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avaritia-apotheosis · 3 years

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Phantom Children Ch.4

In Which: exposition for exposition's sake exists, and Vlad looks way more suspcious than he ought

| AO3 | Prologue | 3 | [4] | 5

VLADIMIR MASTERS. Human male in his mid-forties, and most notably the founder and CEO of VladCo, a billion-dollar industry that mostly specializes in manufacturing weapons and technology. Graduated summa cum laude from the University of Wisconsin despite having to drop out due to a lab accident in his second year, landing him in the hospital. Despite being based primarily in Wisconsin, he made an unexpected move to Amity Park Illinois shortly after reuniting with his college friends Drs. Madeline and Jack Fenton.

Not even a year later, Masters ran for mayor of Amity Park and won the election by a landslide. Suspicious, considering Masters being an unknown and the former mayor Montez being quite popular. It’s during Masters’ tenure in office that reports of ghost attacks to the Justice League steadily died down.

“Why?” Damian asked.

Barbara shrugged, pulling up a few files on the screen. “I originally had a theory that related to VladCo’s buyout of Axion Labs—a technological research and manufacturing company that’s mostly local to Amity—being a factor. Within the last couple of years, they had been experimenting with highly volatile chemicals with hallucinogenic properties. Amity had always been known for being extremely superstitious with its ghosts, and if Axion Labs had somehow accidentally released that chemical into the city, well…” She leaned back into her chair, hand twisting in the air. “You could bet how that ended up. The hysteria around ghosts only grew worse in the last two years, with suspected sightings from once every few weeks to multiple in a single day. Early attempts to capture sightings were unsuccessful, and soon enough Amity Park was just written off.”

Much like the mass hysteria surrounding the urban legend of the kuchisake-onna in Japan in the late 1970s, Bruce thought. He pulled up some news footage from Amity Park dated a few years back of citizens being interviewed about their ghostly encounters. Beside these videos were a few photos taken by a shaky camera, showing bright blurs of light streaking across the sky or vaguely humanoid shapes rising from the ground.

“So VladCo., bought out Axion Labs, improved its security, and slowly helped detoxify the town?” Damian shifted his weight onto his other leg and crossed his arms.

“That’s what I thought, but—”

“But the ghosts ended up being real.” Bruce pulled up a video of a field reporter-slash-weatherman taking cover as a figure dropped from the sky, breaking through the walls of a building. The figure—features distorted by an eerie glow—shot out of the rubble just in time before a green blast hit it.

Oracle enlarged other news footage with a few taps on her keyboard. Beings zooming through the air. Massive plants erupting from the ground. Technology coming to life. Each video more worrying than the last, and most showing some footage of a figure bathed in a white glow. “I’d be hard pressed to call any of these faked.”

It begged the question as to how Amity Park survived this long unscathed. Since, if he remembered correctly, even the Dark Leaguers tended to avoid Amity Park like the plague. “They have their own heroes, then?”

“Think along the lines of vigilantes with unofficial support.” A few more files popped up on screen. One showcased a female in a full-length black and red body suit on top of a hover board. The other was a male; young, perhaps a teenager, with white hair and a black and white suit. Hazmat? “The Red Huntress and the Phantom of Amity Park.”

“Partners?”

“More like enemies working on the same turf. Sources place Phantom as appearing first, though it seems Red Huntress has more government support in the end despite there being no official statement. They seem to be the most effective ghost hunters in town, though far from the only ones. The Fentons of Fenton Works are also acting as ghost hunters, though their track record of success leans more towards their anti-ghost tech than any hunting. The town’s even attracted visitors from the Ghost Investigation Ward; a side branch of Cadmus though a now defunct organization.”

“This doesn’t make sense,” Damian said. “If anything, this should be more than enough reason for a League intervention. Why the Justice League didn’t come sooner is the real question here.”

Bruce’s lips thinned. “That’s because we were warned off it.”

“What?”

While there was no rule against heroes entering another hero’s city, there were certain unspoken rules that demanded that JL members avoid claimed cities or stay just outside of city lines until given permission to enter. Some were especially strict about it such as Batman’s ‘no metas or outsiders’ rule. Others were more lenient, simply requesting a warning before entering.

Amity Park, despite having no listed heroes in the database, was marked with heavy ‘Do Not Interact’ warnings for humans and metas alike.

“Justice League Dark said that under no circumstances should the League interfere in Amity. The situation was never explicitly laid out for us except to say that everything was being handled.”

“Oh yeah,” Oracle chimed. “Constantine even had it bolded, underlined, italicized, and in all caps. The occult community was very clear about everyone staying away—and apparently this decision had support from Amity Park too.” She pulled up another document. “That’s probably what led to the decline in their ghost reports, actually. Amity’s claims were considered bogus and brushed aside. No one outside their town—not even their sister town of Elmerton—believed them, so they simply stopped asking for help.”

Strangely, it reminded Bruce of Gotham. Both cities existed in its own isolated sphere, unwilling to let any outsiders interfere in its business.

“It’s safe to assume, then, that whatever Ra’s al Ghul wants with Amity, it has to do with these ghosts. Do we have anyway to contact the town’s vigilantes?”

Oracle shook her head. “Ghost attacks within the past few months have slowly died down along with sightings of Phantom and Red Huntress. Your best bet is asking Masters directly.”

Damian glowered. “Masters blatantly sent out an invitation for Batman to my father. How do we know that Masters hasn’t somehow found our secret identities?”

“Unlikely,” Bruce said. “Vlad Masters, despite his wealth, has done well to keep a low profile. He’s met Bruce Wayne a total of three times within the last decade and Batman not at all.” That, and with the kind of spyware Batman has, he’d be able to tell when, where, and who was trying to dig deep into Batman’s past. Masters hadn’t even registered as a ping.

“Besides, there’s always a few rumors of Wayne Enterprise’s involvement with Batman. All this tech has to come from somewhere, no?”

“How long is Masters staying in Gotham?”

“Umm…” Oracle leaned forward in her chain and flipped through a half-dozen windows. “Going by his reservations at the Gotham Royal Hotel, he’s leaving tomorrow.”

Bruce pivoted on his heel, heading deeper into the Cave. “We better make this count, then.”

------

According to Oracle’s intel, Vlad Masters was staying at one of the executive suites in the Gotham Royal Hotel. A titanic structure with forty-eight floors, two towers, and the gothic aesthetic that never seemed to leave Gotham’s architecture.

Scaling the building as well as entering the suite proved no challenge for Batman and Robin. But upon entrance, it was abundantly clear that the room was vacant.

“Are you sure you guys are in the right room?” Bruce could hear the clicking of Oracle’s keys through their comms. “Masters had reserved the suite on the west tower.”

“Yes we’re in the correct room, Gordon,” Robin hissed.

“Codenames only, Robin.”

Robin clicked his tongue, sweeping the common room for any hidden bugs or cameras as Batman scouted out the rest of the room. The bed was made to hotel standard and the bathroom towels all completely replaced. There were no clothes in the hotel closet or dresser.

The only thing left that indicated occupancy of the room was an unmarked manila envelope unsubtly tucked within a pillowcase.

Robin tensed at the sight of it. “A detonator of some sort?”

Batman rotated the package, holding it up to his scanner. “Doesn’t seem to be. Regardless, it might be better to take it back to the Batcave and locate Masters ag—” The envelope started ringing. A standard ringtone found in most phones. Quickly, but carefully, Batman opened the manila envelope and dumped its contents onto the bed. A ringing burner phone and a flash drive came tumbling out.

Batman threw the flash drive at Robin before answering the phone, holding it up against his ear but saying nothing.

Silence. Then, Masters’ voice filtered in through the phone with a strange echo-like quality. “Good evening, Batman! I’m so glad my invitation managed to get passed along.”

Batman growled into the speaker, “What do you want, Masters?” He signaled Robin to do another sweep of the room for any signs of Masters they might have missed.

“I sincerely apologize for not being there to meet you myself; incredibly rude of me, I know. But it cannot be helped, the shadows are growing ever bolder.”

“So, you are aware then, of the League of Assassins’ presence in Amity Park?”

“A league of assassins? What a terrifying notion that is.” Batman frowned. It was unlikely that they had misread his words at the gala, so why was he acting unaware now? Could he be watched? “Why such a group would appear in my little town, I wouldn’t even dare to guess.”

Robin came back into the room and signaled back ‘negative.’

“Why did you call for us, Mayor Masters?”

“Do you know what is so very tragic, Batman?”

“This is strange,” Oracle said. “I can’t pick up his signal. He’s not appearing on any of my cameras, either.”

“When someone so young dies much to soon.” A pause. “Could you even imagine such a thing? A parent burying their own child.”

Batman could. He had no need to even imagine it because he lived it.

“Some very close friends of mine have been weighed down by the shadows of death and I require help in providing them the closure they need.”

“Are the Fentons the targets, then?”

Masters paused. Then let out a breathy laugh over the phone. “Oh, if only it were that simple.”

“So a different target.”

“Everything you need to know is in the flash drive I’ve enclosed in that envelope Whether you take up the case is entirely up to you—though I do hope you take it. Regardless, if he is not returned soon then I assure you that a disaster unlike any you have seen before will arrive.”

Batman narrowed his eyes. “Is that a threat, Masters?”

“No,” He laughed. “That was no threat. That was promise.”

The phone line disconnected just as Oracle exclaimed that she finally found Masters boarding his flight back to Amity Pak.

#danny phantom #batman #danny phantom x batman crossover #dp fic #phantom children.txt

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onebourbon-oneshot-onetear · 3 years

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Aquatica

Chapter 1-Evie

Hello everyone. This is the beginning of my series featuring my own OC and Bruce Wayne, specifically from the animated Justice League series. Each chapter is based off of an episode in the series. This is actually the first work I ever started, so the first chapters are a little rough, but they get better through the end. This is also on my Ao3 (Volleygirl13). Please let me know if you enjoy!

I do not own D.C Comics, and I only own my OC and my versions of the plots.

I'm not a superhero. At least, I never thought of myself as one. I just always tried to do the right thing and hoped that it would all work out. I knew of plenty of people who would try and do the right things in life like I did, and they were never considered as superheroes. Of course, not everyone has the abilities like I do. I guess my abilities put the super in superhero. But whatever. Either way, I didn't think I was so super.

