#and this not even mentioning Bruce going up to Joker's cell and showing him the playing card as revealed in DotF | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

watchtowerindistress · 1 year

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we are not our demons (21/24) - bruce wayne x batmom

Gif source: luke-skywalker

Author’s note: Initially, Helena's character wasn't supposed to show up in the last chapter, but I thought it'd be nice to have a reunion of both Sirens and Birds of Prey show up in the name of Babs. Ellie isn't supposed to take Catwoman's place, I just didn't know how to include Selina's character in this series.

This chapter will show a resolution to what happened in the last chapter. I present to you ... the final showdown of Joker and Barbara Gordon.

I hope I did Ivy justice somehow. As I was re-writing the last few chapters, I realized how I can't write Ivy properly when she's in the company of Harley.

A year ago, when I had that story lined out, I wanted the finale to end in all the girls beating him up, including Ellie using the crowbar on him. But now, I feel differently and didn't like that idea any longer. [See you at the end.]

Beta-read by Heidi.

Words: 5.2k

Warning: mentioned violence, trauma, language, self-hate, kinda fluffy? (I know, I hate myself too), sexual tension (I'm giving myself whiplash)

Please reblog/leave a comment.

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I’m gonna take it for what it’s worth

Put in the hours ‘til I have earned it

Show everybody what I deserve, oh yeah

Gonna build an empire, empire

- Empire by Nina Nesbitt -

~ Ellie POV ~

The soreness in her upper cheek was starting to throb delicately. Ellie held one hand on the steering wheel, and the uninjured side of her face was braced against her palm. The woman twisted her mouth to ease the tension from her face.

Ellie’s gaze wandered into the rear-view mirror and discovered with great assurance that Helena and Dinah were driving behind them at a safe distance. Overseeing the trunk of her car in which Joker was currently lying unconsciously.

It was time to fulfill their mission and take their person of interest to the place that harbored a lot more people like him. But still, Ellie doubted there was anyone like the Joker. She wondered how all the psychologists had different perceptions of the Joker’s mental state. Or maybe even Harley’s.

Every single expert detected different assessments which were all in contradiction to each other. Either the Joker was called a patient with psychotic behavior or a being with psychopathic tendencies.

Driven by her own musings, Ellie’s brown eyes drifted over to the strange couple sitting on her backseat. Harley’s head lingered against Ivy’s shoulder and tried to seek some rest, blinking slowly. Harley revealed quite a rare picture of intimate tranquility while her fingers caressed Ivy’s hand on her clothed knee.

Trying to appear focused on the traffic as Ellie drove over the bridge, blaring sirens passed them. A convoy of police cars headed towards the direction they had been coming from.

“I guess the GCPD followed Oracle’s anonymous tip,” Ellie noted calmly. For the first time in months, it felt like she could finally breathe again. Barbara had sent some intel to her uncle, in the hopes that he would mobilize his forces to get the unconscious band of clowns from the Funhouse.

Ivy hummed quietly in agreement while Harley looked outside the window. “Blackgate and Arkham are going to need a bunch of more cells,” Harley sang softly.

Ellie glanced into the mirror towards those blue eyes already gazing back at her. “You know what I’m racking my brain about? How come the Joker had more bruises on his face after I came back from the routine check?”

“What can I say, doll?” The blue and pink tips of her hair danced on her shoulders when she carelessly shrugged. “He ran into my hammer a few times. It felt absolutely wonderful to break Joker’s bones for a change.” She sighed blissfully and smiled fondly, like she would cherish those moments forever.

Ivy leaned forward in her seat. “In the girls’ defense, I believe that it was a cathartic experience for everyone involved à la ‘Murder on the Orient Express’, you know?”

Pausing in thought, her eyes flitted around in her sockets when Ellie replied ironically, “They killed him in that flick.”

The corners of Ivy’s mouth danced with mirth. “It was a group-building effort. You could’ve joined us.”

As if that realization had been lingering at the back of her head for a few weeks now, it suddenly came clear to her as light as day. “Today’s mission was not about me. It wouldn’t have changed anything if I was the one who broke his kneecaps. I’d still feel the same.”

Ellie was watching patiently with her arms crossed behind the wide computer screen. The warmth of her girls surrounded her as they waited for Joker to regain consciousness.

The staff had cleaned up the blood from his face and placed him in the straitjacket before locking him in his containment cell. Joker was blinking slowly on the ground before his mind became his own again. With some difficulty he straightened his upper body while still remaining on the floor.

Ellie faced Barbara on her left side as she activated her microphone input for the security member. “Hold it against the glass,” she decreed soberly.

“Wakey, wakey. Eggs and bakey,” Harley spoke and gleefully studied him reading the subtitles Barbara had activated for this particular task. The women stepped into the frame of the camera as soon as they had Joker’s attention.

“Welcome back, Joker. This place should appear familiar to you by now. But this time your containment shall be different,” Barbara explained almost with a dull voice.

Despite the courageous front she put on for this megalomaniac, Ellie still felt her heart accelerate when she faced him head-on. She would be stupid not to fear him. “We want you to know who did this to you. I made this fortress just for you. Stuck in a cell with sensory deprivation. A soundproof cage just for you. No contact to the outside world. People could go crazy in there,” she mused with philosophical air.

Wild fascination lit up in those green eyes as he tilted his head, staring into her orbs with strange intensity. That fixated gaze only invoked a more harrowing feeling inside Ellie. It was strange to interpret the look he was sending her. Not knowing truly unsettled her in the presence of this unpredictable criminal.

Joker’s unkempt hair heightened his crazed mental state. “Look who we have here,” he whispered with deep captivation. “I haven’t seen your fresh face before. Tell me your name and what I ever did to wrong you.”

Ellie’s eyes narrowed and briefly considered listing all the reasons Joker ever did to wrong her—starting from Jason’s death to Barbara’s abuse. Feeling torn to show an arrogant side just because she wanted to get one over him, but the rationality swelled underneath the surface. Ellie didn’t want to reveal some tidbit of information about her in the heat of the moment.

“I’m the one who put you in this place. With merely a little help from my friends. I’m the one who has connections in high places at Arkham. I’m the one who decides what happens to you from now on.”

Ellie sensed Harley turning her hand and send a pleased smile towards the side of her face.

Uncontrolled, unhinged giggles left his red painted lips. “Such a foolish girl to think she could hide from me. You believe you are safe? You know what you are indeed? A dead woman dancing with the devil.”

Helena’s comforting low voice soothed her worries gradually. “You are in no position to make threats, clown.” Ellie’s heart swelled with warmth at the idea of her concern. Who didn’t want to be protected by the Huntress?

Joker’s gaze wandered over to everyone who was involved in his imprisonment. At last, his eyes paused on Harley as he articulated every single word. “You betrayed me, Harley. I expected better from you.”

Her eyes darkened at his familiar stinging words. The kind that would leave her bleeding on the floor while he kicked her with gleeful laughter. “And I expect absolutely nothing from you. You’re just some guy in clown make-up who wants to keep people under your control until they choke on you. You mean nothing.” She shook her head until her untamed colorful hair settled like a mane over her shoulder. “I’m not your sidekick anymore.”

“You think someone could ever love something broken like you?” Joker’s eyes danced with mirth, as if he found the idea truly laughable.

“Speak for yourself,” Ivy spoke darkly.

“I am. I am going to love myself.” she paused meaningfully and raised her head with pride. “I don’t need you; I see that now. I have Ivy.”

Joker’s attention switched back to Poison Ivy at the mention. “You made a grave mistake turning against me, Ivy.”

The green-skinned woman rolled her eyes. “As if I was ever on your side to begin with. I’ve always been on my own.”

Thinking that she was seeing things before, Ellie validated her suspicions when she glanced behind her. And yep, Ivy had been stroking her green-tinted fingers over Harley’s hair on her back ever since Joker chose to attack her self-worth. Out of gratitude, Harley weaved her fingers through her girlfriend’s.

“All of this just because I wanted to tease the little bat?”

Dinah scoffed at the reminder of Joker’s so-called games. “We’re not your chess pieces, Joker.”

Barbara breathed in deeply through her nose and lifted her head again. “Ever since what you did to me that night, I imagined how this would feel like. I believed this would mean something, but it doesn’t. In the end, I don’t feel better … but knowing you’ll be stuck there … does. No way out, no more allies for you. You don’t matter. You will cease to exist, forgotten. How does that make you feel, Joker?”

Joker’s face contorted into something truly evil. “I have a whole society of people just like me who will follow in my footsteps. You can’t stop this madness.”

Barbara leaned forward in her wheelchair, getting ready to deliver the finishing blow. “We’ll be ready for that. We defeated you. Me and my girls. We did this. And we’re telling you, we’re done with you.”

Deciding that this conversation was draining enough, Barbara clicked off the screen, and they all watched the display turning black.

The screen barely got dark before Barbara’s strong front transformed back to a fragile leaf. With a shuddering sigh, the red-headed woman rested her shoulders against her backrest, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

Dinah’s hand delicately caressed Barbara’s shoulder in consoling appreciation. “You did good there, Babs.”

Without uttering a verbal reply, she tersely nodded her head.

Ellie’s eyes lingered on her friend’s vulnerable expression and tried to do something nice for her. “Why don’t we give Babs a moment while I escort you back outside?”

Harley’s shrugging shoulders depicted the visual of a woman who couldn’t care less while Ivy temptingly waved her fingers in goodbye. “Until our next adventure, Babs.”

Their footsteps made thudding sounds while Ellie couldn’t help her musing thoughts to wander back to the Watchtower Barbara called her lair. It had a sleek modern look, with those white walls and green LED lights, to it as the redheaded tech wizard had converted the former clock tower into her own trusted base. They just passed the giant clock on the right when Dinah turned her head in dubious speculation towards her.

“You know, you’ve got to tell me who trained you. That was some solid vigilante work.”

A modest shrug moved Ellie’s shoulders. “You know, the usual. Self-defense. Krav Maga. Just started on some Escrima.”

Helena’s confused frown revealed that she seemed to share Dinah’s sentiment. “Fascinating.”

“Today was fun. We should do that again sometime,” Harley spoke with a high and delighted timbre. Almost like they had just completed a shopping trip together. The ends of her hair whipped in the air along with her leaping strides. Her light-colored hand held Ivy’s green one in perfect harmony and joyfully lifted theirs with every movement.

Barbara seemed to trust the Sirens to a certain degree if she allowed them entrance to her base of operations. Helena and Dinah really should consider choosing a group name like Harley and Ivy if they intended to work as vigilantes in Gotham.

Ellie eyed the side of Harley’s mascara-smudged face with suspicious intent. “Uh, I don’t think so.”

No one wanted to work in a group project with the one person that proved to be an utter wildcard.

Harley swung her mallet over her shoulder in an abrupt motion, forcing Helena to stop out of the way and not get hit in the process. “Why not? We kept you safe, didn’t we?”

Helena sighed with a long exhale and stepped next to her. Her hands were hidden in her front pockets while her crossbow was safely stashed on her back. “Says the one who didn’t stick to the plan.”

Dinah nodded with a tired expression and rubbed the skin underneath her choker. “What she said. I think this teaming up with the bad guys thing was more of a one-time situation.”

Harley rolled her eyes. “Plans are overrated anyway.”

Ivy’s mysterious gaze rested on Ellie’s. “Pity. Well, you know where to find us, sweet human.”

The girls had just entered the elevator when Dinah glanced at Ellie as soon as she entered the space and tilted her head in wonder. “You coming with us?”

Ellie shook her head in denial. She tapped her toes and kept her palms inside the pockets of her ripped jeans. “I’m staying with Babs for a bit.”

Helena consented to the choice she made and nodded once. “Guess we’ll see you around then.”

As a way of goodbye, Ellie did a sloppy salute at the height of her eyebrow moments before the doors of the elevator slid shut with finality.

No way out of this now.

Ellie was blinking slowly when she slowly turned her body and walked back towards the heart of the lair. From a distance the shining red hair was visible and only intensified Ellie’s frazzled nerves. She was still wringing her hands with trepidation as Barbara’s purple-blue eyes found her own.

Ellie stood a few feet away from her when she spoke up, “I’m sorry if I messed things up for you today. If you had a plan set in motion which I just fucked all up because I had something to prove.”

Barbara shifted her chair around until she was facing Ellie and calmly rested her hand in her lap. “It’s done now. It’s over,” Barbara breathed out unevenly. She tilted her head, like another thought crossed her mind. “I don’t get how you had anything to prove.”

Ellie opened her palms at her waist. “Don’t you see? It was all for you. It wasn’t about ego or anything like that, but because I wanted to help you. Everything just felt so unfair, and I couldn’t take it any longer.”

Barbara’s eyes widened in a mystified way. Shocked at Ellie’s resilience and how far she would go for her.

“Is that really so hard to believe that I would go to these lengths for you?”

“Maybe.”

The brown-haired woman exhaled a heavy sigh and made herself a make-shift seat on the corner of her desk since Barbara didn’t anticipate any guests so far. Or maybe there was another reason for that. Ellie was sitting more at eye level now when she whispered, “How are you feeling?”

“Please stop asking me that question. What am I supposed to feel exactly?” Barbara’s tired voice and haggard facial expression tore at her heartstrings.

Ellie shrugged her shoulders, sighing. “Anything. Relieved? Sad? Whatever you want to feel.”

Barbara licked her dry lips as her teary eyes focused on nothing at the ceiling. “What the Joker did to me as I was lying there, helpless … no one can imagine, Ellie. He didn’t rape me if that’s what you’re wondering. Joker just watched … seeing me helpless like that…” The corners of her lips twisted into a bitter grimace. “I always get back to that one night that changed me fundamentally. I just wanted so much to cause him the same amount of pain he inflicted on me. What does it matter now? All I feel is empty now.”

Ellie revealed a strained smile, feeling a certain déjà vu that broke her heart. That Barbara had to learn the same lesson she had to learn. That nothing would fill this numbing void.

Barbara’s confession rendered her speechless as she rubbed her thumbs together. Her stomach simmered with something uncomfortable. “Did I … mess up your plan?”

“Yes, but not in a bad way. You merely changed it. But … it gave me perspective.”

Ellie blinked slowly. “How come?”

“I thought his incarceration or even his death would mean something. I guess I was wrong. It doesn’t make a difference. I mean, I don’t see this as a win. I still feel the same. All this rage as I was lying there on the living room floor, this desperation when those eyes branded into my brain. The only thing that’s left for me is this calm apathy to deal with the pain.”

“You forget one thing. People will be safer,” Ellie adamantly campaigned and leaned forward. “Gotham has one less clown to terrorize it. Joker’s locked up for good. You can heal now, Babs.”

Desperation was visible on her frowning face when she mumbled, “How long did it take for you until you stopped having nightmares of Strange?”

A heavy pause lingered in the air before Ellie finally admitted vaguely, “Trauma can reveal itself in many shapes and forms.” A strained smile formed on her lips. As much as it pained her to say it, Ellie still pushed through. “How about that? I’ll tell you when those nightmares do stop.”

“What about you?” Once Ellie’s perplexed eyes met hers, Barbara scratched the back of her head and elaborated, “You should know by now that I have my eyes everywhere. I saw your … episode in that Funhouse. You never told me—”

"—That, what? We’re all just messed up people. I never said I was fixed. I’m just…” Ellie breathed in deeply, trying to find the right words that would reveal her mental state. “Living day to day.”

Barbara nodded slowly in understanding. Like there was a part of her that could relate.

“I’m turning into a recluse.” Embarrassed chuckles left Barbara’s lips. “I’m afraid of going outside. Meeting people and being sociable. Who’d have thought, huh? Pathetic, little Babs—scared of trusting people.”

Ellie felt it was essential to not pity her and tried to lift her spirits when she whispered almost like a confession, “After the incident, I closed the curtains at my apartment at all times.”

It did the trick.

Hearty chuckles shook her upper body when Barbara covered her mouth. “Really?”

“No kidding. It was the lights—it was too much for me.” Breathing out felt like letting go of one of her anxieties. “Just call me if you want me to take a walk with you in the park or something, okay? It will get better, and I’m here for you, no matter what. That never changed. At least one of us should be able to accept the help of others.”

That last statement let self-conscious chortles come forth from her chest.

Barbara nodded in acceptance when she answered, “I’ll keep that in mind. One day, maybe.”

“That’s enough for me,” Ellie replied with a smile and supported her palms on her knees before standing up from her position.

Like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, Ellie felt immeasurably lighter when she readied herself for their goodbye.

One of the reasons why her thoughts were elsewhere when Barbara’s concerned voice spoke up, “You know, everyone’s allowed to have their secrets, I get that, but I doubt that Bruce would condemn yours.”

The woman turned her body in curiosity and for a second her heart accelerated at what kind of secret Barbara was alluding to. The young hacker was more than well-versed in finding out everyone’s deepest and darkest secrets, but another glance into her eyes, and Ellie was certain that she meant no ill intent.

Ellie nervously pursed her lips, feeling her pulse throb at the side of her neck. “Secrets?”

Her probing gaze lingered on Ellie’s face. “Your connections in Arkham?”

Her insides turned to ice at the implications that Barbara knew. She licked her lips as her fingers twitched at her waist.

“This darkness growing inside you doesn’t define you. It can’t. You’re far too good for this world. Even when you operated as a vigilante you never lost your humanity.”

“I’m not so sure. You haven’t seen Bruce, how he saw me deteriorate when it was you. I’m afraid he’s going to be … disappointed in me when he found out the truth. What I’ve become. That I’m not good. That he was wrong about me.”

Ellie turned her head away and rubbed her arms to find some comfort. She had refused to let those positive thoughts enter her mind when only the twisted mind remained. Hearing Barbara’s words were entirely something else.

“Those demons didn’t defeat you. Mine won’t either. All I know is that it’s going to take time to recover.”

Well, shucks. Barbara just managed to render her to tears in return.

Ellie placed her hands on her waist and exhaled loudly. A few strands had loosened from her bun and fell in tendrils along her face. Ellie’s furtive glance met something peculiar on the corner of her desk. Polaroid pictures peeking out from a benign envelope. Ellie’s breathing became quicker when the gory images of a half-naked Barbara became apparent. Her belly heated with a swelling emotion at the perverse reminder.

