#but i was thinking what if she witnessed dick and damian getting hit

[kaidatheghostdragon]

More, because im kind of sad that nobody else has added to this. (Btw all my ideas/prompts are free for anyone to take and make their own - even if its something ive massively fleshed out and you want to take it a different direction. All i ask is you drop a link so i can read whatever you did!)

Tim was the first of the bats to be hit by the strange weapon. The white suits had shown up in gotham a few weeks ago shooting up the place, and about one-fifth of the people they hit were instantly evaporated.

The bats were at their wits end trying to investigate, and nobody was allowed to patrol alone. The Justice League was also reporting that the suits had been spotted in a number of other cities, including Fawcett and Central City. However, the strange weapons seemed to be far more lethal in Gotham than anywhere else.

The suits loudly declared that anyone who was evaporated was a malevolent ghost pretending to be human. They had scanners that they used on *everyone,* and shot anyone who measured above a certain threshold without hesitation or remorse.

The bats had stolen one of the scanners pretty early on and found that every one of them measured above the threshold. Whatever logic the suits were using to justify their crusade was clearly nonsense.

Tim had found a lead, a rumor that one of the evaporated had reappeared. They lived in crime alley, and as per the buddy system currently in force, and Hood's rule that no bat enters his territory without his escort, Jason partnered with Tim to investigate.

White suits were already swarming the place, possibly catching wind of the same rumor. Hood and Red Red Robin booked it out as fast as they could, but as luck would have it, the scanners picked up their presence, and the suits gave chase, relentless in their pursuit.

Hood knew every inch of the alley and carefully led Red Robin through many narrow escape routes, forcing the suits to seperate and regroup, but none of it was enough to shake them when they could somehow track the bats' movements.

Tim was running the math as they escaped. Jason had died and came back, and was arguably closest to what the agents claimed of everyone over the scanner's threshold. There was no doubt in Tim's mind that it Hood was hit, he would be killed.

In fact, nearly everyone in the family had died at some point or another. Everyone except Tim. Yes, he was over the scanner's threshold, but only barely. There was still about an 80% chance that he would be unaffected. The agents would stop chasing him if the gun didn't affect him, and it would give jason a chance to escape.

Tim had worked with worse odds before. And if it did kill him? Better him than jason. Bruce wouldn't survive losing jason a second time, no matter how emotionally constipated they both were to each other. Tim had always been just a replacement.

So Red Robin lagged behind, waiting for an opportunity where Hood was far enough a way to get out of the scanner's range while the agents focused on Red Robin.

When Tim felt his entire body go numb from the shot, he knew his gamble had failed. He could only spend his last fraction of a second of critical thought, hoping that Jason wasn't dumb enough to turn around.

And then Tim woke up. Or maybe that wasn't the right description, as he wasn't fully convinced he had even lost consciousness. A quick self-check confirmed that he was whole and uninjured, laying on *extremely* soft carpeted floor.

Tim sat up, guaging his surroundings as quickly as possible. He was in an extremely large room, walls of stone like an old keep or castle. In the center of the room stood a piece of frankensteined tech that Tim *guessed* was some sort of antennae, by the overall shape of it. Covering most of the walls were shelves stacked to capacity with various medical supplies and emergency first aid equipment. There were a couple of prepped and ready--to-use gurneys, and a clear-doored fridge stocked with glass jars and iv bags filled with a lazarus green liquid.

In one corner of the room, sitting on two stools, was an enormous black knight cloaked in purple flames, and next to him, an honest-to-god yeti, one arm made of clear ice, even displaying the arm bones.

"Ah, another liminal," the yeti commented.

The knight sighed as they stood, "I'll go inform the prince," then promptly vanished into thin air in a whirl of purple flame.

Half an hour later, as Tim was asking a million questions of the ever-patient and delightfully friendly yeti, Red Hood showed up the same way Red Robin had, battered and bruised. As Tim and his new friend Frostbite gave Jason emergency medical care, Jason (after getting over the shock of still being alive and returning back to vigilante mode) informed Tim that he did, in fact, turn around ("WHAT in the GODDAMN FUCK were you THINKING, Tim?!?!") and the agents had attempted to live-capture Hood, but he had put up so much of a fight that they decided to shoot him instead when he had nearly escaped.

He had also called in back-up after Tim had been shot, and right on cue, Robin and Nightwing appeared in the room. More injured than Tim but less than Jason.

Great, Tim thought, Bruce is probably really going through it right now. So much for noble sacrifices.

Good reveal au, where after learning phantom's identity and realizing the atrocities that the GIW have committed (or alternatively, ethical science au, where they find out the GIW plagarized them), the fenton parents decided to create the 'ultimate ghost-ending weapon' and sell it to the agents.

They go absolutely overboard, describing to the agents in meticulous detail how it evaporates any ghost it hits near-instantly and describing it quite ruthlessly in the blueprints, and soon the GIW have raplaced all their main weapons with the new gun.

Except it doesn't actually kill ghosts. It's the Fenton Bazooka. You know, the one that creates a portable portal to suck the ghost back into the ghost zone? What they actually did was retool it slightly to make it look more grusome than it actually is. They even added a beacon in Phantom's Keep, which all Fenton Bazookas will target when they open a portal, so the ghosts are always delivered to the keep.

From there, Phantom stationed an emergency medical team at the keep to treat the many injured and ragged ghosts that the GIW 'destroyed,' and to explain what just happened.

What they didn't anticipate was that now that the GIW have a mass-produced weapon that they believed would effectively eradicate ghosts, they would go on the offensive. They have a number of cities they've been monitoring but didn't want to get involved in without better tools.

One of those cities is Gotham.

And the Bats are ectocontaminated enough to register as ghosts.

Batman witnessed several of his children get evaporated by green energy weapons within mere moments of each other. He's absolutely gutted. Devastated. They didn’t even stand a chance.

He'll get his revenge, and it's frighteningly easy to track the weapon to private subcontractors. The Doctors Fenton, in Illinois. Their research calls for the genocide of all ghost kind, and apparently, that war started by killing his own children.

His children will not die in vain.

He gets to Amity Park and finds the Engineer's Nightmare of a building that is Fentonworks, but that night, before he can hack through the security and break in, one of the windows opens.

It's one of his kids that he had watched evaporate before his very eyes. They give him a silent signal of one of their identifying security codes and gesture for him to come inside.

Is it a trap? A prank in poor taste? Utterly genuine?

He goes through the window.

All of his dead kids are there, wearing borrowed pajamas and only their dominoes to conceal their identities. Daniel Fenton (son of the Fentons, this is his bedroom, has voiced a few arguments against his parent's views, but still an unknown) is among the crowd of teens and young adults, twirling on an office chair and obnoxiously sipping a capri sun.

"First thing you need to know, Bats," Daniel says after finishing his drink, "is that my parents are absolutely NOT genocidal ectophobic scumbags, and that is the reason why your kids are still alive."

[thattimdrakeguy]

I HAVE BEEN READING ZDARSKY BATMAN, AND I HAVE DECLARED: I FREAKING LOVE IT!!

I'm reading the Batman Zdarsky run in reverse. That way if I see any bull I can back out at anytime: and to be honest--besides a few things. I really enjoy it

LIKE YO, THAT IS JUST STRAIGHT UP TIM DRAKE RIGHT THERE. It knows who he is as a character. his motives, it's great.

Screw the people complaining "oh why is tim still robin :((", THIS IS WHY HE IS STILL ROBIN. Because this is when he's at his BEST. When he gets to hit his character purpose, WHEN HE GETS TO BE HIM AT HIS MOST HIM. It's FANTASTIC.

Reading in reverse because I know I hated the first story, it was so contrived and ridiculous.

But this--this is some good shit.

Tim being an underdog fighter, having to use his wits to win the fight? MY DAWG, MY DUDE, MY GUYS, MY GALS, MY THEMS, MY THEYS, THIS IS SO TIMMY DRAKE. This is so damn Tim Drake, guys. Oh, my gosh, I am loving this so far.

Dick has his temper back? And trust me, he isn't normally like this. But he's hitting a limit AND IT'S SOMETHING NEW, NOT JUST A REFERENCE. HE'S ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING HE'D DO, 'CAUSE HE'S AT HIS LIMIT. That's wonderful, man. That is so wonderful.

Plus Tim is the heart of the Bat-Family again? This feels like someone actually went back to read these characters before writing it. I'm not saying everything is perfect of course, but these high marks are exceeding all my expectations. And I STOPPED reading comics because of how the beginning of this run destroyed any hope I had.

You guys have no idea how much I'm enjoying the few issues I've read. Besides the cussing (I remember after a bit they decided Tim was someone who used funny words instead of proper cusses), this feels like the Tim I know and love during the era I especially loved him.

Tim comparing himself to his predecessors? Tim not being a natural? A WRITER REMEMBERING THAT?? It's been so long since I've seen that! Most writers treat him like he was another prodigy when he wasn't. AND THIS GUY REMEMBERED THAT!

I shouldn't be so happy at just seeing Tim do Tim things, and serving his character purpose. BUT YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG IT'S BEEN SINCE A WRITER KNEW WHAT TIM WAS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE.

Only complaints I have is that Jason feels like a typical Bat-Family member, and not the sketchy outsider that he is. Making him so close makes his character more bland in my opinion. And Steph is--also generic af unless she's wacky quirky...which is a characterization I hate for her, because she started off so damn interesting, but they made her a freaking trope instead, which is such a disservice to her, but she barely does anything so far, so whatever I guess. Doesn't mean much.

--

This is the first honest thing I've seen that I hated.

No

Not this

This isn't the Bat-Family

This is a sitcom world the fandom wants to be the Bat-Family and some comply with

They're not a sitcom. The conflicts, and uniqueness of the characters is what makes things feel alive and well.

This stuff is cheap fanservice for the fanon demographic that doesn't buy comics to begin with.

Fanon doesn't belong in canon.

--

I mean sure Tim could be drawn smaller, the gag of him looking 12 when he's nearly 18 doesn't work when he's bigger than Damian who is 15 (and contrary to some bullshit comics isn't meant to be small. that was a random thing added for writers who aren't clever to write better humor. it actually contradicts things that were already established).

Don't see the big deal though for most of this.

Can't wait to find it, though. Oh boy.

This whole obsession with Zur Batman, is way over done though. So--I wouldn't be shocked if that was the problem, because my golly does that plot point not seem to be stopping--and it was there from the start and part of the reason why I didn't read it 'til now.

Good Tim tho, at least. So heehee, yey for that--I think--I guess.

Oh, well.

It let me peak at a pseudo-version of an AU I made up years ago. So that's pretty freaking cool.

