#aha so we use Wayne as his last name

[thehyperfixationspeedrunner]

The Batfam Case

Sooo, I started watching batfam posts on tiktok, decided for funsis to try to understand the lore. It's been two days, I'm too invested I'm about to infodump you what I know and I may pass from tiktok to tumblr.

RULES:

I cannot search any question that I have, everything has to come naturally on my fyp

Non of y'all can say anything, if I say the wrongest shit ever you're not correcting me

DISCLAMER:

I don't know shit about DC. I watched a single movie and that is lego batman. No series, no comics, nada and I will not be watching until I crack this shit, so yeah, my facts may be super wrong.

I will start with characters analysis in this structure: name - vigilante persona(s) - age - personality/ general backstory - love interest(s). This will be followed by the events that I know of in chronological order (years will not be included, I'm not that much of a mad woman, instead they will be put in different Robin eras).

Ed3: I've decided that at the end of each day I will edit the original post with the mark: Ed(day number), I will not erase anything but I will scratch. I will also be adding parentage as a category in the characters (that goes from biological to emotional and their life status)

Ed4: don't know where else to put this but DC apparently stands for Detective Comics and Batman is considered the best detective of his time.

Ed6: I'm going to put a separator here because this post is getting toooo long. Also I feel like I should add, the villains have an habit of calling the Robins "little bird".

Ed15: Last update people, I'm gonna start actually getting into this (if you can give me recomendations for what to watch that would be awesome)

CHARACTERS:

Bruce Wayne

Vigilante persona: Batman

Age: DILF

General background: apparently has two personalities, I thought he was just Broody all the time, but apparently, he is also a nonalcoholic version of Tony Stark (at least I'm pretty sure he's not an alcoholic) (Ed15: he isn't, he doesn't drink so he can be alert), genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist and all of that jazz (Ed4: has been a victim of the so called "toxic comic bros" who just want him to beat people up, because he's batman and he has a deep voice and he doesn't show emotion, when in reality he's really family orientated and would literally do anything for his kids and he learned how to show it verbally/physically throughout the years of robins, thanks for coming to my ted talk) (Ed15: there is also "Brucie", who is his persona to the public that is just fucking flirty and bold)

Love interests: Damian's mom? Idk apparently he has game (another thing I was not expecting of batman) (Ed3: superman, those two have definitely fucked, I saw a scene of an animated series that had batman on top of superman and it was raining and superman had the most bedroom eyes I have ever seen) (Ed15: the current one seems to be a Selins, which now that I think about it, isn't she one of Jason's many mother figures)

Parentage: Biologically, don't know their names, they were rich, they are dead (and maybe involved in an organised crime? Still have to fact check this one). Emotionally, Alfred

Richard Grayson

Vigilante personas: OG Robin/nightwing

Age: grown ass man

General background: sunshine incarnation, smiling while threatening someone to kill their entire family kinda person, hot as fuck, flexible as shit (advantages of having gymnasts parents), oh yeah, grew up in a circus, dead parents (oopsie daisy, the trauma needed to start somewhere I guess), also his nickname is Dick? Who chooses that nickname? (Ed4: very overlooked trauma, mainly because of the sunshine energy, oldest sibling syndrome, probably had some kind of burnout at the age of 15/16) (Ed15: I think he got amnesia at some point? And he's Romani, cool)

Love interest(s): someone named starfire (?) (Ed3: I now know who starfire is and apparently their those annoying couples that are always breaking up and coming back together), also there's this red head that is connected to flash because his suit is an ugly version of flash's, I think (Ed3) his name is Wally?, idk if he's a friend or something else (or he could be starfire, who knows) (Ed3: his name is indeed Wally and he was a childhood friend and maybe a bit more but it doesn't matter because he's dead and their last conversation was a fight. ✨️Trauma and Drama✨️) (Ed4: There's also Barbara apparently (the only thing in my mind is the audio "name a more inconic duo that a twink and a red head") and a girl named Zatanna)

Parentage: Biologically, they were acrobatics and acrobated to their deaths (this word is going to be common in this section). Emotionally, Bruce and Alfred. Legally, maybe Bruce, I mean the kid was a child when he became Robin, who was his legal guardian? (Ed4: apparently Dick was just Bruce's ward :(, he never adopted him)

Jason Todd

Vigilante personas: ex-Robin/Redhood (Ed3: maybe phoenix, still trying to decide if that's true or not)

Age: another grown ass man

General background: happy, naive and cute when young (Ed15: and apparently a street kid) /instead of unplugging and plugging his life back in he decides to do a whole factory reset/ basically batman's personality but without the morals part, also hot as fuck (jesus christ, how can a drawing be so hot), from what I understand, he's the fandom's sad little meow meow (Ed6: he wears a mask under his helmet. I feel like that's important information and he's the only one who can cook (besides Alfred))

Love interest: Roy (Green lantern's kid, who is apparently named Oliver (Ed6: apparently there is another green lantern named Hal???? That is not important to the batfam but i feel like I should mention it) and is also a billionaire. The more you know) and they have a child! I don't their name or gender but batman's a grandpa! (Ed4: Her name is Lain :D)(Ed3: Honorary mention to the girl who he said he had to go to a funeral to escape a date) (Ed15: someone named Artemis, that (and this is a big shot in the dark) is a bow and arrow kinda hero)

Parentage: Biologically, no fucking idea (Ed4: I think Jason had a semi-decent relationship with his father. Also I'm pretty sure that Talia is(Ed6) his mom and she sold him to Joker, which draaammmaa (Ed6: pretty sure that title actually goes to Shelia)) (Ed15: his fahter is named Willis and he was arrested at some point). Emotionally, Bruce, Alfred and apparently he has like 5 mother figures including Damian's mom (Ed6: one of them is named Selina (she's nice 👍) and there's a Shelia who I'm not sure is biologically his momEd15 and a Catherine (she's also nice) and a Nocturna (not sure if this is just the vigilante name of one I've mentioned before)). Legally, again who was his legal guardian if not Bruce? (Ed4: I'm pretty convinced that he was adopted by him) (Ed6: his step mom died of overdose, which damn)

Barbara (Ed3: Gordon)

Vigilante personas: bat girl/Oracle????????? (Ed3: my questions have been answered, she is the Oracle)

Age: pretty sure she's around the same age as Jason (Ed4: considering recent developments, I'm going to believe she's around Dick's age)

General background: I barely know shit about her, I know she's a hacker and I think she has some kind of motor disability (this is a big shot in the dark) (Ed3: but a fucking correct one, I was right bitches) (Ed4: she seems like the one holding the brain cell 90% of the time and I know she's ti-red of this train wreck of a family. Gonna say it here because I have no idea when it happens but I have this theory that she was batgirl until she suffered an accident(in or out of the job) that affected her legs, amking the vigilante shit hard, so she decides to go behind the scenes and becomes Oracle)

Love interest: no idea, but if she's free I don't mind stepping in (Ed4: this people love incest bc her and Dick were a thing) (Ed6: apparently my baby has no other love interest besides Dick 😔✊️ (Ed15: lies there is someone called Kory))

Parentage: Biologically, no idea. Emotionally: Bruce, Alfred and that's all I know (there are very few people talking about my girl, seriously people step up)

Tim Drake

Vigilante personas: ex-Robin/Red Robin

Age: late teen/young adult (Ed15: forever 17 )

General background: literal physcopath, too smart for his trembling morals, literal gremlin, a little shit, Tired all the fucking time, already a child of rich people before becoming another one of Bruce's children, I'm pretty sure his parents were alive when he became Robin (they didn't stay alive for long, but it's progress) (Ed4: I think at some point he may have been Joker Jr??? Wtf???(Ed6: I'm super confused because one video said it wasn't cannon and the next one used it as if it was))

Love interest: I don't know if my boy has time for them (Ed3: a superboy I forgot his name, I'll have to go through my reblogs for info (update I was thinking of the wrong Wayne-Kent relationship, I have no idea this guy's name), also apparently he had a thing with Stephanie? Incest, much) (Ed4: apparently he's in a poly ship because, besides the Kent kid (whose name is Kon btw) he also has a thing with some kid named Bernard)

Parentage: Biologically, they're rich and were killed by Boomerang. Emotionally, Bruce, Alfred. Legally, I will ask the same question once again WHO THE FUCK IS THIS KID'S LEGAL GUARDIAN?? (Ed4: I'm almost certain that Bruce adopts him)

Stephanie (Ed3: Brown)

Vigilante personas: ex-Robin(hilarious)/Spoiler (what kind of name is this)

Age: probably not much younger than Tim

General background: no fucking idea, (Ed4) I just need to point out how fucking hilarious it is that the other Robins were all young boys with black hair and then a blonde girl just shows up one day with the costum and everyone rolls with it (Ed4: she's another gremlin together with Tim and I know if those two are left alone for five minutes they will start world domination. Also she starts drama for the hell of it.)

Love interest: she gives me bi vibes, idk what else to tell you (Ed3: I'll repeat the incest with Tim) (Ed4: Cass :D, I love that for them (Steph, is your kink incest?))

Parentage: I don't know and I'm getting ultraged by the lack of content the girls have, seriously people (Ed15: her dad was an acoholic super villain who wanted Steph to follow his footsteps, but she said no and became Spoiler to stop him, you go queen.)

Damien Wayne(?) (Ed3)

Vigilante persona: Robin

Age: tween (Ed15: technically he's 14)

General background: he has a sword? I need to start with this, a trained assassin (I'll repeat he is a tween (I think)), the child of the family, has everyone wrapped around his little finger, Bruce's bio child (Ed3: the one who is most likely to kill someone, a wild fact considering he's the youngest one, also he has fangs???? For some reason? And people call him hell spawn so there is some history here, also he has a bunch of animals and I just love that) (Ed4: was a prince before he came here, that's all I have to add)

Love interest: he's a child (Ed3: another superkid, the Waynes have a type, his name is Jon)

Parentage: Biologically, Bruce and this Talia woman (and they are both alive, shocker I know) (Ed15: also his grandfather is a super villain named "Ra's" that uses the Lazarus pit to be imortal. Fun.). Emotionally, Alfred.

Cass(andra?(Ed3)) Last Name Unknown (Ed3: Cain)

Vigilante persona: still looking for it (Ed3: black bat) (Ed15: and orphan... wow)

Age: teen, I think (Ed3)

General background: another one I barely know shit about, she's deaf, she gives me sassy little girl vibes (Ed3: she is some kind of Michael from the Naturals (where are my 3 the natural fans at?)) (Ed4: she's a sneaky little bitch who need no weapon, just her two fists, super quiet, but super deadly) (Ed15: she was homeless at some point, which for some point it is not a knew trope here. Also, is she really deaf or not, because I saw a cannon vs fannon video about her and the fannon signed, but the cannon spoke clearly, was she born deaf or a result of an accident? Is she even completely deaf?)

Love interest: no fucking idea man (Ed4: Steph :D, idk why but I love this idea so much I don't even care if it's not canon, it's canon to me)

Parentage: speaking again about the lack of content about women (Ed4: still less close, just know that she has mommy and daddy issues, so they're probably not great) (Ed6: her mother (Ed15: and her name is Shiva) sold her to someone who made her into a killing machine. Tense.)

(Ed3: the whole duke section is new, my bad I knew nothing about him)

Duke Thomas

Vigilante persona: signal

Age: teen

General background: he seems like a genuine calm nice guy, it's a contrast from the rest of the family (Ed15: apparently he's insanely smart and good with riddles and so fucking cool. Also he has the power to manipulate light, which is so fucking cool)

Love interest: not that I know of (Ed15: I'm pretty sure that he has a girlfriend, but her name is unknown)

Parentage: Biologically, I'm pretty sure they're dead but that's not new (Ed15: they're not dead. They are however in a asylum with their minds fucked up because of whatever "joker toxin" is, idk what's worse honestly). Emotionally, Bruce and Alfred. Legally, I have given up on the question by this point (Ed4: also pretty sure Bruce adopts him)

Alfred (Ed4: Pennyworth)

Vigilante persona: I don't think he has one, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did

Age: old

General background: incarnation of "terrifying calmness", I don't think there's much more to say really, excellent cook, insaaaannnneeee lore (Ed15: apparently he's not a good person in cannon??? He has a daughter but abandons her to take care of Bruce, convinces the Robins to become vigilantes while Bruce just wants for them to have a normal childhood, was the one who made the "good soldier" memorial (yes, I know about that, so much known lore, I'm practically a master) and Bruce actually wanted it taken down)

Love interest: THE QUEEN OF ENGLAN?????? FOR SOME GOD FORSAKEN REASON

Parentage: he had a sister (or daughter) and her name is Julia but they don't have the best relationship

Shout out to the guy in a yellow bat suit, I just saw you in pictures, but I will find out your name. Also there's a kid named Duke, I think he is gonna be Damien's replacement

(Ed3: lmao who's tell past me, also gonna add the name Domino here, I saw it somewhere I'm not even sure if it's a super hero or a villain name)

(Ed4: adding another name to the "I heard this once but I feel like they're important" pool: Ortiz, they're the love interest of someone, I feel like is Duke but there were no context clues; Kate Kane, aka Batwoman, will make a character analysis when I have more information than name/vigilante name)

(Ed6: another one to the pool. His name is Terry and he is barely mentioned in the fandom. Also Slade, he's a villain and has beef with every single Robin. And a guy named Lex that every single one of the batfam hates, he has the opposite company of WI and he may or may not be a supervillain. Someone help me there are three batgirls. And I saw a post where Jason called Cass his "big sister". I'm gonna cry)

(Ed15: Thee is more. :D Her name is Helena and I'm pretty sure she's Bruce and Selina's bio!daughter and her super hero name is huntress. I would like to also add Jarro. Jarro is a Robin. Jarro is also a starfish. Live laugh love Jarro.)

EVENTS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

Pre-Robin

Dick living happily with his parents in a circus at the age of 8

Parents die in front of him (and Burce, I think)

Picks up a costum and start beating criminals twice his size

Dick Robin era

Batman's like "someone needs to put that kid under control. No one volunteers? Okay, I'll do it. No, there's no need to insist I'll do it." That or they keep having encounters until Batman gets attached. (Ed3)

Mentor/mentee shenanigans

Boom Dick's too old, no idea if he just leaves the title, gives it up to Jason or Bruce just says he likes them young (Ed3: the most hilarious option won)

(Ed6:Jason is homeless because his step mom died of and overdose)

Also no idea how Jason got himself in the middle of this mess. (Ed3: why the hell am I still clueless about this?) (Ed4: apparently he tried to steal the tires of a batmobile and that's how they met? Amazing I love it) Anyways,

Jason Robin era

Somewhere in the middle of all of this Dick becomes nightwing

More mentor/mentee shenanigans

(Ed4: Dick goes to space on a mission)

(Ed3: Jason decides to go rogue and look for his mother, which, somehow, leads to:)

Jason dies (like really dies, he got buried and everything) by the hands of Joker (Ed3: with a crowbar, very important information, but seriously, that's violent as fuck) D: (Ed4: because Jason's mother (that may or may not be Talia) (Ed15) sells him out)

Batman almost kills Joker :D

Superman stops him D:

Anyways, Batman goes batshit crazy

(Ed4: Dick comes back from space to a dead brother, an angered dad and a random stalker (read Tim) asking him to come back as Robin)

Tim - superhero stalker - notices and becomes the Robin that steps up 💪 (by this I mean he blackmails Bruce into becoming Robin)

Tim Robin era

(Ed3: Tim and Dick have hallucinations of Jason? For some reason?)

(Ed4: Joker decides that it is a good idea to taunt Nightwing with Jason's death. He was wrong, Nightwing beats him to death, as he should)

Jason comes back from the dead, because... of an act of God? Idk, (Ed4) but guess who's back, back again (Ed4: apparently there's something called "Lazarus Pit", that's what he uses, whatever the fuck that is, wasn't Lazarus the friend of Jesus that he literally ressure- oh wait I'm seeing a pattern here. Who knew that knowing the bible was gonna be useful here)

Jason is used as a weapon against batman (still trying to verify the truth of this one)

Jason becomes a crime lord that takes down other crime lords aka Redhood

(Ed3: Jason beats the shit out of Tim in a Robin costume to prove that he's the better Robin and when he asks half-dead-Tim about it he just says no? Wild shit and I love this)

Even more mentor/mentee shenanigans

Batman dies???????

Tim tries to bring him back (intrepert that however you want) (Ed15: and that interpretation is that Batman is lost in the "timestream". Whatever the fuck that means (Actually I'm very curious, I love different takes on how time works in different universes))

(Ed15: in this time he also fucks with the League of assassins (super villain league lead by Ra's Al Ghaul (aka Damian's grandpa)) and they fuck back because apparently that man sends a woman to rape Tim so he can have a new heir because Damian was not on their side anymore??? wtf????, also they took his spleen, somehow, I need to say this arc seems very concerning)

Tim gets replaced by Damien who just shows up at their doorstep one day I guess (Ed3: somehow Stephanie Robin era happens between this two but I'm still trying to figure out how when where or why) (Ed4: still not sure how it happens but I now know it lasted a week)

Damien Robin era

Tim manages to bring batman back (seriously, was it a "he's not really dead kinda situation", did he perform some satanic ritual, what happened?) (Ed15) But not his position, hey yo!

Tim gets promoted to red Robin, which from what I understood is basically Dick's Robin (which is cute, full circle moment)

Father/son bonding time through fighting crime

(Ed3: Jason retires from Redhood? Not sure how true this is)

(Ed3: Also, gotta mention this incidents even though I have no idea when they are

STEPHANIE, DAMIEN AND TIM ALL DIE AT SOME POINT? WHAT IS IT WITH THIS FAMILY AND DYING)

Where is Stephanie's era you may ask? Idk I know she's on the younger side so she couldn't have been Dick's replacement and I am pretty sure about the other changes of Robins and I think she's older than Damien so she couldn't have been his replacement. (Ed3: still very unsure on this part) (Ed4)

Will keep you guys updated

Ed3: I feel like the more information I have the more confusing it gets

Ed4: I swear I must sound like this in this post:

[dangerouscommiesubversive]

fought on your side long before you were born

Fandom: Kamen Rider, Batman, Kamen Rider W Characters: Hongo Takeshi, Tachibana Tobei, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Hidari Shoutaro, Philip, Damian Wayne Song: "Father to Son," Queen (playlist here)

1977

Tachibana’s got a shop now, something he can use to support his family now that he isn’t traveling, and the first thing that greets Takeshi as he walks in is the thick smell of motor oil. There’s a bike in pieces at one end of the shop floor around which several young men are clustered, arguing cheerfully. Another young man is sitting in a corner near them, inexplicably playing acoustic guitar and responding briefly whenever he’s addressed. It’s new, but it feels like home, and Takeshi can feel his shoulders instinctively relaxing.

“Hongo!” Tachibana himself emerges from the shop office, beaming. “When’d you get back to Japan?”

“Just now, I came right here.”

“Damn right you did.” There’s some hugging and back-slapping and general affectionate ribbing, and then Tachibana says, “So what do you think? Nice place, right?”

“It’s wonderful. How’s your son?”

“Healthy as a horse, running me and Mari ragged.” Tachibana gestures to the huddle of young men at the other end of the room. “Plenty of help around here, though.”

Takeshi grins. “I can see that. Who’s the one with the guitar?”

“Oh, him? American kid. Funny story, really, I’m closing up one day when this young guy just materializes—no, not literally, he’s just real quiet—and asks, am I Tachibana Tobei? Only Dr. Jin in Madrid says I’m the best in the world and will I teach him about motorcycles! And he hands me a letter of introduction from Keisuke!” Tachibana sounds like he’s holding back laughter. “So he’s renting our spare room at the house and working here for a few months. Quick study, too. Shiro taught him guitar, he’s in town for a bit and they hit it off. Here, come on, I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

They head over to the disassembled motorcycle, and the young men fall all over themselves to be introduced, which Takeshi bears with good cheer. They’re young, of course they’re enthusiasts.

The American boy is last, and Takeshi is shocked to realize that he is a boy, no more than eighteen or nineteen, a pale youth with blue eyes and a lonely look that reminds Takeshi of Shiro. No wonder they get along. He sets his guitar aside and bows, stiff and solemn, and says, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hongo. Mr. Tachibana talks about you a lot.”

“That I do! Hongo, this is Bruce Wayne, he’s the summer guest I was telling you about.”

“Good to meet you, Wayne. Your accent is excellent.” The boy’s got a firm handshake. “What brings you to Japan?”

“Study, sir,” but the boy’s tone says that’s not all of it. “I’m trying to learn all I can. Maybe I could ask you a few things later, if you don’t mind.”

Takeshi blinks. “Not sure what you’d want to ask, but I don’t see why not.”

--

He eats dinner at Tachibana’s house that evening, because of course Tachibana isn’t going to let him get away unfed his first night back in town. Mari greets him at the door, Joji in her arms, beaming.

He’s intially surprised to see that the American boy is there too, until he remembers, of course he is—Wayne’s renting the spare room. And he’s barely noticeable for most of the meal, silent, although he’s clearly listening to everything that’s said. After dinner he also helps Mari with the dishes, entirely unprompted, which Takeshi approves of, and then spends some time gently entertaining the toddler.

Later, Tachibana and Mari step away for a moment to get their son to bed, and Takeshi looks at the silent young man sitting in the corner and says, “So. Wayne.”

“Yes, Mr. Hongo?”

“You said you had something you wanted to ask me, and we’ve got a few minutes now. What can I help you with?”

Wayne remains quiet for a long moment, and then fixes those piercing eyes on Takeshi and says, “Mr. Tachibana says you’re the strongest person he knows. What does it mean to be strong?”

Not what Takeshi had been expecting. Granted, what he wasexpecting, he doesn’t know, but…not that. He thinks about it, frowning. “I’d say…kindness.”

Wayne’s forehead wrinkles. “What do you mean?”

“Look, Wayne, you can get as powerful as you want in life, but it’s only strength if you can use it to be kind. Otherwise it’s just tyranny.” Takeshi leans forward and holds out his hand, as if to shake. “Anyone, any fool on Earth can take their hand and make it into a fist. To reach out to someone when they need help, that’s strength.”

Slow nodding, and Wayne reaches out to him in return, clasps his hand for a brief moment, and says, “Thank you. That’s a valuable insight.”

Takeshi nods. “Ask Tachibana that question, too, and Shiro. It’s a good thing to ask. Tells you a lot about the person answering.” He considers it for a moment. “Of course, there will always be some people you won’t be able to help, we share this world with monsters. But you must always try to be kind. That’s strength.”

--

2017

Bruce checks his watch as he walks up to the restaurant, satisfied to be a precise fifteen minutes early, and then looks up and is surprised to realize that for once Dick’s beaten him there. Not only is he there, too, he’s talking to someone Bruce doesn’t recognize.