In some of those pictures Ellie could see, Barbara wore a canary-colored blouse which was unbuttoned to reveal a pink bra underneath. Her tear-stricken face gazing back into the camera of the person who shot those pictures.

“Promise me you’ll hang in there,” Ellie spoke lowly with pleading eyes.

“It was a morbid warning. Blackmail, whatever you want to call it,” Barbara replied with a raspy voice after gulping and put the blackmail/evidence back into their wrapper.

“We all have our secrets, don’t we?”

“I didn’t want my uncle to find them. As much as Joker wants to hurt my whole family, I won’t let him. Uncle Jim keeps a strong front for me, but he’s suffering enough. No one should have to relive that devastation.”

A long and blissful sigh erupted from her mouth as soon as the steaming hot water enveloped Ellie’s body. It truly had been a long day and at least this way the soothing bubble bath would relax her sore muscles. Leaning her head back, she felt all the tension leave her body.

Ellie exhaled deeply and brushed her hands over the wet hair of her scalp. A grumbling sound emanated from her lips when Ellie lifted herself up from the bathtub, letting droplets of water cascade down her legs. After wrapping a long towel around her upper body and keeping it snug above her chest, she furiously rubbed her wet locks with her head bent over.

Using the dry side of her towel to swipe the fog-stained mirror, a reflection of Ellie was facing her. She touched the drooping bags under her eyes and felt the events of today slowly getting to her. There were violent scratches on her forehead and—sure enough—another bruise at a spot around her cheek. Every spoken word tugged at the slight wound. Another sigh left her lips as soon as her naked feet tread on their way so she could get properly dressed.

Ellie had just turned off the lights in the bathroom and pushed the door handle in the dark when she waddled back into her bedroom.

Bruce sitting right on the edge of her bed yanked her hands to her chest in fright. “Oh my God! Don’t do that!” Her exclamation turned into mumbled words when she said, “You’re just like Alfred, damn it.” Not wanting to lose her modest covering, Ellie pulled her towel higher. “Don’t you knock? What brings you here?”

Bruce’s knees were casually spread while his steepled fingertips brushed his kneecaps. He was a vision clothed in utter darkness. All in casual garments—black sweatpants and thick sweater.

A pregnant pause lingered in the air while Bruce raised his eyebrows in challenge and waved his hands to the door on his left.

“Should I step outside for a bit and knock again? You didn’t hear me before, so I waited for you.”

That image he just planted in Ellie’s head made her suddenly wish she had some clothes on while she was facing him. “Uh, while I was taking a bath?” She chuckled nervously under her breath, feeling naked under his eyes. “That doesn’t sound weird at all.”

Needing to feel something against her fingertips, she stroked the clothes draped over her bedding next to him.

“What brings you here?” Ellie inquired softly and didn’t glance at Bruce as she did so. Believing that she would reveal herself as soon as she was looking into his eyes. One of the reasons why she chose to let her damp hair cover the side of her face.

Bruce grunted lowly, facing his lap. “Am I supposed to reprimand or congratulate you?”

Ellie’s heart was pulsating in her head when she started to breathe heavily. Her fingers twitched at her side. “What are you talking about?”

With a quiet sigh, Bruce stood up but kept his distance while pointing to the bruises on her cheek and forehead. “Eventful day?”

And just like that the jig was up. Ellie visibly deflated before his eyes. She licked her lips and winced from the movement. “Before you say anything, it was about Babs and what she wanted, and I wanted to grant her justice. And now she’ll be safe again.”

At long last, the tall man removed the distance between them until his warm breath lingered on her neck. Ellie had to crane her head back to gaze into his eyes while Bruce’s hand brushed the corner of her bruises, careful not to cause her more pain. A pounding sensation emerged from Ellie’s cheekbone at the prodding touch.

At Ellie’s wince, Bruce held his fingertips inches from her face. His stormy gaze lingered on her eyes. “Are you okay?”

She was staring so long into those hazel-brown eyes until time ceased to exist. Those warm pools were the place she called her home as she got lost in them. Deep affection was shining through them as Bruce framed the sides of her head.

Nodding carefully beneath his fingers, Ellie felt truly hypnotized by his gaze.

“I always felt safe with the girls. Harley and Ivy might not have been the best choice in partners, but Dinah and Helena always kept me covered.”

Bruce stilled in front of her and appeared to be simmering under the surface. “Wait, did you just say ‘Helena’? As in Huntress?”

Ellie tilted her head in confusion at his comprehension of vigilante identities before she paused in thought. “Yes?”

“Do you know how dangerous that woman is?”

“Babs sent Dinah and Helena,” Ellie explained, trying to understand Bruce’s insistence not to trust Huntress.

Bruce clenched his jaw tightly at Barbara’s choices to include them and elaborated, “That doesn’t mean I have to like it, Ellie.” He breathed heavily through his nose, fanning his air over her drying skin. His warm hand brushed over her naked shoulder. “I need to know that this was a one-time thing, okay?” Desperation was glistening in his warm and intense eyes. Bruce stroked a few hairs away from her forehead.

Ellie swallowed deeply, trying to ease the sudden thickness in her throat. This must really mean a lot to him.

“I just want to protect you. I can’t see you get hurt again,” Bruce whispered under his breath, like he was scared of speaking it into existence.

Ellie’s eyes softened at hearing him say that. Appreciating the honesty and guts it took for Bruce to voice it out loud.

“As much as the adrenaline is literally killing me every time, I’m watching you guys risk your lives on the screen and how exhilarating it was to break some bones this afternoon … I’d rather like to be your eye in the sky.”

Remembering what happened, Ellie suddenly felt self-conscious about her confidence. She’d be lucky to be even accepted with open arms after what she’d done. She couldn’t help her dramatic side since her pessimism took over.

Hesitance ruled over her features when she admitted quietly, “If you still want me to, that is. I know I’ve kinda abused your trust like that.”

Her heart was still beating hard in her chest while Bruce’s eyes turned mischievous. “What happened to your decision of making this a one-time thing as soon as Joker was stashed away?”

“What can I say?” She shrugged her shoulders, discovering her high spirits now that nothing was weighing her down any longer. “How could I ever leave now that Damian literally has a broken arm? I can’t abandon him now. I learned my lesson the first time, trust me. Alfred’s gonna need all the extra help he can get.”

Bruce narrowed his eyes as the teasing glint returned to them. “I’m sure.”

“Besides, I’m starting to get the hang of things. I kinda like it here.”

“Big lake house. Who wouldn’t?” Bruce’s voice turned so low and flirty that something familiar rumbled in her lower belly.

Oh, damn it. She forgot the full force of the Bruce Wayne charm.

Still, Ellie felt it was necessary to get this out in the open. “I’m sorry if I keep throwing away all these chances you keep giving. I don’t even understand how you keep forgiving me.”

“Well, you didn’t heed that promise to never being out in the field.”

Ellie somberly nodded before uttering, “It’s true.”

Bruce raised his eyebrows. “Apology accepted under one condition…”

“Anything.”

“I want you to give me that crowbar back.”

Chuckles left her mouth once she realized Bruce didn’t harbor any resentment. This was actually one of the reasons why she felt so guilty. Ellie knew how much this meant to him. How much Jason meant to him.

“Granted.”

Bruce sighed in acceptance before he leaned down. His warm lips pressed against her forehead, mindful of not touching the scrapes. The intimate touch made her release a breathy sigh. It was just the closeness, his warmth. Bruce’s warm hands left a brand through the towel and seared the skin on her hips.

“Please don’t give me a heart attack like that again, alright?” Bruce whispered against her skin before stepping back.

“Okay, old man,” Ellie awkwardly teased as she tried to regain her balance of their bantering camaraderie.

She felt the brief squeeze around her butt cheek before the smack echoed in the room. Ellie gasped from the familiar touch and tried to quell her pulsating clit to stay down. Who knew that this felt like muscle memory to her female being?

Bruce’s eyes resembled molten liquid while that damn teasing made a re-appearance when he cocked his head.

Damn you, rugged charm of Bruce Wayne.

“Who are you calling old?” He cleared his throat, like he was banishing a wayward thought, or maybe that was just Ellie’s wishful thinking. “I’m only 18 years older than you.”

“Who are you trying to convince now?”

But he was right. Despite being twice her age, Bruce always proved his stamina during their relationship.

And again, Ellie cursed her libido.

Needing the slight clarification once she sensed Bruce getting ready to leave in order for her to get dressed.

“How did you find out? Oracle covered all of her tracks.”

“Joker and his goons were sent to Arkham and Blackgate. Admittedly, Joker’s file said something about contusions and broken bones. Someone had a bone to pick with him. It’s not that hard to guess, trust me.”

“You know I took the crowbar. Does everyone know?” Ellie was suddenly nervous about what he was going to say.

“I’m surrounded by people with a high intellect. I’m sure they have a hunch.”

“Alfred’s not mad, is he?”

Bruce pursed his lips in thought, needing some time to consider his options. “Only that he didn’t get to come with and bring his shotgun.”

Quite a vivid and violent image.

Her eyes widened comically. “Next time.”

Bruce ignored Ellie’s suggestion, just to stop a heart attack from resurfacing. “Oracle, huh?”

Ellie hummed reverently under her breath.

“How is she?”

She lifted her clothes into her arms and tried to find the right words to describe her current state. “On her path to recovery, like all of us. Now that it’s finally over.”

A/N: I guess I can reveal now that this part, ever since Babs was mutilated by Joker it was never supposed to be a Batman story. I hope you're not mad that this sequel was always supposed to be about Ellie and creating the Birds of Prey. I still hope I found the right balance between both worlds.

Tagging: @mellowstatesmanhandsempath @ravenmoore14 @alwayshave-faith @ikranfuad @daydreaming-gemini @bluegalaxyprime @liadamerondjarin @steph21369 @andrewswifes-blog @yanna-banana @blackmagicwoman

#steph writes #watchtowerindistress #we are not our demons #batfleck #batfleck x oc #bruce wayne x oc #bruce wayne fic #bruce wayne imagine #bruce wayne imagines #batman x oc #bruce wayne #bruce wayne fanfiction #batman imagines #batman imagine #bruce wayne x batmom #batmom x batfam

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headcans-oneshots-and-stuff · 3 years

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Pregnant s/o (Preferences)

Requested by the amazing and breathtaking @ravennightingaleandavatempus: If your asks are still open how would the batboys be around a pregnant S/O.

A/N: Also just wanted to mention that none of these boys would be having gender reveal parties with explosives or anything else dangerous (or in general) because they have brain cells

Dick

Okay so that might be a repetitive motive in this, but he’ll crank up his protectivness by just about 100%

But first things first

When you find out that your pregnant and you tell Dick he’ll be so over the moon

like he’ll want to throw the biggest party to celebrate because HE IS GETTING LITTLE GRAY-SONS OR DAUGHTERS (see what I did there)

He’ll definitly brag in front of his siblings and everyone else he knows because HE HIT THE JACKPOT

Honestly will definitly read up a lot on how to be a good dad and would go and ask Alfred or Louis for advice (He’ll rather be caught dead than ask Bruce for advice cause he wants a lot for his futre child(ren), but he definitly doesn’t want them to become the way he and his siblings are now)

He would fully induldge in your cravings and other pregnancy things

you want cucumber pizza with nutella instead of tomato scauce? Guess who’ll be down at the cornor store getting the ingredients

You’re feet hurt and you’re cranky?

Dick will move heaven and earth to make you comfortable and give you a massage

He won’t go out on patrol too much during your pregnancy because the thought of you being left behind alone if something happened to him was too much for him to take

And like I said he’ll get very very protective

You won’t go out alone to any dangerous Gotham areas anymore

No more heavy lifting either

Also he might as well pick you up and move to the manor because there Alfred is there to cater to your every need

Let’s just say it will be an interesting 9-10 months....

Jason

Okay so Jason isn’t quite sure about having kids

He knows that he is a cesspool of trauma and he isn’t sure if he’d be the best choice to raise other human beings

So when you come to him all excited and tell him that you think you’re pregnant he’s torn

He’ll try not to show it, but it’s quite obvious

It’s not that he’s not happy, but still

After that it will be a bit tense at home until you had a doctors appointment that really confirms that you’re indeed carying a little Todd

Jason was there with you and you were almost scared how he’d react but in a twist of fate when he found out he immediatly started smiling and kissing you

Because that made it real in more ways then one

YOU WERE GOING TO HAVE A LITTLE BABY YOU MIXED WITH A BABY JASON

Jason knows no matter how fucked up he is, you’re going to be the most amazing mom that could ever be and you’d make sure that he’d be the most amazing dad possible too

Now Jason isn’t as quick to adapt to your pregnancy as Dick is

He’d definitly pour you coffee a few too many times before realizing that you weren’t allowed to drink cafeein

But he would manage soon enough

If he’s smoking at that moment he’ll definitly stop

He will not risk your little ones life no matter how much he like to smoke

na-huh no way

Also he is even more protective than Dick

He knows that Gotham is a dark place

so either he’ll too get you to a safe place where he can take care of you and your future pumpkin

Or he’ll just straight up move to canader or something where there’s no Joker who’d be near enough to bomb up a block when you were in it

Again, interesting times are coming

Tim

Timothy will be - no matter how much Dick reads - the most prepared, hands down

Because let’s not forget he’s one of the smartest Waynes (even though the other’s aren’t far behind)

When he started noticing that you’re acting weird he’ll loook it up and he’ll figure out that you’re pregnant sooner or later

He’s a very attentive s/o and he pays attention to you

So he’d probably actually be the one to tell you that you’re pregnant

But once it’s actually confirmed he’ll also be the chillest one

He looked up everything he has to know and made spreadsheets and lists and documents for what to do in literally all possible situations so he’ll be realitivly relaxed

But that doesn’t mean he isn’t also just a little bit overprotective

But just a little bit

He’ll let you do your thing as long as it isn’t dangerous or medically seen unclever

But he’ll also be there for you to cater your needs and your cravings, etc.

He also tries to stop drinking coffee, but he fails

He tones it down tho, but still you won’t get rid of the smell of coffee in your apartement

Now if you ever even mention wanting a sip he’ll hide every last gram that contains caffein in a place only he will find it

(It’s probably hidden somewhere really obvious where you’ll definitly find it but you’ll let him believe he managed to hide it well)

Tim will be the one to start falling into the baby fever the most

will go on online shopping sprees for baby clothes and furnitere and baby proof everything five months before the due date would arrive

Will also write very long lists with possible baby names (from which like 1/3 are references but I digress)

All in all this would possible be the most ’normal’ pregnancy

Damian (aged up obviously)

Okay so Damian is definitly a thing

He wasn’t conventionally raised or even anything close to that

I mean we all know how he was concieved soooooo

But - just like with everything else - he’ll want to be the best possible father (and s/o) there could ever be

So be fucking prepared for a wild ride

When you tell him you’re pregnant he is full with pride about his presticious bloodline to be continued with the added advantage of you

He’ll definitly annoy his siblings more than Dick could ever

And he’ll start making “jokes” about how he was going to be a better dad than Bruce

He will never mention anything like that to Alfred tho, it’s the opposite actually, he’ll come to him with pen and paper and ask for advice

Will boast that he had a child first to Jon and that his child will be better than Jon’s if he will ever have one

Also he’ll actually tell Talia about his future offspring and her grandchild, but only to tell her that if she was ever to endanger you or your future little one he’ll not hesitate to end her life

So yep there’s that

He will want you to stay in the manor like Dick would because there you’d be protected by a lot of vigilantes and money

lot’s of money

He’ll also be the one to - while he’ll try to do his best to take care of your need - ask Cassandra to help you

She’ll be overjoyed and (in a not completely hidden quest to become the godmother of the child) will become your shadow

Not in an annoying way

She’ll be there to help you with everything Damian can’t and she’d definitly organize a girls day where you and all of her other sisters go out and buy baby things

Also Damian may or may not want to name the child Damian Junior, but you’ll definitly keep him from doing so

All in all he’s actually somewhere in the middle between his other brothers, but it’s a nice balance

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sluggishslugcrimes · 3 years

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Dc heros having a social media presence because of a slow crime night or nothing at all is just beautiful.

You got Hal over here with the younger heros just throwing shade at villains.

Joker is just a free targets for bats to talk that mad shit about it, and nobody except for Punchline would take up for the clown who brought shame to all in gotham.

Harley also join in with the bats.

Barry would show his science fanboy to millions, Hal will tease him and get a million "meet me at a denny's parking lot" from fans.

Bruce just fucks with his followers posting like "10035211" for no reason but see people try to find a meaning in nothing.

Bruce also tweets out random pics of his teammates with him all grumpy in the corner of the photo with captions being like in his famous picture of him in the corner of the pic and clark talking about something and the captions are "@/LutherOfficial can you build a mute button for the annoying alien..." And the like.

Diana has a low profile on social media but when she tweets the fans acts like she's water in a desert and they drink that shit up even if it's just "Batman where are you?"

Clark does goof around on his page but mostly he post about saving earth by going for more earth friendly ways, and he shows so passively aggressively shows people how easy it is to recycle... He also recycled lex once but we don't talk about that.

Damian only post about Animals and his demonic pet.

Dick post only basic bitch butt pics do not tell me he wouldn't because he would.

Tim be making threads about the shitty behavior people in power have.

Jason post one bathroom pic shirtless asking if his scars are ugly and gain a thirsty following. We are talking about him passing up batman himself and yes he pours lemon in those wounds.

Duke has a thread about burger chains he likes. He's is wholesome because he wants it to be, his official civilian account is where he goes wild.

Wally west i and ii both have souvenir tours

Bart and Thad share one account because Bart beg for it and Thad wanted it to be pretends he hates it.

Cassandra posted a video of spoiler saying she's a lesbian and a very tired Tim says the famous lines "lesbian I thought you were american" vine never died it just became Cass.

Stephanie lives to her name and spoils shit for that aesthetic brand.

Kon and Jon had a sibling fight between their account and Kara had to stop them.

Bats had a fight two but it's so often it's nothing special. Oh red hood called Nightwing a hoe, what's new?

Roy is just as much as a dad on real his account, he just doesn't mention her name.

Lex posted his plan to twitter and Superman retweeted it Saying "this is twitter not the dark web lex" in which embarrassed the villain.

Lex ask for Superman the childs support for their son.

