#Bats has a ‘fight’ with Nightwing to test a theory

[morganbritton132]

I think it’d be really funny if before he became Robin, Tim saw Batman doing some shit he didn’t like and was like, “Hmm, gotta fix that.”

Then went about it in the most-annoying-kid way possible.

Like, Tim sees Batman send Robin home even though Jason wasn’t sick (he would know) and didn’t have a test (he’d know this too). So the next morning, he skateboards up to Wayne Manor when he knows Jason is at school, Alfred is doing a grocery run, and Bruce is most likely trying to catch up on sleep.

He rings the doorbell seven times.

Bruce watches on a security monitor after being woken up as his neighbor’s kid ding dong ditches him and then takes off down the driveway on his skateboard. He’s so baffled by it that he doesn’t even ask himself why the kid isn’t in school.

This happens four more times before Bruce makes the connection and thinks, “This has something to do with Batman.”

[dcficrecs]

The One Where the Justice League Almost Didn’t Figure it Out: The Training Room Incident

By batsandthebirds on AO3

The premise of this fic is "Nightwing joins the Justice League and no one knows he was the first Robin, so they think he's crazy for being so normal around the goddamn Batman." My favorite scene is the entirety of chapter 2, where the League sets up a sort of test fight while Nightwing is still pretty new to get a sense of his abilities as a fighter. I'm not gonna spoil how it goes, so here's the excerpt from it:

 “Look, I’ll fight him if you want, but I’m not sure it’ll be that useful. If pitting me against someone because of superpowers is really the issue, why don’t I just fight him?” Nightwing pointed, and it took Clark a moment to register that he wasn’t pointing at him or Diana, but between them, where Batman had stood looming silently this entire time.

You could have heard a pin drop. Before Clark could attempt to let the kid down easy, explain that there was no way he was fighting Batman as a new recruit and lasting more than a few seconds, and also that he’d really rather not have their newest member further on the Bat’s bad side than everyone else way, Batman stepped forward between him and Diana and regarded Nightwing with a frown.

“That’s not a good idea,” Batman growled.

Somehow, this just made Nightwing smile even wider. “Oh, I think this is a great idea, B.”

Clark had just enough time to think, Okay, that settles it, Nightwing has a death wish, before he registered that the corners of Batman’s mouth twitched up in a nearly imperceptible smile.

Without any other words spoken, Batman and Nightwing positioned themselves on either side of the mat and the small crowd of spectators all stood back. Clark thought about trying to stop this, and he could have, in theory, but he thought it prudent to let this die now. A lot of new recruits came in with a bit of a cocky attitude, trying to prove themselves against the more powerful heroes on the roster. A lot of times that meant trying to beat Batman at his own game. Best Nightwing got knocked down now, rather than screw something up on an actual mission later. But there was still a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that something was off about Nightwing. He came off as cocky, yes, or maybe just too fearless for his own good, but something told Clark that there was more substance to that disposition than most young heroes had.

The two opponents squared off, and Clark took one look at Batman — imposing, heavily armored, and trained to his absolute peak — and Nightwing — young, lithe, relatively short, and still a virtual unknown - winced inwardly on Nightwing’s behalf, and signaled for the fight to begin.

The fact that Nightwing didn’t immediately end up on his back was a miracle in itself. He dodged the first blow, then the second, then the third, and flipped out of the way of the fourth, kicking Batman in the chest as he did so. Batman stumbled, recovering in a fraction of a second, but it was enough time for Nightwing to get the escrima sticks off his back. They crackled with nasty looking blue electricity, which would have worried Clark, if he didn’t know that they had no chance of getting through Batman’s suit.

Clark thought that Nightwing’s luck would run out, and soon. But the fight went on like that. Nightwing dodged any blows that would have knocked him down in an instant, and traded his own blows back with a vengeance. Neither could get the upper hand. After a minute, Clark remembered that he was supposed to be analyzing Nightwing’s abilities, not just staring dumbly as the young hero continued to stay on his feet. He was fast, that much was obvious, and his brain could certainly keep up with his body, if not think ahead. He landed strategic hits, trying to knock Batman off balance, using the weight of his suit against him, and, at one point, even managing to tangle Batman up in his own cape momentarily.

Then — absurdly — Nightwing started laughing. As the opponents traded blows, Nightwing cackled like he was having the time of his life, dodging when he could, taking the hits he couldn’t get away from without faltering, and landing his own blows in the slight windows of opportunity afforded to him. Clark caught sight of a fierce smile on the young hero’s face too, different from the rehearsed, easygoing expression he wore around the League. It was pure, unbridled excitement.

Just as Clark thought that the fight might go on forever, Nightwing raised a hand to throw one of his escrima sticks, but Batman lept at him, swinging his fist in an arc that Nightwing easily should have dodged, but he didn’t. Batman’s fist connected with the side of his face, the laughing stopped, and the weapon Nightwing was throwing went wide. Nightwing reeled from the harsh blow, and that should have been when Batman knocked him to the mat, ending the fight. He could have, easily. But Clark watched as Batman faltered, just for a split second, but it was enough for Clark’s ears to pick up on a ping, ping, ping noise, before Nightwing suddenly sidestepped, and the escrima stick that Clark thought he’d thrown wide connected squarely with the back of Batman’s head, having bounced around the room and off the back wall.

Batman fell forward, hitting the mat hard, and Nightwing stood victorious, laughing again as red bloomed on the side of his face and blood poured out of his mouth from a split lip. He picked the escrima stick up off the mat and attached both of them to his back again, then offered a hand to help Batman up.

To Clark’s further surprise, Batman clasped Nightwing’s hand and allowed himself to be hauled to his feet. This was so unprecedented that Clark had no idea what to expect next, but Batman wordlessly turning and leaving the training room wasn’t it.

I cannot express how this is one of my favorite moments in any fic ever. I left a comment saying that writing a character outsmarting Batman usually doesn't end well: the writing doesn't make sense, it falls flat, or underestimates a character's (usually Batman's) abilities. This fic, however, does it so perfectly. Nightwing using Batman's care for him against him, and embarrassing him in front of a bunch of Justice League members including Superman and Wonder Woman. Later on in the same chapter, Bruce asks Dick why he didn't dodge the punch and Nightwing explains the whole "using your fear of hurting me to my advantage" thing and Batman is obviously disapproving of that, but it is so in character for Nightwing. He would totally get punched in the face if it meant harassing and/or embarrassing Bruce. It is so clever and absolutely brilliant and everyone should totally read the whole fic. I am in love with this.

[river-bottom-nightmare]

“You need a new superhero name.” 

Damian brought it up unexpectedly, eyes still trained on the security camera he was dismantling. 

“What?” Jon was sifting through the footage, using superspeed to catch every little detail of last night, but at Damian’s voice, he paused the recording and looked up.

Damian was still digging inside the camera, having removed the back panel and a good chunk of wires, and was now sifting through the piece of tech with a pair of tweezers. Nonetheless, he continued the conversation. “A name. You’re not going to be Superboy forever, are you?”

“Um,” Jon could honestly say he’d never thought about it. He’d always been Superboy, ever since he could remember. He wasn’t one to place much thought into birthrights or heritage, not like Damian, but he also wasn’t overlooking the fact that his father was Superman. What exactly did that make him? Superboy was the obvious answer. “I don’t think I can be anything else, Damian.”

“You have an older brother who also goes by Superboy.”

Jon shrugged. “We share.”

“Still. You’re graduating high school in just a few months, Jon. Though it’s surprising to say, you’ve outgrown the title.”

Jon’s lips instantly turned upward in a smirk. “I’ve outgrown the title, huh?”

At that, Damian turned to glare at him. Pointing a finger, he said, “I will taze you. Shut up.”

“Whatever you say, short stack.” Jon chuckled at Damian’s little growl. “But honestly, what else am I supposed to be? Everyone knows me as ‘Superman’s Son.’ I mean, Dad’s name is so big in the League, I don’t think I’ll ever separate myself from it.” And if he was honest, Jon didn’t know if he wanted to separate himself from it.

Damian hummed. “Not true. Look at Richard.”

“Dick? What about him?”

“Well,” Damian paused to move the tweezers to his other hand, “Richard started out as the first child hero, working under Batman. And unlike the other early proteges, he didn’t simply work as his mentor’s sidekick. He created his own legacy. And then he became Nightwing.”

“But Nightwing was already a thing,” Jon pointed out. “It’s a Kryptonian legend.”

“Yes, but there hasn’t actually been a Nightwing, has there? Even if there was one on Krypton, Richard was the first Nightwing on Earth. You wouldn’t call him a sidekick, would you?”

“What, no!” Jon’s reaction was immediate. “Nightwing’s, like, one of the most well-known guys out there. Literally everyone knows him, and literally everyone trusts him. He’s not a sidekick.”

Damian turned to smile at him. “Some would say he was. Do you understand my point?”

Jon pouted, took a deep breath and let it out. “Yeah. Yeah, I think so. I don’t know, I’m not even sure how to go about doing that.”

“Well, to start off, find a new name.” Damian hunched over the camera even more, suddenly focusing in on something.

“I guess so. You got any ideas?” At Damian’s lack of response, Jon asked again, “Damian?”

Damian straightened, holding up the tweezers. Clasped tightly between the tongs was a miniscule data chip. “Here’s the footage we’re looking for.”

Jon stared at him, eyes wide. “How did you even know that was there?”