Always a plus.

And redoing Red Robin story beats but better? Normally I'd hate references to Red Robin, 'cause that changed the perception of so many characters for the worst, but ayy, a bit of redemption isn't bad.

Man, just seeing simple stuff like Tim and Bruce being good ol' classic Batman and Robin warms my heart. It's been so long since Batman and Robin has acted like a proper classic Batman and Robin. It's dynamic that's been sorely missed by many.

OH, MY GOSH, WHY DID THE FIRST STORY HAVE TO STINK SO BAD. THIS STUFF IS GREAT.

Like, DUDE, this is such a Tim thing for him to do!!

And he's showing emotion?? He's crying like how he does?? Because he's not a typical Bat-Family member who just angsts his way through?? THEY'RE MAKING HIM STAND-OUT AGAIN BY MAKING HIM, HIM??

WHY DID THE FIRST STORY HAVE TO SUCK SO BAD?? THIS IS GOOD SHIT.

Like this part is why I originally stopped reading, not because Bruce should think Tim is his soldier, and not his son, THE FREAKING OPPOSITE.

But because the original story has Bruce acting weird when unneeded, just to say this was so unneeded, and adding in all these stupid corny Bat-Family moments was so groan worthy.

This run started off with a story that was a total turn off for me.

To end up being a run that could've kept me enjoying DC, rather than running away from it from as far as I have.

Chip Zdarsky started off awful, but really, he ended up great.

And I've seen people complain about his run, and TRUST ME, there's stuff to complain about. But I have only ever seen the stuff worth complaining about, or stuff I WOULD complain about.

WHEN MOST OF THE RUN IS GOOD

At least when Tim is around.

Go figure.

Maybe I should've paid sole attention to how he wrote Tim and nothing else at the very least for that first story.

'Cause even in the first story, Tim was well-written--it's how cheap the rest of the story telling was in that first story that turned me off--and the weird knew about the movie plans that I am still fully judging harshly. (Love the new Superman film suit, though)

[elementalwriter67]

Bat Family Olympics

I came up with this based off of all the stuff I've been seeing about the Olympics and a few posts about the bat-family participating in the Olympics. And I couldn't help myself because I'm slowly being pulled back into this fandom (not that I ever really left, I basically just went on holiday.) So here is a very quickly put together list of the bat-family, and friends, and the Olympic sport I think they would participate in.

Bruce- I think Bruce would be really good at Sport Climbing because of all the grappling and parkouring he does around Gotham. I just don't think that he would come in gold though, maybe bronze, and it's a hundred percent because he's trying not to give the citizens of Gotham any more reasons to suspect that he's Batman.

Alfred- He's one of the older competitors at the Olympics and everyone expects him to be competing in a sport that would more suited for his age. So they're all incredibly surprised when he walks out to compete in Boxing. Even better is he wins Gold and the entire crowd goes nuts because it was the absolutely most nail-biting fight they've ever witnessed because it's Alfred against this young guy who looks like he could run circles around Alfred any day of the week. Little do they know Alfred has more than enough experience from having lived in Gotham and having experienced his fair share of break-ins at the manor. Side note: While everyone else is cheering the rest of the bat-family (while thrilled for Alfred) are busy remembering why it is they fear Alfred more than Bruce.

Selena- I went back and forth on a couple of different sports for Selena before I ultimately decided that she would kick ass at Surfing and absolutely take Gold in it. I have no other reasons for it other than I just think she would be good at it, that she would look good in a bathing suit (obviously,) and that she probably had opportunities to learn when she was taking her eccentric vacations outside of Gotham.

Dick- This one is going to be obvious but honestly it's his fault and that is Gymnastics. I believe the reasons behind this are self explanatory honestly. He does take gold though as to be expected.

Jason- Again another self explanatory one because hello he uses guns and he gets the gold. He is the only one however that has to participate under a different name because while Gotham may have accepted the fact that Jason just miraculously came back from the dead and that the rest of the Wayne family are just pretending that nothing every happened. The rest of the world and the legal system have not so as far as the rest of the world is concerned Jason Todd is still dead. He does however have a twin brother named Peter Todd who is an Olympic champion in shooting.

Tim- I didn't really know what to give Tim because there's no Olympic sport for hacking yet so I decided to give him Cycling Mountain Bike. In part because I thought it would be funny, and also in part because I think he needs the adrenaline rush of hurling himself down a mountain with very little protection to feel alive. He places Silver and oddly enough still doesn't feel anymore alive.

Steph- Does weightlifting. She doesn't look like she does so everyone just assumes it's kind of a joke when she steps up for the weightlifting portion of the Olympics. But little do they know that she weight training with the fridge of man we call Jason Todd, she's just all lean muscle. So when she lifts this weight that is easily three times her own body weight the crowd looses it much like with Alfred, and Steph goes home with the Gold. And Jason is standing off to the side beaming with pride.

Damian- Again self explanatory because he does fencing. He does it mainly because it's a good, approved, way of hitting people with a sword. It may not be his katana but it'll do. He also thinks it's one of the more dignified and better sports of the Olympics. And yes he does take the gold. An Al Ghul and a Wayne would settle for nothing less.

Babs- I think she would do Equestrian and I think it would be a hundred percent because she had a horse girl phase growing up and she always wanted a horse of her own but was never able to get one growing up in the city and on a cop's salary. She doesn't get the gold, doesn't even really place if she's being honest, but boy howdy is she happy she got to participate in it to begin with.

Cassandra- She went back to her roots (I think they're her roots, I'm a little rusty on my knowledge outside of like the core five) and decided she was going to do Taekwondo. And she absolutely kicks ass at it and easily walks away with Gold.

Duke- I didn't know what to do for Duke, and I didn't want to do something stereotypical like basketball so I went to the left field and decided that Duke would play Handball. He stumbled across the sport on total accident through tik tok but now that he's started playing it he absolutely loves it. It's also a good way for him to get better at throwing things (i.e. batarangs) with more precision and accuracy. His team actually manages to take the Gold at the Olympics too.

Kate- I admittedly don't know much about Kate outside of one batman animated movie that I vaguely remember and what I vaguely remember is that she was angry and grumpy. So I feel like Hockey would be a good sport for her to work out some of those emotions. I also understand that this is a Winter Olympic sport (pretty sure anyways) so she spends the Summer Olympics cheering on the rest of her family. However when the Winter Olympics come along she absolutely dominates on that ice and for sure wins Gold or Silver.

I did these next ones for funsies.

Harley- I think she would do wrestling and she would be a little terrifying at it too honestly. She gets silver but it's only because of a technicality .

Ivy- She does volleyball if only because it's the most environmentally friendly one and doesn't involve riding over/trampling plants like Tim's sport does. Plus she enjoys being in the sun after being stuck in the smog and fog filled city that is Gotham. She gets bronze but only because she kept getting distracted by the sun and would just randomly stand there soaking up rays.

Roy- He does Archery. Side note: Oliver also does archery and him and Roy have mad beef and are constantly trying to one up each other when they compete against one another. So far their amount of Gold medals are tied but Roy maintains that he's still the only one who hasn't ever gotten a bronze medal unlike Oliver which is a whole other story in of itself.

[nahimjustfeelingit-writes]

imagine Dame and gf being in an argument that was getting more and more heated by the second. gf finally had enough and dismisses him. “you know what? fuck you, Damian. i’m going to the balcony.”

she goes exactly where she said she was gonna go, she stood right in front of the barrier, taking in the cool night air. out of no where, she feels Dames large, intimidating body pressing up against her.

lifting his large hand, he moves her long braids to the side and leans down to whisper in her ear. “don’t make me bend you over it, sweetheart.”

She glanced back at Damion with an arched brow. Damion challenged her with his own piercing stare. She smacked her glossy lips and turned her eyes back onto the LA cityscape.

“What? You think I won’t?”

She ignored him, eyes taking in the starry sky. It was a beautiful sight to witness. She wasn’t coming down off her high any time soon and the stars and the moon almost brought tears to her eyes.

“Ma?” Damion wrapped a single hand around her waist length bohemian knotless braids to force her to look at him, “you just gonna keep ignoring me and shit?”

“Yeah. I ain’t got shit else to say to you.”

“Why not? You had a lot to say back in the room.”

“Ain’t nothing getting through to you, Dame.”

She moved her braids over her shoulder and adjusted her feet so she was more comfortable standing in her heels. Damion grunted frustratingly behind her before his imposing frame was flesh against her back. She spread her hands apart on the railing of the balcony, continuing to stare forward.

“Ain’t nothing getting through to you either, ma. I’m tired of your attitude…”

“What the fuck you gon’ do? Huh, Diamond Dame?”

She didn’t catch his mischievous smirk or the way he was unbuttoning his jeans behind her.

“I’m gon’ fuck the shit out of you.”

She laughs, eyes low and hazy.

“With that bullshit dick? Please—”

She was taking in a new sight now, the pool below her. She took in a sharp breath and gripped the railing for dear life. Her braids dangled over the balcony and in her line of vision. Damion lifted her dress with so much force it caused friction against her skin that burned. She wasn’t wearing any panties.

Damion bent his knees and with his shaft in one hand and a handful of her cheek in the other, Dame rubbed his tip along her spread open folds and when he found her opening he thrust forward in one motion. She bites down on her bottom lip and her eyes widened with disbelief when he drew his hips all the way back to the tip before plunging forward again with a snap of his hips. She felt as if the wind was being knocked out of her.

“Unhhhnnnn,” she couldn’t hold back.

Damion didn’t need to say a word. He knew she was all talk. He reached around and gathered her braids in his hands and didn’t let up. The flesh of her ass colliding with his sculpted thighs echoed. She squeezed the railing with a death grip and her eyes began to water. He was hitting her spot. So good. So perfect. It was too much. This is what she gets for talking shit. This is what she always gets for talking shit.

[evilwickedme]

A question that a lot of Jason Lives AUs try to answer is what does Jason actually become later on?

The easy and most boring answer is that he still gets traumatized by the Joker and still decides to become Red Hood. Just because this is a boring answer doesn't make your fic a boring fic, don't @ me, just saying it's the simplest one and doesn't require a lot of thought.

One I see a lot is Jason becoming the Flamebird to Dick's Nightwing. I like this fine, but the whole point of Nightwing was that Dick found an entirely new identity for himself outside of Batman, and I feel like having Jason's arc go from defining himself as Batman's sidekick to defining himself as part of Nightwing's story ain't it.

