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dragonthewriter · 3 years

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Six Months Later

https://archiveofourown.org/works/34321180

Six Months. That’s how long it had been. Of course, that wasn’t how long it was supposed to take, Beast Boy had original said he was going to be gone “A month, month and a half at most. Just need to get in tune with my animal nature.” As puberty began to hit him, and rather late, he was starting to show signs of his animal sides taking more control, and even he had to admit it was making him a liability. So he headed off, taking his part of the T-ship.

Raven had kept in contact with him. All the Titans did, but Raven was the only one who did everyday. A trend noticed by everyone excluding the empath herself. Their nighttime chats had often run so long, Raven would wake up to her communicator still out and still on. The first few times, Raven would apologize the next time they spoke, only for Beast Boy to tell it was fine. He wasn’t about to tell her how cute it was to hear her yawn and snore softly.

He started by heading to Africa, where he was raised. He had stayed with the tribe his parents had befriended, and who had taken him after his parents died and before the Doom Patrol showed up. He would tell her stories of going on hunts with the other men in the tribe. Even with his vegan sensibilities, he understood it was their way of life, and could respect that they took great care in only hunting for what they needed. It was around this time, she noticed his voice cracking a bit.

After two weeks there, he moved on, traveling to every biome on the planet he could reach. The arctic, deep in the amazon rainforest, the arid desert. He would regale Raven with what forms he learned, what unique things he gleaned from his time in their shapes. As it felt he had crossed off every location on his list, he told he was planning on coming home. “Just a week with the Doom Patrol, and I’ll be back in Jump City.”

But things kept coming up. At the six week mark, Mento fell sick, and he wanted to be there until his adoptive father felt better. The disease took longer to overcome than expected, and in that time, the Brotherhood had made a move in France. With Mento still down, Beast Boy joined the Patrol in their mission. Most of their time was just playing recon, Beast Boy and Negative Man doing the work of trying to track down their enemy.

When he wasn’t flying over the city, he was keeping in touch, talking when he could, texting when he couldn’t. After two weeks, Raven awoke to one last message. “Found Base, Going dark. I’ll message you.” The three days before she heard anything felt like the longest in her life.

Then she got his call. At first, she didn’t recognize his voice, puberty definitely coming hard for the changeling. His voice has already gotten past the random breaking and was deeper. She heard him tell about how the Brotherhood were all back in prison but she wasn’t listening, focusing less on what he was saying and how he was saying it. His regular scrawny form did not match the voice he now spoke with.

A week after returning from France, Mento was given the all clear, and Beast Boy was sent to return home… Until the Titans East had a problem and needed back up. Since Midway City was closer to Steel City, Beast Boy made the journey.

A group of rather B-list villains had made trouble for the East team, and an extra Titan was enough to begin balancing the scales in their favor. Raven and Beast Boy’s nightly chats remained, now the empath hearing how he had stopped Johnny Rancid by himself, and other exploits she had to wonder how much he was embellishing.

A message she did get from Bumblebee gave Raven pause. ‘Are you dating Beast Boy?’ followed by ‘Does he have a girlfriend or is he fair game?’ Raven ended up assuming Bumblebee just wanted a rebound after her and Cyborg broke up due to distance, and her only other choices were a civilian, which always had problems, one of the twins, who were way too young, and Speedy and Aqualad, who were comfortably in a relationship with each other.

Raven did begin to suspect something though, when Kitten used her one phone call after Titans East arrested her to ask Raven if ‘it was open season on the green guy, or do I have to fight another one of you titans for the privilege?’

Once all villains were in prison, and Titans East released Beast Boy from their service, he was finally on his way home.

Until a storm hit his ship and he crashed just outside of Gotham. A quick phone call to his mentor, and Robin secured a place for Beast Boy to crash at Wayne manor, and the use of the Batcave to repair the T ship. Of course with the watchful eyes of Alfred using schematics from Cyborg to make sure he did everything properly.

Just a day shy of the six month mark, his ship was airborne and headed back to Jump. Raven decided to use the couple of hours of flight time to mediate before their reunion, figuring six months apart had lower her defenses to Beast Boy’s abrasive personality. On the phone was one thing, but in person was a whole different thing.

On her way, Robin stopped her, and said Alfred wanted to forward a message to her. “Tell Miss Raven that Master Garfield was quite eager to discuss her at length, and is quite fond of her. Also, if she enjoys tea as much as he says she does, I would love to have her try my own, as it would be nice to have a hero who actually appreciates it come by for a cup or two at some point.” Being the two more emotional stunted titans, neither truly grasped the message, focusing more on the tea portion.

—————————————

“Really,” Cyborg asked. “No more vegan?”

“No, i’m still preferring to stick to that diet, but there were times I didn’t have the luxury. When in rome and all that.”

“So you don’t want to join us at the next Bbq and…

“Friend Raven!”

Raven barely noticed Starfire call out her name. She had entered the common room to greet Beast Boy, but stopped when she saw him in-between Cyborg and Starfire. Half a year ago, he barely came up to Cybrog’s waist, but now he was just about as tall as Starfire. His body was much more filled out, as well. While he wouldn’t been at Superman level of muscle, he was far past the almost stick figure he had been when leaving.

And then there was the hair…

It was long, coming down past his jawline on the side of his face, the rest gathered into a ponytail behind his head. With the way his head had been turned, she couldn’t see his face, but when Starfire called out her name, he turned to her.

His eyes sparkled when he saw her. There were still that familiar shade of green, but something in them shined, and Raven noticed his pupils were more cat like.

Even his face was different. Baby fat cheeks had become chiseled features, and his snaggletooth fang had found a home inside his mouth. But when he smiled at the sight of her, she could see the fangs were only sharper and longer.

And framing either side of his face was that hair. Raven was already back on it, unable to get past seeing it like that.

“Come over, and say hi to the new Beast Boy,” Cyborg said, patting him on the back. Raven floated over to them, as Cyborg continued. “Notice anything different?”

Raven was never one for being at a loss for words. Even when she answered with silence, it was always clear to the listener, that it was planned. Yet here she was, unable to speak for a moment.

“You hair,” she muttered out, making Beast Boy blush.

“Wow, I’m like a foot and 3/4 taller and you notice my hair first?” He brought a hand up to his head. “Yeah I never had a chance to get it cut, but first thing in the morning…”

“Don’t!” Raven said too quickly for even her own obliviousness to overcome. Everyone was now staring at her, Beast Boy’s transformation forgotten for her reaction to it. “I mean, you shouldn’t. It looks nice like that.”

It seemed to make Beast Boy relax, but Cyborg and Starfire just gave her a look.

“Well, if you think it looks good, I’ll keep it,” he said, giving her another warm smile that made Raven feel a bit weak in the knees. She could hear the words relay to her by the Batman’s butler. ‘Quite fond of her.’ Raven saw his eyes sparkle once more.

‘Oh.’

‘OH.’

#bbrae #teen titans

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fan-written · 4 years

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Quick question!! Does Alfred make the Batfam's uniforms? Because as a seamstress myself I know that would take quite some time out of The Butler's schedule.

But if he does then I have ideas for an AU. This is only my hc:

It's going to be called Agent A and the Ladybug.

Diana and Clark were visiting Bruce one day when Alfred overheard Diana point out another tear in the bat-suit. Alfred didn't want to sigh, but this was the third one tonight.

Then Diana mentioned she knew someone who was discreet. And they were very talented.

So Alfred asked for her for their information. Diana explained that they worked under a pseudonym but that they understood the need for a background check.

A few weeks later Marinette gets an email from one Agent A.

She's not surprised since Wonder Woman warned her beforehand, but she is shocked at how much he's willing to pay her.

Then she sees how many of each suit he's asking her to make.

She agrees, but still tries to lower the price.

She loses

She and Agent A email each other often, mostly to complain about superheroes and their recklessness with clothes. Then about their stubbornness and antics.

Then they start exchanging recipes. And talking about life. A knows about her troubles in school. Mari has learned that A is practically a superhero with everything he does for his bats.

Soon Mari has ideas about their suits and asks if she can change the design slightly on a few of them. This is when Mari learns more about the bats, and the Wayne's. Though she doesn't know it's them.

She also asks to try some experimental fabrics. Ones that are more bullet proof, or thinner but flame resistant. Some of them involve new technology and nanobots.

None of it is to noticeable to the public, but the rest of the hero community takes can tell.

They also notice the Batfam seem to have less injuries.

By this point Mari has made enough suits for each of them that Alfred can just send her a box once a week with the ones that need repairs.

The rest of the JL start to bother Batman about the changes. So of course Bruce asks Alfred when he got the chance to try new fabrics and Alfred shrugs and informs him of their new seamstress.

Cue Batfam freak out.

Diana is still handing out Mari's contact info. Mari becomes the go to designer for all the DC heroes, but she prefers anything to do with Agent A.

Then Alfred learns about Paris. Then he realizes why Diana would know about Mari.

Then maybe Mari's parents die. Not in an akuma attack, or a car accident. But a robbery. in their store. And she was there.

And it's like Bruce is eight again.

But his child is across an ocean, and they've never actually met before. And she can't actually leave Paris because somehow he's adopted another hero child. But this one started when she was actually a child.

Then Mari all but disappears.

All of the heroes get an email about how she is stepping away from commissions until further notice. Agent A is the only one who gets a longer message.

Wonder Woman is silent whenever someone asks where she is. She can only say that she’s alive.

Ladybug is seen on the streets more often than not. Marinette hasn't been seen in school since her parents died.

In fact her former classmates only catch glimpses of her entering the small apartment she now lives in. The emancipation paperwork went through easily at age 17. She finishes class online.

Because she's devoting all her time to finding Hawkmoth she actually finds him. The giant butterfly window was a big giveaway.

Gabriel Agreste and cohorts are taken into custody on her parents first death anniversary.

Chat Noir gives her back the ring through Plagg. They never exchange identities.

Mari is 18 now, standing in front of her apartment door, trying to get the energy to go inside. She may have completed her mission, but it's like a side note in her mind. She's gray, and dull compared to Before. Her apartment isn't much different.

Finally she opens the door.

Its not empty for once. There's a man, tall, with white hair, wearing a suit. She's never seen him before. But she knows.

They hug. And she cries. She finally cries because she can. And she won't get taken advantage of by an emotional terrorist.

Alfred asks if she wants to come home. She can only agree.

They return to the manor and Bruce can't remember why she looks familiar. He only saw a picture of her when he checked out Alfred's file on her from years ago. He's also trying to figure out if he had plans to adopt her.

His kids all kind of assume Bruce had and don't think to much on it. They are a little surprised by how close she stays to Alfred, but they all know Alfred is the best.

Alfred gives her a room next to his. She starts to take up some of his duties. Mostly some cooking, but also all of the clothing repairs. The Batfam don't know about the suits, but it's kind of their own fault. They are considered some of the world's greatest detectives. They should know who's fixing their vigilante stuff

It starts small, designing again. a hair clip here, a pair of socks there. Eventually she's making her own clothes again.

Finally she redesigns her Ladybug suit.

Then she emails the Heroes. Wonder Woman is ecstatic that she's back. Several commission her for other things instead of superhero needs.

Finally Bruce figures out where she came from and confronts Alfred. As far as he knew their designer didn't know their identities.

Alfred asks him to leave it alone, but he's Batman and he's paranoid so he doesn't. So he digs deeper.

Next thing he knows he has a little sister who's younger than some of his kids, but it doesn't matter because he knows Alfred has already adopted her and that makes her family.

He also learns about her role in Paris. Mari is a little surprised at the offer to train together, but not to terribly. She knows he's Batman.

Suddenly their dynamic changes. It's only a little different from that with his kids, but that's because of their relationship with Alfred.

The kids are confused.

Then Cass asks to spar. Those in the house gather to watch and can't believe that Mari is holding her own.

They all want to train with her now and she gets closer to all of them.

Alfred is there for all of it, making sure she's safe, in every possible way.

Finally she begins to heal.

That was a lot longer than I thought it would be, but apparently I have a lot of thoughts about Alfred and Mari.

#maribat #Agent A and the Ladybug #found family #Co's one shot works

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alfredosauce50 · 3 years

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What makes me human [Cyberpunk! America x reader] 18

Wordcount: 4, 880 Rating: T for strong language and mature themes Chapter synopsis: Alfred and you hit a stump in your relationship. While you make up with him in the lab, he hints at his feelings for you. Allen is crushed, but he's not giving up—Alfred's clone is alive, and Zao brings him back like a souvenir. As things get messy, Allen is determined for you to see that Alfred isn't good for you. While everyone is fighting their demons, there's also a coming battle in space thanks to Zao's intel. The reader is referred to as she/her.

18 - The monster inside my head

"You're doing it again." You heard him say. Everybody except Alfred was in the garage, tinkering away at a car. The only fan in the house was here, and three was starting to become a bit of a squeeze. Any more, and the sweltering heat would have been unbearable.

"Doing what?" You lifted your head inquisitively, but the expression morphed into discomfort when he scrubbed your cheek.

"You're not telling me things." Oil and grease were smudged all over your face, and Allen was on the job, wiping it all off. Repair work in this kind of weather was gruelling, but you refused to go inside.

He returned your wary gaze with a wide toothy grin. "If you're gonna be one of the greasers, you gotta act like it. Any problem of yours is my problem." His pearly whites served a stark contrast to the blotches of black over his features. It was cute, even, but you wished he could be just as quiet. Like Alfred, he was never one to beat around the bush.

Casting a tired glance at him, you sighed. "I spend my morning trying to jumpstart this piece of junk, and that's all you gotta say?" You leaned down to hand Arthur a wrench. He promptly rolled back under the vehicle. Said piece of junk was a bright teal retro car. You understood the appeal of the hundred-year-old antique, but Allen couldn't shut up about it until it was towed back into Arthur's garage.

"Sometimes, I maybe wanna keep things to myself. I deserve some mystery." You shrugged, but your tone of voice wasn't very convincing.

So he chuckled, giving his blackened fingers a wipe. "I guess it's the least someone could do for you when your face is plastered across every billboard in the city." You flattened your lips. And you almost forgot about that, staying here in one of the quainter residential districts. Allen pointed to himself and clicked his tongue. "But not this guy. I'm your confidant and right-hand man."

He took a sip of his coke and stared at you through his eyebrows. "And that includes telling you cold hard truths. So spill the beans."

Your brows came together. Cold hard truths, he said.

"Did I ever tell you that you remind me of Alfred, sometimes?" You asked, sauntering to one of the counters to fiddle with some tools. If there was another clone around here, Allen fit the bill. His looks, his speech patterns, and some mottos were strikingly similar. And yet, you could die with the idea that they were polar opposites because they were. For the longest time, they fought on different sides. Only recently did they finally converge into one team.

But on a more personal note, they butt heads at every chance they got.

