#arkham asylum alternate ending

[im-only-here-for-the-fandom]

Dead Twins

so a dpxdc idea that’s been floating in my head for a long time.

i’ve seen jason and danny being each other’s alternate selves from another reality or father and son, but never as twins, i’ve seen danny being a twin or look alike to all the other batboys (mostly damian) but never with jason.

so they could be the children of the fenton’s but it’s easier for me to write them as children of willis and sheila, willis taking one child and sheila taking the other so she can get child support or something and once she’s done with him she dumps him in an orphanage, where tye fenton’s pick him up as a friend for their daughter jazz.

jason and danny both grow up never feeling alone due to a twin bond between them, when one was feeling sad the other would send happy feelings to cheer the other up, but they couldn’t tell each other’s thoughts or location, their bond streched thin from their separation. so when jason dies, danny feels the bond snap and he feels jason’s last moments, his sadness, his fear, his feelings of betrayal and helplessness at his situation, and it sends him into a depression spiral that not even his sister or friends can get him out of. he could feel himself dying, slowly fading from existence his body failing him at every turn, it wasn’t just depression, it wasn’t just in his head as his sister tried to tell him, it was physical he could tell .so when his parents machine fails and his friends ask him to go inside to take a picture he doesn’t argue even though he knows how dangerous it could be, knows that many of his parents inventions malfunction or backfire in horrible ways. so he doesn’t notice the protruding wire on the floor and trips pushing the on button on the wall as he tries to stabilize himself. he dies and comes back not knowing that when he came back his brother came back with him.

the bond comes back but it’s weak barley stable only assuring the other that they were alive. both being connected to death, to ectoplasm, danny a halfa and jason a resurrected revrent with a core.

their reunion could go several ways:

1. The Ghost King Way

enter world ending threat that the JL can’t defeat and need to summon the ghost king to defeat. danny apears in all his space obssesed ghost king glory, and instantly feels a connection with this strange man wearing a red helmet standing at the back the same bond he has always felt since he was born. jason also feeling this stange bond is very confused as to why his bond leads to the ghost king. they end up hanging out as their alter egos neither knowing that they are in facr twins, their bond strengthening the longer they spend time together. they first start out hanging out at the watchtower but later start hanging out in gotham, jason finaly has himself declared alive again which makes into the paper, that danny ends up seeing.

2. The Jazz Way

Jazz ends up working at arkham asylum much to her brother’s dismay and manged ti make him promise her not visit for at least a month. que her bumping into jason at the library or a coffee shop and sees what she thinks is danny (who she can also sense because she’s liminal) stalking her after explicitly told him not to follow her to gotham and she is furious, she pulls jason by the ear and starts to lecture him in the middle of the road, ‘i trusted you’ and ‘how could you’ and ‘you promised me’ and ‘why did you dye your hair like that’ ,and jason is like ‘lady who are you?’, his siblings are standing to the side laughing at him. jazz realizes that’s not her brother, she shows them a picture of danny and they all agree that they ate identical, and agree to set up a meeting. when they meet they realize that that’s who their bond conects to.

3. The Ellie Way

ellie is traveling around the world visiting all the famous places and decides to visit gotham and ends up seeing jason thinking he’s danny she barrels into him sreaming ‘DADDY’ and jason is very confused, like WTF, she soon relizes that this isn’t danny despite their ecto- signature being almost exactly the same if not for the weird corruption jason has, but decides to be a troll anyways and pretend that jason is her dad danny. she pretends to be very upset that her daddy doesn’t remember her, and shows them pictures on her phone of her and danny doing father daughter things, cuddling, playing. jason on the other hand thinks ‘oh my god did i have a daughter that i forgot about’. they take her home and run a dna test just incase (ellie is just waching the chaos, she also wants to know why he feels so much like danny) and while not a match for a father it is for a close relative like an uncle. with the her act done ellie tells them about danny and how he was adopted and they realize that their related.

-ellie could either be aged up by vlad or rescued and raised by danny before she was aged up.

*** or it could be dan too, actually it would be way funnier if it was dan. grown ass man proclaiming that you are his father, with photographic evidence. they might think he’s from the future or something. dan it just doing it for shits and giggles.

*** or both, both together is also funny, because they would squabble like the siblings they are and jason would have to act like a dad to make them stop.

4. The Ellie Way 2

in this one it’s better that ellie is not aged up.

after danny let her go on a camping trip with his parents while he goes on a business trip or to attend ghost king duties, ellie is kidnapped by meta children traffickers, after seeing her float for a bit. maddie and jack don’t want danny to worry or be disappointed by them try to find her without telling him. ellie ends up in gotham and ends up rescued by jason, senseing his ectoplasm that feels almost exactly like danny, and clings to him fully believing that he is her dad danny, and the only reason he didn’t find her straight away is because his ecto became corrupted. jason is now stuck with a little girl that insists that he’s her father going off of nothing but that he feels like her father so he’s her father. he ends up taking her to the manor and takes off his helmet and tells her “look at me, do i look like your daddy” to which she insists that yes he is her daddy. so they ask if she knows her dad’s number to which she answers yes, they call danny and tell him that they found his daughter, danny is predictably worried and furious because his daughter had been kidnapped and his parents didn’t tell him, he rushes over and the batfam is like omg they look really identical. of course the reunion between danny and ellie is tear filled, lots of hugs and kiss.

5. The Vacation Way

they go on a vaction to lets say the beach, with all their family, jason with the batboys and batgirls and danny with his parents sister and dan and ellie included.

*** jason and danny go to a food truck to get food with steph and ellie. because of the large amount of food they’re carrying they can’t see so they need some one to guide them back, que ellie and steph taking the wrong twin back to their area. both jason and danny ate very confused, who are you people. both families think that something must have happened because neither twin knows who these people are. danny is confused but all for having more siblings and another father, while jason doesn’t understand why a teenager (ellie) and a full grown man (dan) are calling him dad. they both go back to the food truck so that they could maybe trace the problems back and end up meeting.

*** or they could be swimming and end up in each other’s area.

*** or a volleyball game that got too intense, either from the trained batfam or ghost strenght/ectoplasm enhanced family.

for this it’s funnier if ellie and dan were older.

6. The Business Way

danny started a company with sam and tucker, and is heading to a meet with wayne enterprise in gotham. he gets there a few days early just in case, and goes around site seeing and end up meeting memebers of the batfam along the way, he doesn’t know who these people are but they’re very friendly and it’s freaking him out, meanwhile the batfam are very sad that jason is pretending he doesn’t know them even though they had finally put away their differences. it isn’t until the meeting that they realize no that is not jason. or tim who is ceo could think that jason showing up for the meeting is a very elaborate prank

-random snippets that could fit anywhere-

danny telling jason that he felt him die.

for angst both jason and danny having Y shaped scars.

when talking about their death they find out that when when danny died and came back jason came back with him (i got this from a fic where jason and danny were soulmates on ao3, i don’t remember the name if anyone knows that fic tell me.)

the batboys and girls acting as uncles and aunts to ellie and/or dan.

comparing crazy family shenanigans.

/each way could be an entire fic really but im to lazy to be fully invested in writing these as actual fics with good grammar and consistent updates./

feel free to use these ideas, but tag me if you do i really wanna what others come up with.

[batty-pham]

Daily BatPham Fic Rec

Oct 26

A King in Arkham

By AilithNight

Tags: Danny Fenton in Arkham, Ghost King Danny Fenton, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Major Character Death before narrative, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Arkham Asylum is Terrible

Wordcount: 9,330

Summary: The Nasty Burger explodes, taking everyone Danny had ever loved (plus his English teacher) with it. There is no setback. There is no redo. The only way to go is forward. After vehenemently refusing to go with Vlad, Danny ends up in the foster system in Chicago. His rogues decide to follow their favorite plaything. But without the ambient ectoplasm of Amity Park, they can't manifest in a way anyone else else can see. And with Danny having resolved to never have anything to do with his ghostly half again, he begins to pick up "unexplainable" injuries. This, coupled with what various psychiatrists agree is depression and suicidal ideation, lands Danny in a mental health ward. Then, after a shocking confession, an asylum. And with his very wealthy godfather still fighting for custody arranging to foot the bill; only the best, most well known asylum in the country will do. Too bad Vlad doesn't actually do any research into this Arkham Asylum. Too bad Danny doesn't really care where he goes or what happens to him as long as he doesn't become Dan.