I've seen some people attempt to come up with other names. I like Phoenix, especially if the story still includes Jason being traumatized by the Joker but not dying, because it's about his own personal journey. Like that name means the exact opposite of what Red Hood means. Red Hood is about defining himself through the man who murdered him; Phoenix, instead, can be about defining himself despite or against what happened to him. Both approaches make sense for the story they take place in (or hypothetically take place in).

Something I don't think I've seen is Jason just... staying Robin? Like I remember reading that when DC comics revisited Earth Two (the original DC universe) it turns out that Dick never stopped being Robin, even when he became an adult, and I think that in a way that would actually make a lot of sense. I think Jason is the only batfam member who didn't choose the vigilante life but rather found himself in it. Not that he didn't take to it like fish to water, but between eight year old Dick running off to kill Zucco and baby Damian trying to kill Tim over the Robin mantel, all the other members of the batfam actively chased this life, while Jason joined the WayneFam first and foremost and became Robin because Bruce was Batman.

So since Jason does enjoy being a vigilante but isn't actually motivated to it naturally, I can see a reality where he just... stays Batman's sidekick, eventually graduating to full adult partner, but keeping the Robin name. He might protect Crime Alley more than Batman does, but overall maybe in this universe nothing really truly terrible happened to him. He might've gotten angry and frustrated with Bruce, but they worked through it and had a better relationship for it. Even Dick eventually gets over his issues and sees how Good Jason is, that he just wants to help. They'll never be close, but they start becoming a family.

You can have this au never include Tim at all and that would work, or maybe he steps in specifically because he sees Jason and Bruce having issues and just wants to see his heroes to get along. Maybe even then he doesn't become a vigilante; Bruce and Jason like having him around, and they're not going to stop keeping an eye on him when he knows their secret identity, but he doesn't ever really need to put on the pixie boots, so he doesn't. He's good with computers, though, and he gets along well with Barbara, so eventually he gets a mask and some little codename and he helps with Oracle duties.

Cass is Cass. She's more dedicated to the cause than to Batman, but also Jason is a great little brother, joyful and supportive. They both understand the need for violence and both have witnessed immense suffering and death. In a world where Jason is still Robin, Cass and Jason get along so well. Jason is patient with her and her words, and she likes listening to him read his favorite books aloud to her.

In a world where Jason is still Robin, he doesn't get hit by Spoiler's brick, but he finds it incredibly amusing that she tries. He advocates to add her to the team early on, and Bruce isn't seeing a dead kid when he looks at her and hears her Alley accent, he just sees his son, his partner, and he feels this urge to protect her. Bruce trains her, and she has the same sense of humor as Jason, and she meets Tim when he's just hanging out in the Cave, and she meets Cass because Cass still Lurks sometimes, and she just seems to fit right in, you know?

And then Damian shows up, and instead of dealing with a sixteen year old who's still insecure about his position in the family, he's dealing with an almost twenty year old who has this large support group and friends and family and also is way bigger than this tiny assassin who just tried to stab him. He doesn't love the fact that the little gremlin thinks that he can just take Robin away from Jason, but he understands coming from a life of violence, and he can understand thinking that being Robin and being Bruce's son come hand in hand.

I don't know enough about Duke to know how he'd come into the family in this au, but I know that Jason and him get along just fine in the comics, so it seems to me that a Jason that isn't even as angry and hurt as canon!Jason would get along with him even better. He probably thinks Duke's powers are the shit, and empathizes with him over his parents, even though it's not the same.

Anyway I just spent like forty minutes writing this au out and I'm (probably) never going to write a fic for it so uhhhh yeah idk I'll end this here for now

[amaraudermind]

I posted 4,476 times in 2022

That's 3,724 more posts than 2021!

207 posts created (5%)

4,269 posts reblogged (95%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@nhum

@batshit-birds

@junkoandthediamonds

@sohotthateveryonedied

@autistic-damian-wayne

I tagged 2,746 of my posts in 2022

Only 39% of my posts had no tags

#bruce wayne - 325 posts

#anyway - 319 posts

#dick grayson - 299 posts

#jason todd - 271 posts

#tim drake - 259 posts

#kon el - 177 posts

#damian wayne - 176 posts

#stephanie brown - 164 posts

#bart allen - 153 posts

#reblog - 142 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#his powers were to mimic other people's powers which is cool but also means if he's on his own or around your average human he has no powers

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Detective Comics #1056

Batman and Robin Vol 1 #9

Cinematic Parallels

120 notes - Posted March 18, 2022

#4

I want Duke to have a solo comic about the day shift but also every few issues some other hero needs a bat's help and he's the one who's available and the other heroes freak out because their powers are randomly stronger and Duke's just like "oh, yeah, lol. That's normal around me." And everyone else is like ????

And I think this should be a frequent part of his solo because other heroes being confused by Duke being Duke will never wear off.

155 notes - Posted November 8, 2022

#3

Actually my reasoning for loving Dick and Kori so much is very simple and it's that he's the night and she's his star it's his darkness tempered by her light it's her strength and his wit

It's the way they soften each other's rough edges and see each other for who they are and don't expect anything more or less from each other.

218 notes - Posted June 2, 2022

#2

I think so much about how wonderful it would have been for Steph to have been around during We Are Robin.

A whole movement about refusing to cave to fear, about stepping up to protect people when no one else was, about making their own path, about trusting each other to do what's best when they can't trust anyone else.

And Stephanie "There's room in our line of work for hope, too" Brown. The girl who's been fighting for a chance every single step of the way, who refused to back down while she was repeatedly told she wasn't enough, who carved her own path and took on two separate legacies anyway.

She should've been there.

517 notes - Posted October 11, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Anyway I see a lot of times people deciding to have the Robins(primarily Tim) looking up to Batman like he's the greatest to ever exist but in reality one of the prerequisites to operating in Gotham is not being fazed by Batman in the slightest.

Nine year old Dick wouldn't let Batman stand in the way of him committing murder until Batman made him his partner and redirected his energy.

Twelve year old Jason was unfazed enough to steal his tires and hit him with a tire iron.

Tim became Robin because Batman was in a self-destructive spiral.

Steph met Batman and immediately disregarded everything he said in order to try to commit murder.

Babs routinely tells Bruce to fuck off when he tries to tell her what to do.

Damian told Batman to his face that they were better off without him.

Cass is an outlier who sees the Bat as the ultimate goal, but even she grew to respect the symbol over all else, and stand up to Bruce when he doesn't live up to that symbol.

Duke disrespected a different Batman(Jim "Batmech" Gordon) but was unfazed nonetheless as proven by his efforts with the We Are Robin movement (but also: look at any interaction of him with Batman. He speaks and does not consider his audience ever)

In short, they all know how pathetic Batman is and will make fun of him at every opportunity

1,644 notes - Posted October 2, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[iguana-eyanna]

The Blood Within Us Chapter 7

Summary: Will the reader do whatever it takes to protect the ones she loves when tragedy hits the Wayne family? How far will the truth be tested when she realizes she’s not the only one with secrets of her own?

Pairing: Bruce Wayne x Pregnant Reader

Warnings: n/a

a/n: indented italicized words will be flashbacks

"Dick, you had one job..."

"I'm sorry that I burnt the toast."

"It was your third try."

"Did you guys know that any intense scents can make mom hurl?"

"How did you even know that?"

"Unlike you dim wits, I actually researched on how to give nutritional value to expecting mothers."

"She's pregnant, not a house plant."

Multiple voices (obviously coming from your sons) made you stir in your sleep, making you lift your head from your pillow.

"You know, whispering doesn't really work around a person who was trying to sleep." You chuckled, still feeling your slumber hang onto you as you rub your eyes.

The boys collect their senses and straightened their backs.

"Happy Birthday!" They all shouted, offering you a breakfast platter and small gifts.

You gasp in delight, smiling wide.

"Oh, you guys! What a great way to start the day." You said as all the boys sat on the bed with you, situating your breakfast.

"We wanted to do something special for you. I know things haven't been in our favor these past months, but you truly make our lives better." Dick said with a sympathetic look.

It was true, all of you were dealing with so much.

On top of mourning for Bruce, no one realized that Mother's day passed. Not even you noticed till Alfred made you a bouquet of flowers from the garden. The boys felt so bad for not doing anything but you reassured them it wasn't a big deal.

But for them, it was.

You were an expecting mother, bringing their youngest sibling into the world. With Bruce gone, they made you their top priority. They all know how it feels to lose a parent so the boys promised each other to raise their sibling with unconditional love.

Now, you were entering the second trimester of your pregnancy and boy was your unborn baby growing.

As all of your sons watched you like hawks, they noticed that you were growing your baby bump. It was probably the pregnancy brain that you haven't realized your body was changing, but you loved your ever-growing belly.

You take a bite of your delicious breakfast, also reading the cute birthday card all the boys signed.

"We were thinking how we could celebrate, so we decided that all of us could take a night off of patroling and make dinner." Tim chirped.

"You and Alfred are not allowed to lift a finger tonight." Damian also added.

You laugh again, seeing how much your boys loved you.

"Ok... but if the kitchen is on fire again, we are ordering take-out." you suggested, reliving the time your boys wanted to make a cake for your birthday last year.

"Scout's honor." Dick promised, crossing his heart.

You beam at your boys, hugging all of them in one shot.

"I love you all." you said out loud.

"We love you more." Jason replied as all of you let go as Dick took your arms to help you stand.

"C'mon, we planned a whole day for you. We called up Dinah and she's going to take you shopping for clothes, she also wanted to treat you to a greasy burger or whatnot, both of you are going to that fancy spa you had your eye on, and you'll be back to have a full feast waiting when you get back home." Dick said as he clapped his hands.

You stand with your hand on your heart, touched that they really wanted to make you feel appreciated on your special day.

"Thank you boys, for everything." you whispered, tearing up. They all hug you once again before leaving to give you time to get ready.

How did you get so lucky to have such a loving family?

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

The boys' stayed true to their word.

You had a fantastic day with Dinah as you two began shopping for clothes as she also picked out neutral onesies for the baby. She was even giving you advice from her pregnancy and was talking about her sweet boy.

"Don't get me wrong. I don't miss indigestion or heartburn, but I kinda miss being pregnant. Just the whole curiosity of who you'll bring in the world is quite an adventure." she said as you were sitting next to each other in the spa.

You smile fondly as you admired how motherhood really suited your good friend.

"I hope they're a calm baby when they arrive," you said, rubbing your belly softly.

Dinah smiles brightly at you while she sipped cucumber-flavored water. "I was so lucky Connor was a happy baby. He never fusses or screams... or I rather hear happy screams like the time Ollie lifts him in the air and-"

She stops in midsentence, realizing your saddened state.

