#Jason is truly a Master of Disguise

[mothpiggie]

Crime bossing isn’t paying the bills, my man needs a cut of those cookie sales

In honor of it being cookie season ❤️

[pipedreame]

Justice is Swift (Vengeance is Sweet) — a DPxDC Dead on Main Fic

chapter three has arrived!

master post || <- ch.2 || ch.3 shitposts

CHAPTER THREE — ANGEL IN DISGUISE

Summary —

Danny has a (literal) run-in with someone at a coffee shop, an interesting conversation with some friends, a near-miss with another mugger, and has some more home invaders. Jason and Tim start putting some more pieces together.

chapter word count — 7,646

full chapter under the cut, but for the best experience read on ao3 and consider leaving kudos/comments as they fuel me :)

𓆩⟡𓆪

Danny let himself splurge on decent coffee once a week, a little treat to help with the general chaos of juggling a full load of intense college classes. He had discovered a lovely little coffee shop nearby campus with a caring staff who fulfilled Danny’s truly exorbitant espresso wishes without even batting an eye.

He loved Gotham, truly.

What he did not love, was getting said heavenly coffee splashed over his chest and spilled on the floor, a truly devastating (and expensive) brown puddle that reflected his blank face as he stared down into it with a resigned sigh.

“Oh fuck, I’m sorry!” A deep voice broke him out of his mourning and he glanced up at the douche that had bumped into him and caused the tragedy seeping below his sneakers as they stood there. Well, the douche at least had the decency to be the hottest guy Danny had ever seen. He would take the spilled holy nectar any day to have the chance to see the face staring at him in panicked apology. (Danny was maybe a tad bit sleep deprived and loopy at the moment. Fruit loop loopy. Ha.)

“Uh, you okay?” Danny scrubbed a hand down his face to clear his head and bit down a hysterical bark of laughter and instead shot a rueful smile at the literal Angel looking at him with what was now concern, gorgeous blue eyes wide and large hand hovering as if to steady Danny but not sure if the touch would be welcomed. (It most certainly would be.)

“Yeah, you’re good, man,” Danny tried for nonchalance despite kind of wanting to cry in the corner at the loss of his much needed caffeine. He did not have time to go back to his apartment to make a shitty cup of the instant coffee he made do with every other day of the week. “Don’t worry about it.”

The guy looked worried regardless. An employee came over with a mop and paper towels which the guy took with a grateful smile that brought a flush to the barista’s cheeks. Danny felt a sense of kinship towards her, because at least he wasn’t the only one clearly affected by the Angel’s charm.

Danny stepped away from the puddle to let the clearly underpaid employee get the spill mopped up, glad that his shoes only left a slight trail of the liquid, and made grabby motions for the paper towels. Angel Boy passed him the stack and Danny started patting his shirt down. Of course he chose to wear a mostly white one today too, no jacket in sight because Danny was an idiot who didn’t want to carry it around when he inevitably got too warm. Having an ice core that made him near immune to the cold had it’s downsides after all.

“Let me buy you another?” Danny stared at Angel Boy who was now giving him a truly devastatingly pretty smile that made Danny’s gut twist a bit. (He should really have Frostbite run some tests with the amount of swirling his gut had been doing lately. Maybe something was wrong with him.)

“Uh, you don’t have to,” Danny said after a moment and Angel Boy shook his head.

“No, I insist,” Angel said and Danny had a pang of déjà vu but waved it off. “It’s the least I can do after giving yours away to the floor,” Angel glanced at Danny’s shirt and winced, “And for ruining your shirt. Just, wait here?”

Danny could only nod as Angel walked to the counter and turned his charming smile to the cashier who nodded and waved off his card, much to Danny’s chagrin. He was positive he wouldn’t manage to get a free coffee. He had the charm of a particularly slow slug at the moment and his eye bags were probably enough to scare off even Skulker. He watched in swooning amusement as Angel snuck in a few bills (probably much more than the drink itself cost, from the look of it) to the tip jar when the barista’s back was turned and then frowned in confusion as the guy then ran out the door, bell left swinging behind him.

Well, that was that, then. He sighed in disappointment and gave up on dabbing at his shirt after another moment and made sure his shoes were wiped before throwing the soiled napkins in the garbage. He turned around to see if he would actually have a drink waiting at the counter or if it had all been some sort of joke, and startled when he came face to face with Angel Boy a foot away, holding out a large fresh cup of what Danny hoped to be at least as strong as his original order and what looked like a black shirt draped over his arm. Was this guy a speedster or something? How the fuck did he get back so fast? Danny ignored his confusion and took the offered cup gratefully, eyes widening after a careful sip.

Angel laughed, “Like it?”

Danny nodded, taking another sip, “What the hell is in this?”

Angel shrugged, “Same thing my overworked and chronically sleep deprived brother usually gets to try and ‘fight the demons’ or something. You struck me as the type to appreciate it. I had her put the recipe on the side for you.”

Sure enough, Danny found the order written on the side, and at the bottom was a string of numbers. Danny nearly rolled his eyes. Figured.

“I think she left you a little something,” Danny turned the cup and tapped the numbers for Angel to see. The guy just flushed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Uh, actually that’s for you.”

Danny blinked and then cocked his head to look around Angel’s shoulder to get a look at the girl. She was cute, sure, but after seeing Angel, Danny wasn’t sure he’d be able to find anyone else attractive ever again. (He was definitely being melodramatic. Val would be proud. Sam would smack him upside the head. Tucker would be laughing his ass off. He’s never telling them anything about this.)

He was brought back by a breathy laugh and a more red-faced Angel Boy. “Mine, not hers.”

And, oh.

Oh.

Danny short-circuited.

“My name’s Jason,” Angel Boy, Jason, smiled and stuck his hand out. Danny smiled back and grabbed it, reveling in how warm and nice it felt in his own.

“Danny,” he managed to say without even a crack or stutter. (Tucker would be so fucking proud of him. He’s so telling them about this.)

Angel, no, Jason, grinned a bit wider and squeezed his hand once more before letting go and Danny immediately missed the warmth, cradling his coffee to try and bring it back (it wasn’t the same).

“Well, I’m sorry again, Danny. If you ever want a do-over I’d love to not douse you in coffee next time.”

Danny laughed, “Yeah, I definitely wouldn’t mind that.”

They grinned at each other before Jason startled out of it with a soft, “Oh!” He held out what was definitely a black shirt and Danny stared. “I thought you might like a shirt that I didn’t spill coffee on. I keep an extra in my bike bag just in case. It’s clean, I promise.”

Danny glanced outside and sure enough there was a gleaming black motorcycle parked in front of the doors. Of course the guy rode a motorcycle. Danny was going to fucking swoon.

He did not swoon, and instead composed himself enough to take the offered shirt with a grateful smile. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Jason smiled, “No problem, least I could do.”

Danny begged to differ but kept the sentiment to himself. Jason was clearly a gentleman.

His phone beeped in warning and he swore, “I’m gonna be late for class. Thank you for the coffee and the shirt, I really appreciate it.”

“Like I said, least I could do,” Jason waved him off, walking with him towards the door where Danny turned to duck into the bathroom and change. Just before he turned Jason stopped him with a warm hand on his wrist and sparkling eyes.

“Text me?”

Danny grinned and promised, “Yeah, I will.”

Jason left with a gentle squeeze and Danny had to force his feet to start working again and not stare as Jason straddled his bike.

Holy shit.

As he ran to class he shot off a simple ‘Hey, it’s Danny’ with a cheeky coffee cup emoji to the number on the cup and had to force down a giddy, disbelieving laugh.

His life rocked.

—

He managed to keep his good spirits up the rest of the week and was still riding the high when he met Bernard and Tim for their now weekly café hangout.

“You’re in a good mood,” Bernard commented as Danny took the seat across from the couple. He shrugged but kept smiling, taking the offered coffee cup with a quick thanks.

“Yeah, I guess I am,” the week had been good after his run in with Jason. He managed to catch up on the sleep he lost from pulling a couple all-nighters for homework and the chaos of coordinating with Jazz to get Ellie’s paperwork and trying to find the best school for her to enroll at. Classes were going smooth, Ellie was settling in, he hadn’t heard anything from Red Robin or Red Hood, and, oh yeah, he and Jason had been texting a lot. A lot, a lot. And they had plans to meet up Saturday morning for another try at a coffee shop. Danny had to remind himself that it wasn’t technically a date, but it was hard when every time his phone buzzed his heart did a flip.

He was being completely normal about this.

“This have anything to do with Angel Boy?” Danny blushed and regretted ever telling Bernard anything. He groaned into his hands.

“Can you just forget that entire conversation?”

Bernard shook his head, “Nope! It was hilarious and I now must hold it over your head forever more. Friend duties and all that.”

Tim looked between the two in amusement and Danny glared at Bernard in warning. “Don’t you dare,” he hissed but Bernard, the traitor, did indeed dare.

Danny sighed and pillowed his head in his folded arms as Bernard retold the story to Tim, but thankfully left out some of Danny’s more embarrassing tangents about the guy’s killer thighs and various muscle toning. Tim looked very amused at the tale and Danny sighed pitifully.

“Tim, your boyfriend is fucking rude. I told him that in three-day sleep-deprived confidence and therefore cannot be held responsible for my gushing.”

Tim nodded in sage agreement and Bernard scoffed at both of them. “That is so not a thing.”

Tim shook his head, “Is too a thing.”

Danny held out a hand and Tim high-fived it, “See! Thank fuck one of you is sane!”

“Whatever, maybe you guys should get more sleep,” Benny, rolled his eyes, “Have you set up a date yet?”

Danny couldn’t stop the smile, “Yeah, we’re going for coffee on Saturday. Hopefully sans the embarrassing spillage and gawking.”

Bernard laughed and Tim smiled and then said, “You want me to run a background check on the guy? Make sure he’s not some crazy weirdo?”

Danny cocked his head, “You can do that?” He knew Tucker had his ways of getting information on people but he wasn’t used to other people having the same type of paranoia and resources.

Tim shrugged, “Perks of being semi-famous and very wealthy. Bruce makes us run background checks on pretty much anyone we speak to more than once.”

Danny narrowed his eyes, “Have you run one on me?”

Tim fidgeted a little and Bernard laughed, throwing his arm over Tim’s shoulder easily. “Of course he did. We had to make sure you weren’t an aforementioned crazy weirdo.”

Danny raised his eyebrows in amusement, “Find anything interesting?” He was sure that the name change would at least pop up but he didn’t truly know if anything about his parents or the GIW would show, depending on how deep the Wayne’s resources could dig. He knew he was on the GIW’s agency watch list in high school but since they were disbanded he had no idea what records would still be active or available. Then again, Red Robin clearly hadn’t seen anything of the sort if his surprise at the topic was any indication, and surely the Bat Posse had more intense resources than nearly anyone with Batman’s ‘World Greatest Detective’ title and association with the Justice League.

Tim shrugged, “A bit, but Berny always tells me it’s rude to pry.”

“That’s because it is, Timmy,” Benny said cheekily and patted his arm, making Tim sigh. “However, now that we’re friends and you’ve been confirmed to, in fact, not be a crazy weirdo, that rule no longer applies to you. Were your parents really ghost hunters?”

Danny huffed a laugh at Bernard’s bluntness and curiosity. He could see that Tim was also curious and he actually found himself comfortable speaking about his life in Amity with them. Well, some of his life in Amity. The basics. “Yeah, pretty much.”

Bernard let out a, “Huh,” and then, “did they ever find anything?”

Danny smirked. “Maybe,” he said mysteriously.

Bernard guffawed, “You can’t just leave it at that!”

Danny laughed, “Okay, okay! Let’s just say that everyone who lives in Amity are definite believers of the supernatural and for good reason.”

Tim leaned forward in curiosity, “What do you mean by that?”

Danny shrugged, “We’ve all had an encounter or two,” or hundreds, “with a ghost or two,” or an entire realm full. “It’s almost impossible not to in that town. I swear it should be considered the most haunted place in America with how often sightings happen.”

“What type of ghosts?” Tim asked and Danny found that particular question a bit odd and the entire situation somewhat familiar for some reason but brushed it off and shrugged.

“All types, really. There was a lunch lady at the high school, Casper High, by the way, I swear they were just asking for it, and a little boy that’s like, obsessed with pirates, and a puppy named Cujo that runs around and sleeps in peoples gardens, but then there’s the real town legend of course.” Maybe he was having a little too much fun with this.

“What’s the legend?” Bernard asked emphatically.

Danny smirked with a wicked gleam, “Phantom.”

—

He left the Physics lecture nearly dead on his feet, having spent the entire time juggling taking notes and fending off Bernard’s incessant questions about Amity and all things ghosts. The conversation had really taken off with Tim and Benny both taking turns asking rapid fire questions that Danny had to be careful how he answered and by the end they were nearly late to their class and Bernard still hadn’t had enough of it.

It amused Danny, a bit, having people so curious about Amity and the ghosts when everyone in Amity were so desensitized to it all that hardly anyone even spoke about the ghosts anymore, accepting their presence as if they were ordinary run of the mill citizens, especially after their fights stopped creating so much damage and people started being able to catch onto what each ghost wanted to accomplish. At worst they were slight annoyances (Boxy rearranging the shelves at the container store to better suit his whims, Ember crashing some festivals and taking over the opening acts stage time, and Cujo digging up some flower beds and scaring the neighborhood cats) and the Amity Parkers were content to leave them be and let Phantom deal with them when they got too rambunctious. (Besides his parents, of course, and the occasional tourist ghost hunter who often caused more damage than the ghosts that they claimed were so dangerous).

He managed to abate his friends curiosity by promising an eventual visit to Amity (despite his reservations of visiting his home town again and all the memories it held) and further stories another time. Danny was almost certain Tim had been taking notes on everything with the way he had his phone under the table and kept glancing down, typing away as they talked. Danny wondered if the guy had a secret interest in the paranormal and if he liked the exaggerated TV shows with the spirit boxes and creepy basements they locked themselves in for no good reason, undoubtedly bothering whatever shades or spirits were lingering around.

He startled out of his thoughts by a flash of blue on a rooftop across the street. Well, at least Danny wouldn’t have to be stopping any muggings tonight, thank the Ancients. He hadn’t had a run-in with any of the other vigilantes and he wanted to keep it that way as long as possible. He hoped that Red and Hood were keeping things on the down low and would be the only ones ambushing him anytime soon.

Of course, nothing ever went the way Danny wanted it to.

He saw the hooded figure as he entered the alley and had half a mind to back out and take the long way, but something pressed to his lower back ensured that that wasn’t an option. “Keep walking, pretty boy,” the guttural voice demanded and Danny complied easily, biding his time until he could escape.

The hooded figure started walking towards them, meeting them halfway. “Empty your pockets,” Hoodie Guy said, flashing a gun at Danny, causing him to sigh internally. But before he could get do anything, a flash of Blue landed behind Hoodie and took him out at the knees, gun sliding far across the alley. Danny took his opening and twirled away from the guy behind him as he staggered back a step with a shocked curse. He used his momentum to land a solid kick to his side, knocking him against the wall and followed up with a punch to the temple, knocking him out.

He turned to face Nightwing who was staring in shock at Danny and the thug he’d taken down.

“Nice kick,” he said and Danny had to laugh, getting a flashback to Red Hood complimenting his punch.

“Thanks,” Danny said, “And thanks for the help,” he gestured to the two crumpled forms on the ground and Nightwing shrugged.

“Kinda what I’m around for,” he said and then gestured to the thug behind Danny, “but I think you would’ve been just fine without me.”

Danny shrugged, “Maybe, but guns are a bit much for my limited self defense skills.”

“Yeah, that’s fair,” Nightwing nodded, crouching to swipe the gun and unload it with practiced ease before turning to the thugs with zip-tie cuffs and speaking a quick, “Hey, O, send the GPD to my pin, would ya? Two armed thugs, zip-tied and out for now. Thanks,” into his comms before turning back to Danny with a small grin, “Do you live close by?”

“Just another few minutes past the next dark alleyway,” Danny gestured in the direction.

Nightwing laughed, “Any chance you take the long way instead?”

Danny smirked, “Nope.”

“Want company?”

Danny nodded with a small shrug and started walking, “Well, you’re definitely more polite about it than Red Hood was.”

Nightwing made a noise of surprise, matching his stride, “Oh, you’ve met Hood?”

Danny laughed, “Oh yeah, we’ve met. Red Robin too, though considering he actually broke into my apartment to get information I’d say you have him beat too.”

Nightwing sputtered, “What the hell? Why?”

Danny shrugged, “Thought I was someone else apparently, but didn’t like being told he was wrong, funnily enough.”

Nightwing sighed, “I’d apologize for him but I think we both know that he isn’t sorry about it.”

Danny shrugged, “Yeah, probably not. It’s chill though, we have an agreement that next time he’ll at least knock.”

“Well if he doesn’t, let me know and I’ll kick his butt a bit for you, ‘kay?”

Danny cackled. He liked Nightwing a lot more than the partners of his he’d met. Well, besides Red Hood, maybe. He had invited him to dinner after all, and the guy had left him food. He won out for sure. But Nightwing was definitely an easier first impression.

“So, you go to Gotham U?” Nightwing asked, eyeing his backpack.

“Yeah, I’m a freshman. Got a full ride for Aerospace Engineering,” Danny offered, because why the hell not? At this rate the Bat Posse would have his entire life story complete with baby pictures by the end of the semester.

Nightwing whistled, “Wow, I know their scholarship programs are super competitive so you must have really impressed them.”

Danny had gone for their Inventor’s Scholarship and entered a modified version of one of his parents old, non-patented, ray guns, but specifically designed by Danny to shoot non-lethal energy bursts powered completely by ectoplasm (or as his official spec sheet had listed: an ‘alternate form of clean energy’). He was incredibly proud of it and had plans to modify a lot of his parents’ other inventions they had given up on. He had all of the blueprints and a few boxes in his closet held the devices that he stole from their lab throughout the years.

They chatted idly for the few minutes that it took to reach his building and he waved goodbye with another thanks and a grin, watching the vigilante swing away on his grapple. So much for not interacting with any other vigilantes. Though, at least it seemed that Red and Hood had kept their little investigation to themselves. Nightwing truly didn’t seem to recognize him and Danny was glad for the semblance of privacy, even though he had a sneaking suspicion it wouldn’t last forever, depending on what the two were able to scrounge up. Furthermore, Nightwing reminded Danny a bit of Jazz — something about the guy just screamed ‘older sibling’ energy and Danny couldn’t help but feel more at ease with him around (not to mention the few puns that they had shot back and forth — the Bats were quickly growing on him, which was mildly concerning considering, well, everything about his own past vigilante situation).

He made the trek up the stairs and decided to use his front door rather than phasing through. He was still a bit paranoid that Red Robin may have put up extra surveillance around his apartment to try and catch him off guard. He and Ellie had thoroughly checked the apartment last time they had left and fortunately found nothing (if they had, he would have tracked the vigilante down and shoved whatever camera or microphone down his throat).

He froze as he entered his apartment, letting the scene he was looking at process.

“Close the door, don’t let them out!” Ellie snapped and Danny did as he was told, closing and locking the door as a tiny black fur ball toddled up to him curiously, winding itself around his feet.

“Ellie,” he said carefully, “what did you do?”

Ellie had another fur ball, this one pure white, cradled in her arms, and she looked up at him with her too-wide, ‘I’m so innocent’ eyes. He sighed, knowing already that he would be caving.

She grinned, as if knowing what his sigh meant. “They were abandoned! I found them in a taped up box in an alleyway and couldn’t just leave them!”

Danny sighed again, toeing off his shoes carefully as to not kick the little creature and then scooped it up, staring at it face to face. It was stupidly adorable and gave him a little ‘mew’ in hello. He melted.

“Okay, fair enough. But you could have taken them to a shelter or vet?”

“I don’t trust shelters! They’re already so full and they might kill them or some older ones to make room!” Ellie said in distress and Danny quickly sat next to her and pressed his shoulder to her own.

“Okay, okay! I get it and agree,” he assured her and looked down at the kittens in their arms. “Have you named them yet?”

She shook her head, “Not yet, I wanted to wait for you. Buuut,” she held up the white kitten. “I was thinking Casper for this one?”

Danny groaned, “Who told you about Casper the Ghost?”

Ellie rolled her eyes, “Casper is a classic, of course I know him.”

“Great, and you know that my high school was literally Casper High? You want to torture me with the memory of high school every time I look at the thing?”

“Well, ghosts are supposed to be haunting, right?”

He shoved Ellie over and laughed as she held the kitten, Casper, up so it wouldn’t be crushed. “Hey! You could have hurt Casper!”

Danny shook his head, “Nah, you got him.”

She put Casper down and let him wander a bit, finding his way to Danny’s lap. Danny put down his own kitten so they could play. “Now you gotta name the black one.”

Danny looked at Ellie and sighed when he realized she was serious. He looked down and scratched the little things head. “Batman,” he deadpanned and earned a shove back. He cackled.

“No way! That would be so embarrassing if your vigilante friends came back!”

“Yeah, yeah,” not even bothering to argue about the ‘friend’ title, he kept looking at the kitten. “Reaper,” he settled on. Ellie thought it over.

“Casper and Reaper. I like it.”

Danny smiled at her and then frowned, sighing.

“I guess this means we need to go on a supply run then, huh?”

She just shot him a toothy grin in response.

—

Danny let out a steadying breath as his phone rang for their impromptu group call that Danny had asked the gang, including Jazz, to have earlier than their usual weekly recap sessions. Ellie rolled her eyes and pressed the answer button for him, crowding in close to him so her face could be seen along with his own. They had agreed that it was time to let everyone in on the little vigilante snooping problem they were having now that the heroes had made it clear they weren’t going to be leaving the issue alone, and Danny was not looking forward to it.

“Alright, Danny, what shitshow did you get yourself into this time?” Sam’s despondent voice asked and Danny gasped in offense.

“Hey, what makes you think I got myself into trouble? Can’t a guy just want to talk with his best friends?”

Four unimpressed glares stared back at him and he cringed a bit as Ellie cackled.

“Yeah, dude, what’s going on?” Tucker asked, worry clear in his voice and Danny felt a bit bad for not giving them any details past the need for a call.

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay, so you know how Gotham has it’s hoard of vigilantes?”

Valerie narrowed her eyes, “The group of bat furries? Yeah, D, we helped with the research before you moved there, we know all about them.”

Danny huffed a laugh, “Yeah, well,” he drew out the word and Ellie elbowed him with an eye roll.

“Danny got himself a couple of vigilante stalkers who are now very interested in Amity and all things ghosts.”

Danny sighed and glared at Ellie who just shrugged, “What? It’s true and you were taking forever to say it.”

“Yeah, but I was trying to find a way that wouldn’t do that,” he gestured to the four sets of incredulous eyes blinking back at them. Ellie shrugged again.

“What the fuck, Danny?” Sam exclaimed at the same time as Jazz groaned his name, while Val buried her face in her hands and Tucker started tapping furiously on his PDA.

“Okay, so apparently cutting through some sketchy alleyways and stopping a few muggings while invisible is a pretty good way to get on the city’s protector’s radar, who’d have thunk?”

Sam and Jazz’s eyes widened a bit more, “Danny, please do not tell us that you’ve been using Phantom to stop petty crime in a city that we specifically all agreed that you’d not moonlight in because of the risk of the fucking Batman finding you out.”

Jazz swearing was never a good sign. Danny held his hands up. “Hey! I’m not that dumb!”

Ellie tilted her head with a unconvinced, “Eh,” and Danny pushed her away with a bit of his ghostly strength as she just cackled and didn’t budge much. Stupid ghost clone sisters.

“Seriously, I’m not moonlighting as Phantom, I promise!” Danny turned his attention back to the phone.

“Yeah,” Ellie chimed in, “he’s just gaslighting Red Robin and Red Hood into thinking that he’s being haunted by Phantom.”

Danny groaned again, “Seriously, El, you are not helping.”

“Oh, I think she’s being very enlightening,” Val disagreed, finally lifting her head from her hands to glare at Danny who shrunk back a bit against the force of it. “Now, elaborate.”

“Okay, so it started with Red Hood who kinda saw me let a thug’s fist phase through me when I was getting lightly mugged and he assumed I was a meta, which, honestly was rude and discriminatory if I’m being honest, and I called him out on it too but then he showed up in my apartment a few days later with Red Robin who called me by my old name and had a bunch of creepy stalker-photos of me and the crime scenes and also accused me of being involved with them, so I may have bullshitted and dropped some hints about Amity and ghosts, so,” he sucked in a gulping breath at the end and shrugged, feigning nonchalance “that’s that.”

The silence was damning as they all stared at him and let the rambling words sink in. Tucker was the first to break it.

“So, let me get this straight. You decided it was a good idea to turn yourself invisible to stop some crime, despite the city being under heavy surveillance by the Bats, which I definitely remember warning you about, by the way,” Danny flinched a bit at the reminder, but Tucker continued on, “and then got yourself caught and on the radar of at least two of the city’s vigilantes who confronted you about it and clearly did a background check if they were able to find your parents’ last name and you decided that it was a good idea to tell them to look deeper into Amity and your parents so they would hopefully assume that not only ghosts are in fact real, something we’re apparently assuming they did not know before, but that you brought one with you into Batman’s city and it’s running around stopping criminals? Did I get everything?”

“Oh, and he invited Red Hood to have dinner with him!” Ellie grinned and Danny dropped his head to the desk, whining pitifully at the resounding chaos that her words brought. The portal should have killed him all the way when it had the chance. His life would have been so much simpler.

When the brutal ribbing finally died down, Danny was able to, unsuccessfully, explain and got even more teasing and accusations of having some serious lapses in judgment thrown at him. Eventually, they got back to the serious topics and Danny was more flustered and exhausted than he’d ever remembered being since his disastrous crush on Paulina in freshman year.