Damian shrugged. “Simple matter of deductive reasoning.”

“Tim told you, didn’t he.”

A pause. Then, “Drake may have mentioned a while back that a certain trafficking ring was hiding the data chips inside the cameras, and that others were catching on to the trick. I simply tested out his theory.” Damian looked physically pained, and Jon laughed.

“Cool. Put it in, I’ll look through the footage.”

Damian handed the chip over, then laced his his fingers together, put his arms above his head to stretch. Jon, still holding the chip, stared at the line of Damian’s muscles. When Damian quirked an eyebrow, Jon quickly cleared his throat and took the old data chip out of the computer, replacing it with the new one. “So, any ideas?”

“For your name? A couple,” Damian said. “Of course, you need to have an idea for what you’re thinking of.”

Jon nodded absently, pressing rewind on the footage. “I’m not sure if I want to separate from the Super name entirely, though.”

“You don’t want to, or are you scared to?”

Jon snorted. “You probably know the answer to that better than I do. I think I got a name, it’s on the side of the truck.” He zoomed into the footage. “Yeah, it looks we were right. The pharmaceutical company’s related somehow. There’s that stupid gremlin looking thing again.’

“The griffin?” Damian asked, peering over his shoulder. He made a contemplative noise, brows furrowed

“Is that what that thing’s called? Looks like a half drowned bird.”

Damian laughed, and batted Jon’s hands aside. “That’s not what an actual griffin looks like. Here.” He pulled up a couple pictures on his phone.

Jon swiped through a couple pictures, eyebrows raised. “Yeah, those are a lot more impressive. What are they though?”

“Mythological creatures from a variety of different places. They have the body of a lion and the wings and head of an eagle. They’re quite majestic.”

Jon squinted his eyes at him. “You’re implying something. I know you’re implying something.”

In response, Damian nodded his head towards the phone.

“What?” Jon asked.

“Griffin! It’s a perfect name.”

Jon raised his eyebrows skeptically. “Oh yeah. Because I’m part cat and part bird. Perfect analogy.”

Damian slapped his hand lightly. “No, you moron. It doesn’t have anything to do with the eagle or the lion.”

“Then?”

“Your dual heritage.” At Jon’s uncomprehensive look, Damian sighed. “You’re half-Kryptonian, half-human. And it shows. When you fight, you’re fierce and unafraid, much like your father. At the same time, though, you’re endlessly curious and inquisitive, like your mother. God knows I’ve been on the end of that far too often.”

“Oh. That, huh. That actually makes sense.”

Damian shrugged. “I’m just saying. It would be a good homage to your roots, and you’re honoring your parents, without being too overt.”

Jon looked down at the phone again. The lion part was strong, muscled, steady. The bird’s head was curved and fierce, wings spread majestically.

 “Griffin. You know what? I kinda like it.”

OKAY SO THIS WASN’T ACTUALLY MY IDEA i read a damijon fic a while back on ao3 where the author had jon’s name as griffin and i thought that was so so cool so i wrote a thing and i tried to find it again to give them credit but i couldn’t find it!!! so if anyone knows the fic i’m talking about, or if you yourself wrote the fic, please let me know so i can link you in the thing. it really was an incredible idea.

tag list: @comicsandhoney @birdy-bat-writes @elles-shitposts-personified @subtleappreciation @yesboopityboop @dangerduckjpeg @astroherogirl

and i know you’re not actually on my tag list so sorry for bothering you with this but @iamwhelmed i thought you would appreciate this

[itawonka-creates]

Seabourne Burnouts: Part 8 - Backstay

A Maribat! on Deck AU

Bless @shewhoridesonrainbows for helping with the chapter name! 

Start [Here] [Part 7] [Part 9]

“Why do you think it’s the Waynes?” Marinette brought her classmates back to her room to set up the living room game room combo in her suite. The group was moving things out of the way of the flat-screen TV to prepare for movies and games for the night ahead of them.

“You can’t tell me you aren’t suspicious of them.” Damian looked around his room for pajamas that would be approved by his brothers. He shook his head and mumbled, “Why am I even going?”

Dick looked up from Damian’s dresser and threw him a green and black pair of pajama pants, shrugging, “Not really, Damian.”

“Why not?!” Alya sounded exasperated as she pushed a loveseat out of the way. “Oh my god, why are there so many things in here?” Chloe snickered at the girl, earning her a playful glare. 

“Maybe because we don’t have any proof.” Tim looked a very annoyed Damian and shook his head, “Too plain.” Damian growled and went back to the bathroom to change.

Alya whined, “There are too many things pointing to that conclusion, though!” Nino rolled his eyes and helped her move a coffee table. “Thanks.” 

“Circumstances. That’s all it is.” Dick handed Damian a plain blue t-shirt, “Why are you so hard to dress?”

Damian glared at Dick, “I am not wearing Nightwing Blue to this stupid sleepover, Grayson.” He threw the t-shirt back and huffed, “That doesn’t mean she isn’t Ladybug. And it doesn’t mean the rest of her friends aren’t a part of it too.”

“Okay, sure. Tim wasn’t around, that makes him a suspect. A lot of people weren’t in that room, does that make them suspects too?” Marinette placed her hands on her hips and looked around the room, “Why are we working so hard on this again?”

“Doesn’t mean we can’t start our investigation with her.” Tim scrolled through Marinette’s Instagram, “Remember to bring up her fashion designs. Get big brownie points.” Damian yanked the phone out of Tim’s hands, “Hey!”

“Listen to yourself, this is a theory!” Chloe wiped her forehead with her and frowned, “If I sweat any more, I’m going to consider this labor and require payment.”

Alya rolled her eyes and brought over some blankets to cover the floor and create some forts, “I have to start somewhere.”

Damian groaned, “No, no you don’t. You don’t have to do anything. At least not tonight. After tonight, give me updates from your investigation.” He put on a dark red shirt and put back on the green sweats, “Now, I’m just giving myself away aren’t I?”

Dick looked him over and smiled, “You look good in those colors though. Stay like that.” Dick walked over and messed around with Damian’s hair, much to his dismay. “Come on, I have to do it.”

“No, you don’t.” Nino walked over and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, “You just want to.” He sighed, “Why do you care so much anyways? Like, you’ve been talking about this since Batman showed up on the cameras.”

“I care because we’re the underlings of the world’s greatest detective and I want answers.” Damian looked through his drawers and pulled out a red hoodie.

“Oh yeah, ruin thirty minutes of good work with a hoodie.” Dick sighed and shook his head, “You don’t have to be involved in every case, you know?”

“I can’t just leave it though!” Alya felt her patience being tested and walked over to Marinette, “You support me, right?”

Marinette rolled her eyes and smiled, “Of course I do, but I’m not comfortable with you accusing my friends of hiding big secrets like that.”

“They need to hide it though.” Jason sat on Damian’s bed and frowned, “They’re kids. From what I can tell they don’t have a mentor or leader besides her. We have a seasoned Batman, they have no one.”

Damian pinched the bridge of his nose, “That’s a lot of responsibility to just throw on them.”

Adrien scoffed, “You say that as if Bruce Wayne doesn’t have the resources to help be Batman.” After seeing what Damian and Jason in action during the attack, he’s been more than a bit suspicious. Adrien shrugged and walked next to Alya, “I don’t know if you’re right, but I do know something’s up with them. I’m in.”

“Yeah you are!” The two fist bump and Alya held Adrien’s arm up, “Behold peasants! My champion!”

Nino rolled his eyes and kissed Alya’s cheek, “Yeah, sure. Your champion is a kid who was homeschooled all his life with just enough social skill to keep his head above water in public school.” Adrien snorted at the jab and went back to work. Nino thought for a moment, “That must be some standard to hold yourself to, though. I mean, I know the dude has money, but Gotham isn’t exactly the best city. To promise to protect a city like Gotham practically on your own like that must be hard.”

“She’s not alone though, Ladybug has Cat Noir though.” Jason sat back down on the bed and looked at the clock on the bedside desk, “Still, it means she was thirteen when she took up her secret identity. Two kids, no mentor, no prior experience, that’s insane. You can’t expect two kids to be held to that kind of standard.”

“It helps if he set the standard.” Marinette thought back to when she and Adrien first got the Miraculous. They didn’t set their standard, they just worked hard to meet it. “Remember, Bruce had it hard. Harder than most of us.” The room fell silent as they dedicated the moment to Bruce’s parents. Marinette wiped her watering eyes and shook her head, “I need some air. Everything looks fine, you guys should get ready too.”

“You want one of us to come with you?”

Damian looked back at Dick from the room’s entrance and shook his head, “No, I just want to think about this. I do believe she’s Ladybug. If we’re right, then we should be ashamed of ourselves for not involving ourselves sooner. We’ve had training. We’ve had guidance. They got a ring and some earrings. That’s it.” He sighed, “It just upsets me to think she went through all of this, learning as she went. She isn’t like Bruce. Bruce chose that life for himself, he had resources, and he had Alfred. What does she have? A family that probably doesn’t know because what normal family would let their thirteen-year-old daughter fight a magical terrorist. A partner who was just as much an amateur as she was and by the looks of it they don’t know each other’s identities so they can’t support each other out of the mask. And lastly, her wits. Her mind is her greatest asset. The entirety of Paris is dependent on the mind of a teenager.” Damian gripped the door frame, getting more upset as he thought about the situation she’s in, “While I have faith in her ability, Paris is still damned and she’s going to break from the pressure.”