The stranger seems to be about Dick’s own age, a man in a black fedora and slightly old-fashioned dress clothes from a minor Japanese fashion label. His tone suggests an awkward tourist, but his stance says he’s a fighter, and the way he watches his surroundings indicates that he’s memorizing as many details as possible. He’s got a guidebook in one hand, and a notebook sticking out of his pocket, and he’s speaking Japanese, which is not one of Dick’s stronger languages. Bruce steps forward, thinking he might need to translate, but Dick replies to the other man in English, which is met with a thoughtful nod. So—they’re about the same level in each other’s languages. Better at hearing than speaking. Convenient for them.

“—so if you’re looking for something in his field, the natural history museum is great. If you want somewhere more romantic,though, the Thorndike is amazing, and there’s this restaurant right near it, I forget the name—oh, hey, Bruce! You’re here! What’s the name of that restaurant across the street from the Thorndike Museum?”

“San Sebastian Jatetxe.”

“That’s the one! Thank you!” Dick beams at him, then turns to his companion. “I’ll write it down for you.”

“<Thank you, I’d appreciate that.>”

“Of course! This is my foster father, by the way, Shoutaro-san.Bruce Wayne. Bruce, this is Shoutaro Hidari, he’s visting Gotham for a couple of weeks.” To Shoutaro again, “Bruce’s Japanese is much better than mine.”

Bruce nods. “<What brings you to Gotham, Mr. Hidari?>”

Shoutaro relaxes visibly at the question; it’s likely the only new voice he’s heard speaking his mother tongue in days. “<My partner is attending a conference here, so we decided we’d make it a vacation.>”

“<Aha. Curators and archivists?>”

“<How did you guess?>”

“<A friend of Dick’s and mine is also attending, she mentioned that international registrations are up significantly this year.>” Bruce pauses. “<If you’re looking for date spots, the Thorndike is excellent, as Dick said, but the Botanical Gardens are also very nice this time of year.>”

Shoutaro blushes warmly. “<Thank you very much for the recommendation.>”

--

He doesn’t think much more about Dick’s tourist friend until that night, when he and Damian are out on patrol. It’s a quiet night, so they’re stopping a mugging as gently as possible when the mugger—a repeat offender and sometime informant, Bruce makes a note to check in on him at home out of suit—says, “So, uh, Bats. Who’s the new guy?”

Bruce frowns. No one new should be operating here.“Which one?”

“You know, the bug guy. My buddy texted about him, said he was speaking some other language. Well, he said it was a bug ninja who spoke Japanese, but he watches a lotta anime and he gets real excited, so I ain’t sure he’s right.”

“A bug. What color?”

“Oh, it changes, it’s cool as hell.” He shows Bruce and Damian a picture on his phone. “He a friend’a yours?”

“Yes. He’s visiting.” Bruce peers at the photo and then hands his informant two hundred dollars. “Buy dinner and go home, Nathan. Tell your aunt I say hello.”

“Yo, sure thing. Thanks, Bats!”

They’ve only been searching a few minutes when their earpieces crackle and Babs says, “Roof of GPL Central Branch. Someone I don’t recognize, they just took out some Joker goons who were robbing a jewelry store at the corner of High and 26th. Dick’s on his way too.”

They touch down at one end of the Gotham Public Library’s roof as Dick’s landing at the other and survey their guest, who’s looking between the three of them with something that’s likely surprise, although given that their face is entirely concealed it’s not certain. The insectoid red eyes and sharp antennae on the helmet and the white scarf drifting in the air from the back of the right shoulder send a shock of recognition down Bruce’s spine. He considers speaking first, but then nods to Dick instead. For better or for worse, Dick is good at putting people at ease.

“Hi there.” Dick waves to the stranger, tone cheery but guarded. “We haven’t seen you around before, mind telling us what you’re doing in Gotham?”

The stranger cocks their head to the left for a moment before saying, haltingly, “We. Ah. We are…tourists? We did not mean to…um…” The left eye of the helmet flashes as they’re speaking. A beat, and then the righteye begins to flash, and they say, in an entirely different voice that’s noticeably accented but much more fluent, “I’ll handle this part if you don’t mind, partner. Good evening, we’re Kamen Rider W. Our apologies, we didn’t mean to intrude on your territory. Are we addressing the famed Batman and his companions?”

Bruce says, slowly, “That’s correct. You’re a Rider?”

“Oh, you’re familiar with the term! That’s wonderful. Yes, that’s correct. We’ve been in operation as such since late 2008, although of course primarily in Japan.”

“Tt.” Damian scowls. “<If you mostly work in Japan, what are you doing running around here?>”

The left eye on the helmet begins to flash again as W responds in the first voice, in Japanese now. “<It wasn’t exactly the plan, a man in clown makeup waved a gun at me and tried to take my wallet and once I’d knocked him out I noticed that there were about five more clowns breaking into a jewelry store down the street. I couldn’t just leave them to it.>”

Dick is also frowning now. “I—have we met before? I recognize your voice. The, uh, left-hand one.”

“<I don’t think so?>” says the left-hand voice, and then the right-hand one breaks in with, “Actually, based on his memory of your speech patterns, I believe you and my partner met earlier today, you recommended a couple of date locations and a Basque restaurant I’m eager to visit.”

Bruce can see Dick’s eyes going wide from halfway across the roof. He’s visibly biting back the urge to address their guest by name, which would be discourteous, to say the least, with everyone in costume, so Bruce cuts in with, “Is my understanding correct that we’re speaking to two people currently?”

“That’s correct!” says the right-hand voice, sounding delighted. “We two are a single Kamen Rider.”

Dick blinks. “Is this like a Firestorm thing? Are you fused?”

“Not unlike, but no. My physical body is currently unconscious in our hotel room, which is certainly much more comfortable than some of the other places in which I’ve passed out. Although as my partner wasoriginally going out to get us something to eat when he was accosted, I ambecoming concerned about my caloric intake.” And the left-hand voice says, “<Yeah, I was thinking I’d be able to get us something decent at the Seven-Eleven, but the ones here are different from the ones at home.>”

“I think,” Bruce says, “this conversation would be better continued elsewhere.”

--

Twenty minutes later they’re all out of suit and seated around a table at an all-night diner, and Shoutaro’s partner, introduced only as Philip, is inspecting the menu with interest. “This is intimidatingly lengthy, do you have recommendations?”

Dick grins. “Get one of the meat-lovers omelettes. And then if you still have room get some baklava, the owner’s mother makes it and it’s amazing.”

Bruce, meanwhile, is turning Shoutaro’s business card over in his hands. “<You’re a detective?>”

“<I am! Mostly lost pets and infidelity, but sometimes there’s an interesting case. Philip works with me, although he’s pretty busy with the museum nowadays.>”

“<I’ve heard of the Fuuto Museum, they hosted an intriguing exhibit on Mesopotamian artifacts last year.>”

“<You heard about Nitoh’s exhibit here? That’s amazing, I’ll have to let him know.>”

“<Please tell him I was very impressed with his thesis.>”

Damian’s been scowling silently into his milkshake, but suddenly he slaps the table and everyone jumps. “I knew I recognized that name!” Then, to Shoutaro, “<I read your novel.>”

“<I—you did? Really? It hasn’t had any translations, how did you hear about it?>”

“<My, uh.>” Damian shifts awkwardly. “<My mother gave it to me, I like detective stories. I enjoyed it. Although that copy was lost.>”

“<Oh, I’ll send you a new one if you like, I don’t imagine it’d be easy to get here.>”

The waitress comes by, and her eyebrows slowly rise as everyone orders, presumably at the quantity of food on request. When she’s left again, Philip turns to Bruce and says, brightly, “I also take it that you’re the sponsor Ms. Gordon mentioned, we had a very stimulating chat at the conference earlier today.”

“Somehow I’m not surprised to hear that you met her.”

“Coincidence and fate figure largely in our lives, Mr. Wayne.” Philip smiles like a cat; it’s oddly charming. “We’re superheroes, after all. Here,” to Damian, “Dick mentioned to me that you like animals, would you like to see a picture of my cat? He used to be a supervillain.”

After they consume a truly astonishing amount of diner food it’s time to part ways, and Bruce shakes hands with Shoutaro and Philip and says, “<It was good to meet you both.>”

Philip beams. “<Likewise, thank you, it’s been a pleasure. And I’m looking forward to seeing more of Gotham.>”

Shoutaro looks up at him for a moment. “<It’s been good talking to you, Mr. Wayne. You…remind me of someone I used to know.>”

“<I could say the same of the two of you.>” Bruce turns to go, but then turns back. “<I have one last question for both of you.>”

They nod, precisely in sync, and Philip says, “<Yes?>”

“<What does it mean to be strong?>”

Silence for a moment, Shoutaro and Philip glancing at each other while Dick and Damian wait in puzzled silence, and then Shoutaro says, “<Kindness,>” and Philip says, “<Love.>” Another shared glance before Shoutaro continues. “<Anyone can hurt someone else. Helping them, that’s strength.>”

Bruce nods. “<Somehow that’s what I knew you’d say.>”

[soulmate-game]

Not related to any other prompts

Bio Dad Bruce Wayne Month 2020

Day 4: Habits

Not screwed~

—*—*—*—*—*

Marinette swung through the Gotham streets, shadows playing over her maroon-and-black biker’s jacket and the occasional street light glinting off of the chunky maroon goggles she used to obscure her identity.

“Help!”

A quick change of course with her yo-yo, and the teen was hurtling in a new direction. One black-gloved hand came up to touch the spot on her specialized goggles that covered her ear, protecting it from not only weapons but also anything that might utilize sound against her.

“I’m deviating. Two streets to the north, woman yelling for help. Checking it out.”

It also doubled as her communicators.

A click sounded in her ear, admitting the professional, clipped voice of Oracle. “Copy that. I’m gonna see if I can get a look for you first— aha. Barely in view of a street cam. Looks legit, I can only see two aggressors though. Might be more out of sight. Sending Batman your way just in case, Ladybird.”

Marinette grinned, landing silently on a rooftop. As quickly yet quietly as she could, she snuck over to the ledge. “This is my first patrol with you guys, but I’m no amateur,” she retorted softly before peering over the edge of the building. Immediately, she scowled. “Shit. Trafficking ring, most likely. I’m counting eleven hostiles, five women tied up. They just knocked out the one that I heard.”

“Good thing I sent Batman. ETA three minutes.”

Marinette nodded, reaching up to turn the volume on her comms down so that it wouldn’t distract her too much before jumping down. Three minutes was enough time for her to start to make a dent without being in too much danger of something happening before her backup could arrive. Considering this was her first time in Gotham, nobody was quite expecting a tiny woman in a maroon and black motorcycle jacket, maroon high tech goggles that curled around her entire head, and knee-high black boots with charcoal gray armor down the front to land on their leader’s shoulder and knock him out with a yo-yo to the head.

But also, this was Gotham. They shouldn’t have been surprised, either.

Leader down, Marinette focused her attention on the guys that were the most heavily armed, bringing out a second yo-yo to speed up her progress. She was three thugs down and in the middle of swinging a rifle away from its owner when a familiar large shadow dropped down to join her.

The appearance of the Bat garnered much more fear, forcing the traffickers to panic and lose a lot of their combative edge. Seeing as Batman was fresher for the fight than she was, Marinette decided to take a pseudo-break to get the women a little farther from the action. She was just pulling the sixth girl, the one she had heard scream, over to the group when one of the few remaining conscious thugs snuck up behind her, gun aimed and finger on the trigger.

But Marinette was faster, having heard the guy scramble to get behind her. She spun, kicking the pistol out of his hand and grabbing it out of the air. Not having the time to grab her yo-yos from off of her hip, she adjusted her grip and slammed the handle of the gun against the guy’s head before tossing the weapon away. It was too much of a risk for misfire if she tried that move again, once was already risky. The guy shook his head, staggering back with nothing but rage and desperation fueling him as he tried again to land a hit on the small vigilante.

Marinette dodged, burying her fist in his gut. The man retched, but swallowed his vomit and tried again. Marinette sidestepped his sloppy attack and slammed an elbow on his back, forcing him to collapse to the ground. She could see he was still awake though, and scrambling for another weapon. So Ladybird raised her foot, prepared to give the guy one last hit to knock him out.

But she was yanked back by a firm hand on her shoulder, upsetting her balance just enough to make her put both feet solidly on the ground and half her attack. She whipped her head back, seeing that it was, indeed, Batman who had stopped her.

All the other thugs were out and restrained.

“Justice, not vengeance,” Batman grumbled as soon as she looked at him. Marinette barely bit back a squeak of frustration, ripping her shoulder away and slamming her foot down just in time to stop the guy from stabbing into her boot. The steel toe would have protected her, but still.

“Batman, he has a knife!” She growled right back at him, finally landing that kick and knocking him out. “I really appreciate that faith, you know. Thinking I’m gonna cross the line in such a simple situation,” she snapped back at him sarcastically, making sure he saw her furrowed brows even through her goggles before crouching down to tie the guy up with her zip ties.

“Sorry,” he grumbled after all the victims had been taken by the ambulance and the criminals by the police. They stood on a rooftop, ladybird staring down at the towering figure of Batman with her arms crossed. “It’s a habit.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” she replied, shaking her head. “I’m not Damian.”

Batman sighed, crossing his own arms. Unknowingly, that caused the two of them to be holding the exact same pose, down to the very position of shoulder blades and feet, as one another. Twins of differing height, to an outsider. A parent and his child, to anyone who was closer.

“I know that—“

“And Damian isn’t Damian Al-Ghul anymore either,” she interrupted him, finally dropping her arms to take a few steps forward. “He’s well and truly Damian Wayne. It’s been seven years since he was that abused, hurt, ultra-violent ten year old that he was when Talia first dropped him off with you. The fact that stopping him in mid fight like that is still a habit to you is a problem.”

Batman slowly exhaled through his nose, trying to remain patient with the daughter he had only had in his life for the past three years. He didn’t want to make the same mistakes with her that he made with the others, but just like always he somehow found something new to screw up.

“I haven’t had to say it to him often. Hardly at all in recent years. But seeing you looming over a man who was already on the ground brought back that reflex.”

Marinette nodded, but her jaw didn’t unclench. “It’s been more than a few times,” she told him softly. “Damian tells me, ever since we got closer. He tells me when you have to stop yourself from pulling him back. When you bark his name before seeing that he wasn’t going to use lethal force at all. You need to realize that Damian hasn’t taken a single life in six years. He hasn’t caused permanent injury unless absolutely necessary— a total of three times in twice as many years. You need to nip this habit of yours in the bud, now,” she took a few more steps forward, so that she was only inches away as she glared straight up at his face.

“We are both your blood children, but you have only apologized to me about the way you acted tonight. One day, your lack of trust in Damian could get him killed— again. You call out his name too early, and you could startle him or give his opponent the shock they need to make a sudden attack that Damian won’t be able to parry. You grabbing him and pulling him back can stop him from, like me, knocking out an opponent who is still fighting. Unlike me though, his opponent could have a gun. Or a remote to a worse weapon. He could use those seconds you just gave him to take Damian away from us again,” Marinette stopped, shaking her head and taking a deep breath.

“If you’re gonna have us work with you, you need to trust our judgement. If you want us to be a family, then you need to trust us. Period.” With that, Marinette jumped off the side of the building and swung away, leaving her father standing there with a lot to think about.

—*—*—*—*—*

Short, but angsty! I wrote this in an hour, don’t @ me. I took a thirty minute break for a late dinner.

@momothefemur @ladybug-182 @starlightshield @trippingovermyfeet @greatcatblaze @sam-i-am-0222 @bluesimani @ruelukas22 @acoolspacegirl @iamablinkmarvelarmy

[emu-lumberjack]

A Quick Meeting pt. 3

The Bakery is open so it’s time for Marinette and Damian to have a chat. Only for Lila to interrupt. 

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

Don't ask me to explain, honestly I should just not be allowed around a keyboard while I’m tired. So here’s the next part.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 4

“Good morning and welcome to the Dupain----” Marinette cut off when she saw who had come in. Damian newly minted Wayne was dressed in his usual black turtleneck with jeans and some sneakers. The boy next to him she recognized from the other night, not knowing his civilian identity she resounded to just calling him superboy in her head. He was dressed in blue jeans, a white shirt scuffed up boots and a yellow flannel, obviously American. In a lower voice she said “Damian and company, how nice to see you. Done heroing yet?” She tried to be nice but just couldn’t resist the jab.

“Heroing? I have no idea what youre talking about, I’m just from America yup just a normal American boy. No heroing about me.” Superboy was a flustered mess blushing as he couldn’t figure out how to spin the lie convincingly.

“Oh can it Kent she’s already figured you out.” Damian said, curt as usual.

“Well it’s nice to see you’re feeling better ice prince. Have a nice time last night?” she motioned with her head towards the back. Hopefully he was smart enough to realize her parents were right next door and could hear almost everything.

“Sure though” he lowered his voice “I could’ve sworn I left something on your lovely partner's hair. If I remember correctly it was pink paint?” Marinette had to stifle a laugh. Knowing Adrien he wasn’t up yet which is why he hadn’t called her. “So Ms. Dupain-Cheng think you have enough time to take a breakfast break with us. Maybe talk over somethings?”

“Oh I think I could swing that. Let me just go tell my parents.” she walked towards the back leaving Damian and Superboy alone up front. “Mamman, Papa some friends have asked if I could take a quick break and eat breakfast with them. Is that ok?”

“Of course just don’t take too long.” Tom said.

“And if anyone comes in you’ve gotta help them.” Sabiene added.

“Done and done. Thank you.” Marinette said waving as she walked back out front.

“So are you free for a little bit?” Damian asked, and if she didn’t know better she would think he sounded nervous.

“Yeah, at least unless any other customers come in.” She responded. “Now what do you guys want.”

Minutes later the three were sitting around the table in the bakery. Jon, who had finally introduced himself properly to Marinette, finally got his macaroons. Damian went with a more conservative coffee and blueberry scone. Marinette had already eaten but she still made herself a coffee after all a heroes work never sleeps.

“So you have got to tell me how you got paint in Chats hair.”

“Well a Wayne never reveals his secrets.” Damian smiled.

“Wait how did you do that?” Jon said through a mouthful of Macaroon.

“Do what?

“Make him smile? That took me a month to do!”

“Well I----” Marinette was about to respond sarcastically when the bell above the door rang. “Well looks like I’m back on the clock sorry Jon, maybe some other time.”

“But….. But…. Come on I need to know!!!” He shouted as she went back behind the counter.

“Hello and welcome to the Dupain-Cheng bakery. How may I help you.” Marinette said from behind the counter.

“Oh I’m not so sure you can help me. After all, you've been so unhelpful lately.” Marinette groaned knowing that snively voice anywhere.

“Lila. how… can I even say pleasent, or would you somehow spin it in a way that makes me look like the bad guy.” Marinette was trying to be polite, trying was the optimal word.

“What is your problem Marinette.” Alya said from behind Lila

“Alya  I was just trying to make sure I don’t get my reputation any more slandered.”

“Don’t worry Alya, I’m just trying to be nice and order some pastries for me and my Damipoo.” Marinette swore she saw Damian choke on his coffee while Jon broke out into giggles. “And what is your problem Damian? And who’s this he looks like he came out of farmers weekly.” Lila turned her attention to Damian. The latter in turned looked towards Marinette. He looked her straight in the eye and nodded. Marinette realizing what he was about to do got a wicked grin on her face and nodded back.

“Lies you know I don’t like pastries, remember that incident in Munich? Also why are you being so mean to Marinette? From what you told me you two were best friends with MDC.” He saddled up closer to Lila, he had a head on her so she had to look up to him.

“What are you talking about Damian, and what do you mean MDC?” she looked angry, and confused. Marinette got out her phone and hit record.

“Well you said you finally wanted to reveal our relationship to the world, that you were ready for the world to know you were dating Damian Wayne. My father agreed, oh how my brothers couldn’t stop teasing us.” Damian grabbed her hand and brought it to his chest. “Also of course you know Marinette Dupain-Cheng is MDC, you wouldn’t tell me who she was so it took me a week to figure it out.”

“I... I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Come on Lies you told the world we’re dating. After all, you’ve known me as Damian Wayne since I moved to Gotham.” There was the money shot. Marinette zoomed in on Lilas pale white shocked face. Once she got a good look at that she moved the camera to where Jon was, because he looked about as shocked as Lila, but three shades paler. Before anyone could say anything she sprinted from the room. Marinette turned off the corner just in time for her and Damian to burst out laughing.

“ok what’s going on?” Alya’s voice came from the corner.

“Well it looks like Lila forgot to check my last name before spinning her newest lie, otherwise she would’ve known not to tell it. I am a Wayne after all.” Alya’s face slacked as she comprehended the words. At the same time Jon’s phone went off, he silently picked it up still stunned from the fact he just witnessed Damian fucking Wayne act like that.

“Jonathan Kent where in the world are you!” Jon winced as his very angry mother shouted from the other end of the line.  Alya went even more slack jawed as she realized that it was her idol Lois Lane.

“Hi mom, I’m in Paris. Damian needed my help with something so I came over.” Jon said innocently.

“Oh went right over. Just popped across the pond like it was nothing, I hope you can do the same thing and get back here or otherwise no tech for a month. After all Jon you can’t just ditch the house like that! Not even for a Wayne. Conner and Clark do it enough to give two lifetimes worth of heart attacks.”

“Alya it may be a good time to go.” Marinette quietly told her ex friend.

“I have so many questions. But before I go I need to tell you that I am so sorry about everything, about believing Lila and hurting you, and I have been such a terrible person. It’s taken me until now to realize how wrong I’ve been” Alya looked at Marinette, both girls tearing up a little bit. Marinette was just happy Alya was out of Lila’s mind control.  

“We can talk more about it later, I don’t know if I can fully forgive you right now, but I know I can at least a little bit.” the two hugged and Alya left, mumbling to herself about what she just witnessed.

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

Damian could still hear Lois’ shouts an hour after she was done. Once she was done chewing Jon out she called him to tear him to shreds about not letting her or Clark know about Jon staying in Paris for the night. Lets just say he was still recovering from those burns. A short knock on his window let him know Marinette was outside.

“Windows open!” he called from the living room. He heard it creak open and soft footprints soon after.

“Spots off.” she said entering the living room. In a flash of light the Ladybug costume was replaced with a pair of jeans and a white top. “Have I said you’re the best because you are. I don’t think Lila will be trying anything new for a while.”

“Good. I was getting rather annoyed at her.” He was gonna add a specific reason then realized, He didn’t need to. “On the topic of secrets there's something I need to talk to you about.”

“You’re Robin.”

“I’m sorry come again.”

“You are Robin.”

“And how did you find that out?”

“I looked through any pictures I could, I recognized the hairstyle. Plus most people described him as having the exact same personality as you. Then there's the fact he hasn’t been seen in almost two months. Which coincidence is exactly how long you’ve been here for.”

“I… I think you could rival Drake for deductive reasoning.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Unlike my other comments about Drake it actually is. Now that was part of what I wanted to talk to you about. The other part was,” he took a moment gathering up the nerve to ask, “can we start training together? I’ve seen you’re fighting technique and it’s frankly amazing. Something the league of assassins never taught me. I’d be very honored to learn it.”

“I mean if you want too sure. When do you want to start?” Marinette looked almost excited.