“Okay, but seriously, how do we want to handle this situation?” Jazz asked and they all sobered up. “I mean, we’re facing a serious risk of exposure here. Not only with just the existence of ghosts, but dredging up every incident in Amity Park and possibly the existence of the Realms as well. If the Justice League gets involved, this could get real bad real quick, Danny.”

Danny sighed, “I know. I need to talk with the Council and see exactly how they want to handle this as well, but,” he hesitated, not sure why he was apprehensive about sharing the information but he knew they all had their grievances with the League and some unflattering opinions born by their silence and lack of response over the years. “But I have a feeling that the League may not even know anything about Amity or ghosts,” he heard some scoffing and twisted his mouth a bit, “I know. I know what we’ve thought over the years but I mean, Red Robin looked into Amity and didn’t find anything about distress calls or our ghost problems? That doesn’t sit right with me. If they knew about us and were purposefully not helping, then surely they would at least recognize the name, right? They’d have information and files, but both Hood and Red seemed so genuinely confused and shocked by the little information I gave and then I asked about if the League had call logs and Hood said they’d look into them. At the very least, I don’t think the Bats have any clue about any of it.”

Tucker didn’t look very convinced, but his voice was careful when he said, “Or it means that they’re operating with more secrecy and have the files protected. I mean, I know Batman is a full member of the League, but none of the other Gotham vigilantes are, right?” Danny wracked his brain to try and remember if that was true, while the rest of them nodded in agreement.

“Even if your vigilantes don’t know, that doesn’t mean that Batman and the rest of the League aren’t still involved and possibly against us,” Val said soft but firm and Danny chewed at his lip. He knew they were right, but he really, really wanted to believe that the heroes were better than that. That if they truly knew what was going on, they would try to help, as they had with the meta rights protection Acts. That they would at least want to hear the ghosts out and not blindly go off of the GIW and Drs. Fenton’s biased words alone.

“Listen,” Jazz’s voice was soft as well and her eyes were full of concern through the screen, “like you said, your vigilantes seem to be keeping this information to themselves for now, right?” Danny nodded, slightly amused that they kept referring to Red and Hood as his vigilantes, and she continued, “So let’s see what they come up with. Let’s see if they’re willing to listen and help, or if they have any information on what the League may or may not know before we panic. Danny, talk with the council and see what they have to say about it all and we’ll go from there.”

He appreciated her trying to stay positive and not going into doomsday prep. He knew the worst case scenario would result in him having to leave Gotham. He knew that would crush him. He really, really hoped that his vigilantes would try to help, that they would hear him out. If not, then Danny didn’t know if he could handle giving up his and Ellie’s chance at a (relatively) normal life with (relatively) normal friends.

The thought settled like a stone in his stomach, heavy and painful. He hoped for the better outcome, for both his own sake and the sake of his little sister’s.

𓆩⟡𓆪

Jason’s run in with Danny at the coffee shop was certainly a happy surprise. Well, it was an embarrassing and awkward shitshow but after Jason got over the initial mortification of literally dousing the poor guy in his own coffee he could admit that the interaction ended about as good as it could have. He had successfully gotten Danny’s number and Tim’s awful concoction of almost pure espresso shots seemed to be a hit, which didn’t surprise Jason at all with how much Danny looked like a particularly handsome zombie, his eye bags nearly as dark as B’s stupid black eye paint he insisted on smearing beneath the cowl to further the ‘mystery’ or whatever the old man insisted on (Jason just thought it made him look like one of the soggy emo teenagers that sulked around the music shops, but Bruce never seemed to care much about Jason’s opinions so if the old man wanted to look like a poor imitation of a raccoon, then so be it).

If Jason didn’t have a skewed perspective on what healthy sleeping habits were he might have been more worried for Danny, but he knew that the sleep deprivation would undoubtedly be chalked up to college stress and projects and his eyes had been more lively after a few sips of the coffee so he figured Danny would be fine. Plus, the knowledge that he could now check up on the guy via text to make sure he wasn’t actually at risk of passing out while walking helped. A lot.

The interaction was nearly enough to distract Jason from what he had even been at that coffee shop for in the first place. Nearly.

He had agreed to meet with Tim to discuss what the detective had been able to pull from the call log search, and the results were more harrowing than either of them anticipated. Amity Park had made hundreds of distress calls, starting from six years ago all of varying intensities and importance and spanning nearly two years until they abruptly stopped. All of them had been marked ‘RESOLVED’ nearly as fast as they had come in, without a corresponding incident report or an ID stamp to show who had responded to the messages, which shouldn’t have even been possible with how the system was set up to prevent exactly that from happening. It was very clear that whoever had done it went through drastic measures to make sure no one else knew about it or checked into Amity Park.

Worst and most worrying of all were the last distress messages sent, spanning four days:

AMITY HAS BEEN TAKEN. PLEASE HELP.

48 HOURS STRANDED IN THE ZONE. NO END IN SIGHT. WE NEED HELP.

PARIAH IS ATTACKING. AMITY WILL BE LOST. HELP. US.

PLEASE. ANYONE.

Tim hadn’t been able to find any record of what might have possibly happened to Amity Park to warrant that message (or who or what ‘Pariah’ might be), but it was the last one ever sent, nearly four years ago. Tim had verified that Amity was indeed still around and from what he found, everything seemed fine. But it was clear that something had happened and that the League hadn’t stepped in to help. It was worrying, to say the least, and Jason couldn’t stop replaying the way Danny had sounded and the tense resignation in his face when he asked Jason to look into it.

They had mentioned bringing Bruce into the loop to see if he knew anything about it, but they had both ultimately decided to talk to Danny once more to see if he’d offer any information before dragging the League into it (especially when it was clear that Danny didn’t trust the League to help at this point).

Tim hadn’t been able to scrounge much up about the mysterious GIW, though he had managed to find more of the Drs. Fenton’s research along with seemingly endless designs and patents of various weapons and machines all intended for working on ghosts, or ecto-entities as they put it. Their research on ectoplasm was apparently highly interesting according to Tim and had sent him into a deep rabbit hole, but Jason was more focused on finding the GIW and trying to figure out how exactly Danny fit into this whole thing.

Tim had left in a rush after realizing the time but Jason lingered a while after, mind still racing. Which is how he ended up disgracing himself by stumbling into Danny and leaving with a racing heart as those bright blue eyes followed him, making him itch with the urge to turn back around and ask every question that was burning to be answered.

The roar of his engine and wind whipping through his jacket was a decent distraction, and donning the suit and helmet was even better. He didn’t usually patrol when the sun was still out, but he needed something to curb the restless energy that made his limbs buzz and he had nothing else to do that day.

His mind wandered back to Danny at every spare moment, trying to parse together the connection between him and the supposed ghost that had tagged along to Gotham. It didn’t make sense to Jason, why a ghost would attach itself to someone who’s parents were so extremely dedicated to the forceful research of said ecto-entities. He would assume something like that would stay as far away from the Drs. Fenton’s as possible if they didn’t want to be caught and experimented on. (Which, from their research sounded like a possibility, though Jason also didn’t understand how one could experiment on a ghost. He was getting tired of all the things he didn’t understand.)

He struck unexpected gold while talking to one of the street kids he watched out for in exchange for information (at least, that’s what the kids thought the agreement was — the information was just a bonus to Jason who’d look out for the kids regardless, but he remembered being a street rat himself and how any act of kindness could feel like a trap, the need to be square and even to avoid owing someone more than you could give).

The mention of some weird guys in white suits normally wouldn’t give him more than a second’s pause, but now it set alarm bells off and when asked for more specifics he found himself talking with a few of his other contacts and getting confirmation that there seemed to be quite a few of these mysterious ‘guys in white’ roaming around Gotham, close enough to Crime Alley to be noticed by some of the residents but never doing anything to warrant further scrutiny.

No one seemed to know how many there were or where they operated out of (or what their goals were, if any), but he had a gut feeling that they were the same group that Danny had described and asked a few people to keep a closer eye on any of the men that they could, hoping to be able to solve at least part of the mystery Danny had presented them.

𓆩⟡𓆪

Every conversation with Danny was both enlightening and completely frustrating.

Tim had a long list of subjects to research but finding any information on Amity or these ‘Guys In White’ was like pulling teeth. He scoured the internet for articles or statements and came away with frustratingly little to show for it.

He had found a few promising blogs from various Amity Park residents that mentioned ghosts and the name Phantom in particular, and had most of his luck with a niche high school newspaper archive he finally tracked down that provided grainy pictures of said resident ‘ghost boy’ and various tales of attacks that Tim knew better than to think were exaggerated based on the quantity and subjects of the distress calls the League had received and had marked as ‘resolved’, but what the hell. He didn’t understand how rogues as powerful as these had flown under the League’s radar all this time, and he was still in the process of figuring out who, exactly, had fucked with the calls and left Amity to the mercy of a truly staggering amount of rogues with no back up.

Tim was nearly ready to make a trip to Amity himself to see what the fuck was going on. Hell, he was about ready to go to Batman with everything and let him flush out the incompetent asshole and put the fear of Vengeance into whoever fucked up this badly. But, that would have to wait. Tim needed more concrete proof, needed a complete report before he went to Bruce with the subject of ghosts and despite his logic, he also wanted to keep working with Danny before bringing others into this mess. He wanted to trust the guy, and he wanted Danny to trust them to be able to help. He’d clearly already been failed by the League, Tim didn’t want to burn him twice.

Surprisingly, it was Jason who found the most valuable information regarding the GIW.

“Apparently they were officially disbanded several years ago, but there’s a rogue group of ex-operatives that are trying to keep things going. And guess where they’re based out of?”

Tim sighed. “Is B going to like this?”

“Absolutely not,” Jason said grimly.

“Well, fuck. Do you have any information on exactly where?”

Jason sighed, “No. Getting the little information I got was a fucking pain in my ass, but I have eyes out and hopefully I’ll get a location soon.”

Tim decided he didn’t want to know how Jason got the intel and sighed, looking down at their spread of information. It was depressing him. “Yeah, same here. It’s like everything that I’m searching for specifically has been fucking scrubbed from the internet. It’s infuriating.”

Jason grunted in agreement and leaned back in his seat, staring at the files and news article copies and still-fuzzy despite being enhanced photos. Tim was snapped out of his own musings when Jason suddenly sat upright with a, “Fuck me.”

“What?” Tim asked in fervor.

“Get me a notepad and pen,” Tim did as asked without complaint, a true testament to how badly he wanted to figure this shit out.

He watched over Jason’s shoulder as he started to make a list and what — oh.

Oh.

“Holy shit.”

[the-witches-you-couldnt-burn]

Drabble: Night’s Noir

An Adrien x Dick (Adrick?) life swap AU

It begins with Bruce who starts off as a hero seeking to revive his parents. Slowly he becomes villainous and tries to get the miraculous wish, the more people he comes to care for the more options he has for sacrifices.

Btw all the batboys are still adopted and have their backstories mostly the same

Bruce’s hero decay truly starts after Jason’s death

All of Gotham’s “villains” are akuma (Joker, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, ect)

Dick is ladybug ofc

I’m thinking maybe lone ladybug who uses circus costumes to disguise his other friends who are helping him (no chat noir)

Also I’m say that the miraculous isn’t the butterfly/moth miraculous but the bat miraculous

It functions the same as normal but the description changes slightly

It creates an echo chamber for bad thought that transforms the victim into its worst self

Bruce is the Villain Batman

Ok over to the Agreste’s

EMILLIE IS BATMAN welllllll she’s called Monarch (butterfly babe :p )

She ends up using the Lazarus pit

And Adrien and Gabriel discover her identity

They decide to help her

Adrien becomes her sidekick / partner

While Gabriel embraces his want to be a recluse and does computers, basically he becomes oracle

And Emilie still works as model and actress and everyone is just "no way she wouldn't have time" Her twin sister helps

Agender Felix who goes "well, there aren't rll girls in the family if there is a batgirl people won't think that hard"

Gabriel sighs and uses this as a chance to add more protection to felix’s torso (aka fake breasts)

How they meet

So Adrien and Mari meet like in canon

It’s always been Marinette’s dream to create a fashion empire in Paris

She wins a Wayne Enterprise competition and travels over there with Adrien (Emilie and Gabriel made him take a break)

#GoodAgresteParents

The vacation didn't last long, they thought Gotham was bad with Dark Cupid, Pixelator, Simon Says, Darkblade and others. But oh God Paris was so much worse

Mari is a Gotham Vigilante who has helped out the Agreste fam before, she specifically loved dealing with magic

Even if all odds are against her she takes pride in punching the magical bastard in their face

Adrien did not appreciate Marinette’s ego

Mari somehow gets targeted by an Akuma (the akumatised person is hunting her) and Adrien becomes ‘Black Cat’ (he knows the name isn’t creative, he was 13 and tired AF and panicked when the media cornered him)

He seeks out Paris’ heroes and helps them

Dick on instinct calls him ‘Chat Noir’, Adrien likes that

They manage to save Mari and De-evilise the akuma

Mari speaks her mind on the situation

She asks Dick why he doesn’t use the other miraculous, her logic is ‘if there’s one I’m sure there are others’.

He goes back to his ‘Master Fu’ (uhhhhh Alfred? Actually no Alfred will probably be the Natalie of this AU)

He finds out his ‘Master Fu’ is missing

He takes the miraculous box and hands out the miraculous to his trusted friends

He finds Mari and Adrien joking about on a rooftop

He admits to them he has been feeling numb lately and misses joking about like they do (the Wayne fam has a lot of unprocessed trauma and it’s become even worse when when akumations began to happen)

Fun fact: Bruce has weaponised his own children before, since they all have black hair, blueish eyes and roughly the same body shape they swap the miraculouses between them

Marinette leaves Adrien and Dick to talk

They begin to flirt

And Dick has never felt so safe

Adrien tells Dick about his vigilante family in Gotham and how they can help

They are connected to the Justice League but Dick refuses their help

He asks them to only monitor the situation and not participate

Adrien leaves saying “I’m fine having more stakeout dates with you.”

OR ORRR

“I’d be glad to continue observing that ass”

[internalsealpanic]

Love Through the Ages (Jason Todd)

Summary:  Love like baggage needs to be declared.

a/n: This is part three of a series that is a fic rec list disguised as a fic. For these fics, most of the characters will be speaking different languages, so unless specified otherwise assume that the characters are speaking in the first language I mention. They’re all vampires with centuries under their belt. Why wouldn’t I make them all polyglots.  Also, thank you to the proof reading gang for putting up with my shenanigans.  I will have links to the fics I recommend in the fic itself. ALSO, y'all can thank @littleredwing89 for the poem that comes up.

Warnings: Everyone is dramatic.

Masterlist

Series Masterlist.

You tap at your phone screen, planting seeds in a satisfyingly hypnotic rhythm, the sounds of the train vacillating in and out of your periphery. It was soothing having your own compartment, a little world you can isolate yourself in while you anxiously await for the inevitable. 

It wasn’t a secret that you found Gotham stressful. It was about as much a secret as Tony Stark’s civilian identity. You pulled your knees up to your chest at the thought. Big cities were stressful but Gotham was a different beast entirely. It was a writhing monster of steel and smoke. You wrinkle your nose deciding to sweep the thought away. 

Instead, you concentrate on your plants and your farm. You wince looking at your journal. It looks like you’d forgotten another quest. Pursing your lips, you decide to turn your phone off for a bit and pretend the NPCs can sort it out on their own as you look out the window. 

You lean against the wall, pressing your cheek to the cool window. You can’t help but smile to yourself thinking of a sea of black curly hair interrupted by a shock of white, sea green eye perpetually alight with mischief or intelligence (9 times out of 10, you really couldn’t tell which it was.), freckles like star map, and a mouth permanently set in a cocky grin. It’s hard not to smile like an idiot when thinking of Jason Todd.  

   Your skirt flutters in the wind as you dance your way through the crowd, bobbing up and down on your tiptoes over the sea of humans. Sometimes the smell of them still makes your mouth water but not now, not when the smell of Gotham is so pungent in the air. 

You see a gloved hand wave at you on the other side of the crowd. You pin your sunhat against your head as you rush through the crowd, your luggage dragging behind you.

Jason waves a two fingered salute at  you in front of a motorcycle, his foot clearly stomping a cigarette. You toss your hat to him. It flutters over the crowd. Jason catches it easily, putting it on his own head. 

"Hey Princess, welcome back." Jason greets, the syllables of your native French gliding off of his tongue so easily. Fighting down a blush, you swallow your own greeting. Jason would have been a great ambassador in a different life were he not inclined to murder someone with a desert spoon for being a jackass.

He offers his hat back to you, but you shake your head. "You might freckle too much in Gotham's sunny weather." He gives you a hearty chuckle keeping the hat on. 

"Missed you too, princess."

You roll your eyes. Pinching your nose, you look around. "You forgot to tell me to bring a gas mask."

"Every city smells like this."

"Darling, you've been in Gotham for too long."

"And you've been in your French villa for too long." Jason says, putting his sunglasses on you. You glare at him through them.

"First of all, it's a cottage."

Jason snorts, "As if that makes a difference. It's still in the idyllic French countryside, isn't it?"

"I-" 

"I rest my case."

You cross your arms. "You're welcome to visit, you know?" It was a hopeful suggestion at best. 

"We both know the quiet will drive me crazy."

"I said visit," you say, "besides, I think the train ride alone would drive you up the wall." You remember how Jason is with tight spaces.

"Not with you there." Jason winks.

Your heart presses a bruise into your throat and you hate Jason Peter Todd all over again. 

"Ah yes, you plan on driving me mad. Evil. Truly evil of you." You say, grinning back at him. 

"Here's a wild idea, how bout we just not listen to Roy? How does that sound?" Jason gently suggests, handing you your offensively pink cup of caffeinated goop. Jason can smell the sickening amount of sweeteners added. He might gag. 

"Nope," you say, smiling at him as you slurp your ooze. Jason's stomach rolls. Alfred would have an aneurysm. "He was even nice enough to get us both tickets." You hand him one, fingers brushing against his. They felt calloused as they always did. Jason suppresses any oncoming reaction.

He instead turns his attention to the ticket in his hands. Love Through the Ages: Gotham Museum Exhibition on expressions of love. Jason runs through the numbers. "These are $59 each."

"So sweet of him, isn't it?" You chirp adorably.

Jason makes a mental note to kill both of you. "You're only going along with this cus you want to watch me suffer." Jason says, slumping his chair. His foot kicks out to tap your foot. 

"I'm doing it affectionately," you say, tapping his foot with yours. "Besides, it's a universal pass time at this point." You swirl your drink and grin at him. It was your real grin, all bright and eager and stupidly sweet. Something in Jason's chest twists. It's always hard to breathe when you smile at him but really Jason would rather all the oxygen in the atmosphere be burned up than see your smile disappear. 

He sounds dramatic and he knows that but still he knows it's true.

"C'mon Jay, it'll be fun."

Shoulders slouched, Jason smiles at you indulgently. "Fun for who?"

"Mainly me but you can have fun too."

"You are so lucky you're adorable when you're being evil."

Your smile brightens and with a tap of his foot against yours, he thinks he'll survive whatever Roy has in store for him.

You and Jason have been walking around the museum for quite a bit with Jason's arm wrapped tightly around your shoulders and homicide radiating off of him every time someone even looks at you funny. He'd said that the arm slung around your shoulder was so that you wouldn't get lost. As for the homicide,  he elected to ignore the question entirely. 

You flush as Jason quotes another line from 'Master Valentine' back to you. You definitely regret letting him house sit. You regret even more not hiding your books. You squirm as Jason whispers the quote in your ear in a husky drawl. The erotica in the book is amazing and you're normally comfortable with talking to Jason about everything, but this- this was just cruel and unusual punishment. It's what you get for trying to make him suffer.

All the pet names he murmured in your ear crawled up your spine. You shove his face away hiding your own in your sleeve. He laughs into your hand enjoying your sudden bout of shyness.

Jason mumbles a half-hearted apology into your hand, pressing a soft kiss into your palm. You lower your head. You're still clearly avoiding his gaze but you let him press you to his side. Jason Todd is an asshole.

You point to a pair of ice skates so well worn and well loved that you almost miss the little penguins stitched on the side. "Love on the ice? That's so cute!"

Jason glances at them with mild interest. "Sounds like hypothermia." He says, shrugging. 

Swatting at his chest, you pout at him. He rolls his eyes nudging your shoulder with his. You scowl at him and stick your tongue out. Jason leans down, unable to stop the urge to press a kiss to your brow. You scowl even harder. 

"Admit it, doll. The whole exhibition is just Dickie's favorite fanfiction tropes."

"Professor Todd, be a dear and enlighten my troglodyte ass."

He snorts, "Princess, if I was a professor we both know I'd have the highest attendance rate."

"And the highest failure rate." You say cocking a brow. 

"Probably."

"You're terribly humble today."

"I just know I look good."

No, you don't, you think. You shake your head. "That explains the leather jacket."

"You love my leather jacket."

"Well, Biscuit certainly loved your previous one."

Jason wrinkled his nose thinking of the yellow disaster. "That dog was a menace."

"She is the sweetest creature on earth."

"She destroyed my jacket and ate my wallet AND phone."

"I never said she was smart... wait, we're getting off topic."

Jason narrows his eyes at you then points to a crown. It was an intricate lattice of silvers and golds with diamonds that glittered like starlight. "Royal AU," he says simply, "go on read the description."

"A prince and a princess from rival nations are bound by a marriage of convenience. Through a series of missteps. They fell for each other.... that one was pretty easy. Do it again."

He points to a blue feather. "Mythology AU."

You arch a brow at him. He waves at it, urging you to read. "A god descended to earth to be with his mortal lover only for him to lose his memories of her." The feather's glow is incandescent. You can feel the power radiating off of it, a sure sign of divinity.

Once, you would have brushed it off as mere story. You've spent more than twice your lifetime now dipped into the world of myths. You glance at Jason.  Simple divinity no longer fazes you.

"See?"

"I- Nope."

"You're just being stubborn."

"Would you have been my friend if I wasn't?" Would you have saved me if I wasn't?

You think Jason hears your unspoken question when he frowns. Instead, he turns on his heel to face the other direction. He points to a bouquet of wilted roses tied together by a green ribbon. They still smell of blood and something you couldn't identify.  Your eyes drift down curious. Your eyes trace over the words feeling your stomach tumble.

"Gruesome." Jason vocalizes inanely. He hooks his head on the crown of your head, neatly slotting your body under his. You're safe, surrounded by walls of muscle. The crease in your brow softens. You would think that Jason would be less protective after you'd turned but now that you were a vampire, he was somehow even more protective. Roy always joked you only got Biscuit and your other dogs as lap dogs because you already had Jason. He may not have been too off on his guess.

"This should be in a horror exhibit," you say leaning into Jason's chest, "kind of reminds me of you though." You tilt your head up grinning at him. 

"If you make a joke about me being jack the ripper again, I swear I'll-"

"-Bury me alive 6 feet under concrete with a recording of Roy singing Auld Lang Syne in a terrible British accent. Got it. What I meant was... you're just as protective as the man in the story." You say, smiling at him. 

For good reason, Jason thinks. 

Jason buries half of his face in your hair, hiding his answering smile. You smell like sugar and cinnamon. It's a familiar combination of smells that puts him at ease despite the atrocious amount of people in the museum.

You point to another artifact, afraid that you'd accidentally picked at an old wound. 

"Star-crossed lovers." He mumbles into your hair. 

"Bullshit!"

"Read it and weep, doll."

You read the plaque and the words 'meet' and 'different world' assault your eyes. You scowl at him. "Fuck you."

The grin on Jason's face is genuine. It makes something in your veins sing knowing how much fun he's having. 

Your face softens. "You really love this romance stuff, huh?"

Jason narrows his eyes at you.

"You were the one bawling your eyes out when we binged Spaces Between Us. Who the hell cries during erotica?"

"IT'S TRUE LOVE AND YOU KNOW IT IN YOUR SOUL," you protest, pounding your fist against his chest,"besides, you're the one who was crying nonstop when we watched the IDHY duology."

"I was crying because they were accurate book adaptations."

You blink at him confused. "There's a book?"

"Yes, you illiterate heathen."

"You sound like a conquistador."

“....”

"At least they got their happy ending." You say, changing the subject.  

"That's true."

"Still better than Titanic."

He furrows his brow at you. "What's wrong with the Titanic?"

"First of all," You pitch your shoulders like you're about to give him a lecture, "That was 3 hours of my life wasted on a shitty movie. It wasn't even that accurate."

"Princess, not everyone can survive the Arctic."

"And second, the most romantic scene in that romantic movie was the old couple staying together as they sank."

Jason laughs, a deep rumbling sound. It scrambles your brain, almost dissolving your annoyance until he opens his mouth again. "You sound like Damian."

"Jason Peter Todd, take that back." You screech, swiping at him. 

He jumps back, his laughter still echoing. "Stop sounding like the demon brat first."

You run after him, telegraphing your murderous intent. Jason walks away faster, sticking his tongue out at you. Your growl and claw at the air. You screech obscenities as Jason continues to evade you. He is having way too much fun with this. 

You chase Jason around the exhibition for a solid half hour before you come to a skittering halt.

Your eyes land on a vermillion book, leather bound and carefully crafted by skilled hands. You step closer to admire the swirling, arabesque patterns lining the leather. No title is embossed on the front.  It's thick. You would wager it was at least 400 pages.

Your eyes drift down even further, finding a  familiar scrawl. Below the book were photocopies of some of the pages. Pablo Neruda's 'If You Forget me', Beethoven's 'Immortal beloved', Ibn Hazm's 'My Heart', and a bunch of other poets you didn't know but recognized as ...

"Jason these are your favorites."

"What?" He says, walking over to you cautiously.

You look back down at the pages and your eyes catch on the one in the middle. From the numbering, it was the last.

Love is such a hard thing to define,

I don’t know if I could ever find,

The words to truly express the complexity of such an emotion.

It is an emotion felt in the heart,

Long before it makes sense to the mind,

illusive and uncertain until suddenly it just clicks.