Before I start going into a philosophical rant about what makes a hero, I should probably explain who I am. My name is Evelyn Lowry. I never liked being called by my full first name. I mean seriously, Evelyn? What kind of a name is that? It sounds like some 18th century snobby aristocrat. No, I was always called Eves, at least by my parents, they were the only ones who were allowed to call me that. My sister and my friends always called me Evie. At first I didn't like that as much. Evie still sounded too sweet like a little girl in a bubble gum pink dress and pigtails. Ew. As I got older I realized that the name wasn't so bad. It was a lot like me, feminine but simple.

I suppose I look alright, that is, I never saw myself as drop dead gorgeous or anything. I was pretty tall for a girl, at about 5'9 (and no for you really rude people, I have never played basketball a day in my life. Gosh I am so tired of hearing that). I actually look a lot like my mother, with really dark brown hair that almost looks black, and bright dark blue eyes. My eyes weren't always this bright, but they changed after my, uh, accident. With the information I had now I never referred to this event as an 'accident' but for now I'll call it an accident.

I had a pretty normal childhood. We lived in suburban Gotham my whole life. I can tell what you're thinking, and yes, there is a suburban part of Gotham, it isn't all just dark and creepy big city setting with places like the Narrows. There is a happier side to it. Anyway, I lived about 20 minutes outside of the city in a big blue house complete with dog and a picket fence. Most people would say my life was perfect, and it was. Until I turned 12. It was actually my 12th birthday. That was the day my life changed. You see, I didn't want to go anywhere for my birthday… but my parents, well, they just had to try and do something special.

Don't get me wrong I love my parents, I really do. But aside from my mother's looks and my father's sense of humor we were nothing alike. I'm talking polar opposites, day and night, fire and water, those kinds of opposites. They had grown up as the elite class of Gotham. That 1 percent of people who never had to worry about money, and who always had the newest technology and gadgets before they even hit the public market. Now please don't think of them as these snobby old rich people, because they weren't that either. They ran a respectable business and always treated their employees with respect and gave them extra pay and vacation days, which is a lot considering some companies in this city barely pay their employers with minimum wage. A lot of people loved and respected my parents.

Anyway, back to what I was saying. I remember that day so clearly even when I try to forget it ever happened at all. A terrible storm had rolled in during the afternoon and it hadn't left by dinnertime. The thunder and lightning was so loud it shook the house. My little sister, Caitlyn, was terrified. She was hiding under my bed with our dog because they both were scared. That seemed to be the spot both of them went to whenever they were scared. At first I was annoyed by it because they would always come in my room, but I realized that I didn't mind protecting them. I was the older sister after all. It was my job to take care of them and make sure they were safe.

"Mom," I whined, "I really don't want to go anywhere tonight. Let's just stay home and watch movies and eat junk food. That's really all I want!"

"Eves sweetie, you know your father and I had to spend so much money to get the tickets for the art museum exhibit tonight. And we had to pull some strings to get into the restaurant as well." my mother told me. I looked down into my lap feeling really guilty. This whole art museum and dinner thing was my idea a couple weeks ago. I hadn't realized just how much my parents had to spend in order to make it happen for me.

I looked up at my mom's face as lightning lit up my room and thunder shook the walls. She looked so excited to go, I didn't want to ruin the night for her. "You know what, I changed my mind. I think we should go. It'll be fun." My mom immediately perked up and got that really excited look in her eyes, the look that made her eyes seem to glow a bright blue and her smile was infectious. I saw just how excited she was for all of us to go out. Mom loves going out and seeing the town, shopping, buying make up, typical girl things. In many ways I always felt like I was more mature than my mother. I was more down to earth and she was more childlike than I ever had been.

"I'm so glad you changed your mind sweetheart! Now, go get dressed, we have to leave in an hour." My mom bent over and whispered something to my sister. My sister squealed with delight, running out of my room and my mom laughing and chasing after her. My dog climbed out from under my bed and looked up at me. "Well, I guess we are going out then."

After the fifteen minutes it took me to go get ready I waited in the parlor of our house. I looked outside at the thunder and lightning and noticed that the rain had started. What started out as a few drops turned into a torrential down-pour. I could barely hear my sister sneak up behind me over the rain hitting the glass, but I could sense she was there. She thinks she's a super sneaky ninja, but I think that she doesn't know how to be quiet under any circumstance. "Cait, what do you think you're doing?"

Cait looked at me with her big brown eyes and a mischievous grin that I knew very well. She was planning something. And that was usually bad news for me. My sister was three years younger than me, and she was the exact spitting image of my dad. Blonde hair, brown eyes, and that little bump on the bridge of her nose. Also like my dad, Cait was a total prankster. Numerous times had I walked into my room and she had put a rubber snake on the floor in order to scare me, or she hid under my bed and grabbed my ankle when I woke up in the morning, or her latest prank, she put toothpaste all over the toilet seat so when I went to the bathroom in the middle of the night I sat down in it. I never retaliated because I knew she was just having some fun. I didn't want to ruin it.

Cait didn't answer me, she just kept grinning. That's bad news. That meant she had already gotten her prank ready, she just had to wait for me to walk into it. I rolled my eyes, but smiled a little bit. I turned to watch the rain, not knowing that soon enough whatever prank she was going to pull on me wouldn't matter.

Half an hour later we were all gathered in the car and on our way to Gotham to the art museum. My sister was complaining about the music my mom wanted to listen to, my mom was arguing with my dad about how fast the windshield wipers should be going, and I just sat there looking out the window. Eventually I just tuned them all out. I didn't want to listen to arguing on my birthday.

As I was looking out the window at the down pour, our car started jerking and swerving. We were gaining speed and my dad couldn't stop the car. My sister was screaming in the back because she was scared, my mom was urgently telling my dad to try and use the brakes, and my dad was yelling back that the brakes weren't working. I sat there frozen, there was nothing I could do. With a roar of thunder and a flash of lightning, our car stopped suddenly and I was jerked forward so hard my face hit the back of the drivers' seat. In all the commotion and panic my dad didn't see the tree lying in the middle of the road. The tree we collided into. It was so quiet after the deafening impact of the crash that had happened only moments before. The last thing I remember was looking over at my sister and saw that she wasn't moving. There was another flash of lightning, my eyes started to close and then everything went dark.

When I woke up, I saw hands trying to pry open my car door. They finally got the car open and the paramedics started working on me, putting my neck in a brace and making sure there was no glass sticking into my arms. Out of the corner of my eye I could see that nobody was anywhere near my parents or my sister. I wanted to ask them why they weren't doing anything to help them. Why they were so still? Why weren't they waking up yet? Then in my haze I realized why.

The truth came down on me like a ton of bricks. They weren't walking away from this. They weren't going home. I started thrashing and trying to get back to the car but I was already strapped down to the stretcher. I couldn't understand what the people were trying to tell me but I heard them all yelling. I felt a prick in my neck and everything went dark again.

The following months and years following the car accident was a blur. I had gone from having a loving family and a perfect life to being an orphan and bouncing around foster homes. I never stayed with a family longer than 5 weeks. I just couldn't get comfortable with random strangers who I was supposed to make my family. I felt a stab of guilt every time I started to feel comfortable with a new family. This went on for a while, until I was seventeen. Then I enlisted in the Navy. I figured I couldn't afford to go to college since I couldn't touch my bank accounts until I was 18, and I wouldn't have known what to do after college anyway. At least in the military I would have three meals a day and a roof over my head.

I pushed and forced myself to work through the ranks and in four years I was asked to be in a specific group of soldiers. We were trained in advanced hand to hand combat, and weapons training. Not to brag or anything, but I was the top of our group. Apparently when you have nowhere else to go and nothing else to do it is pretty easy to give all of your focus into your work. My work just happened to be learning how to kill someone with something as insignificant as a safety pin. As good as I was at the training, I never thought I would ever be able to actually kill someone. But still, I trained so that if I had to, I would be able to protect myself.

I can't really discuss any more of my training. I still have contracts with the military that I am still required to follow. What I can tell you is, I was very good at my job. One day I was testing out some new weapons when I got a call to go to one of the labs. I didn't really question it, I had been called down before to try and test some different formulas for field work (again, more stuff I can't really talk about).

I had walked into the lab and I saw that it was empty. At first I thought that I was late, but when I looked at my watch, I realized that I was right on time. I stood there for another moment before I heard a noise. It sounded like something was sparking. Like a live wire had been put into a puddle of water and it was still sizzling. It was probably a really stupid move, but my instincts told me to walk over to where I heard the noise. It was the in furthest corner of the lab, a white machine that had a bottle of blue liquid in it. I walked closer to it; the noise continued to grow louder. I looked around me to see if there was anyone in a white lab coat who would have even an inkling of what to do in this situation. I looked back at the machine and saw that it was spinning and sparking at an alarming rate. A high pitched noise started coming from it, growing higher and higher in frequency. A small voice in my head told me to get out of there. For once I listened to that voice. I started backing away, but I was too late. There was a bright white light, an explosion, and then everything went dark.

I woke up in a hospital bed. The doctors came in and told me there was an accident, and that I now had special 'abilities'. At first I thought they were crazy, but then I stopped and realized that I did feel different. I didn't look over to see the cup of water on the table next to my bed, but I knew it was there and I could feel the water inside the cup. Each little water molecule that was bouncing around inside the cup, I could feel all of them, as if the water itself was present in my mind. It's hard to explain, but there was no other explanation for it. I could sense the water molecules that were inside the doctors and nurses in the room, as the blood pulsed through them I could sense the water as well. I could even tell that it had rained earlier in the day because of a few drops of water on the window sill. I was scared. I mean, being a really cool bad ass soldier was one thing, but sensing water? That was something else entirely. The doctors gave me some more medicine since I had bruised myself up pretty badly in the explosion. The morphine made me tired and I was in and out of consciousness for hours at a time.

