#The trio home alone the entire prison. Then cut the lights. Everyone is convinced they escaped again and start running around and getting

[kizzer55555]

Ultimate Escape Room

Sam, Danny, and Tucker are bored. Nothing seems to be a challenge anymore. Summer vacation is coming up but they can’t agree on anything . Themepark? What’s a better roller coaster than Jack driving? Scary movie? I’m sorry, nothing beats Fright Knight’s nightmare realm. Bungie jumping? Danny can fly. Then Tucker, who’s been typing on his computer, asks “what about an escape room?”. The others are about to shut the idea down because seriously? Easy. But Tucker just grins and shows them his computer screen.

“Ever heard of Arkham?”

Danny and Sam lean over to read the description and all three turn to each other and grin. 

Now, what’s the fastest way to get into Arkham?

…

So the chaos trio do ✨something✨ that gets them locked up in Arkham and then try to escape and they keep. You know, normal stuff for Arkham inmates. Except this trio? Keep. Getting. Out. Of. Their. Cells. So they are just passing by locked up rogues and waving at them as an army of prison guards chase after them. Sure they could get out the easy way (Aka powers) but no, this is a challenge so they have the normal rules of an escape room. Aka, you can’t break anything and an extra rule where if a guard catches you, then you can’t fight back (also, no one can get hurt). (They make fake identities and everything). So they need to go through the whole process. Figure out how to unlock cuffs. Could be learning to pick a lock with a spoon/stick/long nails. Then find the keys. Possibly having to crawl through vents to get in the warden’s office. Or making deals with prison inmates. Like, I’ll get this for you if you give me that (however they extract a promise that the rogue can’t kill anyone with whatever they help them with.) So they are in prison literally doing errands like find freeze’s weapons in exchange for him telling them the passcode to the gate or something. Or getting Waylon some meat from the cafeteria and he’ll break the lock on this movable vault that has materials to make smoke bombs they can use to distract the front guards. 

These kids are just going wild and it gets to the point where Arkham has to call the bats (like no Waylon, we won’t escape with you, we have to do it without breaking any walls!) So literally the only reason they are not escaping is because they want to do it ‘right’. But they are also aiding other rogues in their escape (at least certain ones. They aren’t helping joker no matter what he offers)

It’s driving the bats mad. They have vigilantes stationed in each hall, in multiple monitor rooms.

They aren’t even using anything clever to block the cameras. They’re using mirrors. Mirrors! Where did they even get so many handheld mirrors! 

They are running circles around the bats. The escaped rogues literally aren’t doing anything yet because they want to see how the three hellions will escape the entire bat clan. They have bets going. So there is a temporary truce.

Just imagine the conversations/interrogations the bats will have with trio, trying to figure out their master plan - because surely there's something more going on than three chaos young adults playing a game, right?

They trio each have a different story. And they are so passionate/convincing actors that no one knows which story is real. At least one of them told a sob story with legitimate tears.

Danny: (all mysterious) You shall never know our master plan….until it is too late. And just casually dropping hints that there is something greater or that the bats are playing right into their hands. Even using ridiculous scenarios like yesss the ketchup explosion in the cafeteria….We are one step further….Mwa ha ha! (Rubs his hands together)

Sam: (absolutely distraught with literal tears running down her face and ruining her mascara.) There is a terrible organization holding their parents hostage. They had been framed and forced to be in Arkham. If they don’t do exactly as they are told, their loved ones are in danger! Should we stay? Should we escape and help them!? No one will believe us and what if we make things worse? We don’t know what to do!

Tucker: (takes a long slurp of a smoothie. Where he got one? No one knows). Yeah we were bored and had nothing better to do than mess with you guys. (Sluuuuurp).

The bats are trying to figure it out. Is the black haired guy telling the truth and the other two are just manipulating them? Is it the girl and the others are only following the plot of the organization? IS THE BARET KID RIGHT AND THEY’RE JUST MESSING WITH US!? WHICH STORY IS IT!?

Under normal circumstances, Sam wouldn’t give a sob story because It’s not really her vibe. But Sam has the opportunity to pull one over on a bat. Do you honestly think she won’t take a chance to mess with them? Also, Dick is the one who is interrogating Sam.

He’s crying too by the end of the story.

Poor guy, Sam will play his heart like a fiddle. 

Also, their fake identities are Jordan for Danny. Mortica for Sam (or Macey for short) and Phineas for Tucker. The fact that they are using fake identities is the only thing they all agree on in the interview. But the bats find nothing on them and the identities are so realistic they wonder if they are even fake at all. If the three are faking fake IDs to throw them off their tail from looking deeper. Apparently their ‘parents’ having a missing persons report.

Damian is interrogating Danny. It’s just so easy to rile him up and get under his skin. It’s absolute drama in that interrogation room. 

Danny: ah yessss. Master plan.

Damian: you shall never succeed! Justice shall prevail evil scum!