That, you had yet to see at its prime.

The said man rose his brows and removed the can from his lips. Allen never imagined he would be compared to his ex-nemesis like this, but he couldn't say he didn't get what you meant. "Is it the coke?" He motioned thoughtfully. "But I drink diet coke. It's not the same. Here. Try some."

He handed it over to you. "Come on, I know what diet coke tastes like." You took a sip. "Bad. It tastes more like froth than liquid."

"But no sugar."

"Okay, yeah, see? That's the difference between you and him. He doesn't care what he puts in his body." He licked his bottom lip as he listened to you speak. Alfred was on your mind more than you tried to let on. It was painful to watch, even. "But that's beside the point. What I'm trying to say is—" You paused, finally catching on to what he'd been trying to point out. A few nervous laughs fell from your mouth.

He chuckled. "You were saying?"

"Dammit, Al." You huffed frustratedly, plummeting down on a stool. "He was such an asshole! I wanna talk to him, but I can't. If I do, he'll keep thinking it's okay to push me around. Subconsciously, anyway. You know what I mean?"

Allen nodded shrewdly. "As I was saying. You've humored him for a while, now. It's about time you start putting him in his place."

Two days have passed since your fight with Alfred. He never acted so out of line before, but in his defense, it wasn’t as if he’d been cloned before.

You told him, (F/N)? Is he in on this too?

Or is this why you both were gone for so long? Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you fucking tell me?

It left you out of sorts. You didn't want to talk to him, and yet, you couldn't bear being apart from him. Night time, especially. When there was nothing to do but lay around, you couldn't give up sleeping in his neck. Letting him pull you in and breathe in your hair. It was something you both always did, after all. Not that it made you any less upset. On the contrary, it made it hurt more.

"It's not about putting him in his place. I'm just trying to work things out with him. It's gonna be fine." You sighed. He reared his head back, unconvinced. "Look, I just need a little time by myself. It's been a while since I could get some."

"And yet, here you are." He hummed, gesturing to the rest of the workshop. Quiet was not how one would describe it. Busy and loud, maybe. Allen pulled you in by the waist with little resistance on your part. "When you surround yourself with friends, you need them to fill a void left by someone else," You frowned at that, much to his amusement. "Not to be blunt or anything. It’s always been your way of reaching out."

He pulled out his gun. "So, do you want comfort, or do you want..." Allen cocked it loudly. "... Solutions?"

"Solutions." Your frown morphed into a weird look. "But I already shot him once, so let's not do that again. I already have enough satisfaction from that." You murmured sarcastically.

"Don't tell him I said that."

He threw his arms up. "What happens in the garage, stays in the garage." He put his gun away at that, though he looked disappointed while doing it. "I suggest talking to him, I guess. Working things out diplomatically like a mature adult. All that... Bullshit."

Just tell him how you feel, he later said. Tell him he’s a dick, but you’re willing to let things go. No, seriously, doll. We need everybody to get their head in the game. So save the young love til' after the storm. Allen was right on the mark about that, so you tried heeding his advice.

Your father was on the move. Making that clone was his first counterattack, and it made sense to be evasive after. How he found out Alfred was alive was beyond you, but you couldn't be fazed. Getting Matsumoto's whereabouts was the first priority. You had to bite him before he could bite back.

But before that, Alfred needed a wake-up call.

And of course, a nice polish.

Making your way to the lab, you appeared in the doorway to find him shirtless. A dull ache spread in your chest. Why did seeing him like this affect you so much? It wasn’t a first.

Alfred turned his head to you. "Hey." His eyes were widened as if your arrival was unexpected. In reality, he was just unprepared to meet you. This was going to be the first time you ever operated on him in a formal environment. It really should've happened earlier, but the chance never came. And now that it did, he was a little nervous to get up close and personal. You weren't exactly on the best terms with him, after all.

"You know the drill. Lay flat on the bed for me." You instructed, appearing by the counters to slide on a pair of latex gloves. He did so as told while you pulled a chair over. You were avoiding his gaze already, but he couldn't blame you. "This isn’t gonna hurt, so... You can sleep if you’d like."

He was about to interject that he couldn’t. Instead, he shut his trap and rolled his head your way. While you operated on him, fixed his bugs, and checked the status of his upgrades, Alfred kept his half-lidded gaze fixated on you. It was insanely attractive to see you so concentrated—your hands never once faltered as they held razor-sharp equipment. If he wasn’t watching you work, whether it be making delicate incisions in his skin or tinkering at his insides, he was staring at your focused face for thirty minutes straight.

When you looked at him, he'd snap out of his daze.

But you never said anything, and it drove him out of his mind! What did that mean? What was going through your head? He didn't know. So after a few hours of quiet agony, he didn’t hesitate to speak up. "Thanks for patching me up. I feel better already." Alfred began with a tight smile. Your back was turned while you sterilized your tools.

This is how it's gonna be, huh? He thought. Throwing his shirt back on to ruffle up his sandy blonde hair, he spun to you and licked his bottom lip. "I was feeling kinda buggy lately, and uh... My reflexes were off... So... I'm more than prepared to take on anything now, you know?" He continued. "How're my upgrades? Did you add anything new?"

His rambles entered your ear and exited out the other. You were much too preoccupied with scraping together the courage to have the conversation with him. Sucking in a deep inhale, you turned to face him and said this. "I need to talk to you, Alfred."

He fell silent, then straightened up. It only felt like yesterday he was complaining about being called that, but he wasn't fussing over it now. Inside, he was doing jumping jacks and air fist bumps because you were talking to him. "Yeah? What’s up?" He asked eagerly, leaning on a trolley to not look over-excited. But the contraption started to roll under his weight, causing him to lose his balance.

Alfred stumbled to the side, much to your amusement. "Stupid trolley." He mumbled, moving it back in place.

You folded your arms sternly. "I think you know what I'm about to tell you, but I'm still gonna say it." He placed his hands on his hips and returned your steely gaze with a dismal one. "I don't wanna keep fighting with you. It's the last thing we need right now."

Alfred hung his head and looked to the side while his frown deepened. You've never seen him this depressed, and to think he was trying to cover it up—your resolve was on the verge of breaking. But you hung onto it until you could get your point across. "You're probably used to me going through with whatever you want. I used to be, but things have changed. I'm not..." He glanced up at you expectantly. "... Putting up with your shit, okay?"

If he was honest, it was impressive how quickly you could address the root of a problem. You weren't to be pushed around, especially now. He wasn't the one calling the shots anymore. You were. He sighed with deep creases between his brows. "... Right. Yeah." He was never good at apologizing, but he'd be damned if he didn't do it a few more times. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being an asshole."

He reached out to your wrist with slight hesitation, and he was relieved you never pulled away. "You're doing this all for me, I know. And you don't gotta do it for me. But you are, so who am I to give you shit, right?" Alfred laughed sheepishly. "You’re not tied down by anything, so that’s something I’m jealous about." He laughed again, albeit mirthlessly. His hand gripped yours while the other combed through his hair stressfully.

He couldn’t recall the last time he was this transparent about his feelings, save for crying in your face. But grief was so damn easy compared to everything else. Envy, entitlement, yearning, to name a few. To express those emotions meant putting his pride was on the line. "But who am I kidding? I’m jealous... ‘Bout damn near everything." Alfred whispered through a pained smile.

You softened your gaze at that.

"I didn't come here to get any confessions out of you, Alfred." Reaching out to hold his cheek, he leaned into your touch and screwed his eyes shut. "I just wanted to stop doing... Whatever it was we were doing. I can't stay mad at you," Warmth flurried in your chest when he pulled you into a tight hug. You returned the embrace even harder, letting everything bottled up over the past few days bubble over. "So save it for later."

He squeezed you desperately. "What if I don't wanna save it for later?" After a few moments, he pulled away and caught you in a hard stare. His previous gloom disappeared in exchange for conviction, one that was so potent, it got your heart racing. He coiled his arms around your waist and pulled you in. The pounding grew stronger. "You don't have to make me say these things because I wanna say them. I want you to know how I feel."

Heat rushed up to your face as you turned away. But what difference did that make when you were tangled with his limbs?

"I'm not doing this with you, Al. We really shouldn't."

"But that's what you always say! Then, you end up doing it."

Allen was passing by in the hall, beer in hand. When he overheard the contents of the exchange, alarm bells rang in his head. What the hell was going on in the lab? He scooted towards the metal wall outside and leaned his back against it. This better not be what he thought it was! He was practically biting off his fingernails at this point. Once again, he found himself wondering if he was overthinking.

And so, he listened in.

"We are literally trying to hunt down the most powerful man in the world. Let’s not... Complicate things. And I only ever give in because you keep bothering me. That's it."

"Fine. But why would being with me make things complicated? Wouldn’t it be less complicated? It's not like I'm a pain to deal with or anything."

Allen tensed up all over. So this was what it was about? It sounded like you were open to the idea of dating him, regardless of how standoffish you were. He knew you like the back of his hand, after all. Needless to say, he was feeling the beginnings of resentment all over again. How could Alfred lack so much self-awareness? He was the biggest pain in the fucking ass ever! And you, date him?

"The only thing stopping me from hitting you is the fact that you probably won't feel it."

"What, hey--"

"You're more of a handful than you think you are, Alfred. We're going at it right now, and we're not even dating."

"Only because we're about to--ow!"

"Liar. That didn't hurt."

"But it hurt my feelings."

"That's not very new, is it?" A pause followed. "Listen. I can’t do relationships right now. It’s... Way more complicated on my end, trust me." Allen hung his head. As vague as those words were, he understood you were really talking about him. You weren’t insensitive, and he knew you cared about him a tonne.

As he mulled over the thought, he took a slow, dejected sip from his can. "I like you, Alfred. I..."

Allen didn't know how to feel anymore.

Crushed or motivated?

"Are you sure it’s just liking?" Alfred asked, the question making your chest ache all over again. Why couldn’t he just let things go? His electric blue eyes flickered curiously over your reddened expression. Little did he know, the blush was from anything but embarrassment. Your lips were ajar, speechless.

Your eyes then glossed over with heat. Instantly, he understood what you meant the whole time. "Sorry, I overstepped." He leaned in and pressed a kiss to your cheek. You let him. "You don’t have to be on the same page as me. But you know how I feel now." A bittersweet smile stretched at his lips, and seeing it made blinking back the tears even harder.

You forced yourself to swallow everything down.

You couldn’t bring yourself to say it, but you were on the same page as him. And maybe, he knew.

This was just your last resort to keeping yourself level-headed. Keeping everything unchanging. More manageable, even. But it was merely a ruse that was soon to break. And Allen would be the one to do it.

Do you love her to death?

A week had passed since he was discharged from the hospital. He may have moved locations, but he continued to recuperate all the same. Getting up early, training, then eating balanced meals of protein jellies. Here in Zao's shack, he finally got to see your workplace: acres and acres of farms. To tour the whole place, he had to run laps.

He’d forgotten how it felt to be so weak.

So tired. So overwhelmed by all kinds of physical sensations. The cold, the heat, the hunger, the burn of the shower water, the pain of an uppercut to his jaw. And the hormones. He'd forgotten all about those things. He was always emotionally intense, but this was simply next-level. It even got to the point that he would break down sporadically in tears, unsure of the trigger. But he knew what kept him crying. While his skin burned and eyes stung, he’d feel around his bandaged torso, wishing you were there with him.

In a world where he had nothing, the thought of you was what kept him going.

Speak of her over my grave and watch how she brings me back to life.

Alfred was with you while you slept in the bedroom. Allen and Arthur were in the kitchen. Neither of them spoke a word. They didn't need to when the atmosphere was already established. The Brit had dark circles and a distinct droop to his eyes. His companion was halfway through his second beer while he stirred a pot of oatmeal. Once that was done, he poured it into two bowls and set one in front of the blonde. "Wakey, wakey. Eggs and porridge." He murmured, taking a seat beside him on the kitchen island.

Arthur dumped a few spoonfuls of sugar into his share. "There’s no eggs."

The other covered their eyes with a hand.

"It’s just an expression."

"Right." He scraped what was left inside the container into his coffee. Giving that a brief stir, he took a slow sip from his mug and stared at his friend over the rim. They were nearly done with their second beer, and it was only eight in the morning. To say he looked like shit was an understatement. Allen's complexion was paler than usual, and his eye bags could give his own a run for their money. "What’s got the laid-back slack day drinking on a Monday?"

Allen’s dazed expression never faltered. "Stress." Emptying the rest of the can down his throat, he tossed it into the bin. Only then did he start on his breakfast. "Can’t catch a break around here these days. Everything in my life is falling apart." He took a nonchalant slurp of his food. "She's... Totally into him, man. Does she have bad taste, or what?"

"And she'd have good taste if she liked you?" Arthur stifled a few chuckles when the other shot him a glare. "You don't know these things for sure, mate. He could end up as an unrequited love of hers one day. Because from what I've heard—" The very subject of their conversation appeared in the hallway. Allen glanced at him with his face scrunched up in a subtle glower.

"Morning, dipshit."

Alfred rose his brows. "What's your problem?"

"—things are only getting messier and messier. I mean, clones? He can make human clones now?"

Allen's expression darkened at the word. "Yeah. I don't have half as many problems as this guy does... So I'm a better match for her." Alfred stuck up a middle finger at him. He responded with a gesture of its equivalent—he made a furious handjob motion near his crotch, then pretended to spew imaginary gunk all over him.

"Whatever. I just want water." Rummaging through one of the cabinets for a glass, Alfred filled it from the tap and gulped it down. Once it was empty, he filled it again to take his leave. Water kept some of his functions going, but for you, it kickstarted your metabolism. Before he could disappear into the guest room, however, the front door beeped loudly, indicating someone had unlocked it.

Arthur sucked in a sharp gasp and shot off his stool. "He's back!"

How long had it been, two weeks? It was strangely early for him to be back so soon, but he wasn't complaining.

The others couldn't share his enthusiasm. Allen continued slurping his porridge. Alfred merely slowed down in the hallway before making a U-turn. Sticking his hands into the pockets of his sweats, he sauntered back to the kitchen. Little did he know, what he stuck around for was anything but. Zao appeared when the door swung open, but he was with somebody.

Their eyes met. Was that... Himself? Alfred's flickered once as he processed what he was seeing. What the hell was he looking at? His doppelgänger walked inside slowly, nervously. "Wait a minute." He whispered under his breath. Panic was slowly amassing as it finally clicked. "Wait a fucking minute. What the fuck is that!?" He screamed, marching back to the living room to point at his clone accusingly.

He'd never been so horrified.

Arthur froze up and took a few steps back. Allen finally turned around, visibly frustrated at the increasing volume of the room. What he saw made him drop his spoon to the ground in a clatter.