I spent a couple days in the hospital. Different doctors and scientists wanted to know what I could do with these new abilities. I found that I could move around and manipulate the water in whatever way I thought of. Spheres, squares, octagons, dodecagons…well I think you get the point. If I concentrated hard enough, I could stop the molecules in the cups of water from moving and it would freeze solid. Eventually I could do it on instinct, without even thinking about the molecules and just wishing that the water turned to ice. As cool as it was, it was tiring. For days on end I would sit in bed and demonstrate my new powers to everyone who would walk into my room. The doctors even put me into a machine that could look at my brain as I used my powers. They never told me everything that the scan showed, they just said that it had become a natural instinct for me, whatever that meant. I was too tired most of the time to think about it.

On the fourth day of sitting in the hospital I was well enough to walk again. I decided that I had had enough of being a performing monkey for all of these doctors and scientists and I wanted to go for a walk. I got up to walk out the door, but I noticed that it wasn't closed all the way. I could hear hushed voices talking outside, a male and a female.

"…she could be the greatest weapon the military has ever seen. Even without training she is still powerful. Imagine what she could do with even more combat training." the male voice said.

"Yes, but is she going to be willing to comply when she realizes we will use her to hurt people?" the female asked.

"I don't think she has a choice. She is an asset now, we can't just let her go."

My eyes widened and I didn't want to hear any more, I slowly retreated back to my bed and sat down. They want to use me as a weapon? I didn't want to be forced to hurt people. The very thought made me angry. How dare they think they can just use me to do their dirty work. I knew I couldn't stay there anymore. I found my clothes, got dressed and waited for the shift change for the doctors and nurses and I snuck out. I didn't know where I was going, but I knew that I couldn't stay and be a human weapon.

After my "accident" I had to lay low. Like, really low. Everywhere I turned I was afraid there would be someone from the hospital watching me, or someone sent to capture me and take me back to the military to be a weapon. These were pretty stressful times for me, at least for the first couple of months until I was able to hitch my way back to Gotham. I had no money, no new clothes, and nowhere to go. I hadn't bathed in ages and I looked like a homeless person. I decided that I had to go somewhere familiar, so I went to the library that I had frequented as a kid.

I went in to get out of the rain one night and saw that the place was empty. I logged onto one of the computers and searched my name. I wanted to see if I had been wanted by the government or something, but I only found some old articles from when my parents and sister died. I had an idea and logged onto the website for the bank my parents used. I remembered the old usernames and passwords in order to get into my parent's information. It turns out that when my parents died I was left behind a decent amount of money. I decided that I didn't really need all of the money, just enough to buy or rent a small place so I would at least be off the streets. If I take the money, that would be an easy way for the government to track me, I thought.

I needed to find a way to get the cash so there would be no money trail behind me. At least the Navy taught me some hacking skills. With my limited computer skills, I managed to get into the banking system and wire all of the money through to an offshore account that I had setup. It was completely untraceable and now I could use my money however I needed to. It had only taken a few minutes and I looked around to make sure that nobody saw me. I waited until morning and I went to an ATM to withdraw some cash and I bought a tiny apartment in a sketchy looking apartment building in the middle of Gotham. It was a small one bedroom place, but it was plenty of room for me.

As time went on, I had to make a decision on what to do with these new powers. I had been working with them every day and I had gotten stronger. I also continued my morning runs and exercise regime that I had been doing in the Navy. To be honest, I was in the best shape that I had ever been in. I was confident in my new abilities, and I was sure that I wouldn't lose control and hurt others. This power seemed to do whatever I wanted it to, no questions asked, almost like the water was a part of me. There were some major perks, but there was also some disadvantages, like when the apartment next to me had a leaky faucet and I could hear the water drip. All. Night. Long. That was annoying.

One day I was watching the news on the tiny little T.V that sat in the corner of my kitchen. There had been a break in at a bank in Metropolis, the neighboring city. I sat there amazed as I watched Superman and Green Lantern take out the robbers with ease. They were real heroes. They didn't use their abilities for selfish reasons, and they certainly didn't hide them. In that moment I decided that I wanted to be like them. I wanted to use my powers to help people, to make them feel safe. And lord knows Gotham could always use some help. I made a call to a contact I still had in the Navy. His name was Hank and he was a sweet older gentleman. He worked in the research and development section and he always gave my unit new gear before anyone else could even set their eyes on it. I called in a favor and asked if he could hook me up with some stuff for 'recreational purposes'. At least that is what I told him I would be doing. I didn't think running around Gotham in jeans and a sweatshirt would be a good idea. After talking to Hank he said we could meet at some of the docks in Gotham.

Later that night I made my way over to the docks. I decided I couldn't draw attention to myself and I wore a dark sweatshirt with skinny jeans and some sneakers. I met Hank exactly where he said he would be, in a corner of the docks where a dull orange light cast shadows onto the surrounding crates. "Hey Hank, how's it going?"

Hank looked up at me and for the first time since I had known him I saw a grin on his face. Usually he was surly and gruff, but the more you got to know him the sweeter he became. Despite this sweetness, he never really smiled. In his defense though, whenever we really spoke at work we talked about weapons and how much damage it could do to people and places. Not necessarily the kind of stuff you smile over. But there Hank stood, smiling at me like I was a million bucks.

"Nice to see you kid. It's been too long." Hank said.

"Yeah, you too Hank. Look, I really hate to bother you and all, especially since you could get in a lot of trouble for just talking to me. It's a big risk for you, and I appreciate it."

"It's no problem at all. I've missed you, you were my favorite out of your unit. You always respected everything I showed you and treated it properly. Those other idiots would always mess around, nearly killing themselves. So, what is it that you've called me for? I figured you would be staying underground due to your…circumstances." I didn't even want to know how Hank new about my accident. I thought that the Navy would be keeping it as quiet as they could.

"I was. I mean, I am for right now, but I don't think I can any longer. It's been months Hank. I need to go out and do something. I can't just sit around with these powers I have and not use them. I feel like now I have a responsibility to help people and keep them safe." I said all of that in one breath I stopped and took a deep one. It was nice to finally talk to someone, to let out everything that had been stirring up inside of me for weeks and months. This isn't something you can just talk to anyone about. If I told people that I had water powers they would think I was insane. I looked up at Hank, and for the second time that night Hank was smiling.

"Well, it's about time. I thought I would get a call from you ages ago. I already started making stuff for you to use. I just had to wait for your call in order to give it to you." I looked at him in disbelief. How could he know what I was going to do when even I wasn't sure what I wanted to do? "So, do you want to continue this therapy session, or do you want to see what I made you?" Hank smugly asked me.

I kept looking at him in disbelief. "You're amazing, you know that?" He just nodded. "Well, let's show me what you've got."

Hank pulled out a duffel bag. "First things first kid. You need an outfit." He pulled out what looked like a dark leotard. "This is the body of your outfit. Dark blue, to match your water powers. The material is thin and very breathable. It's also resistant to cuts and scrapes. You could have a knife go across your chest and it won't leave a mark. It is also waterproof so when you use your powers you won't be running around soaking wet." Then he pulled out some black leggings. "These are made of the same material as the top piece. I'm assuming you still have your combat boots. Those will work fine." He laid everything out on the crate that sat between us. "This is the most important item here." He pulled out a dark grey rod that was leaning against the crate. "This material is very rare and very special. As far as I know it's the only piece that has ever been recovered."

"But what exactly is it?" I asked.

"This is Aquam Petram. It's Latin for Water Rock. This rock is basically made of water, but has the feel of rock. This will allow you to use your water even if there is no water near you. You can slowly extract water from the rod and then put it back." I picked up the rod and could immediately feel the water inside. I twirled it around my fingers. The staff was about 5 feet long and very sturdy; I could probably hit one of these crates with it and it wouldn't even get a crack in it. I looked closer at the staff and saw that it had carvings of waves going around it. It was simple and subtle, and I loved it. "That's everything kid. You should have whatever else you need."

"Umm Hank, what about a mask? Shouldn't I keep my identity a secret?" Hank looked at me with a curious look on his face. Actually, curious isn't exactly the right word; his face was practically screaming 'how exactly are you so dumb?' "What?" I asked him.

"Evie, you don't really need to hide from anyone. You don't have a family to protect and the only people that know you have powers aren't going to call you out on it. I would only get them in trouble with human experimentation. I don't think you are going to need a mask." He said. "Besides, how else will all the men see your face? You're getting old, you need to start looking for someone." Hank teasingly said. I could feel my face turn bright red. Like BRIGHT red. I could probably fry an egg on my face, that's how much heat was coming off of it.

"Thanks Hank," I said. "Cause that's what I'm worried about, finding a husband." Pssh yeah, like I'm going to find someone who would be okay with dating a girl who can control water and catches criminals. 'Oh sorry honey, I can't go on a date right now, I have a world to save and bad guys to stop!' Cause that will go over really well with the men. Hank interrupted my thoughts.

"Well, I think it's time we went our separate ways, kid." I looked up at Hank and was surprised to see he had a sad look in his eyes. Almost like he didn't want me to go. I realized now that there was no turning back. I was going on my own to stop the bad guys, I couldn't have the Navy backing me up anymore. I had to do this by myself. I suddenly became unsure of my idea. How could I do this?

Hank must have understood what I was thinking and he grabbed my shoulder. "Evie, you are one of the strongest people I know. You have lost so much, and you have been given a responsibility that most people cannot even imagine. Through all of this you have still been an amazing person and your entire life you have wanted to help people. This is just another chapter in your life, and you will be just fine." I didn't realize that I had tears welled up in my eyes until they started falling. It had been so long since I had somebody tell me they believed in me and was proud of me. I hadn't hear that my parents died. I gave Hank a watery smile and attempted to say thank you, but my throat was too tight and the words wouldn't come out. Hank gave me a pat on the shoulder, another rare smile, and he walked back towards the parking lot. I stayed on the dock looking down at the outfit that was still lying on the crate. I took a deep breath, packed all of it away, grabbed my new staff, and walked towards the city lights. Let the new chapter of my life begin.

#Batman #Bruce Wayne #Batman x oc #Bruce Wayne x oc #Justice League 2001 #oc

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crazyfreckledginger · 5 years

Text

Tim Drake x Reader - “You Guys? Together?”