Like so many things in this world,

we tend to know it when we see it in others,

even if we can’t be sure of it ourselves.

I think I’ve always known how much I love you,

When I look at you, 

I see everything I’ve ever wanted.

When I look at you,

I see nothing else but your perfect beauty.

Inside and out.

I'm not a poet, (Y/n), but I will tell you anyway I can how much I love you.

-Jason Peter Todd

Jason is a stone next to you.

His mouth is filled with sand as he looks at the far too familiar handwriting. He knew. He knew the moment he saw the red book what it was. Hell, the moment you told Jason it was Roy who told you to go to the museum, he knew what it was. God, why can't he just turn to ash. 

Jason can't make himself turn to you. He can't bear to see what ever disgusted expression you make. He just can't. 

He feels a tug on his sleeve. He doesn't move. He  feels another tug, this time harder. When he doesn't respond the second time, you lace your fingers in his and spin him around. 

You squish his cheeks in your hands. "Jason, you actual sap." You say. You look like you're glowing. You beam at him, all toothy and scrunched faced. Jason's lungs stop working again. His mind can't process what you're saying. All Jason knows is that something warm is crowding his chest, pushing everything else out.

"Wha?"

"Jason, you absolute dork!" You repeat, unfazed by his temporary bout of insanity.

Jason is blushing, looking like a strawberry with his freckles. Jason is more adorable than anyone has any right to be. But that's ok. That's perfectly ok cus he's yours.

In a moment of uncontained affection, you pull Jason to you, pressing a kiss against his lips. It's soft and earnest and exciting. It was a kiss Jason spent lifetimes dreaming about. It was you and completely you.

"Jay, they're beautiful." You say in a breathless laugh. 

Jason looked down at his feet. "I-" was never planning on giving it to you, he thinks. Because, why would you ever love someone like Jason? Especially, after what he'd done to you. 

As if reading his mind, you press your forehead against his. "I love you too, Jay, and you can't argue me out of it. Sorry bud, you're stuck with me."

Jason can't help the smile as it curls on his lips.

He's happy. He's so stupidly happy and he blames you.

"Plus, I already knew."

"Why didn't you say it first?" He asks, his fingers brushing against his tingling lips. 

"Cus," you say, pirouetting away from him, "you wouldn't believe me if I did."

"How-"

You put your hand up. "Trust me, Jay. I've tried before." You tilt your head back looking up at the sky light. The curtain of light fell on you like a spotlight highlighting everything ethereal about you. "Remember in Milan? When I told you I cared about you and you told me I didn't."

Jason remembered that. He was angrier back then. He snarled that to you like some wild animal and threatened to throw you out on your ass if you ever so much as spoke a word of that nonsense again. It was the first time he'd seen you look hurt. You face was wide open with shock.  Jason felt something in his chest tear at that look. He stormed off, leaving you in that room. 

When he came back, you offered him warm tea and a smile. You were quiet, inconsolably quiet.

It didn't…

He didn't…

It didn't occur to him that look in your eyes was heartbreak.

Jason curses under his breath.

You chortle at him, the mirth in your eyes incandescent.

"Yeah. Exactly." You say, clasping your hands behind your back. Jason would like to be buried six feet under with the only words carved into his gravestone 'I am so sorry (Y/n)'.

You snick seeing the look in his eyes. "Or that time in Paris. The one in the little patisserie when I told you in perfect Catalan that you meant more to me than anything else and do you remember what you told me?"

"I told you you were possessed." Jason's shoulders slump. "Please tell me you don't have a third example."

You smile at him pityingly. "I don't-"

"OH THANK FU-"

"I have 50. Well, 51 but the last one didn't count since I was joking that time."

In Jason's mind, his jaw hits the obsidian floor with an audible 'plop'. It would be loud enough that the entire museum would hear it were it real. He blinks at you. "You tried more than 10 times?"

"I was encouraged." You say shrugging.

"Of course, you were," he grumbles and you laugh. Jason's heart skips a beat but he pushes past the feeling in favor of pleading with you. "Please don't list them."

"Oh, I'm not." You hum. 

Jason sighs with relief. 

"I'm gonna leave that to Roy."

"Son of a- He knows?"

You look over your shoulder. "Yeah. Who do you think I complain to?"

"Who else knows?" He asks, trailing behind you as you walk to .... Jason doesn't know at this point and he doubts you do too. 

"Oh just your family."

"I'm surprised they haven't given me shit about it."

"Oh I bullied them into not doing it."

"Impressive." He whistles and you preen. 

"Always," you say smugly. You begin to walk a bit faster, craning your neck. "Now, let's go find out if Dickie installed that bakery I asked for." 

"That's what you're after?" Jason laughs.

"It's a noble goal." You protest. 

"You don't even need to feed."

"I need to feed my inner sweets monster. She's very fussy and is demanding crepes specifically."

Jason smiles softly at you, amused that of all the human traits you could have retained after being turned was a sweet tooth.

"Sorry to tell you doll face, Dickie still hasn't done it."

You look aghast like he'd slapped you in the face with a large baguette. 

"What?!"

"He hasn't put in your suggestion from 10 years ago."

"Where am I supposed to get my fix?"

"Are we still talking about sweets or have you moved on to cocaine?"

"Dunno, have you tried snorting sugar?"

"No. Why- Have you?"

"...my lawyer advised against answering this question."

Jason cackles. "How am I the stupid one?"

"I-" Your scowl turns sickeningly sweet. "Yanno, the third time I tried was when-"

"OK. Stop." Jason's face lights up again. "I give." 

"Pfff." You smile, looking far too pleased with yourself.

Jason straightens up, something sly passing through his eyes. You stop. The look in his eyes makes you nervous. 

"I think I know where you can get something sweet."

You swallow nervously.

Jason leans in. He’s so close to you. You can feel his breath brush against your lips. Nothing else around you seems to exist at the moment. 

You lean in to kiss him but you freeze when you register his voice. 

“I’m taking you downtown. There’s a new bakery there and I heard the crepes were to die for.” He chuckles, turning to walk towards the exit. 

“What the hell?!” You call out falling into step with him. 

He grins down at you, arms folded behind his head. “Something wrong, princess?”

Heat rises in your cheeks and elbow him in the side. 

“I want to take you on a proper date and I sure as hell am not starting here.” He says, rubbing his side and conspicuously not looking at you.  There’s a dust of peach on his face. Your anger fades away. It gives way to a fluttering in your chest. 

“Where?”

He looks at you then, brow furrowed. 

“Why don’t I take you to the fair, princess? There’s plenty of sweet treats there that’ll tickle your fancy.”

Your mouth waters when you think about all the cotton candy they have. 

“I heard there’s a kissing booth too, so if you’re lucky,” Jason continues, winking at you. Predictably, you blanch at him. You knock your knuckles against his chest. Jason chuckles, rubbing his chest. “Sorry princess, I mean if I’m lucky enough to get a kiss from you.”

The temerity. 

The gall. 

“As long as you get me something sweet.” You huff, exiting the building. 

Jason stops on the steps, turning to you with a sly smile. Crossing your arms, you pause bracing for whatever trick is up his sleeve. Jason tilts his head. He says something but the little noises of the city make the words hard to discern. You lean closer to hear him better. Jason steps closer to close the distance, his lips warm against yours. You’re stunned. Your entire body divided on how to react, some parts stiffen while others turn to jelly. 

He pulls away, wolfish grin unwavering. "That sweet enough for you sweetheart?"

@batarella​, @anothertimdrakestan​, @lucy-roo​, @multifandomgirl-us​, @bungunz​, @birdy-bat-writes​,  @boosyboo9206​, @americasmarauders​ , @l-inkage​, @arestorationofbalance​ , @cloudie-skay​, @wunderstell​   @hyp-oh-critical​ @glorified-red​

[redhoodieone]

It’s Cold in Here Part 12

Hi everyone! Here is Part 12 and I hope you all enjoy! Stay safe! 😘

WARNINGS: Language and violence.

Stone cold. Ice Queen. A beautiful dead corpse is all I see when I stare at my reflection in the mirror. The midnight blue off the shoulder long formal dress I’m wearing is worth more than my apartment. The diamond belt around my waist is something I’ve never dreamt of wearing. The two slits above my thighs is something I’ve absolutely never dreamed of showing before.

I didn’t pick out the dress. Alfred had delivered it to my apartment this morning.

A hairstylist and makeup artist that Bruce had hired had come by just three hours ago to do my hair and makeup. My long hair is pinned up in a beautifully bun, and two long strands of my hair are let down, and frame my face nicely.

My makeup is natural looking. I’m grateful the lovely woman had noticed my discomfort and decided against the heavy makeup, and instead had given me natural look.

After she had left, I remained in my bathroom in a frozen, unsure state. On the counter lies a large jewelry box from Dick, with a note I hadn’t exactly looked at.

I inhale sharply and gaze down at the note.

Wear this jewelry with the new dress. You’ll look stunning. Love, Dick.

I can feel my chest ache with nerves and uncertainty. Opening the jewelry box, I’m instantly shocked to see a gorgeous diamond choker, two large diamond stud earrings, and a simple diamond and sapphire bracelet.

I don’t want to wear any of it. I already feel guilty enough to have to go to Bruce’s gala tonight. And even worse...

Accepting Dick’s marriage proposal.

I slip on the jewelry and finally look into the mirror with my head up high. I notice that I look exactly like the girls Dick used to date back then. The kind of girls I would never become.

A gold digger.

Eye candy.

Fame seeker.

I’m aware that I’m starting to slowly lose myself to Dick. After that awful night of him forcing me to do sexual acts with him, I notice he’s become more distant than I was. We haven’t even spoke since; only text messaging and having Alfred be the messenger between us.

Poor Alfred...he has absolutely no clue of what’s happening between me and Dick. I know for a fact that Dick must have lied to him. Dick must have told Alfred he’s nervous about proposing to me or something.

The thought of Dick manipulating everyone makes me wonder how far and long he’s willing to go just to save his face and reputation. Would he even manipulate Bruce?

If Bruce truly believed our “engagement” was real, then he would surely be fooled like everyone else. And then that would be very humiliating and disappointing for the detective; the so called Dark Knight.

I slip on my black high heels and force myself to head to the living room to wait for Alfred to pick me up. I mentally scold myself to get my shit together just to get through the night. But it’s obviously hard to put on a brave face when all I want to do is lie in bed and ugly cry all day and night.

No one will ever understand what is going on between me and Dick.

My best friends Artemis and Zatanna.

The Batfamily.

Justice League.

All of Gotham.

Jason.

I can feel the tears burning behind my eyes just thinking about him. Jason Todd. He was my last hope. The night I tried calling him to come help me was a failure.

He was supposed to break free from whatever Mad Hatter did to him.

He was supposed to help me figure out how to end Deathstroke’d evil bullshit.

He was supposed to save me from Dick Grayson.

Jason was supposed to be my hero.

My doorbell rings, interrupting my thoughts as well as bringing me back to the harsh reality. I grab my black clutch that holds my cell phone and surprisingly hides my knife.

Just in case...

Alfred smiles at me the second I open the door. “I must say, you are an absolute beauty tonight. I’ll have to fight off men for you, Miss Y/N. Are you ready to leave?”

“Thank you Alfred. And yes, I’m ready please,” I say, stepping out and locking up the front door before Alfred escorts me to the elevators.

I’m grateful that Alfred keeps to himself most of the time. He keeps a space between us until we reach outside; the dark gloomy sky of Gotham sends a shiver down my bare back. I immediately regret not getting my white shawl to cover my shoulders. Alfred guides me to the limo and opens the back door for me to climb in.

“Master Dick is already at the gala. He said he’ll meet us out front for the red carpet pictures.”

I want to scoff. But instead I respond as nicely as I can. “Okay, thank you.”

My cell phone rings. I quickly open my clutch and tense up when I see the unknown number.

Deathstroke.

I look at the unread text message.

You better make sure you accept his proposal, Y/N. You’ll have to see it through if you and Dick want to live.

I can feel myself choking up from just the fear of this text message. Before I could even think or really do anything, the limo stops. We’re here.

Alfred opens my door and holds a hand out for me to grab onto. “Here we are, Miss Y/N,” he says with a gentle smile.

“Thank you, Alfred,” I say, with a small smile.

Alfred helps me out of the limo and as soon as he releases me, the paparazzi surround me. I’m forced to shield my eyes with a hand from what feels like a hundred cameras flashing at me. A hand grabs my wrist and I’m pulled closely to a warm, tall body. I look up and see Dick Grayson.

“Are you okay, sweetheart?” Dick asks, kissing my forehead, smiling down at me, pretending to be my loving concerned boyfriend.

I’m frozen from the affection but it doesn’t last long as Dick leads me inside the humongous building that’s holding Bruce’s gala.

I’m completely dazed from the million lights shining down on us when we enter the room. The ballroom is like a dream; marble flooring and exquisite art and statues surround everywhere. Men and women are dressed to the nines.

I even spot some Justice League members in disguise. Clark, Diana, Oliver, and Dinah are here and dressed so good.

I even spot Artemis with Conner and Zatanna with Tim, and even Damian, who are clearly shocked to see me here and with Dick.

I don’t blame them for being surprised as hell considering I’ve been MIA since...the last time they saw me or even spoke to me.

I frown and try to pull away from Dick’s strong grip to go speak to my friends, but he only tightens his hold on me.

My gaze shifts over to where bachelor and striking Bruce is standing in front of a tall man and blonde woman. My heart suddenly stops when I see Jason, handsome and sexy as ever in an all black suit with Isabel on his arm. He turns around and notices I’m staring at him. I expect him to glare at me or even give me a weird look since he clearly doesn’t remember me because of Mad Hatter.

But Jason doesn’t. He actually looks...confused.

I notice his dark hair is gelled but the messy spikiness is there. Possibly from running a hand through it. I automatically want to run my hand through his hair. I even want to hug him. I want to kiss him.

I want him.

I want Jason.

Dick practically drags me to the stage where he lowers his head to look me straight in the eyes.

“It’s going to happen right now. I can’t wait any longer,” Dick admits.

I swallow hard. “Okay, but could we talk about this first? Please?”

Dick shakes his head. Is he really going to ignore and pretend that this is all real? “It’s happening. I’m...I’m going to ask you to marry me. You’re going to say yes. You’re going to kiss me. And-and we’re going to live happily after. Do you understand?” he snaps, barely quiet enough for others to not hear.

My eyes glance over at Jason, who blinks a few times and looks all around himself and appears to be more aware. He turns to Isabel and he becomes angry; startling her and Bruce, and even others around them.

I look back to Dick, but I suddenly gasp in shock when I see Wally entering the gala in a suit. He stops walking as soon as he sees me and Dick closely together.

This is wrong.

I can’t say yes to Dick.

I can’t do this to Jason and Wally. This isn’t fair to them.

Wally loves Dick.

And I love Jason.

And the thought of saying yes to Dick makes me feel guilty because I don’t want to marry him.

I can’t lie.

I can’t pretend anymore.

I can’t do this.

We’ll find a way to stop Deathstroke. We’ll find a way to help Dick.

Dick stares down at me. His blue eyes are burning into mine. He looks pissed at me. He looks like he hates every single part of me. He sees me as his enemy.

But he can’t or won’t see how this is killing me.

“I...can’t. I can’t say yes and I can’t marry you,” I confess quietly. “I’m sorry.”

I notice Dick’s hand is squeezing my wrist tighter. The pain he’s causing me makes me wince and whimper in pain. His other hand is digging into his pocket and he reveals a small black jewelry box.

From the corner of my eye, I can see Jason, Bruce, and Wally approaching us with concerned looks.

Dick lowers his face closer to whisper in my ear. “You’re going to say yes to me, you fucking selfish bitch. I don’t give a shit about what you want or don’t want. You better say yes, and you better be my wife before I make your life a living nightmare,” he threatens quietly before he chuckles darkly. “Just like your past nightmare with Daddy Dearest.”

My eyes widen in horror when Dick mentions my stepfather; the man who emotionally and physically hurt me with sexual abuse. I lower my eyes to the floor. I know this has to be the final straw. Dick has crossed a line that I don’t even think he could take back or make it right.

I force myself to look back up at Dick but my attention is taken away from him and is now on the sky roof. Across the way on another building stands Deathstroke, who has his gun aimed directly at Dick’s back.

Oh my fucking God. Deathstroke is going to shoot and kill Dick!

Deathstroke knows I said no. He knows I’m not going to accept Dick’s marriage proposal. He knows I’m not going to do what he wants me to do.

I have to do something. I realize I have a choice. I know what I have to do.

And if I die, at least I die knowing I did care and love for Dick Grayson.

Even if he doesn’t love me back.

I follow my instincts that I was trained to act on. Without a second thought, I jump in front of Dick; allowing the faster-than-fuck killing bullet to pierce through my flesh at my right shoulder.

It burns. It’s making me bleed. It hurts like fuck.

I fall back onto Dick. He catches me and we crash to the floor. I can feel him sit up and gasp loudly in panic when he sees I’ve been shot and am bleeding.

“No...no!” Dick cries out. He puts his hands on the seeping wound and puts pressure on it.

Through the stinging pain, I can see everyone around us is frozen and staring in fear at the window where the bullet came from. I follow their stares and notice what they’re looking at.

Deathstroke is on the roof across the way. Everyone sees his gun is aimed right at the building. He shot me.

He waves at me and shoots his grapple gun to come straight at us.

[littleredwing89]

AO3 tag game: Mermaid AU, Good grandparent Alfred Pennyworth, and Fake relationship

@arestorationofbalance

Hi lovely!! Sorry this took so long. I hope you enjoy it!!

Big thanks to @internalsealpanic @offendedfishnoises for again helping me with this. All the love xoxo

#MermaidAU, #GoodgrandparentAlfredPennyworth, #Fake relationship

***

Alfred made his way into the office, spotting Dick sat by the window watching the underwater world pass by. He’d often found the eldest of the Wayne children staring out into the ocean, lost deep in thought.

“Master Richard…is everything ok?”, Alfred asked gently, noticing the frown decorating Dick’s usually jubilant face.

Dick shrugged as he rested against the alcove of the window, looking out into the marine blue waters as a shoal of blue tang swam past, “Not really Alf…Bruce is on his usual mission to get me a girlfriend, settle down, produce heirs, blah-blah-blah - all in time for me to inherit the throne”, he dragged his fingers through his messy curls a deep sigh escaping his lips.

Alfred moved across the room and began to make them both a strong cup of English tea, “King Bruce is only looking out for you Master Richard...he might not express it very well but I know he cares deeply for you”, Alfred saw the shocked expression on the younger man's fan, “plus I have to admit, I wouldn’t mind seeing you settle down with a lovely young woman”.

Throwing a hand over his forehead, Dick groaned in disbelief and rested his head back against the stone wall, “I can’t believe you’re siding with Bruce on this Alf, you’ve wounded me!”.

Alfred raised an eyebrow, “There is no need for your amateur dramatics”.

Dick ignored him with a cheeky grin on his face, “I have an idea anyways Alf”.

Handing Dick a cup of the strongly brewed beverage, Alfred sucked in a sharp breath, “Dare I ask what your plan is?”.

Confidently, Dick smiled at Alfred, “I’m going to ask Y/N to be my fake girlfriend for a bit – it’ll get Bruce off my back, maybe he’ll even start to pester Jason for a bit”.

He took a long sip of the tea sighing in bliss. Alfred made the best tea. Just the right amount of milk. Not too much sugar and brewed to perfection. Dick settled the china cup on the side table and moved across the room with an elegant grace.

Alfred watched Dick with a deep frown embedded into his elderly features, “Yes, yes, intelligent move Master Richard but may I suggest that you’re making this problem far too complicated?”.

Dick scoffed, “C’mon Alf, this’ll be really simple”.

“I fail to see how”.

“I just have to ask Y/N to do it. You know how she likes screwing with B - this is going to be a piece of cake”.

Alfred looked over at the man he considered his grandson. He’d watched Dick and Y/N since they were children. And he’d definitely recognised it before them. How in love they were. How much their worlds revolved around each other. How their faces lit up when the other swam into the room. Maybe Dick just needed a gentle shove in the right direction.

“Have you tried just genuinely asking her?”.

Dick gave him a playful wink, “Now Alfred, that is the long shot plan”.

Alfred sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, “And what if this fake relationship gives her the wrong impression? What if she thinks that you’re not actually interested when in reality you are?”.

“Well-”, Dick hummed. He hadn’t thought about that possibility. He swallowed thickly trying to disguise his thoughts.

Alfred sighed again. Louder this time. Making his distaste in the situation obvious.

Dick felt his eyes go wide and tried to recover the confidence he’d shown only moments ago, “That won’t happen!”, his voice betrayed him, quivering at the end. He wasn’t so sure of his plan anymore but it was the only one he had.

“If you say so, Sir. But...There is the matter of Miss Y/N’s terrible acting…”, Alfred gave him a knowing look.

“Pfft, I’ll work on that with her…she’s usually in the library around this time isn’t she?”, Dick grabbed a few chocolates from the office desk.

Alfred checked the grandfather clock besides them before nodding at Dick, “Yes, she will be finishing up her classical studies”.

Dick smiled, “Perfect – just in time for some acting classes with yours truly”, he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Alfred felt his soul withering at the thought of both of their acting skills. He made a disapproving noise.

“Ahhhh, You’re worrying over nothing Alf!”, Dick chuckled before swimming towards the door swinging it open.

“Hmmmm”.

“Laters Alf!!”, Dick called before swimming down the hallway heading towards the library. 

Alfred could hear Dick humming an old 80’s romantic ballad. He could picture the bright beam on his grandson's face as he made his way to Y/N. Alfred laughed quietly to himself, a knowing smile on his lips.

“Maybe this won’t be such a bad idea after all…”.

***

[andieperrie18]

Egoistic: Bruce Wayne x Reader

I am in love with MAMAMOO and I like how this song inspired by this. I am just a random writer writing random content depending on what inspires me or what comes to my mind but I do hope to some of you who would read this one-shot would like this. So I have no particular bias in mamamoo but I just thought moonbyul would be perfect as Reader-chan. now Enjoy!!

part II

Egoistic: Bruce Wayne x Reader

I foolishly adjusted to you and it’s torturing me

Making me lonely till the end

-          Egoistic: Mamamoo

Bruce Wayne, the notorious philanthropist, and playboy in the city of Gotham. The man that captured hearts of many and had bedded some of a few. A man of power and looks as he is not only a wise man but a total lady killer as well.

Then came he alters ego, none other than the Dark Knight himself, Batman. A hero he calls himself yet he does the most despicable things to every villain he encounters. He embosses cruelty and violence that he knows that will strike fear to every dirt lingering in his city.

Only a few people know that these only masked. Specifically two people. Alfred Pennyworth: The Wayne Family Butler and Y/n L/n: The Childhood Best friend.

There was also Selina Kyle, but she cannot really penetrate his wall. Yet.

What she and Bruce had been considerably more than just a fling. They had their nights together as they let themselves lost in their desires. And the man seems to not mind at all as he is starting to consider the woman as the only person who understands him. The man was truly and Egoist.

Too encased with the idea that he was a man who lost everything. A man who wants to rid the society of its parasites and pest. A hero equipped with the most convenient ways to help people of Gotham. And he had a perfect companion in his goals, Cat woman. Although a criminal but Selina did things for the good, well most of the time.

     Y/n was nothing compared to Selina. The moment the woman entered her best friend’s life, it was she never existed in Bruce’s life. The way she would break with every conversation they would have about the said vixen vigilante made her blood boil and heartbreak all the time. But what can she do?

“What can I do?” Y/n mumbled to herself as she stood before Wayne mansion.

The skies thundered, heavy droplets of rain drizzled endlessly that night. Flashes of lightning gave glimpses of her peripherals from the metal fences, the shrubbery. She cast her eyes upward and from her spot, she had a perfect view of his bedroom window. The light was on in his room. She saw a silhouette of two figures inside before the light disappeared and so did the breath from her lips.

It was one of those nights where Selina would come home with Bruce from his patrol. Another night of sheer bliss from both of them. And another night of torment for Y/n.

           Eyes never leaving the same window, Y/n remained in her spot as the rain continue to drench her from head to toe. Droplets of water missing with the salty ones that slid along her cheeks from her glassy eyes. The pattering of rain was being accompanied by small sounds of light sobs.

           And from that night, she vowed. That this will be the last time Bruce Wayne will make her cry.

^^^^^^

           It’s been a couple of years now. Bruce has seen his best friend who left him with nothing but a letter of confession. At first, he was oblivious of his best friend’s disappearance until one day he asked his trusty butler to why the sudden absence of woman. Alfred replied with silence before handing his master an envelope.

           There is a saying where in order for someone to realize their feelings for that person is for them to lose that said person. And that he just did.

           The closest person he considers as a family had gone off somewhere after verbatim-ly confessing in a letter that she can no longer resist that pain she has to feels upon seeing him in bed with another. And it was made more difficult years later when he realizes that there were still differences between him and Selina. She can handle publicity, unlike Y/n who handles everything for Bruce.

           It was hard to function for him for a while before he met Dick.

           Bruce is now as at a party, Mayor Garcia had somewhat called up all people from around to for the ball. Of course him being a big shot, it would almost seem impossible for him to not be invited. With that opportunity, he brought his son’s along with him yet they all went to separate directions later after a few minutes of entering the venue.

           The party had an unknown purpose as the said leader of the city stated that it was just another celebration.

           Damian Wayne was keeping himself occupied by marveling all the pieces that seem to be sponsored at the party.

           “An Obra Maestra in my opinion. Maybe I should get one for my room or maybe two?” the young Wayne boy stared at work with utmost admiration and respect. He was entranced by each stroke on every canvass, hook, line, and sinker. The colors working along with the movements and directions. There was something aggressive with each one that Damian cannot explain.

           Soon he came through an empty hall, littered with more canvasses. Each art contained different messages now but he could tell the artist was still the same person.