Zao held his hands out in front of himself defensively. "I know this looks bad, but let me explain. Let me explain." Alfred's nostrils flared as he glared fiercely at the brunette. Did you resurrect him or something? Why the hell would you do that? The thoughts were written all over his face, so Zao laughed nervously. "He isn't here to cause any trouble. He's here to uh... Join forces. So let's do some introductions. Alfred, this is Alfred."

Alfred shook his head furiously. "No, no, no, no, no. Fuck this. Fuck you."

"Nice to meet you too?" His clone began awkwardly.

Allen pulled out his gun at lightspeed and fired four shots. There was no hesitation, let alone remorse. He just kept shooting. "Go to hell!"

"Shit—" If it weren't for him making a dive behind the coffee table, his head would've been blown clean off. Rolling onto his back with a few coughs, he covered his face with his arms. "I told you."

Eventually, the explosions of relentless gunfire woke you up with a nasty start. Once you surveyed the situation behind the door, you scrambled outside with a pounding heart. They'd reached a temporary stalemate upon exhausting all their rounds, so there was nothing stopping you from doing this—launching yourself right into the arms of the clone. When he hugged you back, he felt too real to be a clone anymore. His body was trembling, and his shaky breaths were as warm as he was.

Just like that, the fighting stopped.

Everybody was seated around the dining table. Allen and Alfred never stopped glaring at the other Alfred, who just became the target of your affections. His cheek had been grazed deeply by a bullet, so you were disinfecting it. You've never seen him bleed, so the sight was startling. "Ah—" He turned away and squirmed in his seat when you pressed too hard. "—(F/N), it's fine. It's just a cut."

"I'm nearly done, quit moving." You murmured, dabbing away the remaining residue before leaning back. "There. Was that so hard?"

He hung his head and shook it. "It's been a while."

"Clearly."

Zao cracked his knuckles. "Right, so. Now that everybody's on board—" Alfred and Allen huffed simultaneously. This wasn't what they wanted, but what could they do? They were definitely stealing you away for a good long chat after this. In private. "—let's get down to business. Wanna know Mizumoto’s whereabouts? I'll tell you."

That sentence alone piqued everyone's undivided attention.

He's in his own satellite of sin. He'd said, pointing to the ceiling. Up there in orbit, floating around without a care in the world. I'd know because I saw him myself. He was celebrating.

Let's put an end to his party, shall we?

"I am not going to space, Zao." Arthur fumed. The pair was in his room, courtesy of the passive aggressive stares the Brit shot him during the conversation. "I've had enough excitement in my life. Alfred—he's dangerous! Can't you see that? Keeping him alive I can do, and keeping in my house I can do, but I'm not following him off the planet."

The other draped his arms over his shoulders. Then he grinned lazily. "But it'll be more dangerous if you don't. If we leave you here, you'll be a sitting duck. And it's open season." Zao merely laughed when his boyfriend hit his shoulder. But when he saw those emerald greens gloss over with heat, he pulled him back in. Pinning his head down with his chin, he coiled his arms around his form.

"I'm so angry with you, you know that?" Arthur murmured, hiding his face in his chest. "You keep disappearing, and the second you come back, you pull something like this."

"I know, and I'm sorry." He dug a hand through his choppy blonde hair. Then, he closed his eyes. "So come with me. For one last ride."

Getting to space was a piece of cake. And so was rocket science. It was easier to understand than passenger planes, anyhow.

Getting something to blast off the ground was just a controlled explosion. You just needed someplace to do it. And money. Lots of it. Luckily, you weren't the only one in the group who was loaded. Later in the evening, everyone hitched a ride in a spinner to Zao's estate. This was where Allen wanted to take you all along, he just never imagined Alfred and his clone would come along too.

"I'm... Unbelievably pissed right now." He grinned mirthlessly, sauntering into the living room with his arms folded behind his head. "You know, this place would've been a whole lot more romantic if it was just us, doll." This mansion was even more impressive than yours. Its white ceilings were twice as high, and there were more fountains than you could count. As many pieces of furniture there were, there was never enough to fill up the emptiness inside.

There was just so much space. And not to mention the launchpads and aircrafts that could get you there.

You pulled him along with a softened gaze.

"Save the romance for after the storm. Wasn't that what you said?"

Allen huffed out a sharp sigh. Then, he pinched your cheek affectionately. "Yeah, but I wasn't talking about myself. I don't play by the rules, babe. I make 'em." You slowed to a stop in front of the windows overlooking the terrace outside. The panels of glass stretched from the ground to the ceiling, so like he mentioned, this place really had the potential for a romantic getaway.

"I haven't given up yet."

He watched your expression with a serious one.

"If things get messy, which they will, I'm still gonna be here. Because maybe, one day, you might not be able to be with him."

In all honesty, you could say the same for him. Neither of them were ever meant to live this long. Not Allen, not Alfred, and not his clone. Going up there, to space, where nothing but millimeters of steel separated you from the most painful death, was the endgame. What happened up there was between luck, skill, and God if there was any.

But here?

It was a brutal fight with demons.

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thebookwormfairy · 4 years

Text

Winx Club Maribat AU Part 2

Hey guys I'm making a permanent tag list for my Maribat stuff. If you like to be added just message me! Okay on to the story!

Part 1

Masterlist

Marinette had a great summer

She loved being back home with her parents, but something felt different

She felt like her parents were hiding something from her

Something big

She tried not to let it bother her and just enjoy her summer

Her favorite part was when her friends came over

Though she was a little surprised when Damian's brothers stepped out of the portal along with Damian, Adrien, Alya, Alix, Jon, Juleka, Nino, and Rose

Jason walking up and ruffling Marinette's hair: You look surprised to see us Pixie Pop

Damian pushing Jason away from Marinette before giving her a hug: Sorry Angel, my father wouldn't let us come unless they came along

Marinette smiling: It's no problem the more the merrier

Marinette showed them all the sights of Paris

From the classics like the Eiffle Tower

To more local secrets like Ande's Icecream

Much to Marinette's embarrassment Andre made her icecream based off of Damian and his her

But it didn't seem like he understood or at least he didn't bring it up

On the last night in Paris before they all had to return to school Damian asked to talk to Marinette alone

They climbed out onto her balcony to get some privacy

The pair stood in silence for a but staring out into the Parisian night

Damian grabbing Marinette's hands: Marinette we've known eachother for a couple of months now, and they've been wome of the best times I've ever had

Marinette blushed: Really?

Damian also blushing: Yeah, I know it's only been a couple of months but I can't imagine my life without you, and I don't want to have to. So will you be my girlfriend?

Marinette rushing forward hugging Damian: Of course I will!

The two stood there hugging eachother as close as possible

The young couple pulled apart a little bit only to lean towards eachother again when the moment was ruined by a blue skinned witch

The blue skinned witch short a spell towards the two

Damian was able to push Marinette off the balcony and onto the roof away from the spell

Damian: Are you okay?

Marinette: Yeah

The others hearing the explosion came running out of the backery seeing the witch

Adrien spotting Damian and Marinette on the roof yells: Are you guys okay?

Marinette: Yeah

Marinette transformed and flying Damian down to the street with the rest of their friends

Mayu: I know one of you have the Miraculous! Give it to me at once

Marinette: What's a Miraculous?

Jason: No idea

Mayu: I will tear apart this entire planet until I receive the Miraculous!

Marinette: Oh no you won't!

The other fairies transformed and start to fight but it was like their attacks barely fazed the witch

Damian: Come on boys we have to help them!

The Specialist jumped into the battle

Together they were barely able to chase the witch off

Marinette had so many questions, but one kept popping up in her head

Did this have anything to do with the mysterious ring she found during her final?

After the girls and Adrien used their magic to repair the damage from the battle and check on Marinette's parents they decides to go to Gotham a day early and stay in Wayne Manor

Dick assured the group that it was perfectly fine and that their dad would much rather have a few surprises guests then for any of them be injured

Bruce was very welcoming to the group of misplaced kids

As the Adrien, Jon, and the girls minus Marinette went to bed, the Wayne's and Marinette stayed downstairs

Alfred: So why did the young masters return with their friends so soon?

Damian: We were attacked

Bruce: Attacked?

Tim: Yeah by some crazy blue skinned witch! She was looking for something....what was it?

Dick: She was looking for something, um, it started with an M. Mmmm... mmiii...

Jason and Marinette: The Miraculous

Alfres was shocked when he heard that

He's heard of the Miraculous before, the powerful treasures from the planet Miracul, but they were lost when the kingdom fell

Or so everybody thought

Alfred looked at Jason as he laughed at something Marinette said

He couldn't helping thinking back to the first thought he had upon meeting Jason

That he looked so much like King Rolland

But there was no way that the Dark Coven would have let the royal children live

They sadly were probably the first of their victims

They would have been the wielders of the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous

Together they would have been able to take down the Dark coven single handly

To not get rid of such a big threat early on would have been plain stupid so of course the royal heirs are no more

But Alfred couldn't help but think that Marinette looked an awful lot like Queen Clarisse

When the fairies returned they told Ms. Faragonda everything that happened

Faragonda had a pensive looked on her face, but told the girls to head to their dorms

With the start of school all thoughts of mysterious blue witches and Miraculouses were pushed to the back of their minds

Dick was officially a teacher at Red Fountain and was totally crushing on his co-teacher Kori, who could totally kick his but

Which is one of the reasons he loves her

Marinette kept teach Adrien magic with the help of the other faries

And of course Damain now tags along with Adrien so he can see his girlfriend

Though Adrien now hates Marinette and Damian because the 2 have made it their personal mission to kill Adrien

Okay maybe Adrien was being over dramatic

Truthfully the young couple just liked to tease Adrien relentlessly about his crush on Jon

Damian become more of a regular sight at Alfea

And with him came his brothers

Much to Damian's chagrin

Jason and Marinette started to become closer and closer

Adapting more of a sibling relationships

With Jason even giving Damian the shovel talk

Damian: Shouldn't you be giving Marinette this talk

Jason: No I prefer to threaten you

Damian just glares at his annoying brother

Yes everything was going great for Marinette until one day Alfea was attacked

This person was a man you looked like a scarecrow but he too was looking for the Miraculouses

Scarecrow was throwing potions at the young fairies that made them see their worst fears

Soon only Marinette and her friends were left standing though it was obvious that the gas was starting to get to them

Scarecrow zeroing onto Marinette: You! Your the one with the Miraculous!

Marinette blasting Scarecrow: I have no idea what your talking about! What is a Miraculous?!?

Scarecrow laughing: Oh my gosh you hold possibly the most powerful magical object in the universe and you have no idea, do you? Gove me the Miraculous little girl and I just make let you live

Marinette: Never!

Scarecrow: Have it your way!

Juleka was the first one to go down, Rose followed closely behind wit Alya holding out for a but longer before she too succumbed to the gas

Alix was able to stay much longer

She continued to fight besides Marinette blowing the gas away from the two

Watching Alix gave Marinette a brilliant idea

Marinette: Alix I have an idea!

Alix trying to blow Scarecrow away, but only succeeding in pushing him back a couple of feet: I'm all ears

Marinette: Let me handle this guy, you need to blow the gas away! If we can clear the gas everybody will go back to normal

Alix: I'm on it!

Alix flew down to wear the gas was starting to use her winx to blow the gas away from her classmates and teachers

Scarecrow laughing: Oh and what are you going to do, little fairy?

Marinette didn't answer the man instead gathering all her strength into one big blast

Even with all of Marinette's power the man only laughed

Scarecrow: That was cute

Marinette stared at him in horror

How was he laughing?

She put everything she had in that blast but it didn't do anything to him

Marinette was ready to give up until she heard the same voice she heard during her final

The voice: Marinette I can help you but you have to trust me

Marinette for some reason trusted this voice

She couldn't explain why she just did

Marinette: Okay I trust you

Marinette felt another wave of power washed over her

Green sparks surrounded Marinette and she felt reenergized

With this new energy Marinette gathered all her power again and this time when Marinette released her attack Scarecrow was blasted to the ground, getting knocked out in the process

Marinette pants as she landed back on the ground, Alix was able to clear the gas and everybody was starting to calm down

She cold feel the mysterious energy leave her as Ms. Faragonda walked up to Marinette

Faragonda: You did a great job Marinette. Well take this man into custody and find out what he was doing here

Marinette: Okay Ms. Faragonda.

Ms. Faragonda stared after her young student

She saw that green energy around Marinette

The only explanation could have been the Cat Miraculous, but that would be impossible

Faragonda needed to do some research

2 weeks later Marinette and her friends were called into her office

Faragonda: Thanks for coming in today girls, in light of the recent attacks I feel like this is important, but it also must remain a secret

Alix: What is it Ms. F?

Faragonda: We finished interrogating the man who attacked Alfea and it's what I worst feared. He is a member of the Dark Coven, the coven that destroyed the kingdom of Miracul.

The girls gasped at the information

Faragonda: Yes I know. They seem to think that one of you had a Miraculous and the attacks won't stop until you either defeat the coven or they kill you. So I believe it's time to gather the Miraculouses again and for you to start the next level of your training, Enchantix. Enchantix is achieved when you save a member of you family from a life threatening situation, that's why most fairies don't achieve it. They're not willing to take such a risk, but with Enchantix you'll be able to take on the Dark Coven and with the Miraculous you'll be able to start them for good

Alya: But how will we find the Miraculous? Weren't they scattered when Miracul fell?

Faragonda: That is true Alya, but we have an advantage that the coven doesn't have, somebody from Miracul. The people of Miracul had a connection to the Miraculous and with the royal family gone hopefully they will reach out to the last citizen of their kingdom

Marinette: Who is the last citizen?

Faragonda: Jason Todd. We'll be working with Red Fountain to find the Miraculous, but this must remain top secret nobody out of this room and the Specialist assigned to the mission must know about this. We have no idea how far the Dark Coven's reach extends

Faragonda: And one more thing girls and this is very important. No matter what never put on a Miraculous. Besides the Dark Coven the only people who would be able to wield and Miraculous was the royal family of Miracul and the people they bestowed the miraculous to. Anybody else who dares put on a Miraculous will be destroyed by the very power held within it.

Of course the Specialist assigned to the mission was Jason's brothers, Adrien, and Jon

They spent months tracking down the Miraculous

The Miraculous did seem to call out to Jason, but they called out to Marinette too

Marinette didn't know what to think of it

She was too scared to tell anybody that the Miraculous were calling to her too

She was scared of what it would me if they were really calling to her

And she was also scared that the ring she kept in her pocket was also a Miraculous

Marinette didn't let these worries get in the way of their mission

There was too much at stake for her to let her fear get to her

Their mission was actually going pretty well they already found 4 Miraculouses each on of the girls' home planet

The ones they found so far were the fox, turtle, rabbit, and mouse

With each Miraculous another fairy gained their Enchantix

Mainly because it seemed that a member of the Dark Coven appeared wherever they went

Alya got her's saving her twin sisters, Alix her father, Juleka her brother, and Rose her mother

Marinette was the only one who hadn't gotten her Enchantix and she didn't really know if she wanted to get it

The very thought of anything happening to her parents or anybody in her family made her feel sick

Today the group was going to the planet Miracul

They couldn't go by ship so Tim rewired the alternate reality chamber from the fairies' finals into a transport chamber

Dick: Are you sure the next Miraculous is on Miracul?