Complete: no

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

Arkham Birds

by Herdslittlefictions Arkham Asylum has seven inmates that should not be there. when Batman finds out he is horrified. When they meet batman they designed to make themselves everyone else's problem. Dr. Hugo strange is up to something and its not good. Aka Batkids + Stephan didn't meet Bruce Wayne until later. but they all met each other. in Arkham. Words: 3040, Chapters: 1/28, Language: English Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Categories: Gen Characters: Bruce Wayne, Hugo Strange, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain, Duke Thomas, Tim Drake (DCU), Stephanie Brown, Damian Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Selina Kyle, Harleen Quinzel, Barbara Gordon, Dinah Lance, Talia al Ghul Relationships: Batfamily Members & Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson & Duke Thomas, Stephanie Brown & Tim Drake, Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson & Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown & Cassandra Cain, Alfred Pennyworth & Bruce Wayne, Cassandra Cain & Tim Drake & Dick Grayson & Duke Thomas & Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne, Pamela Isley/Harleen Quinzel Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, cannon and me are not friends, Arkham Asylum, Arkham Asylum is Terrible, Arkham Asylum Patient Jason Todd, Arkham Asylum Patient Tim Drake (DCU), Stalker Tim Drake (DCU), Dick Grayson joins the Batfam late, Chaotic Duke Thomas, Feral Tim Drake, gremlin cassandra cain, Stephanie Brown Being a Little Shit, Jason Todd is a Menace, Good Sibling Jason Todd, Good Sibling Dick Grayson, Good Sibling Cassandra Cain, Damian Wayne Has a Heart, Self-Sacrificing Dick Grayson, Medical Inaccuracies, Legal Inaccuracies, Bad Parents Jack Drake and Janet Drake, Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Bruce Wayne Gets Therapy, Bruce Wayne Tries to Be a Good Parent, harleen and her hyenas, Good Parent Talia al Ghul, Canon-Typical Violence, Fluff and Angst, Crack Treated Semi-Seriously, Ableist Language, internalized ableism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Substance Abuse, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Underage Smoking, Swearing, Non-Consensual Drug Use, venom in DCU, Mental Health Issues, Human Experimentation, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, This sounds a lot darker than it is, but it has its dark moments, no beta we die like jason todd, Batfamily Meets the Justice League (DCU), Happy Ending, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping via https://ift.tt/QkFRAu3

[salty-accords]

Fragments from "The Strange Case of the Joker" Essay

AN: These are fragments from my WIP The Strange Case of the Joker, which is a mega-essay (upwards of 10k words) and video-essay series to-be, analyzing the Joker through various political, health-based, and cultural lenses. Some of these are through the lens of queerness, mental illness, and censorship. These selections are not completely successive, and only include material set for the first video essay installment.

---

The Joker has been Batman’s counterpart since their inception. In the earlier incarnations, Batman was something of a Straight Man to Joker’s slapstick comedy; he’s an archetypal trickster, alternating between malicious ploys, such as bombings, and relatively harmless pranks and theatricality. Ultimately, throughout every iteration, his goal has been to upend the status quo—not necessarily to any moral end, but more out of a need to subject others to the chaos of his own mind and persona. He seeks to reveal the hypocrisies that society attempts to ignore. Joker often uses complex moral dilemmas to psychologically torture and attempt to “out” or “break” Batman and the moral standards Batman models. The core conflict Joker poses for Batman is The Joker’s very life: Batman can either kill Joker and end the Clown’s continued violence (as locking him away has proven ineffectual and unreliable), or he can spare Joker’s life and perpetuate the cycle of Joker’s harm; either way, Batman is committing himself to a break in his own moral code—he is either adding to the cycle of violence and abuse directly by murdering someone, or he is a bystander in the violence perpetuated by that person against others.

---

The Joker is one of the most quintessential characters in comic history. He is renowned as well as Superman, Marvel’s Spiderman, and Batman himself, and is often atop his fellow villains—usually, metaphorically, of course. Joker has been featured in thousands of comics, as a villain and pseudo-hero at different points. He’s been a driving force in several animated television shows, not the least of which being Mark Hamil’s debut as his voice, Batman: The Animated Series, or the more recent Harley Quinn show, starring his ex. He’s been a main character in at least four video games: the Arkham trilogy, and the Telltale series’ second season, The Enemy Within, where he is ultimately the ending villain, but potentially an anti-hero protagonist.

---

Unfortunately, Bill Finger, the writer responsible for the first Batman issue (and thus Joker as a character), passed before he was dignified with public recognition for his role in the Batman series and the Joker’s very creation. However, Kane and Robinson have both acknowledged him as their co-creator for the character, and his only obituaries in 1974-5 were in lesser-seen DC publications: Amazing World of DC Comics #1, in which he was credited as “One of the greats of the comic magazine arts” and Famous 1st Edition (Batman #1), as “One of [Batman’s] two real fathers.” Finger has received significant recognition in the age of the internet, with several people claiming DC Comics, or even Bob Kane himself, stole the credit (and thus glory) of Batman and the Joker’s legacies from Finger.

---

Batman, despite embodying sanity in their dynamic, is stuck in the loop of trying the same thing over and over and expecting something different to happen. He expects Joker to stay in Arkham Asylum, or to “behave” once released. He expects the cycle to end, someday. Almost counterintuitively, at least on the surface, Joker knows what will happen every time. He will do something heinous, he and Batman will fight, Batman will inevitably capture him or he will die, and if Batman captures him, then he’ll escape from wherever he’s imprisoned, and they will repeat this forever, until someone does break.

[ao3feed-harleyquinn]

BAD LUCK BATMAN

by RABIDBATSY “I have a proposition for you, Batman," Kyle says. "A chance for you and me to work together to bring down your ultimate archenemy.” “Ra’s al Ghul?” Bruce guesses. “No, your other archenemy.” “Two-Face?” The thief lets out a deep sigh. “No, your other, other archenemy." “Hugo Strange?” “Hugo who?” Kyle pauses, clicking his tongue in irritation. “Are you being annoying on purpose?” Bruce shrugs. “It comes naturally, I’m afraid.” “I’m talking about the Joker. He’s been awfully quiet since he broke out of Arkham. Haven’t you been curious why? It’s because he’s planning something big. Something that could mean the end of Gotham City as we know it.” Bruce, billionaire by day and vigilante known as the Batman by night, teams up with jewel thief Kyle to thwart a city-threatening plot by the Joker, and his beautiful but unstable psychiatrist who set him free from Arkham. As love and crime collide in the streets of Gotham, can Bruce and Kyle, along with the rest of their crew, save the city from impending ruin? OR: a gay (M/M) reimagining of the Batman/Catwoman love story ❤️ Words: 7356, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, Batman (Comics) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Batman, Catwoman, Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle, Joker (DCU), Harleen Quinzel, Oracle (DCU), Barbara Gordon, Lucius Fox, Jim Gordon (DCU), Robin (DCU), Jason Todd, Always-a-male Selina Kyle, Always-a-male Barbara Gordon, Always-a-male Harleen Quinzel | Harley Quinn Relationships: Batman/Catwoman, Bruce Wayne/Selina Kyle, Batman/Gender-swapped Catwoman, Bruce Wayne/Gender-swapped Selina Kyle Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Gender or Sex, Rule 63, Gender-swapped characters, Changes to Gender or Sex, Male Selina Kyle, Male Barbara Gordon, Male Harleen Quinzel, Heroes & Anti-Heroes, Metahumans, Gotham, Arkham Asylum, Found Family, Orphans, Enemies to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Romance, Action/Adventure, Humor, Banter, Comic Book Violence, Adult Language, Sexual Tension, Sexual innuendos, Brief Sexual Situations, eat the rich, Aged-Up Character(s), Aged-Down Character(s), Museum Burglaries, Charity Auctions, Kyle flirts with Bruce like it's an Olympic sport, Everyone Is Gay via https://ift.tt/sVA0pL4

[batmancomicanalysis]

Did Batman kill The Joker in The Killing Joke?