"I am so sorry. I didn't mean-" You shake your hand, trying to ease her worry.

"No, no, no. I'm fine... really." you replied, trying to give her a reassuring look.

She reaches out for your hand and grabs it.

"I know you get this question a lot, but how have you really been?" she asks you as she squeezes your hand in support.

"I used to have sleepless nights. I'd have nightmares about the day I lost Bruce and I feel that I can't breathe. It's been tough to realize that this baby won't have their father in their life. But I have my family to remind them of who Bruce was and how they loved them."

Dinah smiles at you, admiring your strength in your time of hurting.

"You say used to, how did you overcome the nightmares?" she asks sincerely.

You ponder for a moment before replying back.

"I've been going back to my roots."

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

After a full day of relaxation and joy, Dinah drops you back home. Alfred approaches the car and helps you to collect your things.

"I hope you had a wondrous day, Mrs. Lance-Queen." Alfred says as Dinah waves at you both from her car, pulling out of the driveway.

"So, how many plates have the boys destroyed this time?" you joke as you and Alfred walk in the manor.

He chuckles as you both walk up the stairs to your room. "Surprisingly, four China plates," he replies.

You laugh back as you settled your things by the floor and you both walk-in tow to the dining room to eat.

The boys start to place all of the food on the table and see you walk in with their favorite grandfather figure.

"Hey, Ma! Just in time for dinner!" Jason hollered as you sat down in your seat, mesmerized by all your favorite foods that were prepared.

"I made sure the menu tonight was pregnancy-friendly." Tim said, kissing your cheek as he took the seat next to you.

You thank the boys again before you all dove into the food that was prepared.

During your meal, jokes or embarrassing stories were shared around. Damian, surprisingly, clinks his drink of water to catch everyone's attention.

"We decided we wanted to do something different this year for your birthday, Mother. Instead of presents, we wanted to share our favorite memory of you."

You gasp from their gesture as you see Damian get up to prepare his speech.

"I remembered the first time you picked me up from school."

Bruce was stuck at work all day. There was an emergency at one of their international branches, so Bruce has been attending calls nonstop.

You call him during his break as his mind eased, knowing your voice always calmed him down. "Hey, how has work been?" you knew what his answer was, but he always admired how you would still ask something so sweet.

“Work has been biting my ass for the past few hours. I just realized that I’m probably going to be late to pick up Damian from school.” Bruce said as his tone was tired.

Damian just moved into the manor just a few weeks ago. It became quite a shock of his existence, but the young boy was a piece of Bruce, and you warmed up to him the moment he set foot into your life.

“Why don’t I pick him up? I already left work.” You said happily. Bruce's eyebrows knit of from your attempt, remembering that the past several days, Damian hasn't been the kindest towards you.

Although the young boy has been transitioning to his new surroundings, Damian shouldn't act cruelly to you. Bruce made that perfectly clear when the young assassin would deny you of your compassion. “Are you sure? I can have Alfred pick him up.” He replies, trying to make the situation easier for you.

“I insist, I think it’s finally time for me and Dami to spend some time together. Why don’t you contact Alfred that I won't be coming back till later this evening? Love you.” You said.

"and I love you." Bruce said before hanging up. You then start your car and head over to the school to see Damian impatiently waiting outside of the steps of the building.

You pull down your window and give him a smile.

"Hi, Bruce has been stuck in meetings the past several hours. I wanted to pick you up." You said brightly.

Damian rolls his eyes and opens the car door to sit in the back seat. "Typical." he murmurs under his breath.

You don't react to his remark as you start to drive out into the city. You then look back and see Damian looking longingly at a park, specifically one dedicated to dogs.

"Have you ever had a pet before?" You ask out loud, taking Damian off guard.

"No... mother said animals are a waste of time." he says out loud, but you hear a sort of resentment. But for some reason, it was not directed to you.

"Pets do have a purpose, Damian. They bring emotional support to veterans or those with mental health issues. I even have employers who are blind and they bring their service dogs to work."

Damian turns his head towards you. "Really?" He asks in a curious manner.

You could finally see the spark in the kid that you have been trying to desperately find. "Yeah! In fact, they invited me to hang out with them and their dogs in the park today. Unless you have homework to finish."

He leans forward with determination. "I finished all of my work at school." He said, quite rushed.

You stare at the boy in your mirror, seeing a youthful cheer you missed for a while now.

"Ok, let's go!" You said, making a U-turn to spend the entire day at the park with your newest son.

"I played with all of the dogs that day, even attempted to bribe a boy my age to exchange his dog for money." You chuckled as you remembered that day, finding it hilarious how Dami desperately wanted a dog.

Damian continues on. "I gave you a very hard time when all you wanted was to get to know me better. You never failed to make me your son, even if I wasn't your flesh and blood. Thank you, for accepting me." He goes up to you and hugs you the best he could with your bump in the way.

Dick takes his opportunity to stand and catches everyone's attention.

"Guess it's my turn..." he says sheepishly.

As Dick sat on your left, you hold his hand in affirmation.

He looks down at you, reminiscing into his younger years of around the time he first met you.

"Bruce invited you over to the manor for the first time."

"Hello, Mr. Pennyworth. It's nice to see you again." you said as he greeted you by the door.

"My dear, I have told you to call me Alfred." He says, taking off your jacket and placing it by the entrance.

You hear someone running down the stairs, revealing a mischievous boy that eyes were as joyous as the sun.

"Hi! Bruce has been expecting you all week. C'mon, I'll take you to the dining room." Dick said, yanking by the arm as you match his speed.

Once you enter the room, you are mesmerized by how the room was decorated with the dark interior designs and you see Bruce setting down silverware.

"Dick, she's capable of walking by herself," Bruce said as he sees you a bit tired from Dick taking you halfway across the manor.

"Yeah, but it's her first time here! I want to show her around ever since you've been-" Bruce gives Dick a stern look, using his gaze to tell him not to embarrass him in front of you.

You laugh out loud and you go up to Bruce, placing a palm on his chest. "I'm excited to be here too." you said as you kiss his cheek, making Bruce blush.

You enjoy your meal together, not realizing how energetic Dick truly was now that he was in the comfort of his home. Usually, when you're around the Wayne boys, you were always in the public eye, not having any intimacy or an ounce of privacy.

After a light dessert, Dick pleads with Bruce to show you around and your boyfriend gives you permission for his son to take you. Dick takes your hand again and takes it within every room around the house.

"-and this is the banquet hall, but I never really cared for them." Dick says as you passed the big room. You stop in your tracks and let go of Dick's hand, admiring the instrument that was on display.

“Is that what I think it is?” you questioned as you walked closer to the dark piano. “You have a good eye, This is Bechstein D 282 Concert Grand. I bought it for some events held here for entertainment.” Bruce said as he walked in with his son on his side.

Dick snickered after his adoptive father’s comment. “Yeah, but none of us know how to play.” Bruce gave Dick a side-eye, but you were too interested in looking at the instrument. “Do you play?” Bruce asked innocently. You smile to yourself as one of your fingers was trying not to touch the keys.

“I do, I used to play for some concerts in my university years…” you thought as it made you smile. “You should play.” Bruce suggested. You shot your eyes to him as you melted in his gaze. “No, I shouldn’t…” he caught you off guard as he grabbed your hand softly and held it with such care. “Please… I insist,” he murmured.

You stare at his eyes for a minute, too dazed at his soft blue eyes. You sit down and determine which song to play. After you make up your mind, you look up to him and Dick. “This was the first song I ever played on a piano…” your hands start moving with grace as you also began to sing.

🎼For you, there'll be no more crying For you, the sun will be shining And I feel that when I'm with you It's alright, I know it's right

To you, I'll give the world To you, I'll never be cold 'Cause I feel that when I'm with you It's alright, I know it's right

And the songbirds are singing, Like they know the score And I love you, I love you, I love you Like never before

And I wish you all the love in the world But most of all, I wish it from myself

And the songbirds keep singing Like they know the score And I love you, I love you, I love you Like never before, like never before, Like never before🎼

After singing, you look up to Bruce who was stunned by your voice. "Wow, I never knew you could-" a loud sniffle takes both of you by surprise as your eyes dart to the young Grayson boy, who was crying.

He realizes the two of you are staring at him and he forces himself not to cry. "Sorry, my uh... My mom used to sing me that to sleep when I was younger."

You waste no time as you kneel down in front of Dick, wiping away his tears. "Oh, sweetie..." you said as Dick launched his arms around you, hugging you.

You're a bit shocked but you sink into the hug, almost hugging him tighter as you're afraid to let go.

Bruce places a hand on your shoulder, showing his gratefulness for your presence for not only him, but this young boy who was still grieving the loss of his parents.

"I didn't how much I missed my folks until you really came into my life; you helped me remember them. I realized that I wasn't replacing the mother who birthed and raised me, but I was gaining a mom who would love me with all of her heart."

You tear up a bit as you look up to your eldest son, seeing how much he's grown for the past ten years. He sits down and you see Jason in front of you, who seems a bit skittish.

"Kinda stole the whole 'late family' thing from me, Grayson." Jason said as he gets up and faces down on the table.

"Remember that movie where it talked about people having core memories when they grow up? I don't think I had that until... until I came back home again."

Jason softly whispers as he thinks back to when he raised terror as Red Hood.

She walks downstairs as the whole mansion is empty, hoping to see Alfred tend to the boys downstairs from the latest fight.

She has not known why Bruce put her in the corner when she heard about the latest vigilante, Red Hood. It was as if that person was wanting to catch Batman's attention, so he called up Dick to help, alongside the new edition to your family, Tim Drake.

She heard murmurs as she walked down slowly, but stopped in her tracks when she heard a voice hiss.

“Alfred, I'm not a kid anymore, I can do it on my own.” Alfred still tended the wound to the boy “and what a fascinating job you did for your past wounds.” Alfred remarks. ‘There’s only one person Alfred talks to like that…’ she thought.

Her steps quicken and everyone looks up to the staircase and suddenly stops on the last step, looking at her son. Bruce gets up and walks towards her, blocking her view.

She couldn't hear what he just said but heard something like “not ready” and “he’s still unstable” but she pushed past him, knowing that Bruce can’t hold her back anymore.

She was only five steps to him, but it felt like they were miles away. Alfred stepped aside as Jason stood up from the table hesitantly. She took in his presence, he grew almost 2 feet and saw past scars on his face that were now faded away. His hair became curlier and longer.

He opens his mouth, unsure of what to say.