Being one of the top bachelorettes of Gotham wasn’t a title you would have expected to earn at all. Though, your successful career had brought you to be one of the richest in town, you were often invited to special events to raise popularity. What the batboys didn’t expect, was that your now-boyfriend turned out of be the third bird, Tim, especially since you nothing alike.

Requested by anon: “Can I have a Tim drake X reader where she’s like one of the top bachelorette and her and Tim start dating and they really don’t seem like each others type but they just are (Bonus points if she gets jealous and the batfam is like how??!!!??)”

A/N: Hope you like it! ^^

Warning: Jason being a fanboy, I’m sure Jason swears at least once in this.

“Good morning losers,” Jason entered the dining room, seeing his younger and older brother sitting quietly and eating at the table.

“Jason,” Bruce’s usual warning tone at his flattering nicknames seemed more distant than normal, too absorbed in the newspaper

“Hmm?” Dick perked up at his unusual behaviour, Tim raised a questioning eyebrow as well never seeing him so immersed in a single article.

“Thank you Alfred,” Jason’s voice was nearly ignored by the first robin.

“What’s so interesting that you don’t give Jason his usual scolding?” Grayson inquired

“Maybe he’s finally accepted that you are all losers!” Red Hood expressed before taking a spoonful of cereal and plopping into his mouth.

Tim glared at his stupid brother before munching on his toast.

“This (Y/N) (L/N) is peculiar.” he admitted, folding the daily newspaper and placing it on the side of his plate before digging into his meal.

“What about her?” Tim asked, thankful that his voice didn’t waver.

“Oh, the really hot chick, I love that woman,” Jason spoke with his mouthful.

“Shut up until you finished eating, you look like a more filthy pig than usual,” Damian entered the kitchen in black sports clothes and untied Titus’ leash.

“Feel free to restrain from any insults, masters,” Alfred sighed in defeat as he paced to the kitchen to wash up some of their dishes.

“She’s very...outspoken,” the millionaire chose his words carefully.

“Good for her,” Dick encouraged.

“What’s wrong with being outspoken?” Tim scrunched his eyebrows in confusion.

“People don’t want to hear the truth sometimes,” He sighed.

“You’re one to talk,” Red Hood snorted, only earning himself a glare.

“I think she’s doing things the correct way,” Damian sat down among them, knowing Alfred would scold him for being impolite even if he had breakfast before talking Titus for a walk,

“I don’t want to but I’m agreeing with demon spawn, she doesn’t let people step on her, if she’s so famous and doing alot for the city then yes, it’s a good thing because the reporters in Gotham suck ass!” Jason groaned.

“....tt, you’re one of her fanboys aren’t you?” Damian tutted.

“Yes, I love my fashion queen!” Tim nearly cringed at the admiration in Jason’s eyes.

“What do you think Tim?” Dick’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the unusually quiet and stoic man.

“I haven’t paid much attention to her if I’m being honest,” the person in question answered.

“Hmm,” The eldest nodded at his opinion. His gaze lingered on him until he picked up his vibrating phone.

“I need to go,” the second to youngest stood up and made a beeline for his room.

“Welp, don’t know what he’s hiding but he’s being very obvious about it.” Jason murmured, “he got all tense when we started talking about (Y/N).”

“I think someone has got a crush ~” Nightwing teased with a mischievous smirk on his lips.

“You’re going to try and get them together aren’t you, Grayson?” Damian grumbled.

“Why not, you saw how uncomfortable he became, and he only gets like that when he gets a crush.” a small giggle erupted from his lungs as Damian shook his head dismissively.

“What of the Gala next weekend, Master Bruce?” Alfred re-entered the dining room with more tea and coffee.

“Our job here is done Alfred, invitations have been sent out and now we’re receiving the confirmations.” Batman answered.

“You invited (Y/N) right??” Dick nearly lept out of his seat.

“What do you plan on doing?”

*****

“You seriously need a life, Dick,” Jason sighed as he leaned against the wall, watching the numerous guests being welcomed inside by the Bat.

“What? It’s a great idea, do you see her anywhere?” Nightwing scanned the room.

“No, she hasn’t arrived yet.” he answered.

“For someone who is so annoying about the topic, you seem to be keeping a close eye out for her,” Damian grumbled.

“What, she’s my idol!” his eyes were practically sparkling.

“You’re a grown ass man Jason hitting on a single famous girl that is at least 4 years younger than you.” The youngest robin scoffed.

“Listen, if you even followed anything she does you would see how much of an inspiration she is.” he sighed happily.

“You would think you would take notes and do something constructive with your life,” the bloodson whispered. Jason glared at him, preparing to express a sarcastic retort before Bruce walked up to three of his sons.

“Jason,” his warning tone came back and the man in question turned to him.

“She’s a nice girl.” was all he stated.

“Oh my god, she’s here?” Todd squeaked.

“Yes, we talked for a little bit, it was quite refreshing hearing of such inspirational actions from our youth,” Bruce expressed pleased.

“God, you’re old,” Jason muttered.

“Where is Tim?” Dick raised an eyebrow, wanting to put his plan into action as quickly as possible.

“Haven’t seen him,” Batman spoke.

“Oh no, let’s hope they aren’t becoming interested in other people, come on!!”

*****

His arm snaked tightly around her waist, securing her tightly against his chest.

“Mmh,” his lips trailed down her neck to her exposed shoulder, “Timmy,”

“You’re beautiful in that dress,” he murmured, capturing her lips in another sweet kiss.

“I missed you too,” her hands rested against the back of his neck as she offered him a shy smile.

“You talked to my father, didn’t you?” he sighed in realisation, placing his forehead on her shoulder.

“I did, but he was nice,” she reassured, cupping his cheeks so he would look at her.

“It’s only a matter of time before you meet my brothers.” Tim warned.

“I’m sure they’re as nice as your father,” a cute chuckle escaped her lips before she pecked his.

“I love you Timmy,” her forehead pressed against his as his thumbs rubbed circles on her hips.

“I love you too,” he smiled softly.

“WOAH WHAT THE HELL AM I WITNESSING RIGHT NOW!?” a voice echoed in the empty room.

The couple nearly jumped out of their skin but only jumped away from each other as two grown men, a familiar father figure and a teenager stood in the doorway, some offering them surprised looks.

“O-oh, Mr Wayne, h-hi,” (Y/N) blushed in embarrassment, too caught off guard to know how to deal with it.

“B-but you got all tense and shy when we talked about her and you guys were actually together?” The eldest’s voice hitched as he got to the end of his question.

“W-what?” the girl frowned in confusion.

“Let me explain,” Tim sighed.

Here we go!

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ifeveristoday · 5 years

Text

Are we in Bizarro Land?

@jenny-calendar has already keyboard flailed about the progress of Jenny and Giles in the Boom!verse (and I definitely have thoughts of my own) but this issue is so good about picking up from the quiet introspectiveness of issue 7, as if Jordie thought, ‘Okay, I’ve let Willow breathe and Xander come to terms with his new existence...now shit’s really getting real’ and we’re back into action.

A feature of the Boom!verse has been the feeling that each issue has a mini cliffhanger - not necessarily, OMG what happens next?!? in feeling all the time, but ‘why did you end it THERE?’

It happened for me in the Chosen one-shot - I would have liked to have spent more time with the individual slayers (possibly giving each one her own issue instead of sharing?) but the glimpse I got of each life was intriguing.

With issue 8 of the Boom!verse, we’ve definitely hit upon OMG what happens next territory.

And one of the elephants in the fandom - the Buffy/Angel relationship gets introduced in this issue.

There’s a lot of other plot points about issue 8 that I’m going to address in separate posts, but I want to comment on the B/A dynamic as it is in the Boom! verse. OG canon will be referenced but for the most part I want to focus on what Jordie and Bryan have decided to do with them and how that impacts their relationship in 2019.

Did I go down a google deep dive to ascertain if Bats do in fact have tails? Yes. Yes I did. And they do, but it’s not quite to the extent that Handmade Costume Buffy takes it to -- her costume looks more like a cartoon version of a Bat, with the little forked end. There are 1000 species of bats, however, with the majority of them having some sort of tail, both obvious and not so obvious. And there’s a bumblebee bat that does not have a tail. I highly recommend that you google it because it’s goddamn adorable.

Despite his many years existing, I don’t think Angel really was cataloging all 1,000 species of bats and just went with the common perception that bats are tail-less. The bat motif has been repeated over with them in canon, however - there’s Camazotz, Buffy’s pegasus bat (who’s returning for HELLMOUTH), the endless Batman comparisons Angel has (TV and Bryan comparing him to Bruce Wayne) and of course vampire bats (Dracula and his party trick). Buffy dressing up as a bat is pretty on the nose for this ‘verse.

And I like that it’s obviously homemade - Joyce (or Eric! Doctor after all) probably helped her stitch on ears and a tail to a black hoodie and black shorts, and she just needed fishnets to complete the look - cozy with a slight detour into Women’s Halloween Costumes Must Be Sexy All The Time Now, Especially if It Is Not Sexy Before. Buffy wasn’t going to spend Tuna Palace money on wearing a costume for an event that she was forced to unofficially chaperone, hence the surliness/over it attitude with Halloween. We still have no idea what fifteen-year-old Slayer Buffy was like and if her Halloween in Los Angeles was eventful or it’s a Los Angeles vs “small town” approach to Halloween.

Or if it’s Buffy just being annoyed that once again, she really can’t participate in an ordinary teenage ritual, she has to watch over it to make sure everyone’s safe. The visual of Buffy on the fringes of the party, observing, not participating is something that really resonated with me, as a fan of the TV canon and just being a withdrawn person in RL.

Buffy’s had a setback - her friends have gotten hurt helping her slaying, her crush has fizzled out before it could properly begin (and Robin dancing with a look-alike didn’t help) and as Giles likes to remind her, evil is always in the background. Her doing normal stuff - group date with her friends is directly before Xander gets turned by Spike and Drusilla, and then she witnesses Willow giving up a part of her soul for Xander, and being defensive when Willow tells her she hardly knows herself - Buffy is both a part of their group but separate. The argument the two get into in front of the demon - that Buffy tells Willow she’s pretending, and Willow tossing back that Buffy is a master of pretending and lying (Slayer, secret identity after all) and the demon sneering at Buffy’s overinflated sense of worth - just because she’s the Slayer doesn’t automatically give her soul more weight. Xander and Willow’s bond excludes her because they’ve known each other forever and she is the new girl. The outsider.