Their "son" ask publicly for 20 bucks and got shot down by both of them, however his rich leather egg lookin' boyfriend lend him that 20.

Jon and Dami talking through twitter is so cute everyone talks about them.

Donna just tells everyone that Nightwing is an annoy prick and nobody believes her sadly and he annoys her with that. Sibling from another family bs.

Auther is that surfer dad.

Garth and kaldur just vibin' with their brain cells their teammates don't have because they took them.

Nobody knows if raven is mentally okay or just sharing some poetry that slaps.

Starfire is a target for how she dress showing... Skin... She is a bad bitch and savagely answer the sexism with replies that are facts. Her body her choice.

That's all I have for now but the ideas do be flowing

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obsessivelycapricious · 3 years

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18+ Jason Todd x fem!reader fic ramble.

Hey, so this is a idea i've had in my head for a while, but it won't leave me alone. I've kinda written the first part of it already? But idk if I'll finish it. I haven't worked out the ending yet either but a couple of lovely people were interested in hearing it so here goes! Thanks for the support! I'll tag you all separately.

Warnings: excessive torture, manipulation, gaslighting, rape, violence. kidnapping, interrogation, Stockholm syndrome, abuse. I dont specifically mention how old the characters are, but B-Man likes to pick them young so use your imagination to age them up a bit if you like. It's dark folks, and a super slow burn, though it might not be so bad written in brief here, but if those bother you it might not be a good idea to read it. (its hidden under the cut - PS it got super long - 2.5k words.)

You are Robin. Or, you were at least.

Batman picked you up out of crime alley, gave you a home and a purpose and trained you up to be one of the best deterrents to the crime in Gotham. You lived in the manor, and thought of Bruce and Alfred (even Dick) as your family. It's awesome and you love it!

Almost two years after donning the cape, something goes wrong. You get split up from Batman and taken by Jokers men. That night is the last night you see the sky for years.

Over the next three years, you are systematically abused, manipulated, gaslighted and tortured until you are a shell of your former self. Conditioned to obey his every whim, you micro dose of the small crumbs of affection Joker has to offer you. He gives you test after test, pushing you to your limit always in new and horrific ways. You don't hesitate when he asks you to shoot someone in the head or to beat someone to death. The consequences of fighting against him aren't worth it, you have learned that the hard way. He even doesn't always lock the door behind him and yet you don't try to escape.

You hate batman with a passion now, you regret ever having met the man, he has ruined your life and it's his fault that you are where you are now. He abandoned you. Used you for his games and then replaced you like you were nothing to him. It broke your heart when Joker showed you the footage of another Robin running along the rooftops. Your replacement. Heartbreak boiled over to fury and rage.

He passes you around his acquaintances, particularly Johnathan Crane who is eager to test his new strain of fear gas out. Under the gas you see the Bat sacrificing you again and again to get what he wants. If Scarecrow takes advantage of you while he has you in a vulnerable state, no one cares enough to stop him. He wants to know who the Bat is, but you know that telling him will put Alfred in danger and you'll do anything to avoid that

(Thankfully the joker doesn't want to know who the bat is, you're not sure you could defy him like that anymore.)

Then one day, a body gets thrown into the small cell you are kept in when joker doesn't want to play. Its a Robin. You panic, fear and anger confusing you while joker laughs in your face. You know it's another test but you can't figure out what the rules are.

This is where the fic starts. It's about Jason Todd's slow descent from a vibrant punk who loves being Robin to the dejected, abused shell of a boy who hates the caped crusader and will do anything Joker tells him. You know it'll happen, because that's what happened to you.

Only, Joker never does the same thing twice. Even if it works. You don't want to get attached to the boy, but birds of a feather and all that jazz.

Highlights (or lowlights) include:

Having to share a small confined cell with Jason.

Arguing about the Joker and escaping

"Don't you want to leave? Crazy bitch."

Finding out that Batman didn't even tell Jason about you:

“Why would he come for you anyway, huh? What makes you so special?” “I’m Robin. We’re partners. We’ve been through all kinds of shit together. We’re like this.” “Pah. You really believe it too, don’t you? Ya poor sap.” “What do you mean?” “Why go to the bother of finding a dumb punk like you when he can just make a new shiny Robin instead?” “He wouldn’t do that.” “He’s already done it. You ain’t the first.” “That Robin moved away, he’s doing his own thing now.” “I wasn’t talking about him. I meant the other one.” “What other one?” “The other one.” “There aren’t any other ones – I’m the only other Robin that there’s ever been.” “You motherfucker!”

Beating the shit out of Jason in a blind rage because he won't stop talking about how Batman will come for him.

“How long have you known Batsy for huh? If you know him so well.” “Nearly three years. How long have you known him huh? Oh that’s right – you don’t” “What? Three – Three years?” “That’s what I said. Look, I know this is scary, but I trust B-Man. He’ll come for me, we’ll kick all these guy’s asses, take Joker back to Arkham and get you out of here too. It’ll be okay, you’ll see.” “B-Man?” “Yeah, Batman.” “Shut up.” “What? Why?” “I don’t want to talk about him anymore so shut up!”

Jason finally figuring out who you are when Joker comes to punish you for denting his new toy.

Joker calling you pet names while manipulates you and you being terrified the Joker is going to replace you too

“Oh. Pumpkin, it’s alright. I thought we agreed we were over this, no? Batsy kicked you to the curb a long time ago. It’s old news! This shiny new toy of ours is your replacement.”. “What? You’re replacing me too?” “No, no no. I’d never dream of doing something so barbaric, Sweetheart. That’s the Bats’ M.O. You’re mine for keeps. I would never be that cruel, would I?”

Jason taking his anger out on you:

“Why do you hate B and not the Joker? He’s the one that’s doing this to you. He shipped you off to Crane and you didn’t even fight back.” “You have no idea what you’re talking about.” “No, I know exactly what I’m talking about. You’re screwed in the head. You’re a joke, you’ve given up. Some Robin you are. A real Robin fights back. You don’t deserve the title.”

Joker making you put your Robin suit back on to fight Jason for his amusement. Jason hesitates in the beginning but kicks your ass every time.

Jason trying to comfort you but being bad at it.

Joker asking your opinion on you what you think will break the boy:

"When he gets replaced. Show him."

Weeks of being beaten then long stretches of being left alone with Jason with no instructions.

Catching Jason staring at you when he thinks you're not paying attention.

Joker being caught and taken to Arkham so you both get knocked out and transported there too.

Joker ignores you the entire time he's there as he's being watched to closely, the separation sets you off into a panic when you think about it too much.

Most of Arkham is in on you being kept there. The prisoners who know about it are paid off by being able to play with you - and now Jason too.

Jason thinking in Arkham he would have more chance of being able to escape.

You being subjected to more of Crane's abuse and different types of gas.

Jason being brought back to your cell after being tortured by calendar man and offering him comfort for the first time.

Being cut open and tortured by Zsaz.

Huddling up in the abandoned wing of Arkham for warmth and comfort.

Remembering that you had met before, years ago in the Narrows before Batman took you to be his adopted daughter.

Jason taking care of you while you recover.

Giving Jason advice on how to cope and get through the different villains taking revenge on you.

Jason being hurt and tired and snapping at you, causing an argument where you lash out at him:

"I had to go through this all on my own, dickweed. I didn't have anyone to hold my hand and tell me I wasn't going to die. So fuck you! God forbid I try and help your sorry ass."

Jason being tortured by two-face and seeing Batman and a new Robin visiting Arkham. They don't hear him scream for them to help. It breaks his heart and his will to fight.

You knew it would happen, but seeing it first hand makes your heart break for him. You didn't want to be right. You hate Batman more for what he's done to Jason than what he's done to you.

"I was right there (y/n)! Right there and he didn't even look at me."

Talking about Alfred and how much he means to you both.

Thinking you might actually have feelings for Jason after all.

Being transported back to the compound when Joker finally breaks out of Arkham again only to be in separate cells.

Having major separation anxiety from not being able to tell if Jason is okay.

Joker being jealous of your attachment to Jason and doubling down on his control over you.

He tries to take you outside and you panic so badly you beg him to take you back because you're terrified of what being free will mean.

Joker telling you that you failed his test by getting attached to the boy. He tells you that he's going to kill Jason to teach you a lesson.

Being put back in a cell with Jason to find his face has been branded and he's just so utterly void of any hope or any life.

Sitting next to Jason in the cell with your head on his shoulder.

Jason knowing he's going to die without you having to tell him. His voice is quiet and resigned, almost with a shred of relief when he says:

"He's going to kill me soon, isn't he?" "I'm going to miss you, Jason Todd." "I'm glad I got to know you, (Y/N). I'm sorry I couldn't get us out." "It's okay."

You kissing his cheek as you drift off huddled together for the last time.

Joker forcing you to watch as he beats Jason repeatedly with a crowbar, ignoring your defiant cries and struggles for him to stop.

"Which hurts more Little Red? Hmm? Forehand? Or Backhand? I think (Y/N) would like to know!"

Joker blaming you for having to kill Jason:

"And all because of your silly school girl crush. What a waste. I'm very disappointed in you, Dolly."

Being dragged away screaming from his lifeless body and thrown into the back of a van just in time before the building explodes.

That's the first half. For the second half to the ending, I haven't quite figured out yet. I've got a few ideas, but I can't decide what would fit better, feel free to help me out here.

Batman could find her after all this time, new evidence being uncovered during the explosion and in his grief about finding Jason's body he could question that he never actually found yours. Of course then you'd be homicidal and try to kill him, resulting in you being locked in another cell, this time in the Batcave. You'd get to scream at him about all his failings and what a terrible person he is though so that could be cathartic. Alfred (And Dick a little) manages to talk you back to some kind of sanity but you are forever changed by this. You meet Red Hood at a later date: on your way to find an egg and cheese sandwich when someone pulls a gun on you. Seeing you again jars him out of his own homicidal rage long enough to care about the girl who he couldn't save, giving the BatFam an opening to reason with him some.

-Or-

Joker keeps you hidden away and the Bat still has no idea you even exist. It stays that way for two more years where you eventually become completely numb to everything he or his acquaintances do to you. Joker eventually gets bored at the lack of reaction and in his boredom he gets careless. A new vigilante takes it upon himself to blow up to compound and best all Joker's men, he escapes but the vigilante doesn't chase after him and instead he finds you. You resist his attempts to save you, knowing how angry Joker will be so instead, Red Hood punches you in the face, knocking you out. He carries out into the night and you wake up somewhere new and he tries to help unravel the fuck ton of issues you've got while dealing with his own. He'll probably enlist the BatFam to help once he's done wanting to kill them, unless you can talk him into killing the Bat together, after the Joker dies of course.

-Or-

One day, maybe a year after Jason dies, Joker decides he's bored of you and gives you one last curveball. After more than 6 years of being isolated and abused, you wake up in an alley on the streets of Gotham, alone. Abandoned again. After several panic attacks and not knowing if it was a test and that you should run back to the Joker or going to find Alfred because he's the only person in the world left that you trust, you decide to leave Gotham altogether. You make it out and somehow navigate your way to having an apartment, a job and even a quiet life in Bludhaven, away from the Bat and the Clown and the nightmares. Except that one day, while you're drinking your morning coffee in a café, Dick Grayson sits down opposite you. You're stable enough not to react immediately, and Dick seems to really care that you're alive and well. Turns out that the Bat found out about you and decided to leave you alone this whole time (which only serves to double down on your feelings of abandonment) Only the joker is out of control and they think that you could help them by giving them an insight into how the joker works. They've got a new Vigilante to deal with too so they're stretched pretty thin. You flat out refuse which is when it turns out it really wasn't a request. You are taken back to Gotham and confronted with the BatFam, helping them reluctantly when Red Hood breaks into your new apartment, demanding information. You argue, and it feels too familiar, setting off a panic attack when he ribs you about your complicated relationship with the Joker. Identities are revealed and you work together to take down the Joker.

The epilogue to this saga would be some time after any of those options.

Both you and Jason finally in a healthier place where you can actually acknowledge what has been growing between you two since you were paired together all those years ago. It's not a neat and tidy happily ever after, it's messy and full of arguments, fears and misunderstandings but it's also full of tenderness, softness and love. And the sex is really good too.

If you got this far, thanks for reading! Let me know what you think? Come chat to me anytime!

#jason todd x reader #jason todd x you #dc imagines #jason todd imagine #jason todd #dc comics #dark fic #18+#joker #TW

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gothamdad · 3 years

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THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS PART ONE: CINEMATIC WRONGS AND ANALYSIS COMMENTARY

DO NOT REBLOG.

This is going to be a bullet point list of incidents that occur in the movie, and will either have my general commentary or an analysis of what makes the scene terrible (or in some rare cases, good). TRIGGERS FOR SUICIDE, MENTAL HEALTH, AND DYSMORPHIA

-bruce trying to kill himself in the beginning of the movie.

Hes reckless, and willing to risk his life, but not suicidal. But he just purposefully gets into a wreck at 2 minutes into the movie?? for no reason??? theres literally no reason for it other than it being angsty bc they COULDVE started the movie with the mutants doing crime, as the next scene cuts right into it and the following news reports

-"This reporter hopes that wherever he is, hes enjoying a toast with good friends" said when its the anniversary of batman’s disappearance

this is stupid I hate this movie. You're telling me Gotham forgives Batman for just disappearing on them? DID THAT NOT HAPPEN IN NML AND EVERYONE GOT PISSED??? Like everyone in this movie seems to have forgot he abandoned the city. Not to mention, and I'm gonna go off on a tangent here, bruce will be batman for as long as he lives. He calls himself batman in his mind even when hes retired. He believes that Bruce wayne is the mask. His whole identity is batman. Saying that hed quit because of jason is not only stupid because it implies Jason's death isnt just as important as his parents, but shows that any tragedy is enough to permanently knock him down. And as if the league, or the family, would have let him give up. Anyway the whole reason the retirement in batman beyond works is because it shows bruce was going to fight until he literally died on the spot, but instead he pointed a gun, didn't even use it, just pointed it, and he realized he wasnt fit to HONOR batman anymore. He broke the rule. And he doesnt deserve to wear the mantle. This is so good because 1) bruce still wants to be batman and 2) it doesnt imply that he gave up at all, and at this point with his decreasing wellness his family WOULD be telling him to stop

-Gordon toasts with Bruce on the anniversary

FBKSBSOANSISSB OH MY GOD IT JUST SHOWED HIM SHARING A TOAST WITH GORDON. this is the anniversary of the last time batman is sighted and gordon. JIM FUCKING GORDON. Is celebrating. When they were literally partners and hed shine the batsignal each night TELL ME WHERE THE LOGIC IS!!! I CANT FIND THE LOGIC!!!!! I'm literally 3 minutes into this movie..... and already this is how its going...

-Gordon and Bruce talk

"You're not worried about me, are you?" Asked when hes in clear danger of being attacked by mutants "noT MorE tHAn i aM tHe ReST oF tHis CItY" ah yes. I forgot that Bruce hated gotham and jim Gordon. My mistake. Common misconception.

-the mutants are introduced

Ugh and it's the worst kind of villains too, jim just described the mutants as "the worst kind of criminals. They are only after violence, with no humanity at all" GIVE! VILLAINS! REASONING! I hate these joker wannabes Joker was already enough we dont need a million more "lol I'm just evil deal with it" villains

"Talk to Dick lately?"asks Gordon "You know I havent" Bruce responds

THIS CONVERSATION IS GETTING W O R S E BC I KNOW HOW THIS MOVIE GOES AND HE JUST INSTANTLY HAS CARRIE BE THE NEW ROBIN- WHICH, IS N O T BRUCE'S TO GIVE. ITS ALWAYS BEEN DICK'S MANTLE TO PASS DOWN- WHEN HE HASNT BEEN SPEAKING TO DICK????

-tangent on how it’s overlooked that Dick Grayson was the one to make Robin, not Batman

This is a sin that not just the movie, but the batman franchise in general seems to always make. Robin was made as a tribute to the flying graysons, and is meant to be colorful and aerodynamic for acrobatic tricks. it should always be dick’s to pass down, or the next robin after.

-Bruce begins having trouble with holding back his urge to be Batman

His whole wanting to be batman again thing started because of a newspaper with a family's death and pearls being sold. On the same front cover. I'm. THATS WHEN HE REMEMBERS HIS PARENTS? NOT EVERY FUCKING TIME HE HEARS A GUNSHOT? OR CLOSES HIS EYES? OR SEES BLOOD? HE READS A NEWSPAPER THATS FLOATING IN THE WIND??????NOT EVERY TIME HE LOOKS AT JASONS COSTUME? OR THE OTHER CRIMES COMMITTED??????LOGIC!!!!!!!!!! I NEED !!!! TO KNOW!!!!! WHERE IT IS!!!!!!!! ARE U KIDDING ME NOW THE MARK OF ZORRO, WHICH IS WHO THE FUCK KNOWS HOW OLD NOW, IS ON TV??????????? AND HE JUST HAPPENS TO FLIP TO THE CHANNEL.. Batman telling bruce "you've tried to hold me back. But you're weak. Ypu know it in your soul. You're nothing but a hollow shell." Is so STUPID!! WHY HAS HE BEEN FIGHTING BEING BATMAN!!!!!!!!!! BRUCE SHOULD WANT TO BE BATMAN!!!! AND HATE HAVING TO NOT BE!!!! AND A BAT FLYING INTO HIS WINDOW AGAIN???? STOP THE FUCKING CLICHES IM SICK OF THIS . UR NOT BEING NEXT LEVEL, MOVIE. ITS JUST DUMB. ITS DUMB!!!

-Carrie Kelly

her first ??? Appearance??? Is her going into KNOWN MUTANT GANG TERRITORY instead of going through the rain. And scolding her friend for not having backbone WHEN THEY COULD LITERALLY DIE and saying, and I quote, "its better than out there." then when interviewed about the incident her friend says "It was a flying monster! With wings and fangs!" and she replies with "Reality check, Michelle, it was definitely a man, but he had to be like 12 feet tall" OH YEAH THATS VERY REALISTIC CARRIE. Shes an asshole to her friend and we're supposed to like her. Oh and Carrie's reason for wanting to be robin? She saw the bat signal while her parents were talking about public marches. That's it. That's her reason. Not because she was attacked by mutants and almost died.

