#Hug | Oliver and Barry

[kent-farm]

—Arrow, “Legends of Yesterday”

[amelia-queen-black]

Night Visit

Locked up in Slabside for his actions as a vigilante, Oliver was simply surviving, as he always had been. That was until the day he received an unexpected visit.

An unusual noise disrupted the calm of the night. Oliver sat up carefully, his eyes wide open in the semi-darkness of his cell. Muffled voices. People walking down the corridors. This was strange, the guards patrolled alone at night, and if prisoners had somehow escaped their cells, they wouldn’t be chatting away but would try to be discrete. Intrigued and on guard, he sat on the edge of his bed, the cold concrete under his naked feet chasing away the last remnants of sleep.

Two figures recognizable at a glance appeared in his field of view through the bars and his jaw almost dropped in surprise. He had to resist the urge to pinch his arm in order to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. No way. These two idiots didn’t just break into the most secure jail of the country to help him escape.

“We should have gone by the control room to find out which cell he’s in.”

“No need, we’ll find him easily, super vision, remember?”

“If I used my speed, we would find him even faster.”

Oliver rolled his eyes and moved to the bars with muffled steps. They didn’t even have a well-established plan for their attempt to free him. These two were incorrigible.

“We’ve talked about it, you’re likely to wake everybody up by entering their cells and raising their sheets to see their faces.”

“Not to mention that some sights might scar you for life,” Oliver said.

Barry pulled a face in disgust before reacting and running up to his cell while Kara smiled from ear to ear as she came up at normal speed, carrying two boxes in her arms. The two superheroes seemed out of place with their colourful suits in this grey setting. They shouldn’t be here.

“You should leave,” Oliver said. “I can’t escape and become a fugitive, my family…”

“Yeah, yeah, we know, Dig explained everything,” Barry interrupted. “Is that how you greet your friends? Also, can we talk about the beard?”

More on AO3: Night Visit

[lands-of-fantasy]

The Flash 9x09

[jewishraypalmer]

I talk a lot of shit for someone who teared up during the Flash promo after last night's episode

[cakypa120]

Captain Marvel's villains know the hero's true identity. It's a truth that the Marvel family knows, and Fawcett knew it, too, for that matter.

But when Marvel was grumbling at his villains, he accidentally blurted out:

"I'm pissed that my villains are using my civilian identity to send boxes of glitter to my house. Sivana sent a glitter bomb last time. My whole house was glitter! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get glitter off a carpet?!"

And that was the beginning of the end. The captain was immediately surrounded by heroes, demanding answers.

Batman: You mean your villains know your identity?

Marvel: Oh, yeah? They keep shouting it from the rooftops. Especially Black Adam.

The heroes don't know what to do with this news. First, they were offended that the villains knew the hero's identity, but they didn't. Second, they began to listen to the words of the villains when they fought Marvel again. And so they were able to hear a lot of interesting things. For example:

Sivana: So, Little Red Cheese, are you ready to lose?

Marvel: I'm not that much younger than Ms. Marvel.

Sivana: I think three minutes is enough to call you a baby. Especially since we know that all the intelligence has passed to her.

Marvel: Harsh, but fair.

Captain Nazi: skill issue!

Junior: And because of whom?! Suck my dick!

Marvel: Don't swear.

Junior: I'm older than you, don't whine.

Ms. Marvel: Prepare to be defeated, Black Adam!

Adam: A girl like you won't be able to defeat me!

Ms. Marvel: An old man like you won't last long! You're a wreck!

Adam: I wish I killed your parents. They were supposed to raise you to be a beautiful lady, not this.

Ms. Marvel: Well, they can't be brought back to life, but I can send you to them to say hi!

Thus, the life of Marvel and his family slowly unfolds before the League. Some facts about the Captain's life are frightening. The loss of parents, amnesia, a close brush with death, some wizard stealing children and many other things that make the League look at the cheerful Captain differently. But some of the conversation between Adam and Marvel makes them feel a little terrified.

Adam: Wearing your father's face. Aren't you disgusted by it?

Marvel: My father was a hero to me, to Ms. Marvel. He made me feel safe. I just want to do what he did. Do good and good will follow. I know you know those words Adam.

Adam: How noble. You're right, he was a hero. After all, he chose to save his wife and daughter first, but no one saved him. Tell me, child, who will save you?

Marvel: My family.

Adam: Family. I'll be there when you lose them. I'll watch your light fade under all the darkness of grief and despair.

Marvel: There are differences between us Adam. Unlike you, I know how to resist the darkness. I believe in the best for everyone.

Adam: I was like that too when I was your age. Remember, I'll be there when you fall.