Jason: Positive, something is calling me there

Marinette also feeling something calling her: Jason hasn't let us down yet, I'm sure we'll find another Miraculous!

Jason: Thank you Pixie Pop at least somebody believes in me

Jason jokingly pulled Marinette into a tight hug pitting about his brothers questioning him

Damian: Please remove yourself from my girlfriend Todd

Jason turning to face Damian still holding onto Marinette: No, she may be your girlfriend but she's my unofficial adopted sister

Marinette laughing: Come on Jason let go. We got work to do

Jason: I don't really want to do the work today

Damian successfully tugging Marinette away from his annoying brother: Too bad

Tim: Now now, none of that. Come around kiddies I got the portal all set up

Tim pulling out 10 necklaces: So as y'all know we can't fly to the planet Miracul so we're teleporting. The teleporter will get us there but these babies will get us back. All you have to do is press the button and boom you're back here safe and sound

Jon: Sounds simple enough let's do this!

Of course no of their missions could be simple

The planet Miracul already held a lot of danger for the fairies

Since Miracul was a frozen planet the temperature could freeze the fairies wings and cause them to shatter

So the fairies of the group didn't want to transform unless it was absolutely necessary

The group explored the planet following the voice Jason said he heard

Jason lead them into the old place going to a room that felt so familiar to him

It was a child's room, old dusty toys laid on the floor covered in dust a frost

Jason was about to pick up a small chest when there was a blast of ice

Another coven member had found them

This one called himself Mr. Freeze

The fairies transformed hoping to send him off packing

But because of Mr. Freeze's powers the fairies had a hard time fighting him off

Mr Freeze aimed a blast at Jason

Marinette flying towards Jason: Jason watch out!

Marinette pushed Jason out of the way getting hit by the blast instead

Marinette's whole body was frozen solid from the blast

Jason and Damian: No!!

The two ran towards Marinette while the others continued to fight Mr. Freeze

Damian: No no no, please Marinette no!

Jason: No Pixie Pop! No why? I promised...I promised?

The ice around Marinette started to crack and shatter and Marinette emerged from it in her Enchantix form

She wore a dressed made out of Red petals with black vines wrapping around under her bust

With Marinette's new form they were able to blast Mr. Freeze away and send him into a full retreat

It wasn't until after the fight was done that Marinette and Jason realized something

Marinette looking at Jason: Wait, if I got my Enchantix form...then that would mean we're...

Marinette and Jason: Family

@t1dwarrior-of-earth @clumsy-owl-4178 @vgirl-10123 @aestheticnpoetic @toodaloo-kangaroo @animegirlweeb @k-poplunardreams @our-preciousss @razzledazzle247 @justafanwarrior @kanamexzeroyaoifangirl

#maribat #damian x marinette #marinette x damian #daminette #winx club au #adrijon #brotp #jasonette

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taliaquinn · 4 years

Text

Why Me!? Chapter 16

A/N: Hey peeps, I hope you guys enjoy today's update. I hope you guys like the fact that I uploaded so soon. Also I have a lot of oneshot ideas however the tricky part is actually WRITING. Who knew am I right?

“Kaalki quick open a portal to that old alley, It’s better to transform there, Tikki you can finish Game of Thrones later” Marinette ordered a previously napping Kaalki, while pulling out a miffed Tikki from her mini-room in the closet. Tikki was almost done with the first season of Game Of Throne. The only reason it was taking so long was mostly that she had to watch it whenever Marinette wasn’t around due to uh reasons.

“Priorities much?” Marinette teased, quickly making a fake sleeping Marinette on her bed in case someone checked on her.

She quickly leaped through the portal, after appearing in some Paris alley she quickly ducked behind the dumpster and transformed into Ladybug, and made her way to the Attack.

To no one's surprise she was facing off with Lady Wifi again. Except for this time she was busy tracking down her ex-boyfriend Nino who had broken up with her over text. Ouch. Good for him regardless. The darker part of Marinette was pleased. He came to his senses. Finally.

Unfortunately for her Lady Wifi was pissed, which made taking her down harder. She had to leave to recharge, Chat showed up during the last few moments but still proved himself useless by getting frozen by Lady-wifi somehow. Luckily Ladybug was sadly used to this and left him frozen.

Quickly ducking to the side she delivered a blow to Alyas' side. Throwing her yo-yo she managed to tangle Lady Wifis legs, causing her to drop her phone. Ladybug quickly scooped it up to destroy. Seriously, what was it with this girl and her obsession with phones?

Purifying the Akuma, she used the Miraculous Ladybug to instantly repair all the damage. Releasing a heavy sigh she turned to face her ex-best friend. To her disgust she was facing a pouting Alya and a smiling Chat.

The instant that Alya saw Ladybug she immediately stood up and ran towards her,

“Oh my gosh Ladybug thank you for saving me, I don't know what Nino was thinking breaking up with me like that, he KNOWS how mad I get” she said huffing out a laugh.

Oh. my. god. She was trying to make it seem like Nino was at fault! Marinette was furious. She was acting just like Chat!!! Marinette is going to need so much therapy after all of this is done.

“Alya, you need to apologize to Nino,” she finally told her. “and afterward leave him alone, you have to respect his decision and space.” She added. They might not be friends anymore but that didn’t mean that Marinette didn't care about Nino.

“L-L-Ladybug, you don’t get it, he broke up with me for no good reas-”

“It was a good enough reason that he felt the need to do it through a text” gesturing towards Nino's home she added “and as it turns out he was right to do so”

Alya huffed, “You just don't understand Ladybug”. She moved away from her and took out her phone to begin live streaming.

She made her way towards Chat noir who was standing on the side watching the whole exchange a bit nervous. “Chat Noir, Are you aware of a certain girl named Marinette who got caught on camera criticizing you, when she had no right to mind you, about your most recent actions?. Do you have anything to say in response to it?” She asked pointing her phone camera in his direction.

Chat Noir immediately leaped at the chance to defend himself.

“W-well like you said she had no right, what could she know about the struggles of being a superhero, heck I even had to save her a couple of times and that’s how she thanks me?’ He mentioned facing Alyas' camera. “Honestly I think she’s just jealous and mine and m’lady's partnership, but what can you do am I right?” he teased.

“What partnership chat?” Ladybug cut in. No way was she letting rumors spread when she was standing right there.

“M'lady's just jealous as well,” Chat said with a wink

“Oh for Pete's sake” Ladybug pulled Chat away from Alyas prying eyes (and cellphone) and yo-yo away without a goodbye to the blogger.

A few rooftops away she finally plopped down and released Chat none too gracefully. The look on Chat noirs face wasn’t the charming one he was displaying for Alya and her Camera, he had the nerve to look annoyed.

“What was that?” He spit out

“What was what hmmm?” Oh she was annoyed now too.

“Al-that Cesaire girl has been your biggest supporter since Day One. You just don’t know what's going on with that Cesaire girl”

“I do, her boyfriend broke up with her because he was involved in an extremely toxic relationship” She stated, “I have to make sure she understands that, she’s trying to shift the blame!!!”

“And what was that about our partnership, you sounded like you agreed with that Dupain-Cheng girl” He complained annoyed “That's cause I do”

“WHAT!?”

“You said it yourself Marinette could never understand the pressure cause she’s not a superhero, I on the other hand AM,” Not to mention they were one and the same but he didn't have to know that, “frankly you’ve been lacking in the superhero department if I can show up for every Akuma battle why can't you?”

“Because I have a life unlike you”

“Pfftt I am an independent business owner who still manages to be a stellar student AND I manage to handle Akuma attacks alone more often than not, what about you?”

“What does that matter? Marinette's gotten to you hasn’t she? You know she's been sent away for assaulting a classmate?”

“That's weird from what she told me she quit” she shouted “really chat you should leave the manipulating to Rossi and Cesaire”

“YOU TAKE THAT BACK, I DONT MANIPULATE” He screamed at her. Why was it that everyone was turning against him lately?

“You’re right, you only do that after you try everything else to make yourself seem good” Ladybug finished staring back at Chat noirs infuriated green eyes, His eyebrows were furrowed and he looked the angriest he ever had.

Staring at him Marinette came to a realization, she took a few step backs “We’ll talk later” She jumped off the roof and started making her way to a specific location.

Batcave Wayne Manor, USA 12:30 pm

“Master Dick I must ask you to please refrain from breaking your ribs in the future” Alfred sighed, Luckily Batman was able to arrive in time to stop Nightwing from getting kidnapped or worse. Red Hood quickly arrived and hauled an unconscious Nightwing to the Cave.

Batman, Red Robin, and Robin were currently spread around Gotham and Bludhaven trying to track down any stragglers.

“Sorry Alfie, I’m way too cute for the criminals to stay away” Dick mumbled sleepily

“-humph- Regardless No patrolling for 6 weeks,”

“You hurt me, I hope you know that Alf” He joked. Eh, they were all fast healers, he’ll probably be back on patrol in 4 weeks.

“Heya Alfred, Now that Dick is alright I am going to head back out” Jason said adjusting his gloves and strapping his knives in place.

“Before you leave Master Jason please pickup the Tupperware filled with food I have left for you in the kitchen, And please escort Master Dick to his room for rest” Alfred knew good and well that his charges love not listening to doctors, er butlers, orders.

“Thanks, Alf, Comere Dickwad” Helping Dick up from the cot “but I don’t want to,” Dick whined. “Tough luck”

Making there way throughout the manor, Dick suddenly stopped “Marinette's room is right there, lemme check on her”

Jesus sometimes Dick can be more of a mother hen than Bruce “Come on Dickface, It's almost 1 am any sane person will be asleep by now” he said tiredly but a part of him wanted to check up on her too. Curse these big brother instincts. “Fine only a peek”

Once they stumbled to the front of Marinette's room, Jason gently cracked open the door seeing Marinette sleeping he moved aside to allow Dick to take a peak. To Jason's shock Dick unwrapped his arm from His shoulder and pushed open the door, stumbling to Marinette's Bed. Quickly pulling off the sheets he revealed a bundle of pillows under the blanket.

Marinette wasn’t in her bed.

“Crap”

I just Love cliffhangers, don’t you guys love them as well? I am asking that you guys please message me any prompts you would like for me to write for my one-shot series. Else I’m just going to keep making sad angsty one-shots. Stay Safe and Healthy guys <3.

Feel free to reblog,like and comment :)

Taglist:

@maribat-is-lifeblood @kass-is-weird @another-fan-of-anotherplan @damianette-is-life @amayakans @parallelparabox @miukiiu @valeks-princess @toodaloo-kangaroo @vixen-uchiha @thezestywalru @dreamykitty25 @pirats-pizzacanninibles @mochinek0 @shamefullove @mochegato @souleateralicestein @thestressmademedoit @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @aestheticnpoetic @mysupporthyperfixations @itsmeevie01

#miraculous ladybug #mlb au #maribat #batfam #marinette deserves better #damian wayne #jason todd #dick grayson #tim drake #bruce wayne #class salt

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alvie-pines · 4 years

Text

AmeLiet — Ghost Tolys AU

Recently, I came up with the idea of America’s love interest being a ghost (his biggest fear), and almost immediately, this AU was born! My friend Amber and I have developed it a lot since then; staying up until 2 am talking about Hetalia will do that.

So first, the setting:

We haven’t chosen a specific town for the story to be set in yet, but we’re thinking it’s gotta be a small-ish midwestern town. It will probably be in Kansas. The time is around 2015--so no 2020 madness.

The story follows Alfred, who moves out of his dad (Arthur)’s house in Minnesota (more on that later) at 19 and moves to a small town in the midwest. He buys an old house for cheap on the outskirts of the town; it was built before the Great Depression, maybe late 1800s. Within a month of living there, Alfred starts to notice odd things happening. His items are moved from where he put them; his room appears tidier than when he’d left; misplaced objects turn up on the kitchen counter more often than not. Alfred, with his paranoid fear of ghosts, assumes the worst and freaks out. He probably calls Matthew and cries to him about it, begging him to come down from Canada and help him get the ghost out. (Matthew says no way, and it’s probably not even a ghost!)

After a little while he calms down, but he’s still on the alert. Every time he notices something has been moved, he becomes afraid to touch it, which is quite troublesome.

Everything continues (rather turbulently, with Alfred living in fear) for a little while longer, until one day, while he’s working on something upstairs, he hears a loud crash from the kitchen. Of course, he’s too afraid to go investigate it, but a few hours later, when he finally goes downstairs, he finds the dirty dishes that he’d let pile up cleaned and dried! One plate has been dropped and broken, the pieces of which have been placed on the counter.

He realizes that this ghost was... doing his dishes?

Thinking back, everything else the ghost has done has been helpful rather than malicious. It returned his lost items, rather than stealing them. Maybe he’s been... misjudging it?

This continues for a while, and I will keep some specific details to myself in case I ever want to write a fic--and eventually they form a sort of relationship where, even though they’ve never talked, Tolys helps with things around the house and in return, Alfred tries not a scream when he catches glimpses of a blurry, faded-out humanoid figure walking around the house.

Eventually, they become chill enough with each other that Alfred can see Tolys more often and more clearly; sometimes Tolys can even talk to him. From there, their relationship slowly blooms into something more...

Tolys’ backstory:

Tolys was an American-Lithuanian immigrant who died during the Great Depression. He was born in Lithuania in 1906. From his late teens onward, he worked for a Russian man named Ivan Braginsky*, who paid him little, and mistreated him and the other servants in the house. At the age of 22, he fled to America looking for work; little did he know, within the next few years, the Great Depression would hit and render his choice fatal. Tolys died in 1832, just a year before the economy would have repaired itself.

*Not Russia. Ivan will make some appearances in the story, but he is the great-grandson of the person Tolys worked for.

FACE family backstory:

Arthur and Francis married and moved to America, where they adopted two twin boys who were only a year old. However, soon afterwards, their marriage began to turn sour. They fought often, and by the time the twins were 7, it culminated in a messy divorce. Arthur was able to keep custody of both Alfred and their home in Minnesota, while Francis took Matthew to live across the border in Canada. (This is how I got all of their accents to make sense.) Alfred and Matthew visited each others’ houses every month (alternating who went to which house) and Francis and Arthur begrudgingly agreed to alternate who got the kids on holidays. Despite their separation, Matt and Al managed to have a somewhat normal relationship growing up.

