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#why would Bruce tell joker Jasons real name
lordgrimoire · 1 year
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The Goonion would like a Word
Bruce had never had an experience like this before, letters of ransom from any of his rogues? Certainly! But the Goonion only ever left messages when they were paying bail for their own, and he was becoming worried as to why Jason’s Goons had posted a message to him via The Goonion.
“To Batman of Gotham, New Jersey, United States of America, We would like to have a word with you in regards to a pair of Meta Adjacent individuals we would like to harbor here in Gotham, we are only extending the courtesy to you regarding them due to the fact that the United States Government refuses to acknowledge them as people due to their conditions, the Boss said he would tell you himself, if he has not already he likely will soon. Suffice to say a family of three is coming to Gotham as their last chance at a safe harbor and we would prefer it if you did not get on their cases. We hope to receive your response without any broken bones, The Goonion, Gotham, New Jersey Branch.” Tim was staring at the paper, the stationary of The Goonion, with confusion, Dick, Barbara, Cass, and Stephany seemed rather accepting of it, and Damian was confused. 
“What is this, Goonion?” His youngest asked, staring at the paper as Bruce read over the return address, the Iceberg Lounge, a server named Thomas. 
“Ah, we haven’t told you about them yet have we?” Dick began, sitting back. “They’re nice folks, help get the Goons payed and are usually the ones to put their feet down when Rogues get outta hand for normal folks, for instance, the Joker does not have the stamp of approval for, many reasons. But primarily it’s due to his former Henchmen, including Harley, snitching on him to the Goonion.” Dick typed something into his phone, Damian’s own device pinging in his pocket, likely more info. “The Goonion has an odd relationship with us, we don’t go after them and they try to keep things regulated, Jason could probably tell you more, and it seems from the letter we do have to talk to him.” The door to the cave opened, and while Bruce looked up to see his second son come walking down the steps he seemed, tired, run down even.
“The Goonion already got to you? Good on them.” Jason huffed as he sat next to Damian, ruffling the boy’s head much to his exasperation and attempted swatting. “Situations fucked, the letter doesn’t even touch on the bigger parts but it gets, real fucky like, possibly gonna want to get Uncle Clark and Aunt Diana in on it fucky, definitely Constantine as well.” Well Bruce knew his flags rather well and if Jason was advocating for not only a League intervention but one headed by John Constantine? Bruce decided to address the original topic first. 
“They can stay, but they will have to answer questions.” Jason huffed and leaned back. 
“Ground rules then, the two younger kids? Meta Adjacent? They have a similar situation to me, and it turns out Ra’s is playing with not even a tenth of a full puzzle with the Lazarus Pit.” Everyone around the table stiffened, save Alfred who had come in behind Jason with a tea service, as Jason took a sip from the mug placed before him and nodding to Alfred. “Thank you. The details are spotty but the abridged form is this, the Lazarus pit is the remains of a bunch of people from a dimension to which we all go when we die, the residents therein call it the Infinite Realms since it services everyone that means every Person who has a faith or doesn’t has a place there. Furthermore these three’s parents who passed recently in a Government Sanctioned raid made a Portal to the Infinite Realms, and Lazarus Water? Corrupted, dirty, a literally soul eroding form of what makes up matter on that end of the divide, Ectoplasm.” Jason withdrew a vial from his pocket, a bright green and sluggish substances was held within. “This is pure ectoplasm, The Parents, a pair known as Doctors Jack and Madeline Fenton, introduced me to a Doctor from the Infinite Realms, suffice to say I am feeling much less angry and far more at peace with things, though apparently being angry is normal for the type of “Dead but Brought Back” I am.” Jason placed the vial on the table and slowly pushed it to Bruce, taking his hand back when he reached for it.
“Jazz, the eldest, is a student at Gotham University, or she is now, identities and the like will be handled later but for the younger two it’s time for some non starters, because apparenlty if you ask an Ecto Entity or anyone touched by the Infinite Realms how they died it sets off a “I Must Kill You Now” trigger in their head, essentially forcing them to suffer their deaths all over again until they deal with who or whatever asked the question, so no being a little nosey punk about it Tim.” Tim jolted at his name being said instead of Jason’s nickname for him but he nodded when he realized that his elder brother hadn’t looked away from him. Bruce was still proud the two had started to mend things so well, but as he stared at the vial a question swirled in his mind.
“Why did the Goonion send a letter then?” Jason stiffened slightly and rubbed the back of his neck.
“Alrighty, so you know how I’ve been going to College classes since a year ago? I met Jazz at one of them, as Jason Todd, son of Bruce Wayne and card carrying member of Red Hood’s Goonion. This was, sometime around Spring Semester, soooooo” Steph lunged up, mouth open with a squeak until Cass pulled her back down. Jason sighed and continued. “We started dating last year, she wants to be a psychiatrist and maay have started working for The Goonion in Star City when one of their guys ended up on her mentor’s patient bench. Her academics are already transferred to Gotham U but she’s still looking for a new Mentor.” Bruce made an affirmative noise at that, encouraging, Jason was holding something back, the younger siblings hadn’t been named yet. “The Goonion hired her former mentor and Jazz followed them in since they have really good benefits, and she has experience with the whole Capes and Crooks thing already. Though she told me she would rather she and her siblings explain that.” 
So, Jasmine Fenton, after being a student for at least a year in Psychiatry, became a Goonion Psychiatrist, and then when her Parents died she takes her younger siblings, one of whom is rather recently adopted into the family by the looks of it, and flees her hometown, one Amity Park Illinois, which has a disturbingly blank file in the League databanks. “Yeah,” Jason began, looking over at the Batcomputer, scanning the total lack of data from two year ago on. “The Government locked their hometown down quick, they have a branch called the Ghost Investigation Ward, who managed to get a law in before our current Shining Dome of a President, was sworn in, apparenlty old Lex has been trying to rip that law to shredds since he found out about it and there’s something akin to a coup attempt going on from the GIW towards Lex. I looked into those guys already, I think it would be wiser to side with the current President and not a bunch of Loons who would dissect Uncle Clark and his kids if they got the chance.” Damian jerked slightly, turning to face Jason.
“What?” 
“Yeah, Krypton is dead it’s a dead world, by some of the smaller parts of the Anti-Ecto Acts that means that all Kryptonians are ecto-beings and by that law have no sentience, and are just emotions imprinted on ectoplasm, given the fact I died once they would pick me up as well in a heartbeat, for “disposal” as they call it.” The room had become Still, Dick seemed furious, staring at the damning lack of info alongside a pale Tim, Damian who was still staring at Jason realized just why his brother had looked back to him and was also looking at Cass, they had been brought back by the pit, they were by Federal Law non-sentient. Bruce felt the arms of his chair bend slightly under his grip before breathing out his frustration. 
“You have a plan?” Jason nodded, he seemed to be expecting worse, you really didn’t give him a reason not to, and began speaking.
“The Goonion will be dealing with protecting people who fall under the acts, we just need the JL to take this problem and light it on fire, drag it into the public eye and raid a few of the GIW’s bases that may have people, both from our side and theirs, in captivity. I will be going tonight to get Jazz and her Siblings from a bolt hole of theirs, an Aunt in Arkansas whose bound to be investigated is hiding them, I just need to borrow something.” Bruce allowed an eyebrow to climb up his forehead, he wants to borrow the Batplane for it.
“I’ll allow it, go and get them once it starts to become dark out, I’ll expect you back by dawn, do you have a place set up?” Jason blinked at him before nodding. 
“Yeah, one of the safer corners of Crime Alley, closest part to Gotham University, three bedrooms, two bath, someone maaay have helped me pick it out.” Bruce nodded, he would get nowhere in trying to guess which of his other children, Alfred, or any of Jason’s friends, or even some of their own collectively reformed Rogues could have helped Jason in this, but suffice to say it was a safe harbor and one backed by some rather tough figures. The Goonion alone would give anyone trouble, but with them being in Crime Alley that meant that they were essentially in an invaders nightmare. Dead ends, construction, dilapidated or abandoned buildings, it was a natural ambush site. Jason then put a box on the table, it was a scanner of some sort. 
“One of the reasons they’re coming here is this,” he flipped a switch and the machine began to frantically beep, practically sounding a long tone before Jason flipped it off again, “Gotham sits on a similar point to Amity Park, and as such we are LOADED with ambient ectoplasm, constantly stirred up by magic based curses of one sort or another it essentially blinds ectoplasmic tracking devices.” Bruce nodded, accepting the device as it was pushed down the table to him. “Jazz had apparently decided that they would run to Gotham if things went sideways like this anyways, we’re the closest ambiently effected city to Amity not ringed by GIW outposts and scanners.” Bruce paused in his observing of the machine, the GIW had surrounded other cities that had high ambient ectoplasm?
“Where?” Jason pulled out a small notepad.
“Well, Jazz wouldn’t tell us, but the Goonion has it’s ways, The GIW has encircled the following cities, Salem, Boston, and Springfield of Massachusetts, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia and Gettysburg of Pennsylvania, Chicago Illinois, Savanah Georgia, D.C., and then San Francisco and San Antonio of California and Texas respectively, I asked for this list at 6 this morning, I was handed this current version at Noon, these were just the overt ones. Metropolis, Bludhaven, and Gotham, are currently not surrounded, there are locations between them but not many.” Bruce stood, watching as addresses were placed on the table, each assigned a sticky note and details. 
“You should get ready to go get Jazz and her siblings, we’ll deal with this.” Bruce tapped on the sticky note closest to him. Jason nodded and stood, following Alfred out of the Batcave as Bruce looked to the rest of his family. “We have targets, we have details, Tim, dig up what you can on the GIW, Damian, Dick, Cass, Stephanie, your with me, we’re going to raid as many of these places as we can tonight, Barbara,”
“I’ve got comms, got it.” She interrupted, rolling over to the Bat computer and preparing for daylight operations 
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igotanidea · 1 year
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Secrets: batfamily x ScarlettWitch!reader
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The graphic is not mine, found it on pinterest.
Story requested by @p4inis - I know it's been ages, sorry! : Jason x scarlet witch fem reader? She’s best friend w dick and she secretly works with Batman then the boys found out when she entered the bat cave and tried to pick a fight with Batman ?
***
„BRUCE!” the very angry voice echoed through the stone walls of the batcave and very angry girl came to the view “What the hell?!”
“Y/N?” Jason stood up from his chair, shock on his face “What are you doing here?”
“And more importantly, how did you get here?” Dick was equally as surprised as his brother.
“Can someone explain to me, who is this girl?” Damian frowned.
Let me stop the story right here and give you a bit of context.
Y/N Y/L/N, born and raised in Gotham were best friend with Dick Grayson from the day he arrived at the city. Poor boy, who just lost his parents were just wondering around the street, all by himself, moody and clearly looking for trouble. Y/N was getting back from school when she encountered him, brooding in one of the alleys,  absentmindedly kicking a trash can while muttering something to himself. In any other circumstances, she would just walk past him, but something inside her told her to stop and she listened to that little voice, taking her time in observing the boy with her eyes slightly narrowed and head tilted.
“Too much on your mind?” she finally asked after a while of hesitation
“Yes.” He muttered not even looking up at her
“Need a pair of ears to listen to your sad story?”
“Why do you care?” Dick’s eyes landed on her face “you don’t know me.”
“I don’t. But I can tell you are in need of a friend. I’m Y/N.” she took a few steps forward and extended her hand
“Dick.” The boy shook it hesitantly
“Really?” she smiled lightly at the name he gave her
“Yes.” His tone became harsher.
“Ok, all right, no hard feelings there, Dick.” Y/N raised her hands in defense “wait, you’re the Wayne’s kid.”
“How do you know?”
“I….. I don’t know….. I just sort of sensed that.”
“Sensed? Is there anyone normal in this city?” Dick rolled his eyes
“Hey! Careful there, boy! I might take offence.”
“Sorry. I’m not really used to people dressed like clowns and bats running around the streets and citizens to have superpowers.”
“ What can I say? Welcome to Gotham, Dick.”
And that was how their friendship started and lasted for years. However, there was one thing Y/N never told Dick. She did have powers. Maybe not at the time when they met, but when she was somewhere around 18 they started to show. Out of nowhere, she could hear people’s thoughts, the objects around her started to move and when she was nervous or scared the air around her was literally turning red. Oh, and sometimes, people around her saw the things she wanted them to – some sort of illusions. That was when her mother told her that she was holding the power of a Scarlett Witch and poor girl did not like it at all. In the city of freaks and criminals she always prided herself on being normal, ordinary, usual. She never wanted any skills. To be honest, she got scared and due to her conflicted emotions her powers started causing troubles. The only option was to leave Gotham for a while and learn how to get it under control. Her mother, a witch herself, contacted some old friends and Y/N was sent to train with the old order of sorceresses.
She got back after a whole year, finding Gotham in worse condition than ever. From what she learned in a quick time, there was a new vigilante, calling himself the Red Hood running around and causing havoc.  One time, when she focused, she got into his mind, feeling all the rage and pain and fear and regret. She saw his story of how he was killed by Joker and brought back to life. All the conflict he had with Batman, because apparently they were a family once, and at some point in life he was his sidekick, Robin. She broke this mind connection before finding out the real identities of anyone. That was private and she never wanted to know. Second thing was Dick. Their contact during the last year was a bit limited, since while her training she was not exactly allowed to use phone and internet so they rarely talked and when she returned, the girl found out that Dick left Gotham and resided in Bludhaven. Third thing was Batman’s newest sidekick, apparently calling himself Red Robin, who was on her tail, treating her like some sort of threat. After a month of playing cat and mouse with him, she got inside his head and practically commanded him to meet her so they could talk without acting like kids.
“What do you want with me?” they were standing in front of each other on the rooftop surrounded by Gotham’s darkness.
“The question is, why is someone like you just sitting around doing nothing?” he retorted
“I’m sorry. Someone like me?” she scoffed “who do you think I am?”
“Please. You’re not so hard to crack.” Y/N raised an eyebrow at him waiting for some more explanation “you are Scarlett Witch. You have so many crazy level skills, so why are you passive if you could do so much good for this city?”
“You remind me of someone from my past, you know. Someone who practically called me a freak the first day we met.”
“I never said you were a freak.”
“No. No you did not. And I am not. At least, not anymore that I learned how to control my abilities I never asked for. ….“ she hesitated “Now. I am not going to go inside your head, but I strongly suggest you to tell me the truth why you were on my tail, lately.”
Red Robin sighed deeply considering what words to choose to reveal to her the real reason behind his action. Clearly this girl couldn’t be deceived with half-truth.
 “It’s Batman.”
“Batman? What does your boss have to do with it?”
“He’s not my boss. But he wants to be yours.”
“I’m not planning on becoming a sidekick of his.” She scoffed “If anything I work alone.”
“ Just listen to me, all right? Let me convince you.”
“You entertain me, Red Robin. You know, I was fairly familiar with your predecessors. The original Robin tried to save my ass from the assaulters once, the second bumped into me while chasing the robbers. They both seemed …. too enthusiastic and energetic. It can cause trouble at times. You seem more …. rational. Wiser. And I appreciate that, so I’ll listen to you.  Tell me then, what can Batman possibly offer me to join him in his work?”        
He convinced her, talking about the people and doing good work and being trained by the Batman himself. He offered her wide range of freedom, so she wouldn’t have to be a sidekick. He talked and talked about how the joint efforts can bring good effect. He might have also slipped something about admiring her and the things she can do and how he himself would like the opportunity to work with her. And she agreed, keeping her alliance with Red Robin and Batman a secret.
After making such important choice, she realized it would be nice to get back in touch with Dick so she simply called him and they rebuilt their friendship. They even went far enough to reveal their other identities to each other.