Note: "Alan Moore said" is not a valid refutation. A great article on the concept of authorial intent with particular reference to TKJ:

1. Batman’s early statement “I don’t want your murder on my hands” could foreshadow The Joker’s murder by Batman’s bare hands, à la TDKR. Ironically, Batman’s hands are literally stained (by white makeup) in this scene. Joker’s death may have been foreshadowed again when Batman crushed The Joker’s card in silent rage in response to hearing what he did to Barbara

2. Batman asks The Joker impersonator “Do you realize what you’ve set free?”, implying that Batman doesn’t regard The Joker as a mere human but an animal, a force of nature or a demonic entity; i.e., dehumanised, something one would have fewer reservations about destroying

3. In a conversation with Alfred (prior to The Joker’s brutal assault on Jim and Jim’s daughter Barbara), Batman admits that he hates The Joker: “How can two people hate so much without knowing each other?”

4. Batman states that “in the end, one of us will kill the other” near the beginning in Arkham (with Batman and what appears to be The Joker, captioned as “two guys in a lunatic asylum…”; the start of The Joker’s eponymous joke, sitting opposite each other in The Joker’s cell, with Jim on the outside looking in) and the “one of us will kill the other” monologue (the second time internal) appears again towards the end: Batman reluctantly accepts the necessity of killing The Joker (if The Joker doesn’t kill him first). Batman’s “we’re both running out of alternatives”, “Maybe it all hinges on tonight” and “it doesn’t have to end like that” come just before The Joker apologises, rejects Batman’s “last chance” offer of rehabilitation (after “all these years” of conflict) and tells the eponymous "killing joke"

5. Batman laughing maniacally with The Joker (who recently committed atrocities against partner Barbara and best friend Jim to boot) is extremely out of character (getting through to archnemesis Batman and breaking his stern exterior represents a major victory for the former failed comedian in itself), possibly suggesting that Batman’s snapped (proving The Joker at least partly right whatever way you look at it, whether one views an endlessly pacifistic Gordon or homicidal Batman as insane but TKJ is predominantly The Joker’s story) and is raising his arms to kill (in the last panel where we see Batman’s face, his facial expression can easily be interpreted as being sinister)

6. The way the perspective pans down after Batman places his hands on The Joker, first excluding their chests and above, then excluding all but parts of their feet, and finally omitting the two men entirely, suggests that something significant may be happening just out of our view

7. The laughter ceases abruptly (maybe of one first, then both) while the police siren continues

8. In the last panel the “light” (which has been “on” since the very first panel) has gone out, the “bridge” has disappeared and the two men are out of the picture, their visual opposition gone. Having finally understood the insane futility of trying to rehabilitate The Joker (who has escaped from Arkham to maim and murder time and time again), Batman may have ended their duality and conflict by killing him

9. The title being “The Killing Joke” may be a hint in this direction: the final joke doesn’t directly describe killing but perhaps that was its consequence, killing The Joker physically and Batman metaphorically

10. The flashbacks show what was potentially the “bad day” which sent (an already mentally unstable) pre-Joker over the edge, maybe TKJ is (an already mentally unstable) Batman’s second “bad day”, orchestrated by The Joker with fatal consequences

11. From The Joker’s perspective, Batman (a renowned costumed nightcrawling crime-obsessed outlaw and obsessive genius of questionable sanity and ambiguous sexuality, with a generally unknown identity, whose genesis was a response to tragedy) has more in common with The Joker than he does with the politically correct and legalistic Jim. Hence Gordon's: “You know the laws regarding mistreatment of inmates as well as I do!”, “If you harm one hair on his head…” and unlike Batman and The Joker, Jim is seemingly unchanged by his “bad day”: “I want him brought in by the book!”, followed by Batman’s “I’ll do my best” (with Batman looking in the opposite direction to Jim), suggesting that he’s seriously considering murder, especially if his last desperate attempts to rehabilitate The Joker are rebuffed (which they are). The early appearance of an imprisoned Two-Face in Arkham (simultaneously looking more like Bruce Wayne and The Joker than usual) is another nod toward their duality, as is the hall of mirrors (also present in The Dark Knight Returns and The Man With The Golden Gun). Furthermore, Batman was apparently present and instrumental in The Joker’s “birth”, there’s a perfect symmetry if The Joker was present and instrumental in their “deaths”

12. TKJ was an extremely brutal, politically incorrect, “realist” graphic novel

13. It’s strongly implied that Batman killed The Joker in Miller’s TDKR, which was published two years before TKJ and influenced Moore

14. TKJ was written as a standalone story, perhaps as the final Batman-Joker conflict (similar to how Moore’s “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?”, published 18 months prior, was written as the final tale of the Silver Age Superman)

Batman’s murder of The Joker can be interpreted as a mercy killing: The Joker’s laugh is a warped form of crying at the random injustice of human existence; he wants Batman (his sole equal and opposite) to put him out of his misery (“It’s all a joke! Everything anybody ever valued or struggled for...”)

[artzysyam]

Pinned for later.

Jason encountered many versions of his family and himself.

Many of them had their stories to tell.

Abandoned in Arkham Asylum for more than a year…With untold tortures he endured and living as a magnum opus, a weapon to his scheme.

Another, left to die with throat cut, only to continue living in limbo as Bruce chose to save a villain rather than avenge his son.

Jason sees a never ending pattern, Fray in his soul seething from the injustice.

Is this how Emet-Selch had felt when he living among the sundered for eons?

Seeing time and time again, Bruce let him, alternate Jasons and the kids under his wings down. Again and again.

Bruce never saw the reason to change, only his undying mission to protect Gotham. Blind to his shortcomings, blind to his own ego to control the city to fit into his need.

[nerdwhoauthorinserts]

Plague Rat - BTAS (Meta Headcanons)

I know I already mentioned this version a few times, but I made some changes that I really like. (I don't know what else to call these 'if my s/i was real' posts, so I'm just gonna call them 'meta headcanons' from now on, lol.)

(Note: Sometimes I use 'Blake' and 'Plague Rat' interchangeably, just remember they're the same character, lol.)

-Intro- Plague Rat in Btas would be one of those villains that were originally very rarely brought up in Batman stuff. I see him as being an OG villain - though initially very different from the concept that would be popularized in Btas.

In the original concept, Plague Rat is just some random guy who has the ability to astral project into a giant rat - always wearing sunglasses to hide his rat-like eyes and becoming a rat at night to 'be free' and do whatever he likes with no consequences. (Like the original Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde novel, so they aren't different personalities.) His powerset would change slightly over time, but ultimately would be about the same... until Batman the Animated series.

Batman the Animated series would change him drastically, but like with Mr Freeze, it would basically become the de facto version to base new alternatives on.

-Beginning- Plague Rat in Batman the Animated series would start off as some nobody side character named 'Blake Blackmore' (Whereas in the OG comics, he was named 'Alan Harrington'), who pops up occasionally, but doesn't really mean anything to the plot of the episodes he's in. He doesn't get any meaningful screentime up until the Episode 'Smells a rat', where he ends up finding out Bruce Wayne is Batman after realizing Bruce Wayne's face shape and voice are almost identical. (This happens after he gets rescued by Batman from a burning building, which lets him get up close to Batman.)

Suddenly, everyone knows that Blake has the inside scoop, and everyone in Gotham starts gunning for him, including the police. The Scarecrow pops up in this episode, but isn't one of the criminals going after Blake and is mostly uninvolved. Blake is initially conflicted about telling everyone, but ultimately decides to keep it a secret. Blake's eventual fall into Plague Rat is foreshadowed in Blake's resolution to the issue; pointing all the criminals of Gotham in the direction of a billionaire crime lord instead of Bruce Wayne. Because of Blake pointing everyone in that direction, the crime lord ended up in the hospital.