I plan to have an important arc where Tolys sees (current-day) Ivan and has a ghostly breakdown, mistakenly thinking it’s the man he worked for. This will be where his backstory is first revealed, and it will also become a catalyst for Francis and Arthur’s relationship to improve, tho how that happens is a huge spoiler.

I have more to elaborate on, but I’ll stop here for now; but feel free to ask me about: Tolys’ life, Ivan in general, the Baltics, FACE family dynamics, AmeLiet falling in love, or more plot points. I’ve thought about all of these and have answers to your questions!! I just don’t want this post to get too long and clog up the dash.

#ameliet #aph america #aph lithuania #alternate universe #aph england #aph france #aph canada #aph russia #fanfic #ameliet ghost au #hetalia #hetalia 2020 #axis powers hetalia #alv posts #alv writes

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chief-of-restless-hearts · 4 years

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Chapter 5: Trial

. . .

It was all wrong.

Dick’s mannerisms were off, twitchy and uncertain and completely foreign to his usual bearing--even under stress. And...his face. Unobscured by the grainy video quality, it seemed drawn...even gaunt.

Batman replayed the street cam footage, and watched as the boy, still wearing that dark mirror of Deathstroke’s costume, ran out from alongside the abandoned car lot and halted abruptly at the edge of the road. He threw his gaze back and forth down the empty street, as though looking for something. As though he had been chasing something.

Dick loitered agitatedly for a few moments longer and then turned and vanished out of the camera's view.

But there had been something about his expression...

Batman replayed the clip on his portable computer again. Heavy rain whipped at his cape and cowl, running in frigid rivers down his shoulders, but he remained utterly fixated. Crouched atop the building that Dick had emerged from in the recording, he had finished examining the roped off crime scene below, the details of it rotating through his mind as he studied the only true evidence that Dick had ever been there--aside from the bloodied shuriken which he had personally ensured would not be entered into police records.

None of the suspects, either captured or deceased, had sustained injuries compatible with what the shuriken must have inflicted. Which meant he had another suspect to hunt and interrogate. One more easily accessible than the survivors who had already been incarcerated.

Batman would need to move carefully to avoid justifying any rumored link between Robin and the boy captured on the tape. The sudden return of the Robin emblem alone was more than incriminating enough, and that made the motivation behind it all too clear. Deathstroke intended to isolate Robin from his allies, to destroy his reputation and relationships beyond repair and entrap him completely.

Batman would see him disappointed. His hatred for the assassin grew more intense with every hour, every day that passed.

Five days. Five days Dick had been missing, with Deathstroke, and now he looked like this.

Bruce lightly traced the image with his finger.

What did he do to you, Dick?

. . .

The lone survivor on the lower floor had clearly and gruesomely been singled out for the sake of interrogation or vendetta, and between emergency surgeries and the time necessary for recovery, the suspect was slated to remain unconscious and sedated for at least the next day.

Batman glared down at the haggard-looking man in the hospital bed, lingering in spite of this. It was maddening, knowing that testimony that could incriminate Deathstroke and exonerate his boy accomplice of bloodshed was just out of reach.

He was wasting time.

While the looped cameras would be automatically restored to their normal state once he was clear of the building, a nurse could stop by at any moment. He turned to leave.

No sooner did he face the window than he saw the familiar brightly costumed figure hovering just outside it.

He gritted his teeth and slipped outside. He ignored Superman’s attempts to meet his gaze as he closed and locked the window behind him and he grappled up to the roof, and then he turned to face the man with a scowl.

“So the video has leaked already,” he said flatly, without any question attached to it.

“I’m afraid so,” Superman confirmed, his expression pensive as his feet settled gently on the roof. “It was leaked to the Planet a few minutes ago. I’m not sure how many other papers and stations received it, but I’m not too optimistic.” He hesitated. “I came as soon as I heard. I’ve already done a quick scan of this part of the city, that’s how I found you, but...is there any other way I could help?”

Batman squeezed his eyes shut and resisted the temptation to reject the offer completely. He couldn’t afford to. Not this time. Especially not after...the other time he had tried to save one of his charges alone.

“I already know what you want to do,” he said at last, with effort. “Do it. Call the League.”

Superman was silent, but Batman didn’t turn to look at him.

This wasn’t Clark’s fault, of course it wasn’t. But it was his, and how could he look Clark in the eye when he knew that with so much certainty?

“Bruce...can you tell me that he’s alright?”

“No, I can’t,” he snapped. “Deathstroke has had Robin for nearly a week. I have every reason to believe that he is not alright.”

Superman’s brow creased with confusion. “Deathstroke...?” he started, but then he shook his head. “Bruce, I...I know this can’t be easy for you--”

“This isn’t about me,” he bit out.

Superman’s expression was pinched with open empathy, the same expression he’d had after he heard that...that Jason...

Batman was tempted to slap it off his face.

“I know,” Superman assured him. “I’ll summon as many League members as I can, but before I do, I wanted to make sure that--” He broke off, and his expression said the words left unspoken. “I wanted to see you.”

Batman closed his eyes again, and sighed. “I was about to call you,” he admitted, reluctantly. “Thank you. For coming.” He knew without looking that a small smile had entered the alien’s face.

“Nothing to thank me for,” Superman said easily. “This is for Dick. I mean, aren’t I the kid’s honorary uncle or something?”

Batman rolled his eyes, but the reminder was another little stab in his chest. “He was ten, Clark.”

Clark’s smile widened, and the weight in Bruce’s chest might have eased, if only slightly.

. . .

He reached the Hall of Justice inexcusably late and intensely furious with himself.

He had contacted the Titans again for aid in pinpointing the exact location where they had separated from Robin in the tunnels, as well as where they had found a bomb instead of Sarah Simm. His search of both areas had uncovered nothing, absolutely nothing, and had told him only that Deathstroke must have returned to the scene of the crime to cover his tracks.

And then he had woken suddenly in the water speeder, surrounded by frigid dampness and pitch black walls. The sewers had blocked any outside contact from Alfred or the League that could have roused him, he had still uncovered nothing that could help Dick, and after less than twenty-four hours of searching already his body had failed him.

As he exited the jet and made his way into the League building he found Wally West and Donna Troy sitting together in the lobby, both in costume. They started with surprise as he passed.

“Hey, Batman!” Wally called, but Batman’s brisk pace didn’t falter. Wally sliced across his path with lightning speed and tried to catch his eye. “Wait a sec, we just want to know--”

Bruce fixed the boy with such a glare that his eyes widened in alarm and within an instant he had retreated back to Donna’s side.

“Is Dick okay?” Donna called after him. Her voice was high with alarm. “...Batman?”

Their mentors must have seen fit to exclude them from the meeting. They certainly had the ability to do so, as the young people had yet to be granted access to the Watchtower satellite. Dick had been the only Titan to be given a code.

Without further acknowledgement of either teen he approached the zeta tube and stepped through the transporter.

When at last he swept into the Watchtower conference room with unprecedented tardiness and a fresh bout of transporter-due nausea, not only was the League seated but the new Teen Titans team as well. Wonder Woman was standing beside them, indicating that she had been speaking to them before his interruption.

In the sudden quiet all eyes turned to him, but he met only Wonder Woman’s gaze as he stalked toward the head of the table. In passing the others he counted, with a sting of resentment, that only five League members were present: Wonder Woman, Superman, Flash, Green Arrow, and Green Lantern. A smaller turnout at such short notice was to be expected, of course, but there were a few missing faces that he had expected to see.

He ignored Clark’s less than subtle attempts to catch his eye. Wonder Woman, understanding Batman’s intention, nodded but said nothing as he firmly set his palm-sized portable projector on the table.

“Of the twelve suspects found at the location of the sighting,” he began as several photographs from the police archives lit up the wall behind him, “these four HIVE members were found on the upper level, and on the lower level there were found three more in addition to five men who have been identified as members of the local mob.” he switched to a new set of images, these far more gruesome than the first, “Of those found on the lower level only one, a HIVE member, was found alive. The survivor had clearly been tortured.”

Not only for the sake of the young people at the far end of the table, who already looked nauseous, but out of the bare minimum of respect due to the victim he declined to share those final images with the table.

“All injuries on the lower floor, lethal or otherwise, were inflicted by a long blade,” he continued. “In marked contrast the four HIVE members on the upper floor sustained no injuries more serious than severe bruising. The zip-tie restraints confirm that only these attacks could be credited to Robin, and that Deathstroke was responsible for the lower level killings.

“The surviving suspects have so far refused to respond to police interrogation, and the most gravely injured suspect remains unfit for questioning. Which leaves the video footage of Robin as the only publicly accessible evidence as to the crime’s motivation or perpetrator. Because of this the authorities have not tied Deathstroke to the crime, nor do they have any reason to.”

The video flickered onto the wall and began to play as he spoke.

“The footage that captured Robin on the scene leaves no question that he has been mistreated.”

The blurry image of Dick on the screen staggered to a halt at the edge of the street, and Batman paused the video. He zoomed in on the boy’s face, and found that he needed to swallow before speaking again.

“Robin has lost weight, his movement is stiff, almost clumsy, and if he were thinking clearly he would never have unwittingly placed himself within sight of a street camera. This footage was taken five days after the last footage we have of him, from the day he disappeared, and...”

He broke off as something like a fist closed around his throat. He cleared it with some difficulty.

“...and we cannot afford to leave him in Deathstroke’s hands any longer than we already have.”

For the first time he looked across the table. The video must have been played prior his arrival to give any who hadn’t seen it an understanding of the crisis, and while the Titans were gazing at the projection with evident grief, the League members at the other end of the table seemed...uncomfortable. Only Clark and Diana returned his gaze, while Barry looked distant, Ollie toyed with the straps on his suit, and Hal’s gaze was firmly averted. The Lantern’s leg was bouncing idly.

“And we will not,” Wonder Woman said firmly but gently. “We must hope that Robin’s friends can help us further understand the circumstances.”

Batman could only nod and seat himself.

Wonder Woman turned again to Cyborg beside her at the end of the table. “If you would continue for us, Victor?”

Cyborg’s gaze lingered uneasily on Batman before he spoke up. “The whole ‘Red X’ thing was just Robin’s way of getting to that assassin.” He shrugged. “Maybe it would’ve worked out better if he had trusted us with the truth, and maybe it wouldn’t have...but he was only thinking of us--how to best protect the team.”

Wonder Woman nodded. "Of course," she said kindly. “Thank you, Victor. Now, Garfield,” she said, trying to catch Beast Boy's eye, “could you add to Victor's perspective of that night?”

Beast Boy’s chin didn’t move from where it rested on his arms crossed over the table. “Red X knocked me in front of a train while we were fighting,” the boy said frankly, but as League members exchanged glances he rolled his eyes and finished. “And then he pulled me out of the way. That didn’t make much sense ‘til we found out he was Robin.”

The questions continued, alternating between Titans as they covered events that had already been recounted to him. Still, Batman kept his eyes fixed on the Titans at the other end of the table, pointedly ignoring Clark, who was seated a few chairs to his left and still trying to catch his eye.

At last the tale reached the fateful night that Robin had resurfaced in Deathstroke’s colors.

“It doesn’t feel right, but Raven says that he wasn’t brainwashed,” Beast Boy mumbled, half into his arms. “and that’s kind of her thing, so she probably knows what she’s talking about. But...after Red X, that would make it twice this month that he’s kicked me around without that excuse.”

Wonder Woman’s lips pressed together tightly, and she paused before thanking the boy and turning to Raven. “Raven, can you confirm with absolute certainty that Robin’s mind was not interfered with in any way when you last saw him?”

Only the shift in Raven’s eyes indicated that the cloaked girl had heard her. With rigid posture, she sat with her hands folded in her lap and her hood drawn over her head.

“I wouldn’t say that it had not been interfered with in any way,” she said slowly, “but not in the way that you’re asking. I could feel his...frustration, as he fought us, but if he hadn’t been in control of his body his emotions would have been clouded.”

“Thank you, Raven. Now, Koriand’r?” The Tamaranean girl’s head of thick, knee-length curls turned sharply at her name. “Could you tell us what happened that night?”

For an instant the girl’s eyes grew round, almost alarmed, before her gaze returned to her lap. After a moment she began describing Robin’s erratic behaviour that morning--all due to his anger at Deathstroke--and how he had vanished during the subsequent search for Sarah Simm. By the time she reached the fight on the roof, her words came more slowly, reluctantly. At last, her words trailed to a stop.

Wonder Woman leaned closer, trying to meet her eyes. “The footage we have of the incident shows that both you and Robin disappeared from view for a short period of time. Could you tell us what happened?”

Batman noticed when Green Lantern looked significantly at Green Arrow, who was frowning.

Batman suddenly shared far more of the girl’s trepidation than he cared to.

So slowly and painfully that he could visualize her fists clenched at her sides, Starfire began to recall the incident that she had already told him.

“I...I had pursued Robin to the top of the sign, and then we--”

Raven suddenly gripped her shoulder. Starfire halted mid-sentence to look over her shoulder in surprise. What Batman could see of Raven’s face under her cowl was tight and wary, fixed on the other end of the table.

“Koriand’r,” she said in a low voice, dark and cold as a winter night. “They’ve already decided on his guilt. They aren’t thinking of how to help Robin, they’re thinking of how to stop him.”

Batman followed Raven’s gaze to the league members to his left, most of whom seemed taken aback. He studied their faces with a barely concealed scowl. Robin had always thought highly of Raven’s competence as an empath, as well as of her friendship, but in this circumstance Batman sincerely hoped that she was mistaken.

Green Arrow leaned forward and jabbed a finger in her direction. “Look kiddo, if you’re so good at reading minds, why don’t you tell us what was going on in Robin’s head? That’s all we want to know.”

Clark shot Green Arrow a stern look from across the table that was enough to make the man press his lips together and lean back in his chair.

Starfire rose above the table with clenched fists and fire in her emerald eyes. “You deceived us!” she snarled. “We came here only because we knew that Robin trusts you!”

“You said it,” Beast Boy muttered, narrowing his eyes at the League.

Cyborg gestured toward Batman with a scowl. “At least we expected better from Batman, here. You’re his father or somethin’, aren’t you?”

Batman scrutinized the unusual tension darkening Lantern’s features, Arrow’s irritated grimace, and the way Flash was awkwardly rubbing his jaw. Clark was the only one to return his gaze, but that pinched expression of concern only served to aggravate him.

Batman recalled seeing Donna and Wally waiting restlessly back in the hall of justice, and began to wonder exactly why they had been excluded.

Wonder Woman withdrew her own disapproving look at Green Arrow to face the Titans. “Children, I assure you that we ask these questions with the purest of intentions toward Robin and his safety. Koriand’r, dear...what happened next on the rooftop? If we are to help Robin, we must know.”

Starfire descended until her feet again touched the ground in a defiant stance, but she did not sit.

“He escaped us,” she answered shortly, leveling a scathing look on Diana.