           Although he was rather drowned out with admiring one particular piece where it was a portrait of a Sabertooth sitting in a calm meadow with a Robin fluttered upon its snout. Both animals didn’t show any discomfort but rather a pinch of sparks fly. “You like art?”

           Damian didn’t turn as he was still engrossed with the painting mumbled small ‘Yeah’.

           Y/n smiled, her eyes from the boy turned to the painting hung on the wall. “What do you think this piece talks about?” The boy still didn’t turn his gaze away from the painting but manage to muster a reply.

           “It tells about a Robin that had fallen with a Predator.” Y/n hummed, “How do you know it’s a love story kid?” Damian’s green eyes sparkled with curiosity as he analyzed the said piece. “I don’t but I like to think that the Robin had fallen for the predator due to admiration on how well she hunts her prey.” Y/n’s head flicked to the left, lips curling to a smile.

           “A debatable answer.” She chuckled.

           “I’ll take this one to my room. Do you know anyone here I could talk to about buying this piece? I am somewhat very fond of it.” Damian spun her head to the direction of his company. Y/n only smiled at him.

           “I guess I do.”

           “Good, will you take me to him?”

           “SHE is right in front of you darling.”

^^^^^^^

     “Fancy seeing you here Clark?”

     The disguised man of steel took Bruce’s extended hand. “Well, it’s just that my agency heard of a big occasion here and nothing really special but they still sent me anyway just in case.” Bruce eyed the small notepad and pen on his one hand. “Still working on a weekend?”

Clark on raised his shoulder to a shrug before a short pause.

“You alone?” The blue-eyed man shook his head. “I’m with the boys, they’re out there somewhere. Maybe drinking their asses out or something.” Clark nodded in reply.

     “Hello, Good Evening everyone.”

Clark and Bruce turns to the podium where the leader of Gotham city now stood.

“I know some of you are still questioning why I invited you all here. In a very normal party. I think many of you notice the setting.”

“Bruce.”

The said the male’s attention was taken by his eldest who was accompanied by his other two siblings. “Dick, Tim, Jason. I’m surprised you’ve found me. Where’s Damian?” the three looked at each other, brows furrowed.

“The Painting exhibited on the walls are sponsored by a surprise guess tonight. I know some of you have been eyeing some pieces of our liking but sadly they are not yet for release.”

“We thought he was with you.” A surge of worry climbed through Bruce’s bile a bit.

“Don’t worry too much, Bruce. I’m sure he’s just around here somewhere.”

“Now I would like to present to all of you the mind of all the masterpieces spread across all of you. I must say I was rather excited when she had finally accepted our invitation. And our guest was generous enough to have all her works be the highlight of this event since we’ve been aiming to have an Artistic type of setting.”

All attention finally was to the speaker on the front Bruce and his sons were still quite occupied to where the youngest was. “Clark would you mind keeping an eye out to where my son is.” Of course, the man agreed.

Still occupied, Bruce kept turning his head every five minutes in hopes of spotting the jaded eyed boy.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you. The Artiste Visionnaire of France. The Famous 21st Century Art Critique Maîtresse. Painter and Ex-Marine Sergeant;

Madamoiselle Y/n M/n L/n.”

At the moment, everything had stopped for Bruce. The familiarity of the name that should have been long forgotten in the back of his mind rang like he had heard the name like yesterday.

“Wow, who would’ve thought that I could hit a jackpot tonight? Y/n is a big name in the industry. Have you ever seen such and influencing woman- Bruce?” With air caught in-between spaces of his throat, he can’t form any type of reply.

His eyes watched from the edge of the stage, a good ten feet from the podium where the Mayor stood. He awaited the familiar petite frame of a woman that he remembers that likes to dress into big skirts and conservative tops. The same woman that he had come to realize to be his only one.

And with no denial, a woman did emerge from the side. But not in the said attire he had thought as he almost didn’t recognize that it was a woman. The person emerges wearing a very prestigious and recent collection Dolce and Gabbana. It was a suit, the type where big businessmen would wear. It was tailored from a very expensive satin called satin-jacquard. The satin suit glowed in its canary yellow hue that lights from every chandelier allowed it glimmer a lot more. Like the person walking in them was wearing gold. And along the satin suit was loitering designs of floral in dominating shades of reds and greens.

“Y/n…” It was her.

Yet he felt different from her. Like he was somewhat culture shocked. The woman who never failed to show femininity to the crowd is now walking before him in the most expensive suit somewhat only she could pull off. Eyes held no type of emotion but stoniness.

Bruce watch each of her strides towards the podium. Poise. Just poise.

He described that moment as if she was the most feminine of the feminine yet masculine of the most masculine.

As she arrived by the podium, facing the seemingly endless crowd of elites. He didn’t miss the moment her eyes found his.

[sternerstufftoys]

Scoopy-doopy-doo

It is the year 1988... ...the rock juggernaut that is Cliff Richard beats upstarts Kylie Minogue and Jason Donavon into submission for a Christmas no. 1... ...The Mega Drive is released in Japan, with just three short years to go until anything truly worthwhile is released to play on it... ...And in the Transformers, er, something something double targetmasters.

Meanwhile in the far off future year of 2014, the Thrilling 30 line of Generations toys was doing a victory lap of all sorts of past incarnations of the brand, and poor old IDW were told in no uncertain terms that they needed to start pulling their weight shilling these little plastic people in the pages themselves. So you end up with Armada Starscream, RID Sky-Byte, Beast Wars Rattrap and G1 Scoop all having to rub shoulders together. Yeah, it was more than a little distracting, and not everyone slid comfortably into their new roles. Sky-Byte loves poetry, you say? Well, stick him in the pub doing recitals and hope nobody notices. Rattrap is a conniving bastard? Put him alongside Starscream. It'll be fine. And Scoop? What even is Scoop? His bio just says he's brave, his original function is just 'field infantry'. He is about as plain as they come.

Now don't get me wrong, I have no problem with plain. In fact, it's great having a few more rank-and-file Autobots, the soldiers who actually get things done rather than the high-ranking heroes that take all the glory. But while that might have been fine and dandy in the midst of all-out war, civilian Scoop has absolutely nothing, and ended up as something of an evangelical nut. A little awkward, considering he spent most of his time being manipulated and pushed around by Starscream, both before and after realising what a prick he was. Plenty of time on the page, and never any satisfying conclusion to his arc, not exactly unfamiliar in Robots in Disguise, sadly.

So how does he fare in plastic? A bit plain too, and all the better for it. It's impossible not to want to compare this 2014 interpretation of a Double Targetmaster with yesterday's review of Spinister, a 2019 go at the same concept. Of the two, Scoop is far more conservative in his sculpting, with nowhere near the level of detail, articulation or even plastic. Of course, unlike Spinister Scoop actually came with his two nebulon partners, which would account for some of the plastic and tooling budget that leaves Scoop a little on the simpler side. Still, aside from a slightly awkward transformation joint getting in the way of his shoulder articulation, Scoop stands pretty tall and proud as a well-designed robo-man. There's nothing altogether wrong with him, he's just not that exciting.

Actually, speaking of the nebulons, let's be honest here: they're crap. All the effort has gone into making them look vaguely convincing as great big fellas in Centurion-style power armour, but when the time comes for them to turn into guns, they mostly just look like great big fellas in Centurion-style power armour flat on their faces. As overused as the battle master moulds are, they're still a step up from this.

In alt mode Scoop makes for a big chunky digger. Okay, it's not exciting, but if you remember a few weeks ago from how unreasonably excited I got for Grapple's big chunky crane mode, well, Scoop isn't all that different. The two pair well together, and you can definitely picture them as distant mates, pissed-off rivals or glowering ex-lovers who secretly still share the odd secret snog behind the spoil heap. And again, it's nice having an alt mode that isn't trying to be flash, just a regular workin' Joe, pulling his weight and being a mate. And probably leaving a few religious pamphlets in your lunchbox when you're not looking. The only thing is... see that cab? See the great big head poking up in there? Yeah, it's a little hard to un-see now, isn't it? You're welcome.

So yeah, I really like Scoop, precisely because he's not special. You don't need one in your collection. He's not the hero that'll save the day, the commander that'll rally the troops or the sinister one who may or may not betray his comrades. He's just one of the guys. Sure, he's a bit of a zealot, yeah, he'll probably talk your ear off on Monday about just how good church was the day before, but it's all worthwhile. At least you know he's on the level.

[themandylion]

[fic] The Stable Master & the Diplomat, 2/?

Oops, I wrote more of this. >.> Please enjoy some ridiculous JayTim fantasy world shenanigans?

—

Tim shows up to the meeting ten minutes late, hair in disarray around his horns, tail switching in a languid, contented way when he strolls into the Council chamber. "Ambassador Drake, so kind of you to join us," King Bruce comments, and there's a twitch to his lips that means he's fighting off either a frown or a smile. With Bruce, it's sometimes anyone's guess.

"My apologies, your majesty. I had some pressing business to attend to first." Tim curls his tail around his waist and slides into an empty chair between Cassie and Bruce's odious second son. "I see everything worked out despite your misgivings," the Amazon says in an undertone as the meeting resumes around them, some dull discussion of farm lands that Tim has little interest or investment in. "So it did. Thank you, Cassie." Tim smiles at his friend, gently squeezing her hand in thanks before releasing it once more. On his other side, Prince Damian leans in. "Disgraceful, Drake," he hisses. "You could at least try to disguise the fact that you've been dallying with the help. You have hay in your hair." "You might try spending more time with the 'help,' Damian. It can do wonders for one's disposition, and stable hands in particular are prone to being long on stamina and strength." The princeling splutters loudly enough that his father glances over with a frown and a reminder that, as second son, his inclusion is a privilege, not a right. When the king has turned his attention back to the large map he and the rest of the room are bent over, Tim pokes Damian in the thigh with the tip of his tail. "What?" Damian asks, harsh and quiet at the same time. "If you do decide to investigate the stables, you'll keep away from what I've laid claim to," Tim warns, a low growl rumbling under his words despite the soft tone he employs. "I don't do sharing."

—

Several weeks later, Tim is lying in bed with his lover when he's reminded of his off-the-cuff comment. "The youngest prince has been sniffing around the stables as of late. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" the stable master queries, his fingers along down the ridges that protrude from Tim's spine, gently scratching where scales bleed into skin. Quickly slipping into a lovely, hazy state due to the pleasant sensations of Jason's ministrations, it takes Tim a few minutes to truly register the meaning of the question. "I may have said something about stable hands knowing how to handle themselves to the little snot when he implied I was slumming it," he acknowledges. "He hasn't tried anything with you, has he?" A rumble creeps into his voice, and he starts to rouse from his half-drowse, blue eyes flashing red. "No, sweetheart," Jason reassures him, pressing firmly down Tim's shoulder blades. "He's set his sights on the most promising of my journeymen, which is worrying enough." "I don't see why. Colin is a sweet boy, maybe he'll mellow out the brat some." That was Tim's original intent with the taunt, after all. "Not all of you lordlings are free to romance where you like," Jason explains. "Prince Damian is betrothed to the second son of our nearest neighbor to the north, something that was arranged ages ago, when they were both still quite small. The stability of that realm is rather dependent on the match working out, since King Bruce's backing of Kal-El in the civil war was what leant his claim legitimacy." "Listen to you, talking of alliances and stability. I should make you take my place on the Council, it's likely you'd have much more to contribute when it comes to domestic affairs than I ever do." Tim smiles at the man, his tail curling over to sidle up Jason's leg in an exploratory manner. Yes, he has chosen well for his mate. "Anyway, I don't see why it should matter if your prince has some fun. It isn't as if a child can result from the joining, seeing as how both of them are human." Jason's hand stills in its wanderings. "Don't you mean neither of them is a woman?" "Of course not. If women were necessary for making children, there wouldn't be nearly as many dragons about." Tim frowns, thinks for a moment. "Fewer elves as well." "Wait—you don't mean—" Jason sounds more than a little panicked, so Tim takes the time to roll onto his back, easily pulling his lover on top of him. "Hush, I won't be ready to make an egg for at least another decade or three, you have no cause to worry." Smiling, he twines his fingers in Jason's hair, tugging him down for a kiss. "I don't see any problem with practicing in the meantime, if you're willing to lend me a hand?" Jason, as it turns out, is more than up to the task.

—

"We should probably do something about Colin and the prince," Jason says much, much later, because someone has to be responsible here, and it clearly isn't going to be Tim.

"I don't know why you're harping on this. Kandorians are known for being reasonable, and Jon's a sweetheart. He's more likely to insist on including Colin if Damian's honestly that fond of him than get upset over the matter." Tim roots around under the sheets, trying to find the robe he lost earlier. Gotham is unreasonably cold compared to the warmer climes he hails from, which doesn't bode well considering he has yet to adjust to spending so much time in his human form. "Of course you know the Kandorians. Is there anyone in the upper echelons of the six realms that you don't know?" "I'm sorry if some of us are slightly longer lived than others," Tim says, not that he sounds the least bit apologetic. "And, as it happens, I've never been to Themiscyra. They aren't too fond of men, and while I'm technically not one in any sense of the word, they feel more comfortable with my cousin." Right. Because Tim is the only living relative of the dragon queen. How the hell does Jason end up mixed up in these kinds of situations, anyway? "I suppose you have a lover in every realm by now," he jests, trying to keep his tone light. He isn't sure how successful he is, though, since Tim leaves off his search, turning to straddle Jason's chest and lay a hand against his cheek. "Don't be silly, my gem. Just because I travel freely does not mean I'm free with myself, body or heart. I chose you because you have great potential, cunning wit, and a willingness to tell me when I'm wrong." He grins, tweaking one of Jason's nipples. "It also doesn't hurt that you're rather nice to look at, for a human." "Oh, for a human." Jason rolls his eyes. "Just wait until Stephanie and I finish the transmogification spell we're working on," Tim says, his eyes dancing with delight as he leans in. "I'm sure you'll make a gorgeous dragon as well."

[ryanmeft]

Us Movie Review

Every year brings many horror films that provide the basics, and very few that rise above them. Get Out was widely praised as one of the latter; I disagreed, one of my more contentious opinions on movies. To my great satisfaction, the issues I saw in Jordan Peele’s first directorial effort are almost entirely absent in his second feature. If it just avoided doing things wrong, though, it wouldn’t be as good as it is. Whereas Get Out was content to insert some heavy-handed social commentary into a traditional formula and call it revolutionary, Us truly brings fresh ideas to the genre.

Much as Get Out was essentially a horror twist on Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, Us brings another outside plot to the genre, this one from superheroes: the heroic team who meets their evil doubles. We start in 1986, in a visually stunning sequence: young Adelaide (newcomer Madison Curry) is neglected by her dysfunctional parents (it is notable that we never see their faces for long) at an amusement park at Santa Cruz, so she wanders off. As a storm rolls in on the beach she makes her way to an abandoned hall of mirrors, complete with a scary pop-up owl and a fake-out for an exit. There, she encounters a well-worn horror trope: her reflection behaves differently than she does.

The movie cuts to the present day, and adult Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o), who has returned with her family to their vacation house near the same beach (note that the family appears reasonably well-off, though not rich, a rarity for horror films; just last year, the entirety of the last Purge movie took place in a stereotypical “hood”). Her husband Gabe (Winston Duke) is a lovable oaf, brave and protective but not in a “grunt grunt, man tough” way. He’s assigned the job of doing some of the dumb things horror movie plots require to function, but because his character has already been presented as both loving and slightly dim, we mostly overlook these lapses of judgement. It helps that they do not occur with anything like the frequency they typically do. Daughter Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) is on the verge of true teenagedom---she doesn’t want to hang out with the vapid twin teens (Cali and Noelle Sheldon) belonging to her parents’ sniping and materialistic friends (Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker), but she’s also getting a bit too old for her younger brother Jason (Evan Alex).

Peele spends enough time on family dynamics---the pranks played by the siblings on each other, a hopeful lovemaking session between parents thwarted by pesky feelings, the singular joy of your kids not getting an old song that is just the greatest thing ever---that by the time we get to the scares, these people are well-established for the genre; in another twist on what is usual, it is the white characters who are bare outlines thrown in just to have someone to kill off. The Wilson family, on the other hand, are strange and complex people by the time their copycats show up on the front walk. They appear in red jumpsuits, holding hands, are unresponsive to Gabe’s commands, and quickly launch an invasion of the home. Once they have the family at their mercy, Adelaide’s double---named Red in the credits, though like most of the doppleganger names I can’t recall this ever being mentioned in the film itself---proceeds to tell a macabre tale I won’t reveal here. She then initiates a game, which is where the superhero comparison comes in. The doubles have come prepared, with a strategy to exploit the weaknesses and personalities of their prey; much of the rest of the film is a game of cat and mouse as each tries to outwit and overcome the other. The body language of these beings, which is meant to mirror and exaggerate the worst traits of their heroic doubles, is incredibly unnerving; physicality is too often overlooked in modern horror, though the template of the genre, The Exorcist, excelled in it.

There’s no attempt on the part of Peele to disguise the fact these things are some sort of dark copies of the heroes; it is explicitly revealed in the trailers and in the film’s title. It is a rather masterful bit of slight of hand on his part. We think the duplicate angle is the point of the film, but at the very beginning there is some seemingly unrelated text about there being vast lengths of disused tunnel underneath the United States; I held this in my mind through the first act, but such is the tension of the second that by the time it becomes important to the story, I had nearly forgotten it. Those tunnels turn out to produce an apocalypse, and end up providing a thrilling third act that grants us a great, unexpected mercy: something different for horror. I don’t dare discuss it in detail, for in it Peele’s script and direction, Nyong’o’s stunning ability to act convincingly while playing dual roles that are both fighting each other, and the incredible camerawork of Mike Gioulakis come together in a way that, by itself, may cause me to go see the movie twice in theatres, a rarity. Suffice it to say the dopplegangers are flesh and blood, and that the resolution does not feel like cheating. The final twist could be seen coming a mile away, but it is at least well-earned, and notably more morally ambiguous than how it is usually used.

The visionary elements of Get Out whose visionary-ness I questioned were mostly concerned with the supposedly deep subtext of the film. Some saw endless layers of meaning concerning the place of African Americans in our society; I personally thought the “slavery is still a thing, guys” point was incredibly obvious. Us eschews direct 1-to-1 metaphors in favor of a few different possible interpretations, all of which could be true at once. To a history buff like myself, the idea of our doom coming from underground places we’ve forgotten of course recalls the old adage about those who fail to learn from the past. Masks are employed to suggest the ways we hide ourselves, while an excess of rabbits seem to represent a cycle of life, suggesting the film’s antagonists devour other life the same way they feel they themselves have been devoured. I could discuss this all for some time, but the reason the movie works is because, whereas taking Get Out’s metaphors away would leave the film toothless, this one is excellent even if you completely overlook them. It functions as a film first, and doesn’t need to sermonize on society to grip and terrify us. That it does that, and does it effectively, is evidence of Peele’s creative evolution.

Verdict: Must-See

Note: I don’t use stars, but here are my possible verdicts.

Must-See

Highly Recommended

Recommended

Average

Not Recommended

Avoid like the Plague

 You can follow Ryan's reviews on Facebook here:

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 Or his tweets here:

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All images are property of the people what own the movie.

[thedcdunce]

Red Robin

“At the end of the day, I have to accept that I can control everything, except the things I can't control.” - Red Robin

Real Name: Timothy Jackson "Tim" Drake

Aliases:

Robin

Alvin Draper

Batman

Mister Sarcastic

Gender: Male

Height: 5′ 6″

Weight: 125 lbs (57 kg)

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Black

Abilities:

Aviation

Acrobatics

Computer Hacking

Computer Operation

Driving

Martial Arts

Escapology

Firearms

Gadgetry

Genius Level Intellect

Investigation

Lock Picking

Meditation

Photography

Stealth

Vehicle Combat

Tactical Analysis

Throwing

Weaknesses:

Immunocompromised

Equipment:

Utility Belt

Redbird

Redboard

Robin's Motorcycle

Batarang

Robin's Battle Staff

Universe: New Earth

Citizenship: American

Base of Operations: 

Gotham City

Titans Tower

Parents: 

Jack Drake; father

Janet Drake; mother

Marital Status: Single

Occupation: Student

First Appearance: Batman #436 (August, 1989)

Last Appearance: Batman: Gates of Gotham#5 (October, 2011)

Abilities

Aviation: Tim Drake is able to fly a variety of small jets, including the one the Teen Titans use to get to missions.

Acrobatics

Computer Hacking

Computer Operation

Driving

Martial Arts: He can even keep up a conversation while taking down multiple well armed enemies. He's fought trained ninjas and assassins as well as mercenaries.

Stick Fighting

Karate

T'ai Chi

Aikido

Kung Fu

Judo

Escapology

Firearms

Gadgetry: Tim has invented a number of his own innovations such as his "bang-a-rang" flash grenades and his "redboard", a powered skateboard.

Genius Level Intellect

Business Management

Criminology

Disguise

Mechanical Engineering:

Multilingualism: Tim has demonstrated at least some proficiency in Spanish, Hong Kong Cantonese, Russian, and German in addition to his native English. He also picked up at least a small amount of French while studying in Paris.

Investigation: Tim Drake is often recalled as the most investigative and analytical of all the Robins. He is always listening, exploring and scrutinizing.

Lock Picking: The picking of locks was among the skills Tim learned while training to become Robin.

Meditation: Tim has learned a meditation technique that allows him to continue listening to his surroundings even when drugged to unconsciousness, though his grip on his hearing slowly slips. He has also learned a technique that allows him to slow his heart rate which allows him to survive grievous injuries he would otherwise bleed out from and be mistaken for dead.

Photography

Stealth

Vehicle Combat: Tim has adapted his martial arts and skateboarding knowledge in order to design a way to fight efficiently while skateboarding.

Tactical Analysis

Throwing

Weaknesses

Immunocompromised: Tim lost his spleen in a confrontation.

Equipment

Utility Belt

Redbird

Redboard

Robin's Motorcycle

Batarang

Robin's Battle Staff

Personality

Tim Drake is extremely passionate and dedicated, having taken up crime-fighting willingly as a vocation. His parents later died during his career, but he was the first vigilante to become Robin with a stable home life. He has made it clear that although Bruce Wayne has qualities he aspires to, he does not want to be Bruce Wayne.

Romantic Relationships

Ariana Dzerchenko

Lynx

Secret

Stephanie Brown

Tamara Fox

Wonder Girl: She was not attached with Robin, but there is attraction between the two. When they were grieving over Superboy's death, they shared a brief kiss before Wonder Girl ran away crying.

Zoanne Wilkins: She is a classmate of Tim's who reveals feelings for him when he's kidnapped. Their first date at a restaurant is promising, and Tim turns down helping Batman to spend time with her. However, she breaks up with him because he is emotionally distant and not ready for a relationship.

History

Tim Drake is a vigilante and member of the Batman Family. He became the third Robin at a young age, succeeding Jason Todd as Batman's sidekick. Eventually, he would be forced to give up the identity of Robin and begin wearing the costume of Red Robin when he was replaced by Damian Wayne.

Origin

Timothy Drake was the only son of Jack and Janet Drake and he was raised in a wealthy household. As a small boy, Tim was taken to Haly's Circus, where he met Dick Grayson and the Flying Graysons, the same day of their deaths, which he witnessed and could never forget. Some years later, he saw footage of Batman and Robin apprehending the Penguin and he noticed Robin's acrobatics, which reminded him of Dick Grayson. Making use of impressive deductive abilities, Tim learned the truth behind Batman and Robin and he followed their careers very closely.

Tim Drake became aware of Grayson's change of identity to Nightwing and Jason Todd becoming the second Robin. After the death of Jason and at the age of 13, Tim noticed a change in Batman's personality and he went on a quest to reunite Batman and Nightwing, hoping to return the Dynamic Duo back to basics. When Dick refused to become Robin, Tim adopted the identity, despite Batman's refusal. However, after proving vital in the capture of Two-Face, Bruce agreed to train Tim to become the new Robin.

His chance came when he learned that Nightwing had left the Titans for a short time in order to find himself. So Tim followed Dick and convinced him that Batman needed help. Grayson then took Tim to the Batcave and left, as Nightwing, to help Batman deal with the vile Two-Face. Alfred Pennyworth insinuated that Tim was brought to the Batcave to help Batman as the new Robin. But with Clayface on the loose, Tim and Alfred became worried about the safety of Batman and Nightwing, and went out to help them.

Tim donned the costume of Robin and, with the help of Alfred, managed to rescue them. Batman accepted Tim as the new Robin on a trial basis. He trained over several months, first with Alfred, then Batman, and finally, Nightwing.

The Obeah Man captured Tim's parents during a trip to the Caribbean. Janet died in the resulting conflict, and Jack was left with paralysis, despite Batman's help. He now required the care of a nurse/physical therapist, Dana Winters.

After assisting in the defeat of Scarecrow, Batman finally deemed Tim was ready to fulfill his role as the new Robin. He was given a new costume that set him apart from the previous Robins.

Starting on the Path

Tim had his doubts about becoming the new Robin, but Bruce told him that he had every confidence in Tim being his new partner. Bruce also confided in Tim that he was looking for someone with smarts, not just guts, and Tim had that and more. All that was necessary was for Tim to go through some intensive training before taking to the streets in Gotham. This would involve a tour overseas, helping Tim understand who he was in addition to learning how to be a great fighter.

His first stop was Paris, to learn from Rahul Lama, a Chinese martial arts master. In Paris, Tim crossed paths with some thugs working for King Snake, who was himself being shadowed by Lady Shiva. Shiva actually joined with Robin and a man named Clyde Rawlins to help take down King Snake's heroin trafficking in the area. It was not that Shiva was opposed to it for any moral reason, she simply wished to learn for herself if King Snake was truly as dangerous as rumors made him out to be; a good challenge for her talents. Together, they discovered that King Snake was interested in more than just drugs: he was going into chemical weapons and manufacturing his own bubonic plague. They followed the trail to Hong Kong, and whilst there, Shiva continued to train with Robin and it was during this time that he acquired his collapsible fighting staff. King Snake's plan was to unleash his plague into Hong Kong so as to leave it a rotting cesspool before the Chinese reclaimed it from the British. The team split up when they breached his lair. Clyde found him first and was quickly killed by Snake. Robin managed to defeat him, but refused to kill him when Shiva ordered him to. He returned to Gotham, ready to take his place alongside the Batman.