We’ve been given more insight to Willow and Xander, but just peeks at Buffy’s mindset - and with all that’s happened, I don’t blame her for being resentful or less sunshine-y than her season 1 TV counterpart. But Boom! Buffy as always, is her own person.

It’s this person Angel is trying to figure out. Over in his world, Buffy/The Slayer is nothing but a flashing danger sign - a shadowy figure that he first mistakes for Mara/Marius - a source of regret/love from his Angelus past. Mara was chosen by Angelus because she was a renowned fighter, and he makes/renames her in his image - possibly referencing the Roman god of War as well. But all the omniscient demons in his life insist that this girl is a danger to him and that love will bring him nothing but pain and she is the instrument of that pain.

Moth, meet flame.

Boom! Angel is not burdened with destiny in the shape of a girl, he doesn’t know anything about the Slayer or what role she’s going to play in his life, only that she’s going to impact it - most likely in a negative way.

So what does he do?

Treat it like a war campaign - do the recon, know your opponent’s weaknesses.

Which brings the comedy, because the Slayer he’s been warned off so many times isn’t the feared creature of vampire myth and legend, but a resentful tired girl in a bat costume who does not appreciate the tall dark ‘looks like a serial killer’ man in a devil mask sitting right next to her. She wants to be left alone.

In any other typical story, there would be that element of fear with a stranger, but because Buffy’s the Slayer, she knows she can defend herself and put the hurt on this guy.

Meanwhile, it’s Angel’s turn to observe. And 2019 Angel’s social skills have ...not improved. There is a slight symmetry to their meeting - Buffy watching a world she’s not quite a part of, and Angel watching her and not sure how she fits into his world, both outsiders looking at something they’re not sure they want but still are fascinated by.

Angel’s initial attempt to get closer to Buffy (literal sitting down next to her, then being a troll and moving up one stair) is the personal approach - he notices that she’s bothered by Robin dancing with another girl and then quickly enters Uncomfortable Job Interview Questions territory - 'tell me about yourself - where would you be if you weren’t here? What if you had more time for you?’

These are not mortal enemy questions, obviously. Angel is trying to decipher Buffy as a person and subtly mirroring her body language.

In a callback to Willow’s accusation that Buffy doesn’t really know herself - she admits she doesn’t know what she would be doing if she didn’t have to be there - she said to Xander that she’d rather be home studying...but come on. That’s not what she really wants to be doing.

To defuse the suddenly personal conversation, Angel makes the observation that the reason no one can tell she’s a bat is that she has a tail - and Buffy is so wrapped up in her situation that she doesn’t clue in on the fact that Angel has used Xander’s words almost exactly. She repeats that she hates Halloween while flaming with embarrassment that she’s appeared both vulnerable and not bright in front of a stranger.

This whole exchange - about who Buffy is and what she presents to the world - no one knows if she’s a cat or a dog - I’m a bat fits neatly with her identity crisis as a Slayer and as a teenager still figuring stuff out.

Similarities to TV canon - Angel knows more about Buffy than she knows about him, and he’s intrigued by her, and she’s...annoyed by him.

The update to their histories is what makes me intrigued about the potential of their romance/relationship - it’s definitely happening with all the hints that have been dropped, anvil-like from the sky - but Buffy is not Angel’s route to redemption or desire to be useful for the fight for Good. He was already going down that path/doing that before he meets her. Angel is not a romantic figure for Buffy, she doesn’t know what he looks like, only that he’s really chatty (!) and vaguely has motivational speaker vibes. He’s not a canvas for her to project ideal fantasies on, just yet.

They’re both damaged, unsociable in their own ways people - but a connection has been made. Where Jordie and Bryan (and Jordan Lambert for HELLMOUTH) go with it, is the exciting part. The ending we know is inevitable, plus it’s the first year of their series, and creators rarely get OTPs together and stay together that quickly, but because Boom! has them both under their umbrella, crossovers will happen more easily and the mythology will be tighter instead of the same tiresome ‘one is more darker and adult than the other blah blah blah shut up dude creators as if that’s the only worthy characteristic of a story’ box.

So, I’m excited about the journey, and as you can see in my chat bubbles above - any Hades/Persephone parallels.

Look how gorgeous this panel is - the colors and the way Buffy is perched above it all...like a bat. Or Nosferatu.

#meta #buffy comics #boom! studios #boom! verse #the ballad of buffy and angel #not that i've thought about this at all #overthought? yes #buffy summers #angel #what's the point of an English degree if you can't wildly blow up every little pointless detail?

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forthemultiverse · 6 years

Text

See Me, Hear Me (love me) - Bruce Wayne x Reader

Anon: It's a Soulmate AU where once you see or hear your soulmate (even at a distance) you can hear their thoughts from there on. My idea is that Bruce is on patrol and saves his soulmate without realising it. His soulmate is continuously confused at the different thoughts until she figures out Bruce is Batman and confronts him in a super sassy way. What do you think? If you like it, feel free to use it!

- I’m a sucker for Soulmate AUs <3<3 I didn’t really do that much of a sassy confrontation but I actually quite like what I’ve written. Thank you for a good burst of inspiration.

“We’ll be back in town soon,” Dick assured Bruce.

“You’re chatting like I can’t handle this city on my own.”

“I’m not saying you can’t handle it on your own, I’m just saying it’s been awhile since you’ve had too, and Batman needs a Robin. A sunshine.”

“Did you just say that sentence, Dick?” Bruce landed to roll his eyes at some of the things his eldest son would say.

“I’m busy, Damian’s busy, Tim’s busy, Jason’s who knows, and you don’t have a Batgirl right now. Babs can only do so much from a computer.”

“If you’re busy, why are you still talking to me.”

“We’ve decided as a group that if you don’t have healthy communication, then you’ll become a hermit and do something stupid.”

“I’m an adult. I’m your dad!”

“Occasionally.”

“Shade, Dick!” Stephanie joined the conversation

“You’re supposed to be revising or sleeping, you have an exam tomorrow.” Bruce quicked into parenting mode.

“Don’t remind me.” she groaned, signing off. Bruce went back to being Batman, gliding through the city as Dick chatted with him. It was nice to have someone to talk to.

“I thought you were gonna take tonight off anyway?”

“My plans changed.”

“Selina ditch you?”

“Having plans doesn’t mean I’m meeting Selina.”

“Who else?”

“No one else! Just changed plans.”

“You can tell me you know...” he paused, “If she’s your soulmate, we’d all get it.”

“She’s not my soulmate.”

“I just figured...”

“Would my life be easier if Selina was my soulmate? Probably, but she isn’t, so that’s the end of that discussion.”

“Did I strike a chord?”

“No.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Why are you suddenly interested in my love life?”

“I want you to be happy! I’ve always been interested.”

“I don’t need a female friend to be happy.”

“Just say, girlfriend. I’m not a teenager, I’m literally nearly thirty.”

“I don’t need a girlfriend to be happy.”

“You’re a strong independent man.”

“I feel like you’re making a joke.”

“No!” he snickered, “I just thought I’d ask.”

“Well, I have things to do and so do you, probably.” Bruce cut the comm out.

“Female friend,” a female voice started laughing

“Stephanie.”

“Leaving.”

His something to do was an abandoned building, where lots of voices were yelling inside. No lights or decorations to suggest it was some teenagers having a party. He tried to find the best side entrance - an easy to open window or door.

A part of him still didn’t understand how Selina wasn’t his soulmate. It just felt right with her, and her lifestyle worked with his. She stole because she always had and because the rush was a drug, but if they were soulmates, he could probably convince her to find that rush in helping him. She knew both sides of him. The pair of them just worked. But they weren’t soulmates. Bruce had to accept that. Someone else was destined for him, someone else out there was gonna be cursed with his thoughts every second of the day. God. That poor person. Maybe, he just didn’t have one. Maybe, Selina was his perfect match, but she was an even more perfect match for someone else, so he was the spare. There was probably just an odd number of people in the world. He would be left out.

There wasn’t any point moping about Selina. Their relationship was so flawed, and as much as they had passion, it wasn’t love. He just didn’t like to admit it. It was just fire, and eventually, they would burn out. He might as well put them out before they caused to much damage to everything around them. He’d made the right choice by blowing her off tonight.

But could the universe really have someone out there who matched him?

He peeked through the window, and a room full of panicking civilians were causing all the noise. He dropped to the floor, and the room went silent. Bruce could count about four grunts, and two guards knocked out across the floor, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what happened.

“Took you long enough!” A woman snapped from above the chaos. She was sitting on a table and had stood up to glare at him.

“What?”

“We’ve been here for eleven hours, waiting for whoever they were working for to show up or kill us and we’re all tired, hungry, and a little bit annoyed.”

“Eleven hours?”

“I have a watch. Eleven hours.”

“What happened?”

“I stole a baseball bat and knocked them out. All our phones were taken off us, so we had no way to get help but yell. You gonna do something about this or just stand here?”

“Oracle?” he summoned the police to get everyone home before getting Babs to look into what might’ve happened to get this man people here without raising any alarms. Surprisingly, it wasn’t some giant scheme, just some low-level grunts trying to be big and messing up.

Lucius needed to talk to me, Babs is covering security for me, Dicks coming home, I need to check in with Clark and see if he’s been spying on Jon and Dami or not.

You slammed your face into your pillow. You’d known your soulmate’s inner monologue for about a week now, and you were ready to throttle whoever it belonged to if she ever managed to meet them again. They could not make up their mind on who they wanted to be, or maybe they had some multipersonality disorder. If it was that, then she could maybe deal with it, but if they were just weird, then she might scream. One second they're working out how to eat a burger with a fork, another second they’re eating it like a normal person, then back to the fork. They never seem to sleep, and they do stupid detective puzzle’s every day - which might have been fun if you could see the puzzle and do it too. Now you were just focused on not thinking anything.

It’s extremely hard to function in the world without thinking. You had no clue how some of the people you knew managed it.

Keep calm, think about puppies, think about your favourite shows, no, don’t do that. What if you think something weird. God. The universe is such a little bitch. Who thought mind reading was a good idea.