Marinette sighed as she smiled at her friends in a weak attempt to reassure them, “I just don’t like thinking that he went through all that and still became a superhero. It’s too much.” She thought about her own situation and wondered if she was in any position to feel the way she does when there are voluntary superheroes in worse cities than Paris. She knows she shouldn’t compare herself, but she can’t help it when Alya tells her more and more about Gotham’s great bat. She left the group and wandered around the boat, heading back upstairs to the captain’s den. Marinette hoped to see him, or at the very least explore some more and let herself just think. Marinette bumped into someone as she reached the stairway up to the captain’s den, “Oh I’m sorry-”

“Excuse me- Marinette?” She looked up and met a familiar face, “What are you doing here?”

Marinette shrugged, “I wanted to go back to the den and maybe talk to Captain Staller.”

Damian nodded and the two continued moving, “I like that room too. It’s the one place I can gather my thoughts on this ship.”

“What are you thinking about?”

“Mainly? You.” Marinette stared at him wide-eyed and he realized he needed to backtrack, “Referring to dinner.”

Marinette’s face couldn’t get redder, “Oh! Oh, that! Right!” She patted her cheeks in a sad attempt to make the redness go down, “Still think I’m a hero, huh?”

“I’m betting Alya still thinks I’m the son of Batman too?” Marinette sighed, giving him all the confirmation he needed. “Either way, she won’t find anything on Father. Trust me, even Lois Lane barked up that tree.”

“Lois Lane?”

“A famous reporter in America.” Marinette nodded and he hummed, “Doesn’t mean she’s not going to try though.”

“Yeah, she’s determined.”

“So are my brothers.” Damian stopped in front of the door and knocked three times, “Let’s see if we can find the captain.”

Marinette and Damian waited a few moments before the captain opened the door. Seeing Marinette made him smile, “I was wondering when you’d come back.”

She grinned, “Sorry for the wait.” She hugged the man and walked inside, Damian trailing behind her. She walked around the room, “Did you get more?”

The captain walked over to the bar with Damian and Damian poured him a drink. Damian learned what the man’s favorite drink was and would make it for the captain whenever both were in the den as a show of gratitude for allowing him access. The captain took a sip and nodded, “You’re getting better at this.” Damian shrugged and the captain turned back to Marinette, “Get more what?”

“Ships.” She carefully picked one up and rubbed some dust off of it, “Or maybe I just didn’t notice these before.”

Captain Staller put down his drink and walked over Marinette, “That one is my favorite. The oldest in my collection and it was given to me by my niece when she was younger.”

Marinette tensed, “Should I put this back?”

“No! No.” He leaned over her shoulder and pointed at the ship’s side, “S.S. A. Staller. Anne was always cheeky like that.” Marinette smiled at the small detail, completely unaware of the boy watching her from the bar. “She gave this to me when she was thirteen. She told me she spent weeks on it and refused to let anyone forget that.”

“She sounded fun.”

“She was.” He took the bottle from her hand, putting it back in its place on the shelf and grabbing another one. “This is the last one she made me.”

Marinette took the bottle from Captain Staller and took in many details, “This material is different. Better quality.”

“Good eye. What else?”

Marinette turned the bottle carefully, “These sails don’t look like the others. This looks custom.”

“Good. Good. Anything else?” Marinette hummed as she trained her eyes on the smaller details before the captain interrupted her, “Look at the bigger picture, girl.”

She blinked, realizing she was practically holding the bottle to her eye trying to find the little secrets possibly hidden in the model. She looked up at Staller and then noticed Damian snickering. She stuck her tongue out at him and looked back at the bottle, “Oh, it has a different name. S.S. A. Dereon.”

He nodded, “She got married and sent me this as a gift before her honeymoon.” He pointed at the sails, “The sails are made from pieces of her wedding dress.”

Marinette’s eyes lit up and she turned her attention back to the sails, “That’s so sweet.”

The captain nodded before taking the ship and carefully putting it back. He led her back to the bar where Damian already had a sparkling water waiting for her as she sat down, “She was. She was the bottle to my ship.”

Marinette couldn’t help but be confused, “How so?”

The man sighed and took a swig of his drink, “When you throw one of those ships into the sea, what do you think happens?” Marinette shook her head and he smiled wistfully, “The bottle protects the boat from the sea. The bottle will keep the boat intact, providing a safe place for the boat from the chaos from the outside world.”

Marinette watched him carefully and before she could stop and think about her words she asked, “What if the bottle breaks?” The captain set down his glass and the noise sounded loud despite him not using much force, making the two teens tense and bringing Damian’s attention back to the conversation from behind the bar.

Captain Staller thought for a moment, “The bottle may break, that’s right. Without the bottle, the ship is left to its own devices against the raging waters of the sea.” He thought a little more before nodding, “Yes. The ship is left to survive. Sometimes when the bottle breaks, the boat finds itself in a terrible current or storm. Sometimes, those ships are lucky enough to find themselves in calmer waters with gentle waves. Most don’t though.” He took one more drink from the glass before handing it to Damian empty. Damian took the glass from the man’s hands and listened, “All boats are made differently. Some have better quality material while others are made cheap. Some are bigger. Some are made to be better. The boats all have different qualities, but not all will float. Sometimes the better ships on calm waters find themselves with a breach and slowly sink. Sometimes you’ll see a tiny little ship in the middle of a storm fighting to stay afloat. A lot of times, those boats are underwater when the bottle breaks, forcing them to struggle right off the bat.”

Captain Staller sighed, “Not all boats make it. Many are victims of the chaotic world without their bottles, but there are also many who continue to sail on. Despite the breaches, despite the flooding, despite possibly being submerged at some point those ships who have had the most damage to them and still stay above water are to be celebrated for their resiliency. The sea fights to claim as many ships as possible, and someday every ship will have its final journey, but that doesn’t mean those ships should stop trying. Even if their bottle breaks, either by accident or by someone’s hand, ships are made to sail the waters no matter how aggressive the waves are. Will they all make it? No. Will the ones that do be constantly tested by the sea? Absolutely. Will those ships ever stop? Eventually, but eventually is a long way away from today. Today they sail and continue fighting, for the bottle that was broken and to prove to the world that, despite everything, they can still continue.”

The two teens were quiet as they processed the captain’s words. Each wondering if they were in the process of sinking and wondered what it would take to keep from being submerged. Damian was the one to break the silence, “What about you?”  The captain turned to him and he repeated the question, “What about you? You said Anne was your bottle. Are you still sailing?”

The captain thought for a moment before looking at Marinette and smiling, “There are ships fortunate enough to find a kind spirit to repair a few parts to help them stay afloat.” He ruffled Marinette’s loose hair and chuckled, “You send out the same energy Anne did. That definitely helps.”

Marinette smiled, “I’m sorry I’m not Anne.”

“You’re you, that’s all that matters.” He looked between the two teens, “You both lost your bottles.” The two teens tensed and looked startled, but he just waved his hand, “It happens. I lost my bottle too, but you two are faring much better than this old ship.”

Marinette patted the captain’s shoulder, “Don’t say that.”

“You are.” He straightened out his back and, as if to prove his point, his back cracked. “You see, this ship creaks it’s so old.” Marinette giggled and Damian bit his inner cheek to keep from smiling, “It’s okay though. I think both of you hold qualities to repair other people’s ships. Finding each other, despite the distance between your homelands, was not by accident. You two will prove to be very helpful to one another.” The two looked at each other, confused and a bit embarrassed, making the captain laugh. He turned to Damian, “You.” Damian pointed at himself as if to confirm even though he was the only one behind the bar, “I allow you in here is for the same reason. Despite your attitude, you radiate the same kind energy as my Anne.” Damian opened his mouth to protest but the captain held up his hand, “I’m not saying you are as openly affectionate. Your ship is made of hard materials usually made for battleships, odd for a child but undeniable. Still, you still seem to use that material to fight for others and fight for those you care for. You have a kind soul underneath.”

“So do my brothers.”

“Yes, but your brothers are loud and you are not.” Damian couldn’t help but bark out a laugh before covering his mouth and turning to Marinette. She was trying not to laugh, but the smile on her face showed that she was struggling.

Marinette took a few more sips from her drink and stared at her glass, “How do you do it?” Damian and Captain Staller turned to the small girl, “How do you stay afloat even when you feel like you’re being submerged?”

He sighed, “It’s all about inner strength combined with external support. If you have a lot of inner strength you may not need to rely on others as much and vice versa. Sometimes you find that one of those is draining and you need to shift to using the other a bit more for a while. It’s a balance. You don’t want to solely rely on those resources but you don’t want to isolate yourself thinking you can do it all by yourself.” He looked the two once over, “You both seem to be relying on your inner strengths too much. Rely on others and each other for a bit. Recharge. Rest. You’ll float.”

Marinette nodded and sighed before drinking the last bit of her drink, “Okay.”

Damian was snapped out of his thoughts and turned to her, “Okay?”

She nodded, “Okay.” She looked up at him, “We’re friends, right?” Damian nodded, “If I lean on you, you can lean on me. We don’t have long on this trip, but if I can I want to spend more time with you.” He looked surprised and the meaning behind her words caught up with her. Her face heated up and she began rambling, “If you want to! I mean, I just noticed that so far the best times I’ve had so far are with you and your brothers and-”

“Okay.”

“Huh?”