After the fight, Diana hugs Marvel tightly and Superman joins in, followed by Barry, Hal, Oliver and Dinah. Batman stood aside and stared at the Captain. Billy, meanwhile, didn't understand why they were doing this. Everything went well. Yeah?

[chicken-nuggs-and-cozy-hugs]

My favorite TV trio ever! I need a series of the 3 of them just being BFFs and saving the world together.

— the harry, ron, and hermione of dctv // “All I know is that whenever the three of you show up, it usually means we have one huge problem.” 

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Meet Recruit Marvel!

by Funnyluna12343 Billy groaned when a familiar vibration was felt in the pocket of his ratty jeans. “Shush, shush, it’s okay Johnny, it’s just the Justice League needing something from me even though tons of other heroes are available today.” the teen cooed, annoyance lacing his words. Johnny, the little foster baby he offered to care for a few months ago as Captain Marvel, gurgled in response to the amusement of Billy. Guess Billy was just gonna have to reveal his status as a foster parent to the League and also how he came into custody of a previously opioid addicted orphan! Words: 7933, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Justice League - All Media Types, Shazam! | Captain Marvel (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: Gen Characters: Billy Batson, Bruce Wayne, Justice League (DCU), Hal Jordan (Green Lantern), Barry Allen, Original Male Character(s) Relationships: Billy Batson & Justice League, Billy Batson & Oliver Queen, Billy Batson & Hal Jordan (Green Lantern), Billy Batson & Bruce Wayne, Barry Allen & Billy Batson Additional Tags: Billy Batson Needs a Hug, Billy Batson is Captain Marvel | Shazam, Let Billy Batson Swear, he only does it once in this fic but still, Protective Billy Batson, Billy Batson-centric, Foster Care, Past Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Drug Addiction, parental billy batson, Team as Family, Medical Inaccuracies, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Angst, Child Abandonment, Justice League Meetings (DCU), no beta we die like billy's parents, this is a jumble of timelines so just dont think about it via https://ift.tt/jdFB0u7

[maribat-bpm]

MARIBAT BIO PARENT MONTH 2025

Welcome all to this year’s Maribat Bio Parent Month 2025! And just like promised, here’s this year’s prompts and bingo card!

Note: Click images for better quality. Full list for both will be under the read more line.

Edit: This bingo card once had Andre but has changed to Mr.Banana Adrien Agreste as per popular demand.

Once again, this event goes live in June! Any fics posted before will not be reblogged nor added to the AO3 collection!

You can participate in as many or as few prompts as you like. There is no minimum nor is there a limit! The bingo card is there for an extra challenge! Want to make art or just write a concept post? A playlist? Go for it! All types of contributions are welcomed!

When posting, please use the tags #maribat bio parent month 2025 or #mbpm2025 to help us keep track of your works. Tagging the blog @maribat-bpm would also help us to reblog your work for others to see!

For works in Ao3, use the collection Maribat Bio Parent Month 2025 to let us know you want your work to be added to the collection!

Questions, comments, concerns? Send an ask!

Without further ado, happy creations!

-Anju

This Year’s Prompts

Meeting for the 1st Time Stories/Memories Hiding Dating/Love Portraits Family/Friends “You’re Grounded!” Lullaby Justice League “This One Yours?” Mother’s Day Firsts Take Your Kid to Work Free Delivery Father’s Day Runs in the Family Bonding Hugs/Cuddles Forgotten/Lost “Care to Explain?” Identities Advice Holidays/Birthday No Miraculous Au Secrets The “Talk” Of Sports and School Events Like Parent, Like Child Unconditional Love Home

Substitutions

Last Name Wayne Grandchildren Gifts/Flowers Patrol/Mission Death Discovery Siblings Late Night Discussions “Give them hell kiddo!” Unwanted/ Wanted

Bingo Card

Nathalie Sancouer Alya Césaire Oliver Queen Edward Nygama Dinah Lance John Constantine Wang Fu Mr.Banana Adrien Agreste Arthur Curry Clark Kent Gabriel Agreste Victor Fries FREE SPACE Hal Jordan Barry Allen Kagami Tsurugi Tikki Jagged Stone Lex Luthor Pamela Isley Amelie Graham de Vanily Sabine Cheng Marinette Dupain Cheng Luka Couffaine Harvey Dent

[overlyobsessed223]

second chances

another halbarry ficlet. spoilers for kevin smith's GA bc this story takes place directly after his run. can maybe be read as platonic. featuring spectre hal and afterlife barry, enjoy :)

---

Heaven has never been a particularly loud place. The sprawling hills that seem to stretch on endlessly provide each resident more than enough space to comfortably exist, and even then, the blissful peace that comes with complete and utter contentment lends to a lack of a need to converse or even speak in and of itself. Save for the whoops and laughter of the young boy wonder who inconspicuously showed up at the pearly gates only a few years after him, Barry has always known the afterlife to be nothing less than tranquil.