-Giving the movie credit

Okay but if theres another thing I'll give credit for, and I'm sure its unintentional, is that Harvey is the first criminal he wants to take down. Because Harvey is always going to be Bruce's priority. He didnt go after the mutants, but Two-Face. And the way that confrontation goes when it’s revealed harvey thinks both sides of his face are scarred. the Arkham staff fixed his scars before he was ready for treatment, and his mental health wasn’t priority. he was going to have dysmorphia either way, but not treating mental illness worsened it. kinda? good writing? But I think it was unintentional to have the idea that Arkham didnt know what they were doing and the belief that scars are important before trauma, and how trauma has to be helped first. I dont believe for an instant that's what's meant.

-Carrie Kelly part two

She gets a Robin costume and goes out onto the roof and is like.... almost dies. THEN THE NEXT SCENE WE SEE HER SHES LIKE COMPLETELY ACROBATIC? WHY IS SHE SO ACROBATIC NOW!!! THIS TAKES PRACTICE!!!

-Batman confronting the man who supplied the mutant gang with guns

Oh, this scene...He hands a guy a gun, knowing full well that he was depressed because his wife was dying and he had to make more money to save her by supplying the mutants with weapons, and just walks away as he kills himself. (input from a friend which i like: think about everything bruce did to help mr freeze and his wife now think about this scene )

Batman vs Mutants

oh, and the "batmobile". Aka his tank. Rubber bullets. Ok fine, whatever, but RUNNING THEM OVER AND SHOOTING MISSCLES ISNT LETHAL? AND HOW IS CARRIE KELLY GOOD AT FIGHTING ALL OF THEM WHEN SHE COULDNT HANDLE HERSELF WITH ONE LIKE A WEEK AGO. hate that the mutant leader is just a ripoff of bane with long pointed nipples I hate this. I hate that batman cant take him down, but carrie kelly can. AND THE MUTANT LEADRER TOTALLY DIED WHEN BRUCE THREW ADHESIVE ON HIS FACE AND HE WAS SUFFOCATED BUT LATER ON IT SHOWS HE LIVES ??

Bruce talks to Carrie

"What is this thing?" -carrie "Dick called it the batmobile" -bruce "SIR!!" -alfred over the radio There are no words. Then she pops his arm into place and creates a makeshift cast And he says "where'd you learn to do that?” and because she’s a mary sue she says nothing, because miller doesnt know why she should, so he cuts to "what's your name?" and she says "Carrie. Carrie Kelly. robin" and HE FUCKING GOES "MINES BRUCE." and then immediately tells Alfred hes bringing "robin" to the cave. I hate it here I hate that he forgets what happened to Jason aFTER ITS HIS LITERAL REASON FOR QUITTING. WHAT IS THE POINT IF HE’S GOING TO ACCEPT THIS GIRL HE DOESNT EVEN KNOW AS ROBIN?

-Bruce talks about Jason

OH BRUCE'S FUCKING LINE. HIS LINE. IM FURIOUS Alfred asks "have you forgotten what happened to Jason?" And he says "I'll never forget. he was a good soldier. He honored me" I AM !!!! SHAKING!!!! WITH HOW MAD !!!! I AM!!! Bruce would NOT say that shit. Implying that jason wasnt his son, or that jason was only a casualty in a war, or that HE FUCKING HONORED HIM AND NOT THE CITY, OR THE TITLE OF ROBIN "He honored me" shut the fuck up I hate this and dont even get me started on the misconceptions of Robin in the first place. i dont want to go into the debate on whether or not they’re soldiers, which I personally don’t believe. but its just stupid because Jason considered being Robin the best thing that’s ever happened to him, and he was THE BEST. it wasnt his fault he was killed, either.

-The ending

So the mutant escapes his cell by going through a VENT. A . V E N T. AND ENDS UP IN THE SEWER. I hate that these mutants are just an army of evil people and have no motivation and the leader is just a brute I fucking hate Bruce calling him "son" And the mutants become the sons of batman who fight crime......??? because their leader is gone?? werent they supposed to be evil criminals with no humanity in them?

-Joker

Okay but Joker being absent the entire first part , only to show up in the end hearing news reports about batman, and then smiling as he stands up and just fucking creepily says "darling" holy shit that gave me goosebumps. another credit i have to give.

#long post /#theres still a part two but i am TIRED #i cannot today...... mayhaps if yall like this ill do the second part #ᴜɴᴍᴀsᴋᴇᴅ : OUT OF CHARACTER

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ty-talks-comics · 4 years

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Best of DC: Week of February 26th, 2020

Best of this Week: Batman: Curse of the White Knight Book Seven - Sean Murphy, Matt Hollingsworth and AndWorld Design

Batman is Dead.

The last issue of Curse of the White Knight gave us the last in the story of Edmond Wayne and revealed that the man that Bruce thought was his ancestor, turned out to have been the family to Jean-Paul Valley instead. Bakkar of the Order of St. Dumas killed Edmond after betraying and stealing Gotham from under him, thus assuming the name of Wayne and forming the city to his vision. With this newfound information, Batman has found himself a man with a lineage of thievery, especially after finding out that Gotham’s Elite have been funding their crime through Wayne Enterprises.

This issue begins with a somber flashback to a moment before the funeral of the Waynes. Bruce cries and blames himself for their deaths because he wanted to see The Mask of Zorro. He had always wanted to use the rapiers that his father kept on display and figured if he learned to use them from the movie, then he would be able to impress his father enough. Alfred, always so caring, tells him that if he’s able to go to the funeral, then he can hold a rapier. He then vows to teach young Bruce how to use it for the next danger he may face.

Matt Hollingsworth colors this flashback in a cool blue hue, emphasizing both the sadness and the hopefulness of the moment. Murphy portrays Alfred as being caring and shows that even with the tears, Bruce shows his ability to rise up and become the hero that people need. Though the rapier is far too large for his kid body, Bruce holds it firm in hopes of protecting Gotham in the future.

As we cut back to the modern day, Bruce faith in himself and his dreams of becoming Gotham’s knight are shaken. He was never a Wayne by blood and he sees himself as part of Gotham’s cuse. Many would be right to see him as such given Gotham’s crime initially started off as petty stuff and eventually escalated into battles with The Joker, Two-Face and others with Gotham being caught in the crossfire every time. He didn’t even know that his company was being used by criminals because of his singular focus on fighting crime.

Murphy draws Batman as being tired and ashamed of himself for only just now understanding Jack Napier’s vision and why Batman is just as bad for Gotham as The Joker was. His expressions are melancholic, Murphy makes excellent use of shadow to try to hide some of his shame and body language to make him look like an old man that’s been sitting on a lawn chair for eighty hard years. Harleen Quinzel acts as his voice of reason during his pity party and actually shows concern for him.

Harleen has been a central character in this world since the very first issue of the original White Knight and that doesn’t change here though her own personal arc is over. The last issue saw her do her best to bring Jack Napier out of Joker’s mind for one last time for information and to save her children. In the end, she had to shoot Joker in the head to let Jack rest and rid herself of the monster that had been plaguing her for years. She still finds herself at Batman’s side as one of his most trusted friends.

Bruce still has one thing that he can do to make sure that Jean-Paul doesn’t get away with his crimes and Harley convinces him that Gotham will forgive his transgressions like they did for the former Joker in Napier. At the same time, Azrael is still out there and Murphy and Hollingsworth give readers an AMAZING shot of the villain in his updated Knightfall costume. He grabs onto the nds of his cape as he soars backwards into his hideout. The lights of the city contrast with his blacks, yellows and blues to just give us a pretty damn good shot of how powerful he feels in the suit.

This is contrasted by the next few set of panels where he’s puking out of his mask after escaping from the GTO (Gotham Task Oppression Unit). This version of Azrael has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and as such needs medicine to live and suppress the symptoms. With little dialogue and some telling panels, we see that Azrael has empty bottle after empty bottle of pills in his cabinet. He’s starting to look a bit more gaunt than the first time we saw him. He’s withering away slowly and only has one more pill to spare for his coming battle with Batman.

I love the details that Murphy and Hollingworth add here. There’s blood in his vomit and it maintains after he pukes on his leg. His ribs are starting to show and we’ve seen just how jacked he was in the issues prior. His hair doesn’t appear as long as it did, even pulled into a bun/ponytail and there’s just something so final about the “shit” he gives after finding out that he only has one more pill left. In that singular moment, his mistakes come back to haunt him after killing his, admittedly, treacherous employer.

Soon after, Bruce makes amends to Barbara Gordon after inadvertently causing the accident that almost saw her completely lose use of her legs and effectively getting her dad killed. Barbara has always been resilient and we all feared that that issue #5 would be yet another Killing Joke, but here she is, using crutches to try walking again. The scene takes place during the bright Gotham day and this signals a brighter future for their relationship.

Bruce had always gone to Jim Gordon for advice on what route he should take, but without him, Bruce is missing one of his moral compasses. Barbara is the next best person because she has always been smarter than her father and Bruce has a ton of guilt to get off of his chest and Barbara handles everything like the mature adult that she is. She doesn’t blame Bruce for what happened, even though she said horrid things in anger, but can anyone blame her? She cries at the mention of her father and embraces Bruce, encouraging whatever his decision may be.

Of course, with this being the penultimate issue in this particular storyline, it only makes sense that we see a grand revelation come out of it. Murphy and Hollingsworth set the stage with Hollingsworth coloring the afternoon skies of Gotham with an orange-red kind of hue. We see various shots of different places in Gotham from public libraries to the streets themselves as Batman appears on the giant monitor of Gotham Square. Everything feels hot and sort of uncomfortable.

Bruce gives his appreciation and thanks to the people of Gotham for allowing him to serve as their protector and we continue to get these various shots of people. There’s auto mechanics watching the broadcast in their shop, people in a bar and kids watching on a cell phone with their dog. Murphy uses this to illustrate that Gotham is far larger than we think it is and that there are many people that Batman has saved from every corner of his beloved city, but he hasn’t done enough yet. So what’s the final step?

Batman reveals himself to be Bruce Wayne and dismantles WayneCorp.

Bruce finally becomes the knight that Gotham needs by giving back to the people. By destroying his company, he gives back to the people of Gotham by giving all of his money to nonprofits, schools, homeless shelters etc. It’s everything that Batman detractors have been saying Bruce should have done for ages. In doing so, he offers Gotham a better future than he could have as Batman, but he only asks them to stay off the streets of Gotham for one night while he takes care of the Azrael business. Murphy shows Bruce holding his cowl one last time, standing tall by his heroic decision.

Back at the GCPD, he gets lambasted by Commissioner Montoya for going off and doing his own thing again, but counters by saying that he trusts in the people of Gotham and they all formulate their battle plans. It’ll be his last time taking the reigns before he turns himself in as well, so he might as well make sure that everything goes according to plan.

As Montoya tells Batman that Azrael destroyed most of the other Batmobiles in his assault on bruce in Book Four (I think), she reveals that one survived and I see that Sean Murphy is a Batfan after my own heart. The Batmobile that survives is the badass one from the Animated Series, what this book is supposed to be the “sequel” to. It's sleek and well designed thanks to Murphy’s own love of cars. From the presentation, readers can tell that this is one of the pages he took serious time with as the Batmobile is given so much respect.

After a short conversation with Dick about what Bruce is going to do when he catches Azrael, Batman drives away, leaving his sidekicks concerned about his state of mind and we get one last splash page of Batman standing in the middle of Gotham Square without his cowl and the sky is a blood red. The Batmobile looks sexy in the background and this was all just so amazing.

Sean Murphy is a comic book treasure. His art and his writing truly made this an experience and a Batman story worth standing the test of time. It had the action, the drama, the stylish sequences and several twists and turns that make a story great. He’s made Batman his own in a grungy style much like how Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo have in a heavy metal manner. Murphy’s Gotham is a masterpiece in crustpunk with social problems that Batman’s always had in the periphery of his character and every issue has been better than the last.

Matt Hollingsworth brings it to life with his perfect colors; Whether they’re making use of the blues of Gotham’s clear skies or the light purples of the night sky, Hollingworth makes Gotham look distinct no matter the time of day. Scenes are given hues to match the tone of the pages whether they’re full of intense anger or incredible sadness, Matt Hollingsworth sets the mood no matter what

I really enjoyed this series, but I can’t wait for the next and final issue of it just to see that confrontation between Batman and Azrael. It’s been a long time coming and the fallout from Bruce’s decision as well… it’ll be too much, but yeah High recommend!

Also, support me on Patreon:

patreon.com/TyTalksComics

#batman #curse of the white knight #azrael #barbara gordon #harleen quinzel #sean gordon murphy #sean murphy #matt hollingsworth #dc comics #dc black label

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popwasabi · 4 years

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What “The Dark Knight” says about our bad politics

Waaay back in the summer of 2008, me and my dad drove up to Northern California to attend San Jose State University’s freshman orientation.

It was a long drawn out process where first-year students basically were told and shown a bunch of things they would forget and relearn by their first day anyways and culminated with all of us spending one night in the campus dorms so we could all get a taste of the “campus life” experience.

I wanted it to end badly for a couple reasons. Being an introvert, I was not comfortable sharing a room with anyone, let alone a stranger, for a night but more importantly, I was being kept from the biggest movie premiere of the year that day: “The Dark Knight.”

As soon as I woke up the next morning, I rushed my dad to find the nearest theater and purchased tickets immediately for a late-night screening. I was already a huge fan of “Batman Begins” but every trailer to Christopher Nolan’s epic follow-up indicated we were in for an even bigger blockbuster than before and I was beyond pumped.

(Me getting the fuck off campus to watch “The Dark Knight” that day.)

Two and a half hours later I left the theater blown away by the experience. “The Dark Knight” was everything, at the time, I was hoping for in a comic book movie; angsty, dark, edgy (all things I thought I was as a teen), cinematically sharp, thrilling, a fantastic score once again by the legendary Hans Zimmer, and fulfilled just about every fanboy wet dream I had at the time for a perfect Batman movie.

To this day it remains the most satisfying theatrical experience I’ve ever had seeing a movie, not that it’s my favorite movie of all-time anymore, mind you, but that I have never gone into a movie with such high expectations and had them blown away quite like that since.

(Conversely, this^ was my most disappointing experience...)

I’m a different person now, of course. If you were to wipe my memory of the film and had to watch it again today I doubt I would have the same fanboygasm I had then as the cynical 30-year-old I am now but I’ll argue that “The Dark knight” still remains a high mark, if not the standard, for comic book movies today.

That said, parts of this film have definitely not aged well. Visually the film still holds up, the action is still exciting, the performances are all stellar (though Bale’s Batman voice is still bad) but what hasn’t aged well, for me, are the movie’s politics.

“The Dark Knight” is, of course, a post 9/11 movie, in fact, it’s arguably the definitive one as its pop-cultural footprint dwarfs pretty much all within its sub-genre. This Nolan sequel deals heavily in themes of terrorism with its iconic villain The Joker, played maniacally by the late great Heath ledger, wreaking havoc across Gotham with various explosive devices. Though the Clown Prince is more an anarchist than someone with an ideology, like those in Al Qaeda or the Taliban, the results of his beliefs/non-beliefs are more or less the same; cause pandemonium and fear in the masses. Batman, representing the power of justice and order, does battle with this in a war to save Gotham’s soul and again this is still a damn entertaining and thrilling story.

(Seriously, it’s still a rock solid entry in the comic book movie genre.)

But where the film’s 9/11 politics become problematic is toward the end of the film when the Joker begins his final act to plunge Gotham into unstoppable chaos. Batman becomes desperate; The Joker has eluded him at every turn, always two steps ahead of him, escaping justice no matter what Bruce Wayne does so he concocts a plan to finally to locate and stop the Joker for good.

He creates an elaborate sonar system using every cell phone in Gotham, effectively creating a massive surveillance state to spy on its citizens in order to locate the Joker.

(And it’s the only time we have ever got the real Batman eyes on screen, damn it!)

Lucius Fox, played by Morgan Freeman, appropriately calls this out telling him he’s wrong and that he cannot support this but Batman insists that it’s the only way. Fox reluctantly agrees and tells him he’ll resign once this is over as he can’t morally support such a system. The sonar, of course, works and Batman is able to stop the Clown Prince once and for all and upon Fox entering his name into the sonar computer the program dissolves and is deleted presumably for good.

This is of course to wash Batman’s hands of this deed to the audience. Our protagonist knows this is wrong, the audience is told it is wrong but by ending the surveillance he shows he would never abuse such a program, that sometimes good men have to do terrible things to defeat evil and that makes it ok.

For years, as a bleeding heart liberal (at the time) who grew up in the Bush years but loved the hell out of this movie, I tried to reconcile with this part of the story because Batman was the hero. I thought maybe this kind of action is ok because if the “good guy” is in charge bad stuff is fine because he/she won’t abuse such power. That’s real justice, right?

The problem is in the real world, at the top, there really aren’t any good guys and they are counting on you to believe that they are when they get a hold of such power because that’s how we are programmed.

The Patriot Act, which was the signature Bush-era reform post 9/11, created our current surveillance state. In the interest of national security and ensuring those “dern turrists don’t go killing lil’ Timmy riding his tricycle out in Des Moines, Iowa” our elected leaders, both republican and democratic (make no mistake), effectively signed away our constitutional rights to “ensure our safety” by spying on us basically without warrants. The proponents proudly claimed its necessity in fighting the “War on Terrorism” and those naysayers either shouldn’t worry “if you have nothing to hide” or worse were un-American Taliban sympathizers.

For progressives, of course, this was an evil violation of our civil liberties but for many conservatives, this wasn’t a big deal. They are just trying to keep us safe after all.

But conveniently ignored by many on the left still today is the complicity they had in bringing about this era in warrantless surveillance. Yes, this policy started under Bush, of course, but it continued to be re-upped through the Obama administration and the Trump administration, not to mention revolving majorities in the House and Senate, showing no matter who was in charge they all liked the idea of keeping an eye on all of us with or without reason.

Considering the Patriot Act was made to win the “War on Terrorism” our leaders were never going to relinquish this power anyways because you can’t win a war on terrorism. Terrorism is not a country or a people, it’s an ideology behind many different ideologies. The US, no matter how you see it, be it as liberators or oppressors, will always have enemies and that’s all the reason they need to keep this power it seems.