“Wait, you were the original Robin?!”  her eyes went wide upon hearing the news “you were the one who tried to save me during that assault?! Damn it, Dick.”
“You never really needed my help.” He shrugged “now I know why. Scarlett Witch, huh? Makes sense. What exactly can you do apart from getting inside people’s heads?”
However, she never told him she was secretly working with his foster father.
Not when during one of the mission she found out that Red Hood real identity was Jason Todd and he was in fact Bruce’s son and Dick’s brother.
Not when she fell in love with such brother.
Not when she started working with the latest Robin aka Damian.
Not when one time Dick asked her to join him on the mission.
Not when he suggested she could be a part of bat team, even if the team already consisted of too many people who tended to fight with one another (mostly Dick and Jason).
She kept in the dark and it was getting harder to control who knew what about her. Dick and Jason were aware of her real name and her alias, but not that she was occasional Batman’s partner. Damian knew only the Scarlett Witch and working with Batman part and Tim knew everything, of course while Cass, Steph and Babs knew her only as Y/N, their civilian friend. It was crazy.
Until the day when Bruce broke his promise of giving her mission freedom and she got really angry. Despite their agreement, Batman interfered in Scarlett Witch’s contacts on the drug trafficking causing the informants to fled from the city and her operation went south.
“Get out of my way!” she yelled when both Dick and Jason blocked her way demanding some explanation.
“Y/N. why don’t you just calm down a little, all right?” Dick started, trying his best not to worsen the situation. After all she was the freaking Scarlett Witch. She could have them on the ground wincing in pain within seconds. It was better not to mess with her
“Yeah, I will calm down right after the freaking Batman keep his promises!” she yelled
“Wait, what? What promises? I don’t get it…..” Damian frowned again “Father, who is this girl?”
“Leave us.” Bruce spoke calmly
“What is going on here?” Tim emerged from the door and as his eyes landed on Y/N he understood everything  “Oh, shit…..”
“Can someone tell me…..?”
“Shut up Damian!” Jason, Dick and Y/N yelled in unison
“I said: leave us.” Bruce repeated in his most stern tone, yet no one paid attention to him anymore
“I don’t understand half of what’s happening but I’m not leaving” Jason laughed  “If my girl goes full Scarlett Witch on Bruce I’d love to see it.” He moved towards Y/N and kissed her cheek making her blush a bit. “Don’t hold back, babe. I like that wild side of yours.” He smirked
“Stop it, Jace!” she tried to rid herself of him
“Wait. SHES THE SCARLETT WITCH!?” Damian exclaimed “but she looks so….. ordinary.”
“WATCH YOUR TONGUE, DEMON!”
“Before someone get hurt….” Dick started blocking Jason and Damian from killing each other
“LET ME GO DICKHEAD! HE JUST OFFENDED MY GIRLFRIEND!”
“ I JUST STATED THE OBVIOUS! SHE LOOKS NORMAL!”
“THAT IS A STEP UP FROM HOW YOU LOOK!”
“Do you work with Bruce Y/n? I mean, Batman? Why didn’t you tell me?” Dick’s finally caught up on the situation and glanced at his best friend with hurt expression.
“You have always been a bad detective, Dick. Of course she works with Batman. I was the one who offered her this position.” Tim smirked
“YOU DID WHAT?!”
“It was my idea…..”
“YOU GOT HER INVOLVED IN THIS SHIT!?”
Now, everyone was fighting everyone and it was hard to tell when all of this started. Y/N and Bruce were just standing in the middle of the havoc, eyes switching between all of the boys with despair and embarrassment (Bruce) and disbelief and amusement (Y/N).
“You know, Bruce, I came here to confront you about interfering with my operation, but I don’t think I am angry anymore.”
“I can see. However, I wanted to tell you, that I got you the information you needed to finish it.”
“Really, you did? How?” she turned slightly from the scene in front of her and looked straight at Bruce
“A bit of intimidation and mention of powerful woman coming after anyone who refused to cooperate.”
“A powerful woman, huh?”
“Catwoman, of course.”
“Of course” she nodded “Thank you, Bruce. Business with you is …. tolerable, I guess.”
 “But we’re not partners.” He muttered
“Obviously” she smirked “never were, never will be.” They were both liars.
“Do you think we should stop the boys from killing each other?” Bruce wondered
“Do you think we can?”
“Well, you are the Witch here. As much as I hate magic, can’t you do something?”
“Did you see them?” Y/N pointed towards the four unhinged figures yelling at each other “that’s beyond my level of expertise.”
“So…. we just leave?”
“Yes. Yes, we just…. leave. They will sort it out by themselves, right?”
“And it’s not because we are terrified of what they can do…..” Bruce muttered retreating backwards
“Absolutely not….. We just should discuss the case.”
“Yes. We should discuss the case.”
“Cause it’s really important.”
“Vital.”
“And it definitely can’t wait.”
“Shall we then?” Bruce pointed toward the exit and without any further ado they both disappeared from the cave leaving boys to deal with their banter themselves.
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spookytragedyshark · 1 year
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Jason Todd and The Ghost Zone
Danny just wanted to have time to be a kid. Ironically the closest he could act like a real kid was in the zone now. So, when he looks like a teen everyone respects it and gives him his space, but it is not the same. There is no one like him.
Now Ghosts know he is their king instinctually, so they cannot treat him like a kid not truly. However, the child ghost Infront of him who looks to be a few years younger is deafeningly out of touch with instinct and Danny can see why. He is absolutely covered in scars and seemingly unaware crying for his dad, Bruce. The kid is covered in what Danny can only descried as rotten ectoplasm.
Grabbing the kid Danny rushes to his ghostly home and summons for anyone who might know what to do. As it turns out the "scars" were wounds that the boy died with. Danny feels sick noting all of them. There are whispers among the ghosts before one steps forward.
"The corruption will be purged over time as long as he remines in the zone, but it will be more affective to stay with you as you are the very start of the zone."
Holding the boy helps a little bit but it takes days before he stops wailing and almost a week and a half before he is awareish.
The first thing the boy asks for is to see his dad. Danny is not sure if the boy is actually awake or not. "I promise as soon as you are healthy enough I'll look into finding your dad."
Through some misunderstandings Jason comes to believe Danny is a servant of the king of the ghost zone and has been lent kingly power to help in situations like his because "why would a king have time to deal with someone like me?" Danny almost corrects him but instead decides this is his chance to have a friend.
Danny trains him to use his powers and learns about who killed him. This joker must be sending off the corruption in waves. Ironically with corruption ingrained like that the man cannot die or be brought to the ghost zone. Danny explains everything to the boy and how often people change names after dying. So Jay has mostly healed, has control of his powers, and knows his obsession.
At first Jay hates it because rebirth and second chances really? How could he forgive the joker? Danny sits beside him "That man has had more than a few second chances you should not feel bad for not giving him another." The being that is the joker might not even be in his original body they discover. Danny knows that he will have to do something about all this but Jay needs him first and foremost and there is little he can do other than clean up the after math.
Jay does not tell him about being Rodin or how he died. He feels fiercely guarded on those things. Danny explains that it is normal to feel that way and that he only needs certain details to help him and to go to the right dimension and time period to see his dad and brother. Jay freaks out about the multiverse for a bit.
When Jay is recovered enough Danny brings him to his funeral. Jay sees them morn for him. They stay there well after the funeral..
Long enough to see Tim climb down from a tree and place flowers on his grave..
Jay asks Danny if he would also like to visit his own grave. Jay knows how important they are to ghosts. Proof they were alive and that they meant something.
"I do not have one. No one really knew or at least accepted I died. We sould look after your family for a bit something does not feel right" Jay would have cried at that but he had been crying the whole time anyway. He could not make himself visible not now at least. Danny said once that there was a possibility after he was completely healed.
Jay convinces Danny not to fallow any of the secret passages. Danny agrees to respect their privacy since they clearly are not evil. Jay panics and says that Bruce is Batmans sugar daddy and that his brother is dating nightwing. Danny just mumbles something about fruitloops. "You are well enough to say on your own for a bit. I'm going to go investigate the corruption do under any circumstances leave Gotham and always be back in the mansion by day light."
This becomes their normal every days they come to Gotham. Danny finds the voice of Gotham when looking for the source of corruption.
"you have greatly helped one of my knights. You my child will always be welcome here. What are you searching for?"
It is from Lady Gotham that Danny learns of the artificial ectoplasm. He destroys the artificial ectoplasm corruption from Arkham and immediately the patents get better little by little but the joker is not there so he can not stop him yet.
Jay sees Tim force his way into Bruce's heart. Jay sees how Tim views himself and wants to tear his hair out. Of course, he gets a baby brother, and his own death is what messes up Bruce's communication skills this time. Jay follows Tim home a few times and honest to God thinks Tim is an orphan for a few months because who leave anyone unattended that long.
"Danny I know there is no way for me to interact with the human world but is there someone, maybe the king who can?"
After Jay breaks down and explains the situation. "He checks their flight records to know if they are coming home and they never are." Danny sighs because explaining he is only half dead and kinda abandoned his home reality because of the government is not something he wants to do. but that's how all the cameras in the bat cave stopped working and Batman found his computer open to the Drakes flight records. Tim was adopted and Jay was almost ready to let go of his human life. Danny was so proud.
Then Jason was thrown in the pit literally ripped away from Danny. It was agonizing to be filled with corruption after almost being completely healed. Then there was his body always filled with rage. Then the old man and the ticktack that tried to convince him he was not avenged and to turn on his family. He saw what nightwing did to the joker. The joker was alive somewhere but had also been killed at lest twice since his death. The only reason he stayed and pretended to go along with it was to see if Danny would find him and get information on the artificial ectoplasm corruption in liquid form. Then there was their heir. He looked like Bruce. It took a while, but he found out yeah that kid was his brother. He slowly drove the kid away form the mindset that they put in him. He told the kid about the constant rage.
Then one night him and Damian disappeared.
Danny was livid. Jay was in pain. he saw what it was doing to him as it was ripping him from the ghost zone. Jason Todds grave was empty and Lady Gotham could not give him much information. Danny searched the planet, but he found more pits as they called them, and it was overwhelming even if they were thousands of years old. So when redhood and demon make it to Gotham and start taking out multimer offenders Danny does not find out till he feels a pull. In Wayne cemetery were Jason Todds grave used to be. They are holding a funeral for Danny Fenton.
The relief is Immedient because there is Jay, but then there's the flowers and acknowledgement. He did not even know he wanted a grave that much, but here he is so overwhelmed by his emotions. He accidently changes into human form and is crying. Jason older now the same age as Danny hugs him. Why is the 10-year-old glowing green...
Bonus:
Jason breaks into Titans tower.
"You are coming with me"
"why would i do that"
Jasion puts phone on speaker
"Come with me or the kid gets it!"
Damien in the tiny scared kid voice Jason helped him perfect
"Help me Help me Mr Robin"
Jason carries Tim like a sack of potatoes back to Gotham and throws him on the couch beside a chilling demon.
"were is the kid" He says
Damien giggles "Help me Help me Mr Robin'
"I thought you were a tiny adult what the hell"
"Nah he like 10 and its movie night. I assume you hit your sos botten so dick and Bruce and maybe Barbra should be here soon. Damian is picking out the movie first then you and then me and so forth so on." Jason takes off his helment and Gets a snack plater from the kitchen.
"Big bro do not hand Jay anything during the movie mk cuz the pit takes over if he gets emotional and just look at that" Damian points the corner with at least 12 TVs impaled by increasingly strange objects. "we have extras but the last one was the old care bears and he got to sentimental."
Bonus Bonus:
every bat ever to Damian "NO KILLING UNTILL YOU ARE 18"D
Damian never actual takes up being an assassin again.
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geekishfangirl · 9 days
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I can’t view Batman/Bruce as a real hero
So I’ve gotten into DC recently, or more specifically I’ve gotten into the Batfam, and the more I learn about Bruce Wayne the harder it is for me to look to him as a hero.
I’ll preface all this by saying I have consumed very little DC content, so if something I say is not actually canon pls let me know.
It started when I learned that this man seemingly has an absolute no kill rule. Not a “I try to avoid killing and only do it when absolutely necessary” rule, but a “I refuse to kill anyone no matter the circumstances” rule. I honestly hate this because it’s not effective in any way. Take the Joker for example, Batman has to fight him over and over again because they simply cannot seem to keep that man in prison and Batman won’t kill him or let anyone else do it. I think this is because he wants to believe that anyone can change, and they can, but just because they CAN doesn’t mean that they WILL. People have to choose to change and the Joker has had like 30 chances to do so, yet he continues to kill innocent people. How many innocents have to die before someone acknowledges that the Joker will never choose to be a better person and finally decide to do what’s necessary to protect everyone? They either need to find a way to keep him in jail or just take him out.
This got worse when I learned about Jason Todd. Here you have a poor boy taken in by Bruce, who idealizes him and views him as a father, and when he gets kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by the Joker he dies alone. When he is brought back to life, he’s mad at Bruce, not because Bruce didn’t save him, but Bruce didn’t kill the Joker to avenge him. Because Bruce didn’t love him more than he loved Justice. Hell, even on his grave, “A good soldier”. I’ve seen ppl say that maybe he didn’t say son because he didn’t want to erase their family ties and the kids never took his last name and sure, I get that. But putting a good soldier instead? He didn’t have to do that. Jason wasn’t a soldier, he was a little boy. It seems like Bruce forgets that about the Robins sometimes. (None of this is even getting into my feelings about Bruce taking in multiple children and having them fight crime, literally risking their lives every night but then this rant would be even longer)
And apparently Bruce fucking decks Dick because Dick was asking him why he let him become Robin before he was ready? Bro cannot take any criticism for his actions I swear. I mean, even if he never officially adopts them (I’m very confused on that tbh) he does still view them as his kids. He still helped raise them. After all, they were all underage when he met them and took them in. So to straight up deck your eldest and tell him to get out literally right after your other kid was murdered solely because he questioned you is actually wild.
Then you have the whole batarang incident, which just makes me question his morals more because he’s got the whole “no killing whatsoever” thing going on but then decides, “I won’t kill the man who murdered my son and countless other innocents, but I can and will slit my son’s throat and leave him for dead.” Like, HUH??? Also, didn’t Dick accidentally kill the Joker once and Bruce went out of his way to REVIVE HIM? Honestly feels like Bruce has some weird relationship with the Joker cause he seems to care about him more than anything. LET THAT MONSTER DIE!
I saw someone say that they thought the “no killing” thing wasn’t effective but was accurate to Bruce’s character because his vigilanteism isn’t actually mainly about helping but about punishing himself for what happened to his parents. And if you kill the villains when you need to, you can’t keep punishing yourself through fighting them. Like a self-sabotage thing. I thought that was super interesting but it would also just go along with him not being a truly effective hero, cause he won’t make the hard calls that are sometimes needed.
In conclusion, while I am sure Bruce has done good for people, it’s hard to see him as a truly effective hero (or a good person/father for that matter) when he does stuff like this.
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klbwriting · 2 months
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Broken Prism
Chapter 16
Fandom: Red Hood
Pairing: Jason Toddxfemale!Reader
Warnings: none, just a hint of violence
Summary: Jason and YN have settled into the Batfamily, but things never stay nice in Gotham
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The heat in Gotham in mid-July was the worst. The pavement was sticky, the city smelled rank and it made having to walk around all day the worst experience possible. That was why so many people saved their outings until after dark. And that’s what you did also. You needed to meet a contact about Joker. He was still in Arkham but there were rumblings that Harley Quinn was resurfacing after her escape from Blackgate in early June. Your contact was supposed to meet you at the docks around 11PM, and it was still in the upper 80s with no breeze. The river looked refreshing honestly and you understood for a moment why Killer Croc would want to stay underwater all the time. It was 11:30 at the moment and you were about to give up when someone climbed out of the water.