And yet, as he runs his thumb along the shaft of one of the arrows that have, as of recently, been left abandoned in the luscious green grass, he can’t help but think Heaven seems the quietest it’s ever been. 

Too quiet, even, perhaps. 

Seeing someone enter through the gates of this place only to return back to the land of the living has been far from unheard of. Barry remembers his bittersweet reunion with Clark some time ago, only for Clark’s soul to be pulled back to his body a short time after. But he has to admit, Oliver’s revival, in particular, has him slightly… surprised, due to the way Ollie had adamantly and consistently refused the second chance Hal so desperately wanted to give him.

Speaking of Hal, Barry senses his presence before he sees him. Well, mostly he senses the Spectre’s wild, angry, vengeful spirit, but he can perceive Hal, too, the loving, sentimental, willful man he’s always been veiled just beneath the powerful force of the wraith he’s bound to. There’s also sadness and guilt—so, so much guilt that it seems to physically weigh on his shoulders and in his eyes, and each time Barry sees him he’s harshly reminded that Hal has not yet earned his place in paradise. 

“So, he’s really gone fully back?” Barry asks, continuing to study the arrow in his hand.

“Yes,” Hal’s voice answers from somewhere behind him. “For now, at least.”

Barry hums and nods. He swallows hard, feeling a prick of bittersweet grief in his chest. Zooming around the valley and scooping up all of the arrows scattered in the grass, he places them back into the quiver and leans it up against the target next to the bow. 

“I kinda thought you’d seem… I dunno. Happier?” Hal comments after a moment. “Now that he’s gone. You two always did butt heads.”

“Yeah, we did,” Barry lets out an amused breath of laughter. A lifetime of heated arguments and cutting words flashes through his mind, and he remembers them fondly.

Oliver’s quick wit and snappy remarks did not die with him, but Barry was met with a very different Oliver Queen standing at the gates of the afterlife, one who he at first almost didn’t recognize. Ollie carried a certain kind of weariness, hollowed to the core by a life of mistakes and insecurities and internal struggles. His eyes had welled up with tears, actual tears when he saw Barry. He’d yanked him into a long, tight hug, and Barry for not the first time had wondered what exactly became of the world after the crisis and why it seemed to leave all of his friends shells of who they once were.

“It was nice having him around,” Barry says. He runs his hand down the edge of the red and white target, reminiscing as he’s so prone to do nowadays. “He mellowed out in his old age. I liked his company.”

He pauses, glancing at the empty valley he and Oliver used to spend hours playing in together.

“But,” he adds, “I’m glad he’s embraced the second chance he’s been given on Earth. If not for him, then at least for the people who loved him.”

“I wanted to bring you back, too.”

Barry stops. He turns around to look at Hal for the first time since he showed up and can just barely catch a glimpse of a too-pale face and dark eyes under a large, shadowy hood. 

“I tried,” Hal’s eyes lower fractionally, like he can’t bear to meet Barry’s gaze. “But you—it’s been so long since your—there just wasn’t anything left of you to put back together.”

As he speaks, his words are heavy with shame. Whether that’s due to his failure to bring Barry back to life or that he tried to do it at all, Barry isn't sure. 

“Well, that’s okay,” Barry says, and he offers Hal a genuine smile to show him that he means it, really and truly. “My time in the sun is long over, Hal. From what I’ve heard, Wally’s filled my boots just fine as the Flash.”

“It wasn’t the Flash I was trying to bring back,” Hal’s eyes lift to look at him head-on. The light of Heaven’s eternal day hits his face more, illuminating his tightened jaw. “It was Barry Allen.”

“Hal…” Barry sighs. He reaches to pull back his cowl and runs a hand through his hair. 

“There’re people who love you, too,” Hal says, his voice slightly wavering. “People who would do… anything. Anything to have you back with them.”

Hal pushes back the hood on his head, letting it pool around his neck and shoulders, and Barry can see his entire face, from the deep frown tugging at his eyebrows and lips to the despair glimmering in his eyes. The years of compounded grief that, even in death, has left him looking aged and worn. Barry’s heart begins to ache. 

“I know,” Barry says softly. 

Because even before he died, Barry never doubted that Hal loved him. There was a special, unspoken connection between them, and in his final moments, one of Barry’s biggest regrets was leaving it unspoken. Now, though, Barry’s realized that maybe it wasn’t as unspoken as he’d thought. 