Tim distinguished himself from Jason Todd by being far more reserved in temperament and from Dick Grayson by being more cerebral a detective and less a great acrobat. Whereas Dick had been brought up from a very early age to be acrobatic, Tim had to work hard for it. He proved himself more than capable of holding his own alongside the Batman. However, Batman did have strict orders with Tim--whenever Tim came across a known killer, he was supposed to withdraw and summon help. Tim also started dating a classmate around, this time, a young girl named Ariana Dzerchenko, who was the daughter of Russian immigrants.

Knightfall

On his new role as Robin, Tim fought with Batman during Bruce's most weak moment. He assisted Batman stopping the False Face Society from continuing the arson attacks on Wayne Enterprises' buildings and he helped on the rescue of Lucius Fox from Black Mask. During those days, he took his father, Jack, to his therapy sessions with Dr. Kinsolving. At night, Robin helped Batman after the fight he had against Metalhead.

Bruce assigned Robin to train Jean Paul Valley and together they captured a gang that was stealing from Wayne Enterprises. Robin and Azrael stopped a couple more crimes in progress and later along with Batman, they managed to save Lucius Fox from Cypher and captured the criminal. When Killer Croc reappeared in Gotham, Bruce was out of action and Tim gave Jean-Paul the Batsuit so they could fight Croc. However, Bane appeared and defeated Croc, leaving Robin with an injured Jean-Paul.

Tim was in Gotham City when Bane broke open Arkham Asylum, unleashing nearly every inmate into the city, and was the first to suggest to Batman that Bane was responsible. He set out with the Batman at first, and initially they had some good progress busting up the Mad Hatter's tea party and bringing in a half dozen or so thugs along with him, however they got separated when Robin decided to pursue Bird while Batman went after The Ventriloquist. Robin joined Batman again at the girls' school where Mr. Zsasz held many students hostages. Batman sent him away and Tim spotted Talon again and decided to keep track of the animal this time. Later, Robin was briefly captured by Bane but managed to escape thanks to Killer Croc. Tim then did some detective work regarding Firefly, but a physically and emotionally drained Batman ordered him to stay in the Batcave while he took on Firefly by himself. Tim saw some action when Riddler held a live TV show hostage and helped to apprehend the self-appointed Prince of Puzzles. During one last mission, Robin tried to help Bruce against Two-Face, but Bruce denied Tim the chance. However, Robin and Alfred went looking for Two-Face and they found him during Batman's time of need. Together they managed to capture the villain and Batman was grateful that Robin decided to join.

Later, Tim was safe at home when Alfred knocked on his door, asking for help as Bruce was being brutally beaten by Bane. Tim joined Alfred and Jean-Paul to rescue Batman after Bane broke his back and threw him from a rooftop in downtown Gotham. They acquired an ambulance and took Bruce back to the Batcave. Later, Robin contacted Jim Gordon to get some medicine that Bruce needed and waited from Bruce to recover.

As soon as Bruce recovered his consciousness, Tim was asked to give Jean-Paul the mantle of the Bat, as Gotham was in dire need of Batman. Unfortunately, Robin realized that Jean-Paul became brutal and driven, but he could do nothing to restrain him. While they were out on a mission, Robin was dragged along to witness Jean-Paul's newfound brutality and for this reason, he was not present at the time when his father, Jack and Dr. Kinsolving were kidnapped from Drake Manor. Robin assisted Jean-Paul against some of Bane's henchmen, but after their failed mission, Tim finally learned about his father's disappearance and Bruce's efforts to bring him back. Tim tried to reason with Jean-Paul once again, but all he managed was to get pushed away from the crime-fighting team. Later, Robin found Jean-Paul's designs for the new batsuit and he tracked him down to the place where he and Bane were fighting. After saving the passengers from a train, Robin witnessed Bane's defeat at the hands of Jean-Paul and how the winner spared Bane's life. This event changed Robin's mentality about Jean-Paul and he admitted that he earned to be called Batman.

Flying Solo

Tim soon learned that Jean-Paul didn't want him as his sidekick and blocked almost every entrance to the Batcave. However, when Tim received his special driver's licence, he entered the Batcave as Robin using an entrance Jean-Paul didn't know about and he tried to take his own vehicle, the Redbird with him. Unfortunately, he was confronted by Jean-Paul, who almost killed Robin. Finally Robin decided to part ways and he took the Redbird with him.

Later, Tim met up with Ariana Dzerchenko, his girlfriend, for their first date in weeks, doing his best to put Jean-Paul, Bruce, and even his Dad's disappearance aside for a few hours. There was some excitement at the party they attended when some masked thugs, the Speedboyz, tried to carjack another student's vehicle and Tim had to intervene. Later that night, Robin decided to try and track them down, only to be confronted by a local county cop, "Shotgun" Smith, who mistook Tim for one of the carjackers. Robin managed to evade arrest and got to work tracking down the Speedboyz. He managed to bust up their gang and leave a phone call for Shotgun, letting him know who to thank.

Going back home, Tim had to blow off Ari, who was beginning to think that he was seeing someone else. Tim decided to make it up to her by taking her to the movies. However, his mind kept wandering having just learned that the Cluemaster, and some other thugs, had escaped from prison. One was the Electrocutioner. Another was Czonk, who decided to create a new identity for himself, the Baffler. The others didn't like the name, so he changed it to Headbanger. Robin got to work investigating, stumbling into Spoiler soon enough. Unsurprised at this, because he knew that Stephanie was the Cluemaster's daughter and had reasoned that she'd turn up eventually. He went to the last known location of the gang and here Robin discovered a clue that the Baffler had left for the police. He followed the clue to the gang's heist: an armored car robbery. He and Cluemaster got sealed inside the car, and the other two put it in a pit and started covering it with cement. Robin could only wait until the others came back but they arrived much earlier than planned because the cops were onto them. With some help from Spoiler, Robin was saved and Cluemaster and his buddies were sent back to jail by Smith.

Robin bumped into Huntress and helped her get out of a jam from her involvement in a gang war with Mandy Paul. Tim reaffirmed that while he had discovered her real identity, he had never told Batman. They came to Mandy's lair only to find a man calling himself Deathangel, trying to "send all sinners to God" with a pair of pistols. After a firefight where Deathangel fled the scene, Robin and Huntress split up, with Robin following Mandy to a church. Huntress found Robin and Deathangel at the church, after correctly guessing that he was really Danny DePaolo, Mandy's brother, a priest at that very church. He was suffering from a delusion caused by his sister's wickedness. Everything led to a final confrontation with Mandy and her goons. Deathangel could not pull the trigger, but his sister could, and she gunned down her brother. Robin kept Huntress from killing him.

Afterwards, Tim felt the need to assist Jean-Paul in locating the serial killer Abattoir, but by the time he managed to locate the killer's hideout, Jean-Paul was already confronting him on a nearby foundry. Robin tried to get there in time to help Batman, but he could only witness how Jean-Paul refused to help as Abattoir fell to his death in a vat of molten metal.

KnightsEnd

Soon after this, Tim was glad to hear from Bruce and learn that he had rescued his father. Once Bruce and Jack returned to Gotham, Tim learned of his father's intention to spend more time with him, but he had to put that conversation aside as he had the duty to inform Bruce about Jean-Paul's actions as Batman. After telling Bruce everything, Tim was pleased to know that Bruce would fight Jean-Paul for the mantle of the bat after an intensive training.

While Bruce trained with Shiva, Robin was asked to keep a close eye on Jean-Paul and Robin noticed that the new Batman was in fact acting very strange. As Robin was unable to find valuable information by himself, Batman summoned Nightwing to help Robin and the two of them went looking for Jean-Paul. The two of them went to the Batcave and placed surveillance equipment to monitor all of Jean-Paul's activities. After this, they were shocked to see Jean-Paul acting as a madman, talking to himself alone in the cave. They decided to tell Bruce about Jean-Paul, but when they found Bruce, they witnessed how he apparently killed one of his opponents as part of Shiva's training. However, they soon learned that it was all a ruse to deceive Shiva and Robin joined Nightwing preparing the Batcave for Bruce's final comeback.

Robin and Nightwing joined Batman on his final confrontation with Jean-Paul, but they were sidetracked by the bodyguards of Penn Selkirk, who were trying to kill Catwoman. After dealing with them, they witnessed the fight between Bruce and Jean-Paul until Bruce was apparently killed inside an exploding Batmobile and they were confronted by Jean-Paul, whose armor had turned red. After Nightwing and Jean-Paul started fighting, Robin decided to help people after the accident and he soon learned that Batman had avoided the explosion and was ready to challenge Jean-Paul.

Robin left Bruce to confront Jean-Paul on his own and the next night he learned that Bruce had defeated Jean-Paul and taken back the mantle of the bat. This victory meant that he could still be Robin and the Dynamic Duo were back in action.

Prodigal

Afterward, Bruce decided he needed some time off, and this time he handed the mantle over to the right person, Dick Grayson.

Robin and the new Batman got along great, working against the likes of Two-Face. In his home life, Tim kept trying to make it up to Ari while his dad kept insisting on some bonding time because of his absence. Jack also hired Dana Winters to be his personal physical therapist. On a date with Ari, some teens picked a fight, and Tim had to take some hits, not wanting to reveal his martial arts training. He vented his frustration later that night when he went out with Dick. On another night, when he ran into the teens alone, he got his revenge, but it was spoiled when he visited Ari and found out her uncle had been attacked at his shop by gangsters.

Dick's tenure as Batman quickly came to an end when Bruce decided to return to the job. That event also brought some long needed healing between Bruce and Dick, who were very much like father and son. Bruce redesigned his costume, making it darker than ever.

Robin then had a run in with the KGBeast, but unlike their last encounter, he did not have the backup. KGBeast was perfectly willing to kill Tim and destroy most of Gotham City. KGBeast had already put down Harvey Bullock, who only survived due to Robin's knowledge of CPR. The battle against the KGBeast was tough. Robin was tempted to use Bullock's sidearm but refused. He managed to defeat him just as Batman showed up. Bullock was comatose for a while, but recovered.

Robberies were up recently, and Batman discovered that someone was sending very lame clues to the police department from inside Blackgate Prison. Figuring it was the Cluemaster and the villain would talk to Robin, Batman took Tim to the prison. Cluemaster told them that he was being blackmailed to plan some crimes by some thugs on the outside and that they had kidnapped Stephanie to ensure his cooperation. Batman tracked down their lair and Robin came along. Robin saved her life and rescued her, and after changing into her costume, she insisted on coming along. Batman was not amused, but Stephanie told him that Cluemaster had conned them and was in on the whole thing. While Batman went for another chat with Cluemaster, Robin and Spoiler stayed put until he pointed them in the right direction, where they rounded up the rest of the gang. Spoiler acted like the whole thing was a date, despite Tim's protestations that it was serious business. Afterward, Stephanie paid a visit to her dad in jail.

In an attempt to expand his criminal empire, King Snake came to Gotham. After a brief encounter with King Snake's enforcers alongside Huntress, Robin was told to back off by Batman. Robin next saved the life of Mayor Krol from a disgruntled city employee, but the credit went to another man, someone who had recently been fired for trying to blow the whistle on safety violations around the city.

Following a couple bizarre heists, such as a missing lion, Robin stumbled across Ulysses Armstrong, recently released from juvenile hall. Ulysses had recruited a vagrant who was under the impression he was Julius Caesar and together they plotted a crime spree. With some help from Shotgun Smith, Robin foiled the plot. Returning home, he discovered Ari was in his bedroom. She told him she had run away because her uncle was planning on moving away from the city because of the attack on his shop.

Tim might have been in some trouble with his father and maid for Ari spending the night if Jack's physical trainer hadn't come out of Jack's bedroom that morning. Dana had worked wonders on Jack in more ways than one, and he was up and walking about with a cane. Robin got to take his mind of things by helping Batman investigate a string of local robberies perpetrated by a gang of amateur ninjas, one of whom died when he fell off a rooftop. The deceased turned out to be a classmate of Tim's and he learned that the kid had gone to a Ninja Camp. Robin followed another classmate and easily defeated some of the ninjas, though they managed to escape. Tim decided to go undercover and enrolled at the camp using his alias, Alvin Draper. He impressed the camp leaders enough that they let him in on their outfit, provided he could pass one last test. Robin passed with flying colors and arranged for the ninjas to be arrested. Tim got home and learned that Ari's uncle had sold his store and they would be moving at the end of the week.

But things weren't so bad, thanks to a little help from Bruce Wayne. Bruce arranged for Lucius Fox and Wayne Enterprises to buy the store at a very generous price, enough for the family to open another store in a better neighborhood and remain in the city. Ari would even be going to the same school as Tim. Robin felt great. That night on patrol, he heard that Killer Moth had broken out. Figuring Moth for a third tier super lightweight, Robin went after him on his own. Moth had just sold his soul to Neron during Underworld Unleashed and been transformed into Charaxes. The monstrous being shredded its way through some cops and evaded a shootout with Sheriff Smith while capturing Robin, hoping to devour him. Robin was saved by an unknown party before Batman could turn up, and Charaxes was gone.

Robin met the new Green Arrow about that time. Green Arrow and Spoiler joined Robin to take down some gunrunners who were selling guns around Tim's high school. One of Tim's classmates, Karl Ranck, had been given a gun by his dad to protect himself, prompting Tim to tell his father. Jack had a talk with Karl's dad, who took the gun away. Karl then took one of his dad's guns and was killed in a shootout at the school. Tim was so angry that the beat-down he gave the gunrunners might have been much worse had Stephanie and Connor not been there. Tim spotted Stephanie at Karl's funeral and tried to avoid her, prompting Ari to misread the situation. Luckily, Tim managed to straighten that out easily enough. Robin and Spoiler then went after the guy who shot Karl, who was part of a larger street gang. They had to be saved by Batman, who was not happy that Robin decided to go at the gang without more backup than Spoiler. He also reminded Tim that Karl had made the choice to pick up the gun and become a target.

Contagion

Batman sends Robin to track down a plague survivor named Kendall Stuart when the Apocalypse Virus breaks out in Gotham. He reluctantly teams up with Catwoman, but they're both beaten by a bounty hunter named Tracker. Azrael intervenes to save them, but Robin fails when Stuart is shot dead by the Order of St. Dumas. He fights rioters with Nightwing and Huntress, then gets infected when one of them spits in his face. Alfred is forced to take care of him in the Batcave, and Tim hallucinates while dying. He's saved when Azrael deciphers the cure, and dutifully helps the relief efforts even in his weakened state.

Ariana briefly bleaches her hair blonde, and Tim is distressed to realize that she's jealous of Stephanie. He's captured by Maxie Zeus and Julie Caesar, but manages to defeat them both without help. When he meets Wildcat at a car show, he is thrilled to team up with a legendary hero against the Speedboyz.

When Armand Krol dies, they realize the Apocalypse Virus was never cured and Tim still has it in a dormant state. Batman travels to the Sudan with Nightwing and Robin where they track down an ancient cure. It's revealed that Ra's al Ghul is controlling the virus, and they're forced to fight through an army of assassins while he escapes. Nightwing and Robin chase his acolytes to Paris, where they stop a terrorist attack on the Louvre. Robin beats up Shen Chi in a surprise showdown, and is forced to work with Henri Ducard. Batman destroys the last of the plague in Gotham, and Robin pursues Ra's with Huntress and Nightwing. They track down his boat The Shrike, and Robin steals data from his computers before escaping while it explodes. Bruce and Tim blame themselves for the number of deaths, and Alfred reminds them they should count everyone they've saved.

Final Night

Robin met Impulse for the first time when their respective classes went on the same skiing field trip in Colorado. Alfred went with Robin, for they had an extra business, a plot involving a group called White Heat and Mystral. Tim met Bart early in the trip, and once he saw Bart in uniform, he was able to instantly guess who his identity, much to Bart's surprise. This would mark the beginning of a long and close friendship.

Tim hated that he kept having to mislead Ari ; trouble seemed to come up everywhere, even at a student outing to "Macbeth on the Beach" where Tim had to avoid Helena Bertinelli so she wouldn't recognize him. Tim cared for Ari very much, even if Spoiler kept making passes at him. During the Final Night, the Robin and Spoiler were trapped in a snowdrift along with a thug who tried to kill them with a chainsaw. Spoiler could not understand why Robin tried to save the thug trapped in the snow. While they were digging him out, they found a woman and her child also trapped in the snow and rescued them.

"General" Ulysses Armstrong got out on parole and Robin decided to visit him at home, and remind him that he should stay in line. He knew that Armstrong would not do so, and sure enough, the kid soon joined up with the Toyman to try and steal the toy collection of a local eccentric, Phillip Crouch. Robin tracked them to Crouch's manor, where a fight broke out with some hi-tech, deadly toys. Toyman betrayed Armstrong, and Robin had to rescue him and stop them both. Both were arrested.

As a young child, Bruce Wayne enjoyed watching Roy Raymond, a TV criminologist. His son, Roy Raymond Jr., had a TV show that aired dramatizations of crimes on which he called himself Manstalker. Tim thought the show was a joke, but it couldn't take his mind off things. Ari had been a little distant lately, and his friend Ives was keeping secrets too. On patrol, Robin found Slyfox and his crew trying to rob an insurance company, and of course, Manstalker and his TV crew arrived on the scene during a special episode. Robin had to destroy the tape in the camera before heading after the hoods, whom he apprehended.

While Spoiler was out getting into some trouble with Lynx and her goons, Tim was spending time at Ari's. He got the shock of a lifetime while they were alone at her house and she walked out of her room in her underwear, wanting to sleep with him. Tim finally learned what was bothering her; when she had dyed her hair, she had hung out with another guy and the guy tried to rape her. It was an unsuccessful attempt, but it left her feeling very scared and vulnerable. Tim told her that he loved her and said it would be best if they waited to have sex. While Tim and Ari were sharing a tender moment, Ari's uncle and aunt walked in and was cross with them. Ari's uncle was not in the mood to listen to an explanation. Tim had to flee before Ari's uncle strangled him. He decided to go on patrol, where he ran into Spoiler and she explained about Lynx's Ghost Dragons. Robin agreed to work with her, but the Dragons proved too much for them to handle on their own. Robin knew he should tell Stephanie to give up being Spoiler, but he just couldn't do so.

Soon Tim learned that the only secret Ives was keeping was that he had a job dressing as a giant mouse at a kid's restaurant. Ari, however, was transferred to an all girl's school. Tim kept thinking about Spoiler, and when he went to meet her, he found out she had been kidnapped by Czonk, who was back to calling himself the Baffler. Despite being one of the dumbest goons in Gotham, Baffler managed to tie up Robin and Spoiler and planned on leaving them to die in an old project building that was being demolished. He managed to knock himself out, and they ended up having to save him as well as themselves. Afterward, Robin told Stephanie she might have to stop being Spoiler. When he got home, he found his dad back from his recent lecture tour and Jack had spoken to Ari's uncle. Tim was grounded, but even when forbidden to leave his room, he managed to solve a crime by watching the news.

Second Sabbatical

During the Genesis crisis, Robin was unable to save a hood who had to tried to kill him from drowning. Feeling depressed, Robin headed for the frontlines. Armstrong was back, this time as the adviser to Ali Ben Khadir, a claimant to the throne of the Karoccan Emirate. His rival was being backed by Qurac. With Nightwing's help and a Wayne Tech jet, Robin went over to the war-torn country. Nightwing managed to stop two armies from clashing outside the capital while Robin penetrated Armstrong's lair. He found that Armstrong and his employer had experienced a falling out, so the boy was arrested and Robin withdrew. Robin had Nightwing drop him off in France, saying that lately he'd been feeling lost and decided he needed to step back for a while. He thought Paris was the right place to start, since his training had never really ended there.

Knowing that Rahul Lama was dead, Tim decided to train in the course of the Iron Master, although he remained in his identity as Robin. He stopped a former student from stealing from the master and also met a girl named Dava Sborsc. The girl was there to learn a single move to add to her arsenal of lethal moves. She wanted to be able to fight in the war that was destroying her native country of Transbelvia. After she left, Lady Shiva arrived looking for her. Robin had to withdraw, leaving the Iron Master to fight her alone, and Shiva killed him. King Snake was also involved again, this time selling weapons to Transbelvia. Robin went after Dava to warn her about Shiva. Back in Gotham, Jack Drake, Ari, and Spoiler were all wondering what had happened to Tim. Robin found Dava, a rebel fighting against the oppressive regime using a special chemical called Aramilla that allows her to move at super speed. Together they easily took down some military thugs, but then Shiva turned up. Not willing to step aside and let her murder Dava, Robin attacked, using the Aramilla to his advantage. Not even Shiva could stand up to Robin moving at super speed. Losing control, Robin beat her to death, just as King Snake sauntered in. While Dava fought King Snake and his minions, Robin performed CPR and managed to revive Shiva. Shiva had absorbed some of the Aramilla, and at super speed, she took down all of King Snake's men and went after King Snake herself. Robin left them to fight each other and brought an injured Dava to safety. But the war continued, and Robin decided it was finally time to return home.

Cataclysm

On the flight home, Gotham City was struck by the Cataclysm, a massive earthquake that leveled most of the city. Robin joined with Batman and the rest of the "family," overwhelmed at the near total destruction of the entire city. There was little that Robin could do in such chaos, and Batman asked him to stay out of most of the city. Luckily, the Drake home, in one of the outer neighboring communities, suffered only minor damages and they were able to effect repairs. During the Aftershock, Ari and Stephanie were both staying in a shelter with their families. Stephanie asked Robin to retrieve her costume, worried someone would steal it and learn her secret. Cluemaster was waiting there, but Robin took him down and turned him in to the National Guard.

After spending more time with Stephanie, Robin decides he really does care for her, and that he has to break things off with Ari rather than keep her hanging on. Fortunately, Ari feels exactly the same way about a breakup, although she says it is because they are too young to pursue a relationship. Ari is not seen again.

At this same time, Robin also became one of the charter members of Young Justice.

Tim and Spoiler got along wonderfully. She didn't pry about his real identity, and he could share being Robin with her. After their first real date, Stephanie told him that she was pregnant. Robin was not responsible for her condition, but he stood by her. Disguised as Alvin Draper, he went to classes and told her that she had to give up being Spoiler until after the baby was born. Later, Robin had to save his friends Ives and Hudson from Steeljacket. At school, a friend of Tim's was found dead in the woods and two bullies were suspected of killing him. While Tim initially believed they were innocent, he soon found evidence of their guilt, which led to their arrest.

With all of Gotham city in ruins, Jack Drake decided the family should relocate from Gotham Heights for a while. He decided to move to Keystone City. When they arrived, Robin teamed with the Flash to take on the Riddler and Captain Boomerang. They also got some help from Superman to stop a bomb threat. While they were in Keystone, Stephanie went into labor and needed a C-section. Flash got Robin back to Gotham in time for him to come to the hospital. The baby was born and Stephanie gave the child up for adoption. Jack was furious with his son for running home to Gotham but admitted that he had hated Keystone and also wanted to come back. Robin even managed to help Shotgun Smith take down three monstrous thugs who held hostage an emergency room.

No Man's Land

Recalled to Gotham City by Batman, Robin and Nightwing had to crawl through an extensive system of tunnels and underground chambers, as the bridges were all down and patrols kept them from crossing the river. They had a tussle with Tommy Mangles and Gearhead, but Nightwing easily defeated them and got into the city. Robin was depressed by the despair and desperation he witnessed in people fighting to survive. Batman put Robin to work immediately, ordering him to track down a cache of food from an old shelter. Robin found it and discovered the Ratcatcher there. Robin had to flee from the Ratcatcher and his legions of rats, though a combination of rat bites and exposure to sewage gave him a fever. He managed to stave it off with some antibiotics, and was found by a group of children known as the Wolflings, including a kid Robin knew from his school who was calling himself Aragoth. The Wolflings decided to find the stores, and Robin was too sick to follow them at first. The kids found it, but so did the Ratcatcher and Mister Freeze. Robin managed to defeat both Freeze and Ratcatcher, arranging for them to be arrested. Batman was impressed with Robin's actions. Robin did not have much time to recover, as he knew Batman and the others were fighting for their lives. Robin was captured by Killer Croc, who was planning an all-out battle with Penguin and his police allies. Alfred helped free Robin and he rallied with Bullock and Penguin to defeat Croc. He then had to make the hard decision to call his father and tell him that he was in Gotham and that there was no way out. Jack made a lot of noise, and Washington took notice. Federal agents were ordered to stage a rescue. Tim was told to come to Grant Park to be extracted. The rescue site turned into a fire fight, but Tim was successfully lifted out with some help from the new Batgirl.

Brentwood Academy

Jack decided to enroll his son in Brentwood Academy, a private all boys boarding school not too far from home because of Tim's many absences while attending Gotham Heights High School. His first roommate was Ali Ben Khadir, the religious leader of a small country called Dhabar; and was accompanied by his bodyguard, Zugir. Bruce assigned Alfred to be Tim's personal valet for the rest of the semester. Tim decided life at the school wasn't so bad. He still got to see Spoiler and even created a new hi-tech skateboard. He discovered four Man-Bat-like creatures that warranted investigating. With help from Nightwing, he learned that the bats were Kirk and Francine Langstrom and their children. He had to ask Jason Bard for an antidote Kirk had entrusted him with years ago. The serum worked on the parents, and their daughter but not their son.