“How bout now? I can race you to the Wayne enterprises building, we have a secret training room there.”

“That’s a deal.”

Once Damian had on his training suit and a mask, the Robin suit was back in Gotham at Bruce's orders,  and Marinette her Ladybug costume they set out across town. Damian only almost hit two bird nests which was actually an improvement, especially after months off duty.

“Aha beat you.” the red and black heroine cheered.

“You sure? The view from up here has been amazing” The boys black training suit blended in nicely with the night.

“How the hell did you get here before me and get up there?”

“Beat me in training and I’ll tell you. Now come on, want to see the training room?”

“Ten minutes. Got it.” Damian saw Marinette smirk from beneath her mask.

“Just come on.” he said blushing, Marinette gave a quick laugh. Damian was finally seeing the two as the same person, honestly it kinda struck him as strange not many others could. It was rather obvious.

He led the way down the twisty hallways of Wayne enterprises, avoiding the more active areas so no one would see him and Ladybug sneaking around. That might get a few too many looks for his comfort. Finally they got out of the fluorescent light and cramped walls of the hallways to the keypad and door that would lead to the training room.

Please give me your password sir, madame, or neuter. Alfred's voice rang from the keypad.

“Bloodson.”

“Bloodson? Really you chose that?”

“I was ten, like you never gave embarrassing nicknames at that age. Now would you like to go in first?”

“I think you might want to talk to him about going first.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just look.”

Damian turned around to see black sweatpants with a red t-shirt. Attached were pale limbs one carrying a water bottle the other a phone. Damian looked up to match eyes with Tim Drake, one of his least favorite siblings to deal with.

“Hey ice prince. Want to explain why you’re in training gear, which should be back at the cave. Or how about why you’re with someone clad in spandex, I thought that was just a super thing.” Tim surprisingly had finally gotten more than an hour of sleep which meant his deductive skills were actually sharper than normal. Not good for Damian.

“How bout I take option three: leaving and we never speak of this.”

“Yeah not an option, start talking. Now.”

Tag list: 

@clumsy-owl-4178 @pawsitivelymiraculous @yuulxd @smolplantmum

[fishfingersandjellybabies]

Hello From The Other Side - fic

Characters: Dick Grayson, Damian Wayne, Tim Drake, Alfred Pennyworth Summary: Dick returns from his life as Ric, and finds he has quite a few missed calls. From Damian, of all people. A/N: Based on ‘Hello’ by Adele. Vaguely surrounds current comics situations with Damian and/or Dick. Sorry this sucks hard knobs.

~~

Dick found himself smiling as he walked in the manor’s front door.

He missed this place.

Or, well, rather, he would have. If he remembered it.

But when he did remember it, oh boy, did he miss it.

“Hello?” He called, listening to his voice echo. He hoped someone was home, anyone. He…he hadn’t seen his family in years now, and his throat still tightened at the thought.

No one responded, and Dick found himself fighting back the feeling of disappointment. Of course no one was home, it was the middle of the afternoon. If they weren’t at their various jobs, they were probably sleeping off recent patrols, or maybe down in the cave. Or, you know, at their own homes.

Only Bruce and Damian lived at the manor anymore, he was pretty sure. Maybe.

…He actually didn’t know.

Suddenly, there was the sound of someone clearing their throat from a room nearby, and Dick gravitated towards the noise.

He walked into the kitchen, and found Alfred, moving about the center island, opening and closing drawers and cabinets.

“Alfie?” Dick asked hopefully, smile widening on his face. “Long time no see.”

“Master Richard.” Alfred returned with a quick glance. “My boy, it is so good to see you. The real you.”

“Yeah, I feel a lot better.” Dick laughed, rubbing at the side of his head, where that scar was hidden by his too-long hair. “…Thanks for coming to see me when I was...that other guy.” A pause. “I…do remember that still.”

“My pleasure, sir.” Alfred promised, continuing to shuffle through the drawers. “As if I’d ever give up on one of you children. Amnesia didn’t stop me the last time. Of course it wouldn’t this time.”

“And how awful that we live such lives where there was a last time?” Dick lamented. He watched Alfred for a minute more as he moved from the island to the pantry. “…What are you looking for?”

“Something I need to give you.” Alfred grunted, pushing a bag of sugar out of the way on a shelf. “I meant to search for it prior to your arrival, but…” Alfred frowned. “Things came up.”

Dick didn’t like how he said that last sentence. He…he hadn’t seen anyone since he remembered, only talked to Bruce on the phone, said he was coming back. But Alfred said that as if…

He shook his head. He could deal with that later.

“Can I help you search?” Dick asked instead.

“No need, dear boy. It’s in this kitchen somewhere.” Alfred continued, standing on his tiptoes and reaching along the highest shelf. “I know it’s in here. It’s the only place none of your snooping siblings come regularly, so I knew they’d never think to search here, should they ever want it for some reason.”

“It?” Dick pushed. “What’s it-”

“Aha!” Alfred exclaimed. His hand wrapped around something the size of a thin deck of cards and he yanked it down excitedly. “Here it is.”

Alfred ran his hand along it, pushing off any dust. He turned towards Dick and Dick was almost taken aback by how much older the beloved man looked.

“For you, sir.” Alfred held it out like it was precious.

“It’s…” Dick frowned, confused, but took the device anyway. “Alfie, it’s just my old cell phone.” An airy laugh. “You didn’t have to keep this. I’m…kind of surprised Bruce asked you to, actually. Figured he would have cancelled the service, especially after how Ric acted when he left town.”

“Oh, Master Bruce didn’t ask me to keep it. I did on my own.” Alfred explained, watching as Dick pressed the button on the side to turn the phone on. “It was a…hopeful just-in-case.”

“Oh yeah? And what does that mean?” Dick smirked. His phone’s home screen popped to life, a picture of Cass and Kori painting Jason and Roy’s toenails, but was instantly taken over by a wave of seemingly never-ending notifications.

“…It means we missed you, Dick.” Alfred smiled as he put a hand on Dick’s shoulder. “More than we could ever say.”

Dick found himself frowning as the notifications didn’t slow. By the icons, he could tell a lot of them were texts and voicemails, and in theory, that shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise. The surprise came from the fact that these calls were recent, not all of them from years ago, and that most of them, it appeared, were coming from Damian.

Damian who…knew exactly where he was.

“Alfred, what…?”

“I hid your phone when I noticed him calling, after Ric returned to Bludhaven.” Alfred whispered sadly. “Just…just in case you ever returned to us. So you could hear what he said.”

Dick felt his heart sink a little bit.

“And to be clear, I did not eavesdrop.” Alfred swore. “I do not know what any of the messages entail. But I’m sure they’re very…emotionally charged.”

Dick snorted a bitter laugh. “I’m sure that’s an understatement.”

“Indeed.” Alfred returned the laughter. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to begin your welcome home meal.”

“Of course. I’ll get out of your way.” Dick smiled. “But just one more thing.”

Before Alfred could ask, Dick leaned forward, wrapping the old man in a tight embrace.

“Missed you, Alfie.” Dick murmured.

“Thank you for returning to me.” Alfred breathed back, returning the hug with an intense squeeze.

After their quiet, and far too quick, reunion, Dick bid him adieu, and headed upstairs. He went to his own bedroom, knowing that Alfred had already cleaned and dusted everything, and opened the door to the sweet smell of a burning candle on the nightstand.

He smiled at the scent and then flopped down onto his back on the mattress. He missed this bed. This room. This house.

This life.

He reopened his phone, and looked at the bright red notifications. Thousands of texts, hundreds of voicemails. Emails, he just…wasn’t even going to look at that number.

He hit the voicemails button first, Alfred’s words fresh in his mind. And sure enough, the list was just a constant repetition of Damian’s name, with a few others here and there, including his other siblings and hero friends.

None of the voicemails were very long. A minute, tops, in most cases. Fifteen to twenty seconds for the majority. So he went to the bottom, the very first voicemail on the list that belonged to Damian.

“…This is stupid.” The message started. Damian was speaking softly. “I’m…I’m sitting right next to you. In the hospital. You’re stable, but unconscious. The doctor keeps saying she doesn’t know if you’ll wake up.”

A ruffling, like he was shifting in a chair. “Well, you better, okay? You better wake up. Or else.”

Another pause. In the background, Dick could hear the beeping of a heart monitor.

“…Todd suggested this. Leaving voicemails for when you do wake up. Something to laugh about when you’re all better. Or as a memento, so you don’t feel like you missed anything. Or something. I don’t know.” An annoyed huff, and the repetition of: “This is so stupid.”

Then click.

Dick blinked, and went to the next message, and the next. The first ten or so from Damian were all similar messages, all recorded when he apparently was sitting at Dick’s hospital bed. The only difference between them were that Damian sounded sadder and sadder each time. Less hopeful.

There was at least one a day, sometimes more but normally not. Then suddenly for almost a week, there was nothing, not from Damian at least. Then his name reappeared, and the message was not its typical fifteen seconds. It was a minute and a half.

“…You woke up.” Damian choked out, and instantly Dick knew he was crying. “You woke up and you don’t remember any of us.” His breath was heavy, and he heard the desperate, quiet meows of Alfred behind him, trying to get his attention. “And you don’t want to remember any of us.”

Ten seconds of nothing but watery breathing. A gentle woof from Titus.

“Did someone tell you what I did, is that why? Did they tell you who I used to be?” Damian whispered. “Is that why you don’t want to know me anymore? You forgave my sins before, when we were partners. You remembered how heinous they actually were, didn’t you? And how stupid you were for forgiving me in the first place.”

Another long pause. Damian sniffed, and blew his nose.

“I…I should have been there, then this wouldn’t have happened.” Damian continued, almost like he forgot he was on the phone. “I would have seen the gunman. I would have pushed you out of the way. Father could have…done something.”

A heavy sigh.

“I would have killed him for looking at you. For daring to try and hurt…” A loud gulp that sounded painful. “I don’t know why I’m doing this anymore. You’re not coming back. This is a waste of time.”

The line dropped.

Dick winced as he went back to the list. If that was how this started…he had a feeling it didn’t get any better.

Which made the next one a surprise. Back to a short length. But despite it being under Damian’s name, the first voice he heard was Jason’s.

“Dickie!” Jason slurred, and immediately Dick knew he was drunk. In the background he heard laughter that sounded like Tim, and Damian shouting Jason’s name in annoyance. “We miss you, dude. Big time. Also, why’d you never share your kid with us? He’s cute. And I’m…a little insulted.”

“Todd.” Damian’s voice was closer now, and there was shuffling. “Give me back the damn phone!”

“Okay, I’m a lot insulted. Also, who taught him to swear so much? I swear, Bruce blushed at the way your lil’ baby boy cursed out the Penguin the other night.”

“Todd!” Damian called again. Suddenly Jason grunted, and Damian’s voice was right there, almost as if he was on Jason’s back. “Give me-”

There was the sound of a scuffle, and halfhearted “Hey!” from Jason, and suddenly all sound disappeared.

“…Sorry, Grayson.” Damian muttered, sounding genuine. “Todd was…upset. About…well, you, I guess, and got himself drunk over it.”

A pause, followed by a quick scoff. “What am I-”

The line cut off.

That one made Dick smile a little bit. But also sigh. The amnesia…did a whole lot more damage than to just his mind, it appeared.

He clicked the next.

“…I keep drawing you.” Damian whispered. “Cassandra brought it to my attention. I didn’t…didn’t realize.”

Dick could hear the scratch of a pencil in the background.

“She asked why, and I told her I didn’t know. Perhaps I just missed you. That seemed to satisfy her.” Damian hummed. He didn’t sound upset, like he had previously, but he also didn’t sound happy. He didn’t sound anything. “That’s not the real reason, though.” Stop. “I mean, it is. I do miss you.” A bitter laugh. “I miss you terribly and I hate myself for it because I probably shouldn’t.” Dick frowned at that. “But it’s not why.”

A quick scribble, then the turning of a page.

“It’s because I think…I think I’ll forget.” Damian breathed. “I’ll forget what you look like.” A small grunt. “Or, at least, what you looked like. When you were you.”

A few seconds of silence.

“You go by Ric, now. That’s disgusting.” Damian noted. “Barbara says you’re a cab driver now. Interesting choice. Very not you, that’s for sure.”

The clatter of pencils. A quiet meow from Alfred nearby.

“…But if it makes you happy, I guess.” Damian sighed. Dick absently wondered where Damian’s sketchbooks were, if anyone had seen them. If they still existed. “…I hope you’re happy, Grayson. Whatever you’re doing.”

The line clicked.

As he scrolled through the list, he wondered if Damian would show him the drawings he mentioned if he asked.

The next one he picked was from a few months later, and time stamped as two in the morning.

The first noise was the wind, a sound Dick knew well. Nothing like the howl of the breeze from on top of a skyscraper. The next was the flapping of a cape.

Damian’s voice was tinny, and clearly through his mask communicator, not a phone.

“…Father and I are fighting.” Damian said bluntly. “My team…my team doesn’t trust me. Not that they should, I suppose. Trust is for the weak. So, in theory, it makes them each stronger heroes.”

A bird fluttered by.

“I mean, I’m lying to them as well, so. They shouldn’t.” Damian reiterated. “I…”

He stopped again, and for a moment, the shuddering breath that echoed made Dick wonder if he was injured. If maybe he thought he was dying. It sounded like a confession.

“You’d be so disappointed in me, Grayson.” Damian sighed. “I…what I’m doing isn’t good. It’s…violent. And I’m hiding it. From the Titans, from Father. Not like Father cares where I am or what I’m doing anymore. I haven’t seen him in weeks.”

A few seconds of just Damian breathing.

“…I looked in the mirror the other day. For the first time in a while. It’s not like I was avoiding mirrors, I just…wasn’t thinking about them. But I did the other day and I…I don’t think I recognized myself.” Another flutter of wings and a light coo. Dick imagined the bird had landed on Damian’s hand. “I…didn’t really know who I was looking at. It took me a minute to realize I was looking at myself.”

The rustle of one of his belt pouches. The happy cooing of the bird again.

“…Something’s wrong with me.” Damian whispered, and he almost sounded terrified. “I…I’m trying my best. I’m trying to save people. I’m trying to be what people think I should be, what Father wants me to be, but…I feel like I’m drowning. Like I’m cracking. Like I’m about to shatter into a million pieces.”

Dick felt a lump in his throats at the words. This wasn’t good. Because normally, Damian only admitted something was wrong when it was too late to fix it. So how long did he feel this way? How long was he and Bruce really so estranged?

What was Damian doing that he was keeping so hidden?

“Drake says I’m still grieving you, and that I’m in the midst of some sort of…downward spiral. Then he said it was funny, because you were similar when I died.”

Dick could agree with that.

“But…you had your friends. You still had the family. I…” An angry huff. “You were the only person to ever care about me Grayson, and I have no one.”

The wind blew in the background again, and it sounded like it was wailing.

“I have no one.” Damian repeated softly. Then he snorted. “Maybe, somehow, this is your fault. Maybe without you, I really am a hopeless case. You were my conscious, so without you I am just the evil assassin who needs to be stopped, thrown in prison or eradicated.”

Another pause, and Dick heard the bird fly off.

“…I’m lost, Grayson. And I…I guess I’m scared.” Damian whispered. “Of Father’s true feelings for me, of the future…of myself.”

Another sigh, and suddenly Damian’s voice was full of tears.

“I’m just trying so hard, Grayson. I’m trying my best. But it’s still not good enough. I still can’t get Father to look at me. I still can’t save anyone. I…I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

A moment, to let himself cry, and Dick’s heart broke with every beat listening to it.

“I hope you’re doing well without me. Without the family.” Damian breathed, trying to regain his composure. “Because I am not doing as well without you.”

Dick heard the phantom sound of a beep, the alert for another line calling.

“I miss you.” Damian whispered. “I miss you so much, Grayson. I hope you’re doing okay.”

The line clicked.

Dick glanced back at the metadata for the call. That was less than a year ago. Eight, ten months perhaps?

He hadn’t seen Damian since he returned. Hell, no one had even mentioned him. But no one said anything had happened either…

Dick swallowed that lump in his throat, went looking for more messages.

One was only six seconds.

“Jon went away for three weeks. He’s now seventeen years old, and going to live in the thirty-first century.” Damian explained. “Why do the people I care about keep changing? Keep leaving?”

Another even shorter one a few days later.

“Titus pooped in Drake’s room. I’m not cleaning it up. It’s what he deserves.”

There were a string of them, almost every other day for about three weeks. Each short, and none of them pertaining to Damian’s long, distressing message.

“It rained today, and I wore your sweatshirt outside. Sorry.”

“Father called me back to town to help with a case. He didn’t say four words to me the whole time I was here.”

“It’s…hard today, Grayson.”

“My animals miss you.”

“Todd misses you.”

“Gordon misses you today.”

“I think I saw Pennyworth crying over you in the kitchen this morning.”

“I had a dream about you. You were dead. Your ghost followed me around. I think I preferred it to our current situation.”

“I had a nightmare about you. You were a Talon sent to kill me. I should have let you.”

“…I miss you, Grayson. I don’t know what else to say.”

Dick’s heart was twisting. No one noticed Damian was making these calls beside Alfred? No one talked to him? He was just…left to deal with this alone?

After that three week period, there weren’t any for a month or two. Dick even checked for text messages, and there was none from Damian. He was surprised by that too, surprised Damian never texted him during his time away. Always put in the extra effort, extra time, to call. To let the phone ring, listen to his answering machine, and say what was one his mind.

He went back to the list of voicemails, and went in search of Damian’s next one. And he found it – right next to one from Tim a few minutes before it.

So he listened to Tim’s first.

“…It’s a mess here without you, Dick.” Tim said with a sigh. “Something’s going on with Damian and Bruce, and no one seems to know what it is. Hell, I don’t think they even know, honestly. But it’s tense and awful being here. Can’t help but think this – whatever this is – wouldn’t have happened if you were still here.”

The computer dinged in the background, and Dick heard the chair shift as Tim leaned forward.

“Damian’s about to snap. No one can reach him.” Tim sounded concerned, and Dick was almost surprised by that. “He won’t let anyone reach him. He’s reminding me of how he was when he first came here, and that’s scary. But I’m not you. No one is you, and we can’t figure it out. We ask and he ignores the question. We offer support and he disappears.”

Another sigh.

“Bruce doesn’t even ask.”

Dick found himself wincing at that.

“…We miss you, Dick.” Tim mumbled. “But at least you’re safe down in Bludhaven, and away from all this shit.”

Tim ended the call.

Immediately, Dick went to Damian’s call, that he made only moments later.

“…I have to leave. I can’t do this anymore.” Damian whispered. “I can’t stay here. I can’t stay in this life. I can’t stay in this mantle.”

There was no sound behind him. Nothing. He obviously wasn’t in the cave, that’s where Tim clearly was. But was he in the house? Was he outside? Was he already gone?

“I…I’m sorry I let you down, Grayson. I’m sorry I’ve destroyed the name you, for some reason I still don’t understand, thought I deserved. But I won’t take Robin with me. I’ll leave it here. I won’t tarnish it anymore.” More silence. Dick couldn’t even hear Damian breathing. “…Do you think Father will even notice I’m gone? Do you think he’ll care?”

Dick waited in the quiet.

“Because I don’t.” Damian admitted. “But…maybe that’s alright. It’ll make it easier for me to do what I need to. No distractions.”

Suddenly, there was a small hitch in his breath, and Dick heard the tears instantly.

“I’ll miss him, despite it all. He is still my father. He still let me meet you.” Damian breathed. “But I need to do this. I need to. And I don’t know if I’ll come back. Maybe if you do.”

A bitter laugh.

“But we all know that isn’t happening.” Damian let out a long exhale. “I’m sorry, Grayson. I’m sorry I couldn’t…be what you thought I could be. And I’m sorry…I didn’t appreciate you while you were here. I never thought losing you would be my undoing. Would put me on a path that would lead to something like this. I thought…I thought I’d be with you and the family forever. Now I’m escaping into the night with nothing but a backpack. I’m not even taking this phone. Don’t want to be tracked and all that.”

As Damian spoke, Dick glanced at the call’s info again. This wasn’t that long ago. Three months.

“Thank you for everything. I’m sorry I messed it all up. I still miss you. I…still love you.” Damian sniffed. “I hope you and I cross paths again one day, even if you’re still Ric.”

Then…nothing. The call ended. Dick scrolled the list to find another one, but there was no more. No more calls from Damian’s phone. Not even anymore from the family. A few friends, a few doctor’s appointment reminders.

Dick sighed, dropping the phone onto his chest and closing his eyes. He knew he missed a lot. He knew he missed lifetimes.

But this…

The front door squeaked open. “We’re here!”

Despite it all, Dick found himself smiling. It was Tim.

He slid off his bed, leaving the phone behind, and jogged into and down the hall. But he found himself freezing at the landing.

Because it wasn’t just Tim. Damian was with him.

He was taller now, and full-on teenager lanky. His cheekbones were more pronounced, arms too long for the sweatshirt he wore. Already, Dick could see a few new scars he didn’t remember, even from this distance.

Dick frowned. The voicemail just said…?

Regardless, none of his confusion stopped him from all but flying down the stairs. Damian and Tim were chatting as they took off their shoes, so they didn’t see him coming, not until he engulfed Tim in his arms, and practically tackled him to the ground.

“Hey little brothers.” His voice was muffled against Tim’s shoulder.

Tim laughed, throwing his arms around Dick. “God, am I glad to see you.”

“Glad to be back.” He released Tim, but stared down at him. He looked tired. More tired than he normally did.

But he didn’t dwell on it, immediately turning to Damian and wrapping him up in his arms, lifting him and giving him a quick spin.

“Augh, Grayson!” Damian admonished, but laughed in the process, clinging to Dick’s neck. Even when Dick put him down, he didn’t release him, keeping his face hidden in Damian’s hair.

“Kiddo.” Dick whispered. “What’s new?”

Because should he outright say that he knew? Should he confront Damian – and Tim, really – right here and now? Or play dumb? Alfred said no one knew he kept the phone, after all.

“Everything.” Damian chuckled. “It has been a while, after all.” But Damian pulled back, and Dick’s heart swelled at the obvious reluctance to the movement. He felt no different, of course. “But a conversation for later. Not in the doorway. Has Pennyworth finished preparations?”

Like a snake, Damian slid away, practically running to the kitchen. A tactic to avoid conversation, Dick knew it well. He sighed, and glanced at Tim.

Tim was already watching him curiously. “…Do you know?”

“I know a little.” Dick admitted. “I…Alfred saved my phone. I got your voicemails. And his. I know he…left? He’s not Robin anymore?”

Tim shook his head. “He’s only here because I spent a week tracking him down. Bruce…didn’t even try to contact him to tell him you’re back. But I knew despite it all, he’d want to be here.”

“Does Bruce know he’ll be here tonight? For this?”

“No.” Tim mumbled. “And even when he sees him, Jay, Cass and I have already made a plan to keep the two as far away from each other as possible. Tonight’s about you, not what’s going on with them.”

“Think they’ll tell me what’s going on? Later, after dinner?”