“King Shark?” you said, having not expected that at all. “You said your name was Nan.”
“My name is Nanaue so I told the truth,” he said. You let out a nervous breath, not exactly a fan of all those teeth and being alone. “Are you Lady Red?” You nodded, still pleased with the name you and Jason had come up with to keep your name off the street as much as possible. He wasn’t going to want you out there fighting crime in a cape yet, but you could do your job and hopefully keep your real name and where you lived under wraps.
“You have information on Harley for me?” you asked. He nodded. “What do you want in exchange?”
“Nothing, Harley is my friend and I want you to stop looking for her. She is with us now, she does not like Joker anymore,” he said. You nodded.
“So, she’s not planning to break him out of Arkham?” you confirmed, and the shark shook his head. “Good, thank you.”
“Tell your friend he should take a shower, I can smell him from here,” the shark said before diving back into the river. You laughed out loud at that, turning and looking towards the nearby warehouse where you knew Jason was hiding, watching.
“Well, that was rude,” he said into the communicator you had in your ear. You laughed even more. “Do you think he’s lying about Harley?” You could hear the nervousness in his voice. He still had nightmares about Joker, you heard him across the hall crying out sometimes and had one more than one occasion run into his room and climbed in next to him, letting him curl around you as he listened to your heartbeat to fall back asleep.
“I normally can tell if people are lying, but he is a giant shark so it’s a little harder to tell, but I think he was telling the truth,” you said. King Shark’s voice has been even, his eyes focused on you, not skirting around. “I’m going to head down to the Diamond District, I need to visit CADMUS. You can go back to your own thing; I don’t think a scientist is going to kidnap me.”
“I’m sorry have you met most of the scientists in this city? They’re the worst,” Jason answered. “But I do have to get moving, Penguin is trying to run some guns through East End and well, I need some more guns.” You rolled your eyes, climbing into the McLaren you so desperately loved to steal from Bruce’s garage.
“Yes, more guns, Bruce will love that,” you said. You heard him laugh and smiled. “Did you show him those new designs you were working on?” He didn’t answer. “Red, your designs are good and they would help you be less lethal, which we all know he will love, and you should also show him your updates to the exploding gel.” You heard him clear his throat. “Ok, I’ll stop, see you at home later Hoodie.” You took the communicator from your ear and drove off towards CADMUS.
Jason heard you disconnect, not being able to stop the smile that appeared when you said you would see him at home. He didn’t exactly know how or when it happened, but he had a home and a family again. He was even on decent terms with Tim, though he wasn’t telling anyone that yet. Even Bruce had taken him back to the basketball court to see how he did, and he was pleased to say he won that round of 1-on-1. And YN, she had made everything come together, held him together, even when he was about to fall apart. The nightmares didn’t stop, and sometimes even the coping skills that Dr. Thompkins was teaching him in their sessions wasn’t even to keep the sound of laughter and screeching metal at bay in his mind, but he was having more good days than bad now. It was refreshing and freeing.
He dropped down to the ground from the warehouse and hopped on his bike, heading towards East End to deal with Penguin and get himself some new guns. He was just crossing over into East End when he saw too late the spike strips across the darkened alley. He tired to veer but they bike hit them, tires bursting and sending him and the bike spinning out. He slid on the pavement, lucky for his armor and helmet or he would have been torn to shreds. He still felt the pain of impact but thought he was safe from most of the damage. He jumped up, ready to attack when he felt the bat to his back. He spun, guns aimed and fired at the retreating attacker. What the hell? He looked around, watching as dozens of guys walked out of the surrounding buildings. And there on the fire escape was Penguin.
“I see you got my invitation,” he said. Jason didn’t respond but saw what was going on. The gun run was a ruse and he had fallen for it. “Your men are dead, I already had them thrown into the river. You on the other hand, you are a bigger problem.”
“I’ve heard that before,” Jason snarked, watching around him for someone to make the first move.
“Ya, well, it's time I deal with you. Go ahead boys, have fun, but I want him alive,” Penguin said, waving his hand and disappearing back into the building. They descended and Jason knew, even as he fought and clawed and shot and stabbed, that he didn’t have a chance.
By the time Tim responded to the tracker alarm Jason had activated all that was left in the alley was his guns and a torn-up leather jacket covered in blood.
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autisticrosewilson · 8 days
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Euthanasia: Aftermath
Characters: Willis Todd, Jason Todd (mentioned), Bruce Wayne (mentioned), Sheila Haywood (mentioned), Joker (Mentioned)
Warnings: Death, violence, implied/referenced torture, Willis loves his son but makes a lot of questionable choices, he also explicitly blames Bruce for Jason's death, this story can be read within the same universe as Spotlight Overture but like WAY in the future
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Willis stares blankly at the grave in front of him. The weeping angel looms above, wings relaxed and stone gaze piercing. The sword it's holding looks real, almost out of place on a silent mourner. A vigilant protector, a sentry to look after it's charge.
He hopes she's more successful than he was. Than the Bat was.
He's surprised Wayne buried Jason in a public graveyard, but maybe he shouldn't be. Men like him don't react well to failure. Why would he want a reminder in his backyard?
Willis would scoff, but he's here to pay respects, and his little boy deserves better. Slowly, he reins in the cold anger simmering in his gut, the grief settling cold and heavy on his skin like mid morning fog.
"Hey kiddo," his voice is gruff but he doesn't care, he's honestly impressed he can speak at all around the lump in his throat, "it's been a while." What's it been, six years? Seven? He'd like to say he's been counting the seconds, but mostly it's been a struggle to make it to the next day.
Jason was supposed to be safe. He'd been content to never see his son again, as long as he was being taken care of. Jason wasn't supposed to die anyway.
He'd had so much ahead of him. School, and college, and marriage, and kids and whatever else he damn well pleased because he was a Wayne, and Wayne's always got what they wanted.
It's not a Wayne's name on the grave. This is the resting place of Jason Todd, and Todd's have always had rotten luck.
He avoids making eye contact with the grave next to Jason's, the tall headstone with the little cherubs carved into it. Sheila was no mother, no matter what that plaque says. He knows two wrongs don't make a right, but when he held Jason in his arms the first time he'd been sure his boy was the exception.
And Jason was. Smart, and witty, and sweet, and brave. Maybe if he'd been born somewhere else, to someone else, he'd have had a little more time.
Willis doesn't notice when he sinks to his knees. Doesn't care about the mud staining his pants or the rain drops starting to beat down on his worn leather jacket. He traces the letters of his boy's name with numb fingers.
"...Cathy said you were named after a hero." He tells Jason absently. "Did you know Jason means healer? You...you told me you wanted to be a doctor once. And you always made sure we kept the first aid kit full, even when the cabinets were empty. And you'd stay up late even on school nights for me to come home so you could put dinosaur bandaids on all my little cuts and bruises." His voice breaks on a wheeze and his vision blurs.
"Oh my sweet boy," he chokes on a sob, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry m'sorrym'sorry-"
He wonders, distantly, who it was Jason called for. Who he considered his dad when he took his last breath.
Wonders who Jason would be more disappointed in, if he could see both of the fucking idiots he'd trusted now.
If he were a good man he'd say he was equally to blame, that he doesn't resent Bruce Wayne, that he doesn't care who the last person Jason thought about was as long as it brought him comfort.
Most would say that he is stubborn, vengeful, and possessive. He wouldn't argue with them. Wayne had possibly the easiest kid to take care of in the world, and had still fucked it up. Wayne had all the means to take care of Jason, and yet Willis is kneeling at his son's grave. His son. His little boy. The baby he'd held in his arms, the toddler he'd helped walk, the kid he helped with homework, and took on fishing trips. The boy he taught how to fix a car and throw a punch.
He loves Jason. Has always loved him, probably won't ever stop until he's in the ground right beside him.
But there is a debt to be paid. A life lost is a life owed. The Alley has rules, and although Willis has never been good with those, this is one he wouldn't hesitate with.
The clowns back in Arkham, cheerfully locked away with hands drenched in Jason's blood. The Bat will not protect it from him. Willis will hunt it down and repay every blow tenfold.
He unzips the duffel bag at his side, digging around until under autopsy reports and bolt cutters he finds the tool he's looking for. The crowbar is long, a little rusted but sturdy. More than good enough for this job, he decides, gripping it loosely.
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5+ headcanons for an au where
Dick Grayson wakes up in a strange place and learns he isekaid into bnha when he tumbles out of wash's stomach
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i SHOULD HAVE KNOWN MY SINS WOULD ONE DAY LEAD ME HERE BUT OH WELL-
Dick is SO glad Japanese was one of the languages he learnt with Bruce, headcanon 1 comes in here though, because BNHA Japan is set in the future his grasp of the language is archaic. He's speaking the kind of langauge people here their grandparents talk about int he films THEIR grandparents watched. There's enough semblance to communicate to an extent but he has to basically learn a whole new language whilst he's there.
He's managed to convince this world full of superpowered humans living in what was once a scifi dream that some kind of western demon has tumbled out of the fea realm. He's *too bendy*, too out of touch with the world as if he stepped out of time and isn't quite sure how he's popped back in at the wrong time but ISN'T surprised about powers??? Even though dated by his language there would be nothing like that if he was just a regular kid oh and he speaks in fucking riddles - see battalk- and grunts - more battalk.
I'm going to say he's young for this, i'm going to say he's 15. Just before he starts arguing with Bruce. Why you ask? Because it's funny as shit for the police/heroes/whoever ends up with this possible unaging entity to realise oh this is a kid after he tells them he needs to get back to his dad and grandfather because if his dad doesn't find him then he's going to end up destroying stuff in hsi path till he DOES find him.
Batman is known as a potential demon lord in the BNHA world. It greatly amuses Dick, it pissess AFO off so much when he hears about this creature but there is DEFO something fucked about this kid with no quirk and he is literally the boogyman of Japan he's not going to play stupid games get stupid prizes on seeing if the devil is real.
Dick ends up with a hero at SOME point and your classic ends up going to UA thing happens. He's atrocious at it. Not because he can't work with others, no no. But because he's so used to teen heroes being on his level in some way - whether it be ability, range or at least experience. He lasts three practical lessons before threatening to walk out. Damn every undercover op B ever trained him for, damn everything he will not be putting up with this shit anymore, he's fought jokerized civilians with more competency and team capabilities than his classmates!
Wash keeps an eye on the little kid that tumbled out of him; he was very nice about it, apologised a lot and explained he'd gotten seperated midbattle from his father and he didn't MEAN to use his stomach as a doorway but you know when you got shoved out of existence and into the next one over you didn't really get to pick your doors-
Bruce ends up finding a way to isekai himself to the BNHA world.
He opens a portal - probably with Zatara and/or Constantine's help, pokes his head through revealing this cloaked shadowy horned white eyed beast to those on the other side that reaches out with a disembodied arm with spikes (grieves armour) on it! And just snatches Dick by the back of his uniform and calls him 'Robin' and the boys whole demeanour changes, he says goodbye and gets yoinked through the portal.
Everyone in BNHA is convinced they just heard a spirits 'true name'.
If anyone ever tries a demon/spirit summoning using the monikor robin they end up overshooting by a good couple of years in the DC-verse and end up pulling in Jason, Tim or Damian and concur that Robin was a demonic princely title.
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seatsaverheartbreaker · 8 months
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The BatFam as Reputation Tracks
In anticipation of the re-recording of Taylor’s best (controversial opinion I know) album, here’s my take on which Reputation track would the bird/bat/cat anthems.
…Ready For It? - Stephanie Brown
A dramatic start to the album.
“Are you ready for it?” In Taylor’s smug tone is so Stephanie Brown coded.
“No one has to know, in the middle of the night, in my dreams, you should see the things we do” you can’t convince me that Steph doesn’t love kicking ass and being a badass hero, to the point of dreaming about her alter ego.
“Are you ready for it? Oh are you ready for it? Let the games begin, let the games begin.” Is such a cocky way for Steph to hype herself up to go out on patrol and cause some chaotic messes within Gotham.
I Did Something Bad - Damian Wayne
Okay seems obvious, being an ex assassin and all but hear me out.
“I don’t regret it one bit because he had it coming” feels like something Damian would absolutely use against Bruce to validate making a hard decision within the field, but also as an excuse for threatening to stab Tim for touching his sword.
“You gotta leave before you get left. I can feeling the flames on my skin, he says ‘don’t throw away a good thing’” feels like an instance where Damian’s abandonment issues and insecurities and self-doubt would kick in and he’d try to run away from the Manor. Dick would catch him trying to sneak out, leant back against the living room’s door with a raised brow and a brotherly expression. Of course Dick would tell him not to throw away his chance at a real family, one that loves him, and would help him seek the redemption Damian wanted.
“They say I did something bad, then why’s it feel so good?” Could refer to later when Damian starts to settle within the family, rethinking the ways he had been taught by Talia to see attachments as weakness. How could they be something bad if they brought him joy and love.
Don’t Blame Me - Bruce Wayne
The OG drama queen to the family has to get a dramatic song. This whole song represents the alter ego of Batman as a whole and you can’t convince me otherwise
“Don’t blame me, love made me crazy” his love for his parents, and his loss of them, made him just crazy enough to start dressing up as a bat and beating up bad guys.
“Just play things for me to use” could refer to his playboy behaviours but it could also refer to his cat and mouse game he plays with his villains too.
“My name is whatever you decide, and I’m just gonna call you mine” applies both to his relationship with Selina Kyle, but also his relationship to Gotham as a whole. He’s fine to be called whatever they want to, but that was his city and he will continue to protect it.
“Echoes of your name inside my mind. Halo, hiding my obsession” Bruce hides behind the Batman mantle, using the inherit goodness of it to further his obsession with the Joker and his need for revenge.
Delicate - Selina Kyle
Something about this song literally gives slinky catsuit vibes, I can’t describe why. A secret relationship due to reputations and alter ego? Sounds familiar.
“My reputation’s never been worse, so you must like me for me” Bruce saw more than just the cat burglar Selina started out as, seeing past her actions.
“We can’t make any promises, now can we babe. But you can make me a drink” is so Bruce and Selina coded it’s almost insane. They couldn’t exactly take their relationship very far due to their polar opposite alter egos’ morals. But Bruce could make her a drink.
“Echoes of your footsteps on the stairs. Stay here, honey, I don’t want to share. ‘Cause I like you” Bruce was a playboy, Selina knew that. But she really did like the billionaire underneath it all. And she wasn’t the type to share her play toys anyways.
Look What You Made Me Do - Jason Todd
I know it was obvious but I could really see Jason listening to this song as his pre-hype for patrol, loving the drama of it deep down. Every verse in this applies to his life in one way or another, with “look what you made me do” being aimed at The Joker and the criminal and Bruce.
“I don’t like your little games, don’t like your tilted stage, the role you made me play of the fool…” would be spat with pure venom at the thought of the Joker and what he did to turn Jason into the Red Hood.
“I got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined. I check it once then I check it twice.” You can’t tell me that Jason doesn’t have his own list that he ticks off as he tackles the criminal underground. It would totally be the same shade of red as his helmet too, the drama queen.
“The world moves on, another day, another drama but not for me. Not for me. All I think about is karma and the world moves on, but one thing’s for sure; baby, I got mine but you’ll all get yours” is such a Red Hood verse. While everyone got over Jason’s death, moved onwards after the second Robin, Jason was still back there buried, resurrected, left feeling an immense amount of anger and resentment. Towards Bruce for replacing him. To The Joker for murdering him. To everyone who had wronged him at one point or another. But it was okay, because he was going to help them get the karma they deserved what they did. They would all get what was coming for them.