-Scarecrow gets involved- Not long after that, Blake shows up in another episode, only having popped up once more before that. (Brief encounter with Bruce while he's visiting Arkham Asylum.) Then the episode 'Ratted out', which opens on Blake visiting Jonathan in Arkham. The two of them have bonded and become great friends though for anyone paying attention, there is subtext of something deeper going on. (But it's subtext, since this is before lgbtq+ was widely accepted.)

Once Scarecrow escapes Arkham, Blake joins up with him and meets Batman again. Blake isn't really involved in the heist itself, so Batman pretty much ignores him until he interrupts Batman's attempt to catch Scarecrow. Gordon is not pleased, but because Batman is a vigilante and Blake wasn't actually part of Scarecrow's plot, Blake can't be officially affiliated with Scarecrow and arrested. Batman and Gordon both initially believe Scarecrow is just using Blake, similar to how the Joker manipulated Harley. However, this is proven incorrect when Scarecrow - during a situation assumed would prove that Scarecrow was using him - actually went out of his way to help Blake instead.

The episode ends when Scarecrow finally gets caught, and on Blake's way to visit Jonathan in Arkham, bumps into Bruce. Bruce talks with Blake privately to convince him to stop affiliating with Gotham's criminal world, but Blake states point-blank: 'So you can meddle in the crime world but I can't? Why? Because I don't have money to throw at my problems? Or because I'm not running around in a bat costume?' And with that, walks past him - revealing to Bruce that Plague Rat really does know his secret identity, but is just not sharing it.

-Birth of Plague Rat- Up until this point, the situation involving Blake is a background issue for the most part, but then, the episode 'Lab Rat' crops up. Before this episode, Blake had been entirely absent as a character - only appearing one other time in an episode relating to Scarecrow, and then never again. This episode takes place after Robin is introduced to the series, as well. Whereas the episodes before now were before that change.

It starts with a clip taking place before Robin - Blake struggling with money only to be approached by a guy who suggests that he takes a one-time job as a test subject for an experiment meant to help with eye sight. Apparently, said test subjects get paid handsomely for their help. So, Blake takes the job... but never comes back.

Cut to Batman and Robin who discover a lab has been doing unethical experiments and making deals with Gotham crime lords. Batman and Robin arrive at the lab, and in the chaos, Robin notices a figure escape one of the testing chambers and run off with a group of lab animals. (Mostly rats)

Robin mentions that to Batman the next day, who ends up needing to go to a function as Bruce before he can address what happened. At this function with a rich businessman, Plague Rat appears. A man wearing black clothing, a plague doctor's mask, and accompanied by a pair of rats. Plague Rat attempts to kidnap the businessman, slashing one of the man's body guards with his claws. The body guard's eyes go bloodshot, he starts foaming from the mouth, and falls over unconscious. Plague Rat gets away in a large swarm of crows, and Batman realizes one of the rats with Plague Rat is a white lab rat, leading Batman and Robin to figure out that Plague Rat is the figure. This is where that episode ends, leading into the second episode: 'Rat Race'.

In Rat Race, Batman tries to find the cure for the disease inflicted on the body guard, while also looking for Plague Rat. Plague Rat brings the kidnapped businessman to confess his sins on a live TV broadcast. After a bit of pushing - including a scene where he threatens to have his crows peck his wife's eyes out - the businessman confesses that he owned the lab performing unethical experiments, and after the eyesight experiment went wrong (They accidentally used rat stem cells instead of human ones), the businessman ordered Blake be secretly kept in the lab to avoid the media finding out about the disfigurement, and while there, the scientists performed more experiments on him.

Plague Rat then removes his mask on TV, revealing that Plague Rat is Blake, and his new face; blackened strange markings around his eyes, which are now red and rat-like, and his hands given the same blackened markings, and his fingernails replaced with claws. Plague Rat then expresses his side of the story - cutting in right after he escaped the lab, finding the second rat he constantly brings with him, and finding out he has power over disease after a group of thugs tries to beat him up. Plague Rat then slashes the businessman's cheek with his claws, and explains that he made this disease specifically for him as revenge. Then, Batman comes in, having the cure for the disease and beating Plague Rat.

The episode ends with Plague Rat being brought to Arkham, placed in a cell, only to realize the cell is right across from Jonathan's, and the two greet each other with some 'I really missed you' subtext.

-Beyond that- The rest of the time, he was mostly only a side character, much like how Scarecrow was treated in the series. 'Song bird' is the only other notable episode involving Plague Rat, introducing his sister who is a famous singer. ...That is, unless you look at the rest of the connected series. Justice League, for instance, has one notable episode: 'Bird in the hand'.

Whereas Songbird is mostly centered on Plague Rat's sister as the main character, though, 'Bird in the hand' is about Plague Rat. Batman is approached by Plague Rat's sister, who is desperate for help; her daughter - Daphne - has been kidnapped. Wonder woman comes along to help, and before long, they see evidence that Plague Rat is involved.

At first, it seems like Plague Rat did it, as they come to realize that Daphne isn't actually Blake's sister's biological child. In fact, Daphne is Blake's child biologically. which seems to create a motive, but it's soon revealed that isn't the case.

Daphne was kidnapped by gang members, and Wonder Woman finds them first. The gang members are all busted up and beaten down, some of them infected with diseases. Wonder Woman finds Plague Rat in a far room, comforting the child with a gentle lullaby while rocking them, while the child seems to be having a panic attack over the situation.

When Plague Rat realizes Wonder Woman is there, Daphne has calmed down. He simply stands up, walks over to Wonder Woman, and asks, "Don't worry, I'll turn myself in after I bring her back to Gotham." Wonder Woman goes back to Batman and explains that everything worked itself out.

It's important to note that Daphne refers to Blake as 'Uncle Blake', which implies that she has no clue that Blake is her biological father. The exact specifics of the circumstances here is never explained in the series, but it is expanded on in the tie-in comics; Blake's sister wanted a biological child, but due to medical reasons can't have one without risking fatality. Because of this, Blake offers to help her by having a child for her and letting her raise it as hers. Thus, with the help of a surrogate, gives his sister a child.

-Extra info-

The rat girl in Batman Beyond who mutated Plague Rat kidnaps and raises? That's Daphne. Blake's sister died at some point after Plague Rat was removed from Gotham and when Plague Rat returned, he kidnapped her from an abusive foster home. (It's heavily implied Plague Rat remembers Daphne, so came to rescue her.)

It's never mentioned when Blake had Daphne, so whether it happened before or after the rat stuff is up to interpretation.

Blake's ability to Astral project into a giant monster-rat was turned into his ability to transform into a giant monster rat, which happens in 'Rat Race' and in 'Bird in the hand'. His astral projection ability is explained due to his sister having a similar one (Wing projection, which she often uses on stage during her performances), with the explanation that Blake inherited those abilities but just didn't express them until the experiments - which also changed them slightly.

It's BTAS that first makes the comparison between Plague Rat and his rats with a 'Rat king'. Thus, it's also this version that introduces the concept of Plague Rat being mentally connected with his rats, resulting in the three of them often experiencing similar emotions at the same time, mirroring/syncing movements, etc.

[coolgirl32]

The time they first met nightmare

So I already did a few hc for the villains you do know now I'm going to do a few hc for the new ones or the ones that haven't been on here but who are new anyway no copywriting don't repost without my permission also enjoy this

Deadshot/Floyd Lawton

When he first met her she was his Target he was paid to take her down or bring her alive to the person he was hired to capture her but she was too slippery for him and she kicked his ass a lot. (By the way this was before Zoe was born also this is an alternate universe where nightmare is Zoe's biological mom) so while they were fighting things got heated if you know what I mean 😉😏. The next day Floyd woke up and found out that nightmare was gone he knew he fucked up when you realize she used her magic on him he told himself he'll never fall for that again so throughout the couple of months he's been trying to find her when he did find her he found her in a hospital bed with a baby girl in her arms he realized that he ended up getting her pregnant and she had his daughter she told him that their daughter's name is Zoe they both made an agreement that Floyd would tell the person who hired him that he killed her and that there was no more evidence but in secretly they've been raising their daughter in secret so no one would know that nightmare is still alive well the person who hired Floyd didn't know that nightmare was still alive.