Young Justice

Much like Dick Grayson, Tim Drake has allied himself with the other superheroes in his age demographic. He mostly worked with the Gotham City heroes, but on occasion joined forces with other heroes such as Superman, the Flash, Superboy and Impulse. During one adventure where a preteen boy was given god-like powers, Robin, Superboy and Impulse joined forces to defeat him. The boys worked so well together that they created their own team of heroes called Young Justice. Robin acted as the leader of the team until he temporarily quit following the Imperiex War. During that mission, the group was tortured on Apokolips. Afterward, Robin discovered that over half the team, including Superboy, Wonder Girl, Impulse and Cissie King-Jones, no longer trust him. The Justice League had discovered that Batman kept contingency plans on them, and the younger heroes began to wonder if Robin might also have plans to defeat or even kill them. Secret, who has deep feelings for Robin, along with new members Empress and Lil' Lobo however remained trusting of Robin. Still, feeling hurt as well as strained by problems in his personal life, Robin quit temporarily.

When Tim returned, the team agreed to elect their leader, and Tim lost to Wonder Girl. The team still looked at Tim as its tactical expert, aiding Wonder Girl, in leadership, similar to Batman's own position in the JLA. Unwilling to quit Young Justice a second time, Tim took on the identity of "Mister Sarcastic" at a point where Young Justice agreed to become reality TV stars. Soon after, Secret was turned evil by Darkseid, and it was Tim who managed to save the world by reminding Greta of her humanity.

Graduation Day

The Titans and Young Justice are both approached by the corporation Optitron who want to fund them as a massive tax write-off, but Nightwing angrily refuses. Outside this building they're attacked by an android named Indigo, but the team is decimated by bad coordination. Robin broods over his hospitalized teammates believing it's his fault for letting them get hurt, and the android releases a rogue Superman Robot that kills Omen. There's a massive battle and Donna Troy is killed. In the wake of this tragedy, Young Justice decides to disband because their lack of experience gets people hurt. Cyborg offers to mentor them instead.

Teen Titans

Beast Boy, Cyborg and Starfire decide to mentor the next generation of heroes as the new Teen Titans. They establish a Titans Tower in San Francisco and invite Robin alongside Impulse, Superboy and Wonder Girl to join them on a weekends-only basis. Their first battle is against Deathstroke who attacks them saying that kids shouldn't wear costumes, although he's revealed to be possessed by Jericho. They end their first weekend when the Justice League visits and the two teams battle over a misunderstanding, with Robin fighting his mentor until Nightwing tells the League to trust the next generation.

On his 16th birthday, Tim is so busy that he forgets and his friends plan him a surprise party. He receives a present that appears to be a hologram of Alfred from the future. This message tells him that one member of the Batman Family will betray the rest, and turn Gotham into a subjugated nightmare. Robin works hard to determine which of his friends could be the traitor. Eventually, it's revealed that this was a hoax engineered by Batman to test Tim's detective skills.

Robin then helped Batman stop and investigate random crimes around Gotham. Some time later, he was assigned the mission of taking care of an injured Ventriloquist during an attack by a group known as The Body. Having to deal with several enemies, a convalescent crime lord and a deranged Frank Ivers, Robin called James Gordon to help him. However, Robin and Gordon fell victims of an infectious fear that caused them to attack each other and lost control of the situation. With help from Frank Ivers, Robin and Gordon were released from the fear and returned to normality.

Unmasked!

Beginning his junior year at the unfamiliar Louis E. Grieve Memorial High School, Tim quickly makes friends with Bernard Dowd and Darla Aquista. Batman gives him a new motorcycle, and his parents catch him with a black eye after fighting crime. The hitman he was fighting gains powers and becomes Johnny Warlock. Warlock takes over crimelord Henry Aquista's business, then seemingly dies trying to kill Robin and Spoiler. During his weekend with the Titans, Robin takes a joyride in a stolen Batmobile and helps rescue Raven by defeating Brother Blood.Warlock hires the assassin Scarab to kill Robin when he's forced to leave the country.  Jack Drake catches his son lying about the black eye, and confronts Bruce Wayne after finding Robin equipment hidden in Tim's room. Tim's father demands that he quit being a superhero, and threatens to expose their secrets. Tim reluctantly accepts that he has to give up being Robin.

This puts a strain on his relationship with Stephanie, although Tim says being normal gets easier every day. Stephanie catches Darla forcefully kissing Tim and begins avoiding him. Batman agrees to train her as Tim's replacement when she makes her own Robin costume and sneaks into the Batcave. When Tim learns of this he tries to talk to Steph, but she continues to avoid him. Scarab begins systematically murdering teens who look like Tim in an effort to complete her contract on Robin. Superboy visits Gotham and deduces Tim's identity by careful listening. He tries to persuade him to come back to the Titans, but Tim insists he is happier giving up the responsibilities of being a superhero. Batgirl protects Tim while Batman and Robin go after Scarab. Bruce eventually fires Stephanie for disobeying orders.

War Games

When the city is plunged into gang war, Tim's dad urges him to stay at home although he is uncomfortable. Darla is targeted by the Odessa Mob and the Ventriloquist, who send hitmen to kill her at school. Tim is forced to protect other students in his civilian identity, although Darla still gets hit by a bullet. Batman, Batgirl and Nightwing finally arrive to help him deal with the situation. They prevent any deaths, but Darla still leaves in critical condition. Tim decides to break his promise and become Robin again to help. Batman is not surprised to see him back, and they partner up again. He asks Nightwing for advice on his situation. Robin is alerted with all the others when Batman realizes the gang war was one of his "war game" contingency plans. Tim confesses to his dad that he's become Robin again, and his dad begrudgingly realizes that the city needs him. Jack Drake and Dana Winters volunteer at the Thompkins clinic. Robin helps GCPD hold their barrier at the Robinson Park riot. He rescues Batman and allows him to go after the Orpheus impostor revealed to be Black Mask. Robin takes down Mr. Fun, the Ravens, and Trickster, then takes a break and spends time with his dad. When they rally at the siege on Gotham Clock Tower, Robin takes down Scarebeast by parlaying with the cops ordered to shoot on sight. The crisis ends, but Stephanie dies of her injuries in the Thompkins clinic. Bruce told Tim about her death afterwards, and noticed that he did not cry or make a sound. Tim returns to active duty with the Titans shortly afterward.

Titans Tomorrow

Tim encounters his future self in the identity of Batman after his mentor dies in a crisis. This future happens despite his repeated statement that he does not want to be the next Batman, and is rather content being Robin. In this timeline, Tim is now the leader of the future Titans with himself as Batman. After Bruce Wayne's death, Tim has the Titans take control of the entire West Coast. He orders any rebellions put down by Dark Raven absorbing the people's free will and hope. He even hunts down most of Batman's Rogues Gallery and kills them with the handgun that was used to kill Thomas and Martha Wayne. As he explains to his younger self, 'It took me years to do it.' He even begins a relationship with Bette Kane, who becomes his partner, Batwoman. He later kills her during an argument. Wracked with guilt, he made a deal with Ra's al Ghul to restore her using the Lazarus Pit. Once revived, she joined the Titans East and opposed Batman and his team. His latest victim before the younger Teen Titans show up was Duela Dent, the Joker's daughter, whom he murders out of revenge for the death of assorted people including Cassandra Cain and Alfred Pennyworth.

Identity Crisis

Tim, along with the rest of the superhero community, tries to keep all of his loved ones safe after some tragic attacks upon the family members of the Justice League. One night, while Batman and Robin were investigating these crimes, they receive an incoming transmission from Oracle that Tim's father needs to speak to him immediately. It turned out that there's an intruder in the Drake home and a mysterious note with a gun was for Jack suggests that he protect himself. Jack tells Tim that he is proud of him and that he is not responsible if something bad happens. The intruder is revealed to be the hired killer Captain Boomerang. Jack fired as Captain Boomerang unleashed a razor boomerang and the two killed one another before Batman and Robin could make it back to the scene. Like Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson before him, Tim Drake had now lost both of his parents to crime.

Blüdhaven

After Identity Crisis, Bruce Wayne offered to adopt Tim, who was not initially fond of the idea. Tim falsified records to create an uncle who would become his legal guardian. He then moved in with his 'Uncle Eddie' in Blüdhaven, while his stepmother received treatment at a psychiatric hospital. Although Tim covered his tracks well, Batman was still able to figure out the truth. Rather than being angry, Batman is impressed with Tim's subterfuge. He even offers to teach Tim to cover his tracks completely.

To Kill a Bird

Soon afterward, a military superhero legend called the Veteran attempted to recruit Robin. Tim, now concerned with his own mission rather than Batman's, took the Veteran's offer under consideration and went on a mission with his team to get a feel for the job. Tim eventually turned down the offer. Some time after this, Jason Todd, long thought dead, returned as the new Red Hood. Angered that someone has replaced him as Robin, Jason broke into Titans Tower wearing a version of his own Robin costume. Quickly immobilizing the other Titans, Jason confronted Tim to see if the new Boy Wonder was really as good as everyone claimed. The two Robins fought, until at last Jason struck Tim down in the Hall of Fallen Titans. Although Tim was defeated, Jason demanded to know if he still believed himself to be as good as people say, to which Tim replied with a defiant 'Yes' before Todd rendered him unconscious. Jason spared Tim's life, simply tearing off the 'R' shaped emblem from his chest. In the epilogue of the story, Jason has developed a grudging sort of respect for Tim, wondering if he would have been a better Robin and a better person, had he had friends like the Titans.

Infinite Crisis

As in the events surrounding the Infinite Crisis storyline, Robin, along with the Veteran's forces, had to defend the city of Blüdhaven against an army of OMACs who had captured dozens of metahumans for immediate extermination. After a virus deactivated the cyborgs, Tim, the Shadowpact and the Veteran's team captured the metahumans. With Blüdhaven safe, Wonder Girl arrived on the scene asking Robin for help. Along with the Teen Titans, the Doom Patrol and the Justice Society of America, he battled against Superboy-Prime, who had violently assaulted their world's Superboy. The fight overwhelmed Conner's body to the point where it began eating away at itself for energy.

After Robin's departure from Blüdhaven, the city was destroyed by the Society. Although he worried about his stepmother, his "uncle" and Nightwing, Tim continued to Titans Tower. He then led a successful assault on one of Lex Luthor's genetic research bases to find a cure for Superboy. With Blüdhaven still in chaos, Superman left Robin in command of all the superhero rescue efforts. But when the government put the city on complete lock down, the Titans were kicked out. Following the discovery of Superboy's death at the North Pole, Robin joined the rest of the world's heroes in a final battle against the Society in Metropolis. Although the heroes won the battle, many on both sides were injured and killed.

52

After the Infinite Crisis ended, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, and Tim Drake went on a trip to retrace Bruce Wayne's original journey around the world in his quest to become Batman. The journey took them to Europe, where Robin and Nightwing went on a quest to stop Intergang's associates on different countries. While on this quest, Robin changed his costume's colors in order to strike fear into the eyes of criminals.

At a ceremony honoring Superboy one year after his death, Robin attended in a new costume made up primarily red and black. When asked why by Jimmy Olsen, he explained that they were the colors of Conner's costume.

One Year Later

When Batman and Robin return to Gotham, they work better together and start a crime-purge. Having trained together, they are able to wipe out major super-crime in a month. Bruce informs Tim that since his parents died he has decided to adopt him, and Tim joyously accepts. Robin is framed for murder when Lynx turns up dead in a Batgirl suit and Cassandra Cain goes missing. He is forced to break David Cain out of prison for the ransom, but it turns out Cassandra is responsible. Cassandra has turned evil and taken over the League of Assassins, now wanting Tim to fight at her side. He refuses and barely escapes alive.

Tim leads the new Teen Titans, and he tries to put the team back together with Cyborg. When Wonder Girl learns he is trying to clone the dead Superboy, they share a grief-stricken kiss.

Teenage Wasteland

When Robin goes undercover to stop a crew of kidnappers, the wannabe super-hero Dodge interferes and is put into a coma. Tim blames himself for this, but talks through these problems while convincing a teenager not to commit suicide. He teams up with Klarion the Witch-Boy and Teekl when a Limbo Town resident named Uriah attempts to create a Judgment Beast. Tim goes on a successful date with his classmate Zoanne Wilkins, although they are interrupted by the super-villain Jitter. On Halloween he goes after the serial killer Scary Mary. Jamie Harper enlists him to fight a metahuman street gang called Lords of the Avenues, and Cassandra returns to murder his enemies. Zoanne breaks up with Tim because she believes he is not ready for a relationship. Deathstroke puts together his own team of super-villains called the Titans East to battle the Teen Titans.

The Big Leagues

On his first Father's Day with Bruce, Tim plans a nice evening and has to fight the Jury so he can make it home in time. Dodge returns to take revenge with a crew including the villains Brutus, Cheater, Macro, Micro, Skill and Tapeworm. Robin takes them down with the help of Zatara and Ravager posing as Skill to be their spy. Dodge realizes his mistake and dies a hero, protecting Robin as his powers finally kill him. Tim has a relapse into violence on the anniversary of his father's death, but swears to honor him by improving. The Teen Titans have another encounter with the Titans Tomorrow despite two of their present day deaths.

The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul

Damian arrives in the Batcave to warn everyone that Ra's al Ghul has returned. They have a rematch when Robin doesn't believe him, although Alfred scolds Tim. Wayne Manor is attacked by the League of Assassins, and Nightwing is forced to let them be captured while he rescues the Insect Girls. Ra's asks Tim to serve at his side and realize his true potential, promising to resurrect his parents. Batman is forced to choose whether Ra's will use Robin or Damian as his new host body, and Batman offers to take him to Nanda Parbat instead. Robin and Damian escape and fight their way through White Ghost's ninjas. Tim reconsiders the offer Ra's made and decides to sacrifice himself for his lost friends and family. Nightwing fights to stop him until I-Ching breaks them apart. Tim is allowed to make the decision on his own and chooses not to, breaking down in tears. They travel to Nanda Parbat and fight an army of ninjas, until Rama Kushna saves them from Ra's in his new body. The four men realize it's Christmas on the plane-ride home, and toast to family.

Violent Tendencies

Robin begins chasing a new vigilante who reminds him of Spoiler named Violet. He takes down Condiment King, and Harper puts him in contact with her corrupt superior officers Marcus Wise and Roman Cavallo. They are working for the Penguin and use Robin to wipe out his competition, starting with Maxie Zeus's illegal casino. Sebastian Ives is diagnosed with treatable cancer and Tim supports him. He chases Violet to a Korean counterfeiting operation, where they're interrupted by someone wearing a Spoiler costume. He loses track of both women, but later hunts down "Spoiler" with Batman. She reveals that she is actually Stephanie Brown, having only faked her death. Tim gives her a huge kiss and they talk through the details. Robin and Spoiler become a crime-fighting duo again, although this creates a rift between Tim and Zoanne.

Batman R.I.P.

Robin and Nightwing put away the Wonderland Gang and after this, Batman warned them about Hush's return. A few days later, Robin and Nightwing were summoned to the Batcave to confront Hush and put an end to his evil scheme.

After this, Batman and Robin took the new Batmobile out for a test drive, stopping a criminal wannabe named Green Vulture. Tim was worried about Bruce's mental health since the Thögal Ritual, and is angry that no one will tell him the results of Damian's paternity test. Batman went missing and Robin searched the city for him with Spoiler, believing he has lost his mind. He took down the Sprang Bridge Soldiers, made a deal with Penguin and brought Jamie Harper deeper into his confidence. While Robin was reading through the Black Casebook, he's ambushed by Pierrot Lunaire and Swagman of the Club of Villains. Robin teared the city apart, vowing that he will either save Batman or take him down. However, he learned that Spoiler had been sabotaging his efforts under Batman's request. Robin escaped from Pierrot and Swagman to alert Knight and Squire. He rallied the Club of Heroes and they dealt with the Black Glove all over Gotham. Robin went to Arkham in time to see a helicopter crashing. He explained the situation to Gordon as Hurt's helicopter went down.

Afterwards, Robin helped Batgirl decipher a code sent by the Black Glove in which they revealed their master plan to eliminate the Outsiders along with Batman.

After a while, Nightwing returned to Gotham and together they started working on the reconstruction of the Batcave. Later, Robin and Nightwing went to Vietnam to capture Hush and they took him back to Gotham, where they locked him in a secure cell at the top of Wayne Tower.

Search for a Hero

Robin tries to protect Gotham in Batman's absence, as the gangs and police begin rioting. Jason Todd tries to take control of the gangs, but Robin has him put in Blackgate. Spoiler continues testing Robin, hiring mercenaries like Jaeger and Scarab while he's already fighting Lynx. Jason Bard takes down Cavallo and Wise, making them work for Robin, then begins dating Jamie Harper. The General returns as Red Robin, then becomes Anarky while Lonnie Machin is paralyzed. When the riots reach a climax at Anarky's manipulation, Tim wears the Red Robin costume and adopts a grimmer persona. Spoiler worries that to make him a better hero she's made Robin a worse person, and Tim recognizes that he must do whatever it takes to keep Gotham safe.

Lady Shiva challenged Robin to a fight to the death. He made peace with his loved ones and broke up with Zoanne Wilkins. During the fight, Shiva broke three of his ribs, but he defeated her as he had poisoned her food earlier in the day. Later, Tim also defeated the Obeah Man when he got out of prison in Haiti, and had him extradited to a US prison.

Battle for the Cowl

In the wake of Batman's death, Robin patrolled the city constantly to keep order and stopped criminals like Nocturna.

Later, there's a massive gang war and the entire Network was enlisted to help, leading Robin to team up with Squire. Tim tried to convince Dick to become the new Batman, but Dick refused and Jason Todd began wearing a Batsuit to gun down criminals. Tim responded to this by putting on a Batsuit and took to the streets, but Todd impaled him with a Batarang through the chest. Tim was barely rescued from dying by Damian and Squire when Jason's make-shift Batcave collapsed. Shortly after, Dick defeated Jason and became Batman.

Red Robin

Tim believes Bruce is still alive somewhere after seeing a painting of his "ancestor" Mordecai Wayne in Wayne Manor. He is angered when Dick chooses Damian Wayne to be Robin instead of him, and nobody believes him when he insists that Bruce is still alive. Traveling to Europe to investigate Bruce's disappearance, he begins wearing the Red Robin costume as it will allow him to become darker without tarnishing an existing symbol. In Paris he's attacked by Owens, Pru and Z of the League of Assassins but it's revealed that this is Ra's al Ghul reaching out to help him. These assassins help him fight the Wild Huntsman when he infiltrates a museum, and Ra's explains that they are completely in Tim's service. This leads him to a cave painting that proves Bruce is lost in time, but outside they're attacked by Widower of the Council of Spiders who kills Owens and Z.

Blackest Night

Red Robin is called back to Gotham by Batman and Robin when their old enemies start rising from their graves as members of the Black Lantern Corps. He arrives in the Batplane to save them from a siege at GCPD Headquarters by sweeping the building with flame-throwers and airlifting them out. His father Jack Drake becomes a zombie and reenacts his own death with Captain Boomerang, to get an emotional response from Tim and feed off his life-energy. Dick and Tim use Mister Freeze's Freeze Gun to avoid the zombies' detection, then have Deadman unfreeze them and pass on their information to others.

Council of Spiders

Ra's al Ghul has Red Robin and Tam Fox kidnapped by the White Ghost. Drake is put in charge of the League of Assassins while they're attacked by the Council of Spiders, as Drake is the only person to survive an encounter with the council. He sets up fake assassinations across the world to bait the Spiders, but they slaughter his men and infiltrate the League's headquarters to kill Ra's. Drake is barely able to save Tam and Ra's is seemingly killed by their leader the Wanderer. Despite the entire League of Assassins having been killed by them, Drake takes on all of the Spiders simultaneously and wins. Before leaving with Tam he uses the League's computers to blow up all of their facilities across the planet, and Ra's announces he will retaliate by destroying Wayne Enterprises.

Collision

Tim reunites with Conner Kent in Paris, while trying to look for a Mother Box in order to get to New Genesis. After looking for one of Lex Luthor's labs in the catacombs of Paris, Tim broke down and told Conner of the hardships he'd faced. Conner emotionally supported him, also believing that Bruce is alive.

Returning to Gotham, Tim takes down Killer Moth and tries to reconcile his new grim persona with his old life. Ra's announces that he will kill those dearest to Bruce Wayne, and Tim teams up with Batgirl to save Leslie Thompkins. Pru gives them inside information on Ra's plans, but they are ambushed by the Seven Men of Death. They are able to survive these assassins, and Tim enlists Batman and Robin to help as he believes Ra's is planning something larger. Tim uses his connections in the Network and the Titans to rescue the hostages, explaining that unlike Batman he has friends. To stop Hush from transferring control of the company to Ra's, Lucius Fox has Tim appointed CEO of Wayne Enterprises. Ra's is outraged and kicks Tim out a window, although he calls him "detective" and privately admits he'd like Tim to father an heir. Tim apologizes to his friends for the dark direction he's taken and reveals his evidence that Bruce is still alive. Vicki Vale publishes an article saying he is engaged to Tam Fox. Alfred designs a modified costume for Tim, allowing him to truly become his own person.

Hit List and Return of Batman

After dealing with Ra's al Ghul's attempt to destroy the Bat-family, Tim Drake began a new quest of his own to take down several of the Bat-family's currently active foes, starting with the new Lynx. He also enlisted the help of Lonnie Machin to be his "Oracle," had a confrontation with Damian Wayne, and captured Ulysses Armstrong, who had stolen the Anarky persona.

Red Robin was then summoned to the Justice League Headquarters to help them rescue Bruce Wayne from being stranded in time. After Bruce's return, he teamed up with Red Robin to defeat the Council of Spiders in Amsterdam, with a little help from Prudence, Tim's ally, formerly of the League of Assassins. Later, after Bruce had established Batman Incorporated, Tim, as Red Robin, traveled to Hong Kong, where he contacted Cassandra Cain, the former Batgirl. Cassandra was still affiliated with the Bat-family but had no interest in returning to Gotham City. Nevertheless, he gave her a duplicate of her old costume, which she accepted. After here turned to Gotham City, Red Robin sprang Lynx from prison, the latter having claimed to be an undercover Hong Kong Police Officer, who kissing him in return. Batman was mildly annoyed by this but gently offered to give Tim advice on his dealings with Selina Kyle, as Tim considered Lynx to be on the road to becoming his own personal Catwoman. Tim then revealed that a Neon Knights center had been established in Gotham City, and that they would be preventing young people from turning to crime while the Bat-Family fought crime.

The Rabbithole

Tim's next mission was to investigate the supervillain communications network, the Unternet and discern how to either control it, or destroy it. He traveled to Russia, with Tam Fox in order to find out whether or not industrialist Viktor Mikalek had anything to do do with it. He was met with an icy reception from Red Star, who told him to be careful when dealing with Mikalek, as his actions had contributed greatly to the Russian economy. Tim and Tam arrived at Mikalek's headquarters, and were discussing a proposal to set up a Neon Knights center in Moscow, when a vigilante calling herself Promise broke into the meeting room and started to attack Mikalek. Red Star appeared to resolve the situation, but Promise managed to escape. Later, as Red Robin, Tim looked for Promise with the help of Lonnie Machin, who has been rendered catatonic following torture by The General, and was now only able to communicate by a special computer, thus allowing him to hack anything. Tim tracked Promise to her hideout, and after a brief conversation, Red Star attacked them, thinking that Red Robin was in league with "the terrorist." Meanwhile, Tam and Lonnie had hacked into the Unternet, and Red Robin had given Promise a comlink. After a fierce chase, Red Robin found himself aboard Red Star's ship, where he discovered dozens of missiles. At this moment, one of the Calculator's defenses was activated, which resulted in Red Robin, Tam, Promise, and Lonnie being knocked unconscious and their consciousness being absorbed into the Unternet. There they discovered a very surreal world where all of the persons inside manifested as they saw themselves, with the Riddler representing Tim Drake's mind figuring things out. After a series of scuffles with manifestations of the likes of the Joker and Deathstroke, they encountered Promises's manifestation, who revealed to them the meaning and purpose of the Unternet, and that Viktor Mikalek wished to regulate it, and make the world's supervillains pay him to use it. Tim, Tam, and Promise were able to escape, leaving Lonnie behind as a spy and to police the Unternet.

Shortly thereafter, Tim discovered that the Calculator had constructed hundreds of androids that looked like him, and had sent one such android to kill Tam Fox in an attack instigated by Catman. Tim realized that he would need some help tracking down the real Calculator. Thus, he contacted the Teen Titans, who met with him. The Titans were very happy to see him, with the exception of Damian Wayne, who had joined the Titans as Robin. The group set out in the Teen Titan's jet, and found that the Calculator's base of operations seemed to be in Istanbul. They used Damian to draw out one of the Calculator's androids, and followed it to one of the city's most popular nightclubs. After the Calculator android explodes, Kid Flash barely got Robin out of the way. Red Robin then realized in shock that there are several Calculator androids scattered throughout the crowd. Acting quickly, the group destroyed the Calculator robots and entered the location where Calculator's signal was originating; a nightclub. Digging underneath the building, the team stumbled across what appeared to be Calculator himself, who revealed to them that he had tortured and killed Kid Eternity. He then deployed a set of other more powerful robots against the Titans. Red Robin worked with Robin to destroy a few of these robots, and helped him to realize that this Calculator was also an android, the latter destroying it a few minutes later. In the aftermath of this occasion, Red Robin rejoined the Teen Titans, but Robin resigned, telling the former that the team "already had a Robin." Tim eventually discovered that the source of the Unternet was the Madmen, who had been turned by Darkseid into living servers for it. Red Robin lured them to Gotham City where he was forced to fight with them. He finally managed to render them catatonic, and thus disabling the Unternet, by contriving for them to hooked up to the Gotham City power plant.

Fun Facts

Tim Drake is not religious, believing that if God existed he would not let so many bad things happen. He has mentioned that his mother was religious but his father was not at all. This becomes relevant during Judgment on Gotham when the Crusader questions his faith and Tim is forced to admit he does not believe in God, although he knows this will put the city in further danger. This makes him a confirmed atheist.

Tim's birthday is on July 19th.