Wonder Woman spread her hands entreatingly, meeting the girl’s openly defiant gaze. “Your records state that that night you were the only member of your team to sustain injury. We must know what happened.”

Starfire blinked in surprise, Cyborg’s jaw dropped, and all four Titans turned to Batman with betrayed expressions. At the moment, for different but similar reasons, Batman felt the same.

“I supplied them only with the relevant documents,” he said through gritted teeth, his granite-hard gaze fixed on Wonder Woman, who returned it with a pinched brow. “Or those that I perceived to be relevant at the time. You’re taking a while to get to the point, Wonder Woman.”

Wonder Woman gave him an earnest look that pleaded to be understood before turning back to the Titans. “I assure you, all of you, that this is necessary.”

Cyborg scowled deeply and crossed his arms over his chest. “You aren’t gettin’ anything out of us until you explain why it’s necessary. Robin may be our leader, but he’s also our friend, and we have a right to know what’s going on here.”

Diana closed her eyes for a long moment. “I...believe the League should review a few things before we continue this discussion. We will contact you when we're ready to resume.” Reaching down to her waist, she raised the lasso of truth in her hand. “I swear to you that we shall do everything in our power to help Robin. And children, though we may have led you to think otherwise, please believe me when I say that we do all share in your sorrow.”

They hesitated for a few moments, but the young people rose from their seats to follow Diana’s guiding arm toward the hall.

Green Arrow leaned toward Green Lantern, and the sensitive audio enhancers in Batman’s cowl picked up the words spoken under his breath.

“Diana did pretty well, considering,” he said wryly. “I’m sure glad I didn’t get saddled with that job. Never been much good with kids.”

Green Lantern was staring down at the table as though he hadn’t heard him, and Clark was wearily rubbing his face with his hands.

“But your ward is a teenager,” Flash protested in an equally subdued tone, sounding confused.

“Exactly,” Green Arrow sighed.

The other vigilante’s all too familiar facetious tone snapped the last fragile tendril of patience Batman had managed to retain.

“Every last one of the Titans’ questions and concerns were valid,” he snapped, “especially considering how this team appears to be blatantly disregarding the amount of time that has already been wasted. Or has the purpose behind this gathering been forgotten already?”

His voice carried, and the young heroes paused on their way to the door. Green Arrow’s gaze snapped irritably toward his for a split instant before a flicker of remorse replaced the irritation. He dropped his gaze.

“We haven’t forgotten anything,” he muttered.

“Sorry about that, Batman,” Flash said ruefully, as though he had been included in the accusation. “And...I want to say how sorry I am for what happened. I mean, if it had been Wally...”

Flash’s tone, rather than his words, grated strangely in his ears. “Sorry for what?” he demanded.

Flash seemed taken aback. “Well, you know...” he faltered. “I can’t even begin to imagine how hard this must be for you after...”

Flash faltered again, possibly because of the overly sharp question, and also possibly, Batman considered as he picked up on sharp motion out of the corner of his eye, because Clark was staring at him, slashing his hand urgently across his throat.

“--After what happened to the other one,” another voice finished, so dry and uncharacteristically cold for Green Lantern as to be rendered nearly unrecognizable. “After that, someone should have known better than to leave a kid loose on the streets.”

“Lantern!” Wonder Woman barked, but she went unheeded. Green Lantern glowered at Batman over crossed arms.

Batman’s fingers tightened around his arm rests, but his face was an impassive mask, the muscles of it frozen of their own volition.

Seated to the Lantern’s right, Green Arrow’s gaze flickered between them. He shifted in his seat uneasily. “C’mon, Hal...” he muttered, “we don’t need to...”

“I’m sorry for lumping you in like this, Ollie, but even with Roy the situation was different. Star City is not and never will be what Gotham is. Batman chose to raise two kids on that twisted city’s streets, and nothing comes out of Gotham uncontaminated.” He turned a significant look on Batman. “Not even the good guys.”

Batman rose slowly, stiffly. “What are you implying?”

Green Lantern rose in turn, leaning over the table toward him. “I’m implying that Robin was in the perfect position for an opportunistic creep like Deathstroke to get into his head--thanks to you.”

Wonder Woman’s fist slammed down on the table with a roar. “Lantern, that is ENOUGH!”

The entire table surface shuddered, a hair of pressure away from snapping in two.

“Bruce.” He heard Clark’s whisper from just beside him. There was warning in it. Clark didn’t trust him not to start something.

And he shouldn’t.

Neither he nor Lantern made any move to sit.

Flash turned his head suddenly, and zipped to the other side of the room to quietly send off the Titans, who had been standing forgotten in the doorway with stunned expressions on each of their faces. Solemn silence filled the moments until the children were gone, and then Wonder Woman spoke again, this time with quiet anger in her voice.

“Any discussion of guilt or innocence can wait until we have found Robin. As Batman has already established, we are losing valuable time.”

“Yes, we are,” Lantern agreed sourly, dropping back into his seat. “The press will be all over this. It’s exactly what our critics have been waiting for--evidence that we’re just as dangerous and unpredictable as the criminals we take down. And the more convinced the public becomes that Robin’s turned coat, the more difficult it will be to salvage their trust in us.”

“I don’t think we need to worry about that just yet,” Clark interjected calmly, “but if it comes to that, I can help us prepare a press statement.”

“The truth should be more than enough to satisfy the public,” Batman said flatly. All faces turned to him, their expressions difficult to read. He ignored them. “The video evidence removes any question from the situation. Tell them that we are dealing with a hostage situation--that henceforth Robin’s every action should be presumed to be done under some form of coercion, and that all possible effort must be made to track Deathstroke down and recover Robin uninjured.”

There was a moment of silence.

“We can’t prove those assumptions, Batman,” Flash said quietly.

We can’t lie to them, Batman heard, though it remained unspoken.

Clark raised his hand before he could snap out a retort. “Wait Barry, the video may not be the tangible proof we need, but I know Robin pretty well, and his body language in that video was definitely concerning.”

Green Arrow interjected again. “C’mon, Supes, you’ve got to admit that won’t convince anyone. If Robin was ever in a hostage situation wouldn’t he have made some attempt to leave us a message? That’s basic training, right? And that videotape doesn’t count. Even Bats admits that Robin didn’t realize he was being filmed.”

“And that isn’t all that we need to discuss, either,” interjected Green Lantern. “We can’t forget that Robin knew all of our identities and had a very high level of clearance in the Watchtower. So long as Robin is with Deathstroke our most carefully guarded secrets are at risk.”

“Gentlemen,” Wonder Woman said sternly. “Until the facts lead us to certain knowledge, please keep your theories to yourselves.”

“But we do know something for certain,” Batman snapped. “We know Robin. Every single one of you has known him for years. And you know what he is and is not capable of.”

“Uh, Bats...” Flash began hesitantly, and Batman wheeled a stony glare at him. “I can’t stand behind everything Hal is saying, but...if we’re wondering why Robin would do something like this, I mean, you do realize what this looks like.”

“What does it look like?”

Flash visibly balked at the acid in his tone, and shrugged miserably. “C’mon, man...don't make me say it...”

“Say what?” Batman growled.

Flash swallowed, shrugged again, and started fiddling with one of his gloves. “It’s just that...I mean, we were all kind of under the impression that, uh...you and Robin didn’t part on the best of terms?”

Ice, hard and painfully sharp, formed in the center of his chest. Cutting into his lungs until all he could take in and release were barely controlled hisses of breath.

He stood, slowly, using the utmost of his self control to contain the rage when his hands were nearly shaking with it. “I am...truly disappointed to discover that this team is willing to use an innocent boy as a buffer between the world and its reputation.”

For a moment, before he turned away, he almost thought that he saw him, perched on the table in front of him with his long, gangly legs swinging over the edge, a familiar image from all those years that Bruce had relented to let him sit in while a league meeting droned on.

The image faded.

He turned away, but paused to wheel a piercing glare at his seated teammates. “When you speak to the presses I suggest that you try to explain how it is possible that a fifteen year old boy has more integrity in him than does this entire facade of a Justice League.”

+ - + - + - +

Bruce swept out of the conference room without another word or glance.

The entire room was dumbstruck, and it took a few moments for Clark to gather himself enough to go after him.

Within an instant he had breezed into the hall, and he caught up to Bruce a few steps past the door. Bruce’s expressionless white lenses looked right through him, and then Bruce stepped around him as though he were an inanimate object obstructing his path.

Clark wished that hadn’t hurt.

He moved just quickly enough to keep up with Bruce’s long, snapping pace. “Bruce,” he began, trying not to sound desperate, “please, you can’t just walk out now. I know this went badly, and I’m sorry, but you can’t--”

“You were very quiet tonight,” Bruce interrupted icily.

Clark stared for a moment, guilt holding his tongue. “Diana was...”

“You knew him better than all the others put together,” Bruce cut in again, and only then did he look Clark in the eyes. Clark felt himself wilt a little under the accusation in them. “Don’t tell me that you’ve lost faith in him too.”

“No, Bruce, I would never--I do believe in him, Bruce. He’s an amazing kid, I’d give anything for him and you know that. I’m just trying to tell you that we need to communicate. All of us. That’s what a team does. I know they handled it badly and jumped to conclusions, but you can’t just give up on them like this. This is your team and--”

“No, Clark, it’s your team.” That retort almost came out in a rasp, and Bruce had already looked away again. “Call me once they come to their senses and decide to stop scapegoating the victim of this situation.”

“That isn’t--Bruce--”

Bruce vanished into the teleporter without a backward glance.

Clark closed his eyes, counted slowly to ten and then back down to zero, and then released his breath as slowly and calmly as he could.

He turned on his heel and stalked back to the conference room at a human speed to allow himself to work off the edge of his temper.

But he could hear his teammates’ chattering as clearly as if he were in the room with him, and the subject set his teeth on edge.

“But then...why wasn’t Robin in Gotham?” Barry asked helplessly.

“Barry, please...” Diana sounded exhausted.

Hal’s voice broke in, and as Clark approached the sliding doors, he again began counting to ten. “We can’t just drop these questions, Diana. In that video Robin was even wearing that ‘R’ of his. If that doesn’t tell us something I don’t know what would. And as for Robin’s health...I mean, it’s not that I think Deathstroke’s a fun guy to live with, but what reason do we have to believe that Robin wasn’t there voluntarily?”

“Maybe you don’t need a reason,” Clark said, stalking through the conference room doors. “Maybe all you need is a little faith in a longtime friend, and just the barest smidge of respect for a man grieving the loss of his only surviving son.”

Hal turned to look at him, openmouthed, but Clark’s gaze shifted from him to each of the other leaguers in turn.

Ollie shook his head with a quiet sigh. “I’m glad Roy wasn’t here to see this,” he muttered, a little bitterly. “He’s been worried sick.”

“Wally, too,” Barry added miserably.

Diana stood still and somber, absorbed in her own thoughts, and the silence stretched on as they all did the same.

Barry broke it. “Hal, I can’t believe you threw Robin’s death in his face like that. He wasn’t just any sidekick, he was...was that one adopted? I...don’t think I ever asked.”

“All the more reason for him to know better.”

“This is beyond being wrong or right, Lantern,” Diana said sternly. “You prioritized your feelings over team unity.”

“Alright, alright,” Hal sighed, “I get it. I came on too strong, like always, right? But it’s not like I blame the kid--if I’d been in his shoes I’d probably have lost it years ago. And besides, Bats had it coming.”

Clark approached the table only to grip the back of his chair almost tightly enough to break it. “Well I hope getting that off your chest was worth it,” he said fiercely, “because we just lost the one League member who had a decent chance of finding Robin if he doesn’t want to be found. And we were gathered here to help his son.”

“Yes we were,” said Diana, her eyes still weary, but her hands planted squarely on the table. “And we still are. But I must agree with one of the points that Lantern presented. In time we will need to address the public’s suspicions.”

Clark closed his eyes, his heart sinking, because he knew exactly what Diana was about to say. Worse, he wasn’t sure he could contradict it.

“If we deny the increasingly obvious truth that Deathstroke’s young accomplice is Robin, we lose their trust. If we admit to his identity but do not pursue him as we would a criminal our impartiality will be called into question. We can afford to delay this, but not inevitably.” She let out a long, carefully controlled breath. “We have only one choice, and Hera help me, I wish there was another way.”

+ - + - + - +

He emerged from the teleport back into the Hall of Justice, and this time saw Donna and Wally with the Titans gathered around them in a conference of their own. The group had already turned to watch him, and six pairs of eyes fixed on him as he redirected his steps to approach them.

If the League couldn’t comprehend the inherent absurdity of the suspicion that Dick--that Robin would ever willingly join an assassin, then he was left no choice but to seek out allies who could.

Both the former and present members of the Titans readily and eagerly agreed to help. The small entourage made its way through the sewers toward the former location of the bomb as well as the point of Robin’s departure, and under his direction they set about combing the tunnels inch by inch.

The search, though now performed with the very best of Cyborg’s tech as well as his own, uncovered nothing. Searching the tunnels from the point of Robin’s departure proved even less fruitful, even with Beast Boy’s attempts at catching his scent that proved useless among the pungent sewage and Raven’s futile attempts to feel Robin's presence.

To bypass the sewer water issue Batman had earlier asked Wonder Girl to call Aqualad to help their search. The girl had winced, probably at the prospect of assigning her friend such an unpleasant task, but she readily agreed.

Along with Aqualad, Roy Harper--Speedy--arrived some hours into the search, stared up at Batman in his red and yellow archer’s costume and demanded, rather than offered, to help with the investigation.

Batman shot a frustrated look at Wonder Girl, who was clearly biting back a grin. She raised her hands defensively. “I promise I didn’t call him!”

“Yeah, about that,” Speedy cut in. “How come I had to hear about this get-together from Wally, huh? Since when did I become the team member to get snubbed for invitations?”

Batman bit back a sigh. “Green Arrow--”

“Hey, Ollie doesn’t get a say in Titans business, okay? He--hey, Wonderdoll wait up!” He broke off running after Wonder Girl down the tunnel.

The dark tunnels devoured precious hours, again cutting him off from outside communication, but there was still so much ground to cover. He had been all too happy to evade any attempted contact from the League, but guilt over leaving Alfred completely in the dark about his activities since leaving the cave that morning finally drove him to return briefly to the surface.

He crawled out of the manhole and slipped into a nearby alley before activating his comm. “Alfred. I--”

“Oh, thank God, Sir. I have been trying to contact you for the past hour, and--your witnesses from the HIVE...they’ve been murdered.”

. . .

The five kills had been executed swiftly. Neatly. But despite what the circumstances could have led him to believe, poison had never been part of Deathstroke’s repertoire.

The last surviving witness, the torture victim, had evidently been saved for last. He was still breathing when Batman again broke into his hospital room with disconcerting ease despite the increased security. The man was still unconscious, but twitching slightly, with thick, beading sweat dripping from his forehead into his hair.

