#Bruce literally says to Jason's face that its only natural that a father would want to avenge his son

[jasontoddsno1simp]

If you all are gonna write posts where you condescendingly use other Bats as mouthpieces to own Jason about his beliefs, the least you can do is actually get his motivations correct.

The Joker being alive isn't the only reason why Jason feels unloved post resurrection. If you took a cursory look at the comics instead of being a self righteous loser, you'd know that

[its-karma-bitches-00]

ENDGAME

Chapter 4: Back to you.

Description: So... I know many Daminette fans don't like Damian being younger than Marinette so 🚨SPoiler AleRT 🚨 Damian is gonna be younger for a while but an event happens that gets their ages exchanged. (Sort of)

Warning; swearing, angst, fluff.

Summary: Where the world reunites with their loved ones..

Previously

"They're back!, They're back!, They're back!" Maps yelled excitedly, almost jumping at him

"Who's back?!"

"The people who disappeared 5 years ago!"

Damian blinked at the short girl in front of him before narrowing his eyes at her "this is no time to play games Mizoguchi."

"I'm not!" Mia huffed "ask anyone else."

Damian looked at her and he knew she wasn't lying, he gave her a small nod before heading back towards the washrooms.

"Wait!" Mia yelled, holding his wrist "Can you drop me to Olive house?"

"No." Damian deadpanned

"Can I at least have your grapple gun?"

"No" Damian sighed "Sorry Maps, I've gotta go"

Mia nodded "fine. you owe me a waffle bar!"

Damian rolled his eyes at her before running back, wasting no time. "Plagg! Claws out!"

"Aw come on!" Plagg hissed, before disappearing into the ring.

***

Damian ran across roof tops, he felt sick. Where they really there? how did they disappear? What if he went home and found out nobody was actually there? what was he going to to say? So many Questions jumped around his head, but he kept moving either way. He jumped over the large compound of his house calling out "Plagg claws in!" His black and green suit dissolved and was replaced with his uniform. He landed on the soft grass smoothly Before running around large fountain in front of his destination.

Damian panted, looking around. Jason's new bike was spread on the ground carelessly, and the car was literally half-hazardously parked.

He ran towards the large doors shoving it open...

to meet his family laughing and crying in Joy.

They were here. They were all here. Dick, Cass, Steph, Alfred, Selina, Kate, Chloe and Marinette.

Damian could only stare, They looked like they never aged a day, except Alfred who seemed to look younger.

"Damian?" Dick asked, a shocked look on his face which quickly dissolved into a bright smile "Oh my god you look so big!" He yelled, tackling him to the ground "Did you miss me?"

"TT, of course not."

"Liar" Tim laughed with tear stained cheeks "he cried everyday for two years."

"I didn't!" Damian hissed, still in the embrace of his older brother. "Uh-huh, sure." Bruce smiled his arms around Selina

"Father!"

"Wait, wait, wait." Chloe interrupted "what do you mean two years? We've just been gone for like, five minutes"

"Yeah! What's with that?" Steph asked in confusion

"You guys have been Gone for 5 years" Tikki said slowly while the others were nodding in agreement

"That's impossible, I was definitely there for 15 hours"

"It felt like five minutes for me" Chloe said as Cass nodded

"You guys sure you didn't hit your heads on your way back?" Jason joked

"Do you remember where you guys were?" Bruce asked

"Yes" Marinette nodded "It was-It was beautiful, it felt like you were in the middle of the universe without any care and so many different colors were there. Just like stars and galaxies"

"The quantum realm!" Fluff exclaimed "of course! Why didn't I think of that?!"

"What's a quantum realm?"

"The Quantum Zone, the realm where all the energy of the universe come from, and the Microverse, which consists of many different sub-atomic dimensions all accessible through the same means as they are in the Marvel Cinematic Universe." Fluff thought out loud

Jason blinked in confusion "I didn't understand a single shit."

"Language" Alfred warned.

"The Quantum Realm is a dimension that can be entered from Earth by compressing a human's mass to a certain point. Entering the Quantum Realm could potentially cause the person who enters it to shrink forever. Due to the nature of the realm, time passes differently and is more fluid. As a result, with the right equipment, the Quantum Realm can be used for time travel though its impossible to change one's own timeline when traveling into the past in such a manner." Fluff continued

"Still don't get it" Jason shrugged

"You would if you were smarter." Damian snorted

"In a simpler way...A person needs to be really tiny to enter the quantum realm and time passes differently for each person" Tim explained

"Ohhhhh, I get it now!"

"So you're telling we've been stuck in time?" Kate asked

Fluff nodded "except for Alfred, who seemed to travel back in time." which made chaos rise.

"You're telling me we've been missing for five years?!"

"Wait so technically I'm the oldest" Jason laughed evilly

"No you're not! I'm still a year older than you!" Dick smirked

Damian almost gave out a smile, until he noticed Marinette sitting silently on the ground staring at her hands. He crawled towards her, out of Dicks grip and sat next to the girl muttering a small "hey"

"Hi" Marinette mumbled back, glancing at him.

"What's wrong?"

"I-it just seems so unreal, five years? That's like my teenage life. Tim's all grown up! How old is he? 22? and-"

"Hey! hey! Calm down, it's fine. if it helps you feel better, You can always taunt them on how young you are."

"-And you've grown up all tall and muscular and pretty-"

"Pretty?" Damian asked, his face turning red.

"The world has obviously changed! I don't know how you lived without Alfred or Me and Selina because you guys don't know a shit about cooking, and why didn't our miraculouses fade away with us? I could've done something to come back earlier"

"Stop it!" He said grabbing her shoulders "you've done the best you could And what really matters is that you're home"

"Oh and you've gotten soft." She gave him a teary smile before Pouncing on him, giving him a bear hug.

He wrapped his arms around her small body, rocking her back and forth questioning "Do you really think I'm Muscular and pretty"

"No!" Marinette squeaked quickly as she pulled away from their hug "I'm just really tired, and floating in space is really exhausting"

"Mm-hmm, sure" he smiled pecking her cheek, which made Marinette melt on the insides "you hungry?"

"Do you even know how to cook?" Marinette asked

"Hey, we learnt a thing or two when you guys disappeared." Damian chuckled, pulling Marinette to her feet while looking at his brothers questioningly, who were busy wrestling on the couch "You idiots need anything from the kitchen?"

"Yesss" Dick grinned "I want cereal."

"Noodles please!"

"Same here!"

                                                           ...

So how was the it ?....

Okkkk, I know it was pretty lame and all, The only reason I posted this was because I've had this draft for some time and I didn't have the heart to delete it because that would mean I only wasted my time. Soooooo I posted it. Kill me. My dignity is dead, I've got nothin to lose.

But if you guys want another chap... just ask 😉... and please comment and vote!

😊✨♥️

Byeeeeeeeeeee

This was taken from my Wattpad account

@Aquaqueen2020

[bigskydreaming]

Something else to keep in mind is the way things compound? Like for instance, I’ve seen a mini trend of fics lately focusing on the issue of Dick dropping out of college or not wanting to go, which for the record, I feel is another way of building up to the idea that he and Bruce have all these fights during this period that are two way streets instead of like....what canon actually was (reminder that in the canon that Dick actually dropped out he and Bruce actually were never really NOT on good terms, like there’s never been a big fight in the comics about this topic so.....incheresting).

But anyway, my point is its worth keeping in mind that how you frame something at one point in a narrative like.....ideally, you want it to mesh up and align with other things you’ve brought up throughout the narrative, and not accidentally contradict yourself narratively.

I mean, this is really the big gripe most Dick Grayson fans have with his fanon characterization overall:

The fact that it just doesn’t make sense.

In Jason-centric fics that are after his resurrection, how often is Jason utterly convinced that Dick can’t even wipe his ass without Bruce’s approval? And yet in Jason-centric fics that are before his death, how often is Jason thinking about how Dick and Bruce are constantly fighting and Bruce can’t seem to do anything without Dick objecting? Reconcile these two things. They make no sense.

Same thing with fics that talk about Dick being the emotional glue of the family, the one keeping a cool head to calm down everyone else when they���re all taking shots at each other.....until randomly he just pops off without warning because he’s just that hot-tempered. These things mesh, how?

Same thing with Dick being frequently referenced as idealized by the hero community......but every time he interacts with someone like Roy or Kori or other Titans he can’t seem to avoid pissing them off and creating epic grudges. Make it make sense.

Or how Dick disliked or didn’t care about Jason to the extent that he only references him as a cautionary tale because of one line in canon......but the whole damn story where he kills the Joker because of Jason doesn’t count.

Or how its not okay to blame Dick for his own rapes but both of his major breakups which are intrinsically linked to the actions of his rapists like....were clearly and objectively all his fault somehow.

Dick Grayson fans aren’t on board with most of fanon because you can’t sell people on a constantly conflicting characterization that makes no sense and has no internal consistency.....you can only cater to people who don’t NEED to be sold on that because they’ve already decided they’re down with hating a character or largely ignoring him.

And I think people have gotten so used to not thinking twice about contradictory takes on Dick Grayson that they unintentionally undermine their own fics by contradicting themselves without even realizing it.

Like its ridiculously common to come across fics that reference Dick being beloved and charming everyone at the society galas they all have to go to.....but these fics take pot shots at Dick’s name, fashion, mannerisms etc all throughout it just because the author likes it or fans expect it or whatever reason.

But actually THINK about it:

Think how snobby the socialites at these galas are characterized as being any time its Jason their noses are turned down at.....and then look at like.....the constant jokes you as the author make YOURSELF at Dick’s very name, fashion and circus origins......how on Earth does it make ANY sense that these same people aren’t doing the same damn thing about Dick? That they’re actually any more fond of him than they are Jason, if no matter how charming he might be in the moment, the second he turns around its just as easy and likely for them to make a joke about his circus background or name as it is for writers and readers? If you can’t resist doing it, you really think snobby one percenters would bother in-universe?

Hell, they’d be more likely to hate him BECAUSE of his name, his fashion, etc.....because think of how often people not so subtly infer that he’s making a bad choice when he refuses to go by a different name, or dress more accordingly to normal fashions, etc.....

Dick has a million ways he could more easily fit in with the society he was brought into and ease his passage through it, but he puts his foot down at practically every opportunity. The idea that everybody is just dazzled by him at these galas makes no sense because the most consistent character choice made by Dick throughout the decades is that he refuses to CONFORM to others’ expectations of what he should be like. 

EVERY SINGLE CHOICE he makes from his name to his wardrobe to his costumes to his education to his city to his living arrangements and on and on is in complete and utter DEFIANCE of what people expect of the eldest son or ward of Bruce Wayne, Prince of Gotham, and that’s by Dick’s conscious and consistent choice. He knows damn well how to be more what people want or expect of him, and that’s not what he wants so he says mmmm but also how bout no.

Dick constantly embodies the idea that you can take the boy out of the circus but you can not and will not take the circus out of the boy no matter what environment you place him in or who you surround him with. He will not allow it. He will not play along.

In what universe is that going to endear him to the very people who would most likely view his choice to prioritize the very things they look down upon as something he consciously PREFERS over their projected expectations or assumptions?

Its not.

Personally, I think Gotham high society despises Dick Grayson no matter what they pretend to his face, and he’s perfectly aware of it. And probably gets some kind of trollish glee out of it because fuck them too, anyway.

(And all of that is WITHOUT even taking into account the fact that a good number of the people at these society galas all along were looking at Dick as their future property, given that they were Owl members who knew all along what they intended for their Gray Son. These people simply do not view and treat Dick as an equal. Its impossible. There’s no way).

Or then back to the idea of Bruce and Dick’s fights in his later teenage years being a two way street....

The core problem at the root of all this is the very idea of a two way street implies a certain give and take. A clashing of equals.

And that’s just not the reality in ANY continuity.

Because the question is, in any given fight between Dick and Bruce in ANY canon....

When does Dick ever WIN these fights?

When does Dick get the outcome he wants OVER what Bruce wants? When does Bruce ever cave? When is it NOT Dick leaving the manor without getting what he came for, or even being kicked out? When has Dick ever been able to say no, I’m NOT fired, or no, I’m NOT giving you control over what happens with Robin. Even when he DOES confront Bruce on these matters, Bruce STILL infamously never caves. He never actually apologizes or admits wrongdoing, he still usually tells Dick to leave. Like I said, basically the only time Dick’s ever got the upper hand in an argument was over the college thing and that time it wasn’t even a fight! Bruce didn’t actually care that much! That was the good timeline! LOL.