If Damian from a few months ago could time travel and see this moment, he’d slap current Damian. Damian always told people friends were a luxury he couldn’t afford and he hated relying on people. Being with the titans helped, but there was still a part of him that refused to admit it and continued to believe he was better off alone. Now? That part was subdued and he wanted her to lean on him if she chose. “Okay.”

Marinette smiled and nodded, looking much more relieved, “Okay.”

The captain looked between the two in their own little world and chuckled, “I’m glad my ship brought you two together.” The two turned back to the captain and he shook his head, “No, no.” He got up, “Don’t mind me. I need to do some more work. I meant to take a little break and now it’s an hour later.” He stretched his back, causing another crack to resonate in the room, and walked to the exit. “I hope you come back and visit me soon.”

Marinette got up and ran over to hug him, “Of course.”

Captain Staller smiled at her and turned to Damian, “Both of you.” Damian nodded, “Goodnight children.” He left the room and a comfortable silence engulfed the room as Marinette walked back over to her stool while Damian stood behind the bar.

She looked him over and giggled, “Those are your pajamas?”

Damian nodded, “I’m assuming those are yours?”

She stood up and spun around, “Made them myself.”

“They’re very well made, I would’ve thought you bought them.”

“Thank you!” She sat back down and trailed her finger around the rim of the glass cup in front of her, “What are you thinking?”

Damian thought for a moment before answering, “A lot of things now. About my own situation. About yours. A lot I guess.”

“Ah yes, being the sole son of the great Bruce Wayne must be hard.” She thought back to what Tim told her that first night, “You can’t trust many people, can you? There must be a lot of people just trying to use you for your name.”

Damian could’ve laughed. Being Damian Wayne was the easier half of him. It was being Robin that was threatening to sink him. Still, he nodded in response, “Being a superhero must be hard.” She glared at him and he smirked, “I’m joking.” He looked down at his own untouched drink, “Seriously though, Lila must be making things hard for you. Dealing with bullies, social isolation, and trying to stay a good student? Must be hard for you.” Damian didn’t really know what it was like to have those normal issues, but for a normal girl it must be tiring to deal with every day. In the back of his mind came a thought reminding him that she wasn’t normal though.

She nodded and sighed, “Yeah.”

Damian gulped down his own drink and pointed at the clock, “I think they’ll come looking for us again if we don’t head out soon.”

She got up and walked over to the door, “Let’s go.” Damian ran over and side by side the two walked back to Marinette’s room. The two stayed close and, unlike earlier when they were walking to the dining hall, this walk was quiet and comfortably so. The two could feel their arms and hands brush against each other, but neither reacted externally. They just enjoyed the company and were afraid of ruining the walk by doing something. As they turned the corner towards Marinette’s room, Alya ran up and almost crashed into them.

“Oh my god, I almost came looking for you.” She noticed Damian and smiled, “Oh! I mean, we can leave-”

Marinette hissed with a red face, “Alya!”

Alya giggled and motioned for the room, “Come on already. We got room service and now have sweets and movies and games galore.” She looked over Damian, “Have you ever been to a sleepover before?”

Damian frowned, “No.”

Alya’s eyes went wide, “Oh jeez, what is it with you rich kids and not having childhoods?” She grabbed their arms and pulled them to the room, “We have to show Adrien and Damian the sleepover of the ages!”

Seeing the look of apprehension on Damian’s face made Marinette laugh, “She’s just exaggerating. You’ll be fine! Just relax.”

He frowned and sounded tense, “I don’t relax.” Alya opened the doors and led the two the lively den that now had blanket forts and movies playing on the TV.

“I swear Nino if you keep hogging the popcorn I will hurt you.”

“Come on Chloe, we can just order more.”

“Then pick up the phone and order some.”

“Never.”

The three looked back and Adrien waved, “Hey! Join us!”

Nino sat up, “First order some more popcorn!”

Marinette rolled her eyes, “I’m just going to ask them to bring us each our own bowls. I’ll be back.”

As soon as Marinette walked away Damian felt out of his element. Adrien noticed this a motioned for him to sit down next to him, “First sleepover too?”

Damian crawled into the makeshift fort and sat next to the blond boy, “Yes, although I doubt we’re missing too much.”

“What? Oh no, no, no, no, no! You did not just say that.” Chloe crawled over and placed her hands on Damian’s shoulders and forced him to look at her, “You are about to experience the joys of trying to stay awake for as long as possible with tolerable people. Everything that happens in the room stays in the room and as the night goes on we will have confessionals.”

Damian took her hands off his shoulders, “Confessionals?”

Nino nodded, “Truth or dare.”

Damian groaned, “I refuse to take part of a movie trope.”

Adrien shrugged, “It’s a trope for a reason. It’s fun and helps you learn about those around you.” He sent Damian a reassuring smile, “Nothing bad. Most you’ll have to do is karaoke with this group.”

Damian scowled, “I don’t sing.”

“You will when we dare you to.” Chloe sat back down in her original spot, grabbing the popcorn out of Nino’s grasp on the way back. “You are with us now. I don’t know what your parents allowed or didn’t allow, but considering you and Adrien both don’t know what it’s like to have a sleep over it’s our personal duty to make sure this happens.” She smirked, “So where were you and Marinette anyway?” The three in the room all turned to Damian, expecting an answer, but Alya and Marinette walked back into the room.

“Okay Marinette ordered and I changed so we are good to go!” Alya looked around the room, “What’d we miss?”

Adrien shrugged, “Nothing outside the usual.”

Alya’s face deadpanned, “Did she vow to Damian-”

“-to make sure he experiences a great first sleepover, yes.” Adrien laughed, “It’s sweet though.” He looked over at Chloe who had her eyes glued to the screen and scarfing down the popcorn, “If it’s not a good first sleepover, I’m telling my father.”

Chloe snorted, “Yeah right, like your dad is going to get any leeway with my mother. Daddy maybe, but my mother is a whole different story.”

Adrien nodded, “True.”

Marinette and Alya crawled into the blanket fort with their friends, Alya sat next to Nino and Marinette sat between Chloe and Damian. “What are we watching anyway?”

Chloe threw some popcorn at Marinette, “Horror movie, hush.”

Marinette rolled her eyes and picked up some of the popcorn to munch on. “Oh my god this is good popcorn.”

Chloe threw a bit more, hitting both Marinette and Damian, “Yes it is and I’m not sharing. Now hush.” Marinette rolled her eyes and looked back at Damian, picking out a piece of popcorn sitting on top of his hoodie and throwing it in her mouth. She giggled at his confused reaction and continued to eat the popcorn Chloe threw them.

Within the walls of the dark den, the six kids were entranced by the screen. Most kids were in between being unable to watch and being unable to look away. The only exceptions were Alya and Damian who were making bets on who would survive.

“Final girl always wins.”

“Yes, but there are two final girl contestants here! Plus, there’s a kid!”

“Alya, Damian, I swear-”

The door behind them burst open with a kick and the six screamed and scrambled as far away as possible. The five classmates all fell into their own defensive stances while Damian grabbed the nearest thing not bolted to the ground, in his case a vase, and threw it at the figure in the doorway. The figure dodged it and turned on the light, “What the hell was that for?”

The six sighed in relief, “Oh my god, Jason you scared us.”

Jason shrugged, “Serves you right for watching horror movies late at night.” He looked at the screen, “I approve though.” He pulled in a cart of snacks, mainly popcorn, “But I’m here to make a delivery and check in on Bruce’s request.”

Damian growled, “We’re fine. Now please tell me the other two aren’t here.”

Dick ran into the room and threw a pillow from Marinette’s bed at his brother, who easily caught it, “Rude!” He crossed his arms, “Here we are, wondering how our near and dear baby brother is doing at his first sleepover and this is how you repay us?”

Tim walked in after Dick and shook his head at the broken vase, “I told you to knock.”

“More fun my way.”

Chloe frowned and walked over to the cart, taking the biggest bowl of popcorn and returning to her seat. “Turn the lights off already.”

Marinette rolled her eyes and walked over to the three brothers, “You guys joining us then?”

“No!” Damian walked over, “You were not invited and if you guys stay here I will leave.”

Dick smirked, “This coming from the kid who didn’t even want to come.”

Damian frowned, “Well I’m here now and not hating it so go!”

Jason walked over and sat next to Adrien, “Shut up I like this movie.” Adrien offered some of his popcorn and Jason happily took a bit.

Tim and Dick pushed their way through and before Damian could yell, Dick held up his hand, “We want to watch the movie. We’ll leave later, okay?” Damian was not satisfied with these terms, knowing them they’d stay the night and he would rather not have his first normal interaction with a group of kids his age be ruined by them. Still, Marinette motioned for them to sit wherever, grabbing some snacks and nudging Damian to follow her back to their seats. Damian realized there was only so much he could do against the group and reluctantly went back to his seat next to Marinette. She handed him his own bowl of popcorn and he graciously took it, continuing to enjoy the flick.

There were some screams, mainly by Tim, but overall the group decided to continue their horror movie night. As the night went on and the movies got worse, the group began talking over the flicks and move into what Chloe referred to as ‘confessionals’. 

Marinette sat up and held up her hands, “Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Dick has a long-term girlfriend and you didn’t bring her?”

Chloe scoffed, “Divorce.”

“We aren’t even married.”

Alya snickered, “She’s right. Divorce!”

Dick pouted and crossed his arms, “It’s not my decision to make. Bruce wanted this to be a family trip, no one else.”

Adrien stuffed some more popcorn in his mouth, “Why?”