And Duke is interrogating Tucker. He just…has no idea how to respond to this. He wasn’t trained for this response. Hostile, yes. Mysterious, yes. Scared, yes. Civilian, yes. Even Flirtatious! YES! But not…this. What does he do? should he take out his note cards?

Also, I’m adding a mix of home alone elements to this. They have to get past the bats somehow and it can’t be lethal. Poor Jason and Steph who are patrolling the halls fall victim to most of this.

At one point, both of them are tied up together and hanging from the ceiling. While the trio just casually walk by under them. 

It’s dental floss. Really strong dental floss.

Then the bats start taking sides. 

Jason? once he hears Sam's story, he's immediately willing to help her. He and Dick are searching for that missing person's report almost religiously.

Tim believes Danny's story. part of it is because it makes the most sense, and the other part is that he's slightly biased from becoming an evil megalomaniac in every timeline he's seen so he's subconsciously trying to stop that from happening here.

Cass believes Tucker because come on, it's Cass.

Steph is siding with Tim because her father was cluemaster so same reasons.

Bruce is trying to fact check all of them and is failing desperately.

Sam added some ‘clues’ in her interrogation and basically threw the GIW under the bus as the organization. So the bats do find a shady organization but so far no missing persons so the other bats still don’t know if what Sam is saying is true or not while Dick takes this as absolute proof and Jason feels like it doesn’t matter if she’s telling the truth at this point. It’s a corrupt organization. So he’ll still blow it up.

I think in this AU, the GIW isn’t a threat and more of an annoyance so Sam just plays them up as even worse. Like, she doesn’t say anything untrue just makes it sound worse out of context. Oh yeah, they opened fire on this random kid. (Gregory when they thought he was phantom) Oh yes, they have destroyed Danny’s house at one point. (The prank war with Vlad) Yes, the have an unhealthy obsession with dissecting people. (Even though they are too incompetent to actually catch anyone).

So again, they don’t know if Sam is telling the truth of the organization or they just used this random organization to draw their attention away from the three’s plans (as Danny implied). Possibly an enemy organization or a competitor.

I know everyone makes the GIW a big threat but I decided to change it up. They aren’t a threat but still get obliterated by a pissed off Red Hood and Nightwing.

And that’s  another reason why Sam gives the sob story. Danny and Tucker are great but they wouldn’t actually sick a crime lord on the GIW. Sam? Absolutely would. She does not care what happens to them. They tore up her garden one time with a stray shot. She wants revenge. And sure, she didn’t actually know what would happen to them after the bats find out but she still doesn’t care.

And through all of this, the rogues are sitting back and eating popcorn while Joker screams bloody murder from his cell. 

[purplezebraproductions]

The Alters: Chapter 3

The Alters is an original romance story I’ve been writing for the past year. Please enjoy Chapter 3!

New Arrival

CW: Lots of swearing, discussions of war, mental illness, death, and gruesome depictions of death.

Donyun was one of Dinn and Creed’s fellow soldiers that almost everyone had been fond of. He was the youngest soldier in the group, which made him both an easy target and a surrogate child for the men who had left their families at home. Those who had children, who had been expecting, and even those who had never gotten around to it treated him like their own.

Donyun was one of the few men who was filled with a lot of hope from the moment he was drafted. He was certain that the war would be over sooner rather than later, and despite the many times that he was proven wrong, he never let his demeanor waver. He was a ray of sunshine in the dull dull world of the barracks.

Creed and Dinn had formed an unlikely trio with the young soldier. Being one of the only secret couples on the field, Donyun felt safe around them, knowing they’d always come back together to help him with whatever he needed.

Despite the harsh conditions everyone suffered, they all loved Donyun, and Donyun loved everyone.

It had been about two years into the war when a tragedy like no other struck Dinn’s battalion. Their leaders had believed they found two major enemy strongholds that held weaponry, battle plans, vehicles, prisoners of war, and soldiers of all ranks. There was a possibility that the war could end if they managed to claim both strongholds. The thought was intoxicating. So many men were already beaten down after years of fighting. They wanted to go home, to their families. So many innocent lives could be spared. The world could start building peace with one another again. The idea of ending the war promised a brave new world after the fact, and that thought was enough to drive the calmest man mad with desire.

So, against their better judgement, their lieutenants decided to split the troops down the middle. Half of them would head towards the stronghold near the ocean, while the other half would head towards the stronghold near a volcano. Even the soldiers were excited at the prospect of leaving this war behind, freeing their fellow men, and finding a new life among the innocent.

That was the last time Dinn had seen Creed the same.

None of the other soldiers knew exactly what went down that day at the volcano stronghold. The soldiers who went to the ocean stronghold realized how badly they had fucked up the moment they arrived. The whole place was not only barren, it was completely abandoned. There were dried oil slicks and tire tracks that led away from the building. The figures in the windows that were once thought to be soldiers from far away, were either random columns or miscellaneous pieces of furniture that had been propped up to look like monitors. The allied forces had realized their grave mistake.

