#but Bruce was determined

[starry-bi-sky]

my martha knight au in a nutshell:

Danny/Martha: see up here?

Danny/Martha: *taps skull*

Danny/Martha: intense psychological damage

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Danny/Martha: *upon finding out she's pregnant*

Danny/Martha: oh my god i cant be a mom, I'm fifteen and homeless--

Danny/Martha: im going to be a terrible mother--

Danny/Martha: i live in a cAR--

Danny/Martha: what if the baby inherits my powers? Oh no--

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

Danny/Martha post giving birth: i've only had Bruce for a minute and a half but if anything were to happen to him i won't even need to fuse with Vlad, I'm razing this goddamn planet to the ground myself

Danny, to Baby Bruce: you are the last remaining thread of my sanity. I'm going to give you the world :)

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

Danny/Martha prior to getting pregnant: Fuck it, if everything in my life has led to this moment, i'm allowed to make one stupid decision. I'm getting drunk and getting laid

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Danny/Martha while Bruce was a toddler: i swear to fucking god i am going to kill the next person who talks to me--

Bruce: hi mommy!! i brought you something!!!

Danny/Martha, immediately flipping on a dime: hi baby!! what do you have?

Bruce, a weird child like his mother: a spider :)

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

Danny/Martha, talking to Falcone after he made an unsavory comment at her and Bruce: If you ever come near me or my son again, I will dig up your shithead father's corpse and make you eat his skin.

Danny/Martha: do you understand me

Falcone:... crystal, ma'am

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

Danny/Martha new in Gotham: *getting mugged*

Danny/Martha: *grabs man's arm*

Danny/Martha: I AM GOING TO BREAK YOU IN HALF LIKE A TWIG, FUCK BOY, DO YOU HEAR THE WORDS COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH--

(she then proceeds to terrorize Gotham's night life for the next extended period of time, mostly unintentionally)

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

Danny/Martha: Danny Fenton?? No. you must be mistaken, my name is Martha Knight.

Danny/Martha: this here is my littlest knight, Bruce.

Danny/Martha: I made him all by myself :]

[alizalayne]

it's so amusing that when you're an author who is like any minority, you have this caveat where if your book gets banned, you kinda have to mentally acknowledge whether it was banned by Bruce, the one really bigoted guy who wastes everyone's time in florida. idk how bruce is doing. you don't need to learn who he is really which is why im not using his surname. but if you have a book out commercially, bruce has probably written "damaged souls" on a form about you. so there's a street cred element to all this like did people really have a vendetta against your work...? or was it just bruce again

[violent138]

Diana: "I can't even imagine a suitable gift for Batman."

Clark: "Yeah me neither--"

Diana, quietly: "He has no need of diamonds, you did the asteroid trick twice--"

Employee: "Hi can I help you guys with anything?"

Clark: "That's alright, we're fine--"

Diana: "We are struggling to get something for his lover."

Clark and Employee:

Employee: "Uh, okay. If it's a romantic gift, what's their eye colour? That might help."

Clark, blushing furiously: "Hm. It's like... it's like a brownish, kind of light grey? Definitely blue-ish."

Employee: "That's... let's try something else."

Diana: "For the love of Zeus."

[littlefankingdom]

I think it's really important for Bruce's character, and to understand him more, to keep in mind how he did try to kill the Joker.

When Jason died, he was all about vengeance, he wanted that clown dead for what he did to his boy. And he had to be told by Clark to not do it now, as Joker was under diplomatic immunity, to not start a war. (I cannot get over how the US GOV was scared of Batman committing a murder. And Bruce even went in Joker's room to threaten him.) Bruce was going to kill that man and nobody could stop him. Clark didn't even try to. So, once Joker wasn't a diplomat anymore, he went for it. In the end, he left the Joker for dead, shot and going down with the helicopter.

Bruce did "kill" the Joker because he killed Jason. He went back to Gotham thinking he was dead. But the vengeance didn't do shit. It didn't help with the grief, it didn't help with crimes in Gotham, it didn't help the batfam, it didn't help Bruce. He spiraled in his grief and killing the Joker brought nothing, no closure. Tim came and helped him back up, and it's because of Tim, of love, family and hope, that Bruce, Dick and Alfred were able to heal from the grief and continue their fight.

When the Joker shows up again, more than a year after Jason's death and Batman letting him for dead, Bruce has started to heal and he can recognize that vengeance is useless. It's against what he stands for, and it doesn't help at all. This is a lesson he applies when he faces the man that killed his parents, he doesn't kill him because it would not bring them back, it would not ease the pain, it would be just violence to answer for violence, a continuation of the circle of violence.

