot the ‘how’, Tony.”

“Damn your perception,” Tony says, light and cheery. He’s actually teetering between the line of “Is this Okay or is it Anxiety Time,” which is better than a lot of other lines he’s teetered on. (One was literal, too, which is not good for your state of health if you’re not trained to go on tightropes, by the way.) “Anyway, promise not to tell anyone that you sell me good cotton sheets?”

“Sure,” Bruce says. “But you also can’t tell anyone where you got the sheets.”

“Never have, probably never will,” Tony says cheerily. “Talk to you maybe later!”

And then comes a text. I’ve been assigned to come after you. Headstart of one hour.

Well, fuck. Just because you’re friends with Black Widow doesn’t actually mean that she refuses to take jobs referring to Iron Man. She hasn’t refused any, but she also hasn’t been given any.

I’ll double the sum they’re paying.

They have blackmail on me, you can’t double that. They know more about me than you.

Even that you like cherry-nut ice cream?

Less than one hour, Iron Man.

So then, Tony has to do something drastic. He may have told his driver/friend/low-key criminal hitman Happy to pose as him, buy a ticket to France, and actually get on the plane. Natasha doesn’t kill those she isn’t assigned to. And she’s real good with faces, so she’ll know when he turns that it isn’t Tony.

Tony actually gets to an apartment in Brooklyn. It’s his back-up apartment, technically owned by his mother. His mother hates Brooklyn, refuses to go anywhere near the area, and doesn’t technically know that she owns an apartment in Brooklyn. Tony finds it funny.

He’s wearing a t-shirt that he likes, jeans that he hates, and lugging some boxes in. Maintain the cover.

“Hey,” comes a voice behind him. “Looks like we’re neighbors. I’m Steve.”

It takes everything in Tony’s willpower to not just whip the knife out of his pocket, but you can’t do that to neighbors you just met. Even if they signed a contract with Black Widow to get you and maybe-kill you.

“I’m Tony,” Tony says, because he is an Idiot Under Stress. “Nice to meet you, Steve.”

They talk. For an hour. Steve is surprisingly funny for a guy who wants to kill him. Steve likes appetizers at restaurants, does art as a hobby, and wants to own a dog. He also used to be allergic to peanut butter but isn’t anymore, and isn’t that the Funniest thing? Tony half-laughs and says “yeah, it is,” and then Steve says it.

“So, what do you do for a living?”

Tony does a lot of things. He stole a Renoir. He also has sixty thousand dollars in an off-shore bank account. Which actually isn’t a bank account because Tony doesn’t like banks, but more of a dresser in a house in Manhattan Island.

“I’m, um, tech support,” Tony says.

“Really? I’m sure that’s interesting,” Steve says. “A lot of asking people to reboot their computers, huh?”

“You have no idea,” Tony mutters. “Well, as lovely as it has been getting to know you, I need to get everything set up. See you around?”

“Definitely!”

Tony shuts the door, sits on the couch, and looks out the window.

He can do this. It’s like a game of chess: you just need strategy. Tony used to play all the old guys in Central Park in chess, you could probably call him an expert at this point. Maybe. He’s not exactly sure of all the rules, some old guys made up their own. But still. He could do this.

(Rhodey would be laughing at him right about now if he could see this predicament.)

#this was based off a post i made yesterday about tony knowing all the moves before you even made the first one #yeah it's fun #stony #steve rogers #tony stark #captain america #Iron Man #yeah buddy this is fun #i like this #lovelyirony writes #tony: chill but Not Really #this was infinitely longer than i had originally planned #oops

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