They’d been duped.

They’d essentially led half of their soldiers on a march to their death.

Not only had the volcano stronghold been placed atop a massive active volcano, but it was also filled to the brim with large destructive weapons, bombs, missiles, and soldiers of all kinds. The stronghold had been packed with enough explosives to blow everyone to kingdom come. The allied soldiers had marched in confidently, unaware of what true horrors laid before them, and with no chance against the bombardment they surely faced. If the bombs didn’t kill them on impact, they’d open up large crevices to the lava below. Many soldiers were either blown away or fell to their doom.

Hundreds of soldiers met their untimely demise in the most gruesome ways possible. Among the hooting and hollering of enemy forces, dozens of soldiers were picked off a handful at a time.

The only survivor of this massive battle was Creed.

No one knew how he was able to survive. When they found him he was the farthest away from the stronghold of any man and many bodies lined the pathway to his destination. His body was mangled, burned, and maimed. They almost didn’t recognize that he was still alive with how much blood he’d lost, but coming closer they could hear his short, labored breaths.

Many soldiers questioned how it was Creed had survived. How he could’ve possibly made it past every explosion, and sniper, and missile that was thrown at them, and leave with his horns still intact. However, the worst discovery was that there was a hand wrapped tightly around his leg. With an unbreakable death grip that shielded the area just above his ankle from the barrage of fire; that hand had been proven to belong to Donyun. The young soldier’s body was just a few steps from Creed’s. The lower half of his body trapped within a crevice that had opened up and swallowed him nearly whole.

Rumors began to spread that Creed was a traitor, a war criminal. He’d clearly abandoned not only his entire platoon, but the youngest soldier in the entire army, for his own life. Many soldiers became convinced that he was scum or even that he was working for the enemy and that’s how he got out alive.

Many soldiers began to say that Creed was the one who deserved to die.

To this day Creed asserts that he has no concrete memories of the events of that day. The only man who survived the onslaught that proved to be the battle with the largest number of casualties in the entire war, had nothing to say about it. A convenient lie, or a devastating truth? But it didn’t matter because the other soldiers had already decided what had happened that day.

Dinn wasn’t there to see much of the fallout after Creed was revived, but he could imagine the horror it was being surrounded by soldiers who rather you were dead. Meeting Creed again almost a year later had solidified that something changed, but he could’ve never imagined how much.

After Donyun’s death was the second time Dinn had left Creed.

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You were the one who deserved to die!

Dinn had never played into the other soldier’s hysteria, especially considering they were talking about his partner. But now, those words he said, they were vile. Those words must’ve brought up one of the most painful and disturbing times in Creed’s life. A time where he was painfully alone and treated like a criminal who deserved every bit of Hell he went through. And Dinn had said it just because he was angry?

There was no denying it, he said it to break Creed.

Dinn sprung up from his spot on the ground, a sudden jolt running up his spine. Grabbing his head as the vertigo hit him full force he turned towards their makeshift home. He needed to find Creed! He needed to apologize! Hurriedly, Dinn ran back into the building. Taking every corner sharply he continuously called out for Creed. Hoping beyond hope that Creed hadn’t decided to leave his pathetic ass in the void.

As he ran further inside, he began to hear some muffled voices coming from an odd place in the wall. Getting closer he could swear there was more than one voice talking back and forth. Finding himself right upon the voices he spotted a small crack in the wall that looked like an invisible passageway. Pushing through hurriedly he barged into the room seeing two figures on the other end. His Creed backed into one of the walls and another taller man looming over him. He immediately froze as the two men looked over at him, and his gaze locked with the strangers.

This man had his face.

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Creed stood petrified, staring at the man who had just entered his room. If he’d been thinking straight, he would’ve realized early on that there was a strong possibility this wasn’t Dinn; that the whole point of this place was for other people to eventually arrive. But he’d been so overcome with grief that he didn’t even consider it. When he’d heard that door open, he just assumed it had to be Dinn. But the man before him was much too different to be his ex.

This man stood just a smidge taller than Creed himself, his hair was cut close to his head, and he wore heavy sets of blue clothing. He had a large scar on the side of his cheek that still looked painful even what was likely years later. Those tear marks Dinn had on his face were gone, and his horns were much too small for his head. He still shared Dinn’s five eyes, but only two were open at the moment. Dinn rarely kept his fifth eye on his forehead open as it is, but this man chose to keep his two bottom eyes closed as well. One of them, Creed surmised, he couldn’t open due to the massive scar that overlapped it. He wasn’t Dinn, but he did look similar to him.

Another Dinn from another world.

“Creed, it’s been so long.”

He said, with a small yet mournful smile on his face. Creed had backed himself up against the far wall, despite this man not seeming outwardly threatening, he didn’t know what he was capable of, and that alone was enough to trigger his fight or flight response.

“Who are you?”

Creed repeated a bit more forceful this time. He wasn’t one to like his questions being ignored, let alone from a stranger invading his space.

“It’s me, Dinn.”