Tim shrugged. “You know how Bruce is. Damian…he already told me he doesn’t want to stay long, probably to avoid talking to Bruce. But he missed you like crazy, so I don’t see him trying to sneak away until you guys get to talk one on one. So…he might.”

Dick pursed his lips. “…A lot has changed, hasn’t it?”

Tim gave him a sour grin. “More than you’d ever believe.”

“…Well, I’ll tell you one thing that hasn’t.” Dick offered. He wrapped his arm around Tim’s shoulders, reeled him into his side. “Still love you like crazy, squirt.”

Tim smiled genuinely now, hooking his own arm around Dick’s waist and pushing him towards the kitchen. “You better, old man.”

Dick laughed, kissed Tim’s head. “Missed you.”

“Missed you more.” Tim countered as they reached the doorway. They stopped there, leaning against each other. “…But probably still not as much as he did.”

Damian was awkwardly standing in front of Alfred as the old man looked him over, critiqued his lack of hair cut and skinniness. Alfred said something scolding and Damian laughed.

Dick inhaled and, without releasing Tim, walked over to him, once again tugging him into an embrace. An unspoken group hug.

Damian was still laughing. “Grayson, what on earth!”

“Just give me a minute, Damian.” Dick whispered, leaning his head between Tim and Damian’s. “Give me a minute.”

A minute before everyone’s here. A minute before Bruce brings tension. A minute before I learn what really happened. A minute before you try to disappear back into the night again.

He didn’t say any of that, but Damian seemed to know. He always seemed to know.

“Okay.” He whispered, as Tim silently wrapped his free arm around Damian’s back too. Damian glanced at him, but Tim just kept his gaze lowered. It was not the night for him to share his emotions on the subject.

So Damian shifted to hold them both, too.

“…Okay, Grayson.”

[batboysandgirls]

Jason Todd x Reader - What a Night

Title: What a Night Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader Summary: Your commute home turns into a kidnapping, but at least you’re not alone tied up in this warehouse…  The Red Hood got kidnapped too. Words: 4k

When you come to, you stopped yourself from panicking.  You were tied to a chair in what appeared to be a pretty empty warehouse, and you were 80% sure that the Red Hood was sitting next to you.

The last thing you remembered was walking into the metro station at about seven in the evening, and a huge explosion.  One would think this was a totally new and shocking experience, but you lived in Gotham.  This was the third metro stop explosion you’d wandered into in your twenty-one years in Gotham.  (Public transit was just too appealing, apparently.  The bad guys either like dramatic encounters on trains or just revel in messing up the commutes of a few thousand citizens.).  Now, both the previous times, you’d woken up in an ER, and watched on the TV above hospital bed your as some of the bat vigilantes stopped whoever was behind the attack.

So, the whole being tied to a chair was a new, unpleasant development.  Also, the Red Hood.  Your chair was angled in a way so that you could only see the guy through your peripheral vision, but the mask was pretty recognizable to anybody.  His head was slumped down, though.  He must have gotten knocked out, too.  Good to know the only guy who’s probably been in this situation before was KO’d.

Well, time to get to work then.  You wriggled your fingers… Rope.  Okay.  Workable.  Maybe you could shimmy out of them.  But your wrists were tied together separately from your body behind the chair.  Not great.  You made your muscles tense then relaxed them a few times, opening and closing your hands.  You felt one of the loops around your left wrist shift a little, and you tried to slide your hand out a bit.  Your left hand was just about free when you heard a grunt next to you.

“Ouch.  This is a doozy.”

Did the Red Hood just describe this situation as a doozy?

“Um,” you said, “I’ve got one hand free.  I should be untied in a couple minutes.”

“It’s always nice when hostages taken initiative,” Red Hood replied.  “Sometimes you guys just flounder.  I respect the hustle.”  He was trying to break free of his own ropes, it seemed.  Flexing and wiggling around to find some slack.

Your left hand was free, so you started on the ropes around your chest.  You were merely done when you heard a snapping sound and turned to see Red Hood had literally broke his hands free from strength alone.  That was kind of impressive, alarming, and attractive all at once.

“Wow,” you said, slightly in awe, not realizing you were even speaking aloud.

“Don’t be too impressed yet.  This was the easy part,” Red Hood said as he came over to your chair, but he stopped to stare at you.  “Wait, I know you.”

You grimaced.  “I’m kind of a famous gymnast.  I was in the last-last summer Olympics, not the one last month, but the one over four years ago now, uh.  I was in some advertisemen—”

“Oh, so you’re ____ _____, then?” Red Hood said, helping untie you.  “Cool.”

(There was something odd in his voice. Your name came too easily to him.  Like he had recognized you as soon as he saw you, but wanted to pretend he didn’t.  Something like that.  File that under “weird” and “vigilante fan of my gymnastics trying to play it cool?”.)

“So,” Red Hood said as the ropes fell away, shaking out your sore wrists, “Like I was saying, that was the easy part.  The hard part is getting out of here, and figuring out why we’re here.”

You frowned.  “Did you see the explosion?  Or did whoever did this get you some other way?”

“An explosion?”

“At the Gotham U East Metro.  It was pretty empty as I walked up, and then halfway down the stairs everything exploded and I woke up here.”

“I was attacked by a group of mobsters a few blocks from there.  Seems like Two-Face’s guys.  One injected me with some kind of strong sedative, and I passed out.”

You furrowed your brow.  “Two-Face?”

Red Hood sighed.  “Yup.  Just need to figure out his stupid plan for this time.”

Stupid plan… You made a little ‘oh’ as a thought occurred to you.  “Do you think the attacked the Gotham U East Metro, but not the West one?  Or maybe the East Metros across the city?  As part of his half thing?”

Red Hood was staring at you again.

“What?” you asked, immediately feeling foolish.  “Is that dumb?  I haven’t—”

“No, no,” Red Hood… chuckled?  He seemed to find it amusing.  “It’s pretty smart, actually.  You just remind me of my—my associate Red Robin.”

“Associate?” you repeated, feeling yourself smiling.  What an odd way to phrase that.  “Or is he a more of colleague?  A comrade?  Is Nightwing an associate? He seems more like a wingman, you know.”

“I—“ Red Hood begins, before clearing this throat. He turned away and seemed to be surveying the space.  “First off, that pun was very bad, and I’m not begrudgingly smiling under my helmet about it.  Secondly, it’s—associate is just cause—look, honestly you don’t need to know this, but I’ve got a kind of complicated relationship with the other Robins, current, former, whatever.”

He paused and glanced at you as if to gauge your reaction.  You were still standing and listening to him.  He took a breath and continued, “We’re almost like brothers.  The rest of them are, but I don’t fit so nicely in their little family.”

It seemed he was finished, so you spoke, slightly hesitantly.  “Have you talked to them about it?  Either the Robins or Nightwing?  I—I mean, we don’t have to talk about it if you want.  We probably should be focused on getting out of here.  But, if you—”

Shkk.  You were cut off by Red Hood suddenly pulling out a grapple gun from his belt and coming up next to you.  Okay. Strictly business then.  No more oversharing.

“Mind if I…?”  Red Hood’s arm was hovering next to you.  Oh, this was cute.  Very cute.

You shook your head, and Red Hood wrapped an arm around your waist, firing off the grapple gun into the rafters with his other hand.  Your heart sped up as you landed in the support beams of the building.  That was scary in an exciting way.

Red Hood put away the grapple gun, and started to fiddle with something on the side of his mask, opening up a panel and pulling at wires.

“Mask’s communication got fried somehow.  Hoping I can fix that.  Better signal up here.”  You nodded, and there was a pause before he spoke again.  “I haven’t talked to them about it.  I’m not as buddy-buddy with the other bats like Nightwing is.  My M.O. is too different…”  (You resisted the urge to look at the now empty gun holsters at his sides, which when full of pistols distinguished him from any other Gotham hero.)  “…so we’ve had our ups and downs.  But I like the Robins.  They’re good kids.  And I do like Nightwing, even if he’s an ass a lot of the time.  So I’m trying to be a better…”

He trailed off, fiddling with the helmet absentmindedly.

“A better associate?” you offered.  You couldn’t tell if the Red Hood was smiling behind his mask, but you hoped he was.

“Exactly.”  Then he added quietly, as if to himself, “And maybe at some point I’ll be a better brother, too.”

It was kind of odd he felt comfortable talking about this with you, but maybe because he knew you as an athlete, or maybe because he just really needed to say it aloud.  Either way, you felt like maybe you helped him, which made this whole affair feel better. The eyes of his helmet lit up, and Red Hood let out a satisfying “Aha!” as he shut the little panel.

“Oracle?  Nightwing?  Anyone hear me?”

Sitting right next to him, you can hear the faint sounds of someone talking to Red Hood through an earpiece in his helmet, but only his side of the conversation is clear.  You weren’t sure who Oracle was either, but it was probably a woman based on the pitch of the voice you heard.

“It’s Two-Face.  His guys got me.  He attacked Gotham U East Metro.  The hostage I was with thought maybe he was going after the East metro stops across town.”  He turned to you, and you gave a nervous shrug.  Twenty second pass before you saw him freeze up.  “Okay.  That’s bad, but okay.  Can you track our location?”

He paused, listening to something from the other end, before he turned to you.

“So, you’re right.  They hadn’t realized the pattern before but Gotham U East blew up, then the Wayne Tower station too, except—”

“Except the Wayne Tower station is technically Old Gotham East, right?  No one ever calls it ‘Old Gotham East’ unless you work for GCTA.”

“Right.  But after checking other East stations, there’s definitely bombs set up at Fashion District East and Robinson East.  Probably more they haven’t found yet.”

You frowned.  “So, that’s bad, but where are we?  And why did they just leave us here?”

“Radio came through but location tracker is still down.  Still working on theories for the why question,” Red Hood said, standing up and scanning the roof above for an exit.  He darted up some of the beams and started slamming different places with his fist to see if one was loose.  After thirty seconds, he found a loose section and Red Hood was able to bend a panel to the side, exposing a little panel of night sky.

He returned to you and helped you climb out onto what seemed to be a fairly innocuous warehouse roof.  To your left you could see what looked like the Vincefinkel Bridge.  Behind you was the water, so you must be not far from Chinatown.  Huh.

“Why did Two-Face take us half-way across town?” Red Hood asked, echoing your own thoughts.  Your eyes widened in realization.

“Red Hood, Chinatown East Station is just a fe—”

He was already moving, holding you to his side as you fly from the warehouse roof into the city itself.  Grappling up to the rafters of a warehouse was one thing.  Hurtling through the air several stories high was another.  It was exhilarating, but you also felt yourself cling a little tighter to Red Hood when you glanced down.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” he said quietly, as he felt your body tense.  Your heart fluttered at how gentle his voice was.  Agh.  Why did superheroes have to be so attractive and noble?

Soon he dropped you down about a block from the station.  A barricade had been put by the entrance, but unhappy (and slightly bored looking) commuters stood dangerously close to the entrance, waiting for it to reopen.  You didn’t blame them.  This was Gotham City.  Metro attacks were a favorite of supervillains.  Whenever one station was attacked, the whole system got shut down, which was an annoyance.  Most of the time, if something happened to one metro stop across down, you’d probably be fine waiting next to another station.  Key phrase being “most of the time.”

“I need to find the bomb,” Red Hood said, “But tell everyone to get away from the station.”

You didn’t have a chance to say “okay” before he was gone, swinging around the block and vanishing behind the station.

The next five minutes were a blur.  You ran up to the station and, calmly, explained that the East metro stations were being targeted in a series of attacks and everyone commuting need to give the entrance a wide berth.  Most people raised an eyebrow and quickly hurried away.  A few people asked how you knew this or waved off your warning, but you (quickly) explained that you’d discovered this with the Red Hood when you were both kidnapped by Two-Face.  You didn’t know whether the name drop of Red Hood or Two-Face was more persuasive, but everyone backed off.

When the police arrived a few minutes later to barricade off the whole block, you were the only person even remotely close to the station from where you stood across the street.  One of the bats must have tipped them off.  You waited at the barricade as seconds passed by agonizingly slowly.

You didn’t want the station to explode, but you really didn’t want the Red Hood to explode either.  At the very edge of the explosion, you’d been knocked unconscious.  At the center of it, after failing to defuse it…. You inhaled and exhaled.  You’d lived in Gotham your whole life.  You didn’t want to see another vigilante die thanks to this crazy city.

Maybe ten minutes passed when a police officer near you leaned their ear to their radio and let out a sigh of relief.

“Bomb defused!” she shouted into the ground behind the barricade.  There were a few sighs, some cheers, and a couple of grumbles about “this goddamn city.”  The metro was going to be closed for the rest of the evening, so pretty much everyone cleared out except you and the people who lived on the block.  The police said the barricade would be up for another half hour or so as they secured the area.

You stayed, and you didn’t know why.  Well, you did; it was more like you didn’t know why you bothered.  For some reason, you thought maybe the Red Hood would be back.  You wanted to thank him, or just see yourself that in fact he did not get blown up.

When the barricade lifted and he still didn’t appear, you gave up.  You were actually closer to your apartment from Chinatown than Gotham U. It was still about a half hour’s walk at night in Gotham City, but cabs weren’t an option—you didn’t have money.  Your bag must have been taken by Two-Face’s guys or lost in the explosion.  You hoped maybe the cops would find it in the next couple days.  Thankfully you’d stuck a key underneath the potted plant in your apartment’s hall, so at least you wouldn’t be locked out.

You had been walking for about ten minutes, staying pretty on edge from the night’s events, when a familiar voice came from behind you.

“Headed home?  The night’s still young for some of us.  It’s not even three yet.”

You turned around to see Red Hood leaning against a street lamp.

“It’s been a long day,” you replied, “And it’s a long walk home.”

“Would you mind some company, then?”

You smiled as Red Hood moved beside you.

“Not at all.”

You were walking for a while in silence, but it was the peaceful kind.  You weren’t as afraid now since you 1) weren’t alone and 2) had a crime-fighting walking companion.  Red Hood was whistling as you walked, which was kind of wild.  Tough gun-wielding vigilante whistling for fun?  Sure.  Honestly not the weirdest thing that’s happened in the last few hours.

“The cops said you did a good job getting people away from the station before they blocked it off,” Red Hood said.  “Thanks for that.”

“Oh, no problem,” you said, “I’m just glad everyone was safe.  Especially you.”

“Especially me?” Red Hood repeated, “You’ll make me blush.”

“You saved my life basically, and saved all those people,” you explained, “Not to mention how many people you probably on a nightly basis.”

“I think you might want to consider that you saved all those people,” Red Hood said.  “Batman, Oracle, or Red Robin probably would have figured out the East metro thing sooner or later.  Their brains work like that.  But you made that connection before all of them did, and getting it that quickly saved a lot of people.”  You shook your head, feeling your cheeks color a bit at the compliment, but Red Hood didn’t let you off the hook.  “I’m serious, _____.  You impressed the ‘world’s greatest detective,’ if you believe that.”

“I’m just glad to have been a help,” you said, positive your face was flushed at this point.

When you arrived at your apartment building, the Red Hood nodded his head at you.

“Enjoy the rest of your night.  Oh—” He seemed like he was about to leave but paused as he reached to grab something near the back of his belt.  He held out a small blue bag…  Wait, that was your bag!

“Oh my gosh,” you said, taking it.  You looked in.  Your wallet, phone, keys, metro card (important), and headphones were all safe and sound.  “Thank you!  Where did you find it?”

Red Hood shrugged.  “After we took care of all the bombs, I went back and found all of Two-Face’s guys.  In police custody now.  They had meant to kill us, but there were troubles with some of the bombs so they just left us alone for later.  I figured they might have taken your stuff, so I checked and they had your bag in one of their desk drawers.”

He had actually looked for things?  Just to be nice?  Wow, the Red Hood really did get a too bad a rep.  He had been a pleasure all evening.

“I can’t thank you enough, Red Hood,” you said.  “For this and for everything.”

“Don’t mention it,” he said, pulling out his grapple once more.  “Later.”  You stood outside your apartment until his figure moved into the darkness of the rooftops above.

What a night.

✹ ✹

“OH!  Damian, you’ll never guess what happened to me yesterday,” you said near the end of your most promising student’s private gymnastics lessons.  “I got kidnapped by Two-Face’s goons, but I worked with the Red Hood and kind of helped stop those metro bombs.”

Damian launched off from the uneven bars into a slightly messy landing onto the mat in front of you.  Oof.  That looked awkward.

“Hey, make sure when you let go that your body is s—”

“_____, pardon my bad form.  I’m trying to understand why you spent the entire warm up monologuing about how you want to bake more but you hate getting your kitchen messy, and you didn’t lead with your kidnapping?”

You shrugged, gesturing at Damian to follow you as you did a handstand.

“Honestly, I still think I’m processing it all, but it was surprisingly lowkey for a kidnapping.  I was barely harmed, and I didn’t really interact with my kidnappers.  Red Hood helped me get out.  I don’t know.  I was debating making pancakes this morning as a treat for yesterday evening, so I guess that was more actively on my mind earlier.”  Damian grunted in response, and you let your legs fall forward and resumed standing.  Damian followed suit.

“I’d appreciate hearing about any attempts on your life immediately,” Damian said.

“Run your routines twice through, and I promise I will tell you upfront about any dangerous encounters I’ve experienced between lessons.  Then we can call it a day.”

Damian nodded and started his routine: without complaint.  That was slightly miraculous!  About three months into your lessons, Damian began to have some semblance of respect for you.  Before then it has been an uphill battle with the young teen to get him to listen to your instructions.  It just took constant effort and patience, and him discovering your former Olympic glory, to form a productive relationship.

Though Damian seemed to be mocking about you burying the lede, you knew his tumble from the bars meant he was genuinely concerned.  He could see it in his eyes, too.  Damian was a good kid, even if he was a bit full of himself.

As Damian went through his routine, you alternated between watching and doing his moves yourself to pass the time.  He had the routines down pat other than a couple of his more complicated dismounts.

You were finishing a series of two flips, landing right on the edge of the mat in front of you, when you find yourself face to face with Jason Todd.  Like, faces just a few inches apart.  You were reminded how, of all Damian’s ridiculously attractive brothers who’d come to pick him up from gymnastics lessons, Jason always managed to disarm your the most.  Something in those stunning green eyes peered into your soul.  And you always wondered if his hair was as soft as it looked…

You immediately took a step back as Jason clapped. “Ten out of ten from this judge, although I don’t think they score it like that anymore.”

You couldn’t help but smile.  “Not quite, but I appreciate it nonetheless.  You’re sneaky, I didn’t even hear you come in.  Your turn to pick up the little Wayne?”

“Unfortunately.  I was going to tell him to just take the metro to my apartment, but that got screwed up,” Jason said, a twinkle in his eyes.

“Oh, I know.  I actually was there when the station exploded last night.  I had just finished coaching the women’s team’s night practice when it exploded just as I walked in.  It was a long night,” you replied.

From across the room, mid-flip, Damian shouted, “She got kidnapped by Two-Face’s guys, then saved by the Red Hood!  Can you believe it, Todd?”

Jason had a slightly funny look on his face but looked at you intently.

“Really?  Are you okay?”

“Oh, I’m fine.  It was nothing.  Red Hood was nice, and the goons didn’t even hurt me.  Just tied me up.  I even helped Red Hood figure out that Two-Face was targeting East metro stops.”

“He must have been pretty impressed, it sounds like,” Jason said with a still slightly funny smirk.  What was that about?

“Uh, well, it’s kind of hard to see his face behind the mask, so I don’t really know.  But he seemed happy enough with me.  He actually recognized me right away, I think.  He was weird about it.  Maybe he was a fan back in the day.  Was really nice to me, though.  Polite, and honestly kind.”

Damian finished his routines and did an extra flip to land right next to you.

“I’m sure he was more than impressed.  Enamored by your Olympic and intellectual prowess, I’d wager.  Probably why he was so weird.”

Uh.  What?  Where did that come from?  You looked at Damian quizzically.

“Damian, what—”

“_____, how are you getting home tonight since the metro is down here?” Jason asked, glaring at Damian.  He looked almost…embarrassed?  It was a weird enough remark to create some second hand embarrassment.  You decided to let the topic slide for now.  Maybe you’d pry Damian more about it next lesson.

“Um, I don’t have a car or anything, so I was just going to walk.”

Damian frowned.  “But you don’t live near here.”

“It’s about 40 minutes.  But I don’t min—”

“Woah, woah.  It’s almost eight o’clock, and it’s already dark.  You really shouldn’t be walking alone at night.  That’s good practice everywhere, but we live in Gotham City.  It’s basically a necessity.”

You opened your mouth to protest, but Jason held up his hands.

“You did manage to get yourself out of a kidnapping situation with some help, but, at least for tonight, let me drop you off at your apartment on the way home with Damian.  It’ll be easy.”

“I’m out of your way, Jason, you really don’t hav—”

“I want to.  Alright?”  He was smiling.  Damn.  How could you resist that?

“…Alright.”

As you got into the car a few minutes later, Damian asked you loudly if you thought you’d see the Red Hood again.  Jason was glaring at him again, this time via rear view mirror.  You were in the passenger seat next to Jason and turned to face Damian in the back.

“Well, I’d hope I’m never in another situation where I’d need his help again.  But maybe I’ve ‘enamored’ him like you said, and he just won’t be able to stay away,” you said, narrowing your eyes at the young teen.

Damian scoffed.  “Look, all I meant was that Red Hood has a reputation for not being very friendly.  So if he was so nice to you, it probably means he found you attractive.”  You scoffed back, mimicking the sound, enjoying Damian’s slightly offended face at the mockery.

“Okay, well, a couple of counter-theories.  First, maybe he’s just not as mean as people say.  Second, even if he is meaner, maybe he was just in an overly friendly mood yesterday.  Third, maybe he was a fan of mine, so he was extra nice.  None of those scenarios involve him finding me attractive.”

Damian opened his mouth to protest, but Jason spoke before he could.

“Let’s let _____ not relive what was probably an unpleasant evening, okay, demon brat?”

What affectionate names the Wayne brothers called one another.

You turned and smiled at Jason, who smiled back.  A warm feeling in your chest blossomed as you did, and it didn’t vanish long after you were safely laying in bed at your apartment.  You were trying to picture something other than the soft smile of Jason Todd or the brilliant green of his eyes…

Man.  What a night.

[just-some-random-blogger]

No Way, Subway

DC Batman Bruce Wayne x Tailor!Reader Summary: You definitely did not meet Bruce Wayne on a Subway Word Count: 1k+ Warnings: Teasings, fluff, name calling kinda, etc.

---

“I know this is a really weird question, but, uh, who’s your tailor?”

The man in the deep green three piece suit turned to me from where he stood and narrowed his eyes curiously. Everyone in the carriage shook as the train passed that uneven part of the subway with the loud pipes. The man pulled his head back and looked for a tag inside his suit.

Even though the expression on his face was not very flattering, he still very much looked like someone from out of a magazine. Even with his folded triple chin, he looked awfully cute.