Alberto falcone

He met her at the New Year's party on the yacht Alberto never really liked going to celebrations or parties but he was forced to by his father that's when he saw her standing outside by herself he walked up to her and asked what was wrong she told him she was waiting for her date to arrive but he never showed up Alberto felt so bad for her that he asked her if she would like to dance with him she accepted his offer. Of course this was her plan Bruce had told her that Alberto could be holiday but she never believed him until she could see it for herself that's when she was pulled out of her train of thought and saw Alberto talking to her while they were dancing they had a wonderful conversation Alberto was about to kiss her when she stopped him and told him that he needs to buy her dinner first Alberto was a little upset and a little embarrassed so he decided to take her out to dinner they had a wonderful time they had a wonderful conversation Alberto even told her that he doesn't want to be in the family business he never did he just wanted a normal life and to get away from Gotham as far as possible Jacqulyn understood wanting to get away from Gotham or a place like Gotham far as possible and not wanting to be part of a family that was filled with crime is understandable after all her sister is poison ivy. As they both finish talking and eating they soon decide to go on another date the next day and then another day the next day after and then next after that the dates continue until Alberto and Jacqulyn got to know each other really well of course she never told him about her secret Identity or anyone else's secret identity. One night they were on a date Alberto loved her he wanted to ask her to marry him that's when she pushed him away and a gun shot was heard Alberto looked and was relieved at Jacqulyn was not hurt that's when he looked at the roof and saw holiday he looked to see Jacqulyn but she wasn't there she was chasing after holiday in her nightmare costume when she caught holiday it was revealed to be Harvey Dent's wife of course Jacqulyn used her magic on holiday and put holiday in Arkham asylum a few months later Alberto and Jacqulyn moved away from Gotham they got married and had a daughter named Isabella Alberto was really happy that he finally got the family he wanted and to get out of the falcone family safely and happy.

I'm going to do the next part of the other characters of the harem this took longer than expected I'm sorry also don't forget to request anything also have a wonderful day for everyone

[fantastic-nonsense]

"The Arkham things is not canon, no. But with all the context, the idea isn't so much of a leap as a tripping over one's shoelaces to get there."

No, it's a huge leap regardless of context. Tim in canon has absolutely no reason to believe Dick wants to send him to Arkham. That's something that's never even implied by the text of any comic, much less something that Tim needs to mentally refute in-universe to himself. IRL, thinking that Dick wanted to send Tim to Arkham requires you to blatantly ignore several years of comic canon and more specificially the entirety of how Dick and Tim's relationship was portrayed from Infinite Crisis through the Reborn era.

Even starting at the basic foundations of the idea, you can see how ridiculous it is. Arkham Asylum's full name is the "Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane." Tim is not a criminal nor is he insane. Neither Dick nor Tim in-universe have any reason to think that Tim being there is an option that's even in the same room as the several other alternatives that exist, much less on the table!

Jean Loring gets sent to Arkham before Red Robin, so Tim has no reason to think people from the hero-sphere are exempt if they do something egregious enough. Jason Todd has already been to Blackgate once (and I think is sent to Arkham later?) so he knows former Bats / Wayne family members being imprisoned is on the table.

Jean ended up in Arkham because she killed Sue Dibny and covered it up by faking her own attempted murder. Her fate had nothing to do with the Batfamily's personal views on Arkham and should not be taken as such. Jason ended up in Arkham because he attempted to kill the Batfam on multiple occasions and then decided to go on a murder spree of petty criminals while broadcasting their deaths on social media. The circumstances behind Jason ending up in Arkham (which were largely out of Dick's power to control, as I pointed out here) are dramatically different from anything related to Tim's grief over Bruce's supposed death.

Pretending like "Dick wanted to send Tim to Arkham" has any sort of understandable textual support also flat-out ignores that Dick himself had just been trapped and tortured in Arkham by the Black Glove less than a month (in-universe) before Bruce died, during Batman R.I.P. Which Tim knows about because he was there, trying to track down an MIA Bruce and deal with Steph coming back from the grave. It was a big deal and we got a whole arc about Dick cleaning up corruption within Arkham and fighting Jeremiah Arkham during his time as Batman out of it!

If I also recall correctly, no one suggested Tim get any kind of counseling when Janet, Jack, or numerous friends were killed....But no one says "hey kiddo, let's get you a therapist" after Janet's murder. or Jack's.

Bruce, Dick, and Tim took a year-long vacation from normal vigilantism after those events and went globetrotting in an attempt to retrace Bruce's original training journey during his youth and "find themselves." That was the entire plot of them being absent from Gotham during 52/One Year Later, which was used to introduce Kate Kane as Batwoman and kickstart the Evil Cass arc. Bruce went off to go meditate in a cave in Nanda Parbat for two months and Dick and Tim spent that time healing and taking down Intergang in Europe. We know that Dick and Tim talked a lot about Tim's losses during that year off, because it's why Dick is so shocked that Tim is doing so poorly in Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul:

“Tim doesn’t say anything. And I realize…he doesn’t care. He’s been so hurt this last year and a half…lost so much…I thought we’d gotten past it…or started to deal with it…were Bruce and I just believing what we wanted to?”

Dick's suggestion that Tim see a therapist in Metropolis needs to be viewed not in the context of Dick "breaking an earlier pattern" but in the context of Dick thinking that Tim was starting to heal from all of his losses and then being violently reminded that Tim is not, in fact, doing fine. We know what's different this time: Dick watched Tim have a breakdown beside a Lazarus Pit less than three months prior and then saw him go through yet another loss, seemingly go into denial over it, and then push away all attempts of his family and friends to reach out to him in the aftermath. From Dick's perspective, Tim broke down in his arms three months ago and is now a) pushing everyone in his life away after the death of yet another loved one and b) denying Bruce is dead. That's why Dick reacts differently. And it's a perfectly understandable and reasonable reaction that doesn't really require any further thought than that, to be honest.

Thinking that there's any support for the Arkham suggestion also requires ignoring Dick's canonical response to Tim's denial of Bruce's death, the fact that Tim was pushing everyone away in the aftermath of Bruce's death and refusing to explain anything he was thinking, and that Dick and Tim were shown to still have a very strong bedrock of love and trust in each other even at the rockiest point in their relationship. It's not just missing a single line in a single comic issue; it's refusing to engage with the entirety of Dick and Tim's canon relationship before, during, and after Bruce's death.

Frankly, I think you're attempting to justify an inherently unreasonable fanon concept to yourself by desperately grasping at tiny snippets of canon that 99.9% of people who work with the concept don't even know about.

People who engage with "Dick wanted to put Tim in Arkham" are not doing so based on the knowledge that Jean Loring got sent to Arkham after Identity Crisis or that Tim's stepmom was institutionalized after Jack's murder; they largely don't even know that Tim has a stepmom. They don't actually know enough canon to make an informed assessment on the topic at all. They just made it up for extra angst points because it's a fun little way in their minds to make Tim even more of a poor little meow meow character, and then it fell victim to the fandom telephone problem! It's just a ridiculous assertion that requires some heavy character assassination and a blatant refusal to actually engage with canon on any level, and it needs to be viewed in that context.

Obligatory reminder that Dick Grayson did not ever even consider sending Tim to Arkham

This is what he said-

He wanted Tim to talk to a therapist. One from Metropolis no less, so not even Arkham adjacent in any way.

And for more context here, these are the other things Dick said-

I’m not saying Tim was wholly in the wrong for not explaining himself or anything like that. And I understand that sometimes it’s fun to woobify Timbo a bit by writing fics and things were everyone was against him during this time and all of that. I get that.

But I also want everyone to know that Dick did not ever canonically do that.

Dick did not do everything right by any means, but he never wanted to send his little brother to Arkham. That is purely fanon.

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

A King in Arkham

by AilithNight

Based off Tumblr Prompt

The Nasty Burger explodes, taking everyone Danny had ever loved (plus his English teacher) with it. There is no setback. There is no redo. The only way to go is forward.