The man took a few steps closer holding out his hand carefully as if to reach out and touch Creed. Instinctively Creed flushed himself up against the wall, trying to keep as far away as possible. He did not like to be touched! A small ring of purple fire languidly danced around his feet as the light from his side of the room suddenly began to flare.

“That doesn’t answer my question! I already know a Dinn!”

Creed said turning his head away from the man, noting his nails were almost claw like in appearance, as if he was some animal. The man grimaced a moment, a flash of anger coming across his face before he settled again.

“Was he the one who made you cry?”

Creed almost forgot what he’d been doing just moments ago before the stranger entered the room. The sudden flash of what had taken place just outside between him and Dinn rushed back to him. How far they had gone in their anger towards one another. How willing they were to say things just to hurt the other, without so much as a thought of what it meant. He shed just a few quiet tears as a pang of grief settled in his mind. Though the renewed sadness was unwelcome, it did seem to douse the flames that had sprung up around him and dim the light that haloed him. The man’s expression saddened, and he took a few more steps forward.

“Please, don’t cry.”

He said softly reaching his hand out to wipe away a tear. Instantly Creed stiffened and slapped his hand away from his face. Just like that the flames shot up from the ground once again reaching as high as Creed’s knees. The light emanating around him grew significantly as if it was coming from his hair.

“Don’t touch me!”

He shouted, shocking the stranger as if he hadn’t spent the last few moments trying to step away, showing his clear discomfort with the strangers’ actions. Glaring down at the flames he had been producing Creed tightly shut his eyes and breathed forcefully in an effort to quell them once again. Clenching his jaw he repeated through his strained teeth,

“Calm down. Calm down. Calm down…”

With a sudden spark of insight, the stranger held up his hands in a defensive position and took a step backwards.

“I’m sorry!”

He said.

“I just…I can’t bear to see you cry. I don’t want to hurt you, but I don’t know how to comfort you.”

His voice was so genuine that it almost hurt Creed to still feel so afraid. He tried to relax just a tad, for his own sake and the strangers. If he kept up like this, he would surely have a panic attack and pass out. Or worse.

“I don’t need your comfort. I just need to know who you are.”

Creed said evenly, trying to regain control over his emotions. He was usually great at that so perhaps focusing on that would help him calm down a bit. The stranger too took a few breaths before continuing.

“My name is Dinn. I come from a world that was once ravaged by a plague that killed many people. It petrified their bodies with either wood or stone over time. Many people had fallen to an untimely demise because of it. Though the plague has since been vanquished I cannot find happiness in the new world it has for me.”

The man fell a bit more somber as he continued, this allowed Creed to relax a bit more. Creed had assumed all the people who came to the Infinity would be troubled in some way. They had to be to abandon their old home for the mere prospect of something else! Not exactly something better, just something different.

“So, where’s your Creed.”

Creed emphasized “your” to make sure this Dinn knew Creed wasn’t here for someone else. Hell, he was barely here for his own Dinn. He thought the Dinn’s and Creed’s of other worlds would pop up together, so either there was a random Creed roaming the halls, or he decided just not to come. Which would certainly not help the anomaly.

The man shut his eyes tightly in a sudden show of grief and sorrow. When he opened them again his eyes glistened with tears not yet spilt.

“He’s gone. He got sick a few years ago and I…I couldn’t save him.”

The sadness was palpable in his voice and permeated the air all around them. Creed almost felt a bit of comfort in knowing that the man also had a sense of grief. It made him feel alright with showing his own, even if it was to a complete stranger.

“I’m so sorry to hear that.”

He said. Sure, it was a pretty generic response, but above all else he meant it, and the stranger could hear that. He lifted his head back up to meet Creed’s gaze, seeing his sorrow reflected in that face that was so similar to his own late partner. The man chuckled to himself lightly.

“I feel like I’m dreaming. Finding you again in a place like this.”

He said gesturing widely to the room.

“I knew you went to heaven, and for the longest time I just wanted to be there with you.”

Creed tensed once again, putting his guard back up against the stranger. Perhaps it was the strangers sudden outpouring of emotions that made him uneasy; or maybe it was that Creed didn’t feel like he was being listened to. The way he spoke made it seem like Creed wasn’t his own person, just someone this man lost. He couldn’t have that. He didn’t belong to anyone.

“Listen to me.”

He stressed.

“I’m sorry that you lost your partner, but I am not your Creed. I come from a world that was once destroyed by war, but now is trying to build itself back up on pillars of peace. I’m afraid my world has been one of the worlds unaffected by this anomaly. Meaning the Dinn from my world and myself are meant to be there. The only reason we’re here is to guide other souls who’ve lost their way.”

Creed tried to emphasize each word, hoping to get through to the sorrowful man. He needed him to understand that Creed was not only not looking, but that he cannot be swayed. Not due to his own convictions, but due to the fact that any more pressure on the anomaly could destroy the universe. His life is secured in his own world, not in anyone else’s.