But there’s never actually a reversal. There’s no real precedent for Bruce caving to a teenage Dick Grayson and saying hey you know what, you’re right here, I’m overstepping or I’m in the wrong or I’m the one who doesn’t know what he’s talking about because our divergent life experiences here have mine as less relevant to the issue in question than yours do?

It doesn’t happen.

And here’s the problem with that:

Dick’s a literal genius. Every member of the Batfam is. Its how they’re able to do what they do. They’re ALL smart as fuck, capable as fuck. Put any of them in any other situation where they’re the only Bat present, and everyone usually defaults to them. They know what to do, they know what call to make, their approach is borne out by the narrative as being the correct approach. Their intelligence and strategy is validated by the narrative, with Dick being no exception here. In fact he’s particularly NOTED within canon narratives for being the guy everyone in the DC universe trusts to lead them.

Now.....imagine being this guy, who while although still a teenager, is in his late teens, and has YEARS of leading his own team under his belt. Years of being responsible for the lives of teammates and civilians. Years of becoming aware of and comfortable with his own natural brilliance. Years of becoming confident in being capable of making the right call when the situation demands it. Years of learning to TRUST in his ability to make the right call, to know the right approach, because not only are people relying on him to make those calls, he needs to be able to trust he can make them in order to have the confidence to follow through and DO so instead of being frozen with indecision or trying to pass the decision off to someone else, which he NEVER does?

With all that....and even with all due respect to Bruce’s own genius and experience....

What are the chances that in all the times that Bruce and Dick clash in his late teenage years....

Dick is NEVER right?

And yet.....when in any of these conflicts.....is he ever validated in that, versus shut down by Bruce who insists his way is still right?

Imagine being an acknowledged genius with years of experience and responsibility under your belt, but NEVER getting to be right in any arguments with your father, even when just based off pure freaking statistics, its frankly impossible for you to be 100% wrong EVERY SINGLE TIME?

Do you see where the two way street thing starts to fall apart? How can it truly be a two way street if part of the reason the two of them so often end UP aggressively opposed to each other during this time period.....is because of how many times previous encounters have only ended ONE way no matter WHAT?

It makes sense for Dick and Bruce not to clash as much during their younger years, because even the most stubborn kids do understand on a fundamental level that they have things to learn from more experienced adults. And Dick has never been someone mindlessly predisposed towards conflict. He didn’t become an exceptional acrobat by the age of eight by butting heads with his parents every time they tried to teach him, he couldn’t have. He KNOWS how to listen, he KNOWS how to acknowledge when someone else is right. 

But as he grows older, when he has more and more experience under his belt, more and more confidence in his own insights in large parts thanks to Bruce’s own efforts in buttressing his confidence in his younger years.....what happens when the balance of who is right and who is wrong in their arguments NEVER EVER starts to shift in his direction even a little bit, no matter HOW much more experienced he seems to get....and what happens when communicating this problem, this imbalance, to the person that really matters here, Bruce himself....still inherently requires Bruce accepting blame and acknowledging even just in THIS case, the idea that he’s not always right at this point and Dick has insights that can challenge his?

Of course there’s going to be more and more conflict....but can you truly argue that its a two way street, even just based off THIS? Is the teenage son truly to blame for being frustrated that he’s not allowed to ever be right, because the thing getting in his way is his father never ever being willing to back down or cave or not have the last word?

This is the sort of inherent contradiction I think lies at the heart of a lot of conflicting viewpoints here. It doesn’t matter how much lip service is being paid to the idea that Dick is intelligent, that Dick is respected, if all your content continually bears out the idea that actually no he’s not, because Bruce is always right, Dick never is in the right in arguments or conflicts.

The latter evidence just is not aligning with the former claims, and thus readers are innately forced to make a choice as to which to believe.....and more likely than not, they’re going to err on the side of substantiating whichever stance actually has more narrative support behind it, in any particular story.

See what I’m saying?

You need to make sure your story is ACTUALLY saying what you think you’re saying or you intended to say....or you end up undermining your own intentions.

Anyway. Just throwing that out there. 

[dashingdcboys]

Batman’s cape

We all heard of Bruce using his cape to shelter his robins from danger, like glass shattering and bullets, so it’s only fact that it’ll become a habit eventually.

Dick:

The boy was the first to ever work alongside batman, and with his hyperactive tendencies he was the first to get up close and personal with the cape. He probably saw it as a glorified climbing wall when he was just a child.

Bruce, while on a stake-out with robin, suddenly feeling small hands grabbing fistful of the cape’s material as Dick climbs onto his shoulders. “I told you I couldn’t see anything from my post! Your pointy ears were in the way :((”

Bruce didn’t mind, of course he didn’t. It was Richard and that boy’s innately adorable, even though the boy’s pixie boots swinging in front of his face were blocking his view. 

Lastly, given Dick was wearing such short pants, Bruce would always make an effort to shelter the boy from harsh weather conditions during the winter. He still does this when Dick becomes nightwing, out of habit

Jason:

Jason used to be skeptical of the cape, thought it was just a big hindrance - tha Bruce was only using it for theatrics and that he’d be much better off without it. 

“Dick doesn’t wear a cape and he can blend into the shadows, shake off broken glass and bullets just as easily!”

That is until, the day they were saving a bunch of citizens from a housefire. They got trapped inside, Jason had given his oxygen mask to a civillian who was struggling to breathe, almost suffocating himself.

Bruce wrapped Jason in his cape, making an airpocket of oxygen which the fire can’t combust, until help arrives.

“Maybe that cape isn’t as stupid as I thought.” he mumbles in a muffled voice within his father’s cape.

Bruce would also do this when Jason’s having an outburst as a “time-out”

Tim:

The third robin fanboyed so hard when he first saw the cape and cowl. You think Dick saw it cool? This smoll boy in bright yellow, red and green had his eyes sparkling at the sight of it in person.

Immediately, he started coming up with theories of its material, and Bruce patiently answered every single question he had - even though Tim nailed the majority of the answers with his hypothesis. 

“Let me guess, kevlar? Interwoven to stop bullets from less than a meter away? Synthetic - so that it’s lighter than it seems. But also . . huh, kind of soft material on the inside. Why? It’s an outer accessory - it doesn’t even come into direct contact with your skin.”

Bruce, having alfred make that upgrade so that Dick and Jay could have snuggled up to him under his cape when they got cold : “no reason.”

The only thing Tim didn’t guess was its final and most important function: a parental tool.

One day Tim took his laptop on a stake-out to test out a new program he had developed, except, it had started to rain. So, naturally, Bruce sheltered the boy with his cape and they both grinned as the lighting of the entire building went out across the street, causing the goons inside to enter a panicked frenzy.

“rock paper scissors for who gets to crash through the window first?”

“you go, robin, you’ve earned it.”

Steph:

She was just happy to make it onto the team, honestly, and was very determined to prove her worth to Batman. Her overly talkative nature reminded Bruce of Dick, her short temper of Jason and her aberrant excitement of Tim. Thus the cape had multiple uses with this robin, but she wanted none of it.

She was surprisingly disciplined on the field, clearly acting overly serious to try reach this imaginary standard she set. 

“Don’t follow me until I give you the signal.”

“Yes sir.”

“I’m your mentor, not your boss.”

“Yes, Sensei.”

“* sigh *”

So in order for her to relax, unwind a bit, he noticed how she always had a granola bar in her utility belt, and did the same. He could hear Steph’s stomach growl and reached for his utility belt under his cape.

“Can’t find what you’re looking for? We used quite a few smoke bombs in the previous attack huh? Maybe I have some spare -”

Bruce, pulling out a granola bar: “Sorry, it got crushed a little, I’m pretty sure it’s just dust in the packet now but here, stop taking up space for snacks in your own belt. Mine has much more space.” 

“:00 !!”

“How do you managed to not crush these delicate breakfast bars anyway?”

Steph, smirking: “It’s a delicate art . .”

“Huh, might use it for precision training.”

He also shelters Steph from the wind when she needs to take off her hairban and arrange her hair.

Dami:

He ses the cape and cowl as a prize to be earned - his birth right which he must work hard to obtain. The boy already had his own dark cape, with a hood, which suffices to keep him warm and hidden throughout the night. But Bruce’s is much . . bigger. He’s also tiny. I think you’ve already guessed where I’m going with this.

“They’re only expecting one of us, I say we practice maneuver eight.” The boy suggested with all seriousness.

“Good idea, robin. Get into position.”

Bruce stands alone in the middle of a giant museum which the riddler is keeping hostage until the commissioner brings the ransom money, goons pointing their guns at him from every nick and corner as the riddler remains safely locked away in one of the bank safes - letting his men do all the work.

“Bold move coming in here head on with no back up.”

Guns start blazing, and Bruce is busy dodging them while the riddler tries to escape.

Cue the riddler’s shocked expresssion when he hears a small arabian boy’s high-pitched war cries.

“Operation Robin Spring attack.”

And Dami easily finds his way past all the goons and dropkicks the riddler, then goes to free the hostages.

(Robin spring attack is called that, because well, it’s an attack where Dami literally jumps out from under Batman’s cape. But also “spring” because robins don’t usually appear in spring in most countries, and it’s a surprise attack.)

Thank you for listening.

[thr-333]

Could you possibly do one where Mari/Mari and marine is/are the daughter/son of the joker?

I actually planned quite a lot for this after you asked but could never get my thoughts to make something comprehensive so I give up here's what I got!:

-Twins are Joker and Harleys kids born before the two split up(and so help me they will split up this story needs gay aunt Ivy)

-As you might know, these two clowns have another kid; Lucy. Harley left Lucy with her sister when she was born. In canon, she thinks Harley is her aunt but I would say in this fic she learned the truth when the twins were also dropped off.

-So the twins grew up in Gotham with their aunt and big sister knowing full well who their parents are; as such they make the responsible choice to suppress every part of themselves that resembles them and constantly dye their hair in an effort to avoid looking like them. You know healthy coping mechanisms. -

-Naturally, Marinette has brown hair with blue eyes and Marion blonde with brown eyes.

-Their personalities are a bit different from Mismatch. 

-Marion is still a trickster and a trouble maker but this time around has Marinette fully involved and responsible for his shenanigans. He has a bit of a habit of talking to himself(or singing random phrases), sometimes in the third person; he hates when he does, so Marinette always tells him off. He’s always gets the impulse of dying his hair outlandish colors and will vehemently deny his favorite color is green.

- Marinette is crafty, both figuratively and literally. She’s smart, her mother is a doctor after all she can be manipulative to people that arent her(close) family to protect the ones she cares about. She has a deep-seated fear of becoming a trophy, an object to be put on display like her mother and so dresses the opposite and pushes away her love for fashion.

-They will always call each other Mari but if someone else tries they both answer its a nickname they strictly use for each other.

-In a world where Gotham exists it makes absolutely no sense that Gabriel wouldn't start his reign as Hawkmoth in Gotham(the place with the most negative emotions like geez) so that works out perfectly for the twins becoming heroes(Adrien can move to Gotham or be left in Paris to be kept safe your choice)

-Instead of the twins proving themselves by helping an old man up off the street they go a step further is beating up the thugs that try to rob him(all Fu’s set up of course). When they come home to find two mysterious boxes on their beds they make the only rational conclusion children of the joker would; it’s a bomb!

-Not wanting to get the police involved for obvious reasons they find the security footage(which gets the police involved in a different way) and start tracking down fu to see why he’s trying to kill him.

-And as you may recall at this point in canon Ladybug and Chat Noir are defeating an Akuma, well they're not here they’re off to beat up an old man so thats Batman’s job for the time being.

-The twins get caught up in the fight as civilians and are saved by Batman who immediately recognizes them(you don't think Batman has case files on all of Jokers hellspawn?) so that’s gonna be a problem later but never mind that for now~

-The twins track down Fu, who is wondering why they aren’t out fighting the Akuma. Long story short Fu comes back to the house with them and proves they aren't bombs giving them the miraculous.