Batman pressed a gloved hand over the man’s mouth. He jerked awake. Two wide, bloodshot eyes locked on him and the man writhed and fought uselessly to scream through the hand.

“Less than two hours ago your allies were assassinated by the HIVE,” Batman said, his voice low, but too guttural to be a whisper. The man’s pathetic struggles only worsened. “Answer a few questions and I will ensure that you don’t--”

The man’s eyes rolled back in his head. The writhing evolved into convulsions, and Batman became suddenly aware that the man’s skin under his gloves was unnaturally hot. Suddenly that made horrifying sense.

He whipped out a batarang and sliced through the catheter connecting the bag of fluids to the man’s arm. How long had it been feeding the poison into his system? The machine beside the bed was already beeping an automatic alarm.

Help would come too late.

“Did you see Robin?” he demanded, releasing the man to moan freely. “The boy with Deathstroke!”

The man’s rolling eyes briefly flickered over his, confused and probably delirious. “...R...Renegade?” he gasped.

. . .

Until the cave analysis of the poison sample was complete, all he had was a suspicion. One that he could confirm through another, more readily available means.

He hacked into hospital security footage to search through the hours prior to his own entrance, and there at last he found the assassin: a dark haired nurse, glancing both ways as she entered the room.

She pulled a long syringe out of her pocket, and as she injected it into the bag of fluids, Batman could just make out her nails--long, sharp, and painted green. With the job finished so easily, she turned to leave the room. The lower half of her face was covered by a hospital mask, but her cat-like eyes flickered up toward the camera, and he recognized the assassin's distinctive matching emerald: Cheshire.

Batman had vanished by the time the medics poured into the room, but carefully out of sight, he had watched.

The man had died within minutes.

And still, Batman had a new, wrong name that chanted through his mind until it lost meaning in the din.

#it's been a long month but #new chapter!#teen titans #the apprentice #bruce wayne #dick grayson #slade wilson #clark kent #batman #batfam #too many characters to tag #diana prince #koriand'r #victor stone #raven #gar logan #my writing #bad company #bad company ch 5

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vikingpoteto · 4 years

Text

we don’t have to dance (to the beat of their songs)

Chapter 5 on AO3

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Relationships: (Gen) Tim Drake & Jason Todd

Tags: Battle for the Cowl, Alternate Canon, Adopted Sibling Relationship, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Mental Health Issues, Past Child Neglect, Domestic Fluff, Canon is not valid I am, and I want them to be friends goddamnit

Summary: In the middle of their battle, Jason asks Tim to leave the nest and be his Robin. Tim decides it's not a bad idea, after all.

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Jason Todd is many things. A street rat. A literature nerd. A former hero. A crime-lord. Dealing with anger issues. Ignoring a whole lot of other issues. But he isn’t an idiot. And, while he’s been bamboozled more times he can count, he realizes Tim Drake is a bigger conundrum than he anticipated. He isn’t about to be fooled again.

He thought he had Tim figured out. Rich kid. Too smart for his own good. Smug beyond repair. No regard for his own well-being. Incapable of holding grudges. He thought the kid couldn’t surprise him, not in a way that mattered, until that first night.

That’s when he starts taking note of the small things.

Saturday is uneventful. Jason wishes he could say he forgets he isn’t living alone anymore, but, even though Tim makes little to no noise as he sleeps the morning away, Jason is painfully aware that he has a roommate. He can’t focus on his book, he can’t focus on the absurdly detailed report Tim made him. He definitely can’t focus on anything else after Tim flies down the stairs like a speedster, blurts out something that could’ve been good morning and disappears in the kitchen. Jason heads to his room, assuming the kid is getting himself breakfast, and he tries to take a nap. He fails.

After giving up and heading downstairs to make dinner, he finds the kitchen as clean as he left — did Tim do the dishes? Did he eat at all? — and he can barely hear faint noises downstairs. He makes a mental note to fix the sound proofness of his walls as he climbs down.

In his Office, like Jason calls it, he finds Tim wearing headphones. The music is loud enough that Jason can clearly hear muffled heavy metal. The computer is half dismantled, half loading something somehow, and Tim is carefully tinkering with the suit Jason gave him.

Instead of throwing something at him like he wants to, Jason walks into his field of view and waves at his face. Tim takes off the headphones.

“The fuck you doing?” Jason asks.

“Fixing stuff. I know you love Jane Austen, but do you have to use the same software she used to write?”

Jason punches him in the shoulder. He regrets it instantly and curses at himself inwardly. Tim, however, doesn’t even flinch. He snickers as though that was the reaction he expected.

Huh. Jason files that away for later analysis.

He gets Tim to suit up and they head out for the night.

They don’t go together per se, as Red Hood is still laying low, planting the seeds subtly so no one notices until he’s ready to make an entrance. He gets intel. Ruins the plan of a very misguided small dealer. And finally saves a pair of prostitutes from a harasser. He wears nothing but a domino mask all night, because there are only a few key players that must know Red Hood is back. He smiles at the girls after he’s done and they get excited asking him if he’s the Red Hood. He takes off without answering.

Red Hood has always been popular with prostitutes, as weird as that sounds. What can Jason say? The girls that worked near the street he grew up in were the nicest people he knew; he has a soft spot for them.

He meets up with Tim near the end of the night and he finds that Tim’s spoken reports are a lot briefer than his written ones: he stopped some muggings. Probably broke the kneecaps of some creep near the park. Confirmed intel he got from his research. He actually saved a cat stuck on a tree too, which makes Jason roll his eyes. They go back to Jason’s place without further ado.

Sunday is more of the same, except Jason manages to actually sleep. That is, until the sound of a hammer wakes him up.

He finds Tim in his living room dismantling an old television he got from God knows where. The shouting match that follows should make things more awkward, but instead it makes them easier.

Turns out Tim doesn’t mind exchanging insults or having dusty pillows thrown at him, and Jason feels more at ease by the time they swallow cold sandwiches and head out.

He has this unreasonable pang of anxiety when Tim vanishes into the shadows, but he shakes it off. The Red Robin suit is getting better everyday and, thanks to the cowl, Tim looks older and more menacing than he actually is, meaning no one is going to fuck with him.

It’s fine. They have a plan. It’s working. There are rumors that Hood is back, though nothing but whispers. Enough to stir his territory without getting unwanted attention from the better neighborhoods.

It isn’t until Monday at around 1pm that the other shoe drops. Jason wakes up scratching his belly and walks past Tim on the way to the kitchen.

“Morning, sleeping beauty,” Tim mumbles.

“Fuck off, Replacement,” he says back.

The kid is fucking with something that smells like oil on the kitchen table. Jason thinks to himself he should have words with him about it… after his morning tea. Morning tea at 1pm, but still.

He’s boiling water and staring blankly at Tim when he realizes: it’s Monday.

“Wait, what the fuck are you doing here?”

Tim stares at him. Back at the myriad of circuits spread around the table. Then back at Jason

“Wrist computer,” he says.

“No, here !”

“The kitchen?”

“Home! You’re, like, 17, right? Shouldn’t you be at school?”

Tim stares at him as though he’s grown a second head. “Jason. I don’t know how to tell you this, but I stopped going to school after my father died again and I traveled abroad to work with an organization of murderers.”

“That was a fucking month ago. You get a month of skipped classes, your dad died. Now that you’re here, you can go back.”

His chin actually drops and Jason is greeted by the sight of a nearly white chewed gum threatening to fall from Tim’s open mouth.

“I’m not going back to high school. Are you insane?”

“Are you insane? Of course you’re going back to school. Don’t you have, I don’t know, friends or a girlfriend or… whatever!”

“No, I don’t?” Tim scowls. “You want me to go to school so I can date? Why don’t you go to school?”

“Everyone thinks I’m dead.”

“Oh, heck off, you don’t get to pull the death card with me,” Tim rolls his eyes. “It works with Dick and Bruce, but I’m immune.”

“The fact that you still say heck off means you definitely should be at school around people your age. Get some bullies. It builds character.”

Tim’s pale cheeks go crimson and Jason has to bite back a grin. Knowing that Tim blushes like that opens so many teasing opportunities.

“Shut up, I got used to it because Alfred got mad at us for cursing! And I don’t need school to get bullied, I have you right here.”

Jason decides to test a theory. It’s a wicked idea, but Jason isn’t known for fighting fair.

“Tim. I ain’t raising an uneducated goblin.”

“I’m seventeen ! You’re not fucking raising me! You’re like a muscular child sharing a place with a slightly smaller child!”

“If you don’t go back to school, the deal is off. I’m not keeping you around.”

And, just like that, Tim closes his mouth and all the color drains from his face. Jason expected this. He doesn’t feel great about it.

“Y-you… Dick will notice if I start going back to school,” he tries. “This is against the plan. Batman will know we’re working together.”

“No. He’ll know you’re back in town. Make an excuse. I know you’re great at it.”

“This will affect my productivity. I won’t be able to upgrade your gear as fast and I’ll have to sleep more. This is-”

“Non-negotiable. School or no partnership.”

Jason knows it’s too late for him. It might be too late for Tim, too. But not late enough that Jason will let him give up. Tim may never have a normal life - the fact that he’s working with his almost murderer more than proves it. Jason selfishly wants to make sure he has at least a little normality.

This is about Jason, not Tim. Jason doesn’t think he can live with another deadman walking.

“Fine,” Tim says, like he’s agreeing to a death sentence. “I’m going back to school tomorrow. You happy?”

“Hella,” Jason says. He turns back to his tea. “And Tim? I’ll know if you’re skipping and I’ll kill you if you do.”

Tim starts listing a colorful collection of insults a lot worse than heck off. Jason grins at him and Tim, in his teenage rage, doesn’t seem to notice that the smile doesn’t reach Jason’s eyes.

So Jason's theory is confirmed. Tim Drake doesn’t care about attempts on his life. He isn’t afraid to fight an armed man. He isn’t afraid of having a familiar person taking a swing at him, so Jason doesn’t think that he has issues with physical abuse.

Nothing freaks him out as much as someone critiquing his work, though. And not in the asshole way, that would be way too easy. As cocky as he is, Tim doesn’t look like the type to think he can do no wrong. He wouldn’t get irrationally angry over someone pointing out he can do better. He does, however, flip out at the mere possibility that he’s done something wrong and didn’t own up to it already.

Jason thought he knew Tim until he jokingly complained about him sleeping on the job and saw genuine horror in his eyes. Horror like never before, not even when Jason beat him and tried to leave him for dead. Hell, at that point the kid said he was a better Robin right before passing out.

Who did this to him, Jason wonders? Who convinced Tim that the worst he can be isn’t a high school dropout or even a dead boy, but a person who messes up? His biological parents? Bruce? Is Tim even aware of it?

Jason doesn’t know, and he isn't sure what to do about it. Can he do something about it? He remembers far too well, thinking Bruce brought him in because he wanted another Robin. How every time he made Bruce laugh, or solved a case, it felt like a victory. How every time he got scolded, he expected Bruce to send him back to where he came from. He remembers having that fear confirmed when he heard from Talia that he’d been replaced.

Is there really something to be done?

Despite a good deal of complaining about work hours, Tim starts going to school. Jason hounds him to make sure he isn’t lying and he’s pretty sure he’ll have to keep checking regularly, because, if he learned anything about Tim, is that the kid is scarily patient and spiteful.

He stalks him all the way to school on the first day, making it painfully obvious that he’s there even if Tim puts a lot of effort into pretending he can’t see him. He pops at Tim’s classroom window and waves cheerfully as Tim flips the bird at him. Waking up early was hell, but Jason finds it ridiculously fun to make Tim annoyed.

On Friday, Jason decides to pick Tim up after class just to keep him on his toes… then he almost crashes his motorcycle into a lamppost when he sees a fancy car and a familiar man leaning against it.

Dick Grayson.

Despite the fun distractions Jason came up with, his whole damn body still remembers the beating he took. He wonders if Dick took as long to recover after that night.

His fake second death would be really short-lived but, lucky for him, Dick is preoccupied with something else. Jason parks around the corner. His height wouldn’t allow him to hide among the flux of rich kids walking out of school looking for their chauffeurs, but he has to come closer.

Well, time to get those stealthy muscles to work.

Ironically, it was Dick who taught him that the best hiding spot was in plain sight, and that’s how he casually walks behind the sports car and heads towards a beaten phone booth.

Dick doesn’t notice him.

Whether it was thanks to Jason’s skills or the fact that the older man looks like he’s having an internal anxiety attack, Jason may never find out. He does, however, hear it when Tim’s voice lets out a long word that definitely isn’t heck . He risks taking a peek at the duo and sees Dick smiling. He looks tired.

“Timbo,” he greets.

“Don’t call me that,” Tim groans. He would’ve sounded like your everyday grumpy teenager, but there’s too much tension in his jaw.

“Welcome back,” Dick says. “Were you planning on telling anyone you’re around?”

“I’m assuming you don’t mind, since you kept paying for my school. I was also checking to see how long it’d take you to find out.”

Jason almost snorts. Who knew the kid had it in him? Furthermore, it’s impressive how Tim methodically and deliberately hid all signs of displeasure. He looks earnestly happy to see Dick and he almost makes his barb sound like friendly banter.

“Timmy, you were gone for almost two months. Where were you?”

“I was pursuing a lead. It didn’t pan out. So I’m back.”

Dick is quiet after that. Jason assumes he knows damn well Tim isn’t one to give up just like that. At the same time, Jason can see Dick assessing the differences between the kid in front of him and the kid he last saw.

“Let’s go home. We need to talk,” he says finally.

“Sorry, I can’t. I’m heading to a friend’s house so we can do homework together. I have a lot to catch up.”

“Tim…”

“You were right, Dick.” Tim smiles softly. “Damian needs you now. I don’t.”

Dick flinches. “I didn’t mean…”

“I know,” he chuckles. “Let me rephrase that: I’m fine. You know, when you first asked me to help Bruce, I planned on staying for a few months. A year, tops. I was always supposed to go back to my normal life.”

“Timmy, you’re family,” Dick pleads. “Your normal life doesn’t include going home?”

Tim’s expression is empty of emotion when he replies: “I need space now. I’m not going back, Dick. I’m sorry. I have a place to stay. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“ Where are you staying? Do you need help setting up anything or…”

“I’ll text you the address later. Right now I really need to go, though.”

Dick presses his lips into a tight line. He hesitates before reaching out to hug him. Surprisingly to Jason, Tim allows it and even hugs him back, even if not as tightly as Dick does.

Jason didn’t realize that. The whole time, he thought Tim needed his older brother and Dick was painfully blind to it. It never occurred to him how Dick also needed Tim. He wonders if Dick felt lost when Tim went away, or if he realized how messed up it was to rely on a teenager.