“I- I know what you’re thinking. ‘Why didn’t I come back?’ The truth is... I don’t know. I was so angry that I took it out on everything in my way and it got worse. and I know that I hurt you the most when the last words I said to you were ‘I had to look for my real mom,’ and I regret that day so much. I’m asking if you could forgive me for-” he was cut off as you launched your way into his arms. Both of you started crying as you both fell to the floor, finally reunited.

You looked at him, drying his face with your long sleeves and holding his face in your hands. “You’re here… and that’s more than enough.”

You fix his hair as it starts to hide his face. “Ma…” he started to choke up after saying those words for the first time in years. “I did a lot of damage, ma.” he said as he buried his face in your chest. You soothe him as you rub the back of his neck. “I know baby, I know.” you kiss him on the top of his head until he calms down a bit.

"You forgave me, right on the spot." Jason said, almost crying.

"It took a long time for me to forgive Bruce, took a long time to forgive myself. I owe you so much for not only your kindness but the strength that comes with it. I made you go through so much because I was dealing with my pain and wish I could take that away from you when I died."

The whole room is silent as the only sound comes from Jason's sobs.

You slowly raise yourself out of your seat as you hug Jason close to you, with his head falling into your shoulder.

Dick feels a ping of jealously from your relationship with his younger brother.

Upon the early stages of your relationship with his father, Bruce sent Dick away to the Titans as more villains started to rise around the world. Dick was surprised that he became so disposable when Bruce adopted another kid on the streets, younger than the age Dick was adopted.

So to say, Jason was the first kid that you raised with Bruce as you moved into the Manor.

But he didn't stay mad for long. You always expressed to each of your sons that you loved them equally. In your eyes, no one was replaced.

You look around and see all of your sons' faces. You finally land on Tim who became so quiet in his seat.

"Sorry, man. Didn't mean to eat up your time." Jason sniffed as he sat down, your hand placed on his shoulder as you look brightly at Tim.

He awkwardly gets up from his chair. Unlike his brothers, it was hard for him to reach out with his feelings. He was more rational than affectionate. But you knew he was as caring as the rest.

He stutters at first, unable to say what he really wanted to say.

"Mom, there's something you need to know about Dad."

Jason stirs in his chair, shooting a warning glance as the rest of you are confused.

Right when he was about to open his mouth, you hear the house phone rang from the kitchen.

Alfred, who has been sitting quietly at the table, rises from his seat. "I shall answer it. Carry on without me." he says.

You walk over to Tim, placing your hands on his shoulders.

"Is everything alright, honey?" you ask him.

Tim makes a side glance at Jason who features looked like a marble statue. Tim takes a deep breath and looks at you.

"I was going to say, for my favorite memory, was the first week when I patrolled Gotham as Robin and I kept messing up. I got injured around my shoulder and you helped me get better. You didn't scold me or discourage me to stop, you were just there for me when I didn't know I needed it most. Then when I was able to go out with Bruce on patrol again, he asked me how would it feel if... you and Bruce tied the knot."

You were a bit stunned, it was the first time you ever heard of Bruce thinking of marrying you at that time.

"Oh, baby. I love you so much... all of you." you said as your last son concluded his speech.

Everything was fine and merry until Alfred came into the dining room, pale as a ghost.

The boys get up to ask what's wrong but Alfred only makes eye contact with you.

"I believe it would be best to turn on the News." Alfred said as the truth inside of him shook him to his very core.

You all rushed to the screen room, as Tim switched the TV to put on the broadcast.

"Breaking News, the FBI has retrieved the stolen artifact from Gotham's Museum from several months ago. It was to reveal that this artifact held special abilities far beyond imagination, but its magic has been extracted. Not only the necklace has been returned, but the FBI releases a key witness that has been assisting their investigation. They have faked their death in order to maintain an undercover identity to help retrieve the item. I am getting word at this moment, the person is... Gotham's billionaire, Bruce Wayne!"

The whole room is silent as they just heard what has happened.

Your boys look behind and see you still, with tears threatening to spill onto your face.

Tim switches off the TV and everyone felt a chill in their spine when they heard a knock on the door.

Alfred gives you a look, almost a permission to dare look at who was wanting to enter.

You nod your head and he walks over to the entranceway.

The boys follow Alfred in tow just in case they had to defend the house from nosey paparazzi or feds.

But deep down, you knew who it was.

[hintofelation99]

Batfamily sorted into Hogwarts houses?

Ooohhhh a classic, I love it! Tbh I have no clue how controversial my opinions are here, like honestly each member fits several houses well. So I just went with what felt best to me, but I'd love to hear other's opinions!

First let's go over the main traits of each house, these are the traits I will be focusing on.

Gryffindor -> Bravery, daring, nerve, and confidence

Hufflepuff -> Hard work, dedication, patience, loyalty, and fair play

Ravenclaw -> Intelligence, knowledge, curiosity, creativity, and wit

Slytherin -> Ambition, leadership, determination, cunning, and resourcefulness

Bruce

-> Hufflepuff: I feel like this one will be rather controversial and honestly it was pretty difficult to decide on. But I think his overall dedication to the mission is what sold it for me. Like that's one of his more consistent character traits, he values the mission above all else. And I don't think of that value or dedication as coming from a place of ambition, but rather a place of loyalty. Honestly Batman's relationship with Gotham really exemplifies both patience and dedication, at least it does in my mind. Hufflepuff is also sometimes thought of as the house that accepts all, so people who don't have a good designation can go there, which is pretty on point with Bruce adopting a shit ton of kids.

Dick

-> Gryffindor: This one might be a tad cliche, but I think that it fits. Because all of the batfam is daring and brave, but Dick takes so much joy from these traits. He’s known for defying gravity and having fun doing it. He’s also the typical confident older brother, like he definitely has insecurities but overall he’s a pretty confident guy. He’s a leader who paved the way for Robins and continues to protect the rights of young heroes. He’s known for being super protective of his family and is willing to make sacrifices for them. Also he brave enough to design a custom that had no pants and confident enough to run around in that costume.

Babs

-> Ravenclaw: Babs the oracle, she’s basically the definition of knowledge. She definitely exemplifies other houses as well but her dedication to knowledge and intelligence definitely put her in Ravenclaw for me. After being paralyzed a lot of people thought she would give up being a vigilante, but instead she turned information into a weapon and a shield. Instead of giving up she created a new and now invaluable position. She isn’t just smart, she’s clever and quick thinking, always ready for any situation.

Jason

-> Hufflepuff: Okay, so in a lot of ways Jason mirrors Bruce. He’s incredibly loyal to his home, has strict rules that he (mostly) stands by like don’t hurt kids and no abusers get no mercy (and yes I’m using the terms rules loosely here). But honestly what sold the whole ‘Jason is hufflepuff’ thing for me is how protective/kind his is of crime victims, specifically women and children. He was a crime lord who fought to for kids, who didn't tolerate abuse, and who protected prostitutes. And yeah that's all super brave and very Gryffindor-esque, but in my mind it all comes from a place of genuine kindness, and that's what makes him a Hufflepuff to me.

Cass

-> Hufflepuff: Cass is deadly, she could snap just about anyone like a twig, but she's also a complete cinnamon roll. She's a sweetheart who adores her family and, for the most part, likes people. Cass is kind and sweet and she literally booped Batman on the nose. Like if that isn't the most Hufflepuff thing, than I don't know what is. She's just the epitome of 'soft cute Hufflepuff,' but also never forget that she can easily kill you.

Tim

-> Ravenclaw: In my opinion (and I think also canonically but I'm not 100% on that) Tim is the smartest bat. Tim literally outsmarted Ra's Al Ghul and he figured out Batman's identity when he was just a child. And he's not just 'I know a lot of things' smart, he's cunning and knows how to plan for any outcome, how to out wit others, how to lie to Batman. Like in the Red Robin arc his Tim's side quest is outsmarting the league of assassins and pissing off Ras Al Ghul. That's such a Ravenclaw (and baller) move.

Steph

-> Gryffindor: Steph had the nerve to put on a purple suit, she was daring enough to hit Robin with a brick, and she was brave enough to become Batgirl even after her encounter with Black Mask. She's bold and shameless in all the best ways. Like Steph isn't the greatest fighter or most skilled bat, but she's bold and fearless and that's what makes her such a great hero.

Duke

-> Slytherin: This one took me forever to decide on, but I realized that Duke has all the smarts of a Ravenclaw and all the bravery of a Gryffindor. Traits that both fit perfectly into Slytherin. He's cunning and smart and an amazing leader and so determined. Duke lead the 'We Are Robin' movement and made his life goal to out riddle the Riddler. Honestly he's the perfect mix of smart and brave and really exemplefies the best of the Slytherin traits.

Damian

-> Slytherin: This one is a bit lack luster and a bit typical, but I do think it's fitting. He's cunning and ambitious and really values his heritage. Damian knows his life goals, he knows where his heritage can take him, and he will do anything to reach his full potential. And I do think that he has some Hufflepuff undertones, undertones that come out even more around animals and Jon, but overall he is a Slytherin.

And wowie, I'm done. This took waaayyyyyy longer than expected, so sorry for that. Honestly when I saw this ask I was like 'oh, cool, easy!' then I tried to answer and holy shit. I went back and forth so much and could not decide. So after many days and much thought this is what I ended up with. That being said I did really love this ask bc it was super fun.

Also srry if there are any typos but if I keep trying to edit this I will never finish bc I will keep changing my mind.

[novaviis]

sick!dick au. Bruce's POV. read in order here.

For most everyone else, it starts at the Gala.

For Bruce, it starts in a grey little office, with a stack of papers and a glitter pen.

Dick will confess after the fact to the fainting spell in the apartment he shares with Wally, and the months of progressively worse migraines, including an incident on patrol with Jason – and Bruce is none-too-pleased with that information being kept silent, but he picks his battles and this isn’t one of them. Still, looking back nearly everyone will unanimously agree that the night it really “began” was the Gala.

For Bruce, it begins when the social worker hands him a creased manila envelope. Inside is a birth certificate, a social security number, and an immunization record. Bruce looks through the contents of the envelope. Is this really it? Yes, he’s never exactly done this before, but he feels like there should be more. Guardianship of a child shouldn’t be reduced to three pieces of flimsy paper in an envelope. There’s a coffee stain on the corner. The social worker doesn’t really know what to say to that; this is just the way it is. She slides the rest of the paperwork across the table. Everything’s already been looked over by his lawyers, all he needs to do is sign. She pats her pockets, muttering to herself before bringing out a red glitter pen and sheepishly offering it to him.