The man looked puzzled for a moment, but as the words soaked in Creed saw a sudden panic come across his face.

“This can’t be.”

He said quietly, his hands beginning to tremble.

“Please, tell me you’re joking.”

He begged. Creed shook his head.

“No, I’m sorry, but I’m not the one you’re looking for.”

“But you look so much like him! The resemblance is uncanny! I knew coming here meant that I might see others who look similar to him, but never in a million years did I think someone would just be the spitting image of him. Please, take a look yourself!”

With a sudden jolt the man dug into his pocket and produced a small picture. He held it out steadfastly to Creed which made him shrink back just a tad. The man’s somber demeanor had been replaced with something far less appropriate and it made Creed uneasy. However, cautiously Creed leaned forward and carefully took the picture from the offered hand. He flipped it over to see this man, a bit younger, standing next to what appeared to be his Creed.

Creed admitted that they did look drastically similar, same eyes, very similar markings, even a similar style of hair. The main differences were that their horns were shaped differently, Creed’s were rather round, and the others were sharp, they didn’t have nearly the same scars, and while Creed fancied himself with highlights in his hair and white clothing, this other Creed had plain shorter hair and black clothing. Creed shook his head as he handed the picture back.

“I’m sorry, I know we may look alike, but that is not me.”

Creed said softly, hoping not to anger the man. The stranger took a few breaths as he took the picture back, looking from it to Creed and back. He seemed to be calming down again, as his once nervous nature reverted back to a sorrowful tone.

“I’m sorry, I suppose you’re right. You two do look similar, but not exactly the same—”

The man didn’t get to finish his statement as Dinn burst through the door, a sudden mixture of panic and surprise on his face, as he entered to see Creed talking to someone else. Creed had almost forgotten about Dinn, he assumed he was still outside somewhere and wouldn’t come looking for him, let alone find him in a room he created in secret.

The man’s attention was now taken away from him, and anger boiled on his features as he faced Dinn.

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Tucking his photo away he turned towards Dinn, the other Dinn. The one who must’ve been the one that caused this other Creed to cry. He may have settled with the idea that this Creed was not a reincarnation of his late love, but it didn’t matter. Anyone who hurt him was still a bastard in his book, and he wasn’t willing to let that go. Not even for all the apologies or pleads in the world.

“Who are you?!”

That Dinn asked, almost a mirror of his first interaction with this Creed, but with much more force behind it. He was trying to seem intimidating. Him? This man could barely scare off a squirrel let alone someone like himself.

“I’m guessing you’re this Dinn I’ve heard about.”

The man snarled.

“What’s it to you?”

He shot back. The man wasn’t one for such obvious bravado from someone he already decided was a weak willed pathetic little man.

“Bastard.”

He hissed under his breath, but just loud enough for this other Dinn to hear him. The Dinn’s gaze narrowed, his teeth clenched in anger, but instead of shouting back at the man he looked over his shoulder and addressed Creed.

“Creed, who is this guy? What has he been saying?”

His tone was harsh and direct. The man looked over his shoulder, having not heard a reply from this Creed, and his heart fell. This Creed wouldn’t look at either of them, his eyes were downcast and his body sort of caved in on itself. He didn’t respond to being yelled at once again, especially not to the person who broke him down.

“Creed!”

That Dinn shouted again. The man quickly whipped back around holding his arms out to hide the figure of Creed behind him.

“You don’t talk to him! Your beef is with me!”

He said, trying to match the smaller man’s aggression. How could he dare to yell at him again? After what this man supposedly did. The grief was evident all across Creed’s features, and yet he felt the need to keep pushing him. There was no possible way this Dinn and this Creed were meant for each other.

“What the fuck do you know?!”

This Dinn said, stepping just a tad closer to the larger man.

“Clearly I know more than you—”

“Enough!”

The man wasn’t able to finish his statement as he was interrupted by Creed. His voice had been so quiet before that he almost believed he was incapable of raising it. The Creed stared them both down with shaky determination.

“Just stop it, please.”

And there was the soft faraway voice once again. The man took this opportunity to step closer to this Creed. All he wanted to do was comfort him, but by the Gods he didn’t know how! This Creed hated physical contact and that’s a lot of what he understood.

Carefully the man reached his hand out.

“Maybe it’s best if we go somewhere less closed in.”

He said trying to match this Creed’s quietness. The air in the very small room hung heavy as it was, and he could imagine the thinner man was already feeling tense. Creed considered his offered hand for a moment before stepping toward the man, only to walk around him; rejecting his physical contact, but willing to take the offer of leaving the room. The other Dinn tried to speak to him as he left, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. Creed pulled his body away from him sharply and walked out of the room, not addressing either man as he left.

“What the fuck did you do to him?”

The man said through gritted teeth. This Dinn turned towards him, caught off-guard by his words, but his demeanor quickly resorted back to anger.

“Stay away from our business, stranger. We’re not here for you, so don’t meddle in our shit.”