Dancing with Our Hands Tied - Cassandra Cain
Okay this one was so hard. Besides the obvious of Cass being a dancer [I literally can’t remember if this is cannon honestly], I think this song represents her background and her need to prove herself.
“Dancing with our hands tied” could refer to her pulling punches due to her background of being raised an assassin, trying not to go too far when she first became Batgirl.
“I’m a mess but I’m a mess that you wanted” Bruce saw her potential and aided her to do the good she wanted to do. He took her into his family voluntarily even though she had made mistakes within her past, and was raised to do bad.
“People started talking, putting us through our paces, I knew there was no one in the world who could take it, I had a bad feeling” could refer to people viewing her purely as a weapon versus Bruce’s idea that she could be more. It surely raised some self doubt within Cass that maybe she couldn’t be more than what she was born to be, maybe she would always be someone who hurt people.
There’s a quiet powerfulness to this song that I think represents Cass.
Dress - Dick Grayson
Arguably one of Taylor’s horniest songs, which seems suiting for Playboy 2.0. There’s an underlining romance to it which I feel represents Golden Boy, and is totally related to his relationship with Babs.
“Our secret moments in a crowded room, they’ve got no ideas about me and you” Bruce and Dick would attend galas and charity events and Wayne Enterprise events and nobody would know that the pair were vigilantes.
“My hands are shaking from holding back from you.” Is such a Dick Grayson move. You can’t tell me this man wouldn’t have the shakiest hands when it gets down to it.
“Everyone thinks that they know us, but they know nothing about…” His alter ego was secret, his relationship was secret. Everyone thought they knew Golden Boy Dick Grayson but they didn’t know past the flash suits and the charismatic smile. The scars, the trauma, the things hidden behind steady hands in public and shaky hands in private.
“Flashback to my mistakes, my rebounds, my earthquakes, even in my worst lies, you saw the truth in me” applies not only to Barbara, and Bruce, and his whole family really, but also to the city that loved Nightwing so much.
This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things - Tim Drake
I love this little gremlin, but you can’t tell me he doesn’t blast this after someone diverts from his plans while on missions. His plan or the pettiness that may ensue. Riddled with resentment (unconscious I’m sure) and pettiness, and it kinda feels like it was written while on a coffee high???
“So why’d you have to rain on my parade? I’m shaking my head and locking the gates” he would absolutely sulk in his room afterwards, finding Jason crashing into the mission a headache and a half since the Red Hood didn’t follow instructions.
“This is why we can’t have nice things” is such a mumbled response to anything to do with his family. Dick broke the chandelier trying to show off some acrobatic trick? Jason put bullet holes in all of Bruce’s suits? Damian and Titus let Batcow out to run awry within the Manor? Stephanie hacked his twitter? This is why we can’t have nice things.
“Here’s to my baby, he ain’t reading what they call me lately” is a huge shoutout to Bernard who ignored the articles on Red Robin being caught napping on the high rise of Wayne Enterprise.
Call It What You Want - Barbara Gordon
This song is all about coming back from the lowest point.
“My castle crumble overnight, I brought a knife to a gun fight” offft this song could be so representative of Babs after what occurred with the Joker. She went from Batgirl to being a victim again, a hard thing to settle into.
“All my flowers grew back as thorns, windows boarded up after the storm, he built a fire just to keep me warm” Dick was by her side through it all, waiting in the hospital at her bedside for her to wake up. And he stayed by her side, helping light hope within her again.
“I recall late November, holding my breath, slowly I said you don’t need to save me” The fire itself turning into her becoming Oracle, taking back her power and continuing to fight for what she knew was right.
New Year’s Day - Alfred Pennyworth
This song feels very sentimental to me. It reminds me of the love Alfred showed and held for the whole Batfam, even when they weren’t at their best and made mistakes. It reminds Alfred of his memories of all of them growing up, the moments that were sparkling and filled with joy.
“But I stay when you’re lost, and I’m scared that you’re turning away” Dick would still relay on Alfred for advice, showing up with his chipper grin and a store bought cake as if he had to repay Alfred for raising him. As if he needed to repay such a thing. And Alfred would give him full attention, weighing in as a father would to his second ward.
“I want your midnights” And Alfred never minded patching up Bruce after midnight, never questioned Cass taking up the kitchen table to eat cereal early into the morning.
“You squeezed my hand three times in the back of the taxi” Cass would still reach for Alfred’s hand when he dropped her at her dance recitals, squeezing tightly with her smile before leaving him to join the audience.
“Hold onto the memories and I will hold onto you.” Jason would miraculously show up in the Wayne Manor library one night, caught by Alfred who would sit with him into the early hours of the morning. Even in the silence, Alfred didn’t want Jason left wondering if he had a place within that house. He always did, no matter his mistakes.
“Please don’t ever become a stranger who laugh I could recognise anywhere.” Was something Alfred never wanted to happen to his family. While they might not all live within the Manor, he still encouraged them to return home. He loved that family more than he could put into words.
Special Mention
Getaway Car - Harley Quinn
This song is Harley’s emancipation anthem and you can’t convince me otherwise.
“I wanted to leave him, I needed a reason” The Batman gave her that reason, seeing how their cat and mouse game represented love to the Joker more than Harley’s affections ever did.
“Think about the place where you first met me.” Has a whole new meaning now.
“It was the great escape, the prison break. The light of freedom on my face, but you weren't thinkin' and I was just drinkin'. While he was runnin' after us, I was screamin', "Go, go, go!" But the three of us, honey, it’s a sideshow and the circus ain’t a love story” side eye. What was that about the Bats obsession with the Joker? Harley always saw it, she just didn’t know how deep it really went. Until he abandoned her to drown within their getaway car, being rescued by The Bat himself.
“Ridin' in a getaway car. I was cryin' in a getaway car. I was dyin' in a getaway car. Said goodbye in a getaway car.” Her love and affections for The Joker was her Getaway Car and she had finally said goodbye to it. She betrayed him to the Bat and switched sides, not quite a hero but no longer a villain.
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envysparkler · 1 year
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I posted 165 times in 2022
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#5
I need the fic where Batman responds to the Red Hood exactly like a parent with a rebellious teenager.  he looms out of the shadows to admonish Hood for stealing Black Mask’s kryptonite.  he confiscates the rocket launcher.  he grounds Jason for releasing the Joker.
the GCPD, watching the most notorious crime lord in the city get scolded by Batman: what is even happening Hood: YOU’RE NOT MY REAL FATHER Batman: the paperwork disagrees.  also, you blow up one more warehouse and no more Alfred cookies. Hood, whining: but I had to blow it up, it was full of drugs!  and drug dealers!  mainly the drug dealers. Batman, shaking Hood like an errant kitten: murder bad.
172 notes - Posted November 9, 2022
#4
okay, imagine everyone gets the Robins mixed up.  look, it’s hard, their color themes are all too similar, two of them have ‘red’ in their name and two of them have ‘robin’ in their name, and apparently one of them was a girl, and honestly this is too much background reading to be a goon.  and it doesn’t really matter if you get their names mixed up, because it will inevitably end with you beaten unconscious and ziptied to a telephone pole.  can’t keep things straight with a concussion anyway.
so, fic where a random group of thugs decides to kidnap a Robin and sell them off to their nemesis.  only they get the Robins wrong.  every time.
Hood squints up at Deathstroke.  Deathstroke stares down at him.  “in which universe does this look like Nightwing to you?”  “he’s got wings on his chest!”  “that’s a bat, you moron.”  “oh, uh--wait, where are you going?”  “you managed to snag the one Bat that’s not opposed to killing, and I’m not going to sit around here and wait while he blows this warehouse up.”  “but we searched him--urk!”  the warehouse explodes when Deathstroke is two blocks away.
Red Robin groans and pulls himself off the floor of the warehouse.  Black Mask makes a hissed growl.  “you got the wrong Red, you utter moron!”  “s-sorry, but you said--”  “I gave you a very clear description!  I said red helmet!  does this idiot look like he has a red helmet to you?”  Red Robin yawns, politely covering his mouth.  none of the goons notice that his hands are free.  “what am I supposed to do with this skinny-ass creativity-challenged kid, huh?”  snick of a bo staff extending.  “oh,” Red Robin smiles, “I have a few ideas.”  screams.
Spoiler stares unblinking.  Ra’s al Ghul stares back, also unblinking.  the cave glitters with green light.  there is a marble chessboard between them.  “would you like a game?”  “sure, sounds like fun!”  both of them ignore the screams of the hapless goons in the background.
Robin snarls like a vengeful rattlesnake, trussed up with a giant bow on his head.  Cluemaster fights the urge to break something.  “I’m sorry, but which one of you idiots identified this kid as my daughter?”  “I--we--um--”  “he’s the wrong age, gender, race--”  “we didn’t want to assume!”  “aw, how progressive of you!”  everyone looks up.  Nightwing is perched there, smiling.  Batman is perched there, not smiling.  “oh shit--”
Deathstroke stares upward, as though searching for patience.  “you called me here, wasting my considerably expensive time, to tell me that you have Robin.”  “yessir.”  “why do you think I give a flying fuck about Robin?”  “you--you hate the Teen Titans, right?”  “that was ten years ago--you know what, fuck it, fine, show me the kid.”  the goons haul in Nightwing.  Deathstroke stares, and then smiles.  “well, what do you know, you idiots finally managed to get your Robins right.”  the goons perk up.  “so you’ll buy him?”  Deathstroke unsheathes his sword.
“oh, I didn’t say that.”
340 notes - Posted October 22, 2022
#3
Bruce isn’t the one with a crippling desire to adopt any black-haired child thrust in front of him.  no, that’s one hundred percent his children’s fault.
(or, elder batkid holding younger soon-to-be batkid like simba in lion king: “adopt him, or I will.”)
Nightwing finds Jason stealing the Batmobile’s tires.  he’s amused.  he finds out that Jason doesn’t have a family and he makes the puppy dog eyes at Batman, the ones he knows Bruce can’t resist.  Batman tries to stay strong.  Nightwing uses his secret weapon and informs Bruce that if he doesn’t take Jason in, Dick will.  Bruce folds like a bad hand (he can’t have grandchildren at this young) and tries to console himself that it’s just this once.
(we all know that’s a lie.)
Red Hood does his whole showdown at the Tower.  in the process of insults being bandied about, he finds out that Tim has not yet been adopted by Bruce.  Jason is affronted.  outraged, even.  this whole showdown loses half the emotional punch if Tim hasn’t been adopted.  Jason didn’t come here to beat up some random kid wearing Robin colors!  Batman is extremely surprised to see Gotham’s latest crime lord appear in front of him with a growled ultimatum and a bruised Robin dangling from his grip like a scruffed kitten.  Batman doesn’t know why Hood’s threatening to adopt Robin, but of course he can’t let his son Tim be kidnapped.  it’s only when he’s filing the papers that he realizes why it sounded so familiar, and Jason is trying to reschedule his showdown with Robin when he’s attacked by a weepy Batman.
(Bruce is starting to wonder about his children and their propensity for adoption.)
Tim gets attacked in the Cave by a ninja with a sword.  a very small ninja who proclaims himself the Son of the Bat.  Tim is beyond excited, this is his chance to adopt someone into the family.  Tim presents Bruce with a hogtied Damian and chirps the line at him, beaming.  Bruce blinks at him.  (“Tim, you’re bleeding.”  “tis but a flesh wound.”  *muffled shouting*  “oh, apparently it’s poisoned, but I feel fine.”  “TIM--”)  Damian is none too pleased by Tim’s claim--“I have no need of your ridiculous threats, I am Father’s rightful heir!”--but is secretly happy to be assured of a place in this strange tradition.
(“No, stop laughing Clark, this is a real problem, Damian tried to get me to adopt Jon the other day--I said stop laughing--”)
360 notes - Posted October 19, 2022
#2
okay so one of those ‘take a canon scene and see how it works in fanon batfam’ ideas.  in this case, the Batman v Red Hood fight, you know the one, yes that one where Bruce beats the everloving shit out of a Jason that’s not fighting back.
how do you make this work in batfam, you ask?  well 😈.
Jason needs connections in the underworld for some case.  problem is, Hood’s been an antihero for a good long while now, and most people consider him a Bat.  Jason’s solution is simple--stage a confrontation so public and so egregious that the entirety of Gotham knows he’s not a Bat anymore.
and whaddya know?  Batman’s the only Bat in Gotham at the moment.  Steph’s visiting Cass in Hong Kong, Tim’s in San Francisco, Damian’s spending the month in Bludhaven with Nightwing, it couldn’t be easier.  Jason just has to convince Bruce of this plan and they’re good to go!
(Jason does a whole monologue to try and convince Bruce, ending on the ultimatum, “if you don’t help me, I’ll find someone who will!”  Bruce panics.  he’d rather have Jason plot a fake confrontation with him than go fight-flirt with Black Mask.  one villain son-in-law is more than enough.)
it’s a whole production.  Jason writes scene directions.  there’s fake blood.  a dramatic monologue.  Batman tears the red bat off his chest.  the kind of shit that Gothamites would eat up.  by the end of this fight, no one in Gotham will think Red Hood is a Bat.
the plan goes off really, really well.
until it doesn’t.
what Jason maybe hasn’t considered is the vast plethora of people who love him, who would drop everything and come running to save him, and who’ve watched a bunch of footage of Batman beating the shit out of him.  while Jason is completely off grid and unable to answer any calls.
Jason returns to the Cave to update Bruce that he found the intel he was looking for, only to find him being held at swordpoint by Talia al Ghul while a furious and weepy Dick demands to know why he did it.  the rest of the family stand in silent judgment.
the Cave: *crickets* Bruce, pointing at Jason: it was his idea
408 notes - Posted October 28, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
on a more cracky note: Bruce getting possessed by something.  it details how it’s going to completely ruin his life, bit by bit, inch by inch, and no one will ever ever know because Bruce exclusively communicates in grunts anyway.
Bruce freaking out, trapped in the back of his head, forced to watch as the entity interacts with his family with no one seemingly the wiser.
in reality, everyone immediately cottoned onto the fact that Bruce is acting weird and they’re all exchanging theories and solutions in the background and Bruce is unpossessed by dinner.
Dick: it got the tone of your hns wrong, it was more of a space is the absolute worst I hate it hn when it should’ve been a this city stinks like garbage hn.
Jason: you didn’t look constipated when you saw me shoot someone.
Tim: you only double-checked the mission info six times.
Cass: moved weird.
Steph: you didn’t make that eyebrow crinkle when I cracked a joke like you’re trying to be stern but inside you’re laughing because we all know I’m hilarious.
Damian: as if I don’t regularly check you all for possession, tt.
Alfred: I know everything, Master Bruce.
1,692 notes - Posted November 7, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
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((Welp, teh job search has destroyed my soul so hopefully Knightfall won't hit me too hard. We did the Prelude... forever ago time to start things for real.))
...Mad Hatter has a pet chimp? ...okaaaaayyyyyy
Oh and Hatter knows he's being watched cause he's still intelligent under his delusion so yup, Bane's lackeys are getting tracked now I guess
Does brainwashing and other forms of mind control generally work like that? Probably not. Does it still make Hatter creepy as fuck because he does in fact know how the brain works? Yes. I hate him.