Bruce is in his twenties. He’s impulsive with his compassion and he just witnessed another little boy watching his parents die. He knows he can give this boy what he needs. Or he’s going to try. But between the drive to bring this boy’s family justice and the need to heal a part of himself in the process, he’s somehow skipped over just how huge this is. He’s thought about it, of course, but always with the under current of doing whatever it takes to make it work. He was going to give the boy a home, give him the closure that Bruce never got, and maybe he’d save him from turning out like… well, like Bruce. Only now he’s staring down at Guardianship written in big block letters across the top of the stack, and it’s sinking in now that he’s not just taking the boy in. He’s going to be his family. And it doesn’t change a thing, his resolve doesn’t waver, because he knows he can give him a good life, but it’s that one word. Family. His family is starting out with a coffee stain, a stack of papers, and a glitter pen.

He signs the papers. Dick is already waiting outside with Alfred, who’s taken him to the small cafeteria down the hall. The boy hasn’t spoken much, in the days Bruce has taken to get to know him. Bruce had asked Alfred if he was like that – after. And Alfred had looked at him sympathetically, answered carefully. Yes, he was, in a sense. Bruce had been quiet. Shellshocked. Traumatized. But Bruce needs to remember that he had him, at least one steady presence in his life. Dick has no one. It’s going to take time.

It shouldn’t be so easy, Bruce find himself thinking over and over as they finish up. He tucks everything away into his briefcase, bears with the social worker smiling and shaking his hand and thanking him for doing such a good deed as if this is a charity stunt for publicity and she doesn’t seem to care either way. He asks again, just before he closes his briefcase, if she’s sure that there’s nothing else he needs. Report cards, keepsakes, family medical history, he doesn’t know. She shakes her head, all pleasant smiles. No, that’s all he came with – as if he’s a shelter dog. Bruce latches his suitcase shut.

Back then, it was just a passing thought. He doesn’t spare it another over the years, because he doesn’t need to. Time went on, Dick becomes an inseparable part of his life. Bruce will always silently maintain that Dick was the one to save him in the end. He’s not a perfect guardian, not a perfect father, and he makes more mistakes than he can count. They argue, they have fallings out, and still they always work through it – because they’re family.

And the issue of the family medical history does not resurface until that champagne gold night. Until he catches Selena watching him from across the ballroom, smiling behind the rim of her wine glass and cocking her head to tease him. Until, he’s distracted between secretively searching the crowds for her and forcing himself to smile and laugh with Gotham’s elite, so he doesn’t notice the commotion rising up on the other side of the room. Until his youngest son comes racing toward him through the crowd looking more scared and shaken than Bruce has ever seen him. Until he breaks through the ring of bystanders and sees Dick passed out on the floor, Wally kneeling over him beside himself with panic. Until the ambulance and the fury of the waiting room (making a mental not to raise absolute hell with the Hospital’s board of directors) and the doctor pulling him to a side room, a little grey office, to ask the dreaded question. All at once, it comes back to that moment, and Bruce sighs, scrubs his palm over his tired eyes. No, he doesn’t have Dick’s family medical history. It doesn’t exist. Realistically, it isn’t Bruce’s fault, but that has never stopped him from shouldering blame.

Selena reaches out in the following days it ask in on how Dick’s doing. Bruce is cordial, tells her that her concern is appreciated but Dick seems to be doing fine. And on the other side of the phone, he can hear her moving around her penthouse, maybe standing at the window – she’s glad to hear it. Let her know if he needs anything, if she can do anything to help. It’s early days then, and none of them know just how bad it’s going to get.

It’s a slow progression at first, and then it’s not. It’s months between seizures, a steady increase in migraines – but life goes on. It’s not as if Bruce is hovering every Dick at every second. He’s a grown man now, with a career and a home and a partner. Bruce supports him in any way he can, until it gets to the point that he has to make the hard call. The argument he has with Dick that night, in the study of Wayne Manor, is something he’ll never wash from his memory. He’s used to making the tough decisions. He’ll be the asshole if he has to, he can handle Dick’s anger, but he’s not going to allow him to take this much risk into the field. Benching Nightwing until they have a handle on this is a necessary call, but Dick is stubborn (who on earth did he learn that from), and unwilling to step down so easily. And as the argument reaches its fever pitch, Bruce pacing and ranting, listing off his rational, he hears Dick call his name in a wavering voice and it cuts through the background noise. Dick, the colour drained from his face, eyes unfocused, conceding that he’s about to lose this argument, will haunt him in the same way as the worst things he’s seen in the life he’s chosen. That’s the moment he knows that this isn’t just going to pass, the moment he bolts to catch Dick before he can topple forward and hit his head. This isn’t something they can wait out. He’ll never regret making the call, but he will always regret the way he put the pressure on Dick, as if he’d just made things worse.

The thing is, this lasts years. It becomes a part of all their lives – because it’s Dick. It isn’t all consuming, it doesn’t eat away at their thoughts every minute of the day, but it’s a resurfacing concern that’s rarely spoken about aloud. And Bruce sees how this changes his family. No one can say that the Wayne clan is the most well adjusted and healthy family, but Bruce does his best. He realises and appreciates now more than ever just how much work Dick put into keeping them all functioning. Keeping them together. He never thought he’d taken it for granted until then. It shouldn’t have taken this to bring the family closer together, but it does, and as much as Bruce hates that, he’s not going to fight it.

Time goes on. Still. It’s a slow progression at first, and then it’s not. Bruce is in a meeting with his chief executive officers when his secretary buzzes in over the speaker saying there’s a call for him on the line. He thanks her for letting him know and tells her to take a message. She says the young man is telling her it’s an emergency. One of the CEOs is about to launch into a presentation and Bruce doesn’t spare him a second thought. Picks up the phone, pushes away from the board table, and paces to the window. Wally’s voice comes through saying his name, shaken and urgent, rambling out sentences too fast for Bruce to hear.

Wally. Slow down. What happened?

He stopped breathing. Fuck, Bruce, he called me at work – sounded like a seizure so I ran home, but he – it didn’t stop, he wasn’t breathing.

That first night, after Bruce has sent his reluctant children home with Alfred, it’s just him and Wally left with Dick. The end of visiting hours is fast approaching. Bruce steps out to let Wally have his time with Dick, allows him some privacy. He eventually makes his way up to the terrace balcony on the upper floors, a green space with massive glass walls and an open ceiling. Fresh air for the first time in hours does wonders.

Selena is there. She approaches him from the other side of a low hedge, bundled up in a cashmere sweater and scarf – ones he bought her ages ago. When he asks how she knew, she smiles. She has her ways. Tim called her, didn’t he. Yeah, he did. They stand in silence for a while, staring out at the mosaic of lights against the persistent dark of Gotham, before she puts a hand on his arm. I know you’ve got a lot on your plate, Bruce, she says, and the coy smile fades into sincerity. Come to me when you need to.

Three days after Dick is admitted to the ICU, Bruce calls Damian into the study. It’s late, they just got home from visiting an hour ago. They’ve been arguing a lot lately, before Dick went downhill. Mostly regular thirteen-year-old boy versus father arguing, but a few too many frustrated shouting matches in the Cave. Bruce can’t help but wonder if it’s in part because Dick hasn’t been there to act as a mediator. Still, the past few days have been quiet, if not tense. Damian complies when Bruce calls him down. He’s wearing a sweater he stole from Dick months ago, the bulk of it swallowing his smaller frame like a blanket. He has the sleeves rolled up, his hands in the front pocket, when he pauses in the doorway. Bruce gestures for him to sit across from him at the desk. He can see the way Damian is bracing himself for a lecture, wondering whatever it is he did wrong this time, as he takes his seat. Bruce, in his chair on the other side, watches him for a moment before deciding this won’t do. He stands, and pulls his chair next to Damian’s and pulls a file over from the other side of the desk.

Wayne Men are at a higher risk of Prostate Cancer as they get older. I get tested every few years. He tells him. My Mother’s side of the family, the Kanes, have a history of Crohn’s Disease. It’s prevalent in people of Ashkenazi Jewish decent. I’ve never had it, or had symptoms, so it’s unlikely that I passed it on to you, but not impossible. And when Damian stares back at him, he leans forward, presses his hand to his son’s shoulder. I want you to know these things, Damian. It’s important that you know your history.

And with any other child, it may have not been a good idea to have this conversation right then. Any other child may have been scared. But this is his son, and Damian is as frank and pragmatic about these things as he is, and Bruce knows that he will appreciate the honesty, knows that those questions have likely been rattling around in Damian’s head for a while now. They spend another hour that night talking about their family, beyond just medical history, and Bruce answers any questions Damian has.

Dick gets worse. Wally leaves to find answers. Bruce is doing everything he can; medical bills are nothing to him, he checks in on his children, calls in favours from the league to keep watch of Gotham when he’s needed at the hospital. It’s the most he’s ever relied on others in his entire life.

It’s just him in Dick’s room one night. He’s at the window when he hears Dick rasping his name. It’s been rare lately that he’s been coherent enough to really speak without being prompted, so he has Bruce’s full attention immediately. He crosses over to the bed, braces a hand over Dick’s. And Dick doesn’t say anything for a long while. His eyes are half closed. Bruce is close to assuming he’s fallen asleep, when Dick’s unsteady hand slides out from under his, and rests on top with a barely there squeeze. Dick is staring up at him. His voice his so quiet it’s almost drowned out by the monitors, but Bruce hears it.

Take care of Wally.

Bruce doesn’t waste time on don’t talk like that sentiments. He doesn’t tell Dick that he won’t need to, that he’ll be fine, because Bruce does not make promises he knows he cannot keep. He nods. He will. Dick doesn’t need to ask him to take care of the family, that much is an unspoken understanding, but if this is a piece of mind he can give Dick, it’s without hesitation.

He ends up at Selena’s door after visiting hours. She buzzes him in, and when she opens the penthouse door neither of them say a word. She guides him over to the couch, pours two glasses of good wine, and when she returns, he’s already got his face in his hand – not sobbing, not breaking down, just… exhausted. She isn’t sure Bruce knows how to break down anymore. In the end, she just sits with him. Rubs his back, tentatively at first, not sure if he’ll let her. Bruce not only does, but he shudders under her hand, allows himself to breathe with her, and it’s enough to let the pressure ease and the ache to come in. He allows himself feel to it.

Because that’s his son. That’s his first son. And he’s failed him.

Years from then, when this is all in the past, he’ll let it slip. It’s over a late night coffee with Dick in the Cave as they wrap up a case, near to the anniversary of the Dick’s surgery. Maybe it’s the string of late nights and no sleep wrecking his inhibition, maybe it’s something he needs to get off his chest. But Dick stares at him, goes quiet, sets down his coffee mug.

You did everything for me, Bruce. He says. You never failed me.