Having the data on our lives mined like oil can easily be used against us in a variety of ways regardless of if any of us have terroristic or even criminal intentions. But for many in this country, it was only a problem if the wrong guy wielded that power. As soon as their “good guy” got in though, suddenly it was no big deal. I wonder why...

“The Dark Knight” puts forth a problematic view on who can and should wield supreme power, that even terrible choices can be made as long as the “right” person is the one making them.

Liberals are notorious for justifying them when it’s one of them who does it.

It’s a lie. A lie that both parties use to their advantage because they want you believe everything they do can be justified because you happen to be a part of their party; the “good guys” once again. But there is something extra cynical about the way liberals wield it as they parade themselves around as paragons and moral pillars against the Jokers of the Republican party.

For all the platitudes liberals give, that would make some superhero speeches seem benign, they wear masks about as well as the vigilantes do but not for the same reasons. When confronted by this blatant hypocrisy, liberal voters justify all kinds of horrible things as long as the other “bad guy” isn’t the one doing it. For all the shit Bush gets, and rightfully so, for plunging us into a military, financial, and humanitarian quagmire in the Middle East, Obama gets almost zero real pushback by liberals for effectively drone bombing the hell out of the same people. During these past three years Trump has more or less allowed ICE to run rampant on immigrant communities sure and liberals have been critical, again as they should, but who made the cages they were thrown into and who deported more of them during his first three years in office than Trump did?

(And once again, and I can’t emphasize this enough, Andrew Cuomo is NOT your fucking friend...)

Liberals often like to present themselves as the moral purveyors of good in the face of conservative opposition and they use it to their advantage to more or less do many of the same foul things those with R’s next to their name do. Sure, not all their actions are equally as evil but even then, we rarely truly hold either of our leaders feet to the fire because we believe their actions are somehow better because they have a “D” next to their name.

These horrific policies and actions will never see justice as long as we keep justifying them because the “right” person is behind them.

No, this is not an all sides are equally bad take. That discussion requires more nuance and for a different time, but I will say both sides are varying degrees of bad that should be taken seriously instead of not at all and can’t be pushed aside again and again and again because “the other guys are worse.”

We are running into the same situation today as our presidential election features a credibly accused rapist, sexual predator, who supports Bush-era tax cuts, who takes money from major corporate lobbyists, who is against Medicare for All, has open disdain for millenials, and not only supports but openly bragged about the aforementioned The Patriot Act.

Hmmm, sounds an awful lot like someone we know, huh?

You could argue that one of these two men mitigates, or even vastly mitigates, harm if in office and I’m not here to necessarily scold you for making what you feel is morally the least awful choice but the point still remains; we are justifying evil again because our “good guy” is in charge.

Being liberal, just on its own, does not vastly minimize the problematic nature of a bad person.

Regardless of how you feel about this election and what choice you plan to make this November (and again, I’m not here to tell you what to do), bad things and bad policies will be continued to be enacted by bad people because that’s what choices we’ve been given. There isn’t a good one and the most vulnerable will be hurt the most by it regardless of who wins. There is a reason so many are disillusioned with voting and it’s not just voter suppression laws.

I can already hear some of you screaming “OH MER GERD pURiTy TeStS,” but this is far more cynical a standard we have than simply choosing a less than perfect candidate. Many are already making rather tone-deaf comments about people being “privileged” for choosing not to compromise their morals anymore. What’s “privileged” is voting for the guy who will do less harm for you but ultimately still disproportionately harm more people of color no matter who is in office.

(The country and the world can really begin to truly heal when a Democrat is in charge of one of these Freedom Machines once again!)

Yes, I might agree that one is probably a net positive for the world at this point but to act like someone choosing to not participate anymore in what is effectively a never-ending cycle I can’t say I blame them either. At some point, our society has to draw a real line in the sand on these things with our leaders and force a more moral standard for our government instead of the status quo.

We can’t go on this endless “pragmatic” path picking “the lesser of two evils” until we gradually just become evil. You can make the argument that maybe the time isn’t now, and you might be right but when? These folks at the top are COUNTING on us accepting circumstances and justifying terrible beliefs and actions over and over again because of the state of our politics.

“The Dark Knight” believes that sometimes bad things must be done to defeat evil but the real world can be so much less cynical if we stopped compromising on our beliefs. It’s not entirely too late for us to do the right thing. We can’t go on forever letting bad behavior go because the “good guy” will be the one doing it instead of the other one.

Taking money from corrupt billionaires is wrong. Extra-judicially drone bombing the Middle East endlessly is wrong. Throwing migrants in cages like fucking animals is wrong. Rape and sexual assault are wrong. Mass warrantless surveillance is wrong. Doesn’t matter if its Batman or fucking Superman doing any of these things; immoral behavior cannot and should not be ever justified.

Otherwise, we really will live long enough to see ourselves become the villain...

Looking forward to the comments on this one...

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m00nslippers · 5 years

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In a dream world where we are getting a Red Hood live action trilogy, how would you want the three movies to be? Like what plotlines, characters, villians, what arc to develop, how to present his character to appeal to the general audience and such :D

Oh man, this is an interesting question.

Well first of all, this might sound strange, but I absolutely do not think that Under the Red Hood should be adapted to Live Action. I believe this because it already exists in animated form and is perfect. No live-action remake is going to compare unless they recreate it scene by scene and they never will. The dialogue is too good, it cannot be made better, only worse. So, that being said, RH1 should not be a retelling of UtRH, rather that movie/storyline should exist as backstory for the first Red Hood movie. They should communicate the events of that story without retelling it wholesale as the plot in the movie. They should also go ahead and go with the Lazarus Pit explanation of Jason’s resurrection because the superboy-smashing-the-universe thing is too vague and requires more context than a standalone movie can really provide. I would amend it though so that it’s actually more like Arkham Knight games, in that Joker had Jason for over six months torturing him before he finally killed Jason and sent the tape to Bruce. At that point, Ra’s and Talia got a hold of Jason’s body and resurrected him.

I have a really solid idea for the first movie, a more vague idea for the second one and a really vague idea for the last one. I’ll write you guys the synopsis of the first one up here.

Red Hood Movie 1

So, the movie opens on some brief scenes of a seemingly ordinary guy as he goes through his day. He wears blue collar clothes with a leather jacket thrown over the top, rides his motorcycle to work and stops to give money to a homeless guy on the street. He works construction or something, shows himself to be really smart and maybe a little over-competent for his job, he can jump down from high beams like he’s an acrobat, he does complex math in his head, but when colleagues ask how he knows so much he just plays it off. He seems friendly but he’s secretive, keeps to himself. He goes home from work, he’s the only one there, he works out, punches a punching bag, he checks a secret compartment in his house to make sure no one has tampered with it, but we don’t see what’s inside. He eats alone and when it gets dark he walks a ways to a local dive and sits in the corner until a red-headed friend comes in.

He and the friend bullshit together, clearly they’re close. His friend asks if he’ll babysit his daughter so he can work on a case, he says sure. They’re in the middle of talking about the daughter when something on one of the televisions playing in the bar catches his eye. It’s a breaking news feed of an Arkham breakout in Gotham City, with the building on fire, lead by the Joker. He flinches and you see this snarl of twisted fear and rage and his friend reaches out to grab his arm. “Jason, don’t. He doesn’t have to be your problem. You don’t owe Gotham anything.” And Jason looks Roy in the face and says, “Gotham owes me everything. And I’m going to get my payback.”

Jason leaves the bar, goes home, opens the secret compartment–it’s full of guns and all of his Red Hood gear. He packs it up and leaves on his motorcycle bound for Gotham.

Switch over to Bruce being Brucie at a WE function for a charity. He’s called up to give a speech and he talks about how his second son was a boy from Gotham’s streets who’d been exceptional but just didn’t have the opportunities because of his poor background. Unfortunately he was dead in a tragic accident, but Bruce had dedicated this charity in his name for underprivileged youth to fund scholarships and community support, etc. He steps down and has to glad-hand some people until his phone vibrates and he looks at the screen. It’s Oracle telling him there’s a Gotham break out.

Bruce slips away and he’s in the Batcave putting on his Batman gear as Alfred and Barbara–over the computer–fills him in on what’s going on and talks about how most everyone is out of Gotham at the moment, it’s just Bruce and Oracle, and asks Bruce if he wants Alfred to call in Nightwing or someone else for help. Bruce says no he wants them to stay out of it as he’s looking at the Memorial case of Jason’s Robin costume that’s still damaged. Alfred reminds him that since it’s the Joker, Jason is bound to appear, Bruce just grunts and says he’ll deal with that problem as it comes and has Oracle on the look out for any activity from either of them.

Bruce shows up at Arkham and talks to Gordon briefly, who tells him there’s a riot going on inside and they’ve already confirmed the warden had been murdered. Bruce busts in and starts kicking butt and capturing everyone, getting various people to safety that he finds as he makes his way through the building. All the while Oracle is giving him tech support. Bruce finds Joker’s cell but it’s been broken open. Suddenly he thinks he sees joker and and chases him down, capturing him but it turns out it’s just another inmate dressed like him–there’s a whole bunch of fake Jokers running around the building. Oracle tells him they’ll never be able to confirm if it’s really him from cameras alone like this and Bruce has to admit that’s true. But also says the Joker is probably already long gone, and they need to stop worrying about containment and start searching the city for him.

Cut to Jason riding into Gotham. He opens up a derelict safehouse with yet more guns and suits up and hits the streets. Everywhere he goes, he sees flashes of memories–of him as a kid on the streets, of Bruce catching him stealing the tires from the batmobile, him as Robin, him fighting Bruce as Red Hood. He questions homeless people and hookers and roughs up some dealers. They all know him, they’re all afraid, he’s the King of Crime Alley and remember when he ran out Black Mask. After some investigating, someone tells him a certain crime family’s men were hired to riot outside of Arkham and sow even more chaos.

Jason attacks the guy in his big mansion, mowing down hoards of mobsters with guns, all to get to the head guy and question him. He says Joker put out the word he wanted some grunts to help with the breakout and Black Mask had done a deal with him to provide men. The head mobster is Black mask’s man outside of Blackgate prison. The meeting was held in Gotham’s abandoned Amusement Mile between Joker and Roman’s proxies. Jason kills the mobster and leaves for the place he mentioned.

As Jason is on his way, someone hacks into the comms on his helmet–it’s Barbara, she found him after the attack on the mobsters–and she’s trying to get Jason to stop and leave Gotham. He and Bruce had a truce, that Jason would say out of Gotham and stop being Red Hood. Jason says that truce ended when he let Joker escape and now he’s going to kill him. Barbara says he’s not the only person Joker hurt, we see her in the Clocktower in her wheel chair with a picture of her and Gordon. Jason says he’ll kill Joker for both of them. Barbara says she’d rather the Joker be alive than Jason dead at his hands, and Jason says, well that’s where they differ.

Jason investigates the place, an empty funhouse or something. Down a hallway he thinks he sees the Joker and he runs after him but there’s no one there. He keeps seeing images of when he got captured by the Joker in the mirror, sees his younger self bloodied and dead. He’s getting increasingly unhinged. Then Bruce appears as Batman, tells Jason he broke their truce, he came back to Gotham and he killed people, but Bruce is willing to overlook it if he just leaves. Jason goes into his issues with Bruce, about how that’s his problem, he’s unwilling to go as far as necessary to really protect people. About how if Bruce had killed Joker from the beginning, Jason wouldn’t have died or become what he is, and Barbara wouldn’t be in a wheelchair, and all the people who died in the Arkham break out would still be alive.

Jason attacks Bruce, they have a huge badass fight. They are mostly fighting to a draw but they are both getting heavily injured. In the middle of their fight they think they see joker and Jason cuts off Bruce’s path and goes after him alone–only to get clocked with a crowbar from behind and dragged off.

Bruce finally makes it around to where Jason ran off only to a smear of blood on the ground that he runs through the computer and is told belongs to Jason by Alfred. Spray painted next to it is a Joker smile and the location where Jason first tried to get Bruce to murder the Joker.

Bruce goes to the location and finds the Joker there with Jason completely beat up and tied down. “Remember this Batsy? It was a fun little game, wasn’t it? It really had potential.” He’s missed his broken bird in Arkham and getting out has made him feel nostalgic, but alas he has better things to do, so it’s time to tie up this loose end for once and for all. He doesn’t need Red Hood getting between batman and his games, so he’s going to play one final round, winner takes all. “I think we should play again, but this time with a twist,” he says. Joker has set up Bruce to kill him or he’s going to kill Jason again–he’s like you can’t do it can you? Not even for your little robin. So he’s going to die–again.

The confrontation ends exactly like it did in Under the Red hood. Bruce throws a batarang that slits Joker’s throat but doesn’t outright kill him. Joker runs away laughing as Bruce goes to Jason, with Jason weeping and telling him to go after the Joker. Bruce refuses and says Jason’s injuries are more important. He tries to take him to the manor and Jason says no, he refuses to go there, to take him to a hospital. Bruce says if he goes there Red Hood will be arrested for killing the gangster. Jason doesn’t care, he refuses to have anything to do with a father who chooses the joker over his own son twice, he doesn’t get to treat his wounds and act like not going after the Joker was him saving Jason. it was just him betraying Jason yet again.

The last scene is Roy visiting Jason in Blackgate prison. He shows him home videos of Lian and brings him crayon pictures from her. He tells Jason if he ever wants out, just to say, but Jay says no, he’s got some unfinished business to handle. We see Black Mask, also there in the prison…

The End.

—

So pretty much the first movie has the Joker as the main villain in a re-working of the UtRH story, pretty typical Jason stuff.

The second one is where things are a lot less typical and almost brand new and not from the comics because let’s face it–Jason doesn’t have a lot of good stories that don’t involve the Joker. In the second movie Jason is in prison for most of the plot. And the villain? Astrid Arkham, who is the Arkham Knight. How does that work, you may wonder. Oh I have ideas and it’s twisty~ If you guys want to know how I think that one would go, I’ll write it up later.

The third one I’m thinking a League of Assassins thing. Basically Talia comes to Jason to try to get him to lead the league and we find out a lot about the circumstances of Jason’s death and resurrection and training. I’m much less sure about the exact plot for this one, but I think by the end of it Jason should finally forgive Bruce enough to go home and stop killing.

#Red Hood #Jason Todd #red hood movie #Under the Hood #Batman: Under The Red Hood #Bruce Wayne #Batman #oracle #barbara gordon #batgirl #Joker #dc comics #headcanon #movie ideas

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distort-opia · 1 year

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I love how both batman and joker pretended to be each other's henchman/ally at some point and both expressed some type of fondness towards the other. batman pretending to be one of red hood's henchmen and joker pretending to be eric border.

Hah, you're right. They both went undercover to deceive the other. Joker pretending to be Eric Border will never cease to be amazing to me though, because... imagine. You're Batman. You've been fighting this guy for almost two decades and he's been pulling some absolutely terrifying shit, but you thought you knew him. You thought you could at least predict how he worked, even if you didn't really understand him. But then the fucker shows himself capable of fooling you so thoroughly you hadn't had the slighest clue it was happening. I am 10000% sure Bruce's trust issues and paranoia got so much worse after this, and let's be real, who could blame him.

But, digression aside, I must mention that Bruce has technically done this more than once! Some of their first encounters contain a lot of disguises, interestingly. Brubaker's Batman: The Man Who Laughs is the most prominent modern Joker introduction arc, but before that there was O'Neill's Images. The stories are similar, with the exception of Bruce being way flirtier and fooling Joker with a disguise for the first and last time ever as far as I know:

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #50

Almost immediately after, Batman Confidential: Lovers and Madmen takes place. It's basically the aftermath of Joker being brought into custody after trying to poison the Gotham reservoir. And Bruce, in an attempt to understand how Joker's mind works, disguises himself as Matches Malone and gets himself put in a cell next to him. But Joker clocks him immediately:

Batman Confidential #24

And then, in Batman: Joker Time, Bruce goes undercover in Joker's gang once more, impersonating an unfunny comedian (who he pays off to stay in a hotel as he does it). If you ask me, the comic paralelling them "putting their face on" together is... something:

Batman: Joker Time #2

But a truly hilarious thing happens:

Batman: Joker Time #3

So basically, Joker had been expecting that Batman would pull this move, and asked someone to keep an eye on the people in the gang. And he immediately figured it out, because Bruce-in-disguise-as-Oscar was too funny. Joker didn't even need to see Bruce to identify him.

All in all, Joker kind of wins when it comes to figuring out Bruce's true identity. I'm only counting times in which Bruce or Joker deliberately tried to fool the other, and not... cases like temporary amnesia (e.g., Batman #48 or Going Sane). This is one of the most interesting aspects of Batjokes, and one that certainly is a big drive behind Bruce's obsession with Joker-- the fact he doesn't truly know Joker. Joker himself mocks him about it more than once, but most recently in Endgame:

Damn, this ended up way longer than expected. But I hope this was a fun answer, Anon!

#in DotF Bruce was capable of figuring out Harley wasn't Joker #but I'm not counting it because it wasn't JOKER trying to fool Bruce. it was someone else #anyway. Joker Knows Bruce Uncomfortably Well: A Small Sampler #asks #long post #batman #bruce wayne #joker #batjokes #batjokes meta #my meta

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redjaybathood · 4 years

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fruit of discord pt7

pt 1: Bruce; pt 2: Alfred; pt 3: Ric; pt 4: Tim&Cass; pt 5: Damian; pt 6: Isabel

Fandom: Batman, RHATO

Characters: Selina Kyle, Bruce Wayne, Jason Todd, Isabel Ardila, fucking Joker

Pairings: while the fic contains depiction or hints of relationships, it’s not a shipping fic; relationships in questions are batcat, jaysabel, jaytalia (past, mentioned briefly), brujay (past, nothing explicit, it’s not even mentioned directly). I’m still tagging it so if it’s blacklisted this post should not show up on your dashboard.

Gen, R

Warnings: hints at or discussion of underage, nothing explicit; mentions of sensetive topics like pregnancy and abortion. If you would like me to add warning for something else, please message me.

note: guys, I fucked up and lost the final three chapters’ drafts; it could not be recovered. I still want to finish it while I still can. So:

JOKER

"Before you say anything else," Joker said, pulling his free hand inside his suit jacket.