Their individual paths of life split off from one another long ago, with Barry’s cut short and Hal’s a dark, winding road of pain and suffering. But in death, here they are, together. Although it isn’t like it used to be, and it’s far from a second chance for both of them in the way they'd like it to be, it’s still something to cherish and make the most of. 

“Hey,” Barry moves to stand at Hal’s side, bumping their shoulders, “you don’t need to go back to work right away, do you?”

“No,” Hal tilts his head, that unruly chunk of hair becoming dislodged. Barry doesn’t bother to hold himself back from reaching to push it back into place. “Why?”

“Because we should race,” Barry gestures to the wide, open valley. “Like old times.”

Hal blinks. Then, he breaks out into a grin that’s rare nowadays. In a flash of green light, Hal is wearing his Green Lantern uniform, ring pulsating on his fist as he levitates from the ground. 

“Alright, Barry,” Hal says, and his voice has already brightened significantly. “Let’s race.”

Barry pulls his cowl back onto his face, dips into a running position, and waits for Hal’s starting gun construct to go off. 

Things aren’t the same. They’re on borrowed time before Hal has to go back to his work as the Spectre. Barry will have to remain here, and it could be minutes or eternities before they find themselves together again. 

So all they can do now is make every last second count. 

[tree-forg]

Slowly working through Arrow, Barry is too pure for this world and the flash-arrow crossovers set in starling are so fucking funny because team flash is like "We've got this gang!! We're family!! Goodness, light, smiles!! Group hug!!" And Oliver is like "you fucking idiots. My friends and family are dead and I'm traumatized and I've gotta be dark about it, you're ruining my vibe can you step off so I can be dark and murderous real quick" and it's just so funny to see the comparison between starling and central

[hyperblue]

Clark, Barry and Oliver are really afraid that the marriages of Bruce's daughters with their close relatives were really part of Batman's plan "just in case"...

And they're especially thinking about it right at Roy and June's wedding.

Imagine how awkward it is — the newlyweds dance their first dance, Roy gently hugs June, Elissa and Maris affectionately call her "Mrs. Harper", and Oliver just looks at Bruce and thinks that he may be killed as soon as June carries Roy's baby. Barry and Clark, meanwhile, are actively engaged in looking at the pattern on the cloth napkins.

sometimes you gotta work smart, not hard

bruce: well, in case I'll have to take down half of the league, at least my grandchildren will be there to take their places

[highly-opinionated-ramblings]

I left myself this note, like, a year and a half ago, and I have yet to actually act on it, so. “People who have secret identities who could conceivably find themselves at the same holiday party as Bruce Wayne”, let’s go. 

Feat. Clark, Diana, Barry, and Oliver

Clark: Gotham’s elite often goes out of their way to invite members of the press to their parties, in the hopes of ‘building good connections’- a rather thin disguise for what’s essentially bribery, but hey, at least he gets a really good meal out of it every year. He’s not sure when it started- not like he spends a lot of time writing about Gotham from Kansas- but it’s become an annual thing, somehow. He and Bruce exchange pleasantries every year. Outside of their suits, they’re friendly, but not friends...that’s all that makes sense between a billionaire and a newspaper reporter, after all. Clark almost wishes they were in the suits. At least he’d have a friend to talk to, then. Sometime towards the end of the night, when the people around him are beginning to stumble and proclaim loudly that they really should be getting home, they really shouldn’t have another drink, and he’s wondering how soon it’d be socially acceptable to leave, he feels someone step up behind him. “You should be more careful where you’re standing,” an all-too-familiar voice murmurs in his ear before a quick kiss lands on his cheek, catching him completely by surprise, and then somehow Bruce is practically across the room, approaching some woman he doesn’t recognize with open arms and a friendly grin on his face. He hugs her when he gets there. Doesn’t kiss her cheek, though.

Diana: They actually run into each other quite a bit outside of work- museum galas in DC, charity balls in New York, private gatherings all over the country. She’s been asked on numerous occasions why the two of them have never dated, which, she supposed made sense given the whole ‘playboy’ act. Such a flirt. Before she got to know the real Bruce, Diana hated him. But, of course, things were different now that they actually did know each other. Now that they did know each other, she never hesitated to strike up a conversation with him whenever she needed a break from the other guests. He was actually the first one to warn her about a host who liked to make a big deal of mistletoe, way back in the day. So, knowing each other the way they did now, it really had been a careless mistake of him to stand under the mistletoe and not expect her to take advantage of the opportunity to tease him with it.