-I’m a bit indecisive on the names. I thought Marinette would be Red Bug and Marion Black Cat(yes I know that names already taken I don’t care). But I thought Crimson Bug would work better because then their names would start with the same letters. Then I wanted alliteration like Black Bug and Crimson Cat but that obviously doesn't make any sense since Chats color is green not red-- then I realized it would be completely in character for them to call themselves that confusing everyone in the process so no one quite sure whos name is who(if you wanna write it go with whatever I just thought it could be funny)

-As for costumes Marinette's probably wouldn't be skin tight because deep down she really doesn't want to look like that but more practical armor or less form-fitting at least. Marion's hair turns green when he transforms something he freaks out about and Marinette's turns red(glowing or not either would look cool)

-So anyway they go off to defeat the akuma blah blah blah Batman seeing these two young untrained superheroes can only think of one thing: I have to adopt them. So that’s gonna be fun!

-Anyway they go back home trying to be sneaky and immediately get caught by Lucy: ”Don’t tell Aunty!”-- ”Oh I already know” (her names Delia by the way)

- So now the twins get a support system and a family that will look out for them unbelievable right? This support system immediately threatens Fu making sure he actually trains them and doesn't just set them loose on Gotham.

Anyway that's the end of my semi-cohesive plan and here's a vague outline for the fic:

1. Becoming ladybug and chat noir setting up adoption, and school(Bruce invites them to Gotham academy to keep an eye on the jokers children)

2. First day at school setting up Artemis(and by extension young justice), and own passions, Adrien is also at this school now so Marinette falls, Jason finds out falling in love with Marion

3. Becoming friends with Artemis, convinces them to give their passions a try, Marion runs from hood, some let me adopt you stuff also Jason's spite for Cat Noir

4. Skip a bit of time a few months or so, young justice need help Artemis suggest mari and mari, Marinette has a smackdown with batman about their heritage, at odds with young justice Artemis comes to their defense. Young Justice have an ‘oh’ realization on the job when Marion sings a lullaby to a scared child, now the young justice form the mari and mari protection squad

5. Doing ladybug and cat stuff batman approaches them again this time luring them into adoption with a partnership on finding hawkmoth, Red Hood and cat fight. Marion comes back all huffy and there's a scene with Lucy this time comforting them, Marion goes out to get air runs into hood marion bristles stirring Jason to meet him as a civilian, class come to visit, at odds with lila

6. Doing well at school even made a few friends when the Paris class come to visit completely under lila’s control, lila tries to slander the twins for not worshiping her only to out herself when she tells everyone they laughed at her(the twins never laugh), Jason also drops by further discrediting her, lila tries to throw their heritage in their face but they get support openly working with heroes as civilians, this little section ends quite happily with them being sort of accepted at school and batman tolerating their existence for not attacking the person who tried to make their life miserable

7. Time skip few years out of high school now, ladybug and cat are working well with gothams vigilantes widely considered part of the batfam even if no one knows each other's identities. As mari and mari they are doing good work mainly outside of gotham. Marinette is starting a fashion boutique with a little financial help from Wayne enterprises she also does costume design for heroes and villains, villains mainly because she can't stand their current outfits. Marion quite likes his music but isn't sure how he will feel in the public eye is great friends with Jason and the skip picks up with them officially starting to go out identities unknown. They are still hesitant about their identities in civilian life Marinette starting her business under a false name and Marion cant start his because of his heritage. Jason officially has to admit they are going out to the family is met with grilling by aunt and sister, joy by harley once she tries giving them sex advice they leave, his brothers tease and both are tense about Bruces reaction but he begrudgingly accepts. Are out as ladybug and Cat still snippy with hood but it’s not as bad they are closing in on hawkmoth. Go to hang out with young justice as well they aren't well-liked in Gotham but they’re fine with that(not really)

8. NOW things can go to shit joker finally has enough of them deciding to get a hold of them but I think it should be as ladybug and chat revealing their identities to the world. The twins are terrified rightfully so. Get saved now it’s weird between hood and marion, marion feeling betrayed Jason knew who he was and knew who his father was but still decided to date him and he just can't understand why. Adrien was so scared for Marinette and now they both have to work out why. Gotham is at odds the heroes they admire are born from a villain they fear. Bats are a bit weird feeling like they were tricked while also kind of acknowledging the twins are good people

9. Harassed in their everyday life now the twins go to young justice where they get met with awe for being established independent heros, bats there are acting weird but the twins say something to shift perspective leaving to let them mull on it. Jason tries to apologise saying he doesn't see Marion like that blah blah Marion has a breakdown asking how he can be anything but a villain. Marinette's having whiplash going from loved to hated and still dealing with the trauma of seeing her father. They snap. In public a big ol scene and they get akumatised everyone sees it, it’s on tv. Hawkmoth comes out to get their miraculous the batfam can’t beat him. He’s monolouging probing at their deepest fears when they snap back to reality realizing none of it’s true every part of them has worked to be good people and they are they don't hand over their miraculous beating the akumatizaton and beating hawkmoth while akumatised.

10. They are released from the hospital a few days later, getting hesitant recognition on the streets. It's not thunderous applause but it is something. Their family comes to pick them up, Adrien is crying to Marinette about not scaring him like that(her family took him in when Gabriel was revealed). Marion gets picked up by Jason they patch things over. They get accepted into the batfam and work as ladybug and cat for everything. Marion decides to start playing music and Marinette reveals her face to her fashion brand.

[ethelphantom]

Crimson as a Rose, chapter 2

Hello again, I have now finished the second (and for now, the last) chapter of this thing that somehow went from like 600 words to over one thousand while editing. Oh well. I hope you like it. It’s a little happier than the previous one I swear.

Also, like said, this is the last chapter for now, which means that if either I get inspired to write more or you guys suggest what to write, I’ll do more of it. Maybe something from Mari’s POV.... Hmmmh... So like yes you can most definitely send me any ideas you may have either through asks or then messages.

Oh yeah and thank you so much for the awesome reception this got both here and on Ao3 like???? I’m crying here ok??? You guys are so sweet. Like, over 100 notes in a little over 24 hours and like 11 new followers is so weird and amazing but I’m grateful for each one <3

This is Maribat, ship being Jasonette. Don’t like, don’t read.

On Ao3 || Chapter 1 || Part 2 || Part 3

Years later, someone knocked on the door of their shared apartment. He had moved in with Marinette a few years earlier. Both their roses stood proudly on the table in a vase, always together. Jason’s rose had long come together even if it was still missing a few petals — but that was fine. So was hers. They survived together.

“Are you expecting someone, Sunshine?”, Jason called to the kitchen where Marinette was baking something yet again. While it was completely normal for her to randomly start craving things and just straight up go bake them at any time of the day, today it had been a little more than strange. Marinette had literally shot up all of a sudden and ran to the kitchen to bake accompanied by a few carefully selected curse words and a frantic and irritated “mon dieu”. Inviting guests and then proceeding to forget about it would get that reaction out of her, definitely.

“Oh yeah. Could you please open the door for me, Jay?”

“Anything for you, my sun", he replied with a smile on his face.

A tall man with dark hair and black sunglasses stood in the doorway, looking like he wasn’t sure whether he was in the right place at all.  

“Is this the house of Marinette Dupain-Cheng-Todd?”, the man asked, trying to look behind him, probably to get a glimpse of his wife. His French was accented, and Jason could have almost bet he was from the US as well. It sounded a little too familiar though, so he was quite sure the man was from somewhere near where Jason had once lived.

“Yes, this is her husband”, Jason replied, trying not to snarl at the man.This was Marinette’s guest, it wouldn’t do him good to snap at the stranger. His Sunshine wouldn’t be too happy about it.  

“That is wonderful. Could you either let me in or ask your wife to come here? She told me she wanted to talk to me about something important, something concerning one of my children.”

That took Jason by surprise. This man’s children? Could—

No, he trusted Marinette. She would have told him if there was something as big as a child of hers before they got married. She wouldn’t hide such a thing from him.

“Oh, Monsieur Wayne, you’re here! Great to see you’re on time. Come in, Jason can show you where the living room is, I’ll be there soon!”, she said happily and went back to the kitchen.

(Bells started ringing in Jason’s head. The name Wayne sounded way too familiar. Why couldn’t he remember where he knew it?)

Jason took the man to the living room, about to leave when his wife yelled at him to stay there as well. She wanted him with her. That was comforting to know. It reassured him that there was indeed nothing going on behind his back, though he knew Marinette would never do anything to hurt him on purpose. He had simply been hurt too many times, it was natural that he was cautious. It was also okay to be that way as long as he didn’t let it control him.

(Or, that was what Marinette had told him anyway. Multiple times.)

When she returned, she had a platter full of red and black macarons with her. With a sweet smile, she offered both of them macarons before gesturing for them to sit down. She herself sat next to Jason and put a hand on his thigh, stroking it gently with her thumb. Jason pulled her closer to him.

“So, Mrs Dupain-Cheng-Todd—”

“Please, call me Marinette.”

“Marinette, then. You contacted me and told me you know my son that I lost years ago? The one that I thought was dead?”

“Yes.”

And then Jason found the same, mischievous grin he’d gotten to know during the past years on her face. “This here is Jason Todd, my husband. Your son.”

The man gasped and took off his sunglasses. The piercing blue eyes met his, and he finally recognised this man.

Bruce Wayne.

His adoptive father that gave up on him.

And Marinette had brought him into their home.

Jason was ready to stand up and leave, angry at anything and everything he could think of, but Marinette held his hand tightly in hers, not leaving him a chance to go. He could probably get away even then, but there was no way he was risking harming her by doing it. There was absolutely no question about it, so Jason sat back down. She rubbed the back of his hand softly, calming him down a little.

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding — or multiple of them — and I want him to be whole again. If what is needed for that is to mend what was left broken after that , I will do my everything to help that happen.”

“You are truly a kind person, Marinette.” Turning back to Jason, his gaze softened and he smiled. “Jason? Is it really you? You aren’t dead after all? I— I thought I lost you forever.”

“Well, clearly not. Don’t pretend to care now — you didn’t care back then”, he spat, only to receive a glare from his wife.

“Jason, don’t be rude. What have we talked about assuming the worst of people? Your rose is still incomplete. Mine will never mend because my master died, but yours can still be healed. I want you to be happy. I’m sure there have simply been too many grave misunderstandings and a lack of communication on both ends, but those can be corrected if you just talk them out ”, she said in Basque.

It was a language they’d decided to learn in case they needed to talk about anything more private in front of others since there weren’t many who spoke it. Of course she used it in when talking about their roses. She knew how uncomfortable it made him to let others know about the roses and she respected it. When he’d told her the first time, she’d simply nodded and went to find out what language they could learn to be able to talk about them without needing to be afraid of others finding out most of the time.

And she still kept it on in front of his father.

“Fine. I’ll do it for you”, he replied again in French. A smile found its way to his lips as his wife shot a bright smile at him.

“Jason, I swear, I did care. I still do. I would have not come all the way to France if it wasn’t for you, if it wasn’t because I care about you”, Bruce said and swallowed down a lump in his throat before he spoke again. “I was devastated when I found you dead and blamed myself for a long time for it. You were and still are my child, and it was horrible for me to lose you. I’d love to have you back in the family, but I understand if you want nothing to do with us and especially if you never want to come back to Gotham. It would be good enough for me to hear from you every now and then. I’m sorry we made you feel like you couldn’t return to us.”

Jason sighed. He didn’t know what to think of his father. On one hand, he wanted to believe Bruce was telling the truth and meet the family he left behind long ago to build a new one again, but on the other hand he was ready to throw him out of the house and tell him to never speak to him again. That would definitely upset his wife as she had probably had to do quite a lot to convince Bruce Wayne himself to speak to her because she wanted to help him heal completely.

But, even though he was more inclined to go with the second option, he chose to get to know his family again, if only for Marinette.

“Fine. I accept your apology, though I’m not ready to forgive you.”

“That’s alright. I didn’t expect you to be.”

“I’m not doing this for any of you though, I’m doing it only because Marinette put so much effort into organising this, you understand?”

“Of course.”

Bruce smiled at him and Marinette squeezed his hand. Something told him he had made the right choice, albeit the hard and irritating one.