His brows furrowed, his tongue showing in the corner of his mouth. It took some time. Bruce didn't take his eyes off him all the way, and neither Jason or Isabel. The girl looked spooked, understandably so, if she figured out who this man was and what nanites are. The name 'Harley' was probably a big giveaway (which, also, what? What happened to 'I'll make him respect me'?). Jason, like Bruce, didn't give any of his emotions away. They looked so alike at that moment, they could be brothers.

"Aha!" Joker pulled out a gun from somewhere inside the suit.

Looking at how long the barrel was, Selina couldn't guess how.

Joker shot at the ceiling. People ran to the exits which were, predictably, closed, and windows were blocked somehow. Friends and family stayed at their places. But the cameras, the cameras were still rolling. Clark, hugging Jon by the shoulders, with Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen at the other side of the ballroom, couldn't do much. Pretty much every hero or vigilante had to stay put.

"You people are going to want to stay where you are," Joker yelled. "Or things are going to start to blow up!"

"And if we do, they're not, right," Selina said dryly.

She kept the hand on her abdomen, squeezing, which was dumb. Nanites were in her bloodstream already, probably, and the only thing that was there was a blob of cells. If that was the only thing she risked, she would have taken Joker out herself. Saved her a trip to a doctor.

See? That kind of thinking was why the trip was necessary.

"Where would be fun in that? No, I am going to give all of you a chance." He winked at her and turned to the audience. "All of you people, actually! Listen up! Anybody - anybody who wants to leave, here's your chance! It's just a little amusing game for newlyweds. This 'how well do you know your partner' quiz, everybody's familiar with that? Yes? Good, great, so: they play, they win - everyone goes home early. They play, they lose - well, they wouldn't be able to lose, really, because the little something I mixed up with their drinks? It won't allow them to say a lie. So at least they're going to learn more about each other at the end, and that's a win-win for everyone! And all is needed from you, my captive audience, is to enjoy the show!"

Clark, Diana, Oliver, Dinah, Tim, Barbara - they tried to corral the crowd before (with Tim mostly trying to keep Damian from running straight at Joker with something that wasn't a butter knife at all), with various degrees of success, but after the Joker's words, the guests seemed to settle down, a little.

Gothamites became too accustomed to this. You get them in a hostage situation, explain the stakes, explain the rules, and they will be patiently sitting on their asses and wait for Batman to save them if their lives are not directly in danger.

But Selina had to admit that at least they were not adding chaos and panic to an already precarious situation, so all was well.

"So, Bruce, what says you?" Joker said, jiggling a tray with three glasses left with one hand, and pointing the gun at him with another. "Bottoms up? Your wifey already got a dose. You're not going to leave her hanging, are you? That's cold even for you."

Bruce took the glass.

"Let me get this clear," he said. "I am to drink this, and I either answer truthfully to your questions, or I am going to blow up?"

Joker laughed. "No, she is going to blow up. She is also going to blow up if you don't drink. Nah-ah, no more stalling! If you're thinking someone outside you undoubtedly left just to check perimeter or whatever, is going to find Harley - she's not actually on the premises. She's back at the water tower she tried to trap me today. In a pudding - can you believe it? Well, I can, that's just so Harley. She tries to be ironic but there's a reason there aren't any good female comedians, am I right?"

"And I suppose you're telling me this means when someone shows up there, Harley is going to fight them tooth and nail. And probably she will blow the nanites anyway if it seems like she's loosing. You wouldn't be so confident in disclosing the identity of your assistant, or their location, otherwise. What do you have on her?"

"That's rude of you," Joker said. "I am told people are, well, people, not things."

Selina's heart, already working overtime, just seemed to speed up. Because that - that meant Ivy was in trouble. Whatever Harley had planned, to keep Joker away at the time of the wedding and the party, he's seen right through. And went ahead and got himself insurance.

While Bruce was talking, all of Joker's attention was on him. It had allowed Jason to get Isabel to step away, little by little, for almost half a meter, before the Joker noticed and zeroed in on them.

"I'm sorry, is it rude of me not to pay attention to guests? How about - how about you two join in? You're a couple, too? Going steady? I'm sure I can find a couple of questions for you."

"I hate party games," Jason said.

Joker aimed the gun at Isabel.

"Could be fun, though," Jason said, getting a glass for both himself and Isabel, and returning to her side.

Joker turned back to Bruce and Selina.

"Sooner to start, sooner to finish, Brucie!"

Bruce knocked back the whole glass back in one swallow and then threw it to the floor.

"Explosive temperament not a sign of a good husband," Joker tsked. He eyed Selina, "Though people habitually wearing leather bodysuit could be into that sort of thing, what do I know?"

"Not enough about BDSM etiquette, is that how you got these scars?" Jason said, rolling the glass between fingers before gulping the liquid down when Joker waved his gun at Isabel.

Jason took Isabel's glass as well, gesturing at Joker:

"Hey, why don't you play with us too? Sticking to the theme. The former partner, the future one, and the current."

"What's that?" Joker pondered. "Do I detect a note of jealousy, here?"

Joker looked them over.

"I would have thought it's you who is going to be the most bitter about our special bond, mine and Bruce's," Joker said to Selina. "After all, all these rumors about retirement. What a girl to think? The new girlfriend tries to keep the old one away. But now I am not sure. Hm, here goes my first question. Did you ask him to hang up his suit?"

"No," Selina said.

She looked at Bruce, wondering why she felt so compelled to keep talking. It couldn't be fear, which she sure felt. But there was no way Joker knew answers to his questions if all of them were like this.

"I wouldn't marry him if he planned something like this," she said.

Bruce's face crumpled.

"I wouldn't be able to live with myself after, if something happened because of it, something that could have been prevented. But, most importantly, he just would be the same man I thought he is. He wouldn't be the one I fell in love with. He wouldn't be my hero."

"Alright, great, moving on!" Joker shouted over Selina's voice.

She couldn't stop speaking, though, even if she was sure nobody heard her anymore. Whatever the wierd-colored stuff was, it had some kind of truth serum effect.

"Bruce, so help me get this straight," Joker continued. "People on the streets, my less fortunate brethren, say you are shutting the business down. Your charming new wife, oh, but in another life, I knew her as a trusted colleague, we even went to the same conferences together at one point of time."

Selina felt nauseous. It was a side-effect. Or, a symptom of her condition. Something like that, nothing more.

Joker rambled on.

"Six years ago, plus-minus some odd months. Hey, kiddo, how old are you, again?"

"Twenty-two," Jason said. "Or twenty-one."

"Not sure, are you? It's okay, we all had a year like that," Joker clapped him on the shoulder. "What I was talking about? Ah, yes, dear miss Kyle, remind me later to ask her about how our professional paths intercrossed. It would be a blast! You are going to love it to death, kiddo."

Selina closed her eyes. The room was suddenly too hot. She flinched when someone touched her - but that was only Jason's girlfriend, keeping her steady.

"But that's later, and now, to complete our first round... A question to Bruce. Are you, or are you not, planning to retire?"

"No."

Selina breathed out in relief. At least something went right tonight.

Joker didn't look satisfied with the answer. He moved the glass shards on the floor with his boot, then looked up at Bruce again, grinning.

"I see what you did here! Nice try. Let me rephrase that. Did you, prior to this evening, plan to just close the shop down? Leave and let someone else man the counter?"

Bruce gritted his teeth.

"Yes," he said, barely audible.

Selina heard. That was the only thing that got her to stop murmuring under her breath.

She was laughing now. She was, she had to admit, a little hysterical.

"Why?" she said, hiccupping.

"Because of you," Bruce said, turning to her. "For you. For us. I know about the baby, Selina. Doing what I do... it's not good for kids."

Jason snorted. Joker was watching them all in turn, like a ping-pong match.

Selina couldn't care less at the moment.

"There won't be any kids, Bruce."

"Of course there will be, I know you're pregnant already. And I want them to have a normal life. They won't have it as long as I am doing what I do."

"There won't be any kids!" Selina shouted. "There won't be, I'm having an abortion!"

#bruce wayne #selina kyle #wedding happens au #Fruit of Discord #batcat #jaysabel #jaytalia #brujay #jason todd #Isabel Ardila #joker #one part down #two more to go

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spartanbunjase · 4 years

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Yesterday was Evil Author Day but I wasn’t in any state to participate. So, have some of my WIP today!! They are all Jason Todd centric and I can tell you now that only one of these is guaranteed to be completed as it’s a christmas gift for my little sister (Belfire on A03).

Cantains: domestic violence, soulmates, bad parenting, different pairings, angst, fluff, good parenting, drug addiciton and recovery, LGBT+ couples, straight couples, trans characters, torture, good siblings, happy, character death (only mentioned).

1: As Catherine lay on the floor in a small pool of her own blood she could only feel utterly helpless watching Willis’ belt land on her son again and again. She wanted to get to him, to curl protectively around Jason and keep him safe, but she was too injured and knew she could end up dead if she intervened. Being dead would just put Jason at Willis’ mercy more often. The man wasn’t the same as the one she’d fallen in love with during her time at Gotham Academy. He’d been funny, carefree, adventurous, and handsome. Now, consumed by alcohol and drugs, he was a monster. He ran with criminals and regularly used Catherine to pay off his debts. Their current argument had resulted from her coming home and finding Willis about to use Jason’s body as payment. It was something he’d never done before, she knew from the utter terror radiating off her son as she’d stepped into the room. It was something she refused to let Willis ever put her son through. To Catherine, he’d thrown away any claim to their sweet six year old boy the second he laid a hand on him when the boy was four. Eventually Willis grew tired and stormed out the flat, probably to apologise to the dealer and convince them to return once Catherine was out of the flat. She wasn’t going to give him that chance. She was done letting him hurt her or her son. Jason was her world, he was the reason she’d cleaned up her drug habit and gotten a job as a bus boy at their local diner. Dragging herself up so she was standing, Catherine carefully made her way over to her son. He was bleeding from the welts and wounds across his back while she could already see a black eye forming. Catherine bent down slowly and gave Jason’s shoulder a gentle shake. He gave a pained whimper but didn’t move until he could clearly see it was Catherine and not Willis. “Come on baby, we’re getting out of here.” Catherine’s heart broke further as she saw the resigned look on her son. She’d promised him they’d leave so often but they’d gone back, he was clearly unwilling to believe her any more now than all the times before. She helped him onto his feet and led him to the door. It was only once they were out on the street that he spoke, “where we going Mama?” Catherine hadn’t thought that far ahead but as she watched Sparky their dog helping support some of Jason’s weight it hit her like a bolt of lightning. “We’re going to your grandparents. They’ve never actually gotten to meet you and they can keep us safe.” She saw Jason’s hand hold tighter to Sparky’s fur as he kept his gaze on the pavement. “Don’t worry baby, they’ll take Sparky in too.” The odd trio eventually arrived at Doc Thompkins clinic. Catherine knew she couldn’t walk Jason all the way across the city to the affluent neighbourhoods and Leslie had been trying to convince her to leave Willis for years. She had no doubt that the woman would help her and her family escape him. Catherine pushed open the door and ushered her son and their dog through to the waiting room. A nurse looked like she was about to refuse the dog until she caught sight of Jason and Catherine. The kind woman immediately moved the trio to a clinic room and went to get Leslie. “Jason, Catherine, what can I do for you today?” The Todd family had known Leslie since his birth. Her free clinic had helped them through when they’d been unable to treat Jason during a multitude of childhood injuries and illnesses. More recent years had led to the clinic treating the results of Willis’ temper and Leslie trying to help the woman and young boy escape. Catherine let her eyes travel over the room, constantly vigilant and fearful of Willis finding them. Finally sure they were safe she let her gaze lock onto Leslie’s. She’d never met the woman’s eye before, always too afraid of what she’d see reflected back at her. “We need help. My parents live in Bristol and I’m hoping they’ll take us in. They never liked Willis so hopefully they’ll let me back home now they see I’m done with him for good. At the very least, I hope they take Jay.” She was met with a calm patience that was pure Leslie once the woman got what she wanted from a situation; and in this case she had. “Auntie L, Mama said I’m going to meet my abuelos but I’m scared.” He had moved slightly closer to Leslie as Catherine had spoken and gave her sleeve a gentle tug. “They won’t be like Willis will they?” His voice was so quiet that Leslie knew Catherine would have missed the question due to the distance between her and her son. She felt a sudden urge to wrap the small, undernourished boy up in her arms and never let harm come to him again.

****

2: There isn’t much Jason can remember from his time as Robin. He can remember being friends with a handful of the younger heroes; most of them have since kept their distance. Returning from thirteen months of torture (and being declared dead) with different morals than your mentor and arguing with them in the Halls of Justice will strain some friendships…even if it has been over a decade since he was found in the abandoned wing of Arkham by the kid who’d replaced him. A few however had stuck around, stayed by his side, and aided his journey through the turbulent recovery of PTSD. Billy Batson had been overjoyed to have his friend back, to have back the one person who understood the Gotham foster care system and how fucking backwards it all is. He’d been one of the first people to visit the manor on hearing of Jason’s rescue; cheating his way past Bruce and Alfred with his magic just to see his friend. He’d remained; understanding the argument for what it was, a damaged boy begging his father to save him from his nightmares. During those early months Jason hadn’t remembered him, but Billy never held it against him. He used it as a chance to rebuild, to start fresh. They’d both changed in those months and he understood what violence could do to even the best of people; and to Billy, Jason had always been one of the best. His brother, Dick, fell into that selection of memories for Jason where he knew they’d had good times together but only the feelings remained. Only the lingering scent of happiness, childish wonder, and excitement remained. The memories themselves had been burned, beaten, starved, and just generally tortured away. The man was seen as the perfect older brother by the other members of the caped community (and even by Gotham’s press). For Jason, in the past decade, he’d been anything but. He’d only ever tried to push the family’s moral standpoint onto a person who quickly (and easily) reverted into that same terrified, scarred boy they found under the asylum just from mentions of his captor. Dick focused on keeping the other new siblings safe and happy. If that meant ignoring the second oldest of the Wayne children; well then, all the better as far as he was concerned. The oldest of the Wayne children understood, and had even studied, PTSD. That meant shit all when it came to applying it in practice. When it came to applying all he’d learnt for his roles as Robin and Nightwing he fell short of the legacy he created. Within a year of Jason’s release from Joker, Dick had certainly lived up to his name. The relationship between the two was frostier than any suit Victor Fries required. For the teenager the family got back, got into the safety of his old room, it was as it had been when he’d first been given Robin. As he didn’t have the visual memories to go with the positive feelings he’d attached to his older brother during those first couple of week it became increasingly easy for Dick to trigger a panic attack, or as was more common between the two, an all-out violent attack. Jason’s dreams, even during his time under the old asylum, occasionally give him flashes of green light, of shapes seemingly made out of thin air glowing in neon green. He’s been told that Kyle Rayner used to be a friend. Two young heroes finding themselves in roles with previous occupants helping them to forge a friendship. He’d kept his distance when he’d heard his friend was back. He’d pushed him further away once he saw the lack of recognition in those bright blue eyes. In the end he went so far as to cut contact with the teen completely once he saw the drastic changes during the nearly explosive argument with Batman. For where one had risen up to become an Honour Guard within the Corps, the other had fallen to a murdering anti-hero. One person however, had never slipped his memories. One person had always managed to keep an steel grip on his limbic system. While the Joker had tried desperately, along with help from the other Arkham inmates, to wipe every ounce of hope from Jason he failed to realise one thing. He failed to realise just how far, just how deeply, hope ran for the second Robin. The one person who the clown never managed to taint or use against him, was the one person that only a few of the hero community knew he knew. When the lights in his cell would go out, Jason would dream of flowing blonde hair. When Harley would try to convince him that she and the clown were all he had left, Jason would let his heart fill with a snorting laugh never letting the sound past his lips. When each of Batman’s main enemies took turns on the six month anniversary, Jason drew from the strength sun-warmed hands that used to clasp his with while running through the fareground. When Joker finally showed Jason the photos to prove he’d been replaced, the teen filled his mind with blues and reds of the one person who’d never replace him. Who, as it turns out, was the only person who didn’t replace him. With everything the Joker did, with everything the Joker had left him to deal with upon his release, it was Kara Zor-El who gave everything and reminded him that his faith in her was justified. For months the Wayne family had struggled. They’d struggled to fit their second child back into the family. There was the unconscious violence that accompanied trying to wake him from his night terrors. Often resulting in wounds ranging from a simple punch to a stab. The deep-seated fear and hatred of most of Gotham’s Rogues made them tiptoe around him when talking about the family business. They refused to ask, to understand, just why he resented the middle son of the Wayne house but could tolerate Duke, Cassandra, and Damian. In the end, the only solution to be found actually found them. Kara had heard Jason’s night terror start one evening not long after returning from a space mission with the Titans and hearing the news of the second Robin being found. Relief had flooded through her to her very soul. For ten months she’d searched, scanned all of Gotham multiple times with her x-ray vision and listening for any sign of him. Unfortunately there was just too much lead in the city. Too much interference for her to find him before being summoned for a three month off-world mission. She’d never forgotten the sound of his heartbeat though; of the changes it would make when he was happy, nervous, or just itching for a good fight. That first night back on Earth; when she heard the sudden changes, the increase in pace, she tuned into the almost silent whimpers he was letting out. Kara flew the fastest she ever had, abandoning the mission de-brief she’d been ordered to, and tore through the Manor like a Bat out of Hell (or an Alien invading). The alarms had been blaring. Batman and the kids were pulled away from patrol, all racing home with worry clogging their chests for the elderly butler and damaged boy left alone. Each of them had expected great hordes of people intent on harming the two members of the Wayne family who were seen as the weakest. Instead they returned home to a grandfather silencing them all and making them watch the scene he had been taking in peacefully prior to their outlandish entrance. Kara had made it up to Jason’s room just as he’d started to scream and thrash about. His limbs were still in casts, much of his body still in bandages or dressings of some form as he’d only been free a handful of days. The shock of black hair and familiar heartbeat moved her faster still. Within the blink of an eye one scared but joyous teen had pulled the other distressed teen into her arms. Almost as soon as her overly warm hands came into contact with his sweat-damp skin, Jason’s eyes flew open. He cut off a scream as blazing ocean blue eyes met overjoyed sky blue. Sun golden blonde hair framing the face like a halo. The hope. The strength. The only love that he’d managed to hold onto for thirteen months was finally back in his reach and so he allowed his body to sink into the warm embrace. It was the first night that the family discovered just how close the two sixteen year olds really were. Dick had long suspected that they were friends. Bruce had always avoided commenting, refusing to admit that both of his children were close with Kryptonians (even if one was a clone). As they stood watching they saw how quickly Kara calmed their wayward bird. Her fingers never stopped carding through his hair as her other hand was clasped as tightly as he could manage due to the bulky cast and pain. She was rocking him slightly, quietly singing a Kryptonian nursery rhyme.