Honestly, I know it sounds crazy, but he looked so much like Bruce Wayne for a hot second I thought he was him. And then I took some common sense from the back of my head and started to rationalize why the richest person in the damn planet would be taking the subway. Oh that’s right, he wouldn’t, ergo, this was merely someone who looked exactly like Bruce Wayne.

“Isn’t this, like, Armani or something?” he grunts, frustrated that he couldn’t find a tag.

I knit my brows and nodded profusely, “Armani doesn’t stich like that. This was handmade, unless you got a handmade Armani suit or something.”

For a second, he stops his search for a tag and turns to me.  He then, I think silently debates the weight of my words.

We arrive at a stop and I turn to the opening doors. At his point, he removes his jacket and goes AHA!

“Darcy,” he says, putting his outwear back on. He turns to me as I wonder if I knew a tailor called Darcy, which slowly melted why don’t I know a tailor named Darcy when that tailor made that?

 “I assume Darcy is the last name, does he or she have a first?” I asked by the time the train started again.

“I…” he trailed off, “believe her name is Ephonie.”

I frowned.

A second passed before the man spoke up again, “Why the long face?”

I turned to him humming. I blinked at his expression, concerned, deathly handsome. Holy crap what if he was Bruce Wayne?

“Oh, I just… I don’t know her.”

The man took another second before replying, “I’m guessing you’re a tailor too?”

I pursed my lips and nodded. “If this big ass bag of junk isn’t already a dead giveaway,” I said, kicking the big bag of cloth and various types of fabric in front of me.

“Not to be nosy, but wouldn’t it be better to take a cab with how much you’re carrying?”

“Yes, well, Mr. Nosy, not all of us can afford to take a cab back and forth the city frequently.” I sighed. “And besides, save the environment, right. Plus, I’m used to it; it’s not as heavy as you think.”

He chuckled, “I just asked if you should’ve taken a cab and yet you’ve said so much. I don’t qualify being called Mr. Nosy if you said shared all that yourself.”

I broke into a laugh.

 The rest of the ride was spent in the sound of others chatting and the train moving around. When the next stop came around, I moved to gather my things. The man in front of me seemed like he was getting off too.

“Need some help?” he offered.

I took my back up and smiled, “I’m good; as I said, it’s not as heavy as it looks.”

He nodded and walked off. I followed, exiting the same way he did. As we went up back into the streets, he looked back at me, slightly making me feel conscious. Nonetheless, I walked on, and he apparently seemed to be heading the same direction as I was.

Once we both came to a stop at a stop light, the tall man placed his hands in his pockets and nodded. “I’m heading that way, Nosy jr.”

I chuckled, “I literally didn’t ask.”

“Exactly. But because I have a strong feeling we’ll be heading the same direction anyway, let me help you carry your bag, at least one of them.”

I huffed and looked at the street light. Well, judging by the suit he was wearing, I could say he was rich, but then again he could be a con man. However, my tiring arm was trying to get me to think otherwise.

“Okay, you can help,” I huffed as the pedestrian sign turned green, “but the moment you get to your destination give it back, ya hear?”

I waited for his reply and he smiled, nodding, “I hear.”

“Good.” I gave a breath and pulled my bag towards him. “Another thing… you know what happens to me if you run off with this?” I handed him the heavy bag of my supplies. He made a face at upon carrying it and looked at me like a liar. Perhaps it was lie that my bag was not as light as I made it to be, but then again, he could just be a wimp.

I disregarded his look and pursed my lips, “I die.”

The man turned from my bag, which he hung on his shoulder, to me. I continued on saying, “I will die if you run away with this. It’s literally all my last money in that bag, so I beg of you: don’t run away with it.”

 We stared walking off.

If ever he did have any intention of robbing me, I guess I changed his mind because he walked slowly by my side. We talked to avoid awkwardness, but it was mostly about whatever we saw on the way.

By the time we were laughing about a pretzel stand with the funniest logo, the man stopped, causing me to turn to him, alerted.

I titled my head, “Tired?”

He shook his head with an airy chuckle, “No… it’s… my stop.”

I turned to the building and gasped.

W A Y N E    E N T E R P R I S E S

My eyes widened. “No way… are—are you really Bruce Wayne?”

For some odd reason, he turned to his shoes and his cheeks turned red. “What gave it away?”

I raised my brows and shook my head profusely, “UH YOUR FACE?”

“Damn. And here I thought you didn’t know me.”

I scoffed out a chuckle and took my bag from him, “Funny. Everyone in the damn planet knows you, Mr. Wayne.”

“… I prefer Mr. Nosy, honestly. It’s my middle name, or so I’m told.”

I burst out into a fit of chuckles.

“Well, Mr. Nosy. Thanks for the help. I’ll be sure to testify next time someone says you’re a lousy, greedy businessman.”

For a moment, I regret saying the words I did, up until he laughed heartily. 

“Oh, it’s fine. People will think what they will.”

I felt my cheeks turn burn.

I cleared my throat, “Well, it was nice meeting you. Oh, and uh, thanks,” I pulled my bag up and smiled.

“I’d say you’re welcome, but I didn’t catch your name.”

I pursed my lips and told him. He smiled and said a quick you’re welcome.

And that was that, I turned around, walked away, and went back to my studio, finishing a couple of designs I had.

My shop was dark and cold, and so was my desk. I looked at my sketch and felt tears well in my eyes. It wasn’t bad, I swear in the most non-arrogant voice ever, I knew my work was good. It was just really hard to get my work out there.

I sighed, in good time. It’ll be good in time.

      Or will it.

      “Why are you taking the subway?” a voice asked from behind me. 

I turned to the man with the deep voice and smiled at the face I saw. “Mr. Nosy!"

His lips quirked upward, “Nosy jr. How do you do?”

I chuckled, “Oh, honestly, I’ve been amazing. I mean, I’ve had all these customers and I’ve been making so many clothes, it’s exhilarating!” I laughed loudly, quickly covering my mouth when I realized I was a tad too loud.

“That’s great,” Bruce Wayne smiles brightly, unlike any of the advertisements I've seen him in, “you’re not going to die now if you lose that bag?”

I chuckle, feeling my cheeks heat up at his words. “Actually, I wont anymore.” I smiled at him and he reciprocated. Then all at once, I realized something.

“Wait… did—did you help me out?”

The man knit his brows and tilted his head, “I don’t follow.”

I shoved his chest and growled lowly, “Please, don’t tell me the mulit-billionare is dumb.”

Bruce was taken by surprise of my actions and started bubbling out laughing. “Ah, and the short tailor is a violent bully. Cute.”

“Hey, you played dumb first!”

“Oh, and I bet you were just born a bully.”

I groaned, rolled my eyes, and crossed my arms. I looked at him expectantly, “Well?”

He smiled, turning away, “Well, actually, all I said was I was thinking about going to this up and coming tailor that was based somewhere near Wayne Enterprises. A couple of people did some snooping and now, here I am, going to that very place to have a suit done.”

My eyes widened, “W-wha-are you for real?”

Bruce shrugged, “Yeah. I didn’t mean for a bunch of other nosy people to get involved though. I could tell them to stop if you—“ “NO!” I blurted out, making the man laugh. I scoffed and clicked my tongue, “Sadist.”

“Hey, I’m just trying to ­not live up to the name you gave me.”

I give out an airy chuckle. “By the way, why are you on the subway? Aren’t you afraid your fangirls will throw themselves in front of you?”

He pursed his lips, “Actually, people tend to doubt my identity when I’m not in fancy places, and I was once told that, apparently, I was ugly up close. Weird, my mom always said I was handsome.”

I rolled my eyes and broke into laughter, “Okay, Mr. Nosy B. I-Fish-For-Compliments. You are definitely not ugly up close.”

He hummed, “Not ugly enough for you to go out to dinner with me.”

My breath caught in my throat and my eyes went wide. “I—“

He looked at me with a small smile. I turned to the window and nodded, “Sure. I guess I live through such an insufferable date.”

[ckentdaily]

Welcome to the World

“Gosh, I’m awful sorry,” Clark coughed, after inhaling half of the finishing powder that the makeup artist, Alice, just applied. Alice was nice. Alice only asked him questions about Bruce Wayne and whether or not the little husky mix he adopted was as cute as she seemed in the photos. After Clark had reassured her that, yes, Ace was adorable and Bruce was spoiling her, he shook her hand with both of his and thanked her twice.

The dressing room was silent again. He stood up and stretched his legs, after prying the narrow wooden chair from his hips. No one on set had expected him to be this big, which resulted in some last minute seating changes... but only once he was in front of the camera. A little discomfort now was fine. He just didn’t want to be remembered backstage for breaking a chair.

“Ok, Clark. Let’s decide who you’re gonna be today.” He squinted at himself in the mirror, not liking how the powder obscured the pores in his face. He leaned against the vanity and scrunched up his nose, then rolled his shoulders back. With his tie tucked and a confident smile, he stared at his reflection. One hand in his pocket. Feet shoulder width apart.

Too much like Superman.

He rolled his shoulders forward, higher by his ears, and let his weight shift to the right. He hunched forward and made sure his glasses were high on the bridge of his nose, with the black rim obscuring the space between his eyelids and brow. The lens were thick enough that his eyelashes would barely be seen, much less noticed.

Too much like Clark. Old Clark.

The Clark that hid from opportunities like these, and only scraped by in job interviews, scuttling through parties along the back wall until he faded into the background.

Clark didn’t want to be that Clark today. He didn’t want to be that Clark ever again if it meant he couldn’t be effective.

He straightened up, and took his hand out of his pocket, but he smiled again. Just a disarming, shy one, but enough that he didn’t look like he was prepared to jump out of his skin at any moment.

Better.

He buttoned his blazer and opened the door, just as he heard one of the crew telling Brandon, from sound, to grab the guest and bring him out.

“Showtime, huh?”

--

“If you’re just joining us, I’m Chuck Wilton, and as the Ukraine scandal unfolds, WGBS is bringing you an exclusive interview with the journalist, Clark Kent, who broke the story. Welcome Clark.” The introduction rolled off the older, gaunt looking man’s tongue with a practiced ease. Chuck appeared on millions of screens across Metropolis and the country for more than a decade. He was a familiar, no nonsense face in American homes.

And he was still too conservative for Clark’s liking. He could respect the man’s commitment to his work while disagreeing with his personal politics. Clark couldn’t relax entirely, even as he shook Chuck’s hand and sat down in the appropriately sized swivel chair, on his side of the desk. He knew not to close his eyes when the pitcher’s planning a curveball. Clark just didn’t know when it would come.

“Thanks for havin’ me, Chuck. I’m glad to be here,” Clark kept the drawl in his voice, as he let the button loose and set down his typed notes in front of him.

Chuck first asked about Clark’s conversations with Ambassador William Taylor, envoy to Ukraine, who returned stateside to testify in front of Congress about the President’s international transgressions. Clark answered calmly, laying out the timeline of the President withholding national aid to force another government to investigate his political opponents.

“That’s correct. President Trump asked for Kiev to investigate former Vice President Biden and would not release security aid until this was done. Requesting that a foreign government conduct a politically motivated investigation with the promise of something in return is not only illegal, but it’s not how the United States conducts foreign affairs.”

“And this single phone call, that we don’t have access to the transcript for, is enough for Speaker Pelosi to file the articles of impeachment? The testimony of a single civil servant has launched these closed door hearings in the SCIF?”

“Not just any civil servant, Chuck. Mr. Taylor is a decorated veteran who has served in nonpartisan roles under both Democratic and Republican administrations since 1985. He worked for the Department of Energy and NATO, ‘fore he began working internationally for the State Department.” Clark pushed back, still smiling, but dropping his hands to his lap to keep from gesturing as he spoke. “I think that in the coming days, you’ll see more and more folks comin’ forward, but this is on top of the previous and documented abuses of power by this administration since 2016.”

“Pelosi has hemmed and hawwed about keeping the scope narrow. If this is the event that finally lights the spark of impeachment, why couch it in the context of those other allegations? Isn’t the public ready to move on from the spectacle of the Speaker grasping at straws?” Chuck fixed Clark with a look over his glasses.

“I think that the latest Pew polls showing public support for a removal of the President from office answers that question better than either of us could. I think it can be argued that it may not have been politically viable to move to impeachment before now, ‘specially in light of the GOP’s shameful display yesterday in the SCIF.”

“Don’t they have the right to protest peacefully, as any other American group?”

Clark’s smile grew tight. “They’d have that right if it was an actual protest, but you’ve got to call it like it is, Chuck. They committed a federal crime. The two dozen or so elected officials barged into the SCIF, brought their cellphones in with them and tweeted from inside. The SCIF is a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility. These rooms are designed to handle sensitive materials while matters of national security’re bein’ discussed.”

“They weren’t protesting, Mr. Wilton,” Clark took a deep breath, “They were obstructing justice and protesting the very rules they put into place durin’ the era of the filibuster, under President Obama. Electronics weren’t supposed to be in that room, because of the high risk of compromise by foreign agencies. Representative Gaetz knows that."

Chuck hummed unhappily, “Even if they simply wanted to be in the room during the hearing? Isn’t that a reasonable request?”

“If they were one of the Republicans on the congressional Intelligence committees that were supposed to be there? Certainly. But the fact is that those representatives-- from both parties, I might add-- were already in the room. Closed-door testimonies were standard practice durin’ the impeachment inquiries into former Presidents Clinton and Nixon.” Clark worked his jaw and continued. “Just because our current President might act like he’s above the law, doesn’t mean that his party should feel entitled to do the same.”

“I see. It says here that you’ve been at the Planet for two years?” Chuck opted to pivot, leaning back in his chair.

“Yessir, two years this December.” Clark clasped his hand in front of him, on top of the desk. His smile brightened again.

“Where have they been hiding you? Welcome to the world, Mr. Kent.”

“Aha, thank you, Chuck,” Clark laughed nervously.

“Why haven’t we heard from you before? It says here that this is the first time you’ve written on national politics for them. The last time your name was in the news, you were the news. A puff piece from a gossip columnist in Gotham about your current relationship.”

“I’m grateful to my editor, Perry White, for giving me the opportunity to inform the American people about what’s happening on Capitol Hill. I think that they want to hear more about if our Congress is going to impeach a sitting president in an election year, than they do about my personal life.” Clark glanced away and then forced himself to meet Chuck’s gaze again. Old Clark wouldn’t be allowed to finish this interview. “Wouldn’t you agree, Chuck?”

“I would.” Chuck smiled for the first time. His teeth were straight, but yellowed. “But they would also like to know if they’re receiving their news from a reliable source. What would you say to those that might think you’re just trying to keep your name in the papers?”

“The Daily Planet prides itself on integrity. That’s been true since the paper was founded. I think that this story could have been written by any of its reporters. My answer to those folks would be simple, Chuck: the article speaks for itself. Our investigative team has complied page by page summaries of the ambassador’s testimony, cross-referenced with additional witnesses since the probe began.”

Clark paused and turned away from Chuck to stare directly at the camera.

“Stories like this aren’t meant to catapult any one person into stardom or notoriety, they’re meant to keep hard-working Americans abreast of the issues that will have profound impacts on their lives. Make no mistake, Chuck, the American people have asked for the president to be held to the same standards as any other citizen. They have a right to know that some of the men and women that they voted into office aren’t only talkin’ the talk, they’re walkin’ the walk, and they’re ready to check the Executive Branch.”

“Powerful words from a new face. I’d like to thank today’s guest, Clark Kent, from The Daily Planet. I’m sure this won’t be the last we’ll see of him.” Chuck gestured to Clark, who nodded and waved, and then a relieved looking woman with a clipboard and a large headset gave the cue to cut to commercial.

[mitchbeck]

CANTLON'S CORNER: HOCKEY NEWS AND NOTES VOLUME 6

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - It seems that all the news going on in the world has some connection to the coronavirus pandemic. Hockey is no different. Much is going in the industry starting with signings in Hartford for the Wolf Pack. WOLF PACK SIGNINGS  The New York Rangers announced the signing of two key defenseman Vincent LoVerde and Mason Geersten to one year AHL contracts for the 2020-21 season. They were two of the best signings, along with Phil Di Guiseppe, that helped the Wolf Pack's strong play over the first four months of the season. LoVerde, a nine-year pro, tallied four goals and 17 assists (21 points) in 62 games with the Wolf Pack in the COVID-19 shortened season. He held the team's best plus/minus rating at plus-17. LoVerde has been indispensable to head coach, Kris Knoblauch, and associate coach, Gord Murphy, who, at one point, had played him with every defenseman during the season demonstrating the team's high degree of confidence in him. LoVerde spent more than two months playing on his off left side along with Darren Raddysh as the team's number one shutdown unit. A two-time Calder Cup champion (2015, 2018), LoVerde was aiming for a third with the Wolf Pack when the season was suspended. LoVerde has skated in 494 regular-season games in the AHL with Hartford, Toronto, Ontario, and Manchester, registering 49 goals and 124 assists (152 points). In 78 Calder Cup playoff games, he has three goals and 20 assists (23 points) and a plus-31 rating. Geertsen, 25, has notched eight assists in 60 games with Hartford this season, as well as a team-high 109 penalty minutes, handling the fighting when need be, and quite effectively at that. He was also a solid body-checker delivering numerous thundering hard hits throughout the season. Before the trade of Joey Keane to the Charlotte Checkers, the two were a solid pair helping the Wolf Pack surge to the top of the Atlantic Division, a position they held for the better part of two months before they hit a rough patch before the schedule suspension falling to fourth place. Geersten was originally selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the fourth round of the 2013 NHL Draft and has skated in 277 AHL games in a career with Hartford, Colorado, San Antonio, and Lake Erie (nee Cleveland), totaling six goals and 39 assists (45 points) amassing 476 PIMs. PLAYER MOVEMENT Billy Sweezey of Yale University (ECACHL) signs a one-year AHL deal with the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins. Ex Pack, Julius Bergman, leaves Frolunda HC (Sweden-SHL) and signs a deal with the Lahti Pelicans (Finland-FEL). The Providence Bruins' Peter Cehlarik is, according to Swedish press reports, looking at several teams for next season. Former Wolf Pack, Ryan Hollweg, whose career ended with a knee injury in the Czech Republic two years ago, is now living in the greater Vancouver area. Hollywood, as he was known in his playing days, completed his second season as an Assistant Coach with a bantam level team, the Vancouver NW Hawks (BCMMHL). The WHL Bantam Draft took place on Wednesday. One name of interest was Talon Brigley, who was taken in the second round (24th overall) by his hometown Red Deer Rebels. Brigley is the son of ex-Sound Tiger, Travis Brigley. Max Namestnikov, 16, youngest son of ex-Wolf pack Evgeni “John” Namestnikov, was drafted third overall in the recent OHL Priority Draft. He is forgoing his Michigan State commit in 2022-23 and has signed with the Sarnia Sting to start playing in the fall. Jakob Karpa, the son of ex-Wolf Pack, and Sound Tiger, David Karpa will play for the Grande Prairie Storm (AJHL) next season. His twin brother, Zakary, just finished a season with the US National Development Team-USNDTP (USHL) and the US National U-18 Team and will be with the Princeton Tigers (ECACHL) in the fall. UCONN head coach, Mike Cavanaugh, confirmed the transfer of forward Jordan Timmons who heads to Robert Morris University (AHA) “Jordan wanted a bigger role on the team that with our returning numbers (of players) was likely not possible. He will be closer to home and we wish him all the best." Cavanaugh also stated the Huskies would not be getting any transfers or graduate transfers this year. College hockey signings and transfers continue. Haralds Egle leaves Clarkson University (ECACHL) and signs with Manitoba. A.J. Villella leaves Northeastern and heads down I-90 to Bentley University (AHA). The leading scorer at Alaska Fairbanks (WCHA), Steve Jandric, transfers to the University of Denver (NCHC). Joining him via transfer to the Pioneers is defenseman Bo Hanson, from St. Lawrence (ECACHL). Departing Denver is forward, Tyler Ward, who heads East to the University of New Hampshire Wildcats (HE). The leading scorer with the University of Alabama-Huntsville Chargers (WCHA), Josh Latta, heads to UMASS-Lowell (HE). According to the Lowell Sun’s Barry Scanlon three more River Hawks are leaving the program. Cale List and Derek Osik have told head coach, Norm Bazin, of their intentions. A senior graduate with one year of eligibility left, Chris Schutz, is heading to Europe. A fourth player, who never played and went back to Muskegon (USHL) last fall, Eric Green is also heading to a new destination. Signing in Europe is Greg Harney (East Haven) after four years at Framingham State (MASCAC). He signs with HC Valenciennes (France FFFG Division-2). Dave Richer from SUNY-Oswego (SUNYAC) signs with HC Chambery (France FFFG Division-2). Sioux City Stampede goalie Jaxson Stauber, the son of ex-Wolf Pack and New Haven Nighthawk goalie, Robb Stauber, was named to the USHL 2nd All-Star team. Last year with the champions Stampede, he won the Clark Cup MVP. He played one game with the University of Minnesota-Mankato (NCHC) and returned to South Dakota where he announced a commit to Providence College Friars (HE) for this coming fall. HOCKEY NEWS Good story on ex-Wolf Pack captain and Bridgeport Sound Tiger, Greg Moore, on his season of hockey as head coach of the Toronto Marlies. Read it HERE In college hockey, the University of Illinois was all set to likely announce they were going Division I in hockey next month where they would be entering the Big 10 conference. They had all their ducks in a row and were ready to move forward after a year delay when COVID-19 hit. The WCHA was also expected to announce their future plans for their conference as seven schools are leaving next spring to form a brand new CCHA conference for the 2021-22 season. All that is on hold until the restrictions are lifted and the economic landscape going forward can be assessed. Big college coaching opening at Dartmouth (ECACHL). After 23 years as head coach, and another five at the start of his career as an assistant coach for nine years in between as Brown’s head coach, Bob Gaudet, announced he is stepping down effective June 30th. Gaudet also played for the Big Green in the late 1970s and helped lead them to back to back Frozen Four appearances in Detroit and Providence in 1979 and 1980. In 23 years he compiled 331 wins in 725 games for the Big Green. He became just the second coach in the ECAC conference to coach over a 1,000 games with the same school and just the seventh to do so nationally. In 2005-06, he was named ECAC Coach of the Year, but his only Ivy League title was with Brown and his only two NCAA tournament teams were in 1993 and 1995, also with Brown. He became the Dartmouth’s all-time winningest coach on November 30, 2018, with his 309th the win surpassing Eddie Jeremiah. He played one year of professional hockey with the Ft. Wayne Komets in the old IHL in 32 games he had a 4.94 GAA. A national search committee has commenced a search for his successor. Very good story on the work of former pro hockey heavyweight and loose cannon, Enrico Ciccone, who is now an MP in the city of Montreal and the Marquette riding and his work during the COVID-19 crisis, literally on the front lines. Read it HERE. Read the full article

[invisiblefoxfire]

A Fun Experiment

My favorite character from DS9 is Bashir, so I thought I’d look up other roles the actor has had more recently. Apparently he had a character on a season of Gotham. Started at the end of Season 3, then was there through Season 4.