Bruce was freaking out a little bit. He’d learnt to clear his thoughts as part of training, he could filter out some of the things that might give his identity away. Alfred had laughed at him for being scared of a soulmate, but Bruce wasn’t sure what else he was supposed to be. He didn’t know who it was, he just knew it was after a patrol night. What if it was some thief he’d stopped. He couldn’t help but agree with the voice. Mind reading was stupid.

I could just think the puzzle aloud if you’re that desperate to be involved

Oh, my god, we can just chat like this? Crap, crap, crap, you’ve heard everything I think. I’m so sorry. I feel so invasive. I’ve just been eavesdropping your life, and I don’t mean to! I promise I’ve tried zoning out.

Were you a hostage?

Straight to the point. I could just tell you who I am.

...

Why not? Are you scared or something? If I’m one of the hostages...do you know something I don’t? The police told me that it was nothing.

It was nothing just-

How do you do that? I should be able to read your thoughts, but you keep shutting me out. How?”

It’s a skill.

...

Where’d you go?

So you would be panicked if I just disappeared...you want to know if I’m a hostage because...oh my god please be Batman.

Why would you want me to be Batman?

Because it’s Batman or a kidnapper.

Or another hostage.

Nah, if you were another hostage, you would’ve thought about it more.

Are you the girl with the baseball bat?

Yeah.

Why did you have a baseball bat?

So you are Batman.

...

That would explain the sleep schedule. It’s keeping me up you know. Having your brain so active means the second mine switches off I get yours.

Sorry

beat

I had the bat because one of them dropped it while trying to grab my ass. He touched me, so I smacked him around the head. The others came to try and detain me, but I was in a bit of a state. You saw the end result.

They touched your butt?

Yeah. I tried asking what was going on, he said some sexist crap then tried to ‘show me who’s boss’. Bit scarring. Not something a girl in this town isn’t used to. Not everyone gets to be a princess.

I’m sorry I’m keeping you up.

It’s okay. I mean, it’s for a good enough cause right. Making Gotham a better place, giving kids something to look up to, but where’s Robin? I miss seeing the red cape at night.

He’s...making friends.

I have to go, my friend needs me to cover her shift at work. Get ready for a few hours of me repeating things over and over again.

What’s your job?

I’m a bit of an artist, work in advertising for a few companies - design websites, run social media accounts, make videos and billboards and unique displays. I’ve illustrated some books. Those graffiti billboards for the main cinema’s are all me. The inspiration art round the town’s me too. My friend’s sick, works at a restaurant. We look alike so I can get away covering for her.

You couldn’t sleep that night. Too many thoughts. Too awake.

If I’m going to adapt to your sleep schedule, do you want to chat or would that be too much of a distraction? Don’t want to put you at risk.

I can talk.

So...all your side kicks...are they all your kids? Cos I’m not judging, but that’s a lot.

Is that really the first question you want to ask?

Yeah?

One of them is my biological child, my son, the others are all my family though.

How old is he?

Thirteen

Fun age. Is he a rude teen yet.

He’d been a rude teen for a while now.

The others?

It’s kinda a long list.

I have all night.

Five boys total, one girl legally mine but two of my son’s girlfriends are basically members of the family.

All of them are heroes?

Yes

Real good parenting.

I’m a cool dad.

You didn’t just say that.

I didn’t know what I was doing with the eldest one, and once you let one kid do something you have to let them all do it!

That’s more understandable.

Large or small family?

Small, my brother moved abroad, and my parents are not part of my life. A big family sounds fun. So does that mean your kids found their soulmates before you? That's gotta hurt, no offence

It only hurts if you weren't worth the wait

Harsh!

You seem pretty worth the wait.

Won me back.

You opened your apartment door to find a basket of art supplies, a new laptop and drawing bag sitting on your desk. Your window, which had been open when you left, was now closed.

How did you find out where I lived?

I’m -

If you say, Batman,

Batman

Can you hear me sighing

You sound very dramatic, much disappointment, and now you’re laughing

How’d you even know what to buy?

My son’s very into art, I asked him what the best supplies were then researched most useful digital tablets.

So you’re rich. I figured since you fund all this Bat stuff, but like you must be so rich to support that many teens on top.

I’m comfortable

That’s what rich people say to seem less rich.

It’s polite

Thank you

Something’s bothering you.

You managed to surprise me when I can read your mind. You’re hiding things from me.

It’s hard for me to be open.

Yeah, that’s not an answer.

I barely know you, you can’t just expect me to open my entire world to you.

Why not? Isn’t the beauty of this. Someone who is perfect for you, who you can trust completely, who you have nothing to hide from, who you can’t lie to. Someone who keeps you honest and good, and complete. They get you. And don’t give me the barely know me crap, I’ve been one hundred percent readable. You’ve heard everything from movie reactions to my internal monologue when I walk to a job. You know my opinions on everything.

I don’t really want to have this conversation.

You don’t have the option not to. I mean, am I ever going to meet you again. Do I ever get to see the face under the cowl? Do your family even know you have a soulmate?

You can’t just ignore me

It’s complicated

You’re making it complicated

What have you got going on tonight that’s making you so stressed? You thought about sitting on your couch and watching a movie

Work Event

Batman Work or Real Life Work

Batman is real life

That sounded like such a bratty teen response. ‘It’s not a hobby, it’s a lifestyle mum - you just understand my passion!’

Are you trying to compare being Batman to a gamer guy?

Lil’ bit, don’t take it to heart.

Do you want me to tell you who did it?

Can you hear what I’m watching?

No, you’re just thinking about it a lot.

You've seen it before?

Watched half of it, stopped.

Figured out the murderer?

Maybe.

Just say yes, don’t pretend to be modest.

I am modest.

Yeah, wearing a mask all the time must get tough. Never getting the praise, the thanks...Have people ever claimed to be you?

I can still hear you trying to work out the murderer before half way.

Give me this one win.

Maybe you were playing with him a little bit. You’d been working on learning to tune your thoughts out. Thinking about things in codes so he couldn’t work out what you were doing. Really, you didn’t care who the murderer was - you were about to work out who he was.

After three months of conversations like this, you really did like him. Small details, he was trusting you more, it felt nice. Listening to him rant about some of the people that worked for him had helped you connect the dots. Now you just wanted to see if he was impressed with you.

A soulmate was someone who connected with you on a level more than the rest of the world. They’d love you, and you’d love them. You wanted to be loved, but talking through amind connection was getting a bit old, nothing could beat sitting somewhere quiet and chatting with someone, seeing how their face changed and moved during the conversation. Little talks, face to face. Seeing a real person, a person to fit the voice.

You were wearing a homemade dress. You were good dressmaking though. It was gold and shiny, and when you wore it, you felt like a princess. You had a feeling Bats was on to you. He had left you the mask after all. A black masquerade mask that contrasted your bright colour choice. You were getting a bit sick of hearing his love isn’t the part of the job, I don’t deserve love monologues too. He was the Knight, but you weren’t, and you’d be the day for as long as he needed if it meant you got to see him face to face.

The large family, large amount’s of money, training to become Batman. It all made sense really. Bruce Wayne. Busy lifestyle with connections to the GCPD through the Gordon family, and Lucius Fox working with him a lot. It all made so much sense.

Bruce Wayne.

(Y/N) Wayne.

You were kinda lucky. A superhero, billionaire, who’d buy you art stuff and talk puzzles - even if he already knew the answer.

You didn’t want to filter your thoughts anymore, you didn’t want him filtering his.

“Name?” the bodyguard asked at the door

“Bruce Wayne’s plus one.”

“He doesn’t have a plus one listed.”

“Give me a sec.” You could see him.

Where are you?

Look up

What?

Look up.

Where?

Just look up Greatest Detective, I’m hard to miss. Gold dress, mask you left.

Where!

See me, Bruce. You can hear me, see me.

He made eye contact with you and started laughing slightly. You’d been worried he might get mad. He might not want you here. He might not even be your soulmate. You could’ve made a huge mistake somewhere in your detective process.

I’ll give you this one.

You started laughing now

What was that you said about ‘not everyone gets to be a princess?’ You definitely look like a princess to me.

Come let me in.

The bodyguard could tell something was up. Bruce’s sudden attention towards the door, and the laughter. You suddenly blushing.

“She’s with me.”

#bruce wayne #bruce wayne x reader #batman #batman x reader #bruce wayne one shot #batman imagine #bruce wayne imagine #batman one shot #bruce wayne headcanon

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sunlitroom · 7 years

Text

Gotham, s3e13 - Smile Like You Mean It

As I watched it, and some random observations here and there.

As always, long post will be long - reaaally long. There are likely to be rambling digressions. Gobblepot may appear (although I welcome all shippers and non-shippers alike :)). There will be naked favouritism and naked not-favouritism. Broader comments at the end on plotlines and parallels and general direction.

Previously on Gotham.

Jim shot Mario. Lee wants Jim arrested or dead. Selina's dodgy mum. Vengeful Ed. Enraged Oswald

We open on the restricted area we saw last episode, where Jerome’s body – amongst others from Indian Hill – is stored. We hear music and see two guards amiably playing cards.

A man enters and approaches. He's dressed fairly normally. He’s accompanied by several of the Jerome cultists we met last week.

One guard opens fire. They don’t care and keep advancing, laughing all the while. Suddenly, we see one of the guards has been shot, not by a cultist, but by the other guard – who was in on the attack, and is part of the Jerome cult.

Walking past the man’s body, they leave behind a joker playing card before heading to the (corpse tanks? I don’t know what you’d call these)

Dwight spots Jerome and gazes in awe before laughing hysterically.

Jerome’s frozen corpse grins back

GCPD at the warehouse. Jim stares grimly at the Jerome’s empty tank, which now bears the graffiti we’ve been seeing for a while now. Harvey tells us that when Indian Hill closed, the government sent all materials and subjects back to Wayne Enterprises. Jim is infuriated at the incompetence/corruption of this.