And well. They did solve things. It was slow, because god was there a lot of baggage and so many deep grudges, but after a year or two, Marinette and Jason were waiting on an airport, ready to go to Gotham. Go back to the place Jason had sworn he’d never set even a foot in again.

But he was going with Marinette — who’d promised not to leave his side as long as she had any say in it — to meet his family again, the family that apparently did not give up on him. The family that grieved him for a long time but couldn’t just show it in public. He was the luckiest man in history to have met Marinette and have her fall in love with him. She kept going out of her way for him, to make him happy.

Maybe, just maybe, he’d be alright with this.

The two of them stepped out of the airplane only to be greeted by a huge welcoming committee that was the official Wayne family, as well as most of the honorary Waynes. Jason looked at Marinette, who simply smiled at him and squeezed his hand for encouragement. They would be fine, and most importantly, they would be together.

With their roses in their hands, Jason’s finally missing none of its petals, they walked up to the family that welcomed them with open arms and smiles (mostly, anyway, because they decided not to pay attention to the scowling young man that looked the most like Bruce). To the family that didn’t care they came to meet them only now because they had come anyway.

To their family.

Tags

@18-fandoms-unite-08

[iatethepomegranate]

Homecoming Chapter 25

Masterlist

Pairing: DickTiger

Rating: Teen (this chapter)

Length: 3.3k

Summary: Tiger gets his communicator and an existential crisis. Dick gets a phone call. They also carpool into the city for a debrief and an appointment.

Notes: Can someone other than me please post in the DickTiger omg I’m trying to keep a weekly schedule but it looks like I’m taking over

Warnings: anxiety, allusions to the torture

****

Chapter 25

“Here you go.” Tim passed Tiger an earpiece. “All yours.”

“I still can’t believe Bruce literally offered to give you one,” said Stephanie. “Is he okay?”

Tiger looked at Dick. “Well? Is he okay?”

Dick snorted, which had always been oddly endearing. “I mean, he’s being nice which is always weird but I’m pretty sure he’s fine.”

Tiger pressed the earpiece into place. Tim passed him a wrist computer disguised as a watch, which he used to tune the communicator to his first Spyral frequency.

“Dick asked nicely,” Jason said. “Of course he gave it to you.”

“I didn’t actually ask Bruce to give Tiger a communicator,” Dick corrected. “I just insisted we include Helena.”

“Same thing.”

“And I wasn’t fucking nice about it.”

Jason laughed. Dick glared. No one took him seriously.

“It’s cute when he tries to be serious,” said Stephanie.

“No, it is laughable,” said Damian.

Tiger left Dick to the mercy of his siblings and stepped into the hallway. He called Helena, who answered immediately.

“There you are. I was wondering if you’d forgotten about me.”

“You are a hard woman to forget,” Tiger replied.

“Aw, is Dick teaching you how to charm a lady?”

“Do you find him charming? I do not.”

“You’re fooling nobody,” Helena replied.

Tiger resisted the temptation to retort. “I have arranged a meeting with Checkmate next Thursday at thirteen hundred hours in Gotham City.”

“During the day? Huh.”

“Which means most of my current associates will not be available to provide backup.”

“So you’re asking me? I’m flattered.”

“Helena.”

“Relax. I’m available. I’ll get in touch with your people and arrange logistics.”

“My people?”

“Your boyfriend’s people. His father specifically.”

“I knew that.”

“No, you didn’t.” Helena chuckled. “I’ll see you on Thursday.” She ended the call.

Tiger leaned against the wall behind him. He did not know how he felt about returning to Checkmate, only that it caused an unpleasant jittering sensation in his stomach.

Actually, he did know how he felt about it: awful.

Tiger had not been a standard agent for years. Now that his undercover mission was over, he did not feel a need to return to the way things had been before.

Even though his hands shook whenever he touched a gun and he hadn’t had a good night’s rest in so long he’d lost count, he would not trade that for a return to life before the Spyral mission. The realisation felt strange. Losing the ability to take orders and carry them out, no questions asked, no sleep lost… it felt like he’d lost a part of himself. A part of his identity.

And yet…

If he compared how he felt now to how he’d felt before going undercover…

Strange.

He was happier now. In an odd way. Checkmate had recruited him from Afghanistan when he was barely eighteen. He’d been old enough to fight, old enough to have a fearsome reputation, and yet…

He’d been so young.

So confused.

He was still confused today, but about different things. Perhaps confusion was a part of who he was. Well, at least that hadn’t changed, even if the source of his confusion had.

The young Tiger King of Kandahar had hidden his confusion, his uncertainty, behind fighting. There had always been someone to defend, or someone to punish. He’d taken the name given to him for his deeds in the place of his birth and fashioned it into a mask. Armour. That title became his identity. It still was, but in a different way.

The name Tiger felt like a comfortable old coat these days, worn in all the right places. The original occasion for which he’d first donned it had ceased to matter many wears ago. It was his, and that was enough. Somewhere along the line, it had stopped being a barrier and started being him.

In fact, it felt less like an old coat and more like his own skin. He owed some of that to Checkmate, but most of it had changed because he had changed.

In many respects, Spyral was equally as responsible… if not more so.

His feelings were beginning to make more sense. Checkmate felt like a step backwards. The Tiger who’d joined Checkmate was not the same Tiger who was set to return.

Given the emotional state he’d been in when he’d volunteered to infiltrate Spyral, that was an improvement. It felt strange calling post-traumatic stress an improvement.

Well, in reality, it wasn’t his trauma that had changed him. That had simply come along for the ride, as Dick might say.

Tiger had grown up quickly, but only now was he finding true maturity. He’d felt so worldly when he’d joined Checkmate. Perhaps that was youth. Perhaps it was fighting the Taliban from a young age. Perhaps both.

In truth, he’d known very little. In many respects, he felt he knew less now.

“Hey,” Dick poked his head out the door. “You’ve been gone a while. Everything okay?”

Tiger nodded. “I was thinking.”

Dick joined him at the wall. “Oh?”

“Do you find that as you grow older, you know less?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely.”

“Do you think it is normal?”

“Yeah, I do.” Dick leaned his head on Tiger’s shoulder. Tiger held very still so he wouldn’t move. “We’re getting wise in our old age, T.”

Tiger couldn’t hold back a laugh; he found it harder to control these days, especially when Dick knew how to get under his skin. “Yes, you do look very old.”

“Yeah, and you’re about to collapse into dust yourself.”

“Well, my joints make noises they never used to make. Perhaps that time is almost upon me.”

“Or you could just stop getting your ass kicked every few weeks. I’ve heard good health keeps you young.”

“I would not know.”

Dick laughed, sliding his hand into Tiger’s. “Anyway. What brought this on?”

“I was thinking about Checkmate. I was barely eighteen when they recruited me in Afghanistan.”

“And I bet you thought you knew everything.”

“To be fair, I had repelled my fair share of Taliban attacks.”

“Okay, that’s pretty impressive. Some cockiness is to be expected.”

“I may also have wrestled a tiger.”

“Shit. Really?”

“You will never know if I’m telling the truth.”

“You bastard,” Dick murmured.

“I volunteered for the Spyral mission,” Tiger said. He hadn’t set out to share that information, but maybe he’d needed to say it. He’d had few opportunities to talk about it with anyone.

Dick looked up at him; there was some kind of tension behind his eyes that made Tiger suspect he would have another migraine soon. “Sounds like there’s a story there.”

“Not much of one. I was well-respected in Checkmate, but I wanted to get away.”

“So you volunteered for a deep cover mission. Naturally. Why did you want to get away?”

That wasn’t something Tiger liked to think about. He already regretted opening his mouth. He wondered if his reason was still with Checkmate, or whether things had changed there as well.

Dick took the hint. “Ah, well. Story for another time? I’m a great listener.”

“I know.”

***

The worst of the migraine had passed, but Dick still winced whenever he saw too much light. Or heard anything louder than a whisper. Tiger was elsewhere; Dick didn’t like anyone seeing him like this, even if he could tolerate another person’s presence when the pain was at its worst.

He sat on the bed in the dark, slowly sipping a glass of water. Tension still bunched in his muscles; he’d learned from experience that it wouldn’t go away properly until he found the strength to move around and stretch. For now, though, he’d just have to deal.

His phone vibrated, which set his teeth on edge. Tim had messed with the settings so the backlight didn’t hurt as much when he looked at the screen, but he still had to do it quickly. It was Kory.

She didn’t call very often. He picked up right away and put the phone on speaker so he could keep it away from his aching head.

“Hello?”

“Dick?”

“The one and only.”

Kory let out a breath. “Oh, X’Hal. It’s true. You’re back.”

“Back and better than ever,” Dick said dryly; he wasn’t sure she’d pick up on the sarcasm, but he guessed it didn’t really matter. “Jason run his mouth?”

“Who else?”

“Good point.”

“You sound tired. Are you okay?”

“It’s been a long few months. I’ll be fine.” A phone conversation wasn’t the ideal platform to hash out what exactly had been going on and why he sounded half-dead. “How are you doing?”

“I’m well.”

“Seen Roy lately?”

Starfire chuckled. “Yes. He just left.”

“Tell him I say hi next time you see him… which I’m sure will be soon.”

“Dick…”

“I’m not mad, Kory. We’ve both moved on. Go forth, be merry.”

“You say the strangest things.”

“You talk to Jason on the regular. I think your opinion of strange is a bit skewed.”

“You’re probably right.” Kory hummed softly. “Jason says you’re living with your family again.”

“Yeah, some stuff went down on the tail end of my mission. Needed to find my feet.”

“Yes, your mission.” Kory’s voice hardened. “The mission where you faked your death.”

Dick sighed; he should’ve expected this. “I’m sorry I put you through that. Just because I needed to be dead in the eyes of the public didn’t mean I needed to be dead to the people I care about.”

“I’m glad you’ve realised that.” She still sounded pissed. That was valid.

“You ever find yourself in Gotham?” Dick asked. “We should talk properly. Face to face.”

“I might be in the neighbourhood next week. To visit Jason.”

“And if we happen to bump into each other, that’ll be a happy coincidence.”

“Yes.”

“Text me the details. When you have them.”

“I will.”

“And I’ll give the big guy some warning so he doesn’t get mad about metahumans in the city again.”

Kory laughed. “Is he always like that?”

“Oh, yeah. I’ll see you later.”

They said their goodbyes and hung up. Dick set the phone aside and pressed his fingers into his temples. It had been easy enough to block out the pain while talking to Kory, but now it was coming back with a vengeance.

Still, he was glad for the phone call. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Kory. And the last time she’d seen him was at his funeral. Not exactly conducive to conversation.

It would be good to see her. He still loved her, in a way, but the need to have her to himself had long since dissipated. Enough time had passed that he could genuinely be happy for her when she saw other people.

Yeah. Now was a good time to clear the air between them. If things went well, maybe she’d like to meet Tiger.

***

The day to visit Checkmate came before Tiger was prepared for it. Even the morning prayer had done little to soothe his nerves.

It didn’t help that Dick was coming off another migraine. He made it to breakfast with Tiger, but neither of them had much of an appetite. Tiger had told Dick to go back to bed several times, but he refused.

“Good news,” Dick said quietly, picking at the fruit salad Alfred had made. “We’re carpooling today.”

“This is the first I am hearing of it.”

“Only got confirmed last night,” Dick said. “I’m seeing a specialist in Gotham, so Alfred’s driving both of us into the city. We’ll drop you off first.”

“Are you sure you are up to this?”

“The sunglasses aren’t just for decoration.” Dick patted his shirt pocket. “I’ll manage.”

Tiger had to admit having Dick close for the journey made him feel better. He stopped protesting.

“Does this specialist know what they are doing?” Damian said, stabbing a waffle with his usual fervour.

“It’s the same guy who stopped my head exploding on a near-nightly basis,” Tim replied. “He’s legit.”

“Your migraines are a result of inferior genetics, Drake, not a torture machine.”

Tim looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath. “Thanks.”

Damian eyed him for a moment longer, until he evidently decided Tim was not going to react the way he wanted him to. Then Dick caught his eye and raised an eyebrow.

Damian scowled. “I apologise, Drake.”

“Sure.” Tim said absent-mindedly, more focused on his coffee.