Barry: This one’s a little bit of a stretch, maybe, but let’s say local charity event that Barry was invited to, that he in turn invited Bruce to. Neither of them are paying attention- well, Batman is, but pretending not to for Bruce Wayne’s sake- so it’s one of the other party goers who calls them out for standing under the mistletoe. Barry sheepishly protests, but Bruce takes it in good stride, and pushes in close to give him a kiss on the cheek anyway, to cheers and laughs from the other guests.

Oliver: They’re hanging around after a private party at the home of a mutual acquaintance, helping clean up while she’s seeing the last of the guests out, when Bruce gestures over to Oliver and says, “You’re doing it again” “Again? How many of these things did she put up?” Bruce shrugs, holds out the trash bag he’s holding for Oliver to toss the fourth sprig of mistletoe of the evening in, and then gives him a kiss on the temple as he passes by, anyway.

[cakypa120]

Imagine that Captain Marvel, Billy Batson and Living Lightning are three personalities in one body. Living Lightning is a little over 200,000 years old, Billy is twelve, but Captain Marvel is three years old, because Billy got his powers at nine.

Of course, Marvel will be asked how old he is.

The captain will immediately say that he is three years old.

Only no one will believe him and everyone will think that he is mocking them. Marvel will wonder for a long time why everyone is looking at him with resentment.

Then a curse is placed on Captain Marvel, and Marvel, Billy and Living Lightning are separated.

The League's shock is beyond words when they see a three year old running around a twelve year old boy, who was supporting an old man so decrepit that no one knew how he was still alive.

Captain Marvel, Billy and the Living Lightning, or Thavma.

That's how they introduced themselves.

And you know what's funny? Thávma always wants to go somewhere. Because when else would you get a chance to wander around outside of the Champion's body? The old rascal once withdrew a thousand dollars from Batman's account and went to Vegas, where he multiplied it a thousandfold. Billy suspects Solomon's help, but keeps quiet, amused by how Batman loses his shit when he finds out what Thavma did during his trip to the city. And he always manages to slip out from under every hero's nose without being noticed. So everyone just lets Thavma do what he wants.

Three-year-old Marvel never left Diana's side all day, following her around like a duckling. The Amazon loved to pick him up and kiss his cheeks. Marvel laughed loudly and kept asking for more kisses. Every hero cooed at him and gave him hugs. Superman reminded Batman that he couldn't take the child for himself, no matter how much he wanted to. Barry was constantly feeding the child sweets when no one was looking.

All the heroes, from the youngest to the oldest, have stuck to Billy. Batman wanted to steal him away, but Oliver stopped him. Billy gets offers every day that he can move in with someone else. Batman and his children are very persistent. Billy cleverly avoids these offers, like bullets. He is not a little boy, he can take care of himself. He does not need pity. But he does not refuse the food that is given to him.

When the curse is lifted and the three are united again, Captain Marvel is caught by Barry and Hal, who asked to see Billy. The Captain transforms and Billy is taken to Barry's house until Batman can intercept them.

And from that day on, the "Great Custody Battle" began, where there was no pity or compassion.

[that1emowitch]

At the end of the world / Or the last thing I see / You are never coming home, never coming home

Prompt from @tuna-f-b: Do you still do request? If yes and angst is o.k: what would happend i all the bats died? Like how would the hero community react. The supers alone. Clark having to deal with losing his best friend(?) and the kids he basically co parented- as well as seeing his sons lose their best friends(?) Specially as ships that would be awesome angst

A/N: I'm not crying you're crying (Also, for those who don't know, Izzy is Duke's canon gf and one of the Robins from We Are Robin)

Words: 2504

TW: Mentions of blood, Major character death, Coping with loss, Self-blame, Mentions of relapse (drugs)

“If you’re watching this, I am either deceased or indefinitely unable to continue my duties as Batman. But the world still needs Batman. Gotham still needs Batman. My son Damian Wayne, if he is an adult, shall inherit my mantle— if not, Dick Grayson will take over until he is. In the event that he, too, is unavailable for any reason, the mantle goes to Tim Drake, after him, to Cassandra Cain, then Duke Thomas, then Stephanie Brown, then Jason Todd, should he accept it.”

In the video recording, Batman pauses, taking a deep breath.

“In the unfortunate event that the entire family is… deceased… I have a list of contingency plans on both the Bat-Computer and the Justice League’s primary databases. Oracle will help you access it, but in her… absence… the password is “a6ghr83kc02m”.”

Then video-Bruce takes off the cowl, his pale blue eyes looking straight into the camera.

“I know I was never the best with feelings. But I would like my children, my allies, and friends to know that I’m proud of you. And to my fellow Justice Leaguers… Diana and Clark, I am truly grateful for your companionship. I would never have made it this far without you. Barry, Arthur, Dinah, J’onn, you’ve all been good friends. Oliver, Hal… you’re not so bad either.”