Dick briefly looked over at Damian before shrugging, “Family vacation I guess.”

Jason ate some of the candy from the cart and shrugged, “Kory still should’ve come.”

Marinette perked up, “Oh, so her name is Kory?” She smiled, “Nickname?” Dick nodded and she whined, “Alya why can’t I find that?”

Alya pushed her friend over onto the pillows surrounding them, “Girl, you know how many guys threw themselves at you?”

She rolled onto her back and blew some hair out of her face, “They did not.”

Alya was not amused, “Nathaniel?”

“Akumatized and now with Marc.”

Adrien jumped in, “Luka?”

“He’s with Kagami and happier than ever.”

Nino raised his hand, “Me?”

“You and Alya are perfect for each other.”

Chloe scoffed, “Kim?”

“Kim did not like me!”

Alya rolled her eyes, “Face it. You happen to be a really good matchmaker, just not for yourself. You’ve had your chances, but you keep pushing them to who you think is ‘better’.”

Marinette sat up, “Because they were better. They’re happy aren’t they?”

“But are you?” Marinette turned her head to Tim who shrugged, “You want a relationship but you push it away when possible. Sounds to me like you don’t think you’d be a good partner. Not that there’s someone better.”

Marinette huffed and hugged a nearby pillow, “They are better.”

Dick sighed, “Alright, alright. Let it go.” Tim was about to open his mouth but was stopped by a pillow hitting his face, “I said let it go.”

Tim threw a pillow straight back at him, only for Dick to catch it midair, “Show off.”

Chloe turned to the boys and hummed, “You guys seem very coordinated. Damian caught a pillow too earlier.”

Damian shrugged, “Years of practice living with each other I guess.”  

Alya nodded, “I can vogue for that. After babysitting my sisters I have wicked reflexes for anything aimed at my face.”

Dick laughed, “Sucks being the oldest, doesn’t it?”

Alya shook her head, “I’m not the oldest actually. My big sister is a wrestler.”

“Sweet.” Jason high-fived Alya and nudged Dick, “No one can relate to being the oldest but you.”

“I can.” Nino raised his hand and shrugged, “I’m the oldest in my family. I have a younger brother.”

Tim looked around, “Are the rest of you only childs then?” The remaining three nodded and Tim wore an expression of wonder and joy, “Oh my god, how is that like?”

“Lonely.”

“Boring.”

“I get whatever I want.”

Marinette sighed, “I kind of wish I had an older brother or sister though.”

Damian shook his head, “No. No you don’t.” The three older brothers all stuck their tongue at him and he rolled his eyes, “For a while I grew up an only child.”

“Really? How?”

“I lived with my mother until I was ten and then she passed me over to Father.”

Dick snorted, “Remember what Bruce said about the first thing you told him?”

Tim smiled, “I’ll be Damian!” He cleared his throat and sat up, crossing his arms and looking slightly annoyed. “Don’t be so surprised Father. I thought you’d be taller.”

The group laughed at Damian’s expense as he frowned and glared at Tim. Jason shook his head, “I can’t believe you’re forgetting the best part though.” He cleared his throat and looked at Dick who nodded and did the same, knowing exactly what he’s talking about. “I’ll drive.”

“No.”

“I know how.”

“No.”

Marinette bit her lip to keep from laughing, “How? How would a ten year old know how to drive?”

Damian grabbed the pillow out of Marinette’s arms and threw it at his laughing brothers, “You know, I don’t appreciate you telling these people I just met my life story.”

Dick sighed, “We’re not saying everything. Just some of the funnier parts. That’s part of a sleepover, kid. Story-telling.”

Chloe giggled, “We can tell you some great Marinette ones if you’d like.”

An almost unanimous “Yes!” with one weak “No!” resonated in the room. Alya smirked, “Sorry girl, but as per tradition and because you are the hostess it is only fair we do this.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!”

“Doesn’t have to. I’m getting tired and the people have the right to know.” Alya expertly dodged the candy thrown at her head and turned to the boys, “Okay, let me just start off by saying our dear Marinette hear is a walking accident waiting to happen.” Marinette groaned and fell back, covering her ears. “So not only will she be consistently late to class, she has an 80% chance of falling on the way into the actual classroom. If this was a few months ago, 95% if Adrien looked at her.”

“Alya, remember I know where you live.”

Dick snickered, “You had a pretty big crush on Adrien. What changed?”

Marinette propped herself up on her arms and looked over at Adrien, “I guess I just got over it? After Lila came along, it was hard to keep in touch with a lot of you. I guess growing apart just helped me let go of it.”

Adrien shrugged, “I’m happy with where we are now though.”

Marinette smirked, “Yeah, dodged a bullet dating a nerd like you.” Adrien threw some popcorn in her direction and she laughed, “No, but seriously. I just grew out of it I guess.”

Damian frowned, “Is he the reason why you let go of so many other guys?”

Marinette was surprised at the question but nodded, “Yeah. I didn’t feel right trying to go for someone else when I liked Adrien as much as I did. I guess I’m an all or nothing kind of person.”

Tim nodded, “See? Now that is a better reason than thinking someone else is better.” Tim sighed, “Sucks though, you missed a lot of opportunities.”

Marinette shrugged, “I’m hopeful that the right person will come around.”

Alya caught Damian’s eye and she wiggled her eyebrows at him, causing him to roll his eyes. Alya let out an exaggerated sigh, “Ah, yes. Who will ever take our sweet Marinette? She’s chased off all her suitors.”

“You’ve been watching too many westerns at Nino’s again.”

“Not my fault his brother went through a cowboy phase.”

Nino tipped his cap and winked, “Not my usual style, but playing sheriff was fun.”

Dick smiled, “Damian, remember when it was just you and me for a bit?”

Damian rubbed his temples, “Sadly.”

Chloe smirked, “Oh come on it couldn’t have been that bad.”

“You don’t know how annoying Grayson can be when he wants to be.”

“Same goes to you, Damian. As I recall, you had quite the superiority complex when we first met.”

Adrien turned to Damian, “Really? You seem pretty calm.”

Jason barked out a laugh, “That’s because the only emotion that kid knows how to express is anger. Trust me, piss him off and he’ll lose his cool like that!”

Jason snapped and Damian crossed his arms, “Keep talking and everyone’s going to see how bad I can get.”

Tim put his hands up, “No need! We’re completely cool with you not having a meltdown.”

“I do not ‘meltdown’!”

“You’re right, he throws tantrums.”

Marinette, clearly seeing how annoyed Damian was getting, stepped in, “I think it’s safe to say we all have our faults.”

Damian glared at his brothers, “Some more than others.”

Adrien laughed, “You know, even watching you guys argue makes me wish I had siblings. Would make my house actually feel more alive.”

Chloe shook her head, “Oh no. No way, I’m okay with being an only child and having friends. I could not deal with some kid trying to get my attention all the time.”

“So you finally learned to empathize with your dad, Chloe?” Chloe sent a glare at Alya who just laughed, “Joking! Joking! You know your dad loves you.” Chloe nodded, satisfied with the statement and Alya smiled. “You know, it’s weird. I never would’ve thought this would happen.”

Adrien sighed, “Me either, but I’m glad it is. I’m having fun.”

Marinette nodded, “It’s nice. A huge improvement from last night too.” The group all murmured agreements to her statement, all wishing they could forget the bad parts of that night. Marinette yawned, “What time is it?”

Dick looked at his phone and frowned, “You don’t want to know.”

“That late?”

“Yeah.”

Chloe got up and stretched, “Alright then, girls will take the bed and boys can sleep on the floor with the extra blankets.

Adrien nodded and sat up too, “Okay, Nino, Damian and I can clean up around here and head into the main bedroom when we’re done.” Chloe nodded and motioned for the other two girls to follow.

Marinette stopped and looked at the three older brothers, “Are you guys going to sleep here too? I don’t know if we have enough blankets for you guys.”

Dick shook his head, “No. If Damian’s glare is telling me anything, it’s that we’ve overstayed our welcome.” Marinette turned to Damian and, sure enough, he was staring his brothers down.

She shook her head and laughed, “Never a dull moment with you guys, huh?”

Jason got up and nudged her, “Nope.”

“Still think I’m Ladybug?”

“Yup.”

Marinette rolled her eyes and motioned for the three to follow her, “Come on, I’ll walk you guys out.” The night went on as expected, the three eldest Waynes left, the girls all sleep together on Marinette’s bed, and the three boys were sleeping on the floor with all the extra blankets. 

Still, Marinette found herself waking up periodically, tossing and turning. She was getting more and more frustrated until she decided she needed a walk. She carefully crawled over the sleeping girls and off the bed, tiptoeing her way out of the room and shutting the door behind her. She walked to the nearest railing, not touching it but looking out at the sea surrounding them. She could see the coastline and the small city, briefly trying to picture what it would look like once they docked.

“So do you make a habit of this?” She turned her head to the boy walking up to her, “We’re there to keep an eye on you and make sure you aren’t by yourself and then you wander off in the middle of the night? I know you’re smarter than that.”

Marinette shook her head and turned back to the water, “I couldn’t sleep.” She heard him walk up beside her and the two stood there in silence looking over the sea. Eventually she quietly asked, “Do you really think I could be Ladybug?”

Damian nodded, keeping his eyes trained over the rails, “I think you’re as good of a candidate as any.”

“You haven’t even been to Paris. There are a lot of other people.”