“Anyway…” Dick finally picked up some pineapple on his fork. “I don’t know if the specialist can help, but I’m willing to give it a shot. At this point, I’ll try anything.”

Dick looked exhausted. Tiger knew for a fact he was, in fact, as tired as he looked. Neither of them had slept well last night. Dick was abstaining from coffee and Tiger did not need caffeine shakes, so there was no respite on the horizon.

Once it was time to leave, they’d both managed to choke down some breakfast. Cassandra had gone ahead to meet Helena; they would remain near the building but would not enter unless absolutely necessary. Tiger did not need an extra set of eyes over his shoulder. He would be under enough scrutiny already.

He was grateful they would be close by if needed, however.

Dick still flinched in the sunlight, but he appeared to shake it off. They sat together in the back of the car while Alfred drove.

“Should you require an earlier pickup than anticipated, sir,” said Alfred, “call me and I will come. Should you lose access to your phone, I use the family’s communication frequency. Master Dick, if you would…?”

“Sure.” Dick held out his palm. Tiger dropped the communicator in his hand. Dick pressed a few buttons on his watch, frowning. Or perhaps squinting. After a moment, the communicator beeped softly and Dick handed it back.

Tiger put it in his ear. “I may need to surrender my devices.”

Dick made a pulling motion from his watch and a dim holographic display grew from it. He pressed a few holographic keys and then held his wrist close to Tiger.

“Give it a few words.”

“Hello, watch.” Tiger grimaced. “I feel ridiculous.”

The watched beeped and Dick pulled back. “That was enough. Okay, you should be able to program any communicator to patch you into our frequency. You’ll be asked to give voice confirmation. If something really bad happens, which I doubt it will, it’ll also work on all cell phones, Gotham payphones and some kitchen appliances.”

“What?”

“Wayne Enterprises gets everywhere, babe.”

Tiger would never get used to that nickname, but at least it was a pleasant feeling. He still did not feel ready when Alfred parked the car near the nondescript office building that housed Checkmate’s Gotham outpost.

Dick kissed his cheek. “You’ll be okay. We won’t be far. And Cass and Helena will be on hand if something weird happens. Which it probably won’t.”

“Yes, very comforting.”

“Oh, hush.” Dick squeezed both his hands. “You just did them a massive favour. As far as I’m concerned, the least they can do is listen to you about Bannon.”

That name always felt like a lance through his stomach. He nodded silently and slid out of the car.

As they drove off, Dick blew him a kiss out the window. Tiger tried to burn that image into his mind. He could use some encouragement once he was inside.

He approached the glass doors. They slid open for him. He stepped through, heart pounding in his throat.

He paused in the lobby. Breathed. The lobby itself was deliberately dull and sterile. Not the kind of place someone would walk into by accident. Unless they were trying to escape a murderer, Tiger supposed.

The woman at the front desk was a stranger, probably a newer agent who joined after Tiger had gone undercover. She seemed to recognise him anyway and waved him through the next set of doors. Here, things became more interesting.

A security guard passed Tiger a plastic tub. He put his communicator, watch and phone inside. Then he removed his shoes and placed them on the conveyor belt.

“We’ll need to confiscate your electronics,” the guard said. “You’ll get them back when you leave.”

Tiger passed through a body scanner and retrieved his shoes on the other side. He was almost certain Bruce had hidden a tracker on him, but it was clearly disguised enough or of such little consequence that security did not feel the need to search and destroy.

Another receptionist was seated behind another desk, this time close to a pair of grey elevators. “Welcome back, Bishop Five,” he said, stamping a barcode onto the back of Tiger’s hand. “You’re needed on level ten. Have a nice day.”

Tiger stepped into the elevator and tapped the back of his hand against the card reader. Level ten selected itself and the doors sealed him in the elevator.

Tiger fell into parade rest. He shut his eyes and took deep, slow breaths. He had never been to the Gotham City branch of Checkmate before, so it was unlikely he would run into many people who knew him. Maxwell Lord was probably here, and perhaps Amanda Waller, but anyone else? No.

The doors let out a ding and slid open. Tiger stepped out, feeling calmer. He had no reason to feel anxious. He had done his job. All he needed to do was report in and give his recommendations.

And possibly attend an evaluation, which he would likely fail. Then again, it was more likely they would schedule it for another day. If all went to plan, he would not be here for long.

Tiger started down the hallway. The barcode on his wrist would automatically open the correct door once he reached it, and this place was linear. He could do this. Everything would be fine. He had nothing to—

A door up ahead slid open. An agent stepped into the hallway. They locked eyes, and recognition sparked between them.

“Eimal,” Tiger breathed.

“Tiger.” Eimal’s face broke into an uneasy smile. The man was handsome as ever… his dark, intelligent eyes; his nose slightly crooked from being broken one too many times; his thick, black hair…

This was exactly who Tiger had not wanted to see.

Eimal’s smile relaxed, just a small amount. “It’s good to see you.”

Tiger couldn’t answer. He suddenly felt much younger, in the throes of heartbreak once again. That was a dangerous feeling. He made rash decisions when he felt like this. He had to breathe. Had to control it. This feeling was nothing more than the ghost of a relationship long since dead.

He swallowed. “I did not expect to see you here.”

“Lord thought you might like to see a friendly face.” Eimal’s smile turned pained. “I had hoped enough time had passed that…”

Tiger did not know how to respond. He often felt clumsy and slow around Eimal. The man was a few years older and, he’d once believed, much wiser. He had joined Checkmate before Tiger and had been among the first to welcome him. Meeting another Pashtun had helped keep the homesickness at bay for them both.

“The past is the past,” Tiger finally said, hoping he sounded firm. He did not feel firm. He felt like the ground would soon crumble beneath him.

A flash of hurt appeared in Eimal’s eyes, but it was gone so quickly Tiger might have imagined it. “Well, it was good to see you. Don’t keep Lord waiting.” He gestured to the door at the end of the hall.

“Thank you.” Tiger didn’t know what else to say. Eimal stepped aside to let him pass. Tiger felt like he was walking through water. When he turned back, Eimal was gone.

[awhitehead17]

Party Disaster

Batbros, Humour, Brotherly Love, General Rating, No Capes AU. 

Summary: They should all know by now that they can’t hide anything from their father, no matter how well they clean up after themselves. 

Enjoy! :D

“When I get back I don’t want to hear that there’s been any trouble with the police, I don’t want to hear about any medical bills from trips to the hospital because someone was stupid and broke a bone and I want this place to still be standing when I get back.”

“Bruce, relax, we’ll be fine. We’ve been left on our own before.” Dick tells him.

Bruce gives him a look, “You weren’t on your own because Alfred was home, this time Alfred is over in England and won’t be back until next week around the same time I get back.”

Dick waves him off, “Bruce we’ll be fine, quit your worrying,” Dick moves around him and opens up the front door, “Now you better get going or else you’ll miss your flight.”

Bruce reluctantly picks his bag up off the floor and places it over his shoulder, he then grabs the suit cases handle and picks it up, “If there happens to be an emergency –”

“- Immediately call the police then contact you and make sure the young ones are safe. I know Bruce, I know.” Dick cuts him off. He starts to push Bruce out of the door and down the steps to where the cab was waiting for him because at this rate the man will never actually leave. 

Dick helps Bruce put his stuff in the boot and hugs him a final goodbye, before telling him yet again, “We’ll be fine Bruce, have a nice time over on the other side of the country and we’ll see you next week.”

He stands at the bottom of the steps as the car drives off and stays outside until the car completely disappears. He makes his way up the stairs and back inside, closing the door behind him he cups his hands over his mouth and shouts, “Clear!”

Immediately a sigh could be heard. “Finally. I thought he was never gonna leave!”

Jason appears in front of him and Dick grins at him, “He’s just being his usual over protective self, that’s all. Anyway, we’ll wait for about four hours then we’ll give everyone the message and get the party started!”

“Oh man, I can’t wait for this.”

Dick walks forward and puts an arm around Jason and starts to lead him towards the kitchen, “Me neither, this is going to be awesome.”

It’s a disaster with a capital D. 

Bruce was going to kill them, but worse than that Alfred, was going to kill them. The kitchen was a disaster, the media room wasn’t better off and the garden was atrocious. Rubbish was littered everywhere, bottles, different food packaging, cigarette buds, and god, was that a condom package?

Tim walks back inside from where he had wondered outside. People were dancing, singing way off key and taking large gulps of alcohol from the bottle, a few were already passed out but most were still going and it’s only nearing midnight.

The party has been going on since about 6. Both Dick and Jason have been buzzed for weeks for this, once they found out Bruce was going away at the same time Alfred was away they immediately started to make plans for a party. Tim’s willing to bet that Bruce knows exactly what the two oldest had planned but for whatever reason he’s letting it happen anyway. Tim is going to make it very clear that he had no part of this, that it was all Dick and Jason.

They had invited so many people to come to the Manor, including friends from school and some of their friends they’ve made online.

“Timmy!”

Oh yeah, not only have they invited their own friends, but Tim’s friends as well.

An arm gets looped around his shoulders and he gets dragged in for a hug, “Timmy, there you are! We thought you retreated for the night.”

Tim sighs and looks up at his best friend, who was practically drunk, “Not yet but I’m thinking about it.” He tells him.

Conner pouts at him, “Aw don’t be a downer, here-” Conner shoves a drink in his face, “-drink this, it’ll take the edge off.”

Tim pushes the bottle away, “No. I’m not drinking Conner.”

Conner looks at him for a good while before shrugging and placing the bottle down, “Alright whatever dude. Now come on, let’s go find Bart and Cassie.”

Tim allows Conner to drag him away and he prepares himself for a long night.

Tim wakes up on Conner, like literally on top of him. Frowning he pushes himself off his friend and stands up. It takes a moment for his mind to wake up but once it has he looks around to find himself in the media room, Conner was sprawled out on the love seat, Dick’s friends Garfield and Raven were taking up the couch, both of them fast asleep next to each other. There are bottles and wrappers everywhere and there’s a few stains in the carpet which looks like they’ll be a pain to get rid of.

In his pocket his phone beeps, digging it out he looks at who’s messaged him. Reading the message his eyes go wide and his heart stops. “Shit.” He says, “Shit, shit, shit… DICK! JASON!”

He starts screaming for his brothers. Leaving the media room he runs through the Manor trying to find the two of them. In the end he finds them both in the library on the sofa’s. He runs over to Dick and starts shaking his shoulder, “Dick, wake up. Dick, come on… wake up!”

All he gets in response is a mumbled, “Five more minutes…”

Rolling his eyes Tim goes over to Jason and shakes his shoulder, “Jason, come on, wake up!”

Jason’s eyes squint open and he groans, “What do you want?”

Tim stops shaking him and quickly says, “Bruce will be home in 6 hours.”

Jason makes a face at him, “What? No he won’t, that’s a pretty shit prank you’re playing Tim.”

Tim stops himself from strangling his brother, “I’m not joking around, check your phone.”

Jason mumbles something about stupid younger brothers but grabs his phone from his pocket and takes a look at it. After a moment he breathes out a, “shit.” Tim stands back as Jason sits upright on the sofa, he looks over at Dick, “Hey Dickhead, wake up, we’ve got a problem.”

When Dick doesn’t respond Jason stands up and strides over to him, “Dick seriously, get your ass up, we’ve got to clean the Manor.”

Dick grumpily mumbles under his breath but doesn’t really acknowledge him. Jason let’s out a huff and before Tim could do anything about it, Jason slaps Dick. Tim winces at the sound of skin hitting skin, but it does the job and Dick shoots upright on the sofa. He places a hand over his cheek and looks wide eyed at Jason, “Ow,” he complains.

Jason smirks at him, “Well, you weren’t getting up any other way.”

“Still,” Dick says looking away, “What’s going on for you to slap me anyway?”

“Bruce will be home in about 6 hours. His meeting apparently got cancelled when he got there so he’s on his way back. We need to hurry up and clean the Manor before he gets back.” Tim explains to him.

Dick blinks at him before breathing out, “Well that’s bad.”

“No shit sherlock.”

“Right so, Dick if you focus on waking everyone and getting them out of the Manor. Jason start clearing up the rubbish and bottles. We’ll get Damian to start clearing up the garden and I’ll start restoring order to the rooms putting things back where they belong etc.”

“Okay sounds good let’s go.”