After vehenemently refusing to go with Vlad, Danny ends up in the foster system in Chicago. His rogues decide to follow their favorite plaything. But without the ambient ectoplasm of Amity Park, they can't manifest in a way anyone else else can see. And with Danny having resolved to never have anything to do with his ghostly half again, he begins to pick up "unexplainable" injuries.

This, coupled with what various psychiatrists agree is depression and suicidal ideation, lands Danny in a mental health ward. Then, after a shocking confession, an asylum. And with his very wealthy godfather still fighting for custody arranging to foot the bill; only the best, most well known asylum in the country will do.

Too bad Vlad doesn't actually do any research into this Arkham Asylum.

Too bad Danny doesn't really care where he goes or what happens to him as long as he doesn't become Dan.

Words: 4958, Chapters: 3/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Danny Phantom, Batman - All Media Types

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: Major Character Death

Characters: Danny Fenton, Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Duke Thomas

Relationships: Batfamily Members & Danny Fenton

Additional Tags: Danny Fenton in Arkham, Ghost King Danny Fenton, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, The Ultimate Enemy Canon Divergence, Major Character Death before narrative, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Arkham Asylum, Arkham Asylum is Terrible, How Do I Tag

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/44918587

[ao3feed-harleyquinn]

ANGELS IN ARKHAM

by RABIDBATSY Jay leans in slightly, lowering his voice conspiratorially. “Can I tell you a secret?” “Of course. That’s why I’m here. You can share anything with me,” Lee assures. “I don’t think I’m at Arkham anymore.” Lee raises an eyebrow, intrigued. “And where do you think you are?” “I think I’ve died and gone to heaven,” Jay states bluntly, straightening back up. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re still in Arkham." Jay shakes his head in disagreement. “They don’t have angels at Arkham.” Dr. Lee Quinzel’s first day at Arkham throws him in the deep end, paired with Gotham’s infamous Joker. But beneath the bad reputation, Lee sees a man, not a maniac. As his psychiatrist, Lee should be offering guidance, not falling in love—yet that’s exactly what’s happening. As they begin to share their secrets, a trust forms between them, unraveling Lee’s sense of right and wrong, sanity and insanity, and leaving him questioning everything—including whether the Joker truly belongs in Arkham, or if Gotham’s real enemy is the one who put him there. OR: a gay (M/M) reimagining of the Joker/Harley Quinn love story ❤️ Words: 4851, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types, Batman (Comics), Harley Quinn (Comics), Harleen (Comics 2019), Batman: White Knight (Comics) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Joker (DCU), Harleen Quinzel, Always-a-male Harleen Quinzel | Harley Quinn, Aaron Cash Relationships: Joker/Harley Quinn, Joker/Harleen Quinzel, Joker/Gender-swapped Harley Quinn, Joker/Gender-swapped Harleen Quinzel Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Gender or Sex, Rule 63, Gender-swapped characters, Changes to Gender or Sex, Male Harleen Quinzel, Heroes & Anti-Heroes, Metahumans, Gotham, Arkham Asylum, Arkham Asylum is Terrible, Escaping Arkham Asylum, Found Family, Orphans, Mutual Pining, Romance, Slow Burn, Action/Adventure, Humor, Banter, Dialogue Heavy, Adult Language, Sexual Tension, Sexual innuendos, Mental Health Issues, silver-age "criminal prankster" version of the joker, a warmer funnier joker than you're probably used to, Joker (DCU) is Not Abusive, Healthy Joker/Harleen Quinzel, Everyone Is Gay, Things are not always what they seem via https://ift.tt/Px6Ru1a

[scaryscarecrows]

Breathe In, Breathe Out (Let the Human In)

AN: Happy deathday, Jason! Title from Of Monsters and Men's 'Human'. Arkham Asylum alternate ending thingy.

TW for attempted suicide.

* * *

It’s the Joker’s fault.

Well, okay, fine, it’s ninety percent the Joker’s fault and ten percent Cobblepot being a nosey Nellie, but because she hates him and he isn’t her boss, Dove is going to lay all the blame on the clown.

And he’s the one who made this spectacle, so there.

Whoever’s fault it is, Cobblepot demanded they trek to Arkham. He says that it’s because he’s a donor and has rights to see what’s going on. Dove knows for a fact he hasn’t donated a damn cent since his stint as the mayor way back when, but he’s playing at being Legal for now and, well, she’s curious too. Batman is there. Arkham’s got a pretty full house tonight. And the news is saying something about monsters.

The news is not wrong. Batman is here, on the roof, with--

Oh my God.

That’s. That’s Joker, but...but he’s done something to himself. Something awful. He’s monstrous, with...with spines (no, not spines, his spine, his bones) jutting up out of his torn back, and he’s. He’s huge, big enough to pick up Batman. And Dove’s been up close to Batman before, been picked up by the guy, even. He’s not small.

“What’s going on?” Cobblepot demands. He’s not alone. She recognizes some of the men gathered here, at the police barricade. Most of them are as corrupt as they come. “Jim! Jim, come here, I demand--”

“You don’t get to demand anything--”

Above them, Joker laughs. Dove has faith that Batman will stop him. He always does.

(He has to.)

She ducks, though, when the clown turns to peer down at them, and turns her head away. And that’s the only reason she sees the thin, trembling shadow stumbling out from one of the buildings.

Between the floodlights and the chopper, the lawn’s lit right up. The orange jumpsuit sticks out like a sore thumb and her first thought is ZSASZ.

“Harvey!” Harvey Bullock turns, toothpick already half-shredded in his teeth. “There’s a--”

“Shit--”

The shadow goes down and no, that’s not Zsasz. There’s hair. Harvey approaches so Jim can deal with this shitshow, turns the man(?) onto his back. There’s silence, followed by a horrified, “What the fuck?”

“What now?”

“What is going on--”

“Harvey?”

An explosion draws Jim back to his radio, shouting at the chopper to GET BACK GET OUT OF THERE RIGHT NOW. Dove risks inching towards Harvey and the orange shadow.

“Harvey?”

“Jesus Christ…” He’s all but sitting on his hands. “Jesus Christ, kid, what happened to you?”

Kid? That’s a kid?

“Who is that?”

He looks up, hat falling off.

“I think it’s Robin.”

No, Robin would be...up…

Oh.

Oh, my God.

She does go closer at that, and it is Robin. Not the current one, the new one, but the one before. The one Joker...Joker’d got hold of him...God, over a year ago, now, sent a tape out a few months back.

He’d been dead. Finally, Dove remembers thinking guiltily, out of his misery.

But apparently not. He’s older than she remembers (of course he is), but...but there’s a brand on his face, a goddamn ‘J’ burned into his skin like he’s a piece of meat rather than a boy, and he’d had that…

“Robin?” she whispers. “Can you hear me, sweetheart?”

He’s breathing, harsh, ragged gasps that stutter and catch (broken ribs or scared or...?), and he flinches when Joker starts laughing again.

“What did that bastard do to you, kid?” Harvey breathes, finally inching out a hand to brush against the orange jumpsuit. The thing’s hanging off the kid’s frame and it’s stained and torn. “Jesus…”

Robin’s eyes flicker open, and a second later he jolts upright for all of four seconds before collapsing back to the grass.

“No no no--”

“Robin. Robin! Look at me, sweetheart, c’mon, you’re okay, you’re okay, just--”

He freezes, eyes going from the medical building to Harvey to her. Then he swallows, hard, and whispers, “This is real?”

Harvey shucks off his coat and lays it over him as gently as possible.

“Here you go, kid. Just. Just stay real still, huh? Everything’s fine. You’re fine.”

“You promise--you promise you’re not--”

“Shh.” Dove reaches over, intending to just...ruffle his hair, or something, and he flinches back, eyes squeezed shut like he thinks she’s going to hurt him.

“No no please m’sorry m’sorry--”

“Don’t be sorry, honey.” Jesus… “There’s nothing to be sorry for. You’re okay, you’re gonna be okay, it’s over. We’re not gonna hurt ya, honey, I promise.”