And, someday, Bruce will believe it.

[icerosecrystal]

The Love We Give To You

Mominette Month 2021

Day 02: Signs of Affection

Masterlist

Author's Note: Hey everyone! Day 2 was a lot of fun to write! I hope you guys enjoy it! Also, to make sure that no one is confused, I wanted to let you all know that this is not a continuation of Day 1.

It has been three months since Marinette married Bruce and became a part of the Wayne family. Bruce's and Marinette's had a great relationship. Bruce showed affection through cuddles and kisses. Not that he would ever admit to doing it. Alfred and Marinette had bonded over their love of baking, cooking, and mother-henning the children. They showed their affection when they offered to help each other. Whether it be with work in the kitchen or little hobbies. All of the children loved Marinette and showed their affection for her in various ways.

Dick loved hugs. The moment he spotted Mari in the room, he would bound over to her, a smile on his face, and squeeze the life out of her. She would always let out one of her tinkling laughs in response before returning the enthusiastic hug.

Tim liked to give her hugs and kiss her cheek in greeting. But for him, it was more his actions than anything. He would get her a cup of coffee and then babble to her about really anything. In turn, Marinette would patiently listen, adding her input when necessary.

For Jason, he didn't appreciate physical affection as much as his other siblings, but he still would allow some of it, but only ever from Mari. Jason would show his appreciation for Mari every time he helped her out with whatever she was doing. He would sometimes talk about he was feeling also. But his favorite part would be when Mari would indulge in his thrill-seeking activities with him. He loved that she didn't try to change anything about him, and he always did the same for her. He even tried to make a leather jacket with her help.

Cass liked connecting with people on a soulful level. So she would usually sit by Mari when she was designing something and meditate or even only watch her work. They would also meditate together at times. Due to Cass being born into the League of Shadows, she found a lot of physical affection to be strange. But she sometimes did hug Mari.

Stephanie was as enthusiastic with her affection as Dick was. She would bounce over and hug Mari every time she entered the room. She would also constantly cling to Mari and would urge her to make waffles with her.

All of Mari's new children showed her different signs of affection except for Damian. She didn't think that Damian should be as blatant with his love for her, but she wanted even the slightest bit of confirmation that he loved her.

A Week Later

Damian flopped down onto his bed in misery. He had just witnessed another hug session between Dick and Mari. Damian wanted that same love, but he was confused about what to do. He felt like he was betraying his birth mother by trying to show Mari love, even if Talia wasn't the best mother ever. Besides, why would Mari even want a former assassin child as her kid? She's probably happy with the rest of them. At least they were somewhat ordinary. Even Cass, the only other one that had only ever been an assassin, was a lot more passive than him.

He continued to mope about his problems before he suddenly had an epiphany! What if he tested her? He needed to make sure that she was worth loving. And so, the next day, when everyone but Marinette, Alfred, and himself was out of the house, he went to the Batcave. He then started sparring against some dummies. He was hoping that Mari would attempt to bond with him and offer to spar with him. And sure enough, after a few minutes of sparring on his own, a melodic voice behind him called, "Damian? Why are you sparring on your own?"

Damian, in turn, replied, "I had nothing better to do. Would you like to join me? I could teach you."

He watched as her face lit up with unspoken happiness before she stepped onto the mat. They both positioned themselves into a starting position for the spar. He then counted them down, "Three, two, one, go!"

He had barely uttered the words before Mari ducked down low, whipped her leg out, and swung it towards him, hooking the back of his ankle with her foot. The action resulted in him falling to the floor. He quickly jumped up and kicked her leg from behind, causing her to hit the ground. Before he could tackle her, she rolled on the ground and jumped up, punching him as she went. He quickly recovered from the hit and followed with his own, which she caught and flipped him over, putting him back on the floor once more. Before he even got the chance to try and get up, she clambered over him, putting him into an armbar hold. And with that, Mari had officially won the spar.

Damian stared at her in awe as she climbed off him, beaming in excitement. Mistaking his silence and awe for embarrassment and hostility, Marinette frantically tried to make him feel better, "I am so sorry, Damian! I didn't mean to be so aggressive! I know that you wanted to teach me, but I already knew how to fight! But I thought that I would pretend that I didn't! But you were giving me a challenge, and I accidentally started treating it as a real fight! You are an amazing fighter! I am so, so sorry–"

Before she could continue with her spiel, Damian interrupted her with a whisper, "You're awesome." Realizing what he said, he ducked his head, attempting to hide the blush that had made its way onto his cheeks. He quickly gave Mari a tight-lipped smile before running to his room, ignoring Alfred's questioning gaze. He had to think. Right now!

He quickly slammed the door and leaned his head against it. Okay. Things that he had learned today. Number one, Mari knew how to fight. Number two, She knew how to fight very well. Number three, Marinette was awesome. Number four, she was much better than his mother could ever hope to be. And number five, he wanted Mari to be his mom! And he knew how to do it.

Two Weeks Later

It had been two weeks since the spar between Mari and Damian, and much had changed since then. And everyone in the family knew it. But no one, except for Marinette and Damian, knew why.

The first thing that changed was Damian's attitude towards Marinette. Before, he would try his best to never be in the presence of his stepmother. But now, he didn't mind. Everyone could tell that he would try to delay his time spent with her. Not many people would realize it, but the Wayne family wasn't just everybody.

What changed next was how he responded to her words. Before, he would roll his eyes, ignore her, or huff. But now, he would still grumble, but it was always half-heartedly. And one time, they caught him smiling at Mari. The dramatic gasp that Dick let out didn't help anyone in figuring out what was going on.

Then he started doing little things, like pecking her cheek before he left for school. He would smile at her, give her a tiny compliment, paint while she designed. They were such small actions, but every time Damian did them, Marinette's heart swelled with happiness. She was in disbelief that Damian was showing his love for her! Yes, he wasn't as blatant about it as his siblings, but he still did it, and that made her all the happier.

But the day that things finally changed completely was when Damian Al-Ghul Wayne walked up to Marinette Dupain-Cheng and cuddled her. It was an ordinary Saturday. Everyone was up early except for Damian. But then Damian came in yawning and looked around. He saw Mari sitting on the couch stitching something. Damian trudged over to her and sat down next to her. He put his legs up on the couch and buried his face into her chest. Marinette smiled gently at his actions and put down her sewing things before putting her arms around him. She then started stroking his hair, and as if he was part cat, he preened at the attention and pressed his head to her hand in want of more strokes. Damian then mumbled, almost incoherently, "I love you, Ummi. You're amazing."

Marinette stopped stroking his hair in shock, and Damian looked to her worriedly, thinking that she was mad with his declaration. But instead, her face broke into a huge smile, and she hugged him tightly, breathing out, "I love you too, Dami."

All while this was happening, the rest of the Wayne family looked at the pair in awe. Finally, Jason spoke, breaking everyone out of their stares, "When did this happen?! And what did happen?!"

Damian looked over at Jason with a scowl and said, "I found out two weeks ago that Ummi is amazing. She beat me in a spar. Now, she's my Ummi, and none of you imbeciles can take her away from me!"

Everyone except the pair continued to be bewildered over the situation. That was when Dick spoke up, "Ummi?"

Damian looked ready to murderer them for not allowing him to cuddle with his Ummi, but all the same, he replied, "I heard a lot of children call their mothers 'Ummi' in the league, or at least in private. But Mother never permitted me to do the same, alone or in public. She said that I was the heir of the league and should, therefore, be as nonsensical as possible. But now that I have Mari, I finally have someone to call Ummi."

By the end of his speech, Marinette looked to be close to tears, and everyone else was looking at him in surprise. Marinette started clinging onto him, whispering, "I love you so much, mon cheri. I'll always be there for you."

Damian blinked back tears and clung back, saying, "I know you will. I am your favorite anyways." When Damian saw his siblings realize what he said, he jumped off his Ummi's lap and ran out of the room. Behind him, a herd of footsteps was heard, along with shouting from each of the children (except Cass). Each of them trying to convince him as to why he was wrong and why they were the favorite.

Back in the living room, Alfred had left to give Marinette and Bruce some alone time. Marinette beckoned Bruce over to sit beside her. She pecked his mouth before seeing the adoring stare. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "And what is it that you are staring at?"

Bruce pulled her closer, inhaling her jasmine scent, and mumbled, "Oh, nothing. Just looking at my beautiful wife that I can't believe I managed to marry."

Marinette flushed a deep red before punching his arm, "Sap."

"Your sap," he retorted back.

"Yes, my sap," she whispered before giving him a deep kiss.

As Bruce pulled away from her, he mumbled against her lips, "Besides, we all know I'm your favorite."

Marinette smirked before saying, "Oh, I don't know. Your son seems to be just as charismatic as you."

"Exactly–," Bruce started saying before he realized what she said. "Hey! Come back here you!" Marinette giggled as he chased after her trying to tickle her.

The rest of the family came into the room, trying to find the cause of the noise. But they stopped at the scene of their parents laughing together on the ground. Dick then yelled, "Cuddle time," and jumped onto his parents, the rest of the kids, even Alfred joining.

As they all laughed together, Marinette looked at every member of her new family. They were all so different, and that was what made them unique. Even their signs of affection were unique to themselves. But at the end of the day, she knew that they loved her and that she loved them. And that was all that mattered.

2011 words

Day 2 is done! And on time! I wonder how long that'll last!

~ ❄ Crystal ❄

@mominettemonth

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[awhitehead17]

Batfam Alphabet: J - Joker Junior (JJ)

Summary: When Dick is joined by his brother’s alter personality he struggles to complete his case work. JJ can be rather distracting especially when Dick has to keep a constant eye on him because he can’t be trusted to be on his own. 

A/N: This story references to torture and self harm, nothing in graphic detail but please don't read if that makes you uncomfortable. This story is based where Tim had been kidnapped by the Joker and turned into Joker Junior. 

Enjoy! :D 

“Don’t. Put it back. Now.”

There’s a few beats of a silence and without looking he could tell his orders haven’t been followed. “Don’t make me tell you again.”

Seconds later there’s a clanging of metal which indicates he’s been finally listened too. Dick takes a deep breath in and slowly lets it out before turning his focus back onto the task at hand.

He’s currently re-reading old case files looking for any names, locations, alibies that could possibly be linked into the current case he’s working. It’s a tedious task but it needs to be done. That being said it would be a lot easier if current company wasn’t present. It was rather distracting having to split his focus two ways so he could try and work as well as keep an eye on the kid at the same time.

This time Dick’s read no more than a paragraph when the sound of moving metal could be heard yet again.