Tim's grandfather Charles Drake was 15 when he snuck off to join the military during World War II. He won the silver star for conspicuous valor at Iwo Jima. 

Tim's father Jack gave Tim his first beer. Tim took a big swig and immediately spat it out all over his dad. Jack did not know he was giving his chronologically 15-year-old son beer because Tim was temporarily aged into adulthood as a result of the Sins of Youth event.

Tim considers Conner Kent to be his best friend, and Bart Allen to be a close second.

[emotionaldepravity]

Rules

Basics:

- You can request up to 3 characters at a time. Please don’t ask for more. I can’t promise I’ll answer them.

-Unless specified or if it is a personal headcanon, I’ll try to keep the the reader gender neutral. 

-I do headcanons, rankings, maybe short scenarios, maybe prompts and maybe letter requests.

-If you request {character’s name} headcanons, I will just delete the request. Please at least be specific on the general topic i.e. relationship, platonic, with a sick reader, first time with s/o, anything that gives me a prompt, etc. The more specific the more likely I’ll do the request. It’s easier to get inspired that way.

- NSFW material (gore or sexual) can be requested since I’m over 18. However, if it makes me uncomfortable I won’t do it. Definitely no incest.

-I will write yandere.

-I will write poly requests as well.

-Angst is allowed. This includes topics like suicide/ self harm, but if the prompt is worded in a way that makes me uncomfortable then I might not fill it.

- Underage characters in relationship stuff is okay as long as its SFW and is under the assumption that the s/o (significant other) or self insert is the same age as the character. 

-I’m not so sure about character x character stuff, but I might do them if I feel comfortable with it. Character to character interactions are perfectly fine though.

-This blog is just something to help me get back to place where I feel like a person again. Criticism is fine, but please let it be constructive.

-If you have a question about anything, please ask! I’d love to see if I can clarify anything for you.

-Also feel free to talk to me! 

For a specific fandom here are my rules:

One Piece Specifics:

-I’ll write pretty much whatever minus incest.

-I can’t think of any character that I refuse to write for, but I will update this if I can think of some. Maybe Chopper, but I’m not going to fully say no.

-I am not currently up to date with one piece so just keep that in mind.

Fate Specifics:

-No sexual or suggestive content will be written for the Lilys.

-I have seen the Unlimited Blade Works route, Fate route, and Fate Zero.

-Any servants or master from above will be the easiest for me to write for, but I will be willing to write for other servants and masters depending on if I can get an impression from them from research/ FGO. If you aren’t sure whether or not I feel comfortable writing for them, please ask!

-I’m currently in Camelot in Fate Grand Order, and I saw like 4 episodes for Apocrypha if that helps anyone.

-I refuse to write for Jason, Jack the Ripper, and Blackbeard. Please don’t request them.

Fire Emblem Specifics:

- No sexual or suggestive content for character that look underage even if they are 1000X years old. It feels wrong to me.

- I’m not going to write for Lyn, Hans, Catria, Oboro, Veronica, Edelgard, Fjorm, and Cordelia. No exceptions.

-Characters that I might write for but it highly depends on the ask: Faye, Celica (normal and fallen), Tsubaki, Peri, and Leon.

-Let me also say that I will write for Villains, minus Hans, no problem even if others might not. Please request them. :3

-Games: I have played/familiar with Heroes, Blazing Sword, Sacred Stones, Awakening, Fates (all routes), and Shadows of Valentia. I’ll do the lords or villains from any game, but be aware that there is a chance that they will be based on their Heroes appearance if I’m unfamiliar with the character/ my research goes poorly. Blazing really should be treated like I haven’t played it, but I still have it here anyways. Hector and Eliwood will be easy to write for, but I’m not so sure about anyone else. Sorry.

-Again, ask just to be sure because I am willing to try almost anything.

Tokyo Afterschool Summoners Specifics:

-Basically, my headcanon is that they are at university instead of high school because of how they are treated in game.

-I’m not writing the middle school kids in anything sexual or suggestive obviously. 

-If I find out later on that there is a character that I am uncomfortable writing for I will add them to this section.

Transformers Specifics:

-I have seen: Armada, Animated, Prime, and Robots in Disguise (2015).

-I am currently watching/ reading: MTMTE (I’m like on Issue 30 something) and  Cyberverse (I’m still on like season 2).

-These above are the continuities I feel comfortable writing for at this point.

-If the character you want to request isn’t from these or you want a different continuity added then uwu convince me to watch or read it. 

-Only thing I might be nervous about are character x character requests, but, like the other fandoms, I’ll decide to take them on a case by case basis.

-If there is a specific AU you want to request, feel free to! If I don’t know much about them right now, I’d be happy to learn!

Dragon Ball

-I have seen DB, Z, Super (anime), and GT.

-I have NOT read the Super manga. Please don’t send spoilers for it in requests.

-Again character x character is not my strong suit, but I will still consider it.

-I don’t have any characters I am refusing to write for in general at this time.

-I won’t write nsfw for Pan, Marron, or Bra since even in GT none of them are adults. 

-I will write nsfw for Goten and main timeline Trunks as long as its with the understanding that they are from GT. For clarity, everyone that is an adult is also fair game. 

-If you are wanting a character like Trunks who has several canon appearances then please be specific on which one you mean. For example, if you are wanting Future Trunks, then say Future/ Mirai! Trunks and if you want Main timeline Trunks then use GT! or MT!. If you just say trunks I am going to pick the one I want to write for. This also applies to someone like Broly as I would write DBS Broly and DBZ Broly as different characters. 

-I am currently undecided for Cabba, Kale, Caulifla, and Kefla for nsfw content. I was under the assumption that they were underage, but I’m truly unsure at this point. I’m willing to listen to other people’s thoughts, but if it doesn’t make me uncomfortable, I’ll fill the request. 

[headquartersforlievmuses]

► Selina Kyle

Selina Kyle is Catwoman, a costumed adventurer who's been both a super-hero and super-villain. Beginning her career as a thief and enemy to Batman, she later turned to crime-fighting and became part of the Batman Family. Despite her villainous nature, she works hard to protect the East End of Gotham City.

Selina Kyle's early life was defined by tragedy. When she was just a girl, her brutalized mother Maria committed suicide and her violent father Brian drank himself to death soon after. Selina was separated from her younger sister Maggie when remanded to the Sprang Hall Juvenile Detention Center, an abusive state home for orphaned or delinquent girls. Eventually, she escaped the Center and tried pickpocketing the crowd at a carnival outside Gotham City but failed. She was caught by the man who ran the place and he offered her to join the carnival. Selina agreed and soon she learned the art of contortionism, gymnastics, magic and trickery. Using her new learned skills, Selina also improved her pickpocketing skills. When the owner of the carnival died in a tragic accident, Selina decided to take her chances on the streets of Gotham.

Selina started out as a prostitute working in the East End. She watched over an underage girl named Holly Robinson while working for their abusive pimp Stan. Detective George Flannery sent her to Ted Grant, who taught her how to fight after Stan beat her up. When she saw Batman in action for the first time, he inspired her to become Catwoman. Selina returned the beating Stan gave her and took Holly with her. To distinguish herself, she would claw the faces of her victims starting with Carmine Falcone. Stan kidnapped her sister Maggie Kyle which led to his death when fighting Catwoman. Batman confronted her about this, but she simply kissed him before wounding his chest, allowing her to flee. Holly was left with the nun Maggie to be raised in a convent. Following a distortion of the time stream, Selina's history as a prostitute was erased. She survived on the streets as a petty thief.

Catwoman's status as hero or villain was always fluid. She had her own moral code and had occasionally teamed up with Batman and other heroes against greater threats, even saving the lives of the entire Justice League on one occasion. She represented a gray area in Batman's otherwise black and white life where the line between good and evil blurred, and his attraction to her stemmed from the perception that, in her own way, she's a female version of himself: another dark creature that prowls the night.

Selina met an acquaintance, Bruce Wayne, at the wedding of Johnny Viti, a member of the Falcone Crime Family. The pair instantly hit it off, though Selina was unaware of Bruce's identity as Batman. Catwoman attempted to rob the home of mob boss Carmine Falcone that night, but was interrupted by Batman and the two were forced to flee. Falcone placed a bounty on both the Bat and the Cat, offering one million dollars to whoever could kill either one of them. When the Holiday Killer first struck in Gotham, Catwoman began her own investigation but was soon discovered by Batman. She offered her assistance in resolving the case, which Batman reluctantly accepted.

Catwoman followed Batman from a distance as he unraveled the mystery, while in their civilian identities Selina grew closer with Bruce - until he fell under the mind control of Poison Ivy. Catwoman realized Ivy was responsible and rescued Bruce from her clutches. She later jumped in to assist Batman while he was fighting Scarecrow and the Mad Hatter. Catwoman joined the other 'costumed freaks', led by a newly-turned Two-Face, in confronting Falcone for control of Gotham City. This led Batman to question where her allegiances truly lied, to which Catwoman responded that she was on the same side as always: her own.

The disturbed Mister Handsome targeted Catwoman, as he had dedicated his life to destroying beauty. When she was caught, he caged her with a monster as a sick allegory to Beauty and the Beast. However, he was unable to crush her spirit, and she gracefully defeated him.

Selina's neighborhood in Brideshead was taken over by a crimelord named Bracuda. Catwoman investigated his operation, as he had forced all of the legitimate shop-owners out. The corrupt cops on Bracuda's payroll got involved, and it turned into a riot. Catwoman fought Bracuda and forced him to flee, allowing her to take his valuable assets.

After Bane broke Batman's back, he started taking over the Gotham underworld. His henchmen tried to recruit Catwoman and have her work for Bane, but she refused the offer. Bane tried to learn Catwoman's identity, but she had hidden her birth name "Selina Kyle" behind dozens of aliases. Leopold sold her out. Catwoman's apartment was blown up by an assassin targeting Bane. The assassin fled to Santa Prisca, and she followed by hitching a ride on Bruce Wayne's private plane. Leopold told Catwoman that Bane had been defeated by a new Batman. Arizona was taken home by her parents, suffering from amnesia. Catwoman took out the assassin, inadvertently saving Santa Prisca's dictator. The dictator offered her protection, and she made a huge payload saving him from an attempted coup. When she returned to Gotham, she had Leopold killed for betraying her.

After this, Catwoman became involved with a group of activists called The "Friends of the Earth Nature Magic Alliance". Working with them to prevent a terrorist attack, Catwoman stole a deadly toxic agent, which attracted the new Batman's attention. Catwoman realized that this was a different Batman and she tried to get away with the stolen chemicals, but the new Batman followed her all the way to a building in the middle of Gotham, where the police surrounded them, and Catwoman was left to confront them alone. Catwoman managed to escape and tipped off the location of the chemical agent to the police, after which she used Batman to distract the terrorists and claim a victory for her own agenda.

When the Apocalypse Virus broke out in Gotham, Catwoman was hired by the Penguin to track down a survivor named Kendall Stuart. She was forced to team up with Azrael and Robin against a bounty hunter named Tracker. They finally grabbed Stuart, but he was assassinated by the Order of St. Dumas. The group teamed up to find another survivor named Fong, but he killed himself when he met them. Catwoman tracked down the last survivor alone, a student named Leanore We in Miami, and draggged her back to Gotham. It was discovered that survivor blood was useless, but Leanore wanted to help anyway. Catwoman was inspired by this, and stayed to help until a cure is found.

Catwoman was stealing from a mall when the 7.6 earthquake hit. Despite her selfish inclinations, she worked hard to bring everyone to safety. While patrolling the city to stop looters, she met Poison Ivy. Ivy tried to control the vulnerable city with plants, and Catwoman barely managed to stop her.

Catwoman crossed paths with Batman once again after she made off with a briefcase containing ten million dollars which had been paid as ransom money to Killer Croc. While Batman was fighting him, Catwoman escaped with the briefcase, prompting Batman to chase after her. During the chase, Batman's wire was cut, causing him to fall to the ground and allowing Selina to return to the hideout of Poison Ivy, who had mind controlled her into stealing the money.

When Catwoman regained her senses, she met Batman again and offered her assistance in tracking down Ivy, who had relocated to Metropolis. She flirted with Batman and, for once, he gave into his attraction towards her and the two shared a passionate kiss.[52] Batman and Catwoman both found the whereabouts of Poison Ivy. Catwoman confronted her first, but called for Batman's assistance using a button he had given her. Together, the duo fought Ivy, until she revealed her own secret weapon: a mind-controlled Superman.[53] The two managed to escape, and quickly hatched up a plan to restore Superman's mind. Batman stalled Superman and lured him to the street, while Catwoman kidnapped Lois Lane and dropped her from the roof of the Daily Planet. In that moment, Superman was able to resist Ivy's mind control and rushed to save Lois. Batman, Catwoman and Superman tracked down Poison Ivy and had her arrested.

Following a conversation with Nightwing, Bruce was inspired to let Selina closer into his life and tell her about his true identity as Batman. Batman met with Catwoman at the Gotham Zoo and took off his mask. Bruce entrusted Selina to watch over Talia al Ghul while he confronted her father Ra's, who he believed to be behind his misfortunes as of late. The assassin Lady Shiva came to retrieve Talia on behalf of the League of Assassins, prompting Catwoman to fight Shiva. She was no match for the master assassin and was almost killed, had it not been for Talia's intervention. Catwoman returned to the Batcave with Batman and was attacked by Robin who was seemingly furious at her being let into Bruce's life; Selina was unaware that this was a ruse. She was later attacked by Huntress, who had been exposed to Scarecrow's Fear Toxin, and rescued Robin from Clayface, who had disguised himself as a revived Jason Todd. After Batman's defeat of Hush and the Riddler, who had orchestrated the entire ordeal, Catwoman met Batman as he mourned the death of Harold Allnut. Bruce began to doubt his mental clarity after a suggestion from Scarecrow that his mind had been manipulated, and questioned Selina's true intentions. Selina replied that until he learned to truly trust her they could never be together, and left Bruce alone.

Catwoman further proved herself as an ally of Batman when she fought alongside him and the League against the old Secret Society, of which she had once briefly been a member. Wounded, she was taken to the Batcave to recover. When Despero and a faction of brainwashed League members infiltrated the cave and succeeded in brainwashing Batman, Catwoman was able to send a distress call out to the unaffected League members. After a fierce struggle, Despero was subdued. However, this was something of a hollow victory, since all recognized that Despero was able to pit the JLA members against one another by drawing upon pre-existing animosities and distrust. In response to Batman's inquiry about her wounds, Selina departed the Batcave after curtly informing Batman that he had already "done enough."

Catwoman appeared to be completely reformed for a time and her love for Batman true (although brash and unpredictable). However, it became unclear if her reformation was of her own volition or the result of a mindwipe by Zatanna, a procedure known to deeply affect and, in at least one case, physically incapacitate its victims. Selina had no inkling that any villains had been mindwiped until Batman informed her otherwise, worried that her reformation may be due to mental manipulation.

An influx of supervillains seized control of the East End, leaving Selina with no choice but to join the new incarnation of the Secret Society. While her initial intentions were unclear, Selina shared her plans to infiltrate and destroy the cadre of East End villains with Batman.

Selina made a deal with a former criminal who had powers similar to Clayface that had promised to help her in exchange for his freedom. The man impersonated her, and allowed several villains to shoot and dismember him, giving the impression to the underworld that Catwoman was really dead (like Clayface, the man was able to survive what would otherwise be fatal wounds). Capitalizing upon the advantage which her "resurrection" provided her (the villains believing she had somehow managed to cheat death), Catwoman dismantled the new East End cadre of criminals, one villain at time. After she was done, Zatanna appeared at her side, informing her that she had some "bad news".

Selina Kyle was no longer Catwoman. She left the East End, and gave birth to a daughter named Helena. Holly Robinson took over as the new Catwoman while Selina, living under the alias Irena Dubrovna, turned her attention to caring for her daughter.

Though she took her role as a new mother quite seriously, Selina donned the costume for a run through the East End some days after Helena's birth. Having understandably gained a few pounds, Selina found that her costume is now a tighter fit. In addition, she was easily distracted by a common criminal. Although the situation was defused through Holly's opportune arrival, the fact that there were two Catwomen active in the city was caught on video. Selina returned home from her adventure to find that the mysterious movie aficionado Film Freak had deduced her alias. Joined by Angle Man, they grabbed Helena.

After rescuing her daughter, Selina convinced Zatanna to mind-wipe Film Freak and Angle Man in order to preserve her secret identity. Following the procedure, Angle Man turned himself in to the authorities; Film Freak, however, embarked upon a murderous rampage. Ted Grant informed Selina that Holly had been arrested for the murder of Black Mask; Selina infiltrated the police station and freed Holly. Finally defeating Film Freak, Selina returned home to find that Slam Bradley had deduced that Helena was Sam Bradley's child, and therefore his granddaughter.

Batman asked Catwoman to infiltrate the violent tribe of Bana Amazons during their attack. Posing as a criminal, Selina gained the Bana's trust and thwarted a terror attack aimed at causing mass casualties in Gotham City. Shortly afterwards, Selina invited herself to become the newest member of Batman's Outsiders. Catwoman and Batman also had a romantic relationship which they both tried to hide.

Selina, fearing the many dangers of a post-Batman Gotham, proposed that she, Ivy, and Harley Quinn team up, living together at a single base. Ivy agreed under one condition: using home-grown drugs to weaken Selina's resistance, Ivy demanded to know the identity of the true Batman. Time spent with Talia three years ago in Tibet had prepared Selina so would not relinquish the true ID of Batman under any circumstances. After the interrogation, Selina saw Harley with Bruce Wayne on TV. Catwoman told Poison Ivy she knew it was Hush in disguise.

After stealing the contents of a safe belonging to the Falcone crime family, Selina returned home to find Kitrina, a teenaged escape artist and Carmine Falcone's long lost daughter, breaking into her room. She attacked and subdued Kitrina, who told Selina that she had unknowingly stolen a map that detailed the location of the new Black Mask's underground bunker. Realizing that she could use the map to capture Black Mask and claim the 50 million dollar bounty on his head, Selina left Kitrina bound in a locked room so that she could keep the map for herself. She later called Batman to her house in order to turn the would-be thief over to the police, but discovers that Kitrina had managed to free herself and steal back the map. This impresses Selina, who mentioned that she had tied up the child using an "inescapable" knot that Bruce had shown her years earlier. Following a massive battle with Black Mask and his henchmen (which ended with neither woman being able to claim the bounty), Selina agreed to take on Kitrina as her new sidekick, Catgirl.

Selina was soon contacted by the mysterious Insider, who asked her to follow Vicki Vale and discover how much she knew about Batman and his allies' secret identities. With some help from Harley and Ivy, Selina finally got the evidence to prove that Vale was right about to discover the truth not only about Batman, but of the Gotham underground as well. After giving the required information to Insider, he subtlety revealed his true identity and Selina realized that Bruce Wayne had returned.

Once Bruce Wayne reclaimed the mantle of the bat, he established Batman Incorporated, a global team of Batmen. Selina accompanied him on a mission to break into Doctor Sivana's armory, and later traveled with him to Tokyo in order to recruit a Japanese representative for Batman Inc. Catwoman teamed up with Batman to stop Harley Quinn from breaking the Joker out of Arkham Asylum. After defeating Harley and the Joker, Catwoman told Poison Ivy that they were no longer friends, this after Ivy drugged her in an attempt to uncover Batman's identity. Shortly after, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn escaped and set off to pursue revenge on Catwoman for leaving them behind. The two of them found Catwoman and fought her. While they were fighting, Catwoman said that she saw good in them and only wanted to help. Batman was about to arrest them, but Catwoman helped the two of them escape.

Powers 

Acrobatics: Selina is a gifted and accomplished athlete, with heightened acrobatic prowess. Her feats have been so amazing, one could argue that her athletic ability is somewhat superhuman.

Martial Arts: She was trained by the Armless Master in martial arts and by Wildcat in boxing and street-fighting. She is a dangerous, clever and resourceful fighter, known for precise, agile attacks and speedy getaways. Her formidable hand-to-hand combat skills are augmented by her cat-like speed, reflexes, balance, and flexibility. Catwoman has mastered the following martial arts styles:

Boxing

Capoeira

Hapkido

Jujutsu

Dragon Style Kung Fu

Karate

Stealth: Selina is as stealthy as any large cat. She has easily been able to sneak up on large groups of people and even other vigilantes on patrol. She shows marked prowess in this ability while she's on the prowl for her next job.

Thievery: Selina is a master thief, known throughout Gotham City for her burglary of cat-themed objects and/or gems and jewels of the highest quality. Hardly one to knock over a bank, Catwoman would rather break into the chairman's office and take his personal documents.

Disguise: To pull off her many capers, Catwoman resorts to disguises and aliases. She once posed as an old lady in order to steal a valuable piece of jewelry while on a cruise ship. Later, she posed as a night club goer in order to get acquainted with it's owners and return later to rob them.

Feline Empathy: Catwoman has a strong affinity for cats. Feline species tend to flock to her, accepting her almost immediately, recognizing somehow that she is not an enemy but a friend. This allows her to calm injured cats, train them, befriend them, and form strong bonds with them. These animals will even sometimes come to her defense when she is attacked. This has proved most beneficial, especially when it has involved big cats.

Catwoman has had many nicknames in the past, some of them include: The Cat, Plundering Kitten, Princess of Plunder and Madame Moderne.

Selina's alias, Irena Dubrovna, was inspired by the name of the main character in the 1942 film Cat People.

Verses

Selina Kyle v. Early Tragedy

This verse focus on teen Selina while still working as a prostitute and beginning her life of crime.

Selina Kyle v. Brideshead owner

After becoming the famous Catwoman, Selina takes over her old neighborhood from criminals.  

Selina Kyle v. Friends of the Earth Nature Magic Alliance

Selina joins a group against terrorist working with them to prevent a terrorist attack, Catwoman stole a deadly toxic agent.

Selina Kyle v. Behind the Cowl

Selina Kyle has a life as a socialite where she donates quite a lot of money to zoo and others in need. 

Selina Kyle v. The Dream Life

It has finally happen, Bruce Wayne has finally asked Selina the big question and now they are married!

Selina Kyle v. No Longer a Street Cat

Selina decides to stop being Catwoman passing the mantra to Helena and start a vigilante life of her own.

Selina Kyle v. Irena Dubrovna

After giving birth to Helena, Selina decides to leave her old life and adopts a new name.

Selina Kyle v. Sirens of Gotham

tba

[lopithecusfanfiction]

A Life So Changed: Chapter Fifty-Three

Author: Lopithecus Pairing: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne Rating: Explicit Word Count: 3565 Alternate: AO3, fanfiction.net Author's Note: I would like to thank BatShitCrazy for helping me with this chapter. Without you, I would have never been able to finish it in time!! You are truly a great friend. ^_^ Enjoy!

Chapter Fifty-Three:

“Master Dick, you have a guest,” Alfred says as he enters the room. Everyone is currently seated around the table for dinner, Tim and Jason pointedly ignoring each other. Bruce assumes Tim has yet to actually talk to Jason about the fight they had when the Kents were over. Damian is flipping his knife back and forth in his hand and Dick sits there quietly, deep in thought.

Bruce looks over at his oldest son who looks surprised to have a visitor. “Did you invite them in, Alfred?” Bruce asks after swallowing his mouthful of food.

Alfred just gives him a look that conveys the years of drumming manners into his ward. Bruce’s eyebrow lifts in response. The silent conversation between them flows easily. “The young lady wished to remain outside,” Alfred says, directing an inscrutable gaze at Dick.

Dick’s chair flies back from the table and he hurriedly wipes at his mouth with his napkin. Bruce sees worry, concern and a flash of fear cross Dick’s features. “It’ll be Kori,” Dick says with apology clear in his voice. Bruce isn’t sure how Dick would know that it is Kori, but doesn’t question it.

“Go,” Bruce replies. Not even one minute after Dick has left, Jason also wipes his mouth and pushes his chair back, making a poor excuse to leave the room. Tim just looks at Bruce, shrugging his shoulders and follows after Jason.

“Father,” Damian begins hesitantly, scrunching up his nose. “Why are they all going to spy on Grayson?”

Bruce doesn’t want to answer but a loud voice echoes down the hallway, interrupting his thoughts. Both Bruce and Damian leave the table and head for the front door. Damian hangs back but Bruce steps past Jason and Tim, who aren’t even trying to conceal their presence.

“But Kori?” Bruce hears Dick pleading. He stops at the threshold of the front door to see Dick standing a few steps out on the deck. The young beta is surrounded by some large cardboard boxes, a suitcase and several big black garbage bags overflowing with clothes. Kori floats a few feet away, beyond the steps to the Manor.

“No, Dick,” says the Tamaranian loudly. “You’ve explained your actions many times. I do not claim to understand why you would secretly help Wally with his heats but even after your explanations, your attempts at reconciliation, you still kept things from me.”

“What?” Dick’s voice has gone high pitched at the question.

“You heard me Dick, my voice is loud enough for your ears,” Kori crosses her arms and glares.

“Kori, I wouldn’t, I didn’t,” Dick is tripping over his words now.

“Liar!” Kori shouts.

Bruce remains calm on the outside, but can hear the indrawn breaths behind him. Quickly looking back at his other three sons, he can see how the argument is affecting Jason and Tim. Damian still looks confused by the commotion. Waves of angry alpha scent fill the air around them.

Pointedly clearing his throat to get everyone’s attention, he turns to look directly at Kori. “Do you have to do this at my front door? I don’t need paparazzi, or anyone with a phone, to start snapping pictures.” It isn’t quite a Batman growl, but it isn’t Bruce’s normal tone either.

Kori looks contrite for a moment. “I’m sorry Ba.. Mister Wayne, I did not intend for a scene. I only wished to return Dick’s belongings.” Dick has spun around to face the small gathered crowd. Bruce can see the beginnings of panic and a silent plea for help on his oldest son’s face.