****

3: Everyone was born with a mark, a mark that matched in design and placement with the person you were meant to have a deep relationship with. Be that platonic or romantic. Everyone that is except Jason. His mother had always told him it just made him special, that he would form deep relationships with anyone special enough to be in his life. Instead he spent his life forging relationships only to have them ripped away. There was his mother losing her battle with cancer. His best friend getting caught up in one of Mad Hatter’s schemes and never making it out. Then there was the father he’d found one cold night in Crime Alley. Jason thought he’d finally found what his mother meant all those years ago. He now had a grandfather, who he spent countless hours cooking and debating literature with. He had a father who taught him how to fight beyond that of street fighting but also helped him laugh again. Best of all he now had a brother who would take him skiing and help him prank their adopted father. Alas it wasn’t to last. Each of those relationships was destroyed by the one who wished his soul mark matched Jason’s father. The Joker took Jason away from Bruce, from the family he’d found. A crowbar here. An explosion there. It all came crumbling down in the Magdala Valley. One quick resurrection, a few years training, and one failed attempt at revenge later found Jason finally managing to rebuild those bonds lost to him at fifteen. It was what led to him chasing a behemoth of a man through Gotham trying to save Deula Dent. She was the daughter of the Joker from another Earth and, although she was related to a version of the man who’d killed him, he wasn’t about to let her die. Unfortunately, he wasn’t successful but it did lead to a very interesting set of circumstances for the twenty-two year old. With Donna Troy, a woman he’d once considered a sister, and Kyle Rayner at his side he found himself travelling through the multi-verse. They’d been to countless versions of their own planet. They’d met evil versions of themselves and their mentors. They’d gotten caught in Victorian Gotham. They’d even ended up on multiple Earths where they were the opposite gender to how they presented. It had been a tiring journey. Jason had found himself having a small crush on the Green Lantern accompanying them. Flirty banter was met with fierce resistance. Kyle, for reasons Jason still didn’t understand, seemed convinced that he wanted Donna instead. Now Jason wasn’t picky. He was attracted to a person regardless of their gender, or even if they were human. To Kyle it just meant that Jason was even better placed to scoop Donna out from under him. As the trio, along with their Monitor Bob, landed on Earth-11 it became apparent that they’d ended up on another Earth where the genders were reversed. A fight was clearly happening and so they set off to help in the hopes that Ray Palmer may have been somewhere nearby. Jason’s combat boots pounded through the streets. His breath was coming harsher than usual as an unexpected pain was shooting up his left arm. It had started as soon as they’d breached the atmosphere. The only way he could describe it was as if someone was stabbing him between the radius and ulna over and over again. His arm was held protectively to his chest as nothing he’d done had relieved the pain. He’d twisted his wrist and shoulder around. Simple stretches had turned more and more complex. Nothing was working. A green construct lit up the sky, quickly being followed by the Lantern creating it. Jason’s gaze lingered on the woman in question and the pain subsided slightly. Kicking his body into action his legs pulled him towards the battle faster. “If you’re going to act like children then you’ll be treated as such.” The female Green Lantern said while scooping up some of the Amazon warriors. Jason will deny it to his dying day but that was the moment he felt his heart skip a beat and love start to bloom in his heart.

****

4: When the news of the massacre at Sanctuary broke throughout the hero community Jason felt horrifically guilty because he felt such relief. A few weeks before it all happened Roy had been speaking with Waylon about entering rehab. He’d been intending to go to Sanctuary as it was set up by the Trinity for all those in the community that needed help. However, the archer didn’t want to be in the middle of nowhere or too far away from Jason. The ginger archer had raced into Gotham two months prior to save the stupidly impulsive ass of a crime lord. As soon as he and Jason were back together they had a massive talk about how their relationship parted last time. It soon became clear that Jason’s own insecurities had wiggled their way so far into his brain that he pushed Roy away. Once they’d finished their talk they quickly fell into their old routine. The relationship was moving as if they’d never been apart for over a year. They were able to support each other but Jason was able to see that Roy needed more help than he could provide. As the case with Suzie Sue was drawing to a close they started to talk about Roy’s options. Sanctuary had been top of the list, until Roy realised just where it was located and more importantly how little was located around it. In the end, with the help of Oliver, they were able to get Roy into AtoT Centre in San Diego. When Oliver heard that Roy was struggling again he managed to step up and help. He knew that the level of help Roy would need was clearly above what he could provide if Jason was struggling to help him. With this in mind Oliver offered to foot the bill for any length of stay Roy needed, along with helping Jason rent a flat nearby. The AToT Centre were able to fit Roy into one of their San Diego drug rehab homes that house six patients. He agreed to a ninety day stay so long as Oliver refused to tell him the price. Jason agreed with Roy’s instance as he knew that if Roy found out that it was $65,000 for the initial thirty days and then $2,000 for every thirty after that he would have refused to go to such a highly rated place. They allowed Roy to keep his phone so he could be in contact with both Jason and Oliver, which settled all three men. Roy had been at the centre for fifteen days when the news of Sanctuary broke. He had received a text from Wally telling him that he was okay and had made it out. Unsure of what the text had meant he’d immediately phoned his ex-mentor and (trying again) father figure. The blonde archer had gently told his son how the patients at Sanctuary had been attacked and that the current suspects were Booster Gold and Harley Quinn. He also reassured Roy that Wally had managed to get away fast enough, running straight to his Aunt Iris in Central City.

****

5: There were a few things people could expect to find on the streets of Gotham. Bristol had people who spewed money and corruption all in the same breath. If you wanted to get your rocks off, or buy some, you’d head to the East End. Joker goons could be found roaming around Amusement Mile while a couple of the buildings around the Solomon Wayne courthouse were decorated in two halves both on the inside and the outside. One of the things that you wouldn’t expect to come across is a literal goldmine. Jason learnt all of this while he still had a home near Crime Alley. It’s something that has been drilled into him even more during his six years on the streets. So, it comes as a massive surprise to the fifteen-year-old when he finds The Batmobile parked in the alley. He had three tyres off when two shadows fell over him. Glancing up a jolt of freezing cold fear shot through the underweight teen. He’d slipped into a fighting stance naturally, his tyre iron held tightly in a white knuckled grip. When you grow up in the Narrows you have no choice but to always choose fight over flight. He’s shocked out of his fear by a deep throaty laugh. “The fuck?” Slips out before Jason can clamp his mouth shut. Of all the reactions to someone booting your tyres he’d never heard of someone laughing. “You’re a spunky one aren’t you.” Robin, now Jason’s had a chance to take in the recognisable costume, said with the same level of amusement in his tone as Batman’s laugh. He glanced over at his mentor and Jason took in the silent conversation they had. The Bat crouched in front of the small, dirty street kid. “You want hot food and a warm bed? If so, we know someone who owes us one.” Throwing up an eyebrow, Jason takes a step back. His stomach is desperately empty. His mind is fuzzy. His adrenaline from the theft is waning and he knows he can’t hold the tyre iron up much longer. “Ya wouldn’ wanna help some’n’ like me. I ain’t normal.” His thick accent makes them pause. If you weren’t raised in the area, then there is always a slight difficulty in translation. It’s made a bit more difficult for people to understand Jason as his Narrows accent is also intermingled with a Latinx twist from his Mámá. It was something he’d heard his whole life. Don’t mind Jason, he’s not all there. Don’t worry about the kid, he ain’t normal. Fucker, all I do for you and you can’t act like all the other boys. Jason knew, after hanging around with the same group of lads since he could walk, that most young boys dreamed of being Robin. They talked animatedly about how cool it must be to wear the red, yellow, and green while kicking the shit out of people. They all lusted after Batman and Robin’s sometimes partner Batgirl. None of the other teenage boys Jason grew up with wanted to be Batgirl. None of them dreamed about how empowering it must feel to pull on those four-inch, purple boots and not have them holding you back from doing the same things as Batman and Robin. “Well we’re not normal either.” Robin chuckles. “No normal people dress up like we do and fight crime.” Jason had to admit that the sidekick has a point. In the end his overwhelming need for sustenance crowds out any other nervousness he could be feeling, so he reluctantly agreed. Jason helped them put the wheels back on as best he could with his hands shaking. He could blame the cold. He could blame the hunger. He could blame the two heroes of Gotham helping him more than he was helping them. In actuality, the reason his hands were shaking was the knot of Narrows fuelled anxiety over the chance of them finding out just how abnormal he was. It takes Jason a week to figure out that Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson are Batman and Robin. He spends a few days coming up with a plan to get them both to admit it. Both men are underestimating how sneaky and clever the street kid can be so don’t see everything coming together until it’s at its conclusion. They both try to play it off. Try to pretend that Jason hasn’t guessed it all correctly. Try to pretend that Jason hadn’t caught them in the lie. In the end they tell him everything because Alfred cuffs them both upside the head. The trust both men show Jason in opening up about their pain. The very events that triggered their need for the mission, cements something in him. It solidifies the tentative strands of trust that was between them. The fact Dick was so willing to come to him when he woke up a few nights later with nightmares of falling so he had someone to sit and watch crappy 80’s movies with. The fact Bruce tells him exactly why the Batmobile was parked in Crime Alley that night, the significance of the date. It all goes towards helping Jason realise that maybe these three people are the very people he needs to talk to, to trust in. Even with all that swirling around his mind. Even with all the little ways they’re showing him they want to be his family. The fear engrained in him from years of his father and the other men around the Narrows keeps his mouth shut. He fights through each day, just as he always has; only now the fight is different. Whereas before his fight was for the basics needed to survive. The hunger. The cold. The general desperate need to make it to the next day. Now his fight is different. He has food. Warmth. Safety. He has people who check in on how he’s doing, how he’s feeling or settling in. He has people who care. Now the fight is to keep how he feels about his own body, mind, and soul from spilling over and corrupting one of the first good things this city ever gave him. The dark of night, when Jason knows for sure both Dick and Bruce are out and Alfred is in the cave, is the only time he lets his mind wander into the Fort Knox style vault he keeps his dreams of being more like Batgirl and less like Robin. It’s the only time he lets out the complicated rubber band ball of thoughts and anxieties to try and sift through them all. It’s the only time he willingly thinks about the two people who had started trying to help him untangle all he was feeling.

****

.It had been ten years since Jason returned to Gotham, ten years since Ra’s had dunked his lifeless body into the Lazarus pit to bring Jason screaming and clawing back into existence. In that time things had changed greatly, but not Gotham, Gotham remained the seething hub for all criminality in the country. Jason had long ago given up on ever thinking that Gotham could change, it just seemed to attract the worst of humanity or ever worse, spawn it. Still Jason vowed to continue fighting just on the off chance that Gotham might one day see the light.Jason flicked the butt of his cigarette into the fading light, a singular point of dulling light against the encroaching black of Gotham’s night. The almost permanent blare of police sirens echoed through the streets and up into the skies, only serving to remind Jason just how far they hadn’t come since he pulled on his first pair of green pixie boots. He clambered to his feet, resting his arm on the head of his favourite gargoyle and looked out over the city, wondering where the night would take him. Suddenly his com sparked into life. “Batgirl are you receiving?” Batman was a staple of Gotham now, one of its defining characteristics, even if his mission had failed on every aspect.Still Jason found it difficult to hear Batman speak, knowing that Bruce no longer held the mantle. Batman had fallen to Damian a few years back once Damian had aged into the role, filling the shoes of his father had left empty when he died. There had been a time before Bruce’s death that he and Jason stood apart from each other, separated by their moral compasses, but ultimately in Bruce’s final moments he had made up for all the bad blood between the two of them. Captured once again by the Joker, Jason had found himself in a similar situation to his first death, only this time the Batman arrived early.Bruce had beaten the joker to the ground whilst the bomb counted down, seconds remained when Bruce attached the grapnel line from the Batwing to Jason’s harness point and sent the Batwing soaring off into the sky. Fire and death consumed Bruce and the Joker, the more powerful nature of the bomb vaporising any trace of the hero and villain. When Jason came to in the Batcave he remembered Bruce attaching the cable to his waist and the words he spoke to him. “I’m sorry Jason but I won’t let him take you again. I know we’ve had our troubles, mostly because of my stubbornness, but know this now. I love you.” The family had accepted him back with open arms but Jason struggled to come to terms with his father’s death for quite some time.“I’m receiving Batspawn, I’ll be operational in twenty, see you at RV foxtrot.” Stephanie Brown may not be the first or the strongest Batgirl, but in Jason’s opinion she was the best. They had both come from similar backgrounds and had bonded over their shared life experience, add in to the mix that Jason aged differently that other humans thanks to his dip in the pit and they were roughly the same physical age now so they had unofficially made themselves siblings. Steph’s voice sounded different to Jason, he wasn’t hearing it over his com unit. He craned his neck round and sure enough there she was, stood silently behind him.“Why’d you always have to sneak up on me like that?” Jason mumbled grumpily. “Holy shit someone’s in a bad mood!” Jason had caught her off guard, their relationship a lot more playful that this current interaction. “Ahh fuck, it’s the eighteenth ain’t it?” Steph asked to which Jason simply nodded his head. Bruce’s anniversary always sucked for Jason but for some reason this year, their seventh without Bruce, was hitting Jason harder than before. Steph sidled up behind Jason and wrapped her arms around his chest, he rested his spare arm on top of hers, enjoying the warmth coming from her. “You wanna talk about it?” Steph asked gently as she released her arms and climbed around the other side of the gargoyle.Jason pulled out another cigarette and lit it in rapid succession. “Naa. Don’t even know what to say really.” As Jason exhaled a stream of smoke shot into the night air, the sky now more black than it was red. “Well why don’t you come with us on patrol tonight, we think we’ve got a lead on Pyg.” Jason simply pointed to a rooftop that was several stories lower than their current position, on top of it was the partially strung up body of a failed dollatron and next to it in a pool of his own blood and brain matter was Pyg. “Jason, did you?” Steph looked over at Jason and saw him waving around a sniper rifle that she hadn’t noticed before. “Okay then, well that throws my night wide open. Wanna go get something to eat, ya know, after getting changed?”Jason took a long drag on his cigarette, considering Steph’s idea. “Yeah alright, let’s just wait until Gordon’s boys turn up to collect the bodies.” Jason said flatly. “Cool, I’ll let Bats know we’re offline tonight.” Steph activated her com. “Batgirl to Batman, you receiving?” There was a moments silence before the channel sparked to life again. “Receiving.” Damian replied tersely. “No need to go ahead with the sting tonight, I’ve got eyes on Pyg and I don’t think he’d going to be hurting anyone else ever again.” Steph tried not to giggle but she knew how much Damian hated vague reports.“Goddamn it Batgirl, was this Red Hood again? He’s there with you now isn’t he? Hood what have you done; you know that isn’t how we do things. How many times did father have to tell you!” Jason pulled his helmet fully off and hit the power switch. “Fuck he sounds worse than Bruce did sometimes.” Jason quipped before taking a long drag on his cigarette then flicking it once more into the night. “Hey at least you don’t have to work directly with him, I’m stuck with the little brat!” Steph laughed but Jason knew she was serious. After Bruce’s death Damian had become even more zealot in his quest to become his father and claim his blood right, the cowl.“I’ve told you before, you’d be more than welcome on the Outlaws. Personally, I think Artemis would like it more than I would, she’s crushing on you hard dude.” Steph smiled and laughed, it was good to hear a more upbeat and jovial tone to her brother’s voice. “As tempting as working with my brother and finally getting myself a girlfriend is, I belong in Gotham. Besides, someone’s got to keep Damian in check since Alfred quit; although I don’t blame him.” Steph sighed then snapped into another chain of thought. “Oh Alfred sent me a message the other day, asked me to ask you about Dick?” Jason looked curiously at Steph, throw off by the bizarre question.“Why doesn’t he ask Dick himself, his number hasn’t changed?” Jason asked but Steph gave him that look that only younger sisters can give their older siblings. “You know you’re the only one from the family that he speaks to anymore. He even stopped sending birthday cards to Alfred last year. We’re all worried about him, this self-isolating behaviour can’t be good for him.” Steph now looked worried and Jason supposed he could understand why. Bruce’s death had hit Dick hard too and he’d left America all-together not long after the funeral. He now lived in Europe with Wally and their six adopted kids. He was happy but done with the lifestyle, shutting out all aspects and now, apparently, all the family bar Jason.“He’s okay, spoke to him today for an hour or so. He’s feeling pretty shit like me, but Wally’s got Iris looking after the kids and they’ve gone for a holiday out of the country together.” Steph smiled at hearing Dick was okay but was then distracted by movement on the other rooftop. Gordon, and handful of unis and the CSIs had arrived to cordon off and catalogue the scene. “Come on then.” Steph said to Jason, trying to be as upbeat as possible. “Let’s go eat!”

#Jason Todd #Batman #Batfam #Arkham Knight #Kara Danvers #DC fic #my writing

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diyunho · 5 years

Text

The Joker x Reader-”The One That Got Away” Part 1

The terrorist attack targeting Wayne National Bank nearly three years ago left only one survivor behind: Y/N almost died from the injuries, but she was lucky enough to wake up at the hospital days later. It was so hard to cope with the news: on top of losing her eyesight, the young woman lost her co-workers also and strangely enough the one responsible for the entire tragedy wasn’t The Clown Prince of Crime.

“They told me you’re here again,” you smile and there’s no answer. “Are you going to come in or do you want me to bring you something to eat? We’re closing soon, it’s almost 10pm.”

The blind Y/N extends the cane until it touches the recipient of her visit.

“I understand that you’re shy and there’s nothing wrong with it; you just need to tell me.”

“I’m not shy,” the deep tone interrupts.