Tim in a fight with a chimp. This is fine
Cool that's Hatter dealt with
--------
Maxie Zeus... don't know that name... and ventriloquist missing Scarface this is... mkay
And someone called Amygdala... *Jesus you're huge*
Tim very unhappy with the dead body by Bane's apartment
-Inhale... Exhale...- I'm all for showing grace to the neurodivergent and mentally ill but for the love of God, these specific people are in fact very dangerous because they kill with intent to do so
Oh! Oh Tim spotted a falcon! He knows that's a problem!
Okay but that face tho. You good, Tim? Looking a little maniacal there
Oh wonderful, Zsaz is being dealt with next issue
-----------
Oh. *Oh i hate him* Loathe. Utterly despise.
Jesus Bruce is super jumpy. Understandably so but don't strangle Tim, fuck!
Cool Gordon's job is on the line but then again, this Mayor sucks
Okay I would like to never see Zsaz again, he's horrible no thanks please stop existing
And uhhhh Bruce isn't doing too well. Which is a shame cause obviously I know this ends with Bruce getting his back broken
----------
Bruce is still not doing well and Tim is still following Bane and tyring to tell Bruce this
Oooohhhhh no, TIM BEHIND YOU
Okay unharmed but blindfolded and bound. Not a great situation but could be sooooo much worse
Yeha good job Tim make the guy mad! You can't see, how are you supposed to land on that tiny ledge safely?!
Aaaaaand now Croc's here and he's pissed but at least he can see now
Cool, drowning in a sewer this is fine!
---------
Okay Tim's gotten himself out of his problem
Aaaaand Joker's partnering up with someone
Oh and Bruce's therapist is starting to get too close. That's not good, lady, you know that
Cornelius Stirk. New name. And he apparently has a hypnosis thing going on and something about historical figures? And also who Joker visited earlier
Oh okay Gordon's job and life are in danger and Joker and Scarecrow are talking and I hate everything about this
Cool Gordon's wife still hates Batman and the mayor is getting spooked and Scarecrow and Joker teaming up is The Worst, keep them well apart in the future thanks
--------------
Oh wonderful, no guards, Gordon's getting blamed for everything and Firefly is out and about and the fire service has been cancelled and are probably gonna strike!
Oh for the love of- Tim knows how weak you are rn! He's not blind or stupid!
Good! Split the work! Let Tim help! Jesus fucking Christ. I'd alos say take a break but Gotham is about to completely collapse and there's still Bane to worry about
---------------
Well that cover implies that Poison Ivy is showing up
Oh good, Azrael's out and about *without telling anyone*
Bane has immediately figured out Bruce too... shit
So now everyone's figured out that the Mayor is missing and have gone to find it and that it's clearly the Joker behind this. Haven't figured out Scarecrow yet
Cool, Ivy's dealt with
----------
Welp, Riddler is back on his bullshit
Oh and Firefly is still being a prick
"Your problems don't matter. You don't matter." And that's exactly why *you're in the middle of burnout you utter baffoon!*
I really hate that one detective who's always smoking and eating donuts rather than doing anything helpful
-----------
Oh I *do not* like this cover
Cool, explosive ice cream, why not
And Bruce walked right into a trap and now he's been dosed with fear toxin and is seeing Jason dying
"Just a boy good at heart, more brave than a man... too brave to become a man. Just a boy, his parents felled in blood, his own life ripped and torn from the world he protected. Just a boy but never to breathe, speak or move again. Just a boy, but far too brave to face the stark lurid madness of a grinning killer. Just a boy-dead- but to his killer nothing more than a sick joke! Just a boy but forever gone." Bruce's thoughts and the entire time he's screaming Jason's name while punching the beating the absolute shit out of Joker.
So Joker and Scarecrow are escaping and then Bruce has hte Mayor... please get a better Mayor, this guy was an ass
---------
Cool, got the Mayor out and he might actually be okay with Batman's existence now
Aaaaannndddd Bane's people are attacking Batman. Cool. Great. Awesome
OH
OH HE DID *NOT*
FUCK YOU, I DON'T CARE IF YOU DIDN'T KILL HIM, YOU DON'T TOUCH ALFRED
---------
Yup there it is. Thrown all over his Manor and Cave and his back broken and that's volume 1 done... fuuuuuucccckkk... I'm gonna chill for a couple more hours and head back home adn then get through volume 2 tomorrow
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rezhood · 4 years
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Sick of mfs defending Death in the Family it was a bad story. Important to Batman lore yes but still a awful story. The entire plot was dependent on Bruce having somehow adopted a child without ever seeing their birth certificate like ??? It made no sense.
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paintball169 · 3 years
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Commissioner Gordon to the Rescue!
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Paris, Eiffel Tower, 4:34 AM
" Ladybug we can't keep this going! We need help! " a bee -striped heroine's voice is heard from a distance. Abeille .
" While that is true, who is going to help us? The justice league already called us a joke." someone says followed by a sharpening sound. Tatsu .
" Why don't don't we ask Batman? He's the most reasonable one" a calm voice reasons supporting his girlfriend's idea. Serpent .
" Yes, but how are we going to call Batman without ending up in asylum? Bailing ya outta there is hard work ya know?" the spotted armoured heroin asks. Ladybug.
" She's right guys" the quick witted fox hero chimes in. Reynard.
"Why don't we broadcast worldwide news that if Justice League doesn't show up in Paris within 24 hours we'll destroy the world" the usually quiet turtle cladded hero asks. Shellder.
"Yeah right! That way we'll have even more charges." Serpent says glaring at Shellder.
"Hey LB don't you know a police officer there? Afterall you are from there." Abeille asks the once street kid.
"Yes, Bug. You know the old guy. Maybe we can ask for his help." Tatsu asks her girlfriend.
"That's a nice idea. The Commissioner does have contact with Batman! Oooh then we might get to use the Bat Signal! Oh my Kwami, what if he doesn't recognise me?" Ladybug asks.
"He will recognise you Bug!" Shellder chimes in.
"The Bat Signal is real!" Reynard exclaims.
"That's out of the point. Don't get distracted!" Tatsu scolds.
"Ladybug, do you trust him enough to reveal your identity? Cause if you don't he won't believe you either." Serpent reasons.
"I guess. After all he saved my life multiple times." Ladybug answers unsurely.
"Ladybug there's no 'I guess' it's either Yes or No." Serpent says sternly.
"Then I do. I trust him." Ladybug answers firmly.
"Alright then, Yes it is." Abeille says.
"To Gotham we go!" and Reynard jumps off. Returns a minute later. "So, when exactly are we going and where?" he then asks.
"Now, Luks call Jagged and inform him. I'm sure he'll cover for us. Kalki if you may?" Ladybug asks.
"Of course Great guardian, but till Serpent finishes the call can you tell how and when have you been to Gotham?"
"Oh that, I was a street kid with my brother back then. We used to steal for a living. Jason took care of both of us. I was just three when we started living on the streets. Jay was eight. There were a few warehouses where all the street kids lived together. Commissioner Gordon came disguised as an old man and gave the kids blankets. He also anonymously left food for kids. When I figured out that was him I asked him why he didn't report us to the CPS. He answered Kid I know the CPS gives you Pipsqueaks shitty homes. Don't think about it. When I was seven I was kidnapped by Scarecrow. For testing some toxins. He threw me out saying I wasn't good enough. So somehow I found myself in Paris. Without my brother." Ladybug says with tears in her eyes.
"I called Dad and he said Okay because the Sandboy akuma was hard. Five hours particularly, all of your guardians think we're having a sleepover." Serpent says breaking everyone out of their stupor.
"LB, Can I use Kalki this time? Please?" Reynard asks.
"Fine, Here." She says giggling.
Gotham, Police station, 10:52 PM
Gordon POV
The shift is almost over yet I can't help but feel something interesting is about to happen.
Suddenly a blue portal appears. I take out my gun for defence.
"Woah, Woah no need for a gun. We come in peace." The one dressed like a fox answers.
"Who are you? Clarify your purpose!"
"We're heroes of Paris. We come to ask for your help." The one with a katana answers.
"Heroes? In Paris? Since when? I'd say it was a joke, But the portal proves it. Why wasn't the Justice league informed?"
"Slow down a bit, 3 years, Justice league laughed on us, to specify Green Lantern." Striped one? Answers.
"A...Alright, But how can I trust you, For all you could be joker's goons."
"You can trust us, If you don't, you know her you can trust us." The one with harp points to a spotted Ladybug?..
"Okaay, What're your names?"
"Official Introduction Time!" The flute one answers.
"The name's Reynard, Paris's Residential Fox Hero! Fox to meet you!"
"Or Nathaniel Kutzberg"
"The name's Abeille, Bow down Peasants!"
"AKA Chloe Bourgeois"
"I am Serpent, The most Responsible one."
"Or Luka Stone."
"I'm Shellder, Pleasure to meet you."
"Or Marc Anciel"
"Tatsu, Nice to meet you Commissioner, Kagami Trusugi"
"I... I'm Marinette Todd, Hi Commissioner"
"Dear Lord Mari is that really you? What do need my help for?"
"We need to come in Contact with the bats, And can you help me find my brother?"
"Sure Mari, But about your brother you see, He's a Bat too..."
"What?! Seriously?"
Bat Signal, Gotham, 11:13 PM
Red Hood's POV
"Alright we're here Gordon, What's the problem?" Big B asks in his Batman voice.
"We have visitors Batman, They're looking for you." Commiss says. Who in the world would look for Batman?
One by one Teens dressed as animals come out from dark. Drat everyone's just as confused as me.
"Alright who're you playing dress up? Ya know that's dangerous." I ask voicing everyone's curiosity. Suddenly a blue blob attaches to me and starts Giggling.
"Jay-Jay it's me" My eyes start to sting. Only one person calls me that.
"P-Pixie?" I ask unsurely. Pixie nods her head.
"Pixie-Pop it's really you!" I say once i register what's going on.
"I'm never leaving you again Squirt. You're alright! Remind me not to let you alone on streets again, Leave it to Mari for a recipe for trouble!" I tighten my hold on her.
"Hood who's this? Why are they all dressed up?" B. Yeah I forgot he was there as well.
"B, This is Marinette, my little sister. Although I do not know why she and those kids are dressed up."
"Allow me to explain, There's been a super villian in Paris for three years now. These kids are the Heroes there. They came to me First cause they didn't want to get arrested. Green Lantern called them a joke. I know you'd shoo them off, but Bats I saw a Portal open. They came through it. And Jason, Your sister's the team leader!" Gordon explains.
"What! That bitch let me at him! troubling my sister for no good !I, Jason Todd will Skin him"
"Hood! No names at the Field!" Demon Spawn says.
"Relax, She knows."
"Elaborate" B says.
Batcave, Gotham, 8:56 AM
"Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth!" Red robin exclaims.
"Ha! Take that Chat! I was right!" Ladybug says.
"Red robin can you do research on one Lila Rossi? She's probably working for him." Abeille says.
Batcave, Gotham, 11:12 AM
"Guys! Emergency meeting!" Red Robin Shouts.
"Lila Rossi wanted psycopath in 3 different countries!"
College Dupont, Paris, 11: 34 AM (Next Day)
"You bitch why did you file a fake report against Lila!" Alya barks out at Marinette.
"My daughter did no such thing." That wasn't Tom Dupain. There stood in all Glory Bruce Wayne himself.
"Yo-Your Daughter?" Alya asks
"Yes, my adoptive daughter, Jason todd-wayne's biological sister."
"Hey Alya don't shoot the messenger, I filed the evidence on behalf of ladybug and her team!"
"What do you mean? Multimouse isn't supposed to be active!" Agreste says.
"Oh, I didn't know that! I mean how do you think your miraculous was taken Chat Noir?"
Gasps were heard.
"It was you!"
"Yes. Now son of a bitch outta my way!"
"What do you mean?"
"Haven't you heard Gabriel Agreste was Hawkmoth."
Andre's Ice Cream, Paris, 12:13 PM
"Well that went better than we thought, right Babe?" Kagami asks her girlfriend.
"Sure did Gami!" Marinette repies.
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marauderundercover · 3 years
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Crashed Dates (Day 2: Scarecrow)
Marinette grins at her boyfriend, swinging their intertwined hands back and forth as they walk around the pumpkin farm. It was so nice, finally being able to go on cute dates like this. They’d first started dating while he was in Paris on business, around a year ago. Sure, he’d made trips to Paris and she’d made a few to Metropolis, but it was different now that she had moved to Gotham. Now they were able to go on random, unplanned dates, instead of dates that had been planned for weeks. He was definitely worried when she first told him she was moving to Gotham, but she had reassured him that it would be fine. (Not that she had a choice in the matter, Tikki had informed her on her last trip to Metropolis that Gotham was sick, that it was calling out for help and that as the Guardian, it was her job to help it). Gotham was….interesting, but she’d settled in just fine in the two weeks she’d been there.
And so, when he had called her out of the blue to tell her he found a place he thought she’d love, she made sure she had enough layers and jumped at the chance for a day with him. So far, the day had been absolutely perfect. They’d drank hot apple cider, ate warm donuts, taken a trip around the farm on the hayride- everything was great. But for some reason, her amazingly stubborn boyfriend didn’t want to go into the corn maze. 
“Please! You’ll be my favorite person in the whole world.” She begs again, her grin quickly switching into a pout. She keeps pouting, leaning against his arm, until he sighs.
“Fine, we can do the maze.” He says and she cheers, standing on her toes and tugging him down slightly to give him a quick kiss. 
“You are the best!” She says, over enunciating every word. He just grins, giving her another soft kiss. 
“If we get lost, I’m calling the Demon Spawn to come get us out. Pretty sure he has a tracker on my phone.” Jason says, letting her tug him along towards the maze. She just rolls her eyes, grinning. 
“You know you’re secretly touched that he cares enough to track you.” She teases as they near the entrance of the maze.
“Yeah, yeah.” He grumbles, glaring at the scarecrow situated at the entrance of the maze. Marinette raises an eyebrow. 
“You have a problem with men made of straw?” She asks, legitimately confused by his reaction. 
“Geeze M, I knew you were new to Gotham but I forget how new.” He says, pulling her closer. She melts into him, still confused by his reaction, but happy to be close. As they walk through the maze, frustratingly running into deadends, Jason explains Scarecrow. Marinette decides that he’s number two on the list of villains she never wants to meet. Joker is number one. (Joker is also number one on the list of villains she wants to meet, but that’s because she’s always wondered what it would look like to cataclysm a psychotic clown). She’s just about to suggest they call Damian and utilize the tracker that was, undoubtedly on Jason’s phone, when the screaming begins. 
“There isn’t a haunted house here, is there.” Marinette says, her face pale. She wasn’t ready to be a hero again. She’d only defeated Hawkmoth a year ago. Just before meeting Jason. She didn’t want that part of her life again, not now. 
“No, no there’s not.” Jason says, eyes glancing around wildly. Marinette’s heart breaks at the panic on his face. She knew that, despite his tough guy appearance, he struggled. A lot. He had nightmares, constantly, mostly of the time Joker had kidnapped him (hence the whole, cataclysm Joker thing). Pushing down her own fear and doubt, she tightens her grip on his hand and squares her shoulders. 
“Come on.” She instructs, tugging him behind her as she darts through the maze, determined to get out. She stumbles over a rock and lets go of Jason’s hand in time for her to fall into a larger clearing. She curses as she falls, her palms stinging. 
“What have we here?” A voice says. Marinette sits up, staring up at a man in a scarecrow costume and suddenly, Jason’s fear, or rather, dislike, of scarecrows makes more sense. So much more sense. She glances around and lets out a sigh of relief. She’d let go of Jason quick enough. He wasn’t caught up in this. Hopefully, he could call his father. She wasn’t sure if the rumors about Bruce Wayne and Batman dating were true, but Batman was always quick to interfere if it was a Wayne or Wayne adjacent involved. 