With that the other Dinn turned and paced out of the room, presumably following this Creed, leaving the man alone in the tiny tiny room.

He’d heard Creed say that his world had not been affected by the anomaly, that the two men in fact were in their correct spots, but that simply couldn’t be! He couldn’t grasp how these two were supposed to ever find comfort and love in one another. Love wasn’t about grief, sorrow, anger, or hatred, yet that’s all he could feel between the two. There must be a misunderstanding, a new anomaly so to speak. And if it took this man the rest of his days, he’d find a way to solve it.

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Dinn found Creed in their makeshift kitchen, chopping what appeared to be a carrot. Back in the cabin Dinn often wondered if Creed escaped to the kitchen for his own amusement but was now starting to believe the kitchen was some sort of haven for him.

“Creed.”

He called out, noting the small jump he gave as he turned to look back at him. Creed seemed to be struggling to come up with a response to seeing Dinn in the kitchen doorway. Was it because of the stranger still lurking the halls? Or was it because of the fight they had moments ago?

“Creed, can we talk?”

“Just leave me alone Dinn.”

He said quietly, his chopping suddenly becoming louder and more uneven as he spoke. He was deeply frustrated, but how does he think Dinn felt? Of course, Dinn was frustrated about what happened and the situation they found themselves in now. But he wasn’t just going to turn his back on it all again, he’d done that one too many times.

“Look Creed, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say what I did. I know that’s stuff difficult for you and—”

Dinn was interrupted by the sudden pounding of the knife on the counter. Creed had slammed it down nearly cutting his fingers in the process as he whipped his head around to glare at Dinn.

“Can you be anymore insincere with your words?”

He spoke harshly, though still quiet and forlorn.

“Just leave me be, I don’t want any more of this from anyone.”

Turning back around he resumed his aggressive chopping, still refusing to talk about anything.

What was Dinn supposed to do now? He’s trying to apologize but Creed just doesn’t want to talk. Even if he did get to apologize, who’s to say Creed would even accept it?

“Hey, at least I’m trying, okay? You know I’m not good at this stuff!”

Dinn replied, trying his best to not raise his voice, but faltering here and there.

“I knew you weren’t good at talking back when we first met. That was years ago Dinn. Some would expect a bit of change over several years.”

Creed said through gritted teeth, still refusing to look back at Dinn as he held his knife with an iron grip.

Sure, Dinn wasn’t good at communication when they were young, but he’d still changed since then! Back then he probably wouldn’t have even bothered apologizing, and now he was. That’s got to count for something, right?

“I’m just trying to apologize, okay?! I know it was unfair of me to bring Donyun into the mix, let alone any of our former soldiers. Do you know how much I miss that kind of camaraderie? But I know it wasn’t great for you especially after his death, so—”

Dinn had realized far too late that Creed had stopped chopping and was now slowly sliding to the floor hyperventilating. Shit! He didn’t mean to cause him to panic again! But there he was, holding his chest and sputtering; desperately trying to catch his breath as his grip on his knife faltered and it clattered to the floor.

Before Dinn could react, the stranger pushed past him and immediately crouched down next to Creed, gripping his shoulders in wide-eyed horror.

“Creed! Creed, settle down! You have to calm down!”

The man said trying to get Creed to look at him.

“Stop! You can’t crowd over him like that!”

Dinn warned, not wanting to step closer in fear of causing Creed more distress. This stranger didn’t know what he was doing; touching Creed, getting in his face, and shouting at him wasn’t going to make the problem go away.

“What the fuck do you know about it?!”

The man shot back, a mixture of anger and confusion written across his face.

“If you cause him to panic any more, he’s going to faint! You need to back away from him!”

Dinn had already done this once when they had first met the odd being that forced them here. He thought warning the man would help him avoid the same fate, but this man was another Dinn, so suffice to say he was just as stubborn.

“Then how do you propose we help him?!”

Dinn didn’t answer, as Creed’s ragged stuttering breaths seemingly fell off, and his body fell limp in the strangers’ arms. His head rolled to the side as it wasn’t supported, and his grip on his chest and stomach loosened until his arms fell limply to his sides. The stranger, shocked that he had suddenly fallen into him, held him close to his chest, trying to support his head in the crook of his arm.

“I tried to warn you.”

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

Creed awoke to the fuzzy murmurings of two men. He laid in his makeshift bed in his plain white room, as Dinn and the stranger loomed over him, speaking harshly to each other. He truly didn’t care to know what they were talking about and almost resigned himself to falling back asleep before either of them could notice he was awake. However, the men’s voices would occasionally rise in pitch, giving Creed quite a scathing earful which he audibly groaned at, causing both men to look down at him and take notice.

“Creed, are you alright?”

Creed couldn’t tell which man was talking at the moment and he didn’t care, rather he could feel the beginning of a monstrous headache coming on and he wasn’t too happy. Slowly he sat up still rubbing his temple.

“You have a headache?”