And that's why he refuses to kill the Joker for Jason, when asked, or to let Jason kill the Joker, because it will not help Jason (Btw, Jason wasn't scared of the Joker until recently, so he didn't want Joker dead to feel safe in Under The Red Hood) It would just continue the circle of violence that they are fighting against.

[thevoidstaredback]

Oliver was having a crisis. He has been for nearly a week now. It's gotten to the point where Dinah has benched him. Benched him!

He tried to tell her what was wrong, but what did she do? She laughed. Laughed! She laughed at him so hard that she started crying. And when she recovered enough to actually speak? She told him, point blank, "Don't be ridiculous, Oliver! You honestly think that Bruce Wayne is Batman? Brucie?! He literally said that he doesn't like Batman! What kind of person gives their secret identity a bad rap?"

"That's the genius of it, Dinah!" he shouted back, "No one expects it because the very notion is ridiculous!"

Dinah had put her hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "Look, Ollie, I get that you two are long-time friends, and it would be awesome to let him into this part of our lives, but really? You want him to be Batman of all heroes? And, no offense to the Big Bad Bat, but he's way to scary - and probably pumped full of death magic and curses - to be human, let alone Bruce Wayne."

Oliver could do nothing but watch her leave.

Is this why Bruce told him? To make everyone think he'd gone insane? He thought they were friends!

***

Roy, of course, had witnessed the entire interaction before Oliver and Dinah left Bludhaven. Naturally, he gave Jason a play-by-play of the entire thing.

***

The last meeting at the Watchtower had ended with the 'Core Members' of the Justice League getting a tour of the Batcave. Now that this one was now over, they found themselves sitting in quiet at the table after everyone else had gone.

Green Arrow was the first to break through the growing tension - though no one really knew the source - in the room. "Batman, isn't there something you'd like to tell us?"

The looks of confusion from the other seven heroes went ignored.

"Yes," Batman nodded, "Our civilian identities are closely held secrets. Such is the fact that not even we know who each other is. But that's not quite true. I know who every single one of you are under your masks. I have information on you, your families, your coworkers, even strangers you interact with when you get your coffee in the morning."

"What?!" The cry of outrage could be heard even outside of the soundproofed room.

"That's a huge violation of privacy, Bats!" Green Lantern shouted, slamming his hand on the table.

"I know," Batman admitted.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Superman, ever the voice of reason, called over the rising voices, "How do you know it's actually our secret identities and not a random group of civilians?"

"We're detectives before we're heroes," Batman explained, "We don't make mistakes like that."

"I'm sorry," The Flash interrupted, "'We'?"

"Do your- Do your sidekicks know, too?!" Aquaman screeched.

Batman nodded. "If it's any consolation-"

"Doubt it," Cyborg scoffed.

"-I did not tell them; They figured out all on their own."

"You are really bad at this." Martian Manhunter said.

Batman ignored the noise, finally standing from his chair, as he spoke, the other's quieting down to hear him. "I'd like to ask for your trust in my keeping your secrets by offering you mine in turn." He lifted his arm and gripped his cowl. In one swift move, he pushed it off to fall against his back with his cape. "My real name is Bruce Wayne."

There's a long moment of nothing. No one so much as breaths for what feels like an eternity.

"...holy fuck." Green Lantern whispers, breaking the spell over the room.

"I told her!" Green Arrow shouts, also standing, "I told her! And what did she do? Laugh! You owe me, Canary!"

Part 17 Storyboard Alt. Ending

[hypewinter]

Danny felt a familiar tug in his chest. Not another summoning. The cultists never quit did they? Danny was going to ignore it. Just like all the rest. He figured they would try blood sacrifices but then he didn't experience the familiar tang in the air that usually wafted through his nose. That had peaked his curiosity. So he leaned into the summoning a little. Not enough to be summoned but enough to get more senses. He heard..... he heard crying! What? Why was he hearing crying? He leaned into the summoning just a little more. That allowed him to see, albeit vaguely. He caught the glimpse of a form within the circle. It was small. It was...... a child. A child? A. CHILD!? Those cultists had really thought since blood sacrifices didn't work to try a whole human. Danny's blood boiled. He had been content to ignore them until now but no more. He was taking care of this. NOW. With that, Danny allowed himself to be fully summoned. The cultists immediately fell on their knees.

"Oh great King, you have finally answered our plea," the apparent leader said.

Danny ignored him and immediately scooped the child up in his arms. He gently rubbed circles into the child's back, whom he now knew to be a boy who couldn't be older than 8. He felt his rage flair. They had tried to sacrifice an eight year old! Danny didn't even bother listening to the cultists. Instead he dispersed his power throughout the room, allowing all the souls sacrificed over the years to gain form.