Two hours later Tim finds himself on his hands and knees scrubbing at the stain in the media room. It’s coming out, just very slowly. He’s using all the cleaning brands they have to get it out but it’s taking forever.

He puts the cloth back in the bucket and finds the water he’s using is dirty. Deciding to leave the stain that’s living up to its name for later, he picks the bucket up and heads for the kitchen to get clean water. As the approaches the room he hears shouting from within, finally getting there he walks on Jason and Damian arguing about where the coffee machine belongs.

“I would know where the kitchen appliances belong in my own house Todd. You’re the imbecile with the memory problems.”

“Firstly pipsqueak, you don’t even drink coffee so how the hell do you know where it goes and secondly, clearly you don’t know where the appliances go because the coffee machine belongs over here.”

Tim leaves them too it as he goes over to the sink and empties the dirty water out. Once he has new water running into the bucket he walks over to the two of them and grabs the machine out of Jason’s hands, “Actually, you’re both morons because it belongs here, on the other side of the room.”

Ignoring the glares being sent his way, Tim collects the bucket and makes his way out of the kitchen.

Four and a half hours after this whole fiasco had started they have a little meeting in the kitchen.

“So where are we at?” Tim asks.

“Everyone has now left, I’ve checked all the rooms and even some bedrooms and can confirm that everyone has gone.” Dick says looking at him.

“Okay good, what have we done with all the rubbish and bottles?”

“I’ve dumped them all out back, hidden in the trees and bushes where I know Bruce never looks. When he’s goes again I’ll move it.” Jason tells them.

Before Tim could respond to that Damian was speaking up from his seat at the table, “The garden has been restored back to its original state, Pennyworth should not be able to tell the difference.”

Tim sighs in relief, “Okay that’s all good, I just need to deal with the stain in the media room, it’s nearly out in but certain angles you can see it. Apart from that I think we’re all good, every room is back to normal right?”

“Think so yeah, I’ll do another sweep of the Manor to be sure but apart from that good team work guys!”

“Yay, go us.” Jason deadpans.

Two hours later the boys are all chilling in the media, trying to act ‘natural’ as Dick had put it. They’ve got a film playing on the TV and snacks spread around them. Tim wasn’t really paying attention to the screen, he was glaring at the stain in the carpet. He’d got it mostly out, you couldn’t see it when you walk into the room and really you can only see a faint tinge to the carpet if you know it was there.

Tim’s attention was dragged away from the stain when he hears a voice calling out to them.

“Boys?”

Bruce was home, time to face the music. There was poking in his side followed by a voice, “Dude stop tensing up. He’s going to notice.”

Tim didn’t realise he had tensed up until Jason said something, swatting the hand away he says, “He’s not going to notice. Quit poking me!”

Jason rolls his eyes and removes his hand, “He will Timmers, he’s like a detective or something.”

“He won’t.” Tim declares firmly.

From the room’s door Bruce appears. They all watch as Bruce observes the room, Damian was curled up in the love seat with a sketch pad, Dick, Jason and Tim all shared the sofa while a crappy 90’s film played on the screen in front of them.

Bruce frowns at them, “Everything alright in here?”

Dick beams at him, “Yep! Everything is great, like I said to you yesterday, brother bonding time. Speaking of which I bet your glad your meeting got cancelled.”

“Yeah, most of the directors couldn’t make it and they decided to tell me when I got there. Instead of staying for the whole week like I planned to I decided to come back early.”

“Well anyway, since you’re here why don’t you join us? There’s room for one more.”

It was as if Dick’s offer had triggered Bruce off, Tim watches as the man’s look hardened. His gaze lingers on Dick before switching over to Tim and Jason next to him then it goes over to Damian before it settles back on Dick.

Bruce makes a humming noise before vocally saying, “I think I might actually. Also, it’s good to see that the four of you didn’t kill each other last night.”

Silence sweeps the room. Tim feels himself tense up again and even Jason next to him tenses up at the comment. It stays silent for a few beats before Dick let’s out a very unrealistic laugh, “Haha, why would we kill each other? We just sat down and watched a movie, chilled out for once you know.”

If Bruce didn’t look suspicious before, this time it was just written all over his face, “Of course. I’m going to go change then I be back down.” With that Bruce leaves the room.

As soon as he was out of sight Jason smacks Dick in the stomach, “You idiot,” he hisses lowly at the oldest, “You’ve made him suspicious!”

“I have not!” Dick defends himself. He was about to say something else but Bruce’s voice cuts him off.

“Boys, can you come out here for a moment?”

All four of them share wide eyed looks, all indicating uh-oh. They each get off the sofa and head for Bruce, as they get to the door they push Dick in front so he has to encounter the man first.

They get out of the room and meet in the entrance of the Manor, they find Bruce looking up at the ceiling. Once they’re near him, Bruce looks at them and says in a tight voice, “Why are there bottles, silly string and food wrapping in the chandelier?”

They all look up to find that the man wasn’t joking and the four of them were shocked into silence. No one moved or said anything as Bruce glares at them. He crosses his arms over his chest, stands a little taller and raises an eyebrow at them in a mixture of disappointment and demand.

Damian is the one to break the silence, he turns to the second eldest, “Todd you moron! How could you not clean the chandelier, you had one job!”

Jason turns to the youngest and levels him a glare, “Well excuse me but how the how was I supposed to know there would be things in the goddamn chandelier!”

Unsurprisingly they get into an argument and neither Dick or Tim move to defuse it. Sometimes it’s best just to let them have a go at each other. On the other hand Bruce moves between them, he shoves them apart and glares at each one, “Boys, enough! All of you are at fault here.”

There was another pause between the five of them. They could hear Bruce taking a deep breath before letting it out. However, whatever he was going to say was cut off by Jason who took a step away from Bruce and yelled, “Scatter!” before turning and running away.

Dick, Damian and Tim all hesitate as they watch Jason disappear down the hallway. They each look back at Bruce to find a frustrated look on the man’s face. When he makes eye contact with each of them, they waste no time in following Jason’s footsteps and running away from the man. As Dick and Damian head in the direction of the Kitchen Tim takes to the stairs, already trying to think of a hiding spot. He will not be the first to be caught by Bruce.

[chronicbatfictioner]

Fast Car - Chapter 8

Thanksgiving came and went without Jason realizing it. It was kind of difficult to be thankful when one is living - squatting - in a place where one's mom died and one's life went to the ditch.

His first few jobs were easy. While it would be difficult for him to blend in at crowded places, he has no problem with going in to an open-air, multi-storied parking lots. The first few items were simple, too. Car logos, rear-view mirrors, even the side-mirror's holders, sometimes. Each item would earn him at least $20 - the higher-end the car is, the more money Dewald would pay him.

He had warned Dewald that he did not want to do this too often. Once a week would be his limit, because an increase of petty car accessories loss would have raised suspicions, and Gothamites are paranoid by nature. They could decide to upgrade their alarms or something like that.

Dewald's comments was, "Spoken like a true Gothamite there, son."

And Jason had swallowed a grimace. Painful realization hit him that he was his loser of a father's son, after all. Good for nothing but petty crimes. He no longer wondered if he'd be dead like his father, just when. After all, his dad was only 25 years old when he'd died. The only consolation Jason felt was that he had not impregnated anyone, and not likely ever will.

After a month, the loot 'grew up', from mirrors to hubcaps, to eventual stripping of the entire car. He would have to work with a few other guys to strip a car, and he has been training a lot and improved his speed considerably to the point where he and his two... contemporaries would be able to strip a car to its engines in under eight minutes.

"We could probably apply for a world's record or some shit." one of his contemporaries quipped. Jason just gave him a withering glare.

His first stripping was... almost fun. They had scoped a lawyer, who went to visit a hooker at East End, and stripped his Porsche gleefully. Jason barely felt the guilt - even nearly laughed out loud - when the morning news grimly reported of the 'prank' that had befallen said high-class lawyer "who was visiting a client." Oh yeah, Jason knew for a fact that he was visiting a hooker. Preferably blonde, most preferably underaged. The brownstone he was visiting was known around the block to be a brothel. Hopefully, the fact that he was robbed blind while molesting underaged girls would deter him from coming back there.

The next one was a pharmaceutical company's businessman with a penchant for drugs - the illegal kind. They had stripped the car with the guy still in it, high as a kite. And because Jason was not heartless, he'd called 911 and told them of a guy fallen asleep in a car and the car has been stripped around him. His contemporaries were amused. Dewald roared with laughter when they told him.

Annnd... because life of crime doesn't pay, before their third job, one of his contemporaries got arrested. Dewald was furious. So was Jason. Now they would have to train yet another person to take over the stripping job. In spite the fact that they could do it with just the two of them, it would take considerably longer.

Like, by five whole minutes.

Jason didn't want to risk it. He told Dewald that he'll figure out what can be nicked in that time, and suggested that they all take a break. "It's not like we're running a retail store." he said, completely hiding the fact that he was running low on cash.

He has been trying to apply to a hell of a lot of places that would accept a high school graduate. He'd even put his name at stores that would hold Black Friday sales, even. A moving company had called him twice, and he'd gone there. But the job consisted of a lot of heavy lifting, and a less-than-minimum wage of $7.50 an hour. His first job had earned him $52. The second one earned him $30. And a massive muscle aches for both jobs. Jason was partially glad that they hadn't needed him too often - just enough to convince people, like the grocery store clerk, that he has an actual job, but not enough to render his muscles to be in constant pain and soreness.

He was about to turn back home when he spotted the black sportscar parked in an alley behind the Park Row theatre - the worst part ever in Crime Alley to have parked a car. Let alone a luxurious Lamborghini like this one.

He looked around, noticing that there is no movement around him, before he approached the car. The car's windows were tinted, but not too darkly. He flashed his flashlight inward for a few seconds, noticing with relief that there was no one in it, conscious or otherwise. He surreptitiously walked around, scoping the car. He couldn't pick the mirrors - they would have nasty cables linked to the car's alarm and electronics. He could probably get the logo, bumper, and maybe hubcap.

He looked around again, noticing that there is still no movement around him, and crouched by the front tire. The hubcap seemed rather loose. A simple poke with his pick, and it came loose into his hand. Jason nearly yelped at it.

After setting the hubcap aside and shifting to the next tire, Jason suddenly noticed that the lug nuts of the tire were not covered.

He grinned to himself and started to work: propping the car's axles against a pile of bricks would prevent the car from tilting as the tire was loosened. It took him under two minutes to release the nuts, one to prop the bricks. It might not be much, but at the very least, it could be fenced off for spare tire of other Lamborghinis.

Jason straightened up just in time to see the man standing by the back of the car, effectively blocking his exit.

"Uh," yeah, he was never caught before. He truly didn't know what to say.

"You might want to put the tire back on, son, I might even look the other way for the hubcap. But the tire is a custom. It is a hassle to replace." The man, a black-haired, blue-eyed guy slightly bigger than Jason, said calmly.

"Hey, this is Crime Alley you know? It's your fault that you parked here!" Jason huffed.

The man looked solemn. "I know," he said. "My parents died here, twenty two years ago, today." he pointed to a spot a few yards behind the car. "I was paying my respect. Now please put the tire back on, I'll give you fifty bucks, since I don't think you're really stealing it for malice."

At the words 'my parents died here', Jason stilled, feeling like a heel. He knew the guy. All of Gotham knew the guy. He would be surprised if the entire Eastern Seaboard would be highly familiar with the guy.

Bruce Wayne, billionaire orphan, fun-loving playboy philanthropist whose parents were shot to death at Crime Alley when he was ten years old. The man who'd taken in an orphaned circus boy some ten years ago and made him his adopted son. The man who'd built numerous hospitals, clinics, and other public buildings for the use of the less-fortunate Gothamites. The man who'd made it a point that his company would produce generic medicines to be sold especially for Gotham's poor, under the strict supervision of Dr Leslie Thompkins, the only physician that Jason knew had been working around Crime Alley and the Narrows in her free clinic.

Gotham's own Knight in Shining Italian-made three-piece-suit-and-tie.

The guy that owns the company Tim is working for.

Jason sighed and started to put the tire back on. He couldn't steal from an angel like Bruce Wayne. Politicians, crooked lawyers, stupid profiteering businessmen, sure. But Bruce Wayne? His guilt would probably kill him within days.