Jim and Harvey talk about how Jerome wound up at Indian Hill in the first place, pointing out that Hugo seemed to have a special interest in collecting psychopaths (not really sure of the thinking behind that, but anyway)

Lucius is here. They ask him what he would do with the frozen corpse of a murderer. Lucius says that it would have to be thawed, and that he’s familiar with this technology from his time at Wayne Enterprises. Harvey sarcastically thanks him for helping the bad guys. Lucius says the thaw should take about three hours. About the same as defrosting a chicken, then.

Jim hears a noise, and they find an injured cultist behind some boxes. Lucius says he should be taken to hospital. Jim has other ideas. I agree with Jim. The sick have enough problems without being irritated, too.

Wayne Manor, where Maria's sketchy friend Cole is asking for 200 grand. Bruce and Alfred are obviously unimpressed. Cole is claiming that Maria lost him money, and that is he doesn’t get it – he’ll have her sent to jail – and then Selina will barely see her. He tells them to give the cash to Maria which…. makes no sense whatsoever, actually – and leaves. Bruce nods slightly to Alfred, before looking thoughtful.

GCPD. Jim and Lee are talking. She’s mad at him for bringing the cultist here and says he needs a hospital. Jim says he has reasons – but Lee tells him he always has reasons for breaking the rules. Jim tries to thank her for having Falcone call off Zsasz – but Lee dismisses him sullenly, telling him to get Dwight to bring Mario back from the dead, if he reallt wants to thank her.

In the examiner’s room, the cultist is pleased to see Jim. Jim tells him his friends left him behind, trying to get him to talk, but the cultist says he would have done the same. He tells Jim he can’t stop the awakening that has begun, and that Jerome is just the first step. He wraps up by saying they are a small band, but they are everywhere, and then laughs annoyingly for a bit.

Jim sends everyone in town out to hunt for the graffiti while the cultist still cackles in the background. It’s interesting to note that the cultists have not been presented to us as intimidating, or impressive, or remotely cool - but as irritating, unoriginal, contemptible. It’s a cue for how Jerome is likely to see them.

Dwight is in another dubious warehouse with an assistant, attempting to reanimate Jerome. He’s a little creepy with it, asking fondly if he’s had a good sleep while touching his face. He then mouths some lines that he imagines Jerome might say, and we keenly anticipate Jerome murdering him later.

Babs reads a newspaper article aloud to a dozing Oswald. It’s less than flattering, detailing exactly how he fucked up his interview. Oswald wakes up, and Babs waves the front page at him: Mayor Crumblepot.

She’s trying to explain this situation to him, but all we hear in the background is Oswald asking repetitively and irritatingly about Ed. Babs tells him to forget that – he needs to fix this situation. Oswald replies that the city runs itself. Babs clarifies: she means his real job – where his weakness is blood in the water

(An aside – so the mayoral role that Oswald apparently desperately wanted - and was extremely proud of – apparently he didn’t really care about that all along? Oswald is greedy for power and respect, wants to make his parents proud – but this is suddenly nothing? Nope.)

Babs spins Oswald a pretty tale about dissent among the families. Oswald might claim to be the King of Gotham – but Babs says the word is that the King is dead. Oswald is still going on about Ed being the only one who can fix this – and again, what? Ed is incredibly intelligent in his way – but it’s Oswald who managed to go from umbrella boy to King. It’s Oswald who played Fish and Maroni and Falcone off each other, and easily rid himself of the likes of Frankie Carbone. Why can he suddenly not do his own job anymore?

Babs channels my spirit and smacks Oswald in the face with the newspaper. She tells him Ed isn’t here, but she is. He needs to shower, do that disco vampire thing with his hair, and then come to a meeting with the families at her place, and be his old self.

Oswald asks why she’s helping him. Babs says that people think he likes her, and this makes her feared by proxy. If Oswald is no longer feared, Babs isn’t protected. Babs leaves, and Oswald is left on the couch, head in hands, trying to take all this information in. Are we still interested in Elijah’s corpse - or has that turned up - or what? Not going to even nod towards the whole ghost thing?

Maria is asking Bruce is he’s sure about this in a faux-concerned tone. Bruce coolly replies that he is. Selina says that this is ridiculous – if you pay a guy like Cole, he’ll just come back. They should have him arrested, and get Maria a lawyer. Bruce says that the worst case is that this money buys them a little time to clear Maria’s name.

Maria says that she could leave. She doesn’t want to – but it’s an option. Alfred and Bruce exchange looks that confirm to us that Maria is a liar - and that they’ll probably fumigate the place after she leaves.

Selina is infuriated by the whole situation, flinging a ‘fine!’ at them, before leaving.

GCPD. Jim tells Harvey that the graffiti is everywhere – maybe there’s lots of groups. Harvey thinks there’s 50 wackadoos, tops. Jim isn’t so sure.

Lucius approaches and says electricity is a possible way to find them – since they need it for reanimation. Jim catches on fast, and Jim and Harvey head out to the location of the most recent power surge. Lucius quietly remarks that he’ll stay here

A random cop overhears Harvey yelling Jerome’s possible location and quietly phones someone with this information.

At the warehouse – we see that Jerome has no vital signs. Dwight whines at him to wake up. His assistant runs in and tells him GCPD are coming – and remarking with horror that Jerome’s still dead. There’s a bit of back and forth about turning it off and on again, and how the assistant gave up a good post office job for this. The disciples expect to see Jerome’s face. Dwight electrocutes him, and then remarks

You make an interesting point

Eyeing Jerome’s face, he picks up a scalpel and starts cutting.

GCPD arrive later and see the body on the table. Harvey wonders why they took his face.

Yet another disused industrial space. No hipsters in Gotham, apparently.

The faithful wait to see Jerome. Dwight slowly enters, telling them that their faith is rewarded - Jerome is here. They see that he is wearing Jerome’s face, and go quiet. Dwight insists that their prophet is here.

Jerome would despise these people

The crowd’s not buying it and start to murmur mutinously. Leatherface throws a hissy fit.

Jerome is alive in your heart. Each of you

The crowd is just dumb enough to be placated by this. I’m Jerome! I’m Jerome! I'm Jerome - and so is my wife!

GCPD – the examiner’s room. Lee puts on gloves - but leaves her hair down. As she prepares, we see Jerome’s finger twitch.

Up in Harvey’s office. Lucius hands over the phone found near Jerome's body. The last number came from the precinct – but it was the general line, and so can’t be traced directly. Harvey responds badly to the idea of a mole in GCPD – and asks whether Lucius can’t just make some gadget to figure it out. Lucius eyerolls.

Jim walks out front. He tells everyone that they have a mole – someone tipped off Dwight. Jim bluffs – claiming they have the number here, and – holding up the phone – begins to dial back.

Stupid undercover cultist cop panics and runs before being grabbed by several of his colleagues.

Oswald arrives at Babs’ club.

You scrub up nice

Oswald is confused that the place is empty. Babs lies glibly, pretending that no-one showed up – a sure sign of disrespect.

This is a rebellion - I warned you

Oswald catches on to her game, and starts to play her – all wide-eyed sincerity.

You have been such a friend to me - what should I do now?

Babs tells him that they don't respect him – he should kill both – and clean house.

Oswald laughs, manic-eyed, before drawing the concealed blade from his cane.

Did you really think I would be so easy to manipulate? He then neatly summarises exactly how Ed has manipulated him:

What was your plan? Take advantage of me in a vulnerable state? Make me attack my subordinates so they would rebel? Incite war so you could pick up the pieces? You are tragically out of your depth.

He then suggests that he should call Bones – and ask him about this planned meeting of Barbara’s. On cue – the phone rings. It’s Bones.

We don't work for you no more. Your day is done - freak

Oswald is livid. I will gut you.

Bones tells him if he does that, then Nygma dies. If he plays ball – he might get him back in one piece, and they might let him keep being mayor.

Oswald’s brief moment of having a working brain is over, and we go back to panicky, non-thinking mode. He’s going to kill them. Gather the men.

(An aside - For fuck's sake Oswald! You’re smarter than this. You displayed more rational thinking when Gertrud was kidnapped – I’m not buying that you can’t stop and think for a moment now. This just feels like blunting the character to push the plot along.)

Back at Bones’ place, we see Tabs had gun on him the whole time. He asks if they’re good now. Tabs tells him he did well – but shoots him anyway.

GCPD interview room. Harvey reads from the mole’ s records, and tells him he’s going to Blackgate – where they love cops. He replies that he stopped being a cop a long time ago. Jim doesn’t believe that, doesn’t believe anyone who saw Jerome’s first attack could think that – but he claims that was the thing that changed him.

He taunts Jim and Harvey a bit, laughing maniacally, which leads to them punching him repeatedly. Harvey’s a little more enthusiastic, and as Jim pulls him away, Lee enters, and injects him with sodium pentathol before leaving with an eyeroll.

Jim goes after her and tells her that she shouldn't have done it. Lee is infuriated, and asks why he and Harvey can bend the rules, but she can’t. Jim replies.

You're better than that.

Lee responds sarcastically: how sweet.

Jim bats back at her. She can blame him for Mario's death - he doesn’t care. It’s enough to know she’s OK

Lee’s hostile, and asks whether if she were to break too many rules, change too much, he would shoot her.

Jim tells her that he’s going to talk to Harvey: she came back too soon, and needs to take time off. He touches her arm, but she shakes him off angrily and tells him never to touch her again, or tell her what to do. She walks off.

Jim is distracted, looking after her, when Harvey approaches with news about the cultists’ plans – making an announcement on channel 9.

We cut to the news station, where the boss is explaining that GCPD has asked them to evacuate – but that they’re perfectly safe. However, the Jerome acolytes invade and begin killing indiscriminately

Lee strides angrily into lab – but stops short when she sees a cop dead on the floor. Before she can fully react, Jerome grabs her from behind.

When we come back, they’re sitting across from each other, Lee telling Jerome what’s happened. He is disbelieving, but gleeful at the thought of people worshipping him. Lee tells him they’re lunatics and idiots, and throws in a suggestion that he shoot himself. Salty Lee is great. More of this, please.

Jerome tells her the last year was nothing but darkness – which is likely to disturb Lee a little, with Mario’s death. Jerome suddenly realises that he knows her. He asks if they had sex – to which Lee responds

Oh God no

Jerome remembers – she’s Jim Gordon's little twinkie, and how is that relationship going. Lee tells him they’re not together. That's a shame, comments Jerome. What happened? He killed my husband on our wedding night, responds a stone-faced Lee. Jerome – predictably – finds this hilarious. Lee’s not provoked though, and watches him – unimpressed.