“Maybe, but those people aren’t you.” Marinette turned to face Damian, watching him ponder over his next words, “I’m sorry you’ve been going through this.”

“I’m not-”

He turned to her, finally meeting her gaze and any words she wanted to say died in her mouth, “You say you hate liars, but you probably have the biggest lie to hide out of anyone.”

Marinette looked away, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I can tell something’s up.”

“You don’t get it.” She sighed, “Hawkmoth gets into people’s heads. If he akumatizes someone who thinks they know Ladybug’s identity, what do you think will happen?” Her expression became more serious as she looked back up at him, “Get it out of your head. I’m not Ladybug.”

Damian frowned, “Was it hard?”

“Was what hard?”

“Being on your own like that? Do you have anyone to talk to? Does he know?”

She paused for a moment and shook her head, sighing, “I can’t have this conversation.”

Damian asked again, his stern tone demanding a response, “Does Cat Noir know?”

“Know what?” Marinette glared at him and her voice was cold, “I don’t know Cat Noir. Cat Noir wouldn’t know me because we don’t interact. I am not Ladybug!”

Damian didn’t flinch, “You don’t have to lie to me. I won’t tell my brothers if you don’t want me to. Still, I should tell you that Tim is a great detective and Jason is stubborn. They’ll find out and tell everyone they were right unless you tell them yourself and ask them to stay quiet.” Marinette didn’t respond and he felt pity, “It’s okay-”

“What about this is okay?!” Marinette clenched her fists at her sides and could feel herself losing her temper, “What about any of it is okay, Damian?! The heroes of Paris were young and inexperienced when they started! They didn’t get any help and when they did it was just more kids! Ladybug and Cat Noir have to show up anytime someone has a negative emotion! How does anyone expect someone to live like that?!” Marinette took a shaky breath and felt body shaking, “I mean, they’re kids! I know there isn’t any concrete proof, but it’s obvious! Especially after Chloe became Queen Bee, it made it more obvious that they were all kids! They all look young!” She shook her head and held herself, “How is that fair? I know people in America choose to be heroes. They choose to use their powers for good and while I don’t have any doubts that their hearts are in the right place, how do you expect to put that kind of responsibility on a kid? They can’t tell anyone! They can’t talk to anyone!” The shaking grew more violent and her next words came out weak but forced, “That has to be so much for a couple of kids. And Ladybug? If she fails, everything is done for. All damage becomes permanent. Paris will fall.”

Damian didn’t really know how to answer her. He knew only about another hero in her position, Shazam, but he at least had people to depend on.  People who knew. Sometimes his friends shared his power and helped. Ladybug didn’t have that luxury. He just watched her retreat further into herself and they stood in silence until she leaned onto him. Before he could say anything, she weakly pleaded, “Let me lean on you, okay?”

Damian relaxed and let her lean on him, “Okay.” Damian now knew for a fact that she was Ladybug. He wondered if he had any right to complain about his situation now. She was by herself and holding it all in. She was right, too. If she failed, Paris would fall. Cat Noir could fight, but without the Miraculous Cure the damage would be too much. He briefly wondered how the cities back in the US were still standing after all the damage they’ve sustained. Still, he had his brothers and the Titans, Batman had the Justice League, but she didn’t have other team members who could share the burden of being Ladybug. While the League could send other heroes to other cities when needed, Paris specifically needed their Ladybug and her magic. She might have Cat Noir, but Cat Noir doesn’t have her powers. He can’t purify and he can’t heal.

He looked down at the girl and frowned, “Do you need anything from me?”

She shook her head and let out a bittersweet laugh, “I’m the worst.” She sniffed, “I should be better than this. I should have a better handle on this. I shouldn’t be like this.” She wiped her eyes, “I don’t want to cry anymore.”

Damian sighed, “It’s not good to keep it in though. That’s how you burn out.”

“How does Bruce do it?”

“Do what?”

“Fight crime.” Damian thought for a moment and bit his tongue, wanting to just talk but not willing to out his father’s identity. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” She pulled away and looked up at him, “What are you going to do now?”

Damian had all the confirmation he needed, she didn’t need to say it he knew by her frustrations. Still, he couldn’t bring it in him to just go and tell his brothers without her permission. She didn’t do anything wrong by him or his family, she was here needing just as much as a getaway as he did. “Nothing if you don’t want me to.”

She sighed and leaned her forehead on his shoulder, “God, why am I so tired?”

“Probably because you haven’t slept that well in the three days we’ve been here.”

She smiled, “It’s only been three days? It feels like weeks.”

Damian nodded, “Yeah.” Damian nudged her and she looked back up at him, “Let’s go back to sleep.”

She frowned and groaned, “Great. Dick’s seen me have an emotional breakdown and now you’ve seen me have a nervous breakdown.” She hit her head against his arm, “I’m a mess.”

“Wait, what happened with Dick?”

She shook her head, “Don’t worry about it. Just know I ruined one of his t-shirts with my tears and now I have to make him a new shirt. That reminds me, I need to get material and a sewing machine in town tomorrow.” She thought aloud to herself, “And the design, what am I going to design?”

Damian smirked, “He really likes Nightwing back in Gotham. Make him a Nightwing themed shirt and I promise he’ll be speechless.”

She looked up at him and smiled, “You think?”

“I know.” He chuckled, “Just make sure I’m there when you give it to him.”

Marinette frowned, “Why do I get the feeling you’re going to enjoy that a little too much?”

“Because I will.”

Marinette snorted and then switched to a more somber tone, “Must be nice having people in your life like that.”

“Yeah, they’re insufferable, but they’re good people and I can count on them when need be.” Damian sighed and leaned against the railing, “They still give me gray hairs, though.”

Marinette grinned, “Careful, your inner old man is coming out. You want some tapioca?”

“Shut up.” He nudged her again and she giggled, “Well, looks like you’re in a better mood.”

She hummed, “I guess so.”

“Venting helps.”

“Yeah, it did.”

“You want to go back to sleep?”

Marinette yawned and shook her head, “No.”

“Still a bad liar.”

“You know you can vent to me too right?” He looked her over and she shrugged, “I get that you don’t open up as easily as I do, but I can tell you that I’m a good listener. Whenever you decide to talk to me, I’ll be here.”

He sighed and shook his head, “You’ve cried almost every night since boarding and you’re still going to offer yourself up like that? Is that even healthy?”

“I’m offering because I want to.”

He frowned, “You need to take care of yourself first.”

“Hey remember what the captain said, we need to lean on each other. You agreed.” She smiled, “You know something weird?”

“What?”

“This is the most I’ve felt in a while.” He sent her a confused look and she took it as a cue to go into more detail, “Back in Paris, I think I just became numb. I tried not to feel anything out of fear of an akuma.”

“You tried not to do anything either by the looks of it.”

She frowned, “Adrien once told me to take the high road. That outing her as a liar wouldn’t help anyone and it’d only put her in a worse position. So I did because it was okay if he knew too. At least, that’s what I thought.” She thought back, “She’s done nothing but take my friends away. Lila pulled Adrien away from me, too. She tried to lie about me a few times to make me look bad, and Adrien did help with those times, but she just kept doing it again and again. She didn’t learn and she wasn’t satisfied. Even when she had the whole class wrapped around her finger, she still wouldn’t stop because I wouldn’t follow.”

“She wanted full control of the school.”

“Exactly. At this point, I don’t know if anyone would even believe me this has gone on for so long.” She smiled, “Winning this trip was me taking the first step to getting a better handle on things. I just wanted my friends back and so far I think it’s worked. Alya’s hanging out with me. Nino too. Others are talking to me more.” She sighed, “But then there’s Lila. I don’t know what it is but she makes me panic. I don’t panic like I do when she’s around.” She ran her fingers through her hair, “She just makes me feel-“

“Weak.”

She nodded, “Yeah, because I can’t do anything. She allows herself to be akumatized and hates the heroes with a passion. She would be the perfect Akuma and I’m trying to avoid being the cause of that.”

Damian sighed, “Sounds like you’ve been put between a rock and a hard place. Either you out her and cause an Akuma or you leave her alone and you continue getting bullied.” He hummed, “Even if you defeat her she seems the type to hold a grudge. She’d just get akumatized again.”

She nodded, “Yup. So it’s easier to just let things be.”

“Doesn’t make it right.”

She sighed, “No. No it doesn’t.”

Damian sympathized with her, she really couldn’t just out Lila on her lies because having a spiteful, emotional teen girl come back to Paris after Marinette in particular would be less than desirable. “You know it might be good to at least tell Alya and Nino. Adrien seems to know and, despite his terrible advice, has enough sense not to humor the girl unless necessary. Chloe seems to distrust her too, so you have her. Still, Alya is your best friend and Nino is your oldest friend. It’d be good to have them on your side.”

“And when Lila notices that Alya stopped hanging out with her?”

“Alya will just have to tell her that she has other friends. You can’t monopolize someone’s time like that.” Damian yawned and rubbed his eyes, “Oh great now I’m tired.”

Marinette tried to hide her smile, “Uh oh, your human is showing.”

“You’re just saying that because of my brothers.”

She poked his cheek, “Yup.” Her expression softened, “You know you’re easy to talk to when you let your walls down.”

“I’ll have to kill you if you let anyone know.”

Marinette snorted, “Yeah, right.”

Damian rolled his eyes, “Come on. We need to get back before anyone gets back.”