That voice came from his right, looking over Creed locked eyes with the stranger and slightly grimaced.

“Yeah, no shit.”

He said breathlessly, he didn’t care for politeness at the moment. Luckily, this shut the man up for once.

“Creed, I think we need to talk, alone.”

Dinn emphasized from the other side of the bed. Creed glanced in his direction before going back to rubbing his eyes, trying to alleviate some of the pressure that was growing behind them.

“Not now Dinn.”

“Can’t you see he’s in pain?”

The man asked pointedly across the way, with a harsher tone than Creed was ready to handle. Luckily Dinn remained mercifully quiet at the strangers open jabs. This caused Creed to turn back to the stranger upset.

“With all due respect love, I can speak for myself.”

His tone was a bit mocking as the man had acted as if he was some savior or Creed’s hero since the moment he arrived; something Creed wasn’t too keen on. He did not need to be saved, nor did he want to be. The man looked a bit crestfallen.

“I just don’t want to see you hurt again.”

He spoke softly. At this Creed chuckled bitterly; what a farce.

“I bet you consider yourself some sort of fallen hero who has returned to save a dreadful royal. But let me get this through your head, okay? Dinn and I have fought far longer than we’d like to admit, and we are no heroes. Don’t expect yourself to be just because you don’t like negative emotions.”

Creed stared directly into the strangers’ eyes while he spoke, his harsh words seeming to finally break some sort of barrier in the man’s mind. Hopefully this meant he’d stop following Creed like some lost puppy, he could only hope.

With those words Creed went back to holding his head and pointed directly at the door.

“Out. Both of you.”

He commanded, his voice not leaving any room for further talk. Without a word the two men rose from their seats and slowly shuffled out of the room, closing the door softly behind them.

Creed flopped back onto his bed and closed his eyes, desperately willing sleep to come to him.

[merchantziro]

Can I add for consideration.

Arkham Psychiatrist Jazz Fenton.

She saw "Jordan" as one of her patients, immediately remembered Danny left a text message that Sam, Tucker, and him were going on vacation and just... Decides to stir the pot further because who is she to deny her little brother and his friends enrichment?

Besides Jazz finally has an opportunity to psychoanalyze her brother and he can't use his ghost powers or excuses to get away from her.

Anytime the Bats attempt to interrogate her on her interactions with Jordan, Jazz instead just tells most of the truth but omits the truth of Danny's identity and instead gives answers she would give if he wasn't family while also adding some of her own "speculation" that makes the Bats more concerned about Jordan's "Master Plan".

Ultimate Escape Room

Sam, Danny, and Tucker are bored. Nothing seems to be a challenge anymore. Summer vacation is coming up but they can’t agree on anything . Themepark? What’s a better roller coaster than Jack driving? Scary movie? I’m sorry, nothing beats Fright Knight’s nightmare realm. Bungie jumping? Danny can fly. Then Tucker, who’s been typing on his computer, asks “what about an escape room?”. The others are about to shut the idea down because seriously? Easy. But Tucker just grins and shows them his computer screen.

“Ever heard of Arkham?”

Danny and Sam lean over to read the description and all three turn to each other and grin. 

Now, what’s the fastest way to get into Arkham?

…

So the chaos trio do ✨something✨ that gets them locked up in Arkham and then try to escape and they keep. You know, normal stuff for Arkham inmates. Except this trio? Keep. Getting. Out. Of. Their. Cells. So they are just passing by locked up rogues and waving at them as an army of prison guards chase after them. Sure they could get out the easy way (Aka powers) but no, this is a challenge so they have the normal rules of an escape room. Aka, you can’t break anything and an extra rule where if a guard catches you, then you can’t fight back (also, no one can get hurt). (They make fake identities and everything). So they need to go through the whole process. Figure out how to unlock cuffs. Could be learning to pick a lock with a spoon/stick/long nails. Then find the keys. Possibly having to crawl through vents to get in the warden’s office. Or making deals with prison inmates. Like, I’ll get this for you if you give me that (however they extract a promise that the rogue can’t kill anyone with whatever they help them with.) So they are in prison literally doing errands like find freeze’s weapons in exchange for him telling them the passcode to the gate or something. Or getting Waylon some meat from the cafeteria and he’ll break the lock on this movable vault that has materials to make smoke bombs they can use to distract the front guards. 

These kids are just going wild and it gets to the point where Arkham has to call the bats (like no Waylon, we won’t escape with you, we have to do it without breaking any walls!) So literally the only reason they are not escaping is because they want to do it ‘right’. But they are also aiding other rogues in their escape (at least certain ones. They aren’t helping joker no matter what he offers)

It’s driving the bats mad. They have vigilantes stationed in each hall, in multiple monitor rooms.

They aren’t even using anything clever to block the cameras. They’re using mirrors. Mirrors! Where did they even get so many handheld mirrors! 

They are running circles around the bats. The escaped rogues literally aren’t doing anything yet because they want to see how the three hellions will escape the entire bat clan. They have bets going. So there is a temporary truce.