He just lies there, shuddering under Harvey’s coat, and finally opens his eyes to look up at the sky.

“S’over?” he breathes. “I...you promise…” He cuts himself off with a choked sob and spits out, “I can’t go back.”

Jim’s suddenly there, confused and demanding to know, “What’s going on? Who the hell--”

Robin jerks at the suddenness of it all and the next thing Dove knows, he’s jolted up and all but crawled into her lap.

“What the hell--”

“Please--”

“Dammit, Jim, now look what you did--”

“Sh-sh-sh, kiddo, s’just Jim. S’just Jim.” Robin the Second is not pocket-sized. Once upon a time, almost. Enough. But pocket-sized or not, he’s emaciated and feverish and terrified. “S’just Jim.”

“It’s Robin,” Harvey’s explaining, voice cracking and shocked. “Jesus, Jim, it’s fuckin’ Robin, Joker didn’t--he’s still alive--”

Robin cringes at another explosion, scrunching down and burying his head against her neck with a whimper. Dove risks touching the back of his head, and when he doesn’t panic, runs her fingers through his hair. It’s matted and stiff and there’s a lump at the base of his skull.

“Shh, shh,” she murmurs. “It’s okay, you’re okay...we gotcha, we gotcha…”

“Mm--”

“Shh, Robin--”

“Jason,” he whispers, so quiet that she nearly misses it. “S’Jason--h-he would’a come for Robin an’ he left me with him--”

That is a can of worms she’s not getting into.

“Okay. Okay, Jason.”

He’s quiet after that, breathing slow and careful and clearly trying to calm himself down. And he’s almost there, or at least he’s not crying anymore, when Batman is suddenly there.

“Jim--”

Jason flinches and tries to curl into a ball, whispering, “Nonono I can’t do this again I can’t do this again…”

Batman stills and sinks into a crouch. Jason’s trembling in Dove’s arms and when Batman half-reaches towards him he all but knocks her over trying to get away.

“Shh, baby, shh, s’just Batman--”

“Get away!” He pulls free and crab-crawls backwards before collapsing on the grass. “Get away from me--please--”

She’s seen Batman be still before, but not like this. He’s, well, he’s shocked. Jason’s shuddering with dry sobs, and when Batman does finally move again, he squirms back behind Dove.

“Sweetheart, no one’s gonna hurt you--”

“You left me!” He jabs an accusing finger at the Bat. “You left me with him, you replaced me, you left me to die!” He struggles to his knees, wheezing. “Joke’s on you, Batman, I didn’t! So tell them! Tell them what happened, just...just…” He wobbles and winds up curled on his side, shaking. “Where the hell were you?”

Batman just looks at him like he can’t believe he’s here and breathes, “I thought you were dead.”

To be fair, that was...everyone did. Joker had sent that tape around, laughing all the while, and…

“Not the whole time,” Jason spits. “You replaced me in what, a week? If? Come on, Batman, quit hiding behind your pathetic excuses! World’s greatest detective, my ass, if you were, you would. Have. Looked.”

“Robin--”

“I’m not Robin anymore! Robin’s dead!” He pauses, and a sick smile creeps over his face. “Or. I guess not, huh? You got a nice, shiny new one! Where’d you find this one, the Wal-Mart parking lot? Amazon dot fucking com? Inquiring minds wanna know!”

Batman’s still and silent. Twenty feet away, the Joker’s being loaded onto a gurney. He’s normal-sized again, looks like shit (good), and giggling; until he thrashes his head.

And sees what’s going on.

Joker doesn’t laugh all the time. That’s a common misconception. But he laughs enough that when he stops, when that smile drops, that most people would rather be locked in a room with Scarecrow than be anywhere near him.

And he’s not laughing now.

“How did you…”

Jason freezes, smile vanishing. He manages, somehow, to go even paler before curling into a small ball, arms over his head.

“Get that animal out of here,” Batman snarls, and Dove’s never heard him sound like that. She’s not scared of the Bat...but tonight, she could be.

“How did you get out, you sorry little brat?!” The clown jerks against the restraints and they rattle. They’re not gonna give, surely they’re not gonna give, he’s small again--

Batman’s suddenly right up against him, hand at his throat.

“That’s enough.”

Joker looks from Jason to Batman and back again before plastering that godawful grin back on his face.

“You don’t think he wants you back, do you?” His voice is strangled. “Not after everything you’ve done--oog!”

Mercifully-finally-Batman slams his head back hard enough to either knock him out or shut him up. Dove doesn’t care which. He steps back, turns around, and finds Harvey Bullock in his space.

Harvey...Harvey talks a big game. But he’s a big old softie, really, and he had a fondness for Robin the Second*. And a long-standing distrust of Batman. With everything that happened, that distrust had only grown.

“I think you owe the kid some answers,” he says, voice trembling with barely-suppressed rage. “Where were you, exactly? How did you miss this?”

“Get out of my way, Bullock.”

“How long was he missing before you mentioned it? Or kidnapped the current one, huh? If you’d kept that pointy nose of yours out of our cases for once--”

“Bullock--”

“--you might’ve found him!”

Batman is, surprise, surprise, silent. Dove knows this kind of silence; men get like this before they. Before they hurt people.

“Bullock,” he says at last, voice very, very, low, “step aside before I force you aside.”

He’s bloody, holding one arm funny, and breathing far too evenly. Even Jim’s wary now, one hand inching towards his gun. Harvey huffs.

“Screw you,” he says, but he’s not dumb enough to fight Batman, and he steps aside. Batman’s still pissed, still ready for what Dove knows will be a one-sided fight, but he manages a stiff nod before turning that laser-focus back to Jason.

Jason’s still huddled in a ball. The fight’s gone out of him, the insane smile and that...that shine in his eyes. He’s not looking at Batman though, or at Joker. He’s just curled over his knees, arms wound around his ribs and head ducked down. Defensive, ready for a beating.

“Hey-hey, baby,” she murmurs, “no one’s gonna hurt you. Come on now, you’re okay.”

Jason uncurls a little, eyes wide, and before anyone can react he’s lunged at Jim and gotten the pistol out of his holster and aimed it at Batman.

“M’not doing this again,” he says, carefully flat. “M’not falling for it.”

“Robin--”

“Kid--”

“M’not falling for this again!” His eyes are wide and tears are running down his cheeks, but his hands are steady. Too steady. “I remember! I learned my lesson! M’not gonna let you get close enough to beat the crap outta me again!”

“Robin,” Batman breathes, and he’s not scary anymore. He’s just a man. “Robin, I never--”

“Stay back!”

Everybody knows Batman can disarm people in the blink of an eye. Dove’s not so sure he can get that gun from Jason before he pulls the trigger.

Jesus Christ, what did Joker do to him…

“All right,” Batman says softly. “All right. I’ll stay right here, and you can put the gun down--”

“No!” The word echoes off the buildings, a frantic, NONONONONONONONONO! “You think I’m stupid?” He laughs. It’s a flat, angry laugh that reminds Dove uncomfortably of the Joker. “You always did, huh?”

“I never--”

“Shut up!” Now he’s starting to shake a little and she sees Harvey shift, just a bit. Jason doesn’t appear to notice. “Just shut up, stop talking to me!”

“Hey. Kid.” What the fuck, Harvey? “C’mon, look at me.” Harvey steps closer. “C’mon. He’s not gonna get ya, just look at me.”

Dove doesn’t think he will, but she’s proven wrong. He doesn’t say anything, and he doesn’t lower the gun, but he looks at Harvey.

“Good. Good, kid. Now just calm down, okay? No one’s gonna hurt ya, this isn’t…” He takes another step. “This isn’t like that.”

“No, no…”

“Hey. You’re not gonna break my heart an’ tell me I laid a finger on ya, are ya?” Harvey manages, God knows how, to give Jason a real smile. “And you know Dove’s not gonna hurt ya, right? You’re out, kid. You’re okay. So Bats is a bit of a dope--” Batman radiates mild offense. “--but he’s been lookin’ all over the place for you. So come on. Put the gun down.”