Marinette groaned, “Can’t we just stay like this?” Damian turned to her and his confusion made her laugh, “I mean, it’s nice. It’s cold but nice. Talking to you really helped. Plus, I don’t have to worry about anyone barging in since it’s so late.” She sighed and finally let herself lean on the boat’s railing, “It’s like a temporary bottle.”

“All bottles break.”

“But I don’t want to be the one to break it.” She didn’t want to look down so she kept looking straight ahead, “I haven’t felt this calm in such a long time.”

Damian sighed and took his place next to her, “I can relate to that, at least. I’ll admit, the school and social stuff are out of my expertise.”

“Well, you’ve been doing okay so far.”

Damian smirked, “Me threatening my brothers in front of you guys is okay?”

“You should be around when Chloe is having a bad day. She threatens to use Queen Bee’s venom on us at least once a week.”

Damian nodded, “Sounds like her.”

Marinette smiled and nudged him, “So you have been bonding.”

“I’ll deny it if you tell anyone.”

Marinette hummed and nodded, “Your secret’s safe with me.”

Damian nodded and jokingly replied, “Yours is safe with me too, Ladybug.”

Damian expected her to get annoyed at him, what he didn’t expect is for her to lay her head on his shoulder and for her to softly hum in approval. He tensed up at the sudden contact, but soon yawned and relaxed against her. He wondered if this was normal or if she was just this expressive. Or maybe it was weird for him to let her do this? Was she even in the right mindset? Was he? He sighed and hung his head, “What?”

“I’m thinking.”

“About?”

“This.”

“Oh.” She pulled away and stretched, “I’m sorry.”

Damian shrugged, “I’m not used to this. If I was the person I was a few months ago I would never let this happen. I don’t think I’d be so keen on any of this.”

“What changed?”

He shook his head, “I guess I did.” There was a heavy pause, he knew she wanted to pry but she wasn’t as forward as he was with the questions. Damian looked at her thinking over what to say next, “What?”

“I just realized I don’t know you that well.”

“You just realized that?”

Marinette paused before asking, “Will I ever get to know you?”

Damian was surprised by her question and realized if he were to answer honestly he wouldn’t have one for her, so he said, “I don’t know.”

Marinette sighed and shrugged, “I want to.”

Damian shook his head, “No. You really don’t. I have still have a lot of skeletons in my closet and I’m not planning on taking them out anytime soon.”

Marinette hummed, “A little unfair, don’t you think?”

“What is?”

“You know so much about me and it’s only been a few days, but I don’t know you at all.”

He shrugged, “I have a lot to hide.”

“So do I.”

He frowned, realizing what position he put himself in. If she wasn’t cautious around him, he could go off and tell his brothers that she was Ladybug. While he liked control he didn’t need her to feel like she was being blackmailed. He sighed, debating if she was worth telling her anything. He looked her over one more time, she was small, vulnerable, and didn’t have a spiteful bone in her body. He had no doubt she would keep a big secret, but which one could he tell her? He had too many and he didn’t need to put another person through that. 

Damian closed his eyes and took a deep breath, “On my mother’s side I was trained from the day I could walk to be the new head of the family.” He opened his eyes and realized he had her full attention, “Her and my grandfather put me through harsh challenges to make sure I was the best of the best. It was supposed to be us three leading our family against the world.” He frowned, “Then my grandfather died.”

Marinette didn’t want to interrupt him, despite wanting to react. Damian turned to her and his shoulders fell, “That’s around the time my mother sent me to my father. We didn’t get off on the best foot. I didn’t make a good impression on any of them. If I wasn’t my father’s son then I don’t think they would’ve dealt with me. I put my father in an awkward position, I hurt my brothers, and I ran away a lot. Still, Grayson, Father, and the others kept me around.” He scowled, “I wasn’t a good person. My mother and grandfather made me into something they could use but didn’t teach me about people. I didn’t have a normal childhood and it’s probably why I am the way I am now.” He thought for a moment before admitting, “I’m grateful for where I am now, I feel useful. Still, I don’t think I’ll ever be a normal kid. I grew up too fast, put through too much, and now I’m exhausted by it all.”

His chuckle had a bitter undertone to it, “I was put on a team at Grayson’s request. It helped, I’ll admit. Working with other people like me helped, but I’m wearing down. Our leader saw it first and told Father. Father asked me to return and I guess he thought I was so bad that he contacted my brothers and told us we were all going on a trip. Now, we’re here because I can’t hold myself together.”

There was a moment of silence as Marinette processed his story. “That must’ve been so hard.” She thinks about the standards Paris set of her and how similar he must’ve felt when his mother and grandfather set those standards for him. He was even younger than her too. “Do you think being on the ship has helped?”

“I don’t know. Maybe if we ever get a calm day it might.” She laughed and he smirked, “Are we good now?”

She smiled and nodded, “We are. I just wish I could help.”

“Honestly, I’ve only ever told my father that. I think telling someone outside the family helped.”

“Then I’m glad.” She yawned, “Okay, now I think I’m tired enough to go back.”

Damian smirked, “You look like you’re about to drop dead.”

“Thanks, I think the key is not sleeping well for half a week.”

Damian grinned and shook his head, “Come on already. Let’s get you back already. I’m pretty sure we only have like 2 more hours of sleep.”

She groaned, “Please don’t say that!”

“Not my fault you’re an insomniac.”

She pushed him playfully, “Come on. I have to sneak back on the bed and I don’t know if I can do that. Knowing those two, they probably spread out over the empty space.”

“Sucks for you.”

Marinette yawned, “Hey Damian?”

“Yeah?”

“You promise you won’t say anything, right?”

Damian nodded, “Of course.”

She smiled, “Okay. I want to talk to you more. Is that okay?”

Damian snorted at her question, she asked like a child asking for permission to do something questionable, “Yeah, I think I can make that work.”

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

To those who want more Seabourne Burnouts content, @itawonka-creates is specifically dedicated to my writing (which is just this story rn) so you can just follow the blog and set it up to be notified just in case the tags do not work!

Tag List (Bitch I have a tag list whAT!?!?!):

@maribat-archive @ozmav @thornangelic727@imfreakingmagical@constancetruggle @chloe-bourgeois-is-big-gay@someone-ev   @zazzlejazzle @tinybrie @mewwitch @rhub4rb@saphiraazure2708 @never-neverland @unholykrow @slytherinhquinn @literallytryingmybestbutok @redscarlet95 @grimmhallow31 @fandomkitten9653 @myriad-of-passionate-pettiness @fanboy7794 @mystifiedgal @shizukiryuu @ vixen-uchiha @resignedcatservant @mystery-5-5 @miraculousl4dybug @blackcanary13 @origamieater @moonlitarchangels @mochinek0 @imfreakingmagical @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @derpingrainbow @unabashedbookworm @skyel0ve @northernbluetongue @cadencehood @sizzling-fairy-oil @crazylittlemunchkin @saphiraazure2708 @mysteriouslyswimmingfan-blo-blog @ginamarie1512 @kae690 @ivette0712 @zalladane @ellerahs @auradonfairy @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @scribblinggraveyard @nyctamaximoff @snow-swordswoman @maude-zarella @thebookwormfairy @melicmusicmagic @zalladane @ivette0712 @ginamarie1512  @bookreader20003 @silvergold-swirl @celestiacq @themcclan

Let me know if I missed anyone!

[mythical-song-wolf]

Robin The Movie Pt 2

Part 1           Part 3

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In another part of the world, a boy gasps for air as he emerges from a Lazarus pit.

After crawling out, he coughs as several figures watch on.

“Where... who am I?” Jason asks.

It zooms in on Ra’s Al Ghul’s smirking face before it cuts to black.

Batman and Nightwing are sneaking through the shadows, bringing justice to Gotham like how they did as Batman and Robin.

But then it cuts to them fighting, screaming at each other in the Batcave while Tim is behind the corner hearing it all.

Tim is insistent. Batman needs a Robin. He needs someone to the his light so that he doesn’t fall too deep into the darkness of the city and the darkness in himself.

Dick considers his reasoning for a moment, but he’s not going to be Robin again. He gave up that mantle when he left Bruce. Dick snaps his fingers before pointing to Tim and then the scene cuts off.

It cuts back to Tim training, before shifting to his initiation as Robin with Dick’s blessing.

Soon enough, Batman and Robin patrol the streets of Gotham once more.

Then Tim’s mother dies and his father paralyzed. Tim is forced to retire as Robin and Stephanie takes the title in his stead.

Stephanie leaves not long after.

Batman is left without a Robin for a while.

During that, the Joker is found to have been beaten by a crowbar. Several criminals of all levels are found dead or brutalized.

Batman follows the lead and Nightwing aids him. They are lead to the Red Hood.

The dynamic duo face the Red Hood on the ledge of Wayne Enterprises. The whirling of helicopter blades hovers between them before the lights from the copper blind the camera and the scene switches to Jason and Bruce, masks off.

Jason’s Red Hood.

An explosion happens in a building and then Jason and Bruce are on opposite ends of the city.

Red Hood is nowhere to be seen after that, but his name is whispered between cities and always makes its way back home, to Gotham.

Tim comes back to being Robin the next day and is very confused.

Then Tim’s father dies and Dick and Jason now have a new brother.

But life goes on for the Bats.

The scenes switch between the two previous Robins and the current one.

One moment it’s Nightwing in the Cave, then next he’s in the Watchtower, the people he’s with shifting and unfocused like before, but someone with red hair always peeks through. Dick’s laughter and voice echoing. At some point, Dick looks out and mutters Jason’s name.