"Feel free to exact your revenge," he said simply.

Then he turned and opened a portal, tuning out the screams as he stepped through.

~~~~

It took a while, but Danny finally managed to calm the boy down and convince him he didn't want to eat him. Once he did, he asked for the kid's name.

"It's Richard Grayson," the boy answered. "But my parents called me Dick."

Danny didn't miss the past tense. Were his parents dead? Danny's mouth set into a firm line. If he found out those cultists had anything to do with this- His train of thought was cut off by the sound of sniffling. Right, Dick. Danny would handle the cultists later. Right now, he had a little boy to comfort.

[zahri-melitor]

Oh my god Chip Zdarsky.

Anton's a natural. And I'm one step behind. (Batman: the Knight #6)

This is baby Bruce Wayne on his world tour, learning to fire a bow alongside Minhkhoa in a cabin in the woods and feeling inadequate as he can't quite keep up.

It's okay, Tim. It just takes time...You're putting in the work. And that's what it's all about... (Batman #147 2016)

Bruce remembering mentoring tiny new Robin Tim in how to shoot a bow...in a cabin in the woods where Tim is feeling inadequate and unable to keep up with the standard set by Dick.

Look at it! Look at these two scenes! I want to squish them together and hug them and all they say about how Bruce is able to confidently tell Tim he will get better, he will be able to become Dick's equal...because Bruce went through the same difficulties.

But of course Bruce doesn't tell Tim that. Even as everything Tim is saying here lines up so well with Bruce's emotions on his world training trip.

Gah. I just love repeated beats so much.

[milkshakeworm]

oh how i love a good parallel...

[himejoshiangels]

unfortunately thinking hard abt how Bruce meets duke at three vastly different times in his life and how he watched the innocence and cheer leave him as he got older and more jaded only for his spirit to blaze with hope when he matures into the signal

[covertblizzard]

jaykyle au where they're theatre kids in the same school but they're not the actors jason's the scriptwriter/director and kyle is the prop manager (i don't know the official terms sorry) and they'd probably do an amazing job on the backstage setting if they could stop arguing for 5 whole seconds about their artistic visions and ideas and how "this would obviously work better this way"

[tapeworrmart]

S3 Evil Ash

[starwrighter]

Ba bam!! New prompt for y'all.

Danny is Jason's biological son but Maddie is still his mom. Let's say Jack had become sterile after their experiments with ectoplasm. This is devastating because they want more kids/experiments. They can't go the artificial route they can't properly insure the donor would meet their standards.

Maddie and Jack decides Maddie will go get the genetic material from someone that meets their standards in a place they'll never travel to again. This place happens to be new Jersey Gotham and the donor they choose is of course Jason. They of course never tell him. Jason remains unaware to the outcome of his spontaneous one night stand.

...

Until Danny's brought to Gotham by Vlad for a gala. Imagine being the Wayne's and a sketchy billionaire introduces his godson and it's just a much younger version of Jason. The first thought they would jump to is clone so they're spending all this time talking to Danny while waiting for Jason to respond/ show up

In this time Danny manages to

1: Bully Dick for being a part of the circus when he tried talking to him (he's a cop, rich and he's from the circus; three strikes!!!)

2: Becomes immediate friends with Damian (They would be bff's and I will die on this hill!) Shenanigans ensue.

3: Makes a rich guy cry like a baby.

4: Is forcefully put in the corner by Vlad with the risk of sabotage to Jazz's future.

When Jason gets there he takes one look at Danny, his eyes glow green. He immediately knows Danny is his son. The batfam don't have the chance to confront him as Danny disappears before they get the chance. Danny unknowingly leaves chaos behind him.

[violent138]

Very obsessed with this kill circle thing they have going here.

[kittykatninja321]

controversially I do think that the under the red hood comic ending is a solid answer to “how do you get Batman to kill someone without breaking him as a character”

[thevoidstaredback]

Everyone's comm beeps in their ear, drawing their attention. "Kon, Jon, Cassie, and Bart all know now. I'm bribing them with the footage of Phase One." Tim's voice says. Their comms beep again and the line goes silent.

Dick sighs. Yeah, that checks. Honestly, he's surprised those four hadn't been told way earlier than now.

"What's wrong?" Wally asks from beside him.

"Nothing," ha answers. He finishes the drink in his hand in one go.

Wally snorts softly. "Yeah, sure. I assume someone's blown it?"

"Tim and Dami. Both Superboy's, Wonder Girl, and Impulse all know now."

"Our Wonder Girl?"

"Tim's.

"Ah." A beat. "The problem?"

"No problem. Though, B might say something."

"I thought he was all for telling the teams?"

"He is! This was all his idea! But Tim's bribing the other four with the footage of the Cave."