He put the tire back on, and the hubcap, too, before sighing dejectedly. "I just... I'm sorry for your parents, Mr Wayne." he said. "Just... tell your mechanic guy to cap the lugs. Next time I see them uncovered, I'll hoist them tires right away because it'll just be due to your stupid."

Bruce Wayne gave him a small smile, and handed him a $50. "For the tip," he said, probably sensing Jason's hesitation. Jason took it - as much as he hated being a charity case, the guy could afford it, he figured. Also the guy needed to fire his mechanic. He watched as Wayne got in and the car purred to life, backing a few feet, before roaring out of the alley.

Much to Jason's surprise, it backed in to the alley within three seconds. Wayne opened his passenger-side window and Jason peeked in. "What?"

"What did you do to the tire?" he asked, puzzlement evident in his face. "I've brought this car to about six mechanics, one imported straight from the factory in Italy, and the front right tire had always wobbled. It's not wobbling now. What did you do?"

Jason blinked. "Uh... there was a bolt that didn't fit, so I removed it. Only by a few millimeters, though. You want it?" he showed the offending item on his palm.

"How did you know it didn't fit?"

"It's just... I just do." Jason shrugged. Wayne glared at him with the intensity that made Jason's skin itches.

"You good with cars?"

Jason lifted his shoulders slowly. "I've worked in garages before. My granddad used to let me practice with his buddies' cars. I made my... ex boyfriend's 15-year-old piece of junk stayed alive." he said.

"You know what? Come over to the Wayne Manor tomorrow, any time after noon. I have a few other cars I'd like you to look at." he handed him a business card. "What's your name?"

"Uh... Jason," he hesitated, wondering if he should give his last name or not. But then figured that Wayne would probably not remember it, anyway. "Jason Todd."

"Alright, Jason Todd. I'll leave your name with my butler." Wayne nodded. "And thanks!"

"Hope it's worth the $50," Jason smirked wryly.

"Buddy, I've spent more than that just because of a single bolt. I'd hand you more, but I don't have cash at hand right now. So come over tomorrow, yeah?"

"Alright."

Wayne sped off again. And Jason wondered just what the hell is it he'd just gotten himself into. Bruce Wayne may not be a mafioso or gangster, but he literally owns more than half of Gotham through various industries.

For the first time in a little... oh, who was he kidding. For the first time in a long while, Jason felt a little hope started to flicker in his heart.

And dear god he prayed that he would not screw this one up.

[aion-rsa]

Violence is Golden: 16 Bloodthirsty Superheroes

Two things can usually be expected when reading a comic book story: a hero and a villain. Of course, when we think of villains, we generally assume they want to cause death and destruction, to commit atrocious acts of violence. Meanwhile, we think the hero does the other thing: saves the day with non-violent righteousness. But that isn’t always the case.

RELATED: 15 Superheroes Who Are Total Jerks

We forget that comic book heroes are just as capable of violence as their opposite numbers, and sometimes come across as even hungrier for bloodshed than their infamous villains. Just take a look at the list below; these cases-in-point are heroes whose taste for justice have twisted, turned and soured into a lust for bloody vengeance.

WOLVERINE

Being the best he is at what he does, the most obviously bloodthirsty hero is Marvel’s one and only Wolverine. He first appeared in “Incredible Hulk” #180, bearing his claws and boldly snarling at the Hulk, so a little violent streak was to be expected. While the next issue didn’t actually contain an epic fight, Wolverine would more than make up for that lacklustre appearance over the next few years.

With Logan’s uncontrolled rage, several powerful villains and some heroes have met their violent deaths and/or dismemberments at the end of his deadly adamantium claws. The “Old Man Logan” story arc, for example, saw him burst out of a tyrannical Hulk, and also showed us how he could completely eviscerate the X-Men. He’s certainly no stranger to violence, but where others like Captain America might show a little restraint, you’ll get no such mercy from Wolverine. Considering he’s more than a hundred years old, it’s been speculated that he’s killed thousands throughout his time on this earth, on top of the multitudes he’s killed in the pages of comics.

ELEKTRA

She swings around two Okinawan sai, she’s mastered a wide variety of weapons and she’s a trained ninja assassin, so she’s bound to have some blood on her hands. Of course, you might have guessed that after hearing that she was created by Frank Miller, known for graphic novels like “Sin City” and “300,” both of which are violent as hell.

Elektra’s violent nature stems from quite a dark past. In Marvel’s “Elektra: Assassin” #1 (written by Miller), it was revealed that she’d been self-harming as a means to cope with haunting voices and doubts over vague memories of abuse. She also witnessed her father’s death, she’s been killed multiple times and there’s doubt as to whether the psychotherapy that was supposed to give her some sense of stability ever actually worked. That anger and turmoil manifests in the violence, blood and gore she leaves behind her in her comic series, like the slew of S.H.I.E.L.D agents she slaughtered (though had no memory of), for example, before killing a hitwoman and the former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who put a bounty on her head in “Dark Reign: Elektra” #5 (written by Zeb Wells and illustrated by Clay Mann, Mark Pennington and Matt Hollingsworth).

HIT GIRL

Don’t be fooled by the eleven year old girl you see before you. From an even early age, Mindy McCready was trained to be a lethal assassin with a heart of stone. Since her first appearance in Icon’s “Kick-Ass” #3 (written by Mark Millar and illustrated by John Romita Jr.), we’ve come to know Mindy as a foul-mouthed violent little superhero, the yin to Kick-Ass’ yang. Where she teaches David Lizewski to live up to the name of his alter-ego, David tries to teach her how to just be a “10 and ¼” year old girl. Because of her violent nature, that’s not always easy.

In “Hit-Girl” #3 (written by Millar with artwork by John Romita Jr.), we see Mindy taze her bully, Debbie Foreman, before dangling her over the edge of a recycling facility and allowing the terrified Debbie to fall straight into a passing garbage truck. That’s actually the least violent thing Hit Girl has done to an enemy, so it’s no wonder the character has stirred controversy in both her comic books and subsequent film adaptations, though controversy for the latter was more focused on her constant cursing and not the trail of broken corpses she left behind, weirdly enough.

HAWKMAN

Next on the list is the Thanagarian with an ancient soul, bashing his way through his enemies with his Nth metal armor and various medieval weapons. He first appeared in “Flash Comics” #1 (written by Gardner Fox and illustrated by Harry Lampert) and while over the years the DC universe has changed quite a lot, Hawkman’s terrible violent streak hasn’t. He’s got quite a temper and it shows in the mess he leaves behind. Even in his appearance in 1940’s “All Star Comics” #1, he was seen defeating the sorcerer Trygg by destroying his lair with an explosion while the sorcerer and his assistant Beldame were still inside.

This is one superhero any villain definitely wouldn’t want to cross, because unlike most heroes, there’s a huge chance villains will not walk away. It’s undeniable that Hawkman has little to no regard for human life, which often puts him into conflict with members of the Justice League, at one point battling Green Arrow due to differing views on how best to handle villains.

BLACK ADAM

If you thought that was harsh, just take a look at this next DC superhuman claiming to fight for justice. Son of Rameses II, this ancient Egyptian dictator was imbued with the powers of the gods by the high priest, Shazam. Betrayed and corrupted by the high priest’s own daughter, Teth-Adam became Black Adam and was buried, only to be discovered and unleashed upon the world a thousand years later by the unknowing archaeologist, Theo Adam.

Black Adam does not shy away from violence; in fact, he constantly uses it to intimidate his foes or make a point. That earned him the distrust of almost every superhero in the “52” series, after he very literally tore the villain Terra Man in half in front of the press as an example of his stance (and by association his country, Kahndaq’s position) on crime. That’s not even the worst of it. While enraged by the death of his beloved wife, Isis and her brother, Osiris, he massacred the nation of Bialya, just for being associated with the forces that stole the lives of his family. In doing so, he single-handedly began World War III.

MIDNIGHTER

Like all superheroes, Midnighter fights for justice and peace. What sets him apart from the rest is that he genuinely enjoys the violence and bloodshed in fighting crime. He was first introduced in “Stormwatch Vol.2” #4 (written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Brian Hitch), along with his partner in heroism and romance, Apollo. He has limited precognitive abilities (a computer in his brain analyzes every fight he gets into, telling him all the different ways to win), he’s incredibly fast and strong. He also has regenerative abilities, which come in handy, since he never shies away from dangerous situations and always seems to have everything under control. Many have said that he’s basically Batman, but with superpowers… and a great love of killing.

The best example of just how violent Midnighter can comfortably get can be found in “The Authority” #16 (written by Mark Millar and illustrated by Frank Quitely, Trevor Scott and David Baron). After the implied assault and sodomy committed against Apollo by The Commander, Apollo and Midnighter take down The Americans in the most brutal way possible. At one point, he smashes someone’s head clean off with a stick and the whole thing ends with Midnighter standing over The Commander with a jackhammer to inflict a terrible retribution. If you’re not crossing him, however, he’s actually quite compassionate and has a very soft and sweet side. So don’t cross him.

RED HOOD (JASON TODD)

Within the realm of DC’s Batman-esque characters without the limit of his one rule, we find Red Hood with Jason Todd beneath the crimson helmet. Even when he was Robin, Jason was angry and lived in a moral grey area. He fought for justice, certainly, but his kind differed greatly from that of his mentor, Batman. This was most notable in “Batman” #422 (written by Jim Starlin and illustrated by Mark Bright, Steve Mitchell and Anthony Tollin), wherein Robin hunts down and sees the murder of a serial rapist who had diplomatic immunity. We never really find out whether or not Todd actually did push him off that balcony, but given all he’s done to date, we can make an educated guess in the affirmative.

In other comics, he’s seen wielding guns and trying to hunt down the Bat-family, essentially because Bruce never avenged Todd’s death, his return from which drove him insane. Generally, though, having taken advice and resources from Talia Al Ghul, Todd’s aim is to strike a more adamant fear into the hearts of Gotham’s underworld, and he has rejoined Batman’s most-trusted ranks as an ally. With his tendency to solve problems with blood, though, he’s best described by Ra’s Al Ghul who called him a curse upon the world.

RORSCHACH

As we’ve seen, sometimes wearing a mask can bring out the more savage side of a crime-fighter. The mask and all its anonymity might engulf the person beneath it, making him or her all the more fierce (sort of like a Twitter handle). That’s essentially what happened to Rorschach, as we can see when he refers to the ever changing ink blots as his real face in Alan Moore’s “Watchmen” series, published by DC.

Rorschach sees the world around him in black and white, which leads him to do some extremely brutal things to decidedly evil people. The best evidence of his extremely violent streak is when he’s locked in prison, surrounded by people he put away and every single one of them wants to kill him. One of them tries and immediately gets hot oil thrown in his face, while another is outright murdered. Then we’re given his interview with the prison psychiatrist to whom he admits incinerating dogs and their murderer/kidnapper owner, going into detail and revealing that he watched the fire for hours. That’s the crazy kind of vengeance you can’t just wave away.

THE COMEDIAN

Rorschach wasn’t the only ultra-violent superhero in the “Watchmen” series. Eddie Blake, also known as The Comedian, is guilty of quite a lot, some of which wasn’t done in the name of justice or doing the right thing. He just had a temper and didn’t value human life, which is what led to him shooting a Vietnamese woman he’d impregnated after she scratches him in the face.

In fact, in “Before Watchmen: Minutemen” #1, it was revealed that before becoming a costumed vigilante, Blake had a long record of criminal activity, none of which he seems to be trying to make up for. Then there’s the reason he was kicked out of the Minutemen group: after a photo shoot, he tries to get Sally Jupiter to sleep with him. When she rejects his advances, he violently assaults her, though he’s stopped and beaten by Hooded Justice. This vile character isn’t part of superhero team because he believes in it, but because he loves the violence that goes with it. This is one ‘hero’ who needed to die.

RED HULK

Marvel’s Hulk is the embodiment of pure rage. However, he just wants to be left alone. Red Hulk on the other hand, isn’t as simple. Thaddeus Ross first appeared as the Red Hulk in 2008’s “Hulk” #1 (written by Jeph Loeb with artwork by Ed McGuinness, Dexter Vines and Jason Keith), though his true identity wasn’t revealed until later. We find that he became Red Hulk with the aid of A.I.M and Intelligencia in order to fight Hulk. Unlike Hulk, Ross maintains his mind, although that doesn’t seem to help. Thaddeus Ross is generally just a violent person.