And Jason’s file on Wayne drama keeps growing thicker.

“Come over for dinner tomorrow?” Dick tries again. “Alfie misses you.”

“And annoy Damian in the process? I’d love to.” Tim deadpans.

Dick finally pulls away from the hug. “He’s made a lot of progress. You’d be surprised.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t remember I punched him before I left.”

“Tim. Dinner?”

“Why would I say no to free food?” Tim gives him a crooked smile.

Dick moves as though it’s painful to let Tim go. He retreats to his car as slowly as it’s humanly possible, like he expects Tim to change his mind and join him. Tim smiles and waves until Dick vanishes around the corner. His look turns hollow, but none of the kids walking past him seems to notice it. Not even when Tim calls out:

“You can come out now. He’s really gone.”

Jason pretends not to hear two girls letting out startled little squeals when he leaves his hiding spot.

“That was cold blooded, Replacement,” Jason says, stretching his hand to Tim. “I knew you were a liar, but that was impressive.”

Without blinking, Tim takes out a tracker from the collar of his shirt and another from his hair. He hands both to Jason. “I didn’t lie, mostly,” he says. “I did plan on leaving after Bruce got better. Or at least when we found a better replacement. That didn’t work like I expected.”

Jason doesn’t say anything as he casually crushes one of the trackers under his boot and places the other on a random kid passing by. He knows how magical it feels to be Robin. He doesn’t think he could quit out of free will. He still remembers the addicting adrenaline that makes you feel like you’re really a bird soaring across the sky.

Until you’re not.

He notices it when Tim looks down at his own feet. Without thinking, he reaches for Tim’s head and messes up his hair.

“C’mon. I got the parts you asked. You can finish tinkering your suit tonight.”

They take the night off. It’s too risky going patrolling the night Dick found out about Tim’s return. Instead, they sit in the living room and Jason turns on the TV while Tim finishes adjusting the suit. The documentary about fish only keeps Jason’s attention for about five minutes before he notices Tim is butchering his cowl. Of course they start bickering.

The new mask isn’t quite a domino. It still has a nose guard similar to a bird’s beak that creates the illusion that Tim’s nose is more aquiline rather than a small snub, which is good to hide one’s identity. Still, Jason thinks going out without head protection is fucking stupid and Tim goes on a rant about looking like he’s wearing a condom on his head. Jason didn’t say anything when Tim replaced the old bandoliers with yellow ones with more compartments. The condom head thing hurts, though, and he ends up beating the shit out of Tim with a couch pillow.

A good deal of screaming and kicking each other later, they return to the task of redesigning. Tim replaces the RR in the middle of his chest with a bird-like symbol that hides a panic button. He switches the black gloves for sleeker red ones, although the middle finger and indicator are black. Jason thinks Tim is trying to make it more dramatic when he flips the bird (heh. Robin flipping bird) but Tim punches Jason’s shoulder and says the new gloves allow him to use his wrist pad more easily.

Jason hits him when he notices he weakened some of the defenses, and they bicker some more before Tim gives in and puts the shin guards and knee protectors back.

The cowl and the cape are gone, much to Jason’s annoyance, and he says Tim’ll look stupid. Tim calls him a knock-off Iron Man. Jason tries to smother him to death with a pillow when Tim doesn’t stop laughing.

It’s the most fun Jason had in… God, how long? He doesn’t remember the last time he could just joke back and forth like this. It doesn’t do good to your reputation as a crime lord if you give the drug dealers a noogie. Tim, on the other hand? Tim gets at least five noogies a day because he’s a dumbass.

It isn’t until they head to their rooms, later that night, that Jason realizes he hasn’t thought about his fight with Dick at all since they started working on the suit. He would've never guessed Tim’s presence wouldn’t be a bitter reminder of everything Jason lost, but rather than a good distraction.

Another week goes by before the suit is finished.

Jason swallows his pride and admits (to himself, at least) that getting rid of the cape was a smart move when he and Tim stand next to each other in full uniform. Tim’s new outfit doesn’t look out of place near Jason’s bulletproof vest and leather jacket. They’re a lot less dramatic than the Bats, and Jason likes that. They’re their own team, not one of them .

“Comms?” Jason asks.

“Tested and protected. Even Oracle would have to manually tinker with them to get into our frequency.”

“And you decided your field name yet?”

Tim hesitates. “I… Red Robin is fine.”

Jason nods. “Plan?”

“Break into Black Mask’s warehouse through the vent, plant…”

“Red Robin,” he cuts off. “Plan.”

Tim sighs. “Make Roman our bitch.”

“Atta boy. Let’s go.”

It’s an operation as simple as it is petty: Black Mask thought he could take over one of Hood’s warehouses. Jason was going to prove him wrong. It wasn’t a key hideout, but it was a relatively safe place if you were in the business of laundering money — discreet, easy to access without being noticed by the pigs, with most of the sewers around it hadn’t been blown up, which was always a plus. Hood was almost sure Roman took it just to show that he could and turned it into a drug warehouse to spite Hood. The fact that he disliked drugs wasn’t exactly a secret, after all. Szazs probably was involved in the process, Jason was sure.

In the end, Tim convinced him the stealthy approach was better. Just get in, ruin the whole operation and, by the time Black Mask realized it, he had lost a ton of money. Poetic justice and all that.

Jason complained about the plan being boring, but, as they get on their bikes to head out, he feels almost jittery. He doesn’t know if it’s just the thrill of being on the field again after so long — sue him, he’s an adrenaline junkie — or the prospect of the petty revenge. Either way, Red Hood grins under the helmet and, almost as though he can see his expression — or as though he’s feeling the same — Red Robin smirks back.

Just like that, they take off into the night. The wind howls past them as Hood leads the race, fast enough that it seems like he’s riding aimlessly. It doesn’t mean he isn’t choosing the way methodically. He knows he’s picking the right streets, the dark ones in which the dark red leather merges perfectly with the shadows. They rush past buildings with closed windows, sure that no one is stupid enough to glance at the two suspiscious riders.

Red Hood makes a sharp turn that would’ve made a less experienced driver fall into the asphalt. He hears Red Robin whooping excitedly behind him and he can’t help but laugh.

When they’re just a few blocks from the warehouse, they stop. At this point, Hood almost considers throwing the plan away — crashing the motorcycle into the place would make for an excellent entrance — but, as though reading his thoughts, Red Robin gives him a pointed look before getting off his bike.

“You’re such a wet blanket,” Hood says, even though no words were truly exchanged before that.

“And you’re a drama queen,” Red Robin retorts. And he grapples up to the nearest rooftop before Hood can give him a noogie for that.

Lighter and more agile, Red leads the way now and Hood is happy to be his shadow until they reach the strategic spot they picked — the two story building next door.

“Thank god this place didn’t crumble,” Hood comments absently. “The other buildings are too far for a clear view.”

Red gives him a strange look. “I checked whether it was still standing while we were planning the attack. Do you not verify the surroundings when you’re making strategies?”

“I like to leave room for improvisation; I’m not a stick in the mud like you.”

Red rolls his eyes under the mask as he reaches for the binoculars in his belt. Hood does the same. There shouldn’t be a lot of activity tonight if their intel is correct, and it looks like it is. They can’t see the inside of the warehouse — which is why Red Hood liked the place so much, damn it — but they can still see the roof as clearly as they can see the vent they chose to… Hood freezes.

“Hey Hood?” Red Robin calls.

Jason pulls a face under the hood. “Yes?”

“Remember our plan to lay low so Batman doesn’t notice us?”

“Hmm.”

“Remember how I wanted to check on the rogues and you told me to stop being a stick in the mud?” He hisses.

“No one likes a bitching vigilante, Red.”

“Freaking Poison Ivy is here.” Red Robin gestures widely at the roof of the warehouse, as though Red Hood can’t see the green lady trying to get in through the very same vent they planned on using.

“See, that’s the beauty of crime fighting. You make a plan. The plan goes wrong. You throw the plan away.”

“Oh my freaking God,” he groans, “this is Young Justice all over again, but worse.”

Despite the complaining, they seem to be in agreement about what to do next: they take their grapple guns and shoot at Ivy’s blindspot. Red Robin is already getting his rebreather to filter whatever toxins they’re about to face.

The boys land almost silently all things considered. Without thinking, Hood points at the other side of the roof and crosses an X in front of his lips, before closing a fist. Red Robin nods and sprints without a question.

For the second time, Jason freezes. The instructions were clear — take the other side, we’re going for a surprise attack after cornering her — but they shouldn’t have been. He didn’t realize he kept using those gestures to give orders, because he hadn’t had anyone working this close to him in literal years. He didn’t realize he still remembered the whole language — ASL, but also specific gestures that only made sense among Bats — until he had Red Robin following his orders. Something in his stomach feels heavy.

“... Hood ? Do you copy? ” Says a hushed voice in his ear.

Shit. Get it together, Jason.

He presses the comm button. “Listening.”

On the other side of the line, Red Robin sighs. “ Oh thank god, I thought the comms were suddenly fried. I’m in position. ”

Shit . “Hang on,” he says. He finally starts moving, extra careful not to make any noise.

“ You good, man?” Red asks, and Hood can practically see the confused furrow of his brow.

“Yeah, yeah, be quiet before Ivy hears us.”

He finally gets close enough to see her — she’s unscrewing the air vent cover to get in, even though she could probably just get a giant peach to roll over the place or something. It looks like Red Hood and Red Robin weren’t the only ones trying to be stealthy tonight.

He takes one step closer, and many things happen at the same time: the metal roof creaks under his boot. Ivy goes stiff for half a second. Then Jason is doing a backflip to avoid being bombarded with freaking thorns? When the hell did Ivy add a machine gun of thorns to her arsenal?

“Red Hood?” She stands, frowning. “Huh. I heard you were dead.”

“I get that a lot,” he says.

He reaches for his guns as Ivy waves her hand gracefully. Red Hood watches, with mild disgust, as what he thought was a weird belt snakes its way up Ivy’s torso until she has two venus flytraps settle on her shoulders.

“Fucking gross,” he says.

“I get that a lot,” she quips.

When he shoots at her, she’s ready. A branch grows fast enough to take the bullet for her and, before he realizes, she’s already inside his personal space. Hood dodges a punch in the throat but she keeps advancing. She knows better than letting him keep her at shooting range.

Welp, brute force it is then.

Hood puts his gun away at the same time he dodges a kick to the face. He takes a swing. One of Ivy’s pet plants almost bites his fist and he barely has time to retreat before the pesky thing takes a piece out of his glove.

“Huh. My sixth grade teacher told me those things are only lethal to flies,” he huffs.

Ivy grins. “My children are special.”

She presses and attacks again, and this time Hood lets her. When her knee hits his stomach, he grabs her by the calf and uses her own momentum against her. She barely weighs anything when he throws her hard at the ground, her back hitting metal and her pained groan muffled by the loud clang. He cringes. So much for stealth.

He makes to kick her before she recovers her wits, but apparently plants are more resistant than they seem. Hood feels his foot stuck to something and he curses when he looks down and sees thick vines holding him back. Shit, why didn’t he consider she had traps prepared around her?

“That was kinda rude, Hood,” she grins, slowly sitting up. “But I’m not mad. I might even give you a little kiss.”

By then, his resistance is futile and he wishes he hadn’t put his guns away so fast, because the vines quickly wrap around his whole damn body and he can’t even shoot the b —

A flying staff hits her on the side of the head.

“ACK!” Ivy shrieks, falling to the side.

“What are you doing, Hood?” Red Robin hisses, pressing a batarang into Red Hood’s hands.

“The hell?” Ivy groans, now looking dizzy. “I thought you worked alone.”

“I’m the intern. They call me Red Robin.”

And he stands over her, looking all heroic and ready to fight. Ivy, however, stays where she is, gaping at him.

“Bullshit. You’re regular Robin,” she says. “I thought you died. We all did when we saw the smaller Robin.”

Hood snorts.

The kid deflates a bit. “How the hell do you know who I am?”

“You’re Harley’s favorite Robin,” she says simply. “She got really grumpy when we heard there’s a new Robin again.”

“I’m Harley’s — Wait, you guys have favorite Robins?”

“Of course we do. Mine’s the girl one. She didn’t die, did she?”

That’s one of the most surreal conversations Red Hood ever witnessed and he’s leading an unusual second life. Fortunately, Ivy is distracted enough — or at least hurt enough — that she doesn’t intervene while he cuts himself free.

“What are you doing here, Dr. Isley?” Red Robin asks. “Are you aware that this place is Black Mask’s?”

She scowls at him. “Are you aware that Sionis is a misogynistic jerk and he’s doing a lot of damage to the environment in this stupid warehouse? I’m going to take this thing down.”

“Hey, fuck off, this place was mine before Sionis stepped in,” Hood protests.

“I don’t care if you’re his landlord.” She gives him a scathing look. “I want him out.”

“This is great then!” Red Robin smiles. “We also want him out. And we have eco friendly plans for the place after Black Mask is out of the equation.”

Ivy gapes at Red Robin as though he started speaking a foreign language out of the blue. Red Hood is thankful for his helmet because he’s sure his expression isn’t much better.

“Are you suggesting we team up with Poison Ivy?”

“Why not?” Red Robin smiles as if he’s suggesting they should have burgers later. “The enemy of my enemy, right? Plus, I used to give her a free pass here and there because sometimes she’s right, you know?”

“Huh. So that’s why you’re Harls’ favorite.”

Red Robin shrugs again and stretches his hand to her. “Friends for the night?”

To Red Hood’s utter shock, she hesitates for less than a second before taking the kid’s hand and letting him pull her back to her feet.

“Just tonight, though,” she says.

If anyone told Jason tonight he’d be working with no one other than the Poison Ivy to take down one of Black Mask’s drug labs, he’d call them insane.

Nonetheless, he watches as Ivy throws caution to the wind — there’s no way the people inside didn’t hear their little scuffle — and uses one of their sentient plants to rip off an entrance on the metal roof. Right before jumping in, however, Red Robin squeezes his shoulder.

“What was that?” he whispers low enough that Ivy won’t hear them. “You were off. That wasn’t like you.”

Hood shrugs his hand away. “We’ll talk about this later. Come on, we can’t let Ivy have all the fun.”

They can already hear the screaming inside, so Red has no option other than compliance. Time to crash the party, he was looking forward to this.

And it’s fun. Having Tim around is fun. Watching a bunch of crooks run terrified of a plant lady is fun. Rounding up his former employees — those traitors — and watching their comically horrified faces upon realizing he isn’t dead is fun.

So much fun he completely misses the fact that there was someone else tailing Ivy. No one sees it when a young boy clad in bright colors rushes away from the place. Robin doesn’t know what to make out of what he witnessed tonight.

#red hood #jason todd #red robin #tim drake #batfam #red bros #poteto writing

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