"You mean the footage that I haven't seen yet?"

"Yep."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Wally grabs his hand, "Let's go get Donna and go watch!"

Dick sighs again and goes along. He clicks his own comm on and says, "Me, Wally, and Donna are gonna come watch, too. Wally insists."

Damian's voice comes next. "Since when does Troy know?"

"Probably since I told her and Wally."

"What?" Steph's voice whines, "You've had two people know for so long?"

Before he can respond, Barbra hisses, "Hey! This is supposed to be a distraction free line, guys."

Jason snorts, "Me, Roy, Lian, and Duke are on our way, too. You girls should come watch; we'll make a party out of it."

"Good idea," Cass says.

Dick can see Bruce on the other side of the room, unable to react to a thing that's being said in his ear. Ha!

***

Bruce watched his kids all leave the room. He's glad that their teams know, though why did they have to let it slip while the party was still going on? Oh, well, nothing to do about it now. Especially because Oliver's agreed to give a speech.

"Ollie, dear, it's time for your speech now, isn't it?"

"Ah, yes." Oliver says, light pink dusting his cheeks at the address Bruce had been using since they were in high school. He made his way to the stage, the band quieting as he took the podium. "If I may have everyone's attention for just a moment?"

Great start, Ollie.

"Like all of you, the invitation to this gala tonight came as a surprise. A welcome one, but a surprise nonetheless. Now, I won't keep your attention for long, but, on behalf of Bruce, I'd like to thank everyone for coming tonight. This Gala tonight, Charity for Justice, is a fantastic way for us to give back to the people who work so hard to save us. And it's not just the Justice League; Doctors, Teachers, Veterans, et cetera. They're all heroes who deserve all the help we can give them. Being here tonight, while it may seem superficial, is a step in the right direction to helping the heroes of the world. Now, I don't know how Bruce is going to get this money to the Justice League, but I'm not one to questions his ways or his motivations. He's been a friend of mine since we were in high school, and I trust him with my life. Thank you, Bruce, for hosting tonight; And thank you all for coming and donating." Nodding to the audience, Oliver walked from the stage as they clapped.

Bruce smiled at Oliver as they met at the bottom of the stairs leading to the stage. "Thanks, Ollie. I didn't know you trusted me so much."

Oliver matched his smile. "'Course I do, Brucie! And what you're doing tonight is really good. I might just have to steal this idea from you."

Laughing, Bruce patted Oliver's shoulder before taking his place on the stage. "Thanks, Oliver, for speaking tonight. I know it was last minute, but you did great." The crowd chuckled a bit as Oliver raised the glass he now held. "At the risk of sounding like a broken record, thanks again, everyone, for coming here tonight. I know a lot of you are far from home, but it means a lot that you made the trip out.

"Admittedly, this entire gala was a spur of the moment decision. My kids, actually, came up with the idea, so if you're going to thank anyone, it should be them. They did everything on their own while sat back and let them do their thing.

"When you think of heroes, you're most likely to think of the Justice League and their sidekicks. But, who were the heroes before the Justice League was founded? Perseus, Heracles, Aeneas, Remus, Romulus, Vldar, Ragnar Lodbrok, Hua Mulan, Guan Yu. All of them were warriors. But, does combat make a hero? I don't think so. I think the thing that makes a hero is the willingness to help; the willingness to give even if you have nothing to give; the willingness to do what it takes to make sure someone gets to live even just a little bit longer.

"Oxford dictionary defines the word 'hero' as "a person who is admired or idealized for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities". While I agree, I think that this is a much too niche definition. After all, I've met hundreds of people who I would consider heroes, heard thousands more stories- and not one of them has been 'admired' or 'idealised' for it.

"Tonight, I've asked for donations from each of you. All of the money will be going towards helping the heroes of the world; those who are recognised as such, those who aren't, and everyone in between. Every donation made will be matched by not only myself, but Wayne Industries as well. Then, all the money will be anonymously give to the heroes of every city represented here.

"Again, I'm so glad everyone could make it tonight, and I'm beyond glad that you've all be generous enough to help our heroes. Please enjoy the rest of your evening." The applause was loud as he walked off stage, the music picking up softly before crescendoing as the crowd began talking again.

The comm in his ear clicked just before Barbra started speaking. "That was a good speech, B. Brought some of us to tears."

He picked up a drink and sipped it as he spoke into his own comm piece. "You're watching the cameras?"

"Naturally," Damian said.

"We're all too comfortable to move," Tim explained, "So Bab's pulled the cameras up on the TV just as Oliver finished speaking."