I know nothing about Gotham. Never watched it, didn’t even realize it was a series. I’ve never been a superheroes fan. But I saw some pictures of Siddig’s character in this show and I MUST KNOW who he is and what he’s about. Also, I want to see how he’s changed over all these years. So I got ahold of some episodes. I didn’t want to start at season 1 because that would take ages, so I jumped to season 3. I figure that gives me a whole season to get acquainted with the story, setting, and characters before he arrives, then I won’t have to be lost when I start watching.

So I’ve started watching season 3, episode 1, and... The creators of this show did not ever, for one single solitary second, expect anyone on earth to start with season 3. It took 15 minutes for me to find out the main character’s name!

So now, 18 minutes in, I’m thinking it might be fun to recap my thoughts so far, and keep track of them till the end of the episode. (I won’t be doing this for the whole series, just this episode, actually i think i WILL keep doing this as i go through the season because I’m having a good laugh here - i’ll tag these #gothamdiary in case anyone wants to block them.) The first comments are what I shared with a friend while watching, starting about 5 minutes in, then I’ll just keep writing from there.

So far i've established that Main White Boy gets mutant criminals off the street as a bounty hunter and Fat White Leader is uneasy about bounty hunters. this is after a 3-minute "last time on gotham" sequence where none of the characters are named but they've all done all kinds of shit, apparently.

a new factoid: wayne enterprises is "morally corrupt". no idea who, if any of these characters, are batman or his relatives.

ok Obvious Villain has arrived at the press conference to declare the police and politicians useless, good, good.

i sure hope siddig's performance when he finally arrives is worth it, because this season is gonna be a slog

a development! Main White Boy is named Jim!

Obvious Villain is disabled and walks with a cane and a serious limp. alwyas great to have such despicable representation for disabled people.

aha. bruce wayne is Baby Bruce in this series. i see. i think he's meant to be about 14, maybe 15.

Main White Boy is James Gordon. only took them 15 minutes to give me the main character's name. good, good.

Fish Lady got mind control powers. And apparently Obvious Villain is Mr. Penguin. That’s a Batman villain, right?

baby bruce is talking to The Board. he mad. they don’t respect baby bruce but he has Guard Dog Alfred to bark at them.

least realistically written teenage boy in history. i’m supposed to think “oh look how precocious” no that is literally not how children think or talk. 

we got new obvious bad guys! of the “thug” variety. they breakin glass objects. very rude. oh, and is that a russian accent i hear? they hit a lady! she pretends to be scared then uses mind powers to get them to kill each other? dam. i think SHE is a bad guy.

everyone is always talking about indian hill. obnoxious naming aside, i gather some criminals were experimented on and turned into supervillains.

reporter lady has convinced bounty hunter gordon to lie to the cops to get her some info in return for some info on the bounty. this is already extremely convoluted.

precocious baby bruce is not only a well-spoken business genius, he also climbs on rooftops. got it. what a fucking mary sue how irritatingly unrealistic. is this how batman usually is? i genuinely don’t know.

emo teen spying on other teens including teen bruce, who is Emo Teen? they look like another obvious bad guy?

apparently to get cops to abandon their station all you have to do is just... grab one of their radios and say “hey guys boss said abandon your station” and they’ll be like “ok bye” and instantly walk away. good to know.

jim gordon is a good guy cop guy in batman right? oh sorry i was interrupted by pollution from Good Omens and their greasy pals taking away an old black lady whose significance utterly escaped me.

jim gordon has captured bat-wing villain who tried to jump out a window. then after a commercial break cut he’s being yelled at by Fat White Leader for... something ? don’t let it happen again or something, whatever you did that made me angry!

gordon drinks because he is a Gritty Bad Boy.

ginger girl is being approached by Emo Teen. ginger girl thinks Emo Teen is Bruce Wayne, and Emo Teen is visibly upset by this.

some bad guys including spiky penguin are having a bit of a quarrel. spiky penguin shoots someone. he mad.

there’s a confrontation in a big echoey building between fish lady and her friends and older black lady who is apparently responsible for the mutations. she tells them they need to find “strange” to fix their health problems and become an evil army. then they have an old man touch her and she dies of old age in a few seconds. big yikes there.

ginger girl is called “ivy”. she’s not supposed to be here and she’s in trouble. she runs away before they can mummify her to death but she falls down a giant hole in the floor into a river of running water. dang those big ol holes in the floor over rivers, dang city is infested with em.

bad boy gordon is drinking and crying over a photo of a woman, presumably the one the writers killed to give him his motivation. meanwhile, reporter lady is developing photos. she got one of bad boy gordon dangling batwing fella out the window! dramatic music! i have no idea why this is important!

alfred is approached by Black Clad Man With Knife in the night but he fights him like a complete badass because apparently alfred is some kind of MMA expert. sure why not. black clad man knocks alfred out then kidnaps baby bruce wayne and tosses him over his shoulder like a sack o’ taters.

G O T H A M

...ok i may well continue to document these epiosdes as i go because it is hilarious entering a series like this with no context and no background information.

[soepicsokim]

Chapter 10

Warning: Slight talk of miscarriage. turn away now.

    I’m awoken with a cup of coffee. “I’ll be happy when I’m completely healed.” I say as I take the coffee out of Bruce’s hands. “This is good Uncle…Batman.”

    Bruce smiles and sits in the chair beside me, “They’re going to let you leave the Watchtower. But you have to live with one of three people.” He looks at me as I continue to drink the coffee he handed me. “You can stay at the Manor with Damian and myself. You can stay with Dick in Bludhaven. Or you can stay with Clark in Metropolis.”

    “I’ll stay at the Manor.” I didn’t even have to second guess my choice. If I lived with Dick I would be giving myself false hope. Of course I loved Dick, but I felt like he only loved me like a sister. On top of that I’ve heard other heroes walk by my room saying Nightwing and Batgirl might be back together. That made my heart hurt.

    I sure as heck wasn’t living with Clark. It’s not the fact I hated my dad. I just felt he only tried to be in my life because he had to. “Uh, Uncle Bruce, I don’t want to leave Damian just yet. And besides The manor was a second home to me as a kid.” I smile at him as I take his hand in  hand and stand up.

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

One month later  (April)

    “Good morning Lady Lydia. Would you like a cup of coffee?” Alfred asks as I hobble into the room.

    “That would be lovely Uncle Alfred.”

    “Why do you call him uncle?” I hear Damian’s voice ask.

     I sit down by Damian and sigh, “Because I was raised to call Bruce and Alfred, Uncle. My dad didn’t have siblings on earth and I never really met my mothers family. So Alfred and Bruce became my Uncles.” I take the cup of coffee that Alfred hands me along with a plate of chocolate chip pancakes. I offer Alfred a smile.

   "Lydia, will you watch Damian today? I’m going to need Alfred to help me in town and Tim is at school.“ Bruce says pouring himself a cup of coffee.

    “Sure thing Uncle Bruce.”

    “Dick will be by to check on you two some time after his shift.” Bruce says after taking a sip of coffee. With that I just sigh, I didn’t really want to see Dick. I don’t think I am ready to see Dick.

    “Can Lydia take me to a park today?” Damian asks keeping eye contact with Bruce. I side eye Damian, he has never wanted to go to a park before. But that’s when I realize how tense I have gotten.

 Bruce eye’s me, “Think you’re up for it?” I just nod my head and give a grin. With that Bruce and Alfred leave and Damian and I sitting in the silence for a while.

***********

    “I should have never made you stick to my plan.” My eyes widen when Damian says this as the two of us walk to a park in the middle of town. “You are still hurt and that happened almost a month ago. Tt, I thought Kryptonians healed fast.” He huffed a sigh at the end of his statement.

    “They do, I’m half Kryptonian, and on top of that I did something to my class ring that I shouldn’t have.” I offer him a sheepish grin as I show him my school ring. “The emerald isn’t an emerald. It’s a low-key synthetic stone made of Kryptonite.” I sigh as I sit down on the park bench watching people pass by.

    “Why would you do something like that?”

    “I thought if I was more human, people would accept me more. But it only lead to this.” I say as I point to my entire body. I wasn’t healing right because I wanted to be accepted as a human by Dick. I take off the ring and hand it to Damian. “I trust you will only use this if it is absolutely necessary?” He just nods his head as he puts it in his pocket.

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

 Damian and I start the long walk back to the Manor when Dick rides up on his bike. “Where have the two of you been? I’ve called you 10 times now and you didn’t answer” He was pissed and he kept his eye contact with me.

 I let out a sigh before I talk, “I left my phone at the Manor, and Damian wanted to take a walk to help me build my strength back up. We didn’t realize we walked almost to the other side of the city till we started back.” After I said that I started to walk again, headed back to the Manor.

 “Cat, at least let me give you a ride, you’re injured.”

    “No Richard, I’m not leaving Dami.” I give him a glare that makes him scared of me. “Come Damian.” Damian runs up to my side and walks with me.

The next day.

I’m sitting in the living room of Wayne Manor when I hear the Zeta tubes in the cave activate. No one should be down there right now, so I go and check. I’m halfway down the stairs when I hear people talking. I decide to become invisible and watch and listen to the people in the cave.

    I make it all the way down the stairs and next to the Bat computer when I realize who was in the cave. I see Dick and I start to smile. Next to Dick was what looked to be a yellow and red uniform with red hair. Then the guy in front of me had black hair, a black shirt and blue jeans. His back was to me so I couldn’t see who he was.

    “I’m just saying you cheated using your speed.” Dick says grabbing an extra domino mask.

    “So did not. Conner cheated with that jump.” The guy in yellow and red says.

    Aha, so the man with the black shirt’s name is Conner. I try not to giggle when I realize they were talking about some contest or sport they recently played. I move to lean against the Bat Computer and the computer creaks causing all three to turn and face my direction.

 That’s when I look at Conner. He looks just like dad. I put my hands to my mouth instantly. That’s when Dick’s head pops up and starts looking all over the room for me. I hear him, Lyds where are you? That’s when I slowly start to become visible.

 “I’m right here. Sorry, I was upstairs and I heard something going on down here and decided to come check it out.” I say as I run my hand through my long black hair. “I didn’t mean to bother you guys.” That’s when I realize who the person in red and yellow is. “Wally?”

    Wally looks at me with a confused look. Dick tells him who I am and that’s when Wally looks back at me with wide eyes. I just smile and wave until Conner speaks up.

 “So who is she?”

    “I’m Lydia Kent. Superman’s daughter. And you are?” I add so much sass into the question, I pop out my hips to the side.

    “Superman’s clone. I’m the Superboy.” That’s when I notice Connor's shirt. It’s black with a large red S shield. Pissed isn’t even the word to describe how I feel. I fly across to where they are and look him in the eye then turn to face Dick.

    “You didn’t think I would need to know about this. First Kara gets the title Supergirl, which was supposed to be me. And now there is a Superboy.” I point at Conner while glaring at Dick. “I trusted you.” I say before I turn to Conner, “Who grew you? My father would never have approved to be cloned willingly.”

    “Lex Luthor had me cloned.” Conner clenched his jaw. I can tell he is getting angry.

    I turn to face Dick, “I trusted you to keep me away from Lex.” Before I know it my hand and Dick’s face have met and I’m are running away crying.

 The three of them stood there watching me go back up into the Manor. Wally turns and faces Dick, “Dude, why didn’t you tell me you were dating The Cat?” Dick just narrows his eyes at Wally and rubs the handprint I just left on his check.

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

 I run past Damian crying my eyes out. Damian lets out a huff and goes back to his book when he sees Dick out of the side of his eyes. “Have you seen Lydia?” Dick asks Damian.

    “That depends. Are you the one who made her cry?”

    “Damian I honestly don’t have time for this.” Dick says as he makes his way to Damian.

    “You made her cry Grayson. I will not tell you where she went.” Damian lowers his book.

    “He isn’t the only one who made her cry.” Conner says walking up behind Dick. Damian looks at Conner then looks back at Dick.

    “She is not going to be happy about this.” With that, Damian stands up and walks outside to try and find me.

***********

 My thoughts are running wild and I could care less about Dick hearing my thoughts. I trusted him. Dad approves of a clone but not his daughter. What if he isn’t just dad’s clone but mine also? I have no idea where I am. Why doesn’t he love me?. I deserve an S Shield. Dick, I’m lost. Wait, Is that? Thank god I found someone I know.

Dick starts running around Gotham looking for me, hoping he is able to find me. He has Wally and Conner help him look for me also. He didn’t like the last thought he heard from me. His brother wasn’t alive, did Scarecrow gas me? Or was it the Joker I saw? Both thoughts had Dick worried.

That afternoon

Damian knew how to throw Dick off his trail. He knew he would be followed, that’s why he would walk into every shop and buy something on his way to the apartment hidden in the middle of town. Damian knew he was driving Conner crazy and that eventually he would stop following Damian.

    Dick was doing his best to try to find me based on the thoughts he was hearing from me. I love this apartment. It reminds me of his safe house in Budapest. You can see the Zoo from here. Jay still has a Robin uniform in his closet, that’s funny. Jason sure has a mess here. Yup, I just said Jason’s name again and Dick’s eyes widen every time I think or say Jason’s name.

 “Grayson is sitting on the roof of the building.” Damian says as he enters the apartment and takes a seat beside me on Jason’s couch.

 “Did he follow you or was he already here?” I ask as I eat fruit snacks.

 “The boy scout’s clone followed me. Grayson was already here.” Damian says as he grabs a handful of my fruit snacks.

    I sigh, “Ok I’ll talk to him but I’m not moving.” I look at Damian and smile, “Watch this.” Damian is confused but watches out the window along with me.

    I’m still mad at you Richard. Don’t think just speak out loud. Dick’s eyes widen and he starts to look around.

    “Forgive me? Please. I didn’t know how bad you wanted to have the S Shield.” Dick says with a sigh. Damian looks at me and I smile, I’m in the apartment right under the roof of the building. So I can hear Dick perfectly through the open window.

 What If I don’t forgive you? I trusted you and you broke my trust by being friends with a Luther creation.

 “I’ll be extremely upset. I didn’t mean to break your trust. Conner has been with and worked with the Justice league for 7 years now. All of us trust him and Luthor hates him.” I hear Dick sigh at the end of him talking. “I just wish you would trust my judgment more.”

    Jason walks in and was about to turn on the lights when I fly up and stopped him. I put a finger to his lips and pointed up then nudged him to sit with Damian.

    Dick I do trust you. I trust that you will always take care of me. But I’m no good for a hero like you. I’m to damaged. That’s why I ran away to Jason’s safe house.

 Dick scoffs, “No good. NO GOOD!” he is yelling and pacing on the roof now. “You are a better person than you think. And Bruce and I told you Jason died. He is the one Robin we tried to save and couldn’t. And I don’t want to lose you, I love you too much to let anything hurt you.” His voice was starting to waiver.

 Dick, I’m damaged goods. I’m a walking assassin who has no idea of all her powers. You need someone with the same experience as you. but for some reason you always find me. Now stop pacing back and forth.

    Dick sits down on the edge of the building, I see his domino mask fall past the window. All three of us started to hear Dick sob. “I could care less about what powers you have, as long as you are safe and ok. I will always find you and I stopped pacing so now what? Wait how do you know where I am?”

 With that I turn on the light to the apartment and stick my head out the window and look up at him. “How long have you known I was here?” I ask looking up at Dick.

 “Only since you told me to stop pacing.” He wipes his eyes and looks down at my face with a small smile. “I do love you, ya know.” Hearing that he loves me makes my smile but extremely terrified. So I fly out the window and up to him.

 “Come inside marshmallow. I forgive you. But I don’t forgive my dad or Lex.” I offer my hands for him to take, that way I can fly back down to Jason’s apartment. I hear Jason’s chuckle before I even get inside.

    “No way. All these years since I’ve known you, I wanted to meet your ‘marshmallow’. But it turns out Dick over there is your marshmallow.”

    “I’m glad to see you to Jason.” Dick was not happy with Jason’s comments.

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

    Damian leaves to go back to the Manor. Jason said he was staying at Roy’s place, which upset Dick more. So the only people left at Jason’s apartment would be Dick and myself. There is an awkward silence for the longest time between us two. Dick starts to make his way to the window, “Well I better get go-”

    That’s when you cut him off, “Stay with me.”

    “What?”

    “Stay with me. I don’t want to be alone.”

    Dick just blinks and sits by me, “Um, ok Princess?” I give him a grin for calling me princess. Then the deepest sigh escapes from me.

    “I’m sorry. I’ve been staying here at night since the day you found Damian and I walking back to the Manor.” I sigh again and look down at my hands, “I’m damaged Dick, Lex ruined me and then you saw Deathstroke rape me.”

Dick stops me there because he could tell I was about to cry, “Yeah but here you are alive after so many years of us thinking you died. And nothing came from Deathstroke. You’re here and you’re okay.” I look at the floor while Dick tells me this.

 “Richard.” My voice is soft as tears roll down my face.

 Dick sees me and rushes to my side. “What? What is it?” He places his arms around me and pulls me close to him. “You are okay? Please tell me you’re okay.”

 I snuggle deeper into Dick’s hold. “I’m not ok. Dick,” I pause, “when he, uh, when Deathstroke did what he did. Dick, I need someone with me while I miscarry his child.” I take a breath and hope he doesn't let go of me.

 Dick holds me tighter, “I’m not going anywhere babe. How long will it take?” He gently picks me up and lays me on the guest bed in Jason’s apartment.

     Tears are streaming down my face faster now, I know he cares because of how he treats me. “It’ll happen sometime within the next 24 hours.” Dick just nods his head and lays in front of me holding my hands. I cry myself to sleep, Dick stays awake to protect me and to make sure I’m aren’t alone when I miscarry Deathstroke’s child.

     “Sick sadistic bastard hurt my world.” Dick runs his thumb across my face, “I’ll marry you someday. I promise.” With that he pulls me closer and kisses my forehead.

A/N: Do you think Dick will marry Lyds? So the ring she gave Damian causes her to be human enough but still super? Jason's apartment over looks the zoo? STAY TUNED

Tags: @kathlyan, @pinkwitch21, @solis200213, @speedypan, @memento-amare, @bat-lakota, @queen-of-all-the-fandoms, @femdamian, @just-a-girl-maybe, @teachingpanda, @keepjasontoddsafefromeveryone, @wynterrobin, @gobydana, @chi-townbatgirl, @nightwingdiva, @ellana-ravenwood

[xpwewarchive]

XPWEW Xtreme Rumble 2020 (4-26-2020)

XPWEW Xtreme Rumble 2020 April 26th 2020 Denver, Colorado Denver Coliseum

SHOW OPENS WITH PYROTECHNICS

We are introduced to tonight’s commentary team of Kaitlyn Khaos and Nick Simmonds and they run down the card and explain the importance that is the Xtreme Rumble match and it gives the winner a golden ticket to be in the main event of the biggest event in XPWEW history: Lockdown 7 on May 23rd, 2020 in the platinum shimmering city of Dubai on the waterfront now let’s kick it over to James Westerbeck at ringside bell rings

James Westerbeck: The following contest is a TABLES MATCH! The rules of this contest are You must put you opponent through a table!

Joe Gacy enters holding both tag team titles (Commentary explains how this match came to be, When Solomon Nasty appeared plucked from nowhere and wanted to be Joe Gacy’s tag team champion partner despite not impressing Gacy for the last month on Friday Night Pyro and now the ultimate challenge awaits Soloman, Gacy’s favorite matchup. A tables match.

Solomon Nasty enters

Tables Match 1 on 1 M1: Joe Gacy defeats Solomon Nasty

General Manager Romeo Roselli enters and walks down to ringside turns the corner and walks up to the timekeeper and grabs both Tag Team Titles. Gacy looks perplexed and a bit heated.

Romeo Roselli: Joe it’s been 30 days since Brodie Croyle was injured and you were asked at my discretion I’ll admit, you were unable to find a tag team partner so I am going to be stripping you of the XPWEW Tag Team Championships! (Crowd yells)

Gacy: Why.....Why...Where are the articles of confederation when you need them (shuffling trying to grab the belts tucked in Romeo’s left arm)

Romeo: But Joe I’m not leaving you in the dark. As successful and Plagueground was for the past 6 months that era must come to an end, pending injury and inability to find a replacement but Joe. I’m a fair GM. You are in line for these belts, That’s right Joe I’m making you the Number One Contender! BUT I took the liberty upon myself to find you a replacement because since YOU can’t seem to do that. I did it for you. So meet your new tag team partner

Audrey Carbine enters

((Joe Gacy blows the hair out of his face kinda groaning at the thought of Audrey being his new tag team partner))

((Joe Gacy jerks the mic out of Romeo’s hand))

Joe Gacy: THIS? She’s a woman, She’s weak, She’s vulnerable and to me, a wrestler who has applied his craft all over the world!! This is an insult To me and No, No I will

((Audrey Carbine power walks right up to Gacy’s face))

Audrey Carbine: “Shut up Pussy” (crowd ooohs))

Audrey Carbine: “I was a highly ranked official in the American Army for 8 years and I served four tours in iRaq while you sat on your ass playing Modern Warfare (crowd oohs again) I’m not too excited on being your partner myself but I’ve been itching for a fight since I got here and you’ve just been itching for relevancy Joe admit it (crowd oohs) The Tag Team division in xpwew is weak and that’s one trait that I’m not. So you’re either gonna hate me or you’re gonna tolerate me but together we’re gonna be The Death Machines

Joe Gacy: “Audrey, you .....I gotta singles career to focus tonight in the Xtreme Rumble” (crowd reacts mixed)

Backstage Segment: Troy Clausen standing with two unnamed women (just pretty faces to spin the tumbler) Troy Clausen: Ladies tonight my son Champagne Clausen is going to be entering at the number 29 right? Lol yeah we’ll See I hired this other guy named (gibberish)

The Set walks in (Myron, Kotto and Jordan) Jordan: “Woahhh T-Roy Clausen Whatup Dogg Troy: “Vibin’ pimps, Vibin’” Jordan: Myron? Myron: Yessir! Jordan: Tonight is one of them special nights you know cause look at the probability Me, You, Kotto, Ruckus we got 4 chances of winning this whole shit and turning Lockdown to SetDown Kotto: Aha! I mean how they gon’ act when young Kotto Brazil pull up and win the rumble you feel me, I see the hate tho I love it love (The Set all joking around) Jordan:

(((Jacques Dudley waltzes in and just goes straight to picking his number and before he’s about to leave))) Jordan: Oh look who it is, Croissant Dudley LOL you grabbing another number for D-Von (The Set snickering) Jacques: Hmm Nice joke Ellen, You giving away a car next? Jordan: Man Shut your punk ass up before I slap you around in that ring tonight Busta ((Myron and Kotto react to their numbers with a “Meh so so” reaction)) Myron and Kotto: What you got J? What you got? Jordan: ((((I don’t know,,,Nah nah nah Jacques you trade me?)))) Jacques: ppfft trades numbers (((Both open at the same time)) Jacques reacts “WOW Thanks Jordan, see ya out there Jordan: (under his breath: Pfft Fuck outta my face) Myron and Kotto looking over his shoulder Jordan opens up his number ((Myron and Kotto start looking at each other )))( Jordan: Maaaaan this whole shit whack man what damn number he then then? Man shit The Set walks away Tumbler Girl #1: Wow what number did he get? Troy: 4 Tumbler Girl #2: How do you know? Troy: Magic

Jacques Dudley enters

Jordan Oliver enters with Siaka Lexoni

XPWEW Juniorweight Championship 1 on 1 M2: Jordan Oliver def. Jacques Dudley

After one hellacious closing back and forth of reversals Jordan turning Jacquesms spinwill armdrag into a tombstone piledriver for the 1-2-3 and Jordan Oliver is still the xpwew Juniorweight champion

Backstage Segment:

Garrett Thompson and Ethan Bedlam are in their reading their numbers and Slayer walks in with Rosemary and Lotus

Troy: Not gonna speak Slayer Slayer: looks at Troy and leaves

Leonard McGraw enters bumping Slayer’s shoulder intentionally Leonard: Is something funny? Garrett: Yeah as a matter of fact it is, Look at you walking in here lookin bloody ridiculous with that stupid hat Leonard: You don’t like my hat? Garrett: Well quite frankly Leo its a bit worn out it looks like a damn travesty, What is that a fish hook? You are one putrid Longfellow Leonard: I like to fish. I like to hunt. I like Wayne Newton. Is that a problem? Garrett: I don’t care what you do in your spare time living in a trailer park Leonard: Garrett Thompson you big sum bitch. I said I like to hunt. I don’t play games. You are game. You, Ethan Bustass over there you’re game. Y’all some bucks to me. 10 pointer and he’s bout a 4 pointer. I’m looking for ya out there in the rumble and I’m taking your sorry ass out of misery because it’s open season on the xpwew locker room and I’m fixing to cook something to eat. Now Garrett what’s so funny....... Leonard and Garrett lock eyes ((Garrett walks away)) ((Leonard McGraw grabs a number and winks at the tumbler girls) Leonard: Now What the fuck we got going on, Are any good numbers left Stretch? Troy: Gotta be something Leonard Leonard: Ah shit ima just dig down in the bottom and grab two of these here and let you pretty ladies pick one of em’ which one darling? ((Tumbler Girl #2 picks the left)) Leonard: “Oh sweet Jesus this better be a good one. If it’s bout 25 I’ll kiss ya on the lips let me see ((Opens number) Leonard: Fuck! Godamnit to hell. (Leonard locks the number back up and throws it back in the tumbler) (Leonard storms off) Troy looks pissed he ruined the sanctity of this rumble

Brutus The Barber Beefcake enters with a staff worker pushing the chair and barber shop utensils down to ringside

James Westerbeck: The following contest is for the xpwew women’s championship and it will be contested in a Hair Match The winner of this match will shave the loser’s hair bald

Prisiclla Kelly enters

Kiera Hogan with Brian Lee enters

XPWEW World Women’s Championship Hair vs Hair 1 on 1 M3: Prisiclla Kelly defeats Kiera Hogan

AND NEW!!!!! Xpwew Women’s Champion Prisiclla Kelly!