“A girl who’s a little pissed that you crashed her date.” She retorts, standing up and brushing her stinging palms off on her jeans. She’d have to get the blood out later, which would be a pain. Better than having the blood on her palms mix with the dirt that also now covered her hands. 
“You’re either very brave or very stupid, little girl. Let’s see how you deal with my newest strain of fear toxin.” He says, and she lunges towards the man, not willing to go down without a fight. Almost immediately, a sharp pinch on her neck has her stumbling back away from the man as she tries to take in her new surroundings. 
She was back in Paris, but it wasn’t the Paris she had left. The city that was healing. Instead this Paris was underwater. Buildings were toppled over, and the moon was in pieces in the sky. She was back there. A place she hadn’t seen in person since she was fourteen, a place that had haunted her nightmares for ten years. She inhales sharply when she sees him. Chat Blanc. But instead of fear, she’s just angry. This isn’t real. It can’t be. Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir. And Adrien was….turning, she realizes that she can almost see him. Out of the corner of her eye, she can almost see Scarecrow, watching her. Waiting for her to react. Anger coursing through her, she charges the man, tackling him all the way to the ground. She pulls back her fist and punches him, repeatedly. 
“How dare you! How dare you use his face like that! You son of a bitch!” She screams as she hits, the roaring in her ears blocking out all other sounds. She keeps her focus on feeling the man she’s hitting, because the second she lets her focus wander, she gets sucked into her surroundings again. The way the sky just looks wrong. The odd haze over everything. And now, the corpses floating in the water closest to her. Adrien. Maman. Papa. She’s not scared, she’s pissed. Sure, those were her biggest fears and that’s definitely why she was seeing them all like that, but she’d already seen it. She’s lived it. They were gone, not coming back. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to fall down and break about it. Not when some asshole with fear toxin was running around randomly injecting people. Suddenly, something is wrapped around her and she’s pulled up. She kicks frantically, trying to get out of the steel grip she’s trapped in. She had to- what did she have to do? Another sharp pinch in her neck makes her eyes droop sleepily. She struggles again, barely able to hear the voice calling her name as she succumbs to the darkness.
---
Jason Todd feels like a major prick. He watched his girlfriend trip and instead of helping her up, he uses it as a distraction to try and call B. How the fuck was he supposed to know she tripped right into the Scarecrow? He’s cursing himself mentally as he rushes towards the ambulance. Replacement had texted him. 
Marinette was injected. At ambulances near front of farm
And Jason felt like shit. She’d never forgive him, not that he deserved it. He’d left her with one of Gotham’s biggest villains. His heart sinks when he sees the blood on her, and the oxygen mask attached to her face. Fuck. He’s almost to her, when one of the asshole cops stops him. 
“Excuse me, sir, you can’t go over there.” He says and Jason scowls. 
“Like hell I can’t. She’s my girlfriend, let me through.” He says, and the man shakes his head. 
“Family only.” He states. Jason’s about to argue, when a hand lands on his shoulder. 
“I still need to get a statement from Mr. Todd, if you’ll excuse us.” Replacement says, leading him away from the cop. 
“I left her.” He says, the second they’re far enough away. Tim frowns.
“What do you-”
“I mean, I left her. She tripped and instead of checking on her, I was a complete and total asshole and left her so I could call B to get his ass over here and solve the goddamn problem.” Jason says, feeling like even more of an asshole now that he’s said it out loud. 
“Did you see Scarecrow?” Replacement asks. Jason scoffs. 
“Of course not! You really think I would’ve left if I had?” He asks with a glare. 
“No, I don’t. So stop blaming yourself. I literally peeled her off of Scarecrow, she was beating the crap out of him. She’s gonna be tired and scared and confused when she wakes up. Just be there-”
“Jason!” Her terrified voice echoes out and Jason turns, sprinting for the cot he’d seen her on a minute ago. She had ripped the oxygen mask off her face and was looking around while arguing with the paramedic. 
“Ma’am please-” “Marinette!” Jason calls, and her face relaxes as she leaps off the cot and launches herself into his arms. He holds her as she shakes, sobs wracking her body. 
“I saw them.” She mumbles once she calms down a little. He frowns. 
“Saw who?” He asks. 
“My parents. Adrien. Their bodies.” She says, and suddenly, Jason has another name to add to his kill list. Being a complete asshole to all of Gotham, sure. Making his girlfriend see the bodies of those she’d lost? Nope. Now the bastard better hope he didn’t meet Red Hood in an alley. 
“God, Mari, I am so sorry. I’m so sorry I left.” He apologizes, his heart aching when she pushes him away. She frowns up at him and he winces, certain she’s about to break up with him. 
“Left?” She asks and he nods. 
“When you tripped, I swear, I didn’t know Scarecrow was there.” He says. 
“But you got Batman here.” She says and he jerks back. How the hell had she figured it out? When did she- “I know Bruce said he isn’t dating Batman, but honestly, I think he’s just in denial.” She adds. 
“I- what?” 
“Batman always comes when anyone in the Wayne family is in danger. Like, so quickly. And I know that Bruce says it’s just a bunch of rumors, like the whole ‘the butts match’ thing? But I also think that Batman is head over heels for Bruce, and your dad is just kinda clueless.” She rambles. Jason just laughs before pulling her into a deep kiss. She was okay. They were okay. He pulls back and grins at her, until he notices the blood again. 
“Shit, that’s a lot of blood.” He says, taking her hand in his to try and find the source. He glances at her face and raises an eyebrow at the blush that had taken over her face. 
“Oh, um, it’s not mine.” She mumbles. 
“Then who-” “Apparently I beat the hell out of Scarecrow. In my defense, that fear toxin sucked. And I was kinda pissed.” She says, frowning down at the blood on her hands. Jason takes one of his hands and gently tilts her chin up so that she’s looking at him again. He grins at her, giving her a short, soft kiss before pulling back. 
“I love you.” He says, and if the kiss she gave him in return meant anything, she felt the same way.
Next
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fleur-de-violette · 3 years
Text
And I’ll look into your eyes to find out if I’m real
A3O Summary: Bruce wants a lot of things. A bath. Seeing his family. Not having been missing for a whole year.
He wants Dick to wake up and realize he’s not a hallucination.
Whumptober 2020 day 6 – Stop, please. Note: Have you seen that the whumptober 2021 prompts are out? They’re super cool and I didn’t finish the 2020 so it’s safe to say I won’t do them. Still, I’m excited for it.
Back to the fic, warning for hallucination, lots of crying and pretty much general angst. Enjoy!
-
Bruce wants a bath.
He wants a lot of things. One of them is a bath. He never considered himself too dependent on the luxuries that came with his civilian identity, but right now, he really wants to be in clean, warm water with a nice scent, maybe a few candles, and some relaxing music.
It isn’t as much about the bath itself, because he had the time to clean himself, warm up and relax his aching muscles in the shower, it’s the idea of it. He wants to be in a moment where he could allow himself to lose time without feeling guilty about the next crisis. These moments are too rare, if not nonexistent, in his life. And now isn’t one of these moments.
Bruce wants a lot of things.
He wants Alfred not to look so tired. He wants to see Tim smile, really smile. He wants to take the next flight to Hong Kong just so he can hug Cassandra. He wants to solve a case with Steph, watch that smart spark in her eyes and find out how much she grew up. He wants to go to Crime Alley and check on Jason. He wants to shake Gordon’s hand and to kiss Barbara’s hair. He wants to feel Selina’s body against his. He wants to understand Damian. He wants to see Dick’s eyes.
He hasn’t seen Dick’s eyes since he came back from time. Batman’s white lenses had left his son’s face sometime between the moment he passed out next to Damian and the moment a neurosurgeon removed a bullet from the inside of his skull. Dick had yet to wake up.
And Bruce hadn’t seen Dick’s eyes in a year.
It’s something that hasn’t happened since that fateful night at Haly’s Circus. Even when they weren’t talking, he always took the time to check on his ward. His son.
He never wanted things to go this way. He has all the money anyone could wish for and more, a position of power, both in one of the biggest companies on earth and in the most famous superhero team in the universe. He’d been trained by the best of the best.
And yet.
And yet he can’t stop his family from ripping to shreds.
The Joker is still loose. He’s got a dozen missed calls on his phone, mostly from Clark. He doesn’t care. Right now, he doesn’t care. He’s tired.
Dick must be tired too. Bruce tries to tell himself that this is the reason he hadn’t woken up yet. He’d been assured by several doctors that the surgery went well. Dick should wake up anytime now, and the confusion and pain will decrease within the next few weeks, leaving only a scar on the back of his head, until that, too, will be hidden behind the thick black hair Bruce hadn’t ruffled affectionately in ages.
Bruce’s hands hover over his son’s unconscious body, as if afraid of touching him. Of breaking him more than he already did. Not for the first time, he wonders what would have happened if he had ensured that the young boy from the circus found a good foster family and left him there. If he hadn’t, with all the vanity of a twenty-four-year-old millionaire, thought he was the only one who could take care of him.
He sighs. He lowers his head once again toward Dick’s face and sees two cloudy blue eyes looking back at him.
He blinks. Tries to control the avalanche of emotions falling upon him. “Hey,” he says, choking on his own voice.
He’s not really expecting an answer, so he’s surprised when Dick opens his dry lips and lets out a small, “Hey. Long time, no see.”
A tear Bruce knows Dick doesn’t even notice forms itself in his son’s eye. Bruce wipes it away gently. “Are you in any pain?” he asks.
“I’m okay,” Dick lies. Bruce doesn’t call him out on it.
“Do you remember what happened?”
Dick goes to shake his head but aborts the movement with a pained jerk. “No,” he says instead.
“Do you want me to tell you?”
Dick lets out a small laugh. “How would you know? You’re a figment of my imagination.”
Bruce suddenly feels very cold. He takes in both the knowledge that Dick doesn’t think he’s real and the implication that hallucinating him is something he’s familiar with.
His hand presses a little more on his son’s face. “I’m here,” he says. “I’m real.”
Dick closes his eyes and another tear escapes one of them. “Don’t. Please.”
“Talk to me. What can I do to convince you?” Bruce feels a pressure building behind his own eyes.
“Please, stop,” Dick repeats. “I can’t. I can’t believe you.”
Bruce takes a deep breath. “Okay, we’ll take all the time you need. You don’t have to believe me now, but you need to calm down.”
Dick is close to hyperventilating now, and Bruce wonders if he should just leave the room and let Alfred take care of him. But that seems too much like running away for his liking, and he’s been away long enough.
“I can’t believe you’re real,” Dick continues, not caring, or perhaps not registering what Bruce said. “I can’t, you’re not. I can’t hope, because what if I wake up and you’re gone? Again?”
Bruce feels his heart shattering into pieces, but he can’t let himself break down. “Breathe, Robin,” he says, immediately wincing when the name passes his lips.
Calling him by a title he hadn’t worn in years probably won’t help Dick’s grip with reality, but he can’t help it. Right now, he can only see a distressed child in front of him. A child who always responded well to this name.
And it seems that some things can’t be erased by time, because Dick gasps and takes a few more deep breaths, calming down. Bruce thinks the worst of it is over. He thinks maybe Dick will fall back asleep, and wake up again in a few hours, less confused this time.
He’s wrong.
Because not a minute later, Dick opens his eyes again, and says, “The real you would be much angrier than that.”
Bruce feels the mass in his throat, the one that appeared at the beginning of the conversation, start to grow again. “What? No, why would I be angry?”
“Let you down,” Dick answers in a way that makes Bruce wish he had never asked. “Disrespected your will. Let Gotham become a mess. Destroyed Batman’s name.”
“You didn’t,” Bruce murmurs. “You didn’t.” When Dick doesn’t seem to calm down, he adds, “You’re a better Batman than I’ll ever be.”
Because this is true. He doesn’t need Alfred of Gordon to tell him what he always knew. Dick is the essence of what Batman should be. He’s the Batman Gotham needs, even if she doesn’t deserve him. And for that reason, Dick shouldn’t have been Batman. He’s perfect, and he’s destroying himself.
Batman had never been a title to pass on, let alone to Dick. Sure, he trusted his son and first sidekick to take the mantle if he was unable to, but he never had wanted him to be Batman. No one but him was supposed to be Batman. Cassandra was the closest to the title, but she wasn’t ready, and he couldn’t let that burden fall on her.
Still, he hadn’t wanted it to fall on Dick, either.
“Why are you saying that?” Dick asks. Bruce can practically see the gears turning in his head. Good. He knows firsthand that Dick is a damn good detective. He will figure this out. “This is not something I believe or fear or want to hear. Why are you saying that?”
“I’m real,” Bruce repeats, and Dick lets out a sob.
“You’re not,” he protests, but Bruce can see his resolve weakening. “You’re not. Tim said, but you…”
He stops. Blinks. A few more tears fall out of his eyes, and Bruce knows his own aren’t dry either. “You’re real. You’re… please, be real.”
Bruce bites the inside of his cheek to keep himself from breaking down. “I’m real,” he chokes. “I promise.”
Dick’s eyes go wide. “What about Damian?” he asks. “Aren’t you angry?”
Bruce sighs. What about Damian? This is a whole different question. The kid is sleeping in his room right now, having finally listened to Alfred, leaving his Batman’s side. He had barely said a word to Bruce.
Bruce has been gone for a year, not by choice, sure, but gone nonetheless, and now he doesn’t know where he fits, between his son in blood and his son in everything else.
Batman and Robin, a bond that can’t be broken. A bond that still exists, he hopes, between himself and Dick.
“I will talk with him,” he says because his relationship with Damian, his complicated feelings about the mere existence of Damian and his anxiety about having to work with him as a Robin, aren’t Dick’s responsibility. They never should have been. “I’m not angry with you.”
Dick blinks again. “My head hurts,” he finally admits.
Bruce’s hand hovers over the morphine drip. “Do you want more painkillers?”
“If I sleep,” Dick asks, “Will you still be there when I wake up?”
Bruce bends down, leaves a kiss on his son’s forehead. “I promise.”
“I don’t believe you,” Dick says. “But thank you, for being here.”
Still, he closes his eyes and his body relaxes a little. Probably as much as it is possible while recovering from brain surgery.
Bruce stays there a long time, his hand still on Dick’s face. He’s broken a lot of promises. But he’s sure of one thing.
He will be here when Dick wakes up again.
He will still be real.
Ending Note: Hope you enjoyed the fic! Many thanks to @ohmytoddhewitt for beta reading!
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stxleslyds · 3 years
Text
Red Hood and the lost art of telling Joker to shup up.  
Okay, I know that I talked about Jason and Joker in a recent post but this is something different, I promise.
I really want to talk about how different Jason has been written since UtRH when it comes to him confronting Joker. Jason hasn’t been put in that position a lot but the times that he has, he lets Joker talk for far too long and actually pays attention to whatever he has to say.
The Jason vs Joker thing is basic in on itself and letting Joker talk isn’t exactly the problem here, the real problem is Jason letting Joker’s thoughts shape his future thoughts and decisions, I do understand that that’s exactly what writers want though, they want to build the problematic of: “Jason is just like Joker and the fact that he uses the name Red Hood only proves that Joker made who Jason is now”.
But the thing is that THAT problem is overdone at this point and the only time it worked was the first time it was brought up and it worked because Jason shut the Joker down.
Let’s see all the times (that I remember) the Joker and Jason have had a little chat and/or the times Joker’s words actually influence Jason’s thinking and decision making.
 Under the Red Hood – Batman (1940) #649
This is the first real confrontation we get to see between Jason and Joker after Jason’s death and it is beautiful. It's absolutely amazingly written, Joker goes on and on forever about how he killed Jason about how Jason is just as bad as him but that he is also just like Batman because he hasn’t killed him yet.