Bruce turns around, and looks over his shoulder, the shadows of the Batcave making the scene even more dramatic.

“I wish you good luck.”

Then the clip ends.

A shuddering breath leaves Clark.

It’s real.

He’s really… They’re all…

He can’t do this anymore. He turns around and walks out the door, leaving the other core Justice Leaguers staring sombrely at the now-blank screen.

He doesn’t know when he started flying, when he started trying to escape. The walls of the Watchtower seem to be suffocating him, but he has enough sense not to just leave the airlock yet.

Instead he finds a corner by a window, far, far away from the others, where he can see a majestic view of Earth, the moon, and the Sun in perfect sync with each other.

He falls to his knees.

His breathing’s uneven, a tear rolls down his cheeks.

Then he feels a hand on his shoulder— soft, trembling, yet steady.

“Kal,” Diana whispers, sitting on the floor next to him. She doesn’t continue— she isn’t sure what to say.

“They’re all going to die, you know? We’re going to bury all of them. Everyone on Earth, everyone we know.” Clark’s voice trembles, in a way Superman’s never does. “It scares me so much.”

“Kal,” Diana says again, pulling Clark into a hug. “It’s okay. We’ve lost… We’ve lost so many of our friends. It’s okay to be scared. It’s okay to grieve.”

“How are you— how are you so—” Clark can’t form his words properly. He turns to Diana, to see her face tight with grief, eyes misty with unshed tears.

Her voice breaks slightly as she speaks. “I don’t want to believe they’re gone. But… we have to carry on. We’re the Justice League. Our people need us, Kal.”

“So we just go on and on? Forever?” Another tear runs down his cheek. “Ollie, Hal, Dinah, Lois, Jon, they’re all going to… they’re all going to die one day and we just have to… to go on?”

“I’m sorry, but it is the truth,” Diana whispers, her eyes stinging with hot tears. “We must find peace in the fact, right now, that Batman— Bruce, the Robins, they— they were so brave. Brave till the end. And they fell as warriors, defending our world. I’m sure they’ll all reach Elysium.”

“And Dickie, Damian, Jason, Tim, Cass, Duke—” Clark’s voice is hoarse. “They were so young, just kids… I… I know Dick, Jay, Tim, Cass… they were adults, but… they’re gone, they’re gone…”

“They were heroes, like you and me. Don’t forget that.”

“I… I know, I just—” Another shuddering breath escapes Clark. “I just— I…”

“It’s okay,” Her voice is forcefully steady, but with an undertone of heartbreak. “It’s okay…”

Dinah looks around the room, her heart heavy.

Clark has left, Diana’s gone after him— both of them need their space, she knows. They were close to Bruce and the other Bats in a way no one else in this room was.

Was.

The word still weighs down on her.

Hal speaks up finally, breaking the deafening silence. “I always thought he hated me.”

No one replies for a long moment.

“I miss the kids,” Barry says finally, his voice quiet. “They were just… Robin was only 14. The others, even Nightwing, they had… they had their whole lives ahead of them.”

More silence.

“Jason, when he was Robin— do y'all remember? Kid was always my favorite,” Ollie says finally. “Was always so sassy. Roy loves him.”

Loves. Dinah winces, but doesn’t correct him. It’s easier to believe they’re just gone for a little while.

“Bruce was a good man,” Arthur adds. “They all were.”

“Tim was, I believe, the smartest,” J’onn says, somber. “It was his plan that allowed us to save Earth.”

“Damian!” Dinah says suddenly, jumping from her seat. “His… his mother. She shouldn’t have to find out from someone else.”

Everyone freezes, faces tight.

Dinah sighs, looking down. “I’ll do it.”

Then she leaves the room, dragging what feels like a heavy weight tied to her soul. She has to do this.

Roy’s sitting in a corner of his apartment, hugging his knees. All he can think of is Jason.

He’s never coming back.

He can still feel the lingering ‘goodbye’ kiss Jason gave him not two days ago, he can still hear him say, “I’ll be back before you know it, babe.”

He never came back.

He’s dead. Dead— dead dead dead DEAD DEAD—

“Small Red not okay?” A booming voice snaps Roy out of his thoughts. He looks up to see Bizarro’s pale blue skin and cold eyes looming over him. He’s crying. “Red him coming back.”

It takes Roy a second to register that Bizarro speaks backwards. It takes everything in him to not punch him for saying that, for giving him false hope.

He feels something he hasn’t felt in years— feels that whisper in his mind— one hit and it’ll all feel better. Just one hit.

NO! He screams mentally. He feels like bashing his head open.