After the match Brian Lee tries to grab Kiera and escape but Priscilla is able to rub him down and grab the kendo stick used against her earlier in the match and whack Brian Lee at the knees then repeatedly whack him across the back until he pleas up the ramp

Brutus The Barber Beefcake secures Kiera Hogan at ringside who’s kicking and screaming to squirm her way out of this Prisiclla taunts with Brutus’ shears and then cuts a huge chunk of Kiera’s weave The Prisiclla takes her time cutting big chunks with small scissors for a while (((Is Kiera Hogan crying?))) Prisiclla then takes the heavy duty hair clippers and does a streak down the middle of Kiera’s head and we now see scalp of the former women’s champ ((Kiera screaming)) Prisiclla then quickly keeps going over and over until Kiera is left bald

Priscilla grabs her title and laughs up the ramp

Brutus let’s Kiera go Kiera is sobbing uncontrollably and doing a fit at ringside and during her rage she grabs a hold of Nick Simmonds shirt and says “This is your fa-ha ha ha hault”

Ad: Golden Bryce BANG Energy

Ad: Lockdown 7 is 27 days away

We swing it back to commentary and Kaitlyn Khaos reviews what we’ve seen tonight from Joe Gacy being stripped of the tag team titles and Audrey Carbine being appointed by GM Romeo Roselli as his new partner then we seen Jordan Oliver and Jacques Dudley tear the house down and we just witness Kiera Hogan being humiliated by Prisiclla Kelly as she lost her title then was shaved BALD and coming up next to world heavyweight champion Golden Bryce just has one more hurdle to cross and he will be going into Lockdown for the 2nd year in a row as world champion

VIDEO PACKAGE : All Man vs Golden Bryce feud history

All Man with All Woman enters

Golden Bryce enters

XPWEW World Heavyweight Championship 1 on 1 M4: Golden Bryce (c) defeats All Man w/ All Woman

((All Man put up a fight and didn’t come across as weak as he did during their Flirting With Disaster PPV match last February the match ended when All Man had to match in his favor but when on the to rope looking for a Super-Plex he hyperextended his leg and landed on the ropes completely falling crotch first between the ropes (he oddly backed himself up to about the middle). All Man stood straddling the ropes with his crotch there long enough for Bryce to regain composure jump off the top rope and hit a very very awkward crooked version of the 6 rings. All Man gets untangled in the ropes and Bryce gets up yanks him out the ropes and pins him 1-2-3 Odd finish, Unique finish but the crowd really was expecting a kick out so the response was delayed. Just a weird match

AND STILL XPWEW WORLD CHAMPION: GOLDEN BRYCE

M5: Ruckus wins XPWEW 2020 Xtreme Rumble Match

[letthesleepingdoglie]

The Long Road - 05

Title: Connections

Part: 05 of 12

Rated: T 

Gotham City

April 1 st , 2006

7:35 PM EST

“Pleeeease?” Dick said, doing his best impression of a puppy as he looked up at his father. However, it was a tactic doomed to fail. His father crossed his arms and simply said, “No.”

Dick frowned, crossing his own arms and tapping his foot impatiently as he glared up at his father. “Why not?”

His father sighed, kneeling down so that his head was level with his son’s. “I’ve already told you. It’s too dangerous for someone your age. You need more practice and training.”

“But Dad! Cousin Johnny says Uncle Rick let him do it when he was my age!” Dick said, pointing over at his aforementioned cousin. His dad shot a quick look at his junior namesake before turning back to Dick. “Dick, you’re not ready yet.”

Dick pouted and looked away, unwilling to meet his father’s gaze. His dad placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, giving him a quick shake. “Tell you what. After the show tonight, we can talk to Mom. If she says yes, I’ll start showing you the moves you need to know.”

Johnny smiled as he made his way over to where his little cousin stood, placing a hand on Dick’s head. “Don’t worry about it squirt,” he said, ruffling Dick’s hair. Dick laughed as he tried to escape his cousin’s grasp.  Johnny caught him in a quick hug, bringing his little cousin against his chest.  “You’ll get your chance sooner than you think, squirt.” Dick smiled up at him, his eyes full of adoration.

From across the lot where they were waiting, the rest of the Flying Graysons stood at the back entrance to the big top.  Dick’s mother called over to him. “Dick! We’re up!”

Dick raced over to stand next to his mother, peeking in through the tent flap to gaze at the audience arrayed in the stands. His mother peeked in behind him, whispering to her son. “It’s a full house tonight.”

His father came over, kneeling beside his wife and son. “Just think son. You get to perform in front of all of Gotham tonight. And when it’s time for the finale, you’ll be sitting in the best seat in the house.”

Dick could only smile as his family gathered around him, waiting for their cue to enter.

He watched as Jack Haly, the ringmaster, wound up the audience. There was a rhythm to the way he spoke, drawing in the audience’s attention and building up their anticipation for the act to come.

His mother leaned in close, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. “Time to fly, my little Robin.” Dick smiled back.

“And now…” Jack Haly spoke from his elevated position in the center of the big top. He pointed to the entrance with a flourish, “Ladies and Gentlemen…. The Flying Graysons!”

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

July 19 th , 2016

14:59 EST

Barcelona, Spain

“Happy Birthday Tim.” Dick said into his phone, leaning against the entryway of his room. Despite the fact that he was still in pain over Wally’s loss, the smile on his face was genuine. Being a big brother to Tim always made feel just that much better about his life.

Several thousand miles away, in his room at Wayne manor, Tim smiled as he received his adoptive brother’s greeting. “Thanks. I’m glad you called.”

“I wouldn’t miss saying Happy Birthday, self-imposed exile or not.” There was a pregnant pause his Dick’s statement hung in the air. He realized it probably wasn’t the best topic to be bringing up at the moment.

“Bruce throwing you a party?” he asked, trying to fill the silence caused by his faux pas.

“Yeah.”

Dick smiled. While he would be the first to admit their father was not the best at showing his feelings, anyone who knew Bruce well knew that he tried. Every year that he’d lived at Wayne Manor, Bruce and Alfred had planned some great celebrations for him.

It was the small things that showed Bruce cared.

“Cassie coming?”

“No, er,” Tim started. “She still doesn’t know our secret identities.”

Dick nodded as he processed Tim’s words. He knew how difficult it was to have a relationship with someone, romantic or otherwise, when they didn’t know your real name. That hadn’t been much of an issue with Zatanna, since Bruce had allowed him to tell her in the aftermath of her father becoming Dr. Fate, but he still remembered how furious Artemis had been when it finally dawned on her that she’d been going to high school alongside him for months.

“She’s…” Tim trailed off, as if realizing he had revealed something he shouldn’t have.

The part of Dick that lived for embarrassing his little brother, and pretty much all of his friends too, came alive for the first time in months, scenting an opportunity.

“Yes...?” he pressed eagerly.

There was another pause.

“Tiiiim…” he called into the phone in a sing song voice. “What’s Cassie doing for you?”

“We’re going out on a date tomorrow. Barb told her it was my birthday, and she got all excited.” Tim blurted out finally, knowing he had been caught. “Aha!” Dick couldn't resist barking out a laugh. “Does that mean what I think it means? You still got the… package I gave you?”

He heard Tim spluttering, and could practically feel him blushing through the phone.

Dick knew for a fact that Tim had hidden the little silver foil packets in his bedside drawer, one of the few places where Alfred didn’t clean, and therefore didn’t check. He probably shouldn’t have enjoyed ribbing his little brother so much, but it was just too much fun.

Besides, Tim didn’t have to suffer the agony of having “the talk” individually, first with Bruce and then Alfred, like he had. Even now, almost 4 years later, Dick shuddered as he remembered how awkward that particular conversation had been.

“I’m just kidding Tim.” Dick laughed. “It’s you and Cassie. You two are like the sweetest and most innocent couple I know. I know nothing frisky is gonna happen.”

There was a pause as Tim cleared his throat. “So, what are you doing?” He asked in his best conversational tone. Dick recognized that Tim was rather unsubtly trying to change the subject away from his love life, but he didn’t mind.

“Not much,” Dick shrugged. “Just practicing for our performance later tonight. I’ve been rehearsing with a couple other trapeze artists: two brothers named Boston and Cleveland Brand, and Boston’s wife Lorna. Another guy named Raymond, and and a girl named Raya.”

“Boston and Cleveland? You’re kidding me.” Tim laughed. “Why would anyone name their kids that? Do-”

“I already checked, and no, the Brand brothers don’t have a sister named Miami, or another brother named Pittsburgh.” They both laughed.

This time, it was Tim’s turn to break the silence. “Things ok?”

“Alright, I guess.” Dick said. “It usually takes a while to work well with a new trapeze artist. We could use a bit more practice, but it should be fine.”

When Jack had first introduced the three of them, the two Brand brothers had welcomed him cautiously, unsure of what to expect. It had only taken one practice session up on the wires for Dick to prove to them that he knew what he was doing, but performing well solo and performing well as part of a team were two completely different things.

Still, the brothers were willing to give him a chance. Boston in particular watched him closely, trying to get a sense of where his group’s newest member had picked up his skills.

“I meant with you.” Tim clarified.

“Yeah.” Dick sighed. “I don’t know yet. How’s the rest of the Team?”

“They’re good. Connor, Megan and Gar left for Mars in the bio-ship almost a week ago, so they’ll be there soon.  Most of the Team is working on the assignments Aqualad gave them right before you left. Although…” Tim trailed off again, and this time Dick could tell it was more serious.

“Yeah?” he prompted.

“Batgirl’s trying to track you down.”

“You’re kidding me.” Dick said, slumping back against the frame of his door and pinching the bridge of his nose. “Has Bruce said anything??”

“No.” Tim replied.  “She’s been trying to keep it quiet, but I know she’s been checking Zeta tube logs and surveillance reports in her spare time. I saw her talking to Artemis the other day. Your name definitely came up. She’s already approached Aqualad too.”

“Great…” Dick said, deflating slightly as he considered this turn of events. Kaldur wouldn’t give him up, and since M’gann and Connor were currently on Mars, he wouldn’t have to worry about them searching for him. For the moment, anyway.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about Barbara trying to find him. On one hand, he wanted another chance to talk things through with her, since she had been his best friend for years. On the other hand, he wasn’t sure where things stood with her, now that things were over between them.

“You know, if she finds out you’ve been talking to me…” Dick warned.

“Can’t be worse than the blow up I got right after you left.” Tim said. Dick wanted to ask him about it, but Tim continued too quickly for him to ask. “Don’t worry about me, Dick. I can handle Barbara.”

“Famous last words.” Dick snorted. “But thanks.” He let out a sigh of frustration. “I don’t know what I’m doing here Tim. I came out here to be alone.”

“And now?” Tim asked.

“Now I’m just lonely.”

“Well,” Tim said, trying to be supportive. “The past is what makes us us. Starting over from the beginning doesn’t really seem like the worst thing in the world to do. Besides, whenever you’re ready to come back, the Team will be waiting.”

Dick breathed a sigh of relief. Hearing his brother be supportive was unexpectedly reassuring.

“Thanks Tim. I’ll catch you later.” he said, ending the call.

Boston called out to him from the employee entrance to the big top. “Hey Dan, you ready?” It was time for their final practice run of the day before their show that night.

He pocketed his phone. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

———————————————————————————————————-

Dick relished the sensation of flying as he spiraled through the air and caught Boston’s outstretched hands. It had been years since he had felt the simple joy and physical exertion that came from swinging on a trapeze. Up here, he could forget his problems and just relish the feeling of flying through the air once again.

The routine they were currently performing was much simpler than the one he’d performed as part of the Flying Graysons, but given that he’d only turned up two weeks ago, Dick didn’t mind. The routines Boston had developed prior to Dick’s arrival had given the flying roles to Lorna and Raya, with Boston, Cleveland and Raymond doing the less glamorous but equally important job of catching.

Once Dick had arrived, some simple changes to the lineup had allowed him to participate, but Boston assured him that he was coming up with a new routine that would take advantage of the fact that they had a new and very capable flyer as part of the troupe.

As easy as the performance was by his standards, Dick felt content as he dismounted the bar and Raya hopped on, ready to perform her finale with Lorna. The finale was one of the few portions of the routine that Boston had left Dick out of, since they already knew it was a crowd pleaser.

The entire group stood and bowed on the platform to thunderous applause at the end of the night, before jumping one at a time into the safety net in order to dismount. It was much quicker than climbing down the ladder again.

With their set done, they all regrouped at the performers entrance.“Good job guys.” Cleveland said to everyone as they began to disperse. “See you all tomorrow.”

Dick waved goodbye and started to head off, but noticed that Boston was following along with him. “Hey Dan, you got a minute?” Boston asked as he caught.

“Yeah, sure.” Dick nodded as he walked. “I was just gonna head over to the cafeteria and grab a bite to eat before I turn in.”

Boston fell in beside him. “I’ll walk with you.”

Dick wondered what the senior circus performer wanted. Every conversation the two of them had had since they were first introduced was related to their performance. Apart from practicing together daily, they hadn’t really interacted socially.

He could feel Boston’s eyes on him as they walked. “You’re John Grayson’s son, aren’t you? You’re Dick Grayson.”

Dick froze in mid step, unsure of himself. Briefly, he thought about playing dumb, but Boston had said the name with such certainty that Dick knew it would be a futile effort. He turned and nodded warily. “How did you know?”

Boston shrugged, gesturing at back at the flat top. “I knew you reminded me of somebody, and I thought I recognized those moves. I can’t believe it took me this long to put two and two together.”

“I didn’t know that you knew him.” Dick admitted as they continued walking. In the back of his mind Dick knew his dad had been born and raised in the circus, just as he had, but it just hadn’t occurred to him that other members of the circus community had known him.

“Hell yeah I knew him.” Boston said enthusiastically. “Your Uncle Rick too. Even met you once, back when you were a little kid.”

“Wow.” Dick said, stunned by the revelation. “I don’t know what to say. I don’t remember you at all.”

“Yeah, you were young. Barely even a toddler.” Boston looked up at the sky, a faraway look in his eyes. He clamped a hand on Dick’s shoulder and lead him away from the cafeteria and towards the street. “Forget the cafeteria. Come have dinner with me and my family kid, we’ll talk.”

They took a cab to the apartment that the circus was renting for Boston and his family. Dinner had been home cooked by Lorna, and turned out to be a very enjoyable affair. The food was good and throughout dinner Boston’s 7-year-old daughter Sophia kept climbing about, jumping between two empty dining chairs while her mother and her uncle watched.

Dick felt a pang of sadness in his gut as he realized that it felt like he was watching his family, all together again.

After dinner, as Cleveland played with Sophia while Lorna looked on, Boston and Dick sat together at an empty table while the former spoke earnestly about his relationship with Dick’s family.

“I met your dad about 30 years ago, when I was 16. Our parents,” Boston said, motioning between Cleveland and himself, “died young, so Cleveland and I were living with our grandpa. He was back stateside at Hill’s Circus, doing motorcycle stunts.”

Dick nodded along as he listened.

“Your dad and your Uncle signed on with Hill’s Circus for a few seasons. They needed a couple more guys for the Trapeze act, so your dad taught me and Cleve the ropes. Taught us everything we know, and here we are, years later.” Boston laughed. “I’d like to think they did a pretty good job.” “What happened after that?” Dick asked earnestly. He’d never met another trapeze artist that wasn’t a family member before his return to Haly’s two weeks ago, so the fact that the first one that he met had been friends with his dad felt serendipitous.

“Your Uncle Rick got your Aunt Karla pregnant there, and they left to try and find better opportunities. Your dad went along with him. I know they tried a couple of different shows. Your dad met your mom a couple years later at the Cirque Romanes in Paris. Eventually, they ended up at Haly’s and, well, you know the rest.”

Boston looked from Dick over to his daughter Sophia, who was laughing cheerfully as her uncle threw her up in the air before catching her with a flourish.

“I managed to see them every now and then. Managed to make it to both their weddings too. They were like the older brothers I never had, you know? They looked out for us.” he said quietly.  “I didn’t hear what happened to them until much, much later. We were touring in Europe at the time.”

Boston looked back over at Dick. “I know your parents would have been proud.”

“I’m not so sure.” Dick replied tiredly.

Boston gave Dick a friendly pat on the shoulder. “How could they not? You’re better than the both of them combined.” He sighed. “I know you’ve had it rough kid. Losing your family the way you did… Hell, I’m surprised you’re still able to climb up there and do what you do.”

Dick wasn’t sure what to say.

“It doesn’t take a genius to see that you’re running away from something.” Boston shrugged again as he stood up. “All I’m saying is, if you want somebody to talk to, my family and I are here for you.”

“Thanks.” Dick said, standing up as well. He walked towards the door, intent on heading back to his bunk at the Circus. “That means a lot to me.”

Boston nodded as he walked Dick out. “Now that we know where we both come from, we should start talking about changing up the routine.”

Dick smiled as he waved goodbye, thinking of some Flying Grayson routines that they could incorporate into their performance. “Actually, I’ve got some ideas about that.”

“We’ll talk tomorrow. Get some rest. You’ve earned it.”