“At least get your feet on the ground, Koriand’r.” Bruce grumbles the order while trying to think past yet another growing headache. Kori’s green eyes flash and it is obvious she is reluctant as she touches down on the ground below the steps. Bruce moves forward, past where Dick is rooted to the spot. The scent is stronger here with a hint of alieness that is completely different to Clark’s. “Why now? Why here in front of my home?” Bruce demands to know.

Kori’s face shows signs of distress, looking like she is about to cry. “We were going to go out for dinner last night. I was in the bathroom when Wally came over. Dick must have messaged Wally, requesting to talk to him but I think he turned up unexpectedly, and...  the walls are thin.” Kori chokes back a sob.

“Kori, no,” Dick whispers.

“I could hear them speaking. Dick must have forgotten I was there when I heard. Did you know, Mister Wayne, that Wally is in love with your son?” the Tamaranian looks directly at Bruce.

“I told him I didn’t love him, Kori! I love you,” Dick interrupts before Bruce can answer.

“I know, Dick. You were very direct and harsh. Some would even say cruel.” It is hard for Bruce to read the expression on Kori’s face as she speaks, but the alpha’s scent spikes in intensity. It smells of sadness and anger. Dick seems to understand, and takes a half step back. “I wished to speak with Wally. He is a valued friend. I was worried for him, so I went to see him today. He was afraid of me, Dick. When I explained what I heard, he ran.” Kori’s eyes flash with frustrated anger this time, and Jason instinctively steps in front of Bruce. “Wally is our friend and he ran from me! He feared reprisals from me because he admitted his feelings towards you.” Kori continues berating Dick. “This hurt me deeply. Everything that has happened recently has done nothing but cause me pain and heartache. I can’t… I just… I don’t want to hurt anymore, Dick.”

Dick appears to shrink in on himself. “Kori, please don’t,” Dick pleads quietly.

Kori looks at Dick with an intensity only previously seen in battle. As she speaks, she ascends the stairs until she is a single step below Bruce. “Dick, you have never been a cruel man. It was one of the reasons I loved you.” Dick visibly flinches in Bruce’s periphery at the use of the past tense. But the Tamaranian isn’t finished yet. “You have always shown kindness, put the wellbeing of others before yourself. It’s part of what we all do.” Kori spreads her hands to encompass everyone present. “But your words to Wally were selfish. You did not care how it would make him feel.”

Bruce is surprised to hear Dick has treated the situation so poorly. Dick puts his hands on his face and takes a shaky breath in. “Did you talk with Wally?” Bruce asks Kori.

Kori looks over at Bruce and regards him with her bright green eyes. “I did. It is not easy to catch a speedster so I waited at his favourite take out restaurant.”

Bruce tilts his head to the side, a very Batman gesture that everyone knows all too well as an invitation to continue. Inside, he feels a little guilty about how he had berated Wally after Clark’s injury. He also recalls the conversation from a few days ago and knows that Clark is keeping an eye on Wally. Clark would have contacted Bruce if anything bad has happened.

“Wally ordered his food and I was able to convince him to talk to me. We were both in civilian disguise, so we went to a nearby park. At first, he didn’t want to speak to me about Dick. After reassuring him that I was not angry, he poured his heart out to me.” Kori steps up beside Jason and Bruce, and pokes Dick in the chest. “Not only did you break his heart, Dick, but he told me about the termination of his pregnancy.”

Kori’s angry alpha pheromones rolls off in waves. Bruce struggles not to gag on the intensity. At Kori’s final poke into Dick’s chest, the now thoroughly defeated looking man falls back on his ass amongst his possessions.

Bruce’s hand whips out past Jason and grabs Kori’s arm. Kori must have been caught by surprise as her hand begins to glow green. Jason growls deep in his throat. “Stand down, Koriand’r,” Bruce orders.

The flame dies quickly, but not before a sonic boom is heard overhead and Clark lands with a scowl on his face and a tint of red in his eyes. “What’s going on?” Clark takes in the situation quickly. He turns to Kori, who looks afraid suddenly. “Are you threatening my mate?”

“Not your mate,” Damian mumbles from behind Tim.

“Yet, Demon Spawn,” Tim returns under his breath.

“Why does everyone want a half breed child?” Damian grumbles.

The group turns to look at Damian. Bruce catches the look of pain that is on Clark’s face before focussing on his youngest. Before he can speak, Jason jumps in on the conversation. “I’d be careful saying things like that around two very powerful aliens, Baby Bat,” Jason teases.

“Stop calling me that,” Damian demands, going slightly red in the face.

Bruce sighs. The combination of angry alpha hormones and arguing within his family, makes his head throb painfully. Clark walks over to stand on the opposite side of Bruce from Jason. Putting his hand on the small of Bruce’s back, he rubs in small circles gently. Jason is glaring at everyone, the rumble of displeasure from deep in his throat drawing the attention of the group.

“Dick, you were a dick,” Jason begins. “This is not Wally’s fault, nor is it Kori’s fault. You made a poor judgement call and now you have to face the consequences.” Jason draws his attention to Kori. “Having this confrontation here, at the front door of the Manor, can compromise us all. That part is on you, Kori.”

Kori drops her head briefly, her red hair obscuring her face. “I apologize for my hasty actions.”

Alfred clears his throat from just inside the doorway. “A conglomeration of colourful costumed heroes at the front door of Wayne Manor. What would the press make of this I wonder?” Bruce turns to glance back at Alfred before looking at Kori and Clark, both in uniform. A deep sigh escapes him and he pinches the bridge of his nose. This is a huge mess.

“Clark, can you at least get changed? I appreciate that you rushed here but, as always, Alfred is right. Tim, grab a coat from the hall closet for Kori, please?” Bruce tries to sound firm, like he knows what he is doing, but in reality his headache is making it difficult to concentrate. Clark speeds away in the blink of an eye, and returns moments later in a pair of jeans and a plain black shirt. Bruce narrows his eyes. “Are those my clothes, Clark?” Bruce asks gruffly.

Clark has the decency to blush. “You’re clothes are the closest things I can get to right now.”

“But my paternity clothes?” Bruce asks, eyeing the shirt Clark is wearing. It’s one of his favorites.

“It’s not like he can fit in your regular clothes since he’s bigger than you, Old Man,” Jason says, the snigger obvious in his voice. The general mood lifts momentarily but it doesn’t last long.

Tim steps out and wraps a coat over Kori’s shoulders.

“Thank you, Tim.” Kori says. “Again, I’m sorry if I caused a scene for you all.”

“Being sorry is worthless if our identities are compromised,” Damian snipes.

“Damian,” Bruce growls lowly.

“This is boring. I’m going back to my food before it’s completely ruined,” Damian says, before marching back inside.

Dick clambers up off the ground during the distraction. Bruce can see how distressed Dick is by the way he runs his hand through his hair. The strained bond between them makes Bruce’s stomach churn.

The air is still full of conflicting scents, the strongest still being anger from the alphas. Kori is mad at Dick, Clark is angry that Bruce is upset, Jason is in protective mode, and Tim has returned to Alfred’s side. Bruce needs to resolve this now, before the situation escalates.

“This is unacceptable,” Bruce begins. “Dick, if I find you have treated Wally harshly, after all he’s been through, after our discussion about your future plans with both Kori and Wally, you-” Bruce is cut off as the nausea rises in him once more. Pushing down the bile in his throat, he refuses to lose his dinner in front of all present.

“Bruce, are you ok?” Clark’s concern shines in his bright blue eyes.

Bruce nods and places a hand on his swollen belly. “She’s upset too,” he says softly.

Clark looks at him, clearly not believing a word Bruce says but doesn’t call him out on it. Bruce is thankful for that. The last thing he needs is to make another scene about him not feeling well.

Bruce rounds on Dick once more. “Did you tell her everything, Dick? Or did you hold back?” It is Batman’s interrogation voice that asks the question, dominate and demanding.

Dick pales. “I, um, mostly everything.” Dick refuses to meet Bruce’s eyes, which tells Bruce everything he needs to know.

“Dick, you’re a dick,” Jason reiterates, having finally taken two steps away from Bruce now that Clark is present. He remains nearby, however, his alpha instincts still influencing him.

“Shut it, Jason,” Dick says miserably.

Kori visibly flinches when Dick has speaks. “Mostly everything? Future plans?” Kori’s voice has taken on a darker tone. Dick looks beseechingly at Bruce. Dammit, Bruce thinks to himself. It is obvious that Dick hasn’t discussed the surrogacy idea with Kori. “Dick,” Kori regains the group’s attention. “What future plans did you have with Wally?”

“Master Tim, I believe it’s time we left this conversation,” Alfred states mildly. Tim looks to Bruce for direction and, at Bruce’s small nod of agreement, reluctantly leaves the doorway with Alfred.

Jason sit down on the step, obviously not caring that Alfred thinks this private conversation should stay private. “This should be good.”

“Jason, you don’t need to be here either,” Bruce states firmly.

“You’ve got to be kidding? I don’t want to miss this,” Jason says a little petulantly.

Bruce just glares and Jason holds his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay, I’m going,” comes the grumbled concession. Once Jason has gone inside, that leaves four of them standing awkwardly amongst Dick’s things.

“I think I deserve to know,” Kori speaks up again. Dick just looks more miserable.

“Do you think we should leave them to it?” Clark whispers.

Bruce just shakes his head negatively. If Dick’s bond with Kori is suffering, he needs to be nearby no matter how sick he is feeling. Plus, he’s a part of this now, whether he likes it or not. Wally made sure of that when he got Bruce involved.

“Dick,” Bruce begins. “Tell her what you told me. Tell her everything. She deserves to know. Then it will be up to Kori as to what she does next. Whether she gives you a second chance.” Kori crosses her arms impatiently.

“Well... the future plans I was thinking of included you, Kori,” Dick says slowly. “We are still young, so is Wally.” Kori’s eyes flash but she doesn’t speak. Clark moves closer to Bruce, who leans back onto the firm, warm chest at his back. “I’m 21 years old and not ready for a family yet, but that’s not to say I didn’t want one in the future. With you, Kori,” Dick’s voice has gone soft. “I did, I mean, I do. Want a family that is, with you, Kori.”

Kori’s stance relaxes slightly. “Dick, that’s practically impossible. I’m an alpha and you’re a beta. The chances of children-”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Dick’s voice rises in frustration.

“Dick,” Bruce warns.

After taking another deep breath, Dick continues. “When Wally first asked for help with his heats, I had the idea of asking him to be our surrogate.”

Bruce sees Kori’s eyes widen in shock, and feels Clark’s inhaled breath behind him. Closing his eyes for a moment, feeling the support at his back, Bruce tries to ground himself. This conversation could either go poorly for Dick, or could help to resolve the issues with Kori.

“Why did you never mention this to me, Dick?” Kori asks.

“Because I wasn’t sure, okay? Because it was still too early for us to think about children. I hadn’t even spoken to Wally to see if he would be open to the idea. I needed to talk to you first,” Dick’s voice rises steadily as his frustration comes back in full force. Bruce knows that Dick has misstepped, with the words and tone of voice used. He tries to catch Dick’s eyes, to project calm through the parental bond, but it is in vain.

“You should have discussed this with me, Dick,” Kori is angry once more. “Before you started sharing heats with him. If you were serious, about a baby, about us, then it would have been I that spent the heats with Wally. You should have told both of us.”

Bruce silently agrees. A small sliver of guilt enters his mind. Batman has been secretive throughout his career, even when it comes to Robins who are his sons. Is what is happening now partly his fault? He feels Clark’s hands reassuringly rubbing up and down his arms. He marvels for a moment at how well Clark understands him to the point of knowing what he is thinking. Looking back at the arguing couple, he sees Dick’s face crumble.

“You’re right, Kori. I should have told both of you sooner. I’m sorry.” as soon as the words leave Dick’s lips, he starts sobbing. Dick tries to cover the tears by covering his face with his hands but he is betrayed by the shaking of his shoulders. Bruce wants to go to him but instead looks at Kori.

The green eyes glisten with tears also as she shakes her head. “How can I trust you, Dick?” she asks softly. “First, you hide that you’re sharing heats with Wally, then you tell me you want Wally to have our baby. When Wally expresses feelings towards you, you don’t consider him at all and treat him poorly. I can’t do this, Dick,” Kori says sadly.

“Please, Kori,” Dick openly begs. “I was thinking of us, of our future.”

“No, Dick. You were selfish and thought only of yourself,” Kori replies.

“Give me a chance?” Dick stretches a hand towards Kori.

“I can’t, Dick. You are not the man I thought you were. You are not the man I fell in love with,” Kori sniffles.

Bruce can’t hold back any longer. Although he knew his son has been wrong, has made some terrible decisions lately, he can’t just watch the pair of them in pain. Dick seems to be a walking disaster zone, remembering everything that has happened ranging from punching Bruce at the top of the stairs to the cave, to using kryptonite that risked his unborn child, and now destroying his relationships. Bruce needs to do something despite the headache that is now pounding at his skull.

“Listen,” he begins. “Why don’t you both take some time-”

“I’m sorry, Mister Wayne,” Kori interrupts, removing the coat she has been loaned. “I don’t think this is something that time will mend.” Clark steps around Bruce and takes the coat. Kori turns back to Dick, tears streaming down her face. She looks disheveled, heartbroken. “It’s over, Dick. No more chances. I just can’t do this anymore.” With those final words, Kori turns and flies away.

Dick falls to the step beneath him and begins to cry. Bruce steps away from Clark after a look passes between them. Clark woes inside to return the coat to the cupboard and gives the two some privacy.

Bruce steps over to the beta and lowers himself awkwardly to the step beside the heartbroken man. He doesn’t say a word but simply lays his arm over the trembling shoulders. Dick turns into Bruce’s neck and scents him deeply but it doesn’t stop the cascade of tears. “I’ve messed up big, Bruce,” Dick cries. “I’ve messed up so much.”

Bruce says nothing, not really knowing what to say to the young beta to comfort him. He has a feeling no words would do such a thing anyway. He doesn’t know how long they stay there, but eventually Dick seems to settle. When Dick stands and extends a hand to help Bruce to his feet, which Bruce takes gratefully, he experiences a moment of dizziness that he puts down to not finishing his meal. The pair walk inside the Manor, boxes and Dick’s personal items temporarily forgotten.

At the bottom of the stairs, Dick turns to look at Bruce. “I’m going to my room for a while.”

Bruce nods before heading to the bathroom to get some Tylenol. Just as Bruce swallows the pills down, Clark joins him. “How is he?” the Kryptonian asks gently. Bruce just sighs and leans into Clark, resting his head against the alpha’s shoulder. He doesn’t need to answer. Clark kisses his temple gently.

Bruce doesn’t want to think about how their situation could have ended up with similar results. He just stands there, locked in the arms of his future mate, feeling grateful and looking forward to a long future together with their daughter.

A/N: Thanks for reading!!

[saviorgoddessastrid]

The New Empress [Drabble]

Rebecca walked through the halls of the Temple of Astrid.  Lord Frieza had made her the deputy of Terra Hope, though she was effectively its Empress now in Frieza’s absence.  Rebecca was walking with a purpose, to reach the throne room to announce her new title.

As she walked, memories swirled in her head.  Of the crusades, of her new title...of the future.  Sure, she exchanged one ruler for another, but Frieza seemed to be...a bit more agreeable with her methods.  Her loyalty to Astrid came first, always, but now Astrid had agreed to basically let Rebecca run the Empire of Hope without much oversight from her.

And now, Rebecca was left considering what she had now, and what she could have.  She doubted that Frieza would’ve had any reason to have any concern if Rebecca went and conquered a few worlds for the Empire.  She wasn’t even sure he’d even find out, since she wasn’t going to conquer anything in Universe 7 (how could she, when her own forces were woefully inadequate to fight anything from there?), but the other universes that linked here...those were fair game.

It always had bothered Rebecca how small the Empire was.  They had the one true God with them, and yet they only owned a dozen worlds, if that, and spread out over several universes.  Sure, Bouzacula bent their knee to the Empire and were under their protection and leadership, but they were still independent to a point.

The Empire deserved more than that.  Were Rebecca to have her way, the Empire would be the masters of all creation, and everyone would be servants to Astrid.  Rebecca had to pause herself mentally, remembering that it was that exact mentality that led to the crusades, to all the war and death, and most of all, to Astrid berating her for her sins.

No, Rebecca thought to herself.  Never again.  I did that once, and I will not make the same mistake twice.  Yet...what harm could there be in conquering a few hundred worlds for the Empire? As long as Rebecca didn’t turn on her allies, nobody would be upset with her for expanding the Empire’s borders, to rule more of what was rightfully theirs, right?

Yes...the thought of conquest and glory almost made Rebecca giddy at the prospect.  Of wiping out the Empire’s foes and planting their flag on the corpses of their enemies.  They stood in direct defiance to Astrid, after all.

These filthy creatures, xenos, heretics, and other monsters who dared to sully creation with their presence...they deserved nothing.  They were nothing.  Nothing but an enemy, a bug to be squashed.  They dared to squat themselves on worlds that rightfully belonged to the Empire, even if they didn’t know it yet.  Destroying them to take their territory...why, that was just a noble thing to do.  It was only right to destroy those who opposed God, was it not?

Rebecca made her way to the throne room, already formulating schemes to aggressively expand the Empire’s territory, destroying their foes and taking what was rightfully theirs.  When she arrived, she was met with many attendants, who had been briefed on the change in leadership.

Many of these individuals looked like they were around back during the crusades.  They exchanged glances and murmured with each other, as if questioning if this was truly the right thing to do.  Rebecca looked at the stained glass windows, including that accursed wall that detailed her fall and Astrid’s return.

Part of Rebecca wanted these windows smashed and replaced.  Astrid did not like these windows either, Rebecca could see how sad she was every time she looked at them.  Yet, a bigger part of Rebecca wanted to keep them, as a reminder to her of what should happen if her ambitions were left unchecked.

Camera drones hovered nearby Rebecca, broadcasting her image to the rest of Imperial Space.  Those too young to remember the crusades, or who did not live in the Empire at the time, looked in awe at their new Empress.  Those who knew, felt a deep-seated dread, a fear that what has happened once before, will happen again.

Sure, Rebecca had worked to repent, and some in the Empire had come to accept her penance.  But to most? Rebecca, despite her angelic status now, was still viewed as a demon in disguise, the worst sinner in creation.  And now, she had the throne once again.

Rebecca reached the throne, and turned around.  By her side stood Jason, Astrid, and Bellatrix.  All fell silent, wondering what she would say.  Rebecca took a moment to compose herself, as she did not want to reveal her dreams of conquest just yet.  That would enrage the people, for the empire to go on crusade during her coronation.

So instead, Rebecca opted for a more subdued speech.  “People of the Empire of Hope, hear my words,” Rebecca began.  “Twenty-two years ago, I began a series of crusades on our holy world of Terra Hope, intending to subjugate or destroy anyone who refused to bend their knee to Astrid, and by extension myself.

“Billions died in my hunger for world domination, and I know that most of you have never forgiven me for my sins.  For this, I do not blame you.  I make no excuses for the sins of my past, and I do not wish to force you to simply accept my efforts to improve just because of what happens today.

“Lady Astrid has chosen to secede the throne to Lord Frieza of the Planetary Trade Organization.  As Lord Frieza is a very busy man who has not the time to concern himself with individual planets, he has named me the deputy of this planet on the recommendation of Lady Astrid Herself.

“As a result, for all intents and purposes, I am now the Empress.  Lady Astrid will continue Her duties of running the Church of Astrid, and I will handle matters of state.

“Though I realize many of you did not want this day to come, I have learned from my past, and will not make the same mistakes again.  I will lead the Empire in a bright future, one deserving of our station.”

Rebecca sat down on the throne.  “Now then, let us embrace our new future together, and work together to bring prosperity to our lands for an eternity to come!”

There was no cheer that came to her, no applause at her speech.  There was nothing that anybody felt, but an indescribable fear.  Everyone knew, Rebecca was on the warpath, and they would have to be her soldiers again.

Everyone...except Astrid.  Perhaps she simply chose not to believe it, or she genuinely believed in Rebecca, but Astrid was the sole person present who had confidence in Rebecca’s ability to lead the Empire into a bright future.  Little did she know, what was to come of this decision...

[quintesequential-blog]

Wednesday Comics on Thursday (April 6, 2017)

It was a decent size release week for comics. Coming off a fifth week where DC gave us Hanna Barbara cross overs and Marvel handed us the fate of the X-Men and the Inhumans and not a whole lot else happened, it was nice to have a few new series and some of my favorites back in my stack. It also helps that it was a REALLY great week for comics. 

Black Cloud #1 [Jason Latour, Ivan Brandon, Greg Hinkle, Matt Wilson]

There wasn’t much that was particularly live-blog worthy in this book, but it was a solid first issue, nonetheless. The story drops you into some narration about the dream world that Zelda comes from and lays out her scheme of selling access those dreams to the population of trust-fund kids that seem to make up most of the population in the city. There are some interesting dynamics at play between Zelda and the people she interacts with when she enters dream worlds. The inhabitants don’t seem to like her every much and I’m curious to see what’s going on with that. The art is solid and having Matt Wilson on colors can only ever improve a project and he’s definitely playing with some interesting elements here. I really dig Zelda’s character design and I’m loving her drop-crotch pants.

Story: 8  Art:  9 Rec? Give it another issue, then decide to drop or trade wait.

Eleanor & The Egret #1 [John Layman, Sam Kieth, Ronda Pattinson]

This book is absolutely delightful. I am a massive fan of almost everything Aftershock is putting out and Eleanor & The Egret falls perfectly in their line up of off beat, independent, books. Eleanor is an unassuming, regular person who just so happens to be a master of disguise and a master art thief. Also, her parter in crime is a talking Egret. The style of both the story and art can only be described as whimsical. The character designs and tone make it hard to place this in a specific time, which doesn’t work against it in a way that I thought it might. I’m really excited to see where this goes. More and more, Aftershock comics are becoming the books I look forward to the most every week.

Story: 9  Art: 9  Rec? Absolutely

Extremity #2 [Daniel Warren Johnson, Mike Spicer]

I don’t think I have any buttons left unpushed by this book. War in a sci-fi landscape, a fallen family, sibling drama, warrior girl and her family seeking revenge, big ass dinosaur monsters with a bunch of eyes, and a very soft boy with daddy issues and a brand new (slightly used?) robot friend named Shiloh. There’s nothing really worthwhile to say about this book because you should just read it. The art is beautiful, the story is compelling as hell, and I can’t wait to see what happens with all these characters. There are so many pieces already in play. It was just announced that this and the first issue are getting second and third printings respectively, so if you haven’t already, absolutely pick these up.

Story  10  Art 10  Rec? 100%

Paper Girls #13 [Brian K. Vaughn, Cliff Chang, Matt Wilson]

If you’re not already reading Paper Girls, then I don’t really know what to tell you except that you’re really missing out. While this isn’t the best place to jump on at all, the first two arcs have been collected in trade already. This is one of my default recommendations at work to people who come in looking for something new. Brian K. Vaughn has always impressed me with his ability to write believable teenagers, going all the way back to his Runaways days. As much as I love Saga, Paper Girls gives him a broader avenue to stretch that particular talent and I’m always excited to see that. While the girls are still split up somewhere in the distant past, Mac makes a discovery about the Hockey Stick they found in the future and KJ learns some interesting things about the future. There’s a panel towards the end that I’ve already posted that I kinda lost my shit over.

Story 9  Art  10  Rec? Stop what you’re doing right now and read this series.

Rock Candy Mountain #1[Kyle Starks]

This is a pure action comic with lots of homo-fighting and clever dialogue. While Jackson is in search of a mountain from a folk song, it looks like the literal devil is in search of Jackson in this post WWII homage to action movies and hobos. I might be completely wrong, but I think this is the first ongoing series for Kyle Starks? If I’m not wrong, then previous work with Image has been released in Graphic Novel form. If you’re a fan of any of his previous work, this book is not at all a departure from that. It falls right in line with Sexcastle in the ways in which it plays with genre conventions. I wish I had been able to find a digital copy floating around in the internet without paying for it a second time, because there are some truly fantastic panels in it, including the use of “bitch” as a sound effect. 

Story 8  Art 9  Rec? “He’s got punch diarrhea and their faces are the toilet bowl.”

Shade the Changing Girl #7 [Cecil Castellucci, Marguerite Sauvage, Kelly Fitzpatrick, Dan Parent (back up)]

Saved the best book for last. Shade has become my favorite book over the last few months, it is weird and gorgeous in all the right places. Marguerite Sauvage was a flawless choice of fill in artist for this stand alone issue that establishes a lot of the background information on Loma--an alien from Meta who is considerably different from the original Metan, humanoid Roc Shade. This book also establishes a WHOLE BUNCH of delightfully canon queerness. Loma, a female identified alien bird, is shown laying on top of a self-identified “Meta Girl” and River is canonically bi. Not to mention the fact that Teacup mention’s having two mothers multiple times over the course of the issue. Sauvage kills it. Her style maintains the dreamlike quality of the book while adding her own identifiable style to the book.

Story 10  Art 10  Rec? Buy it immediately!

Not-So-Honorable Mentions:

Royals #1-- I am so curious about where Al Ewing is going to take the Inhumans coming out of IvX but man I wish Marvel would stop paring him with such bad artists. Meyer’s almost-but-not-really-manga style made this book impossible to read. I felt the same way about New Avengers, a book that starred several of my favorite characters. Jagged hair and small faces with disproportionate eyes are not typical aesthetic markers for superhero comics and they don’t work well at all. Marvel wants me to care about Inhumans and I am more than willing to give them a shot but I can’t with this art.

Still to read:

X-Men Gold #1-- I want to catch up on X-Men comics and IvX before I dive into this one, even though I now I probably don’t need to. Expect this one to be blogged about later. I have been letting myself become cautiously more excited about the X-Line as ResurrXion takes shape and now I’m at a point where if it’s bad, it will hurt my feelings. I don’t want to have my feelings hurt, so I’m putting it off.