Instead he lifts his dead eyes to survey the rest of the room— Kori’s on the couch, staring into space. Artemis has a crying Lian in her arms, she’s showing her something— old photos of Jason. Talking, whispering in a broken voice.

No, no he should be the one comforting Lian—

What’s he gonna say?

That— That Jason— That her Papa’s gone forever? That he’s never— he’s never coming back?

No— Jay— Jay deserved so much better, he— he already died once before, he’s been through so much, things were supposed to be better now— not— no, he’s— 

Roy feels Bizarro sit beside him, gently patting his arm.

He snaps out of his thoughts again, turning to Jason’s former teammate, his eyes red-rimmed. His voice raw, he whispers, “Jay’s gone…”

Wally’s standing in the Hall of Heroes, staring up at the holographic projection of Dick— he looks so majestic, so mighty, staring ahead with nothing but hope and courage in his eyes.

Nothing like the cold, dead body that Wally held in his arms just two days ago.

He’s surrounded by his teammates, his friends— Kaldur, M’gann, Artemis, Zatanna, L’gann, Garth— yet he feels so alone.

He sees it again— Dick bleeding out it his arms, his wounds so fatal he died before help arrived. Wally’s the fastest man alive, damn it, yet he couldn’t even save his best friend— his boyfriend. He feels the moment when Dick’s breathing stopped, when his body went limp, when his grip on Wally’s hand loosened.

Everyone’s quiet. M’gann’s stress baking again, L’gann by her side. Artemis and Zatanna are sitting together, Garth’s lingering in a corner, and Kaldur’s standing right beside Wally— close enough for comfort but not so close he’s lurking. He’s shaking.

He can still hear it, hear Dick forcing out his last words, telling Wally it’s okay, that he loves him, that it’ll be fine.

It’s not fine. Not without you.

He wants to scream.

He wants to cry, yell, hit something, do anything.

But he can’t move.

So he just stands there, almost as still as the holographic projection of Dick before him.

Kon is left reeling.

Tim… Tim is…

Tim’s dead.

Tim’s really gone.

He thinks, for just a second, that this is how Tim and Cassie must have felt when he and Bart “died”.

Bart is sitting beside him on the couch, leaning on his side, Cassie’s got her head on his lap. Neither of them speak— Bart’s not even fidgeting— they’re all just trying to be there for each other.

The other Titans are up and about, but staying close for comfort. Jaime and Gar are making food for everyone in the kitchen, Raven and Vic have come back to the tower to make sure the others are okay, and he’s sure Karen’s around too, somewhere.

Yet he feels so empty.

Feels nothing at all.

How can he, when his best friend is dead?

Jon hasn’t spoken in a bit. Not when his Mom brought him his favorite soup, not when Grandma and Grandpa showed up to ‘help’ him and Dad through this, not when Krypto plopped down beside him to comfort him.

He hugs the dog close.

Krypto’s technically Kon’s, but Jon’s sure Kon wouldn’t mind if he stole Krypto for a day.

Another sob escapes him, and he buries his head in Krypto’s back. The dog whines, licking Jon’s hand.

He can’t believe Damian’s gone. 

Really gone.

And he didn’t know just how much he would miss his friend.

Dinah finds Talia Al Ghul on a building in Metropolis, overlooking the city. Her face is tight with sorrow, but she keeps herself in check, her back straight, head held high.

She already knows, Dinah deduces.

“I… I’m sorry,” Dinah starts, unsure of what to say. She knows, from her experience as a psychologist, that ‘sorry’ is the last thing a grieving person wants to hear, but she doesn’t have anything else to say.

Talia doesn’t reply for a long time. Then she says, her voice numb, “I should have known, when bringing Damian into this life, that I would also be bringing him amidst the dangers that come with.”

Dinah’s brows furrow. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have done anything at all.”

“I should have trained him better, I should have kept him close, I should—” Talia takes a shuddering breath. “I should have never brought him into this life.”

Dinah can’t argue with that— she knows how Damian had come to be, and it… wasn’t the best birth ever.

“Now leave, hero,” Talia says, her voice numb and cold. “Go back to protecting the world. Leave me be.”

Dinah wants to say something better, comfort the woman, but she can’t. So she just turns back, and leaves.

By the time Harper Row makes her way to the Clock Tower, there’s already quite a crowd there— Kate, Renee Montoya, Harley, Ivy, Silena, and Helena Bertinili— they’re crowding around Babs, comforting her. Luke Fox and Isabella Ortiz are at the computer, looking through something.

Harper tries to open her mouth to speak, but she can’t get the words out.

She makes her way over to Luke and Izzy, shoulders hunched.