[ellyrad]

idc i was bored so 🤷🏽‍♀️

ASK ME THINGS 1. You woke up naked next to the last person you texted, what would you say? -linda… i’m pretty sure we’ll both be like , “biiitch wtf did you do” 😂 2. What’s going on between you and the last person you kissed? -aha…. i just started this don’t make me cry already 3. If your boyfriend or girlfriend was into drugs, would you care? -i mean…. if it’s like the hardcore ones i’ll be shook. but if it’s just weed then we smokin each other out 🤷🏽‍♀️ 4. Is your last name longer than six letters? -yee 5. Was your last kiss drunk or sober? -sober 6. Have you ever wanted to have someone but you messed it up? -it is what it is 7. What does your last received text say? -“we’re texting now” 8. How many times have you kissed the last person you kissed? -bitch…too many 9. Where was your last kiss at? -my sister’s room 😭😭 10. When is the last time you saw your sister? -fuuuck, like… a week ago. i get sad thinking about it bc i know she’s happily cuffed with somebody but… the only time where i need her the most and she’s always busy :/ but at least she’s happy yfm 11. What do you drink in the morning? -water 12. Where did you sleep last night? -my bed 13. Do you think relationships are hard? -honestly … yeah but you just gotta work through that shit together 14. If you could go back and change something in the past 5 months, would you? -bitch yes, let me get my mans back 15. You’re locked in a room with the last person you kissed, any problems? -he hates me and prob texting his new boo 16. Would you rather it be sunny or rainy? -sunny bc it helps w my depression tbh 17. Do you know anyone with the same middle name as you? -carly RAE jepsen but like … 18. Are you wearing jeans,sweatpants,or pajama pants? -pajama 19. Do you think you will be in a relationship 3 years from now? -idk, i don’t think i’m ready for anything new rn, esp since i’m still going through alot and idk when i’ll ever be over it. but hopefully i’ll wanna be HAPPY not with anyone; but with friends, family and myself 20. Does anyone like you? -i bet but idc 21. Have you ever kissed someone with a name that starts with an S? -STOP 22. Is the last person you kissed gay? -hahaha i hope so 23. Is there a person you CANNOT stand? -nahhhh not really 24. Have you ever considered getting a tattoo? -next one is prob gonna be three tally marks or eeyore lol 25. In the past week have you cried? -idk, i wasn’t counting **hurtbae** 26. What breed was the last dog you saw? -shiba??? 27. Do you dry off in the shower or out of the shower? -in the shower.. 28. Have you ever kissed a football player? -BITCH .. yeah 29. Do you think you’re old? -nooo 30. Do you like text messaging? -yes 31. What type of day are you having? -kill me 32. Have you ever thought about getting your nose pierced? -i have, but nah too much maintenance 33. Do you prefer warm or cold weather? -warm bc it makes me happy 34. Is there a person of the opposite sex who means a lot to you? - yes but ugh 35. Would you prefer a relationship or a fling? -relationship, i’m too emotional 36. Are you a simple or complicated person? -both it depends 37. What song are you listening to? -my stomach growling 38. When you say you’re sorry do you mean it? -yes. 39. Is there a girl that knows everything or almost everything about you? -hmmm yasmine? but not everything currently 40. What made you start liking the person you like now? -bc he was very nice and always made an effort 41. When did you last receive a text message? -7 min ago 42. What is wrong with you right now? -a l o t of things 43. How well do you know the last female you texted? -like…83% well? 44. Does anyone disgust you? -mmm nah 45. Would you date someone right now if they asked? -noooooo no thank you nooo 46. Are you in a good mood right now? -i don’t know what that means 47. Who was the last person you talked to in person? -yasmine 48. What color shirt are you wearing? -his obey jacket…. ugh 49. Has someone recently told you something you didn’t want to hear? -this fucking …girl who’s just being dumb and going on a trip with her ex. like im so heated thinking about it 50. Anyone you’re giving up on? -i should 51. Do you hate the person you fell hardest for? -i can’t 52. Have you ever thought about giving up on someone but couldn’t? -mood 53. Do you like rain? -i hate it i hate it, and i used to love it. fuck 54. Do you care if your boyfriend/girlfriend drinks? -no 55. Have you ever liked somebody and never told them? -ya 56. Do you like to cuddle? -yess 57. Are you shy? -depending who i meet 58. Do you get along with girls? -ehh, if they look chill 59. Have you dated the person you texted last? -uh strictly dickly 60. What do you carry with you at all times? -keys forsure 61. If you were paid 1 million dollars to spend the night in a supposed haunted house, would you? -not by myself!! 62. Do you think you can last in a relationship for five months? -yes 63. Think back to October, were you in a relationship? -yes :((( 64. The person you like kisses you on the forehead, do you find this cute? -biTCHHHH I would cry 65. Did anything “cute” happen in the last week? -cute???? NO 66. How old are the last three people you kissed? -HAHAHHA, uh, 24, 20, and 19 67. Would you rather pay to get your nails done or do them yourself? -do them myself but if i’m extra lazy and i got the money then i’ll get them done 68. Which do you like better- Zebra print or leopard print? -leopard 69. Do you have any stickers on your car? -the marine sticker 70. Would you rather listen to Luke Bryan or Lil Wayne? -lil wayne 71. Blackberry, Anroid, or iPhone? -iphone 72. When’s the last time you had pizza from Pizza Hut? -shiiiit idk tbh 73. Do you like diet soda? -no 74. What color are the walls in your room? -white 75. Are you 16 or older? -yee 76. Do you watch Pretty Little Liars? -no 77. Do you have a job? -ye 78. What are your initials? -DRLA 79. Did you ever have braces? -i get them off november ahhh 80. Are you from the south? -noo 81. What does your last status on facebook say? -single, but i never change it anyway 82. Do you still talk to the first person you ever kissed? -nahhh but i wish we were friends tho 83. Are you closer to your mom or your dad? -mom 84. Have you ever done cheerleading or gymnastics? -cheer and idk how i was even good at it 85. What’s the last movie you saw in theaters? -get out :(( 86. Do you smoke? -id like to do it more often bc i know i need to 87. Would you rather wear heels or flip flops? -ff 88. Is your phone touch screen? -ye 89. Do you normally wear your hair straight or curly? -wavy 90. Have you ever snuck out of your house? -ya 91. Would you rather swim in a river, lake, or pool? -i can’t even swim lmaooo 92. Have you ever made out in a car? -girlllll 93. …Had sex in a car? -GIRLLLLLLLLL is lit 94. Are you single or in a relationship? -depressed 95. What were you doing last night at midnight? -crying hahahaha 96. When’s the last time you saw fireworks? -AHHHH fourth of july :(( 97. Do you like the camera on your phone? -it’s okay, but the iphone 7’s portrait is hella nice 98. Have you ever had a friend with benefits? -its dumb i hate it, never again 99. Have you ever passed out from drinking? -i’d like to 100. Are you friends with people on facebook that you actually hate? -no 101. Have you ever had a pregnancy scare? -nahhh 102. Name your favorite Kesha song: - 103. Do you have any tan lines right now? -i don’t even go out in the sun 104. Would you ever wear cowboy boots with shorts? -lmao bye

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CANTLON'S CORNER: WOLF PACK OFF SEASON VOLUME 16

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Summer is winding down. The days aren't quite as long and the heat is subsiding a bit and that means fall is approaching and the 2019-20 hockey season is just around the corner. As Cantlon’s Corner exclusively reported last week, the XL Center's General Manager, Chris Lawrence, departed after six years of service in the Connecticut capital for an unspecified job in Michigan. It turns out that the job he took was as the new VP of Park Operations at Comerica Park in Detroit, the home of the American League's, Detroit Tigers. There is a Connecticut connection. The Tigers Single-A short-season affiliate is located in Norwich. The team is the Connecticut Tigers of the New York Penn League (NYPL) and they play at Dodd Stadium. Lawrence played college hockey at Michigan State in East Lansing, which is also where his wife is from. Lawrence’s replacement as the XL Center is his former Assistant GM, Ben Weiss, who was promoted to the position on Monday. PLAYER & COACHING MOVEMENT After all the controversy, former New Haven Nighthawk, Don Waddell, has signed a three-year deal to remain as the GM of the Carolina Hurricanes. Waddell did take an interview for the GM opening with the Minnesota Wild. Carolina also put pen and paper together by signing ex-Hartford Whaler, Hartford Wolf Pack, and New York Ranger goalie, Jason Muzzatti, as their new goaltending coach. Muzzatti held the same position with his alma mater, Michigan State (Big 10), over the last four years. There are five finalists for the Minnesota GM job. Two of those five have a Connecticut connection. Back in the 1970s, he played for the University of New Haven. His name is Dean Lombardi, who was an assistant with Minnesota as one of his first NHL gigs. New Canaan resident, and NBC-TV analyst, Pierre McGuire, has tossed his hat in the ring for the job. Congrats to one-time New Haven Nighthawks Marketing Director, Mike Santos, as he was named the new commissioner of the USA Tier-III junior level, Eastern Hockey League. Santos has held a variety of jobs in pro hockey since leaving the Elm City. Santos has an incredibly impressive resume. He was the Manager of Special Events for the National Hockey League and directed the 1993 NHL Draft in Hartford. He was the Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations of the New York Islanders for five years. Santos was Corporate Counsel and Director of Hockey Operations and Assistant General Manager for the Florida Panthers and was the Director of Hockey Operations for the Nashville Predators over four seasons. He also handled operations as General Manager of AHL franchises in Rochester, San Antonio, and Milwaukee. He also worked with the Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) as its team President for two years. Santos also held the title of Commissioner once before. He did that role with the Tier-II North American Hockey League (NAHL) with the title of Commissioner and President. North Branford native, Adam Erne, was traded by the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Detroit Red Wings for a 2020 fourth-round draft pick. The AHL’s potential 32nd franchise coming to Palm Springs, CA, which will be the first affiliate for the yet unnamed NHL Seattle franchise, has trademarked the name, "Palm Springs Firebirds." Read it in the Palm Springs Desert Sun HERE Defenseman Josh Wesley, who's the son of former Whaler, Glen Wesley, and who played 15 games with the Wolf Pack after being part of a reassignment/trade with Calder Cup champion Charlotte Checkers for goalie Dustin Tokarski, has signed a one-year AHL deal with the San Antonio Rampage. Boston announced they have signed a new ECHL agreement with Atlanta to be Providence’s secondary affiliate. Ft. Wayne has an agreement with the Vegas Golden Knights and the New Jersey Devils have renewed its affiliation agreement with Adirondack. The ECHL also saw Peter Karmanos part with the last of his hockey properties. He sold his controlling interest in the Florida Everblades. He also sold his OHL team in Plymouth, Michigan four years ago and the Hurricanes, where he is officially a minority owner of the franchise. Norfolk, Reading, and Jacksonville have all changed ownership this summer. Manchester folded just after their playoff season ended. Trevor Yates, the son of former Whaler, Ross Yates, who played with two AHL (Wilkes Barre/Scranton and Grand Rapids) and two ECHL (Wheeling and Toledo) last season has signed with Reading (ECHL) for the start of this season. Tobias Lindberg played with three AHL teams last season, Belleville, Wilkes Barre/Scranton, and ended the season with the Chicago Wolves. He heads back home signing with IK Oskarshamn (Sweden-SHL). That makes 65 AHL’ers to sign in Europe. Ex-Pack, Marek Hrivik, leaves Vityaz Podolsk (Russia-KHL) and signs with Leksands IF (Sweden-SHL). Charles Corcoran (New Canaan) has signed with the Coventry Blaze (England-EIHL) for next season after inking an original deal with HC Lyon (France-FREL), but the team may not be in the elite Magnus League this season. He played last year with Dundee (Scotland-EIHL). Four more collegiate grad transfers in Hockey East. The first two go to the Northeastern Huskies as Brendan Van Riemsdyk 23, leaves the University of New Hampshire and Craig Panton 24, from Merrimack. The other two go to Michigan (Big 10). They are Jacob Hayhurst from RPI (ECACHL) and Shane Switzer of Boston University (HE). There is one regular transfer. Bobby Hampton of Northeastern (HE) heads to Penn State (Big 10) but will have to sit out the 2019-20 season as per the NCAA transfer rule. Michael Dill becomes just the second transfer to Canadian college hockey as he departs UMASS-Lowell (HE) to Dalhousie University (AUAA). Jake Peters (Madison) is heading to Division III Nazareth (PA) College (UCHC) this season . Ex-Sound Tiger, Scott Munro, was named the new goalie coach at Trinity College (NESCAC). Former New Haven Nighthawk and New York Ranger, Mike Donnelly, will be inducted into the Michigan State Spartans Athletic Hall of Fame on Thursday, October 24th as part of their Celebrate weekend. Donnelly along with other inductees will be honored at halftime of the MSU-Penn State football game two days later. Donnelly played for the Spartans from 1982-1986. As a senior, he scored the game-winning goal in the NCAA Final with 2:51 left in regulation that allowed them to beat Harvard 6-5, claiming the Division I title. He led the nation in goal scoring with 59 and beat out Brett Hull, then at the University Minnesota-Duluth, by seven goals to win the title. He played 11 NHL seasons with and 465 games with 114 goals and 235 total points and in 197 AHL games has 112 goals and 244 points.. Donnelly played in New Haven on two different occasions. The first as a Rangers affiliate and the second with the Los Angeles Kings top farm team. Presently, he is a development coach with the Kings and enters his 18th year in the organization on the hockey operations side of the game. Five more US collegiate signed pro deals. Steven Ruggiero leaves Lake Superior State (WCHA) and signs with San Diego (AHL). Sean Romero departs Ohio State (Big 10) to go to Cincinnati (ECHL). Matt McArdle of Merrimack (HE) signs with Norfolk (ECHL). Ryan Cloonan leaves Boston University (HE) to sign with Utah (ECHL), and Matt McLeod leaves Canisius College (AHA) to sign a pro deal with Brampton (ECHL). Two more players head to Europe as Wes Baker leaves Mercyhurst University (AHA) and signs with HC Chambery (France Division-2). Duggie Lagrone jumps from Division III SUNY-Geneseo (SUNYAC) and after playing a few games with Utah and Allen (ECHL) at the end of the year also signs with the same French team. That makes 195 Division I players to sign pro deals, 53 in Europe and a total of 265 overall. The Arizona State Sun Devils (NCAA Division I, Independent) have signed Eddie Lack as their goalie coach. Lack played six games with Binghamton before being shut down. He had hip labrum surgery and is still recovering but decided to do some coaching before he attempts a comeback. Former Yale Bulldog goalie Patrick Spano (Westminster Prep) leaves HC Chambery (France Division-2) and heads to Belgium to play for the Liege Bulldogs (BEL-NEL). D.J. King, the son of former Whaler and present Rockford (AHL) head coach, Derek King, is traded for two draft picks from Hamilton (OHL) to Saginaw (OHL). Senna Peeters, a Belgian native from the Selects Academy program at South Kent Prep, signs with the Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) who took him as their first pick, 48th overall, in the CHL Import Draft in June. Long time Hartford sportscaster, Rich Coppola, who started on Day 1 with the Fox 61 WTIC-TV newscast that was christened April 10, 1989, after 30 years has parted ways with the station. His last broadcast was on Thursday. No future plans were announced. He has been the only Sports Director the station has ever had and is the last of the original crew from opening night. “It’s difficult, I would be lying if I said it wasn’t. Being the last of the original newscast says quite a bit about my longevity and its special to me. "All the events I have had the privilege to cover over the years, UConn games, Whalers, NCAA tournaments, the Wolf Pack, Super Bowls, state high school sports, are all wonderful experiences I treasure. but the friendships I have made along the way are even more important. "I have met so many talented and interesting people being in this business whether they were in TV, newspapers, or radio or any media outlet. This has been a great ride and run, but this isn’t the end. "After all these years of covering free agents in so many sports, I have a chance to be one myself,” Coppola said with a laugh. “I’m taking a chance on myself and in this business, like in sports, you get these chances only a few times, and if I’m gonna do it, now is the time." Coppola, a University of New Haven graduate, will still be doing NCAA Division I college hockey for the Quinnipiac University Bobcats on ESPN Plus. Coppola has also worked at ESPN, Channel 22 WWLP-TV in Springfield, an NBC affiliate, and started his career at WKCI-FM/WAVZ-AM radio in his early days in the business. An East Haven native, Cappola is a true fan of hockey, a rarity in the state media corps. He played the sport in high school for the Yellowjackets program and grew up with the Eastern Hockey League New Haven Blades at the New Haven Arena and AHL New Haven Nighthawks at the New Haven Coliseum. The Hartford market loses not only a great asset, but hockey in Hartford, at least for now, has lost its biggest voice. Read the full article

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CANTLON: WOLF PACK OFF SEASON - VOLUME 12

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The life of a hockey executive never ends... Oh sure it slows down, but all the coaches and management in professional hockey are all working to construct and hopefully improve their rosters for the 2019-20 season. PLAYERS AND COACHING MOVEMENT The New York Rangers inked their first-round (Second overall) draft pick, Kaapo Kakko, to the standard max Entry-Level Contract of three years at $925K-NHL/$70K-AHL. Last Wednesday, the Rangers signed two more players destined for Hartford. Philippe Di Guiseppe played with four teams last year, two of them in the NHL (Carolina, Nashville) and two of them in the AHL (Charlotte, Milwaukee). He was signed to a one-year/one-way $700K contract. He was originally drafted by Carolina in 2012 in the second round, 38th overall. Ryan Dmowski (Old Lyme/Gunnery Prep) was given a one-year, AHL deal. He played ten games and earned a goal and four points at the end of last season with the Wolf Pack after completing his four-year collegiate career at UMASS-Lowell (HE). While playing in college, he registered 67 points in 132 games with the River Hawks. The Detroit Red Wings have released the details of the annual Traverse City Prospects Tournament. The tourney will be held September 6th -10th. The Rangers will play in the Ted Lindsay Division with the prospects for Columbus, Dallas, and Minnesota. The Gordie Howe Division will feature Chicago, St. Louis, Toronto, and host Detroit. The round-robin tournament will be the first look at team prospects playing in actual game action. Ex-Pack/Ranger, Artem Anisimov, was traded on Tuesday to Ottawa for forward, Zack Smith. Former CT Whale / Ranger, Michael Del Zotto signs with one of his three teams from last season, the Anaheim Ducks. His deal is for one-year very cap friendly $750K one Sway deal. He ended last season the Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues but played no games in the Finals. Ryan Donato, the son of ex-Pack and Sound Tiger, Ted Donato, signs a two-year, one-way deal paying him $1.9 million per year with Minnesota. Ex-Pack, Michael Joly, signed a one-year AHL deal with the Colorado Eagles. Ex-Pack goalie, Charles Williams signs with Indy (ECHL). One-time New Haven Nighthawk, Willie O’Ree, will likely add his last major award of the last few years as he is expected to receive a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of his being the first black player in NHL history. O’Ree, a long-time San Diego resident was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Former CT Whale VP of Marketing, Bob Ohrablo, remains as team President of the Jacksonville IceMen (ECHL) who were sold to a new management team last week. Hartford Whaler legend, Ron Francis, was hired to be the first GM for the brand spanky new Seattle NHL franchise. He was interviewed by his one-time teammate, and now former Seattle Hockey Advisor, Dave Tippett, who took the head coaching job in Edmonton. Francis drafted a large portion of the AHL Calder Cup championship Charlotte Checkers squad and constructed the Carolina Hurricanes team that went to the NHL Eastern Conference Final. He was unceremoniously demoted and eventually relieved of his duties in Carolina which ended Francis' long association with the franchise. The first thing he will do is hire a small pro scouting staff to observe the NHL and AHL over the next two years to prepare for the expansion draft. Expect former Hartford Whalers teammate, Sean Burke, to be among that select group. Burke is presently a scout for Montreal and works for Team Canada where the duo designed the Canadian Spengler Cup championship team last December. Read the Seattle Times piece HERE The Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins continue their strong off-season reloading campaign. They signed Myles Powell, who had a strong rookie year in Rochester, to an AHL contract. Goalie, Cam Johnson, switches teams. He leaves Binghamton to Milwaukee on an AHL contract. Forward, Chris Connor departs Lehigh Valley to Binghamton. Ryan Obuchowski (Yale University), who played for Kelly Cup finalist Toledo (ECHL), signs with SV Ritten/Renon (Italy-AlpsHL) for next season. Six more AHL’ers sign Euro deals in their native countries. The latest pair is Mitch Callahan of Bakersfield who goes to Augsburger (Germany-DEL) and Chase Balisy leaves Belleville for EHC Straubing (Germany-DEL). Adam Musil, the nephew of former Whaler and New York Ranger, Robert (Bobby) Holik, exits San Antonio to sign with HK Dukla Jihlava (Czech Republic-CEL). Juho Lammikko departs Springfield and signs back home with Karpat Oulu (Finland-FEL). Colton Hargrove from Texas signs with HC Bolzano (Italy-EBEL) while Brady Brassart of Syracuse inks a deal with Stavanger (Norway-NEL). 59 AHL players have signed overseas. 25 of the 31 AHL teams have lost at least one player so far to a European signing. Ex-Sound Tiger, John Persson, leaves Mora IK (Sweden-SHL) for SaiPa (Finland-FEL). The Bridgeport Sound Tigers have signed seven players for next season. The signings start with veteran forward and powerplay net-front pest, Steve Bernier, and defenseman Mike Cornell, in his third AHL season, and John Stevens Jr., who's coming off an injury-riddled sophomore campaign, is the son of ex-Whaler, John Stevens Sr. Nick Schillkey from the Calder Cup champion Charlotte Checkers, Nic Pierog (Canterbury Prep) from now-defunct Manchester Monarchs (ECHL), goalie Ryan MacKinnon, and Kyle MacLean from Oshawa (OHL), who just completed his junior career with 110 points in 227 games and is the son of former NHL’er John MacLean, are the rest of the signings. Former UCONN Husky, Maxim Letunov, had his AHL contract with the San Jose Barracuda extended by one-year by the San Jose Sharks. Ex-Sound Tiger, Cole Markison, goes from Texas to Charlotte. Joining him on the reigning Calder Cup champion is Hunter Shinkarul from Laval. Tariq Hammond leaves Binghamton for Hershey. Michael Kapla, who split last season between Iowa and Binghamton, signs with the Toronto Marlies. Goalie Hunter Miska leaves the Tucson Roadrunners and signs with the Colorado Eagles for next year Ex-Sound Tiger, Lukas Sutter, is hired as an amateur scout by Columbus. Nine more college players sign North American pro deals. They include Luke Shiplo of Quinnipiac University and Michael Ederer of St Lawrence University from the ECACHL. Both of them sign with Wichita (ECHL). A player with another great hockey name, Tanner Jago, goes from Bentley University (AHA) to sign with the Texas Stars. Vincent Desharnais of Providence College (HE) signs with Bakersfield. Eric Israel of Robert Morris University (AHA) goes to Fort Wayne Komets (ECHL) while Brett Boeing of UMASS-Amherst (HE), hooks up with Toledo (ECHL) and Dakota Joshua of Ohio State (Big 10) was traded by Toronto to St. Louis. The Blues signed him to a two-year, two-way deal and will likely start next year in San Antonio. Austin Plevy of Northeastern (HE) and Scott Davidson of Quinnipiac University (ECACHL) both sign with Adirondack (ECHL). Three have signed In Europe. Dylan Malmquist of Notre Dame (Big 10) signs with Nottingham (England-EIHL). Jeremiah Luedtke goes from University Alaska-Anchorage (WCHA) to Krefelder EV 1981 (Germany Division-3), and Jalen Schulz of University Nebraska-Omaha (NCHC) to EV Fussen (Germany Division-3). 185 Division I players have signed North American pro deals. 49 go to Europe while 233 players overall have signed deals. Paul Selleck of Cowichan Valley (BCHL) commits to Trinity College (NESCAC). Jared DeMichiel (Harwinton) gets a promotion to associate head coach with UMASS-Amherst (HE). Another school takes the first steps toward becoming an NCAA Division I varsity hockey team from a club program in Penn after 42 years of being a club program. Read it HERE. Luke Curadi (Cheshire/ND-WH/Hartford Jr. Wolf Pack) was named the USHL Director of Player Development. He had been the Eastern USA Scout for the USHL Green Bay Gamblers the last three years. IN MEMORIAM The Wolf Pack family lost another of its original pieces and a man who served pro hockey in Hartford for 45 years as the Chief of Off-Ice Officials, Robert (Bob) Henry Guarente, 77, lost a second battle with throat cancer. Only Frank Camera of Bridgeport (who started in New Haven) has served longer in an off-ice role in Connecticut minor-league hockey history. Guarente started in 1975 with the New England Whalers for the first four years, then all 21 years of the Hartford Whalers and all 22 seasons with the Wolf Pack before stepped aside in February because he could no longer speak. Sadly, he is the third off-ice official to pass in the past 18 months and fourth in the 22-year history of the franchise. He would always greet me in a poor impression of an Irish accent, “What’s up with the leprechaun today?” After the pre-game meal and before we left one of us, he had a tell an off-color joke, One of his favorite oft-repeated jokes was this one; Mary and Tom O’ Brien were walking in the town center and run into Father O’Malley. Father O’Malley chats with them and inquires why they have no children. Mrs. O’Brien replied, “We’ve tried and tried Father with no success.” Father O’Malley says, “I’m going to the Vatican next week and I will light a candle for you.” Five years go by and he runs into Mrs. O’Brien and she has four kids in tow and she is pregnant with number five. Father O’Malley with a big smile says, “Oh, I’m so happy for you. Your prayers were answered, but where is Tom?” Mrs. O’Brien replied, “He’s at the Vatican Father trying to blow out that candle you lit!” It would always bring a smile to his face and he would let loose with his trademark cackle laugh. There should be a new AHL Award created with his name. It should be started for the best off-ice crew in the AHL every year. He will be greatly missed at the XL Center come September, a dedicated loyal husband, friend, soldier and Off-Ice Director. RIP you have earned your wings. Read the full article