People underestimate Harvey sometimes. He’s a disaster, smokes too much and doesn’t clean and yeah, his landlord did try to murder him that one time and Dove could totally see where he was coming from, but...he’s a good guy. Mostly. He’s the kinda cop that she would’ve talked to as a little girl, y’know? He does his best for this hellhole of a city.

Jason’s arms shake and the guns do start lowering. Dove’s just thinking maybe he’ll be okay when he looks back at Batman and whispers, “I can’t.”

“Can’t what, Robin?” Batman’s voice is very, very soft. “Talk to me, son.”

Jason hiccups and spits out, “I killed people! Beat ‘em to death because they looked like you, they looked like you, they were gonna kill me--”

Jesus. Jesus Christ--

Jason’s still blubbering, voice thick and angry and horrified.

“--you’re not gonna want me anymore and I can’t go back to him I can’t I can’t--”

“You’re not going back to him,” Batman insists. “You’re never going back to him, we’re going--”

“No.” Jason swallows and when he speaks again, his voice is steady enough. “No. S’okay, B. There’s no fixin’ me, I know. S’okay.”

He raises the gun again, presses it to his head.

“M’sorry.”

Dove doesn’t see Batman move. One minute he’s over there, and the next minute, Jason’s disappeared under a shadow and the gun’s out of his hand. Jim grabs it and backs away.

Batman stands up, keeping Jason’s arms behind his back. Jason’s slumped forward, breathing hard.

“Listen to me,” he says, the softness of his tone a stark contrast to the firm restraint, “there is nothing you could do that would make me leave you with that monster. I promise.”

“But I--”

“Agent A’s missed you,” he continues. “And Nightwing, and. And Batgirl. I’m sorry, Robin, for failing you. But I never left you, and I certainly never replaced you. We can fix this, at home.” He sighs. “Come home, son.”

Jason bursts into tears, legs buckling under him, and Batman turns him around to hug him.

“Dad--”

“I’ve got you,” Batman murmurs. “I’ve got you. We’re going home right now.”

Dove wonders how-they all saw the destroyed car, Cobblepot had laughed about it-when there’s a noise that can only be described as Hell dropping out of the sky and a…

Oh. Right. Batman not only has a car, he also has a goddamn plane. Because that’s just something that he needs.

The plane lands on the lawn. Batman picks Jason up-looks a little awkward, with the growth spurt the kid’s managed-and turns around.

Nobody tries to stop him. Nobody even says anything until the plane’s in the air, and then Harvey sighs, flicks his toothpick away, and turns to Dove.

“Fuck it,” he says roughly. “You got a cigarette?”

She should say no. He’s been tryin’ to quit, doin’ real good, but…

She needs a smoke too, after that.

“Here.”

THE END

*Canon! (It’s mutual. It’s precious.

[sreppub]

So this has been in my drafts for a minute.

Without a particular theme to narrow my search, I've just decided to pick the most recently updated fics in my bookmarks.

If you read one and enjoy it, be sure to leave a kudos and a nice comment for the author :)

Fics are complete, unless otherwise stated. As you can see, I love chaptered fics, civilian AUs, secret identities/dramatic irony, time/dimension travel... and I love happy endings.

Let Me Not Live Unseen by garnet_stars - WIP, dimension travel

If anyone found out who he was- a spare part from an alternate world- he’d be locked up in a lab for the rest of his miserable life- or sent to Arkham Asylum.

He has three keys to preventing this: avoid CPS, the Wayne family, and the strange bat-themed vigilantes that roam this Gotham's streets at night.

None of these are going particularly well. At all.

or: How Bruce Wayne accidentally adopted a teenage version of himself.

A Backstitch In Time by Megaerakles - series

Tim Drake time traveled his way out of the Batfamily. This is the aftermath of that decision.

the ones that stay the same by batsignal - WIP, probably will not update again soon, but I still highly recommend!

"I think - I think that's Jason as a teenager."

It says a lot about their lives that Damian only considers this for a moment before nodding. "Do you think it will be an improvement? He has not had a chance to go crazy yet, so perhaps if this is permanent -"

(The Cave receives a call from an unexpectedly young team member, and the family pulls together to try and fix things.)

something in the static by BoneRot19 - series, civilian Jason

Jason Todd's parents didn't die when he was a kid, Jason didn't steal Batman's tires (technically), Jason lives.

He's seventeen, and everything is going to hell.

He's seventeen, and everything might be okay.

the second worst thing to ever happen to those orphans by antebunny - amnesia, Tim-centric

The prisoner is calmer than Tim was expecting. He says that he is Tim's big brother.

He says that they didn't leave Tim to die.

bruce's villain origin story by InkpotSprite

Bruce gets turned into a cat. In a family of dectectives, it should be an easy enough problem to solve. It should.

Instead, Bruce is trapped in a small, fluffy body fueled by pure spite.

the rules of playing make believe by hoebiwan

Homeless!Reverse Robins squat in Wayne Manor.

cards on the table by wesslan

Tim's parents faked their deaths and fled the country years ago, but neglected to take him with them. He spent some time on the streets, and now at 16, he makes a living as a fortune teller, stalking and hustling the shit out of Gotham's elite by telling them eerily accurate fortunes based on the information he gathers about them.

His life is peculiar but he wouldn't change a thing. When he gets booked for the big Wayne Halloween party, however, he finds himself getting all tangled up with the Waynes, and the more fortunes he tells, the tighter the snare becomes.

or: Tim just wanted to scam Gotham's elite, not end up on the Batfamily's watchlist. But it seems they just won't leave him alone..

Crying, my little one, footsore and weary? by llamallamaduck - WIP, 30-something Jason dies and wakes up in The Batman (2022) verse.

Jason Todd dies and wakes up in a strange, new Gotham, populated by strange, new iterations of his family. It’s far from the worst thing that could have happened.

knocking on your door and begging like a victorian child for batman/fam fic recs

this is so impossible. I bookmark way too many fics without additional tags and it would take me like an hour to put together a list i was even a little bit happy with. so like. see you in a few hours i guess

[finzphoenix]

Hey, I did a quick sketch of one of my hcs that includes Jonathan making actual use of the box of Titan he was clinging onto at the end of Asylum + a little description of why ⬇️:D

When Crane emerged from the filthy sewers in Arkham Bay, his condition was already more than critical. The immense loss of blood that usually accompanies deep lacerations was causing him a rather intense dizziness, whilst the coldness of the water itself had already driven him to the brink of hypothermia, creating a somewhat dangerous state of confusion in his conscious mind. So I guess you could say that the second he managed to get a grip on the box of titan, was the same second he realized that the drug on the inside might well be his very last chance of survival.

Now, based on his knowledge from previous conversations with Dr. Young, he is quite familiar with the structure of the steroid, and very aware of its advantages and disadvantages such as the development and restoration of muscle tissue, the immediate effect on his sympathetic nervous system, followed by an immense release of adrenaline and an inhuman increase in strength over a considerable period of time - but also of the high risk of permanent damage to certain parts of his skeletal structure, as well as of the negative influence on the processing of information in the areas of the prefrontal cortex that exercise conscious control over one's own feelings and thoughts, possibly resulting in delusions, erratic, manic and/or aggressive behaivor, which would worsen the situation rather than actually improve it.

However, with time clearly running against him and his body threatening to betray his will to live, he eventually decided that the risk of injecting himself with the strength-enhancing super-steroid outweighed the rapidly approaching grim alternative of death.

Fortunately, much like the Joker, he managed to keep his executive functions and cognitive processing going, eventually giving him the mental and physical strength he needed to fight his way through the unforgiving icy masses of water to the nearest shore of old Gotham where he stumbled around for a while, disorientated and dazed, until he accidentally crashed through the brick wall of one of Riddler's warehouses, finally passing out as the effects slowly started to subside.

Note: Thanks to his practised and most importantly conscientious handling of chemicals, Jonathan, unlike Joker, did not overdose on Titan, which is why he does not suffer from the same consequences afterwards ^^b.

[sapphiresenthiss]

Batman Arkham Asylum: Alternative ending 😂

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