Just three days ago she’d been hanging out with Duke and Izzy and Cass and Steph— they’d all been so carefree, so happy…

And now…

Once she gets close enough she realizes Izzy���s crying, and immediately wraps her arms around the shorter girl. Harper’s trying to hold back tears of her own, too. She feels Luke putting a hesitant hand on her shoulder, squeezing tight.

No one speaks for a long time, they just stand together, seeking comfort in each other.

Then Babs rolls her wheelchair to the center of the room, wiping at her bloodshot eyes. But when she speaks, she sounds surprisingly steady. She’s compartmentalizing, Harper realizes. Putting away Barbara and bringing Oracle back.

“Gotham needs her heroes, now more than ever,” Oracle says, head held high. “We must honor our friends by doing the one thing they’d have wanted— to keep fighting. Keep Gotham safe.”

She sighs, her face tight to fight away tears. “Luke. Batman’s contingency plan, in the Robins’ absence, was to pass you the mantle of Batman. Do you accept?”

Luke’s eyes grow wide slightly, but he straightens himself, looking away. “I… I accept. Dad isn’t going to be happy, but… Gotham needs Batman.”

“Thank you.” Oracle nods at him. “As per Bruce’s will, all Wayne assets, the Manor, and the Batcave are split between Kate, me, Alfred, and Lucius. I… Lucius and I are still figuring out who’s going to take over Wayne Enterprises, but on the vigilante side, I’ve got a plan.”

She turns to Ivy, Harley, Kate, Silena and Helena. “The Birds of Prey are needed here, now more than ever. Dinah— Black canary has offered to help us with Gotham, too.” 

Harley nods, sniffling. Beside her, Ivy speaks up, “The… Most Rogues aren’t happy about this. They’re not rampaging— Bane has fashioned his own version of the Batsuit, he’s going around ‘saving’ people, screaming that Batman never dies. The Joker’s searching for Lazarus Pits and Bruce’s body. Jervis Tetch and Nygma held a get-together yesterday, in the memory of the Bats. I… I think they might help us.”

Harper’s gotta admit, she’s quite surprised about this. Even Babs freezes, taking in this information.

“Gotham needs Robin as much as she needs Batman,” Izzy speaks up from beside her, her voice small but firm. “The Robins can come back, this time you can give us formal training so we can actually help.”

Oracle turns to Luke. “Taking on Robins is your decision, Batman.”

Luke winces at that title— it doesn’t feel like an honor to him, it just feels like an incessant reminder that he’s the last one left. Because his friends are dead. But he nods, anyway, not trusting himself to speak right now.

Then Oracle addresses Harper. “I… would you like to be Batgirl?”

Harper’s heart stops. Memories flash into her head— seeing Steph in the Batgirl costume, seeing Cass in the Batgirl suit, both of whom are now gone.

“N— No,” Harper stutters out, eyes tearful. “I can’t— I’m sorry, Babs. I appreciate the offer, but… Cass was Batgirl. I can’t take her place.”

“I understand.” Babs just nods, lips pursed, misty-eyed. “We will all need to work hand-in-hand until everything settles, we will need to be vigilant. Carry on Batman’s legacy, for as long as we may need to.”

No one speaks again.

They all just let it sink in, hearts heavy.

They’re going to have to do this alone now.

[hiso03]

Oliver can't stand being around the Halbarry.

Sometimes I get to thinking, how must Ollie feel knowing that his best friend, with whom he has had incredible adventures and whom he loves like a brother; is in love with the guy he can't even stand?

Imagine.

You're Ollie and one day out of nowhere your best friend starts making a bunch of comments about how cute Barry is and how much he wants to hug and spend time with him. At first you ignore him and think he's just obsessed with another blond, until you start to realize how really pushy Hal is on the subject without him even realizing it. Ollie realizes what's going on, but denies it.

He can accept anything but that.

So he talks to Dinah about it, trying to calm her paranoia.

He wants his wife to tell him that she hasn't noticed anything unusual, but his wife was quite calm on the subject and even proposes to help them be together. Of course Oliver refuses at first, not planning to accept Barry as his other brother; but after realizing how fucking in love they were and how obvious it is, he ends up disgusted and desperate to see how neither of them do anything and finally along with Dinah end up getting them to be together. Still Ollie wasn't thrilled and perhaps on more than one occasion tried to find him a date with any blonde, blue-eyed guy who was more fun than Barry, hoping his best friend would reconsider his crush.

Evidently it didn't work out.

So he ends up accepting his brother's relationship against his will.

(Deep down he's happy to see Hal so excited and knows Barry is a good choice, but Ollie is proud enough to never accept that he does like Barry a little. But only a little.)