“You let me live after everything I did, you couldn’t pop my balloon. You just couldn’t. The apple doesn’t tumble too far from the paterfamilias. You are just like daddy-kins”
Jason lets him talk, yes. But he absolutely destroys Joker with what he tells him next.
“You couldn’t be more wrong about me. If right were a country on earth you’d be circling on the edge of the milky way. Yeah, I let you live but like always, every damned minute of your addled, posturing, psychopathic life, you think this is about you. You’re a worm. I’ve pitched you on a hook and dropped you into the brine. And I will beat the hell out of you Pagliacci because it was too much fun not to.”
“Listen to me Joker, I’m not you. I´m nothing like you. I know what I do and I know why I do it. You, you are, clinically speaking, a whack-job. But I know a secret, a good one.”
“You are not nearly as crazy as you would like us all to believe or even as crazy as you would like to believe. It just makes it easier to justify every sick monstrous thing you’ve ever done when you play the part of the mad clown. You are crazy, bubba, but you ain’t that crazy. Look at that. I wiped a smile off of Joker’s face. I have been waiting a long time for that.”
Everything about this is perfect, Jason gives Joker no room to mess with him. Whatever the Joker had planned on saying he had to eat because Jason wasn’t playing games and he was ready for any kind of lie the Joker had ready to tell. This is Jason Todd. He won’t let the Joker get under his skin because he knows the Joker and he, also, knows better. 
Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011) #15
Here Jason comes across Joker during the “Death of the Family” event. In this issue the Joker has information about all of the members of the “Batfamily” and he uses that to mess around with each one of them, in Jason’s case he insinuates that he was present in very specific moments of his life when Jason’s father got shot, when his mother overdosed and when he was on his own before joining Batman.
Jason doesn’t quite believe that Joker was there but as the reader, we can see this sort of sense of doubt in Jason. He hesitates a few times before resolving that the Joker is playing with him.
But as far as this issue goes let’s just say that what the Joker says doesn’t get to Jason, this changes though in the issue that follows up this story.
Teen Titans (2011) #16
This is where that story continues and where Jason starts to buy the story that Joker is selling.
Joker convinces Jason that he has his father and Tim’s father and that the only way for Jason (or Tim) to save their dads is by killing the other (Jason or Tim). Tim doesn’t believe it but Jason is ready to shoot Tim almost immediately.
However, Jason changes his mind about killing Tim just as Tim comes up with a plan for them to not actually have to kill each other. Here is where Lobdell’s writing shows all of its flaws, Lobdell is so desperate to show that Jason and Tim are besties that he forgets that Jason had no reason to stop trying to kill Tim to save his shit father because it is later revealed that Jason truly believed that Joker had found his father and had him captive. It wasn’t until Tim explained his thought process as to why those men weren’t their dads that Jason just goes “you realize, of course, the only reason I didn’t kill you right off is that I knew your big brain will figure out some way out of this” HA, nice save Lobdell but I see right through your bullshit.
Jason bought what the Joker was selling and that is the beginning of Jason’s downgrade when it comes to not playing Joker’s games.
Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011) #17
Well, in this issue Lobdell goes back to Jason kinda not believing what Joker told him, and Jason asks Bruce of all people if he thinks the Joker truly “made him or not”. Bruce says that he doesn’t believe that and that he didn’t have anything to do with the man that Jason has become either. For some reason, Jason is actually happy with what Bruce said and for a couple of moments, Jason goes back to being sure that the Joker knows nothing and that he is his own man.
It doesn’t last long though. At the very end of the issue, the trap that Joker had set up in Jason’s helmet triggers and Jason gets his face fucked up with acid or something.
But that’s not all because a hologram of Joker has something to say: “you were supposed to be my masterpiece from start to finish. But you were too stubborn to stay dead. So here is what we are going to do… You’re so determined to be your own man? Fine, let’s start with a clean slate”.
Basically, the Joker insinuates once more that he had something to do with who Jason was supposed to become and that Jason isn’t truly “his own man”, This is all a setup for a very dense storyline that will be continued in this run later.
Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011) #18
In this issue, Jason is in a coma after he is dosed with that gas in the previous issue. The Joker isn’t really present in this issue but he does make an appearance as part of Jason’s “nightmare” while he is unconscious.
That’s not all though, Jason has an illusion of Ducra (someone that he appreciates a lot), telling him that “after you left the All-Castle after you went back to the world you continued to let your life be defined by the actions of that man. You became a killer, lashing out at people who may or may not have deserved it. Eventually, you will hurt all those you have cared for. In that way, how are you any different from the Joker?”.
In this statement, there is a lot of wrongs that can come from two places, either bad writing on Lobdell’s part or just Ducra telling lies as a plot point.
“Let your life be defined by the actions of that man” is a sentence that horribly simplifies Jason’s thinking during the events of UtRH, because while he did resent the Joker, his real problem was with Bruce who had not avenged his death by killing the Joker himself. Also, Jason was doing other things back then, like being a pain in the ass for Black Mask and disrupting the drug trade in Gotham as well as trying to control the drug dealing to children. So that little sentence is just a gross misinterpretation of the true events which means that Ducra was wrong, and “she” continues to be wrong when she says that there might be no difference between Jason and Joker.
Luckily Jason thinks the same because he tells “Ducra”: “…don’t you dare compare me to that monster Ducra. I am nothing like the Joker! Nothing!”
Once again please don’t be fooled by Jason’s thinking because in the next issue it turns around really fast and really bad.
Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011) #19
Just a heads up this issue has a change of writer, Lobdell isn’t writing this arc, the writer that gives us this hellish story arc is James Tynion IV.
All that talk about Jason not being affected or not believing what the Joker told him is yeeted out of the window and it’s not a fun ride.
In this issue, Roy and Kory find a Jason that doesn’t know who they are or who he, himself, is. This is because S’aru that little floaty little shit took his memories away after Jason asked him to do so, well Jason asked S’aru to erase every memory that darkness has touched (Joker) and he does that. But him doing that is apparently erasing everything which, holy shit, how messed up is that?
But let’s take a look at what Jason says before he gets his memories taken away: “Not only did the Joker almost take my face, but he tells me he might have manipulated my entire life from the beginning! Even the good is tainted by him now. I can’t do it anymore. I can’t have that kind of doubt. If you take it away, I can go on living. I can keep fighting”. So, yeah that was a pretty emo speech. But the thing here is that if Jason is asking this dude to erase every memory that has been tainted by the Joker and he erases all of them then we might be facing one of two situations, either Joker has been messing up with Jason’s life from the beginning or S’aru is just a little bitch.
We will later find out in #20 that S’aru and Ducra planned the whole thing, meaning that they took all of his memories for ulterior motives not because the Joker had actually tainted all of them.
For many issues Jason has no memories and now that I am revisiting these issues, I now remember the twisted and completely insane plot they came up with for the “League of Assassins” and Jason being the “Chosen One”, everything was happening in this run, my god, it's like they wanted Jason to be the center of every single trope in writing history.
It’s in issue #26 that Jason asks for his memories back but the Joker having tainted his memories or not isn’t important anymore to anyone, including the writer (because he is too focused on telling this messy story), Jason (because he has enough problems at the moment) and the reader (because this book makes zero sense and it changes the story and motivations every single issue).
But there is another truth to be revealed in the next issue.
Red Hood and the Outlaws (2011) #27
Jason has planned along Ducra and S’aru to give up all of his memories to be cleansed so he could defeat Ra’s Al Ghul. But (there is always a but) Ducra says this: “Your greatest enemy returned and nearly took your face away from you. And in the process, shook your sense of identity to the core” “The final battle here will take place in the Well of Sins, and with all the doubt and fear clouding your mind, it would eat you whole”.
So yeah, now we have confirmation from Ducra that Jason had indeed let what the Joker told him cloud his sense of self and made him doubt who he was and if he really was in control.
All that back and forth for these many issues just to say, yes, Jason let Joker’s words affect him.
So here it is, let Joker get in Jason’s head to build the plot of a story, fantastic, the story was a mess because it had so much information, the mischaracterizations of Roy and Kory were at their maximum potential, and in this particular story arc not only are the events of Red Hood: The Lost Days officially erased from Jason’s canon but something quite out there is added to Jason’s canon from before he was even Robin (that’s a whole different story that I won’t be talking about here).
What an insane ride this arc was. Definitely not the kind of story I enjoy in a Red Hood book but that’s just my preference.
*This whole arc was written by James Tynion IV.
Red Hood/Arsenal #11
Joker is dead during the events of this run but the person who has something to say to Jason about how the Joker made the person that he is now is Duela Dent (“Joker’s daughter”, she isn’t his daughter she just found Joker’s face somewhere and she puts it on and “becomes” crazy, she is an incredibly weird character).
She says this, “You’re a lot like dad in that way” to which Jason says “He is not my father. He’s not even your father” but Duela continues by saying. “You’re kidding yourself if you genuinely believe that. Yeah, he took your life but look what you got in its place, you ingrate. You got your freedom. You were reborn.” 
Jason doesn’t fall for it or anything of the sort but once again writers are bringing up the Joker as the maker of the Red Hood and “suggesting” that what Jason has been doing and who he has become is all thanks to Joker. The idea of Jason having no free will is still present in this narrative, even when Jason doesn’t believe it.
Red Hood/Arsenal #12
I talked too soon because in this issue Jason is having some weird thoughts.
“Funny, isn’t it, so easy to call Duela “crazy” because she wears a dead man’s face. Because isn’t that what I’m doing? Before he was the Joker, he was the Red Hood. So maybe the line between men and the Joker’s daughter is a lot thinner than I’d like to admit.”
Here he is comparing himself to Duela and to the Joker to an extent, writers often bring up the fact that Jason uses the code name that his killer once had and they have people or Jason himself questioning why he uses that name.
Personally, I don’t think there is much to build from it (at least not from the perspective of Lost Days and UtRH), it was just a joke, a morbid one if you will. He wears the mantle of the person that destroys Gotham and fills its people with fear while he is trying to control the city’s drug trade and trying to keep the people safe in his own way. And the way he wanted to do it is almost the complete opposite of the way that Batman does things.
I just think that he is being ironic and acidic about the whole thing. He has obviously moved on from the fact that Joker killed him but he has issues with the fact that Batman has yet another child working with him while the Joker is still alive. And Jason really wanted to make Bruce suffer, so him taking the name and a similar appearance to how the joker used to look is also done to get a reaction from Bruce.
I really don’t think there is any sort of connection to make between Jason and Joker beyond that, much like there is no connection between the name Nightwing and the Court of Owls. Even though Lincoln March tried to convince Dick Grayson that he chose the name Nightwing because Owls fly at night and that meant that he was supposed to become a Talon and all that Dick still didn’t believe it because he knew why he chose that name and no one can twist his reason.
Red Hood and the Outlaws (2016) #10
Finally, I can stop re-reading New 52 books, I don’t enjoy it but I have to do it if I want to talk/complain about stuff.
This one is a little different because while Jason does talk with the Joker, the Joker isn’t really there he is just part of Jason’s imagination just like the Robin Jason that he is also seeing.
In this story, Jason is helping Artemis discover who she is but he gets captured in Qurac, yup that place, and worst of all from where he is being held, he can see the place where he died. All of that is helping Jason have some very vivid memories/illusions. He does actively hold a conversation with the imaginary Joker and Robin Jason though, and he is also having a lot of thoughts that let us know how the Joker affects Jason.
“This is why it was stupid of me to come back to Qurac. Even to help Artemis, even if I thought I could handle it. Physically, I am alone, but in my head? I’m drowning in memories of the worst day of what was my very short life. The day I was murdered.”
That’s what Jason is thinking but what I write next is what Jason’s saying as he talks to the imaginary Joker.
“Not interested in replaying this over again, like I have every night of my life since it happened Joker”
So, we are told that Jason thinks about that day very often, the Joker might not be involved much in Jason’s books but he definitely has a bigger role inside of Jason’s head. They chat for a bit up until Jason decides to “kill” the Joker, he knows, of course, that it is not real but it does give him satisfaction. (If only they would have let Jason actually kill the clown for real, or at the very least chase him just to show the reader that Jason does actually want to finish the job since the Bat won’t do it himself).
Having said all that, Joker’s imaginary death doesn’t last long because Jason is trapped in his mind and the Joker is basically functioning on a loop inside of it.
That is where the problem lies in this issue because Jason is letting us know that he is still heavily influenced by what happened that day and that he hasn’t been able to walk away from it. But once more that’s not the worst thing, because all of these thoughts have led Jason to think that he (in the present and as a fifteen-year-old) is the one to blame for having ended up dead. Yeah, it is messed up.
This is what Jason says to imaginary Robin Jason, “He is never going to die, Jason. Not here. Not in my mind, not if at some point I don’t stand up and walk away from my memories. From you.”
This is a major downgrade, from the Jason that we had in UtRH because that Jason had moved on from the fact that he had been killed what he was looking for was for Batman to avenge his death. He had other things in mind as well, like I said before in this post Jason had a lot of things going on, killing Joker wasn’t his only plan.
And this situation (written by Lobdell) is also very different from what was going on in New 52 where Jason being influenced by the Joker was used to build a plot. This is just a writer letting us know that this “new version” of Jason hasn’t worked out his problems when it comes to his death and his killer. That means that we are going backward.
After he realizes that he was unconscious all that time and that he was being tortured he does get his shit together in order to get out of captivity and go help Artemis.
The Joker and that whole thing that happened in his mind aren’t mentioned again, it was just for the reader to know that Rebirth Jason has unsolved issues with his death.
Batman: Three Jokers #1
Oh yes, here we are, we have arrived to that dreaded book, awful writing gorgeous art. In this book, the “Joker made Jason as he is now” trope is at its full potential; Johns drives this hellish truck of a book at full speed into our homes and then ends it by giving us one of the worst takes on Jason Todd’s characterization ever.
But first, let’s talk about the Joker and Jason interaction in the first issue. As Jason and Barbara are left alone with the Joker that they came across moments ago the Joker begins talking because that’s what he does.
He says this, “I’m the loop-de-loop, the hamster-wheel-of-doom. The cycle of pain each one of you is trapped in. Take “Red Hood” here, for example. Have you ever wondered why he uses my former moniker? Who in their right mind would take on the identity of their killer? Am I right?”
He is obviously being a little shit on purpose and is waiting to see if somebody will take the bait. Jason is the first to talk and he says this: “I took it because I’m owning what you did to me. You made me into this. I will be your destruction”.
Congratulations Jason, you took the bait, and now Barbara will fight with you over it.
Jason raises his gun to “break the cycle” and Barbara is like “please don’t do it” and boy is Joker having the time of his life! Both of these idiots are playing his game, Johns really did both Jason and Barbara dirty with this.
Here is where THE problem with letting the Joker talk is. This Joker got under Jason’s skin in seconds and Barbara did nothing while it happened.
This is what the Joker had to say. “Let’s look at the facts here bat-people. I bashed this boy’s skull in. I killed this Robin” to which Jason says “You didn’t kill me, you only made me stronger” which is weird because the Joker did kill him so I don’t know what kinda comeback that was supposed to be but Joker wasn’t done because he continues by saying “Yes, you crawled from the shallow grave I left you in. You lived on to fight another day. Hurrah! You survived because of your tenacity! Or maybe… maybe I beat you to a bloody mess… I took you right to the edge… because I wanted to leave you alive.”
Great that’s where the clown is going, just fantastic, more of the “I made you” but that’s not all because the Joker tells Jason that him having hurt Jason wasn’t because he didn’t like Jason, it was all about Batman, Jason doesn’t matter.