When his daughter was getting married to Bruce Banner, seemingly cured of the Hulk in “Incredible Hulk” #319 (written by John Byrne with artwork by Byrne, Keith Williams and Andy Yanchus), he entered the venue wielding guns and making threats. When Rick Jones attempted to stop him, Ross shot Jones (don’t worry, there’s a happy ending there). As Red Hulk, Ross has destroyed an entire S.H.I.E.L.D helicarrier with everyone on board; he’s even punched Uatu the Watcher in the face, just for trying to watch his fight against the original Hulk! Yes, he’s an Avenger, but a hero? Not exactly.

VENOM

Though he was introduced to us as Spider-Man’s greatest foe in “Amazing Spider-Man” #300, Venom was more crazed and misguided, rather than actually evil. Aside from fighting the wall-crawler, Eddie Brock used the power of the symbiote to become a lethal protector of the innocent. It was something the symbiote continued to do even after forcibly leaving Eddie Brock. As an anti-hero, the monstrous symbiote found a way to save people and sate its appetite for blood. During Flash Thompson’s brief period as Venom, the symbiote devoured Flag Smasher’s arm during the rescue of Yusuf Kassim in “Amazing Spider-Man” #654.1. There was also the murder of Angelo Fortunato, an act committed by the symbiote which allowed Angelo to fall to his death, just because it saw him as being weak.

While Venom has worked with many superheroes to save lives, it’s pretty safe to say that Venom has destroyed or ended more lives than he’s saved. Interestingly, the symbiote’s species — the Klyntar — were recently revealed as being not just non-violent, but actual protectors in space, though easily manipulated once attached to the destructive power of the human ego. So you have to ask, who was the true bad influence in Venom’s various relationships?

LOBO

Considering this character was DC’s reply to Marvel’s Wolverine and Punisher, it would be silly to expect anything other than the most ridiculous displays of violence and bloodlust from Lobo: The Main man. Being a galactic bounty hunter, this Czarnian really only has one rule: he keeps his promises to the letter. That’s exactly as confining as it sounds… which is to say, not at all. He’s free to indulge his sadistic nature by carving a path of destruction through his enemies and contracts.

Lobo is the last of the Czarnians. That might sound tragic, but in “Lobo” #0 it was revealed Lobo unleashed a host of flying scorpions upon Czarnia and single-handedly annihilated the population of the planet. Why? For fun! If that somehow doesn’t persuade you of how bloodthirsty he is, remember that when he died and went to heaven (yes, that heaven) “Lobo’s Back” #4 (written by Keith Giffen and Alan Grant, illustrated by Christian Alamy and Daniel Vozzo), he massacred everyone there and was subsequently banished. Hell didn’t want him so he’s essentially trapped on Earth forever, unable to die even if his incredible regenerative abilities fail him.

DEADPOOL

Speaking of regenerative abilities, our beloved Deadpool actually began as a supervillain in “New Mutants” #98 (written by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicienza, illustrated by Liefeld and Steve Buccellato). Over the years, he’s grown far more over the top and violent (and as a result, more popular). He’s immortal and is really neither a hero nor a villain, meaning he’s free to indulge himself in violence, especially since he’s completely aware that he’s a fictional character and none of the blood and gore really matters. That applies even when that blood and gore is his own, like in “Deadpool Kills Deadpool” #1 (written by Cullen Bunn with artwork by Salva Espin and Veronica Gandini), when he killed alternate universe versions of himself violently and on a whim.

Of course, there’s that time he killed everyone in the Marvel Universe, too, in “Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe” (written by Cullen Bunn, illustrated by Dalibor Talajic and Lee Loughridge). Heads are separated from shoulders, bodies impaled on street signs and what was it all for? The voice in his head told him to. That’s one way to end crime.

SPAWN

From the depths of hell and the imagination of Todd McFarlane (which incidentally may be the same place) comes a hero unlike any other. Arguably more powerful than most comic book superheroes, Spawn’s power does have a certain usage limit, but his rage doesn’t seem to be so restrained. He’s been to hell and back, and been caught in a war between its forces and the forces of Heaven. Generally, he doesn’t really take a side and can usually be found in dark alleys and dangerous situations. Sometimes he does good things and helps people, but most of the time he’s just venting his anger. Seeing as how he lost everything and everyone he loves, he’s got a lot of anger to vent. As you might expect of someone given the power of hell, it’s made him pretty violent.

Take, for instance, his battle against Thamuz, grand master of torture and someone who now probably regrets torturing Al. During the “Armageddon” storyline, a more angelic Spawn encounters Thamuz as the latter is rampaging on Earth, as part of Satan and Mammon’s apocalyptic plot. Spawn swiftly defeats Thamuz by punching his face clean off, killing the demon. He just wasn’t cut out for being an angelic being, we guess. Though afterwards, his face was pretty… holy.

PUNISHER

Marvel’s Frank Castle lost his family in an ill-fated visit to the park where a gangland war took place. That moment birthed the Punisher, a ruthless anti-hero who will use any means necessary to ensure that bad guys stay down. That’s what makes him bloodthirsty: his philosophy. Essentially, he believes that if he lets some murderer get away, he’s responsible for the next life they take. It has made him deeply cynical and dark, putting him at odds with other superheroes in the Marvel Universe.

For example, in “Civil War” #6 (written by Mark Millar, illustrated by Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines and Morry Hollowell), when Goldbug and the Plunderer humbly offer their aid for Anti-Reg forces, the supervillains are immediately gunned down in cold blood by Punisher, who seems confused by the angered reaction he receives. But the best example of his need for violence is in “Secret Wars” #1 when he visits a room full of villains and promises to rain bullets upon them, even though the world around them all was about to end. There was no point to it, but he was going to kill them anyway; not because it was necessary, but because he had to.

BLADE

Marvel’s half-vampire vampire hunter is probably the most literally bloodthirsty hero on this list, even if his victims are generally vampires, the immortal lives of which Blade clearly does not value very highly. It all began with his hunt for Dracula. Sure, he was always pretty dark, having killed vampire children in “Marvel Preview” #8 (written by Doug Moench with artwork by Sonny Trinidad). Over time, he grew even more ruthless in his methods, and you’ll often see him depicted wielding various weaponry drenched in blood, reflecting how he’s also grown to care less about saving lives, and more about killing.

We can’t forget that he even spends Christmas surrounded by death, like that time he went toe to toe with Santa Claus! Okay, it wasn’t really Santa, but it did end with some jolly-looking demon losing a lot of blood in “Blade” #4 (written by Marc Guggenheim with art by Howard Chaykin), as he stood atop a pile of dead bodies, the only one still standing.

Who do you think is the most bloodthirsty hero? Let us know in the comments!

The post Violence is Golden: 16 Bloodthirsty Superheroes appeared first on CBR.com.

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[bigskydreaming]

Oh also, something else I’ve been seeing lately or was seeing and then got distracted and forgot about seeing but now I remember so ahah!

Right, the thing:

A mini-surge or sudden trend of fics tackling the issue of Bruce hitting Dick after Jason’s death by revisiting those events and rewriting them so that this part doesn’t happen.

Which, actually? I’m all in favor of. Like I’m always saying, fanfic is MEANT to be transformative and actually doing the work of transforming a shitty instance of writing into something less shitty rather than just dealing in the fallout of such a thing while acting like the inciting abuse never even happened which is literal abuse apologism? Yes. Good. More of that please.

BUT.

I like big BUTS and I can not lie:

The issue I’m having with this particular mini-trend is that writers seem to be writing out the physical abuse of Bruce hitting Dick.....BUT still leaning into the part where Bruce then still tells Dick to give his keys back and kicks him out of the home he once told Dick was his and always would be.

And this is a problem, see, because like.....it was never JUST that Bruce hit Dick in that issue. It was the one two punch of that actual punch and the emotional one of having the security and stability of the home that had been GIVEN to him - even if he hadn’t actually lived there in years - literally taken back, ripped out from under him. Retroactively declared conditional, with Bruce saying that actually, it was never really his in the way Dick had come to believe it was.....not if the rights to it could be revoked any time Bruce felt like changing his mind.

The issue of that issue, pardon the pun, was never just that Bruce hit Dick. It was that in an ironic repetition of how Dick lost his first family and home and all resulting stability all at once, in one fell swoop.....at this point in time, from his POV, the exact same thing was happening with his second family. With him losing his father figure - even if not yet actually named as such from a legal standpoint - and losing the comfort and security offered by even just MEMORIES of a childhood home, all on the same day he found out he lost his brother. With it all taken away at once.

Thing is, this is as blatant of emotional abuse as you can get. And I really would like people to interrogate themselves when tackling this particular moment in time about what their specific motivations are and what they’re hoping to gain from the specific changes they make to it, otherwise you might inadvertently just end up swapping one problem out for another. In this case, swapping out the abuse apologism of pretending like Bruce abusing Dick wasn’t the inciting element of their estrangement after Jason’s death for the abuse apologism of treating the matter as though so long as Bruce doesn’t actually physically hit Dick, he can’t be labeled abusive.

Abuse doesn’t always have to be physical, and I encourage people tackling this particular moment in time in order to lessen the existence of Bruce as an abusive father to ask themselves if they’re still more motivated in transforming this moment because of what it says about Bruce than because of what impact it has upon Dick. Because I would argue that this will always be an exercise in futility and ignores tackling the real issues of abuse, because it still caters to the default problem we so often face in society: wherein we make abuse more about the abuser than the victim.

I would argue that even when Bruce physically hit Dick in that scene....the emotional damage that resonated with him for years had just as much to do with taking back Dick’s keys and actually kicking him out, as it did the betrayal of being physically hurt by someone who was meant to protect and care for him. Dick has massive abandonment issues - not even just because of Bruce but just from the nature of how he became orphaned and then removed from his home. Even though no one involved there, in terms of the people who cared about him, like, WANTED to abandon him by any means, that doesn’t change the resulting issues because abandonment issues are somewhat of a misnomer. Its kinda the exact same problem I talk about with focusing on abusers rather than their victims....the focus is put on the inciting element and classifying it in a certain way (’abandonment’) even when that’s not strictly true and the best definition of what happened.....rather than the focus being put on the resulting issues they impart upon the one left dealing with the fallout.

So my point with all this is yes, please, absolutely keep examining that moment in canon and how it impacts the characters and the stories that resulted from it......but see what happens when you primarily keep the focus to the recipient, Dick, and how it looks through his eyes, how he’s affected, rather than from some attempt to absolve Bruce or lessen his culpability. The result is going to be entirely different depending on where you put your focus, I’d argue, because the simple reality of abuse is it NEVER exists in a vaccuum. Even when there’s only one and one only instance of outright physical abuse between a parent and child, whether in reality or fiction, chances are, things didn’t get to that climactic a precipice out of NOWHERE. There was buildup, tension, previous times when the parent might have come close or the child might have been afraid they were close. Physical abuse just doesn’t pop into being in isolated instances. Emotions are almost always a precursor to action, and whether actual emotional abuse predates every instance of physical abuse or not......in the AFTERMATH of physical abuse, suddenly things which previously on their own might not have seemed all that bad can suddenly take on an entirely different light, from the perspective of the victim.

Basically....abuse is simply too complex and multi-faceted to be easily isolated down to just one specific instance or element, and trying to do so, especially in the name of making an abuser look better or at least just not as bad, like.....I don’t think its ever really going to have the result that people who go into it from this angle are aiming for. You just can’t condense the hurt of an abuse victim into something mathematic, so long as that hurt and confusion exists at all, like...there’s no formula for ‘if you remove x from the equation of this abuse, it equals not as abusive’ - y’know?

Just....food for thought, please. Abuse is an extremely complicated topic and its one that never deserves anything less than thorough examination of the why of writing it and the aims its intended for, IMO. Its GOOD that people are tackling the subject, I think, and this particular moment in canon in particular. Again, I’m all for that. I’m just asking that people make sure when doing so that their focus is on BOTH sides of the issue and they’re not just looking at it from Bruce’s POV or as a fan of Bruce specifically.