Then it’s onto Jason sneezing, before a female voice tells her, “Bless you.” Then next it’s Jason and another friend aiming to strike on the roof of a building. Next it’s Red Hood and two others brawling off some goons. The sound of explosions, gun shot, arrows flying, and things breaking echo in most scenes, but as does Jason’s hollering.

Tim’s moments are mostly with the Bat, investigating a case, defusing a bomb, fighting the Joker, etc. But there are brief moments where Robin is fighting beside younger heroes, their faces blurred or they’re too far to see amidst the chaos of battle. A boy says some slang that’s very out of date in one scene and then it cuts to the laughter of several teens and then to their chatter and whispers.

Nightwing visits Gotham often, so that he can be a better brother to Tim than he was to Jason, so that he can help mentor this boy in handling the Bat’s emotional incapability and teach him how to read Bruce’s micro-expressions.

Everything goes on well enough for them.

But then Br- Batman dies and Gotham is left without her Dark Knight, and all he’s left her is his blood son, a Robin, and his first son.

Jason steals the mantle and leaves a trail of death and destruction in his wake before he and Dick duke it out in a battle for the cowl. The battle is fierce and leaves plenty of bruises and scars on both brothers.

In the end, Dick wins. He is the first son, the Dark Heir. He’s the only one who could be Batman right now.

Dick makes Damian his Robin.

Why?

“Because you’re not my Robin, Tim, you’re my brother.”

With that, Tim dons the mantle of Red Robin and travels the world, believing that Bruce is alive and that he needs to find him. Dick wants to believe him but he doesn’t risk hoping.

Batman and Robin defend Gotham once more, but whoever is behind the mask of the dynamic duo now, it’s different from who they were previously. Everyone can see it. How the Robin is dark and brooding, violent and angry while Batman is kind and almost cheery, willing to talk and willing to listen. (Whispers go around some of Gotham’s Rogues, that the current Batman is the first Robin)

Red Hood appears a handful of times, sometimes as a foe, nuisance, or ally (one day tossing Damian into a river and blowing up a building, the next he’s beating the same human traffickers that they’ve been tracking and almost kills one of them, then that Friday he tackles Dick away from gunfire). During one of the moment’s their goals meet (the Joker’s being pushed into a van headed for Akrham as Batman and Red Hood stand in front of an orphanage, Robin is speaking to the GCPD), Dick tells his brother Bruce’s message for him in his will.

Jason leaves and isn’t seen for a few weeks, even by his Outlaws. But before he left, he wondered aloud if a Lazarus pit could revive him, couldn’t it revive Bruce?

Dick tests this theory out with Batwoman supervising him. In the end, that Batman is not this Gotham’s original Batman. Tim is right, Bruce is alive.

Dick tells him that as soon as he gets back and the two investigate Bruce’s disappearance further. Dick trying to get Tim to talk to people again, he’s basically been isolating himself since he left to travel.

Tim does after much prodding and also goes back to the mansion and helps with cases during the many dead ends he encounters.

After one too many close calls and and situations, plus some reflection, Jason stays in the mansion again with the rest of the family until Bruce is found and Gotham has her Bat again.

Eventually she does have her original Bat again, and Dick goes back to being Nightwing.

Batman and Robin patrol the streets of Gotham once more. Both are dark and brooding, but their edges aren’t as sharp as they originally were and they aren’t letting the change in partners change that.

Nightwing goes back to Bludhaven and his teams, Red Robin returns to his teams and his own missions, Red Hood goes back to the Outlaws.

Dick comes by Gotham often enough for Damian’s sake, and Tim passes by to see Bruce and Alfred. Jason sometimes sneaks into the mansion, only Alfred knows and the few times that Dick and Tim are they, they’ve caught Jason.

The Bats aren’t always together, other times they’re scattered. But all of them still do well enough on their own and with their allies and family.

A scene of Nightwing and a speedster taking out some wannabe villain.

Red Hood fighting off a swarm of Mafia grunts. While some of them are being flung across the room by two other people.

Red Robin standing calmly while surrounded by various large goons, outside a bomb is thrown up into the sky and blows, Red Robin doesn’t flinch at the sound and instead moves to beat the guards.

Robin fighting off a robot with the Justice League’s powers, behind him is a small crater where a boy donning Superman’s S stands up from the rubble. The Superboy and Robin launch for the robot together.

Tragedy finds the family once more, like it always does.

Talia Al Ghul brings Heretic, an evil adult clone of Damian, to challenge the boy. Which cost him his life.

In a fit of irony and cruel poetic justice, Damian is impaled by his own sword and bleeds out next to the skeleton of the bat he killed when he first came into the cave. The memory plays back in slow motion while the rest his life flashes before him.

Damian is gifted the chance to speak to Dick as he’s dying, and he leaves a message for his other siblings and his father before he passes.

The funeral is quiet as the rain beats down on the Earth. Jason watches from a distance. Dick sobs into the chest of his friend. Tim has a hand on his shoulder in comfort. Bruce stands tall and strong, but the pain can be seen in by those who know him. Some kids around Damian’s age all sob, the same boy from before falls to his knees before his mother and father come in to hold him.

Time passes and they can’t hope that Damian’s not dead because Dick saw him die. He saw him bleed out in his arms as his life faded away.

But then one day Damian’s grave has been dug up. His body’s missing.

[dontworryitschillhere]

Not only does this Bat take the original mission and spit on it, but he also kills criminals before they can be taken into custody. As Nightwing, it's Dick's job to stop the rogue Batman. Trying to take the man by surprise, Dick lunges and aims a punch at the Bat's faceplate. Dick quickly moved out of the way as the other man tried to reciprocate the assault. There's a shift in the way the other man fights, and Dick notices the change almost immediately.

The man's fluidity completely changed. Instead of trying to overwhelm Nightwing with the man's obvious strength, the Bat became more agile. To adapt, Nightwing flips back to create space between him and the Bat. Agility is Nightwing's second language, so he tries to track the Bat's movements and anticipate what the man might do. The more that the man moves, the more familiar it all seems.

Nightwing throws a couple of specific punches at the Bat, testing a ridiculous theory he has. Whether it's anger for Bruce or for all the lies he's heard in his life, something doesn't feel right about this. Nightwing couldn't deny the coincidences when the man managed to avoid his hits and move in a particular way to set up for his next hit. The moves he threw at the Bat were very subtle training sequences that Bruce taught him when he was Robin. Nightwing knows Jason was trained differently; he was shown the sequence differently. Whoever this new man is, whoever Bruce trained without telling Dick, knew how to avoid the sequence.

The anger and sadness Dick felt when he returned from his mission in space only to learn that not only did Jason die, but Bruce held the funeral without him doesn't compare to the anger and sadness he feels now. Bruce trained someone after Jason, or maybe even before Jason, and Dick just never caught on to it. Not only did Bruce take Robin away from him, but he trained two people after he was kicked out of the cave. Dick is still grieving Jason; hell, Jason still haunts him every day. Once this is over, Dick is going to have a really long talk with Bruce.

Dick isn't quick enough; the third bullet makes its way to the criminal's neck. Now, Nightwing has another decision to make. He could attempt to stop the bleeding, or Dick could continue his fight with Bats and not save the dying man behind him. He needs to think quickly; the shot was well placed despite Dick throwing off his aim. The shot could have easily become a clear headshot had Dick not attacked when he did.

He continues his assault on the fake Batman; there's not enough time to continue this dance. Dick dodges a heavy hit from Bats; he turns on his heel and makes his way back to the criminal. If he's lucky, the other man will consider this a win and leave. There's no reason for Batman to believe Dick can save this man; it would be so easy for him to turn away and fade into the night. Batman shouldn't see Nightwing as a threat; there should be no reason the man would stay.

Assuming Batman does see Dick as a threat, Nightwing is always ready to defend himself. Batman can't sneak up on him without Nightwing calculating his steps. Even if Nightwing doesn't know this Batman's moves by heart, he can still listen and adjust depending on what happens. Dick really wanted to call this man anything other than Batman. This all could have gone so much smoother had this Bat stayed away.

Dick fell beside the dying man and placed pressure on his wound. He positioned himself to keep the more vital parts of the man hidden away from the brutal Batman. Time seeped through his fingers as he pulled out some of his gauze to use on the criminal. Dick hates using his personal stash on criminals, but right now, he doesn't have a choice. The way the man choked scratched against Dick's ears. The way the man looked at Nightwing frantically as he tried to focus, Dick pushed down his empathy to keep himself professional. Watching a man die never gets any easier.

[justwannabecat]

Gold in the tags

I think it’d be really funny if before he became Robin, Tim saw Batman doing some shit he didn’t like and was like, “Hmm, gotta fix that.”

Then went about it in the most-annoying-kid way possible.

Like, Tim sees Batman send Robin home even though Jason wasn’t sick (he would know) and didn’t have a test (he’d know this too). So the next morning, he skateboards up to Wayne Manor when he knows Jason is at school, Alfred is doing a grocery run, and Bruce is most likely trying to catch up on sleep.

He rings the doorbell seven times.

Bruce watches on a security monitor after being woken up as his neighbor’s kid ding dong ditches him and then takes off down the driveway on his skateboard. He’s so baffled by it that he doesn’t even ask himself why the kid isn’t in school.

This happens four more times before Bruce makes the connection and thinks, “This has something to do with Batman.”