“So are you coming in this time?” Y/N asks while the man grunts and she correctly guesses he’s getting up from his spot. “Follow me,” you encourage and he pulls the hoodie on his face, steadily walking behind the woman leading the way. “Today we have chicken soup and spaghetti with red sauce. That that I want to brag, but it turned out pretty good,” you giggle to lighten up the atmosphere: you’re aware it’s not easy for some living on the streets to acknowledge they require help.

“Mina!” you shout as you enter the spacious room. “Another portion please!”

“Sure thing!” the assistant’s energetic reply is perceived from beyond the counter.

“You can take a sit at any table, she’ll bring the food shortly,” you let him know and then loudly inquire: “Who else is here?”

“I’m here,” Silvia answers, slurping on her hot soup.

“Me too,” you hear Walter. “I also see Dave, Russell, Angie. The rest I’m not sure,” the 70 years old informs, pointing at the newcomer.

“Hey new guy, you have a name?” Angie licks her fork, digging in the pile of pasta afterwards.

The man is silent for a few moments, then mutters through his teeth:

“Jay.”

“You’re lucky there’s still food left, son! It’s crazy busy all the time,” Dave huffs. “This is the best Soup Kitchen in Gotham, and the lady standing in front of you a true angel!” one of the regulars states with such conviction it prompts cheers from the others left in the cafeteria at the end of the busy day.

“If only,” you laugh amused at the affirmation.

“Here you go; enjoy,“ Mina brings over a bowl of soup and a plate full of spaghetti to the man that’s been lurking around for the past two months but didn’t step into the building until today. Jay mumbles something resembling a “thanks” and by the sounds he makes slurping on the hot liquid one could say it’s very appreciated.

The volunteers would tell you if they spotted him outside the premises and you would usually take food to him, offering a place at a table which he refused; not the first or the last to show restrain when shown kindness.

You’re a bit surprised he decided to finally join the crowd; maybe he doesn’t like being around people.

“Mina, are you ok closing with John and Sandy? I have to open the bakery in the morning,” you explain although it’s not necessary.

“Yes, of course; told you should have went home an hour ago. They’re almost done with the dishes and we won’t have that much left to do after the last guests finish their meal. We’ll be fine, don’t worry. OK?” the young woman gives you a soft nudge towards the door and you feel the ground with the cane, eager to take a shower after the long day.

“Good night then,” you smile,” see you guys soon.”

“Good night!” several voices respond back.

The apartment is just three blocks away, conveniently situated on the top of the bakery you own: “Sweet Temptations” is one of the most popular bakeries in Gotham, slowly becoming a contender for the first position.

Once outside you stop for a few moments to enjoy the silence and the soft breeze on your cheeks before reprising your walk. Police cars alarms start blaring in the distance and you sigh, annoyed: quietness never lasts for too long in this damned city.

You turn left on Glissan Avenue and halt, carefully listening: you could swear you discerned some snickering ahead of you. Maybe not?...

A few more feet and your cane is abruptly yanked out of your hand, almost making you lose balance:

“Hey pretty girl, can I get a kiss in exchange for the stick?”

You straighten your shoulders, frowning:

“Randy, is that you?!”

“Umm…it’s possible,” he chuckles and you feel the air around, trying to find his body.

“I’m exhausted and not in the mood for your crap!” you admonish and want to continue but you get interrupted:

“I’m sorry, Y/N. You know my brother’s an idiot!...Hey…Hey!!!! What the…,” the other young man yells and the noise of a loud punch and broken bone startles you. “Hey, leave my brother alone!!!!...Oh shit!” the turmoil of a struggle and more ruckus indicating a fight make you frantically search for your cell in the purse.

“What’s going on?” you ask, scared at the moans of pain.

“I think he broke my nose,” Randy manages to utter still dizzy from the unexpected attack. His sibling Steve is trying to defend himself from the aggressor, apparently without too much success since the thud reaching your ears indicates he got thrown on the concrete pavement.

“If…if you’re The Batman, I can assure you I’m not in any kind of danger!” you pant, scared about whatever the hell is happening. “I know them, please stop!”

“It’s not…it’s not The Batman…” Randy gags, the taste of his own blood making him nauseated.

“I’m calling 911!” the cell phone is taken out of the bag and Randy shrieks:

“He’s running away…”

“Please don’t call the cops,” Steve mutters, not having the strength to get up yet. “I’m sure they’re not gonna like the fact that two teenagers fresh out of the juvie already got involved into an altercation.”

“I can testify you got assaulted!”

“Yeah, but you didn’t see anything,” Steve groans while his brother helps him up. “They might twist it against us and I don’t want to go back to detention.”

“Me neither,” Randy grumbles, wiping his bloody nose with the sleeve of his jacket.

“Did you see who it was?” you inquire, placing the phone in your pocket; you sure don’t want to create any more trouble for them.

“No,” the cane is returned to the anxious Y/N. “His mug was covered with a hoodie.”

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

Next morning, 5:43am

The bell dinging makes you aware someone entered the bakery.

“I’m sorry, we’re still closed until 6am,” you announce to the customer while brewing a fresh pot of coffee.

“Hello Y/N, it’s me”, the familiar voice makes you smile.

“Good morning Mister Wayne; your box is ready,” you slide the package on the other side of the counter.

“Thank God! I hate early corporate meetings and this amazing stuff makes me wake up a bit, enough to seem like I’m interested, you know?” he soundlessly yawns and you burst out laughing.

“I’m glad it helps. Coffee?”

“Please!”

“The usual?”

“Naaah. Surprise me,” Bruce smirks and watches Y/N quite fascinated as she puts together his drink. Even if she can’t see, she moves with such ease and he takes a remorseful deep breath, wishing he could share his thoughts.

“Here you go Mister Wayne, triple shot. I think you need it today,” you hand over his cup and he takes a sip, smacking his lips in the process.

“This is very good,” Bruce praises your skills because lingering around the bakery for a few minutes it’s so much better that the dreadful meeting he’s about to attend. He takes a big stack of money from the inside pocket of his suit and hands it over to you.

“Are these…are these hundreds?!” you inquire, puzzled.

The lack of an answer confirms it.

“Mister Wayne, you don’t have to do this each time you come in. This is just... a lot again and the total for your box is only 46 dollars.”

“If I want to leave a tip, then I will. Share with your employees,” the stubborn heir suggests because this is how he usually convinces you to accept the money.

You want to protest but he keeps rambling on:

“There are also two checks in there: one for my monthly contribution to your charity, the other one you could say it’s an investment. Entirely up to you of course, but I would love for you to expand your business: a location next to the Wayne Tower would make me very happy. Every time I’m there pretending to be working I could run and get me a delicious treat to make my day better. ”

You blankly stare at him, deciding to speak up.

“Mister Wayne…You don’t have to do this… It wasn’t your fault…”

Bruce is grateful you can’t see his painful grimace at the candid words meant to alleviate the guilt of an event he failed to predict as both the main shareholder of Gotham National Bank and as his alter ego.

“You are not responsible for the lives that were lost. You just owned the bank, nothing more. It was very unfortunate, but please stop blaming yourself.”

He doesn’t comment yet, oddly enough paying attention to Y/N’s advice.

“You might not realize it, but you make this city a better place Mister Wayne; your generous donations truly make a difference. With your aid, my charity allows me to literally assist hundreds of those in need. That wouldn’t be possible without you. Take The Batman too for example; because of him this town is safer: he can’t get rid of all the rotten evil eating away at its core, but his watchful eye is a tremendous boost of hope for the rest of us. One person can’t do everything and he is not accountable for every bad action he cannot stop. You’re not more responsible than he is for the fate of others.”

Bruce sniffles, somehow relieved by the sudden monologue.

“You’re a good man, Mister Wayne. The tabloids might depict you as a carefree playboy, still they should mention your achievements also. Or at least bring up some details about that nice cologne you wear,” you giggle and his body relaxes at the small joke after being tense throughout the whole speech.

“It’s Dior,” he admits with a grin meant to alleviate the seriousness of what you just told him. And Bruce certainly appreciates it since he had no idea how much he craved to hear a confirmation of his own flaw: he is human after all, either as the rich billionaire or as The Batman. “Thank you…” he briefly touches your fingers while taking the box from the counter.

“I meant it Mister Wayne.”

“I know…” he sighs. “Think about the business proposal, OK?”

“I will,” you promise although you are not convinced it’s such a great plan on top of the numerous projects you’re involved in.

“I’ll see you next week,” Bruce promises and exits the pastry shop, abandoning its owner until their upcoming rendezvous.

You feel sorry for him, you really do. You hope what you told him stuck in the back of his mind: remorse is a strong poison Bruce Wayne should stay away from at any cost, especially when he’s in the center of attention due to his social position. Plus, he’s not liable for the tragedy that occurred nearly three years ago, even if he believes otherwise…

You were working as a teller at Wayne National Bank for eight months and that day was nothing special until the shift was almost over. The 25 year old Y/N went downstairs with her drawer in order to go over her daily transactions and make sure there were no discrepancies. Moments later, a powerful explosion shook the building and leveled it out in a matter of seconds, taking down walls and people alike as it sunk into rubble.

The only survivor was you since you happened to be in the vault; the metal crate protected you from the blast and you were lucky the emergency response team dug you out from under the debris in time: Y/N nearly perished and woke up at the hospital days later blind and unable to cope with the news: on top of losing her eye-sight, she lost her co-workers too.

Bruce Wayne felt responsible: he took pride in having the most sophisticated and advanced security system in place, yet nothing is fool proof, including the engineers that built it and sold out the secrets to the wrong people for the right price.

The terrorist attack was claimed by the Triple Star gang, another one of their attempts to take over Gotham in the never-ending battle for the top spot with The Joker. And Gotham’s citizens got caught in the crossfire. Again.

Bruce paid for everyone’s funerals and handsomely rewarded the grieving families along with his public apologies; the media tried to shred him to pieces, dragging his name in the mud again. It all died out once the family members of those killed in the attack sided with the billionaire: there’s nothing more off-putting to the press than dust settling over sensationalism without backup evidence.

You used the share you received from your ex-employer to open the bakery and start the kitchen soup, both venues flourishing under your patronage. Bruce was a constant customer and donor from day one, which aided raise awareness to the point of Y/N becoming some sort of local celebrity: despite her blindness after surviving catastrophe, she found the strength to rise above the shattered pieces of her life and help the less fortunate, which gained her the nickname of Angel of Gotham.

“Y/N,” Shane gets you out of trance, “do you want the chocolate croissants on top shelves today?”

“Yes, by the apple fritters and blueberry muffins,” you answer while the rest of the opening shift brings out the trays with freshly baked pastries from the kitchen.

The bell dings and Andy rushes in, frantically repeating:

“I know I’m late! I know I’m late!”

“AGAIN!!!” almost everyone teases in the same time, the choir urging more clumsy excuses:

“I know, ok? I’m deeply sorry. My car died out!”

“AGAIN!!!” the crew mocks and the poor guy sniffles, flustered to the maximum and you decide to give him a break.

“It’s fine; go wash your hands.”

“Y/N,” Andy halts in front of you. “Mister Wayne’s limo is parked outside and his chauffeur said he wants to talk to you.”

“He’s still here?!” you grab your stick and walk around the counter, heading outside the bakery.

“This way Miss,” the driver holds the limousine’s door opened until you get inside, slamming it shut as soon as you are next to your former boss. But something is off… the man doesn’t smell like Bruce’s cologne.

“Mister Wayne?...” you hesitantly mumble and the weird chuckle makes you cringe.

“Nope. Just rented a limo like his and waited until he left so I can take over. Luckily enough we saw an employee rushing in and he had no clue that the rich, pretty boy is not the one requesting a meeting.”

You panic and try to exit the car but it’s already moving and the door won’t open.

“Calm down, would you? If I wanted to hurt you I would have already done it.”

You exhale, nervously adjusting yourself in the comfortable seat.

“Who are you?” Y/N carefully stirs the conversation.

“A philanthropist interested in bestowing my fortune upon those in need,” the strange snickering comes to an end. “Here’s my business card,” your hands are placed on the person’s face without any warning. “Well, can you guess?”

“Umm…” you gulp, anxiously touching the skin. “Maybe mid-thirties…”

“Wow, that’s pretty good,” the man snorts, somewhat amused. “Go on.”

“Handsome…”

“Nailed it!!” he snarls and it gives you goosebumps.

“Green hair…”

His crazy silver grin diminishes a bit.

“Blue eyes,” and your eyes focusing on his astonish The Joker which is not an easy thing to accomplish.

“You…you can see!” he growls and your hands slide off his face. The King of Gotham had you on surveillance for months before he made contact today and nothing indicated the revelation he witnessed by pure chance.

“I was wondering if you‘ll show up,” your change in attitude baffles the usual emotionless King of Gotham. “Are you interested in money laundering throughout my charity?” you cold tone skips to the main topic. “Others have asked and no, I don’t do that; I don’t care about how much it would put back in my account. Dirty money has no place in my…”

“Says the perfect Angel lying to the world about her handicap,” The Joker sarcastically cuts you out.

“I’m not lying,” you mutter. “My vision comes and goes, it’s a neurological anomaly after the injury I sustained. I was warned that might happen and frankly I don’t have to announce it on TV or to my doctor when I’m blind and when I’m not. It’s easier to deal with it since at one point I might find myself in the blackness forever.”

“Interesting,“ The Joker huffs, crossing his legs. “I couldn’t care less about your sneaky ways; I’m not here to negotiate a deal. I’m here to get what I want. Money laundry will bring you more funds to do whatever the hell you do, help people and all that,” J flares his arms around, done with the charade.

“Yes, I help them and you kill them,” Y/N gives The Clown a mean glare. “Or beat them up for no reason,” you hint at the two teenagers he attacked since you actually saw him do it.

“Somebody gotta keep the balance,” he jokes about it like it’s some kind of funny topic.

“Mister Joker, I am here to help people and that’s it, “an apparent serene Y/N grumbles even if her heart is pounding out of her chest. “Can you please drop me off at the back entrance of my bakery? If I go missing or end up dead, people will notice. My disappearance or demise wouldn’t go unnoticed and you don’t need more unwanted attention, do you?” you play the best card you have because frankly you have zero aces in your sleeve.

The Joker sucks on his teeth, debating upon this dumfounding outcome that didn’t ruin his day; from time to time he loves a good challenge and the opportunity basically jumped at him so to speak. He gets easily bored and shit, this little project isn’t boring at all. Turned out to be quite interesting.

“Hey Frost!” The Joker shouts. “Let’s take McGillivray Street and return this lost Angel to her business. We don’t want a poor blind woman to get lost in this huge city; we’ll consider this our good deed for the year!”

“Of course sir,” the henchman switches lanes and you strive to remain composed because showing weakness could mean disaster while in the company of the unpredictable psychopath.

The limo takes a left and in a few seconds you reach your destination since Frost basically just slowly drove around the block. The fancy vehicle stops and you get out, preparing to bail when The Joker interrogates:

“Who are you really, hm?” J suspiciously squints his eyes.

You bent over to look at him, cautiously choosing your words:

“I’m the one that got away, Mister Joker. The only one.”

He puffs, signaling you to close the door.

“Good for you, sugar. We’ll keep in touch,” and he yanks the door out of your hand since he doesn’t have patience to wait for you to close it.

Oh my God, you think and reprise your stroll, sensing the concrete with the walking stick. What was that?! you shiver, just a few feet away from the back entrance of the pastry shop. How am I… but you can’t continue the argument since a van slams the breaks right by you, five guys quickly running out and pulling you inside.

“Did you see that boss?” Frost inquires, still waiting at the red light while watching the rearview mirror. “It was so fast nobody noticed.”

“It’s them,” The Joker sneers.

“Do we… … do anything?” Jonny throws the option out there for the heck of it.

“Do you have to fucking ask??!!” his boss shouts. “This is my goddamned town, not theirs! I decide who lives or dies, who gets kidnapped and who doesn’t. ME, not the Triple Star gang!!! I am sick of them interfering with my plans!”

“Call for reinforcements and discreetly follow?”

“No, tell the guys waiting to escort us on Andresen Avenue to intercept the van and follow it. We need a plan.”

“Yes sir,” Frost smirks, craving to take on another invigorating assignment since today was quite a dull day.

Back in the van, the men keeping you captive in between them didn’t articulate a single sentence yet. They have no clue you can see so they didn’t bother cover your head with a cloth. You know The King of Gotham is not present but you have to go on with it; what other choice do you have in this dangerous situation?

“Mister… Mister Joker?” you plead. “I’m sure we can…”

“The Joker?!” somebody laughs, finally talking and everyone snickers like it’s the best stand –up comedy act they ever heard. “No honey: this is the competition.” **************

Five days afterwards, 6pm

Everyone at the soup kitchen is eating in silence, the usual cheerful chit chatting absent from the premises: Y/N has been missing for five days, gone without a trace and despite all the efforts, her whereabouts are still unknown.

“Something bad happened,” Mike shakes his head, worried. “I can feel it,” he wipes his teary eyes.

“She wouldn’t just abandon everything and flee…” Clara whispers to her fellow table mates. “I’ve been homeless for a long time and this is the first place I found some real help, you know? Thanks to her I have a job interview next week,” the woman’s voice breaks. “Nobody would give me a chance and she put in a good word; I might have an opportunity to actually…” Clara blows her nose in a tissue, unable to finish her confession.

“We’re in the same boat,” George turns around from the nearby table and his eyes get big when he recognized who the man entering the establishment is. “Holy…”

The Joker is holding Y/N in his arms, both looking like they escaped a war: dusty, ripped clothes and visible bruises to match the unusual view seen by the 137 souls eating there for the moment. You are unconscious and a few people try to get up, startled.

“SIT DOWN!!!” The Joker screams, lifting you higher in his arms.

“Mister Joker, we gotta go!” Frost advises while keeping the door opened; the other goons temporarily blocked the traffic at The Clown’s orders. A few onlookers on the street are already dialing 911 and J is aware he can’t linger, but he won’t ignore an outburst either:

“Tell everyone The Devil brought your Angel back !! ME, not The Batman!!!” the insane green haired man barks. “Not all heroes wear capes, huh?!” he addresses everyone as he places you on an empty bench and hurries outside, taking one last glance behind to see a weary Y/N barely opening her eyes that cannot focus.

And The Joker knows that after the events he whiteness too, The Angel of Gotham is in complete darkness again.