Just imagine the conversations/interrogations the bats will have with trio, trying to figure out their master plan - because surely there's something more going on than three chaos young adults playing a game, right?

They trio each have a different story. And they are so passionate/convincing actors that no one knows which story is real. At least one of them told a sob story with legitimate tears.

Danny: (all mysterious) You shall never know our master plan….until it is too late. And just casually dropping hints that there is something greater or that the bats are playing right into their hands. Even using ridiculous scenarios like yesss the ketchup explosion in the cafeteria….We are one step further….Mwa ha ha! (Rubs his hands together)

Sam: (absolutely distraught with literal tears running down her face and ruining her mascara.) There is a terrible organization holding their parents hostage. They had been framed and forced to be in Arkham. If they don’t do exactly as they are told, their loved ones are in danger! Should we stay? Should we escape and help them!? No one will believe us and what if we make things worse? We don’t know what to do!

Tucker: (takes a long slurp of a smoothie. Where he got one? No one knows). Yeah we were bored and had nothing better to do than mess with you guys. (Sluuuuurp).

The bats are trying to figure it out. Is the black haired guy telling the truth and the other two are just manipulating them? Is it the girl and the others are only following the plot of the organization? IS THE BARET KID RIGHT AND THEY’RE JUST MESSING WITH US!? WHICH STORY IS IT!?

Under normal circumstances, Sam wouldn’t give a sob story because It’s not really her vibe. But Sam has the opportunity to pull one over on a bat. Do you honestly think she won’t take a chance to mess with them? Also, Dick is the one who is interrogating Sam.

He’s crying too by the end of the story.

Poor guy, Sam will play his heart like a fiddle. 

Also, their fake identities are Jordan for Danny. Mortica for Sam (or Macey for short) and Phineas for Tucker. The fact that they are using fake identities is the only thing they all agree on in the interview. But the bats find nothing on them and the identities are so realistic they wonder if they are even fake at all. If the three are faking fake IDs to throw them off their tail from looking deeper. Apparently their ‘parents’ having a missing persons report.

Damian is interrogating Danny. It’s just so easy to rile him up and get under his skin. It’s absolute drama in that interrogation room. 

Danny: ah yessss. Master plan.

Damian: you shall never succeed! Justice shall prevail evil scum!

And Duke is interrogating Tucker. He just…has no idea how to respond to this. He wasn’t trained for this response. Hostile, yes. Mysterious, yes. Scared, yes. Civilian, yes. Even Flirtatious! YES! But not…this. What does he do? should he take out his note cards?

Also, I’m adding a mix of home alone elements to this. They have to get past the bats somehow and it can’t be lethal. Poor Jason and Steph who are patrolling the halls fall victim to most of this.

At one point, both of them are tied up together and hanging from the ceiling. While the trio just casually walk by under them. 

It’s dental floss. Really strong dental floss.

Then the bats start taking sides. 

Jason? once he hears Sam's story, he's immediately willing to help her. He and Dick are searching for that missing person's report almost religiously.

Tim believes Danny's story. part of it is because it makes the most sense, and the other part is that he's slightly biased from becoming an evil megalomaniac in every timeline he's seen so he's subconsciously trying to stop that from happening here.

Cass believes Tucker because come on, it's Cass.

Steph is siding with Tim because her father was cluemaster so same reasons.

Bruce is trying to fact check all of them and is failing desperately.

Sam added some ‘clues’ in her interrogation and basically threw the GIW under the bus as the organization. So the bats do find a shady organization but so far no missing persons so the other bats still don’t know if what Sam is saying is true or not while Dick takes this as absolute proof and Jason feels like it doesn’t matter if she’s telling the truth at this point. It’s a corrupt organization. So he’ll still blow it up.

I think in this AU, the GIW isn’t a threat and more of an annoyance so Sam just plays them up as even worse. Like, she doesn’t say anything untrue just makes it sound worse out of context. Oh yeah, they opened fire on this random kid. (Gregory when they thought he was phantom) Oh yes, they have destroyed Danny’s house at one point. (The prank war with Vlad) Yes, the have an unhealthy obsession with dissecting people. (Even though they are too incompetent to actually catch anyone).

So again, they don’t know if Sam is telling the truth of the organization or they just used this random organization to draw their attention away from the three’s plans (as Danny implied). Possibly an enemy organization or a competitor.

I know everyone makes the GIW a big threat but I decided to change it up. They aren’t a threat but still get obliterated by a pissed off Red Hood and Nightwing.

And that’s  another reason why Sam gives the sob story. Danny and Tucker are great but they wouldn’t actually sick a crime lord on the GIW. Sam? Absolutely would. She does not care what happens to them. They tore up her garden one time with a stray shot. She wants revenge. And sure, she didn’t actually know what would happen to them after the bats find out but she still doesn’t care.

And through all of this, the rogues are sitting back and eating popcorn while Joker screams bloody murder from his cell.