But that’s not the worse thing that was written in this awful book, Geoff Johns seems to have felt that the trauma that Jason went through in the original “Death in the Family” story wasn’t enough because he decided to add something new.
That’s why the Joker says this next, “Do you recall what you said to me while I was breaking your head in with that crowbar? As your blood streamed into your eyes and your skull cracked? Because I cherish those words. I’ll always cherish them. ‘Please stop! Please! If you let me live, I’ll do anything you say. I’ll be your Robin’” “And look at you now my little “Red Hood” shooting up people and making Batman’s life miserable! You are my Robin!”
What a nightmare Johns decided to put Jason and Jason Nation through huh? I hate this, this is the worst thing that has ever been written in a Jason Todd story (although I can say that about many things that were written in this three-issue book).
Jason kills the Joker after he says all that, Barbara does (for some reason) try to stop him from doing it but luckily, she can’t stop Jason.
But here is the thing, Jason killing the Joker doesn’t make me feel as satisfied as I would have liked, and it doesn’t feel that way because Jason let Joker talk for far too long and what Joker said ended up getting in Jason’s head and messing with him.
Batman: Three Jokers #2
Yeah, there is no rest for us, Jason Nation, in this issue Jason goes looking for another Joker to kill and he finds one but he gets captured. Johns really had to get Jason naked for Joker to torture him mentally and physically? Johns is, himself, a major red flag but that’s not what I am here to talk about.
In this issue the Joker that captures Jason has the same things to say as the other one, DC writers really have no imagination when it comes to building conflict between Joker and Jason, huh?
Anyway, Joker says this, “tell me something. Why would you put on that helmet and call yourself Red Hood after what we did?” Jason of course replies “Come on, is every one of you copycats gonna ask me the same thing? It’s a joke” the answer isn’t enough for Joker (the two of them that are here with Jason) so he continues talking. “A joke? We left you with brain damage and permanent nerve pain. Physical and emotional trauma so severe that the only relief you ever find is when you inflict pain on others. You and me, boy, we’re more alike than you’d care to admit. But you know that already. You nearly died and you blame the Batman. You hate him for it. Me too. You hate him most of all don’t you?”
Now, here is the thing, that whole thing is bullshit, none of it makes sense. From Jason having permanent nerve pain to Jason hating Batman the most, everything is a lie. And my confusion here is that I don’t know if I have to feel like Joker is doing it on purpose to be a little bitch or if Geoff Johns was on crack when he wrote this and he had actually never heard of Jason Todd in his life before.
The whole thing is a mess, it feels like he is writing Jason from an origin and story that we never read. I don’t know how to explain it, but the whole thing feels cheap, it’s a cheap trope and it’s a cheap take on who Jason Todd is, was, and will be.
The nightmare doesn’t end Jason Nation because these two Jokers have something else in mind, you see, if they said that they made the Red Hood when they killed Jason the first time, maybe if they kill him this time then he could possibly come back as the Joker. Yeah, this book did nothing for Jason.
Let’s make something clear, Jason does NOT hate Batman/Bruce for not being able to save him, he hates the fact that Batman/Bruce didn’t kill the Joker to avenge him. That simple thing doesn’t exist in Three Jokers and that’s why things like the ones that happen next are allowed to happen in this story.
Bruce and Barbara find Jason and when Bruce asks if he is okay Jason just goes berserk, he says: “Am I all right? What do you think Bruce?! You did this to me. You put me on this path. And I do hate you for it. For leaving me in the dirt. Replacing me one Robin after another without a thought.”
This, everybody is what you get when you mix bad writing with Jason being mentally manipulated by the Joker.
It's a shame that Jason is being treated this way at this point in time, in a book that came out in 2020 when Jason was able to shut the clown up with a knife and a couple of words back in 2005. What a downgrade.
At the end of this issue, Jason is safe and recovering but he still is in the same mindset, he says, “What the Joker said about how I’ve been on the path to being like them for years… they are not wrong. I don’t want to be like them though. I really don’t.”
It’s like a never-ending wheel of pain with this book. Jason is talking to Barbara when he says that and he is trying to look for comfort in her. And here is where the Jason/Barbara subplot begins and I only bring this up because something that happens in the next issue is based on the kiss that Barbara gave Jason but then was like “that doesn’t mean anything, I was just trying to comfort you”. Johns shouldn’t be allowed to write Barbara and Jason ever again.
Batman: Three Jokers #3
It’s in this issue that we find out the big subplot that Johns has prepared for Jason, are you ready for it? Yup, Jason should stop being the Red Hood because if he keeps it up, he will eventually become the Joker.
I know, I know! Jason would never stop being Red Hood, he is not on a path to become the Joker, that’s crazy! Jason’s Red Hood is a character on its own and he is amazing and just because he has different morals from Batman doesn’t mean that he is a bad guy! Right?...
“I’ll give up being Red Hood for us. I can be something else. Or I can be just Jason.”
To this day I cannot believe that those words supposedly were written by Jason Todd to Barbara Gordon after Barbara rejected him three times. The level of “what the fuck is this” is incredibly high with this one…
This whole book was a mess and I am so glad that it didn’t last longer.
Anyway, that’s it. In conclusion, Jason didn’t let the Joker get under his skin the first time they interacted after he came back from the dead but later when DC decided that UtRH was just too good of a book they came up with stories where Joker does get under Jason’s skin and Jason becomes convinced that he has no free will (or at the very least he doubts his free will) when it comes to him becoming his own man.
As I have said before, that for Jason Todd is a major downgrade. And it's one of the many things that hurts Jason’s characterization in current comics.
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discocactusblogs · 3 years
Text
Heather- Jason Todd x Chubby Reader Pt.1
{Author's Note: _____ is a blank to put your name}
"Girl, just tell him!" Barbara whispered and nudged me towards my best friend, Jason Todd aka Robin, the boy wonder.
I had found out about him being Batman's sidekick when we were 13, shortly after he became Robin.
"Easy for you to say! Look at you! You're gorgeous! You're fit and thin and redheaded! Just look at me… I'm...not so fit... I'm chubby. I'm a plain bagel. I'm not ugly but I'm not exactly pretty either." I sighed and gestured to my chubby body.
" ______, I know what I'm telling you. Just tell him." She sighed. "Besides, you're gorgeous too! And very intelligent and mature for a fifteen-year-old!" Barbara smiled, holding up a banana like a wand.
"As if. What guy my age sees a girl and goes, 'What a lovely personality?' Get real Babs, no one wants a plain bagel." I shrugged.
"Welp, I gotta get going or I'll be late for work. But trust me, he won't turn you away." She turned away, obviously knowing something I didn't.
"Hey _____!" Jason spoke as he walked up to me from the curb of the grocery store, I had gone to buy some fruit my mom had told me to get.
"Hey Jay." I sighed with a slight blush on my cheeks.
"Are you okay? It's kinda cold today… Where's your jacket?" He asked, tilting his head to the side slightly.
"My jacket!" I gasped. "I forgot it at school!"
"School's closed now. They just locked the gate." He replied with a shrug.
"My mom's going to kill me. That's the only jacket I have!" My eyes watered, knowing my mother was going to be furious with me when I got home.
"Take mine then. I have others at home." He unzipped his hoodie.
"N-no. It's fine. I can get it Monday from school." I spoke softly while staring at the ground.
He draped his jacket over my shoulders. "I said, take it. Besides, it looks better on you than me. It goes well with your hair color. Here, let me hold your stuff so you can get it on." He smirked, knowing I wouldn't refuse if he spoke sternly with me. He took the bag from my hands and I looked at him. "Zip. It. Up." He frowned.
"Yes sir." I put my arms in the jacket and zipped it up. He was bigger and bulkier than I was, so the jacket fit me rather loosely and was down to my mid thighs but it was comfortable and warm. Much warmer than the jackets and sweaters I had before.
"Hm… keep it. I know your dad hasn't been working a lot lately. It gets pretty cold so you can keep that one. Bruce got me some others at home. Just don't tell anyone, got it? I only share with you because I've known you since we were kids. You took care of me so I'm taking care of you." He looked at me, handing back the bag of fruit. "Now, don't think I'm getting soft or being a gentleman. You're still carrying your stuff." He smirked.
I smiled and chuckled. "Thanks." I took the bag and walked down the street with him.
"Hi Jason!" An annoying voice called out from the ice cream shop.
"Hm? Oh, hey Heather." Jason turned around and seemed slightly irritated.
"Are you going to the pep rally tonight?" Heather asked with fluttering eyelashes. She was Jason's girlfriend.
Dark hair, slim figure, bright eyes, how could I compete with that?
"Uh, no." He replied flatly.
"Why not, I'm going to be performing!" She countered.
"I'm just not feeling it. I don't like pep rallies." He shrugged. "Not my thing."
"Okay then. Wanna get some ice cream?" She asked.
"Go ahead and go home ______, I'll catch up later." He looked apologetically at me and walked across the street.
I nodded and kept walking.
I watched as Heather smiled and hugged him.
It hurt.
He was dating her and she was so sweet. Everyone loved her so, I can see why he did too. She always had a smile on her face.
I kept walking, tears stinging my eyes. There's no way I could ever be like her. He liked her more and would run to her at the drop of a hat.
Arriving at home, I stepped inside. "Hey mom! I'm back!" I set the bag on the counter.
"Oh good! Make sure you do your homework!"
"Yes ma'am!" I sigh and go up to my room, closing the door.
Out of instinct, I called my friend, Valerie.
"A simple solution to your problem is to play spin the bottle or something." She teased.
"Why would he ever kiss me? I'm nowhere near as pretty as Heather!" I clutch the sleeves of the hoodie before taking it off and throwing it onto my bed.
"He gave her his sweater." My eyes watered as I told her what had happened at school that day.
"The black one or the fake polyester one?" Valerie asked.
"The black one."
"Oh dear. I'll be right over." She hung up.
"Is it wrong to wish she were dead?" I chuckled softly when Valerie came through my bedroom door.
"Yes. It's your jealousy and I'm gonna chop off your legs if you continue on this path, Anakin." Valerie smirked.
"Dude, I was kidding." I turn in my swivel chair.
"Yeah, it was a failed attempt at a joke. I'm sorry about Jason. If it makes you feel better, Bradley dumped me." She looked at the ground.
"Here's the plan, I drive the car and Jason shoves him into the road and we make it look like an accident." I spoke whilst drawing out the plan.
"Don't worry about it."
"Worry about what?" Jason walked in.
"Oh, you came!" Valerie smiled.
I looked at her, what a traitor.
"So, I heard you gave Heather your sweater!"
"This one?" He held up said object. "Eh, we broke up. She liked someone else and so did I." He sat on a beanbag chair.
"Wait what? But you really liked her and she's so nice!" I exclaim in shock.
"Relax ______, it was mutual." He chuckled. "There's actually something I came to talk to you about." He seemed nervous, his cheeks tinting red and so were the tips of his ears.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I'll go get water." Valerie got up, stretched and went downstairs.
"I don't know how to say this. This is difficult for me but… I'm sorry. I don't want to be your friend anymore." He sighed.
My eyes widened. "W-what?"
"Yeah. I'm...tired of it." He stood up.
"But Jason, you're my best friend!"
"I know. Hey, do you know what material this shirt is?" He checked his shirt.
"Jason, now's not the time-"
"Answer!"
"I don't know! Cotton, maybe?!" I was growing panicked and my eyes were stinging with tears.
"Wrong, it's boyfriend material. And so is that hoodie." He smirked.
I stood in silence.
"What?" He asked.
"Jason Peter Todd, are you...asking me to be your girlfriend????" I stood, mouth agape in shock.
He smirked and nodded. "Sure thing buttercup! I... love you." His face turned beet red.
"Why? I'm not pretty. I'm not slim or fit or anything-"
"Because you're smart, and cute, you're kind and brave. You're so cool too and geek out with me. We both nerd out over science stuff and books. What's not to love???" The look on his face was one of pure confusion, as if the answer was as clear as day.
"Jason, I love you too." I spoke in a hushed whispers as a few years fell from my eyes.
"Don't cry! Why are you crying???"
"I'm just happy! I've liked you for so long!"
"So have I but I'm not crying!"
"I didn't think you'd like me because I'm chubby!"
"What?! You think I'm that shallow? I'm offended!"
"Jay and ______ sitting in a tree~" Valerie teased from the doorway.
"Val!" We exclaimed in unison, Jay pulling me into a side hug.
"Fine! I'mma head out!" She grabbed her backpack and left.
A few days later, Jason was going to leave for a mission that I didn't want him to go on. I knew how dangerous it was for him to go alone.
"I'm leaving...for Bosnia. Bats needs my help." He looked at me sadly.
"Jay, please. Don't go. What if something happens?" I pleaded, clutching onto him tightly.
It was only a few days ago that he confessed to me and we were trying to figure out where to go with our relationship, which led to this argument.
"I'll come back. I promise." He kissed the top of my head. "Love ya." He smirked. His forest green eyes shone in the sunlight like an emerald.
He seemed so confident that he would be okay.
"Jason, no! I have a bad feeling you're not coming back!" I pleaded harshly, grabbing his wrist and asking him to stay.
"I'm just going to meet my birth mom, I'll be fine!" He assured me. "Here, hold onto my jacket for me." He took off his leather jacket and handed it to me.
I nodded with tears escaping the corners of my eyes. "I love you Jason…" I said as I watched him hop into the car and leave. Little did I know that would be the last time I ever saw him.
I kept that jacket with me at all times after that.
A few weeks went by without a word from Jason and the pit on my stomach only grew, the only thing keeping me sane was the scent of his cologne on his jacket that lingered still.
Finally, I mustered up the courage to go to Wayne Manor and ask if anyone's heard from Jason. It was then my heart shattered into pieces.
"Miss ______, I am so terribly sorry. I thought someone had already told you… Master Jason died last week." Alfred sat me down at the kitchen counter for tea.
My eyes widened and the porcelain teacup fell from my hand, shattering onto the tile floor. Tears flowed from my eyes like a cerulean waterfall. "No one told me!" I shouted, falling to my knees to clean up the mess with blurry eyes.
"Miss ______, I can get it." Alfred stopped me, only to realize I was bleeding from a deep cut from a glass shard on the top of my hand, a cut that would leave a scar for years to come.
"He can't be dead… he promised he would come back." I whispered, not even flinching from the cut.
"Here, allow me to tend to that." Alfred took out the first aid kit and cleaned the wound, giving it a few stitches.
"How…?" I asked, flinching from pain.
"... The Joker. Master Bruce didn't make it in time." He replied, the sorrow evident in his tone.
I nodded and thanked him for the help and the tea.
"Send a car to take her home." I heard Bruce from the doorway.
"Right away, Master Bruce." Alfred excused himself.
"His funeral is this Saturday if you'd like to come." Bruce turned away from me.
"I'll be there. Time?"
"Noon."
"See you then."
When the funeral finally took place, the reality of Jason's death set in. He wasn't coming back like he promised. I left a rose on his casket and bawled as I watched them lower the casket with my best friend and love of my life, into the dark, cold ground and with it, my heart.
"You promised." I whispered to myself, looking away from the scene. It was then I decided I wanted to be a nurse to help heal people.
Five years later, my dream of being a nurse was nearly achieved. I was two years away from graduating and I went to visit Jason every day on the way home from work. I still lived with my parents since I was a student at the local university, thanks to Bruce.
When I approached the door, that's when I saw it. A single rose on the bench outside the door along with a cryptic letter. 'Hang in there.' it said with a happy face at the end.
I was stumped but the notes and roses kept happening at least once a week and they soon came every day. At least, until the night that would change my life forever.
(Part Two)
(Masterlist)
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