"I've never heard Batman talk so much..." That was Bart Allen, clearly close enough to hear him over Tim's line, but not close enough to be intentional.

"Hell," Donna was probably sprawled across Dick and Wally, "I've never seen him express emotion and I knew who he was!"

Bruce hid a laugh and a smirk behind his drink. "Watch it, now."

There were a few squeaks as the comms all clicked off, Barbra taking care of his as well.

The ballroom was emptying, slower than he would like, but faster than expected. The kids (because that's what they are, no matter how old they may be) all trickled back into the ballroom, waving goodbye and joining their families as they went, though his own kept themselves near the door to say goodbye to everyone leaving. He decided to join them.

Just as Oliver, Dinah, Roy, and Lian were leaving, he stopped his old friend and pulled him aside.

Oliver's guard was still down, relaxed even as Bruce pulled him into a completely empty room and shut the door. He heard the click of a comm turning on, though no one spoke, so he could only assume it was his own.

"I was just about to head home; What's up, Bruce?"

"Oliver, there's something I need to tell you." This was gonna be so funny.

"Bruce?"

When had first started out, he knew that having the same voice in and out of costume would be a potentially detrimental mistake, so he'd dropped his voice as low as he dared and added the grit to it. Eventually, he'd gotten a voice changer, but he'd kept up the training to make sure he didn't damage his voice in case the voice changer ever broke.

Taking a deep breath, Bruce turned around and dropped his voice. "I'm Batman."

Part 16 Part 18

[ghost-bxrd]

Back again with another Calvin in Owl Song thought 🦉🦉🦉:

So Calvin is working for the Court still, and somehow they end up assigning him to work for the Joker for a night. All hes doing is being extra security, and making sure the Bat doesn't find the Clown too soon, easy enough.

Until Sheila sells Robin out. Until the Clown starts beating him.

Until Robin starts calling out for his dad, asking his mom why she would do that. And Robin is a kid, he's a scrawny little kid, scared and confused and wanting his parent's protection, and Calvin can't do this.

He kills everyone in that warehouse, he can't leave any witnesses, then he grabs Robin and flees; he can't return to the Court after this, nor will Robin return to the Bat, who didnt save him.

Bruce still gets to the warehouse, but just as he gets there, it goes up in flames. When he frantically searches the rubble, there's blood and gore but burned beyond recognition; he has no way of identifying if it's Jason's or not. He has no way of knowing his son wasn't in that warehouse, no way of knowing Jason's still alive.

He plans a funeral and buries an empty casket. Dick loses his mind at the loss of his beloved owlet.

Meanwhile Jason is on the run with Calvin, who refuses to let the little bird out of his sight. The kid clearly doesn't have good parents, so it's up to Calvin to protect him.

And Jason already knows how to deal with Talons, how to communicate with owl noises and body language. He also knows that this Talon cares for him, feels protective of him, but won't let him leave, and he knows he can't run from a Talon; Dick would always find him whenever he tried to hide, for whatever reason. So all Jason could do was try and convince Calvin to take him back to Gotham.

Except as soon as he manages that, assuming Nightwing is patrolling, Dick notices a Talon's presence in the city. Of course he does.

He thinks nothing of it when he catches glimpses of Jason; hallucinations are becoming increasingly normal for him. But what chills him to the bone is that whenever he sees his owlet, the Talon he's noticed is never far behind; always watching, always there.

Calvin means it as protection, Dick sees it as a threat.

Eventually everything comes to a head after tension builds; maybe Dick somehow realized Jason was alive and thinks he's being stalked by the Court as a prospective Talon, so he lashes out at Calvin who fights back and eventually Jason has to get between them and explain everything.

Except Calvin has gotten attached at this point so he ends up getting dragged to Wayne Manor where he's accepted with open arms; Dick likes that he protected Jason and killed both Joker and Sheila, and everyone already knows how to deal with Talons so he's in good hands.

(wow this came out longer than I expected lmao)

Omg poor Dick would feel like he’s perpetually haunted by glimpses of the past because— that Talon could very well be himself. Or he’s reminded of alternate universes and is heartbreakingly relieved that at least one version of him didn’t let his precious owlet die….

Meanwhile Calvin has hardcore imprinted on Jason, and Jason… well, he’s got experience wrangling Talons. This one obviously needs his help. Also, he may be a teeny-tiny bit pissed at Dick and Bruce. So, no going back home until he’s blown off some steam. Socialized Calvin. All that.

And with Jason and Calvin both busy navigating life (and some awful injuries), they both miss the nuclear fallout of Robin’s death….