Jerome remembers that he was ready to kill Bruce Wayne – but didn’t manage. He comments it was all the fault of that jug-eared Judas (ha!) Theo Galavan. He wants him dead, but Lee says he’s too late. Jerome asks who beat him to it. Lee doesn’t miss a beat

Which time?

Jerome is taken aback. Galavan resurrected too? Lee replies with a bored mmhmm.

Son of a bitch upstaging me. Now - where is my face?

(An aside – Lee and Jerome interact well, and that was a pretty long scene to give them. Just sayin’)

Cops arrive at news station, but Jim is edgy, making an observation that applies across the board tonight:

Something's not right

He’s right – they’ve taken a newscaster hostage, and wired her up to several grenades.

Maria arrives back at the sleazy apartment. Cole grins. The whole thing was a scam. He’s thrilled, but she’s not enthused. Let's just get out of this town

Cole smiles - We won!

Yeah – you did. Selina pushes the door open and wanders in. Cole tells her to get out. Maria tells him to shut up. She looks impassively at Selina.

You caught me

Selina stares at her – telling her she just wanted to make sure. It was an easy mark. She learned that Bruce and Selina were connected and came back to pull the scam

Maria does not seem remorseful: You want to hate me? That’s your choice

Selina is furious, Damn right

Maria’s confused about why she’s angry. Bruce has money to spare.

Selina says she cares that the mother who abandoned her only came back to use her.

Cole tries to intervene – but Selina quickly has a knife at his throat. She backs down, but turning to Maria, tells her tearfully

Don't ever come back.

At the TV station - Dwight is orating from chair. An acolyte rushes breathlessly in to tell him the police are outside and Jim Gordon is on the phone. Dwight is just about turned on by the similarity between this situation and Jerome’s at the charity function. He picks up the phone, and begins to talk to Jim – but he’s simply mouthing Jerome’s words from last year, and Jim calls him on it.

You’re the understudy – pretending to be the star. You’re a fraud

Dwight begins to lose what little cool he ever possessed – yelling: I am Jerome

Jim has no time for this, and taunts Dwight by delivering a home truth

For the record, you’re doing one thing Jerome never did…..boring me.

(An aside - Jim's the best at trolling criminals over the phone. He should do this more often.)

Harvey tells Jim they can get access via the ventilation system, and they begin to move.

Babs and Tabs at the club – with bickering gangsters at the bar. Babs is jubilant. Oswald is murdering everyone in sight, and anyone who’d left is in-fighting. He’s destroying everything he’d built. Tabitha is more reserved, eyeing her carefully, and adding.

When this is over - Ed dies.

Babs promises her this – and seals it with a kiss. The fact Tabs needed reassurance is interesting.

(An aside – Butch is now very conspicuous by his absence)

Babs runs through their options at this point. Plan A: They could appeal to the remaining families’ reason and get them on-side, or – Plan B - kill them all. Tabs is all for slaughter.

The phone rings. It’s Ed. Babs calls him honey, and tells him everything is set, and Oswald is his. While they talk, Tabs sprays the remaining gangsters with bullets, and Babs tells Ed – yes, Plan B.

(An aside - Babs and Tabs are fun and all – but as the lone person who actually liked all the mob stuff in season one, the merry misrule is sort of tiresome.)

The TV station, where Dwight fucks up his opening line.

Back at GCPD, Lee watches aghast, gagged with medical gauze. Jerome grumbles.

No charisma - no stage presence.

Before he leaves, he tells Lee to keep watching – she won’t want to miss what comes next.

In a stolen police car and uniform, Jerome mows down a random pedestrian on his way to the TV station.

Hostage - GCPD outside

Jim has sneaked in with Harvey and strike force

Dwight keeps rambling on

GCPD shoot their way in - and fire on acolytes. Dwight tries to run, but Jim yells stop and tackles him to the ground. Oh, good stuff, Jim. Dwight bleats about it being the night of awakening – but Jim tells him: not anymore.

At Wayne Manor, Bruce is working on a punching bag. Selina angrily confronts him, asking him if he knew. Bruce falters a little – and says he wasn’t sure at first, but – yes – it was obvious. The money wasn’t important to him, and she might have skipped town without it. Bruce wanted her to stay.

Selina is angry and hurt. Bruce lied to her. Bruce insists that he didn’t – he simply didn’t tell her the truth, and that’s not the same thing. How could he have possibly told her that her mother is a con artist who just came back to scam her? Selina responds that they both lied to her. She tries to fight him – but Bruce refuses.

Selina steps closer, and jabs him in the chest:

The only reason she came back after 11 years was you.

She strides out, and Bruce stays behind – both clearly hurting.

Ouch.

Crowds outside the station are cheering as Dwight is taken away to be questioned. We hear another police car arrive – presumably Jerome’s. Jim's phone rings. It’s Lee – warning him that Jerome is alive and after Dwight.

We see Jerome driving off in a stolen van, a nervous Dwight in the back - because real Jerome is erratic and scary.

At some sort of industrial space. Jerome staples his face back on

How's it look?

Looks good, Dwight shakily replies

Jerome plays with him a little: Wouldn’t lie - would you?

Dwight nervously asks if Jerome is mad about the whole face peeling thing. Jerome asks what he could possibly be mad about – Dwight brought him back to life, after all. What’s a stolen face between friends?

Dwight asks Jerome what he has planned. Jerome tells him: you’ll see.

Van Dahl Mansion of plotlines that need to end soon.

Oswald rants at Gabe about finding Ed. Gabe says he’s not at any hideout, and tries to tell Oswald that he’s been hearing some weird things. Oswald’s apparently turned his brain off completely, though, and simply screams that he’ll tear the city apart.

The phone rings. It’s Ed. Put Jim on, Oswald – it’d be really entertaining: Jim’s good at this.

Ed delivers a shaky message saying that he managed to make the call, and that he’s being held at Kane Chemicals – but Oswald has to hurry. Gabe looks somewhat askance at all this. Oswald trots off straight into a trap – telling Gabe to stay behind in case Ed calls.

GCPD. Jim tells Harvey random attacks have been taking place around the city. Lucius walks in and turns on the TV. Jerome is broadcasting using stolen equipment from the Channel 9 van. The newscaster says that they want to show the video to help catch him – but actually for sensationalism, because – TV news. Harvey yells at someone to get them to stop broadcasting – but it’s too late.

We see Jerome puttering round an industrial space, wondering if everything’s hooked up right, before deciding: Screw it - let's do it

I died. Take it from me: Death is dull. Coming back - that is something. Dying gives you whole new perspective on life.

We see Dwight hooked up to explosives.

Jerome says that tonight, the city will be in darkness. No rules. Do what you want. Kill who you want. When morning comes - you too, shall be reborn.

He starts to leave, before turning to the restrained Dwight.

And I don't forgive you for my face.

Watching the broadcast – Jim realises where they are – the power plant across the river – and sprints from the office to the roof as Harvey orders a helicopter.

Jim makes it to the roof in time to see the explosion – and all the lights in the city blinking out – one by one. It’s a lovely shot, actually.

Oh my God......

Something’s not right here.....

Nothing’s right - with scams and frauds everywhere. Dwight steals Jerome’s face, but he’s a poor substitute. Speaking of cheap fakes – Maria is exposed as maybe the lowest of the low: a scam artist who is willing to manipulate and damage her own daughter for a quick buck. Babs and Ed are pulling off a huge scam on Oswald – who unwittingly figures out the bulk of their plan – but can’t quite hit home, because he’s still fooled by Ed - who’s now wearing friendship as a mask and luring Oswald into a trap. Lee is very hostile towards Jim – but it’s hard to say whether this is a mask, an overreaction to Falcone’s claim that she still loves him. Bruce plays a role to try and keep Maria in Selina’s life, but is caught out. He insists that a lie of omission is different than a regular lie – but Selina’s not so sure. We see moles and turncoats everywhere, too: at GCPD, at the Wayne Enterprises storage facility, in Oswald’s organisation. Nothing is right, and no-one can be trusted.

Oswald

I said in previous recaps that while Ed might not have directly wished Oswald harm, his tactics in ensuring that Oswald relied wholly on him wandered into red-flag territory. He was controlling. He didn’t like him having other sources of support, or alternative viewpoints, and so made sure to isolate him – ensuring that he was completely dependent on Ed.

The result is an Oswald whose confidence is largely shot, and barely seems to exercise any judgment at all, let alone trust it. Bear in mind how much agency and confidence he had back in season one, playing mob bosses against each other. Remember his skill in observing situations and discerning motivations. Remember him telling Butch that being under Falcone’s thumb had become ‘intolerable’. Think about how he could keep a cool head and think fast under extreme duress. Compare that with now.

Jim

I’m still liking Jim right now. The cultists were annoying as hell – so random punches to the face were endearing. I also love his telephone trolling.

Lee

I liked Lee this week. She got to be a person in her own right. My chief complaint previously was that she really just functioned as love interest – and that was it. She was supportive and/or concerned as Jim’s storyline demanded. But here, she was allowed to be bitter, sullen, sarcastic – in short, to behave like someone who is grieving - hurt and angry.

I also very much enjoyed her conversation with Jerome. They play well off one another. I think it was also a very long scene to give them both, and wonder if that lends weight to the Har-Lee theory.

General Observations

Character is what you are in the dark

So Jerome has turned out all the lights, and told everyone to do whatever they want, kill whoever they want, and be reborn. What will people do when they think no-one is watching?

In the Babs/Tabs/Ed/Butch/Oswald story – that’s going to be about who stabs who in the back, and why. There’s also the serious tease that this is where Ed is going to really step into his Riddler identity – so a possible rebirth, too.

How people will act in dire straits might come into play, too. Will Lee’s hostility last if Jim is in danger? Will they play on her link with Jerome? What’s Selina going to do, angry and disillusioned. Is the Court of Owls still in play at all?

Thoughts?

#Gotham Commentary #smilelikeyoumeanit #gotham s3e13

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