Sighing in resignation, he shuts the file and turns around to face the rest of the cave. His eyes instantly drift over to the weapons table where his companion currently is at. The kid is frozen in place, staring wide-eyed at Dick knowing he’s been caught doing something he shouldn’t be doing. It’s like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar, only in this situation the cookie is a dagger rather than an edible treat.

Opposite him the kid silently blinks owlishly, it would actually be an adorable sight if it weren’t for the creepy ass grin stretching across his face. It’s the grin that reminds Dick who he’s dealing with. It isn’t Tim who is standing in front of him but rather his alternate personality, JJ.

JJ first appeared about two years ago after Tim had been captured and tortured by the Joker. The best explanation they could come up with for his appearance is that JJ is Tim’s way of detaching himself from the traumatic experience he had. JJ is the result of the horrendous torture Tim went through.

It’s certainly taken everyone some time to adjust to this development. Even now, years later, everyone is still getting used to it. Tim is here, he’s still present and is the core identity, but JJ occasionally makes an appearance especially when Tim is feeling threatened, extremely stressed or emotionally unstable.

The whole thing has been a learning curve for everyone involved. Even Tim had to learn to deal with it. At first he understandably didn’t accept what was happening but over time he seem to concede with it and even come to some sort of agreement with JJ, apparently the two identities can communicate no matter who’s in control. Tim’s tried to explain it to him in the past but it’s pretty mind boggling so Dick simply believes what Tim is saying and doesn’t ask questions.

He can’t help but feel a little disturbed by JJ’s presence, it’s an unfair feeling because it’s not JJ’s fault – or Tim’s – but being reminded of what his little brother had to endure at the hands of an insane psychotic man is unnerving. It’s like a reminder of how he didn’t protect his little brother and how he failed him by not being good enough.  

He knows the others also share similar feelings. Jason simply stays away from JJ, he doesn’t even enter the same room as him. Damian is constantly on edge when JJ is present, he often carries his katana around with him when they’re near one another. Cass happens to be the one who handles JJ the best, her calm demeanour seems to bizarrely settle JJ a little. Bruce… well Bruce has similar thoughts to him of how he failed to protect Tim, but both as a father and a mentor. He’s sat down with JJ and has had a conversation with him, they seemed to come to some sort of agreement which Dick doesn’t know the details of. Alfred, god bless him, takes it all in stride as he does with everything. Everyone else is weary of him but are civil towards him as much as they can be.

“JJ, I told you to put it down. Why did you pick it back up?” Dick questions after a long drawn out silence.

JJ plays with the dagger in his hands, twisting it this way and that with skilled precision. He blinks again and lets out a giggle. “Timmy needs to be punished.”

Dick frowns at the answer. That’s not what he had been expecting. “Why does Tim need to be punished? What has he done?”

“He failed us.”

JJ says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world but Dick has no idea what he’s on about. How has Tim failed? All Dick knows is that recently Tim’s been busy with the Titan’s and how he’s been working on his Neon Knights programme.

“What happened?”

JJ doesn’t respond and continues to play with the dagger in his hands. Seeing the sharp blade being toyed with makes Dick feel tense, he knows what kind of damage can be done with a weapon like that and he doesn’t want Tim – and by extension JJ – to get hurt.

“Timmy needs to be punished!” JJ repeats agitatedly. He stops playing with the dagger and grips it in both hands, Dick couldn’t help but wince when he sees the blade dig into the skin of his palms. “When someone fails they get punished. When they are bad they get punished! Timmy has to be punished for what he did.” JJ trails off with a high pitched giggle like the idea of punishment is hilarious.

Dick runs a hand over his face, he’s not getting anywhere here. Where’s Cass when you need her? She’s usually better at dealing with this side of JJ than he is.

“You know that physically punishing Tim also means you hurting yourself, don’t you?” Dick suggests evenly, trying a different tactic. “There are other ways than physical pain to deal with these sort of things.”

Dick has an inkling he knows what this is all about but he doesn’t want to jump to conclusions just yet.

JJ lets out an uncontrollable giggle. “Silly Big Bird, I don’t feel pain, Uncle J made sure of that. Timmy on the other hand needs to pay for what he did and physical pain is the best way to teach a lesson so he remembers not to do it again.”

As if to prove a point, that’s when a drop of blood drips from JJ’s hand and lands on the floor. JJ doesn’t even notice. Dick tries to not flinch at the sight it, he hates the idea of his little brother hurting, no matter what it is it’s always hard to witness.

“I understand that you may be frustrated JJ, but why don’t you try talking to Tim instead. Tell him how you feel about whatever it is that he did and explain why you’re upset with the situation.” Dick suggests trying to sound as reasonable as he could.

JJ violently shakes his head, he seems to be getting more riled up as the conversation continues.

“No! Talking doesn’t work! He ignores me and doesn’t listen. The mission failed and he put us in danger for no reason, we could have been killed for nothing. He needs to remember to not do that again. I’ll make sure he remembers not to.”

Dick lets out a hum in acknowledgement. Something they’ve come to notice since JJ’s appearance is how protective, and even possessive, he is of Tim. The key thing is how no one is allowed to hurt Tim in anyway whatsoever, if they do then JJ will go on a vengeful rampage against whoever was responsible for it. That includes Tim himself.

To JJ, Tim putting himself in danger is essentially Tim hurting himself and he really doesn’t like that. It’s happened a couple times in the past, so in response to Tim putting himself in danger (often during missions) JJ feels the need to punish Tim for it.

Taking a deep breath Dick stares at the kid and wonders how he should proceed. He can’t just turn around and say “no” or retaliate because JJ will only get defensive and probably go do something much worse as a result. While Dick ponders, JJ stands there opposite him still gripping the dagger tightly in his hands with a small puddle of blood forming at his feet and grins creepily at Dick. To make the scene worse JJ tilts his head to the side just a little, adding to the creepy affect even more.

Thankfully he’s saved from trying to decide what to do when another body soon joins them in the cave. Dick’s attention turns away from JJ and onto Cass who casually strolls towards them with a light bounce in her step. Dick smiles warmly at her, feeling relieved for her appearance. Then immediate guilt hits him because he really shouldn’t be thinking that, Tim is his brother and what’s happened is by no means his fault and he should try to be supportive where he can, though sometimes it can get difficult.

Cass silently comes up to them and stands next to JJ. Dick watches with amusement as JJ’s grin slowly disappears from his face and is replaced with a scowl, his eyes narrow in what he would say is a challenge as he stares at her unmoving. Cass simply raises an eyebrow, she places a hand on her side and cocks her hip while she holds out the other in silent demand.

The two stare at one another for a long time, clearly testing the other’s patience and if Dick’s being honest he has to give JJ some credit for how long he’s with standing Cass’s pointed look. However it seems like JJ can’t out last Cass because he soon drops his gaze and relaxes his grip on the dagger but doesn’t let go of it yet.

“Timmy and I just want to have some fun. Why is that wrong?” JJ pouts, actually seeming disappointed and confused for why they’re saying no to him.

Dick catches himself from saying anything at the last second. He wants to question the ‘fun’ part of punishing but thinks better of it, it’s best that he stays quiet and lets Cass handle the situation.

Still staring at JJ, Cass keeps her hand out waiting for JJ to give her the dagger. After more staring he slaps the weapon into her hand with an exaggerated huff.

“Fine.” JJ huffs with a stomp of his foot. He scowls and crosses his arms over his chest. “I guess I’ll have to find another way to punish – oops! – I mean play with Timmy.” He lets out a hysterical giggle at his own words.

Cass shakes her head and moves towards Dick. They make eyes contact and Cass sends him a soft smile, when she gets close enough with the hand not holding the bloody dagger she reaches up and cups his cheek. “Finish work and rest. I’ve got this.”

Dick places his hand over hers and sends her an appreciative look. “Thank you.”

Standing up Dick grabs the file he had abandoned earlier and makes a move to leave the desk, it’ll probably be best to head to his bedroom in the Manor where he won’t be disturbed, but when he turns around he finds JJ now over by the weapons table yet again.

“JJ!” He snaps harshly. The kid startles and looks up at Dick before a wide grin stretches across his face, he’s not even ashamed that he’s been caught with his hand hovering over another dagger. He soon retracts his hand and places them both behind his back, he sways side to side like he’s an innocent kid.

“What? I’m not doing anything.”

Dick couldn’t help but eyeroll at the blatant lie. He sends JJ a pointed look. “Behave.” JJ’s response to that was to blow him a raspberry. Sending Cass a nod he leaves the desk with his folder tucked under his arm and makes his way to the stairs.

Unfortunately it wasn’t that simple. He should have been expecting something to happen really considering that nothing is ever easy with the kid, it’s only thanks to his reflexes and instincts that he hadn’t been impaled by the dagger JJ had just been eyeing up moments ago.

The weapon is now lodged in the wall in front of him from where Dick had luckily dodged it. The situation takes a moment to process in his mind and once it does he spins back around to witness JJ giggling hysterically and a wide-eyed Cass who had a hand over her mouth in shock. She’s clearly just as caught off guard by JJ’s actions as he was. Dick takes a deep breath and steadies himself, at least it didn’t actually hit him, not that the sentiment really helps with anything.

Deciding it’s really not worth it, he continues his journey to the stairs and proceeds to climb them, but not before grabbing the dagger buried in the wall along the way. JJ is Cass’s responsibility now, one he’ll happily pass over to her.

The last thing Dick hears when he gets to the top of the stairs is JJ calling out to him in between giggles.

“Bye bye Big Bird! See you soooooon!”

[mxtantrights]

past lives | epilogue

a/n: time to look forward. and back. this doesn’t feature a big time jump. I’m gonna make an ending so cheesy... I think I’ve left this story pretty open so that you can insert whatever you want / envision for yourself. Once again thank you all who kept up and read or who’s gonna binge read once this comes out! Love ya <3

You opened your front door and there they all were. Most importantly Alfred. You had to show the man you could cook and fend for yourself if need be. Even though others couldn’t say the same.

“Great you’re all here. Come in, I’ve got the table set up and everything.” you said. 

They walk in one-by-one into your home. You were up last night tossing and turning because it really wasn’t much. They didn’t all live in the manor currently but they all had lived there previously. 

You eyed Damian specifically, to see his reaction to your place. He hadn’t been inside of it yet. Only ever on the fire escape and even that needed some work. You watched as took one swift look around and nodded at you. 

“It’s quaint.” he said.

“Did you just call me cheap or something?” you said.

“It was a compliment.”

“You hesitated.”

-

You wince as Alfred wrapped up your lower stomach. It was to help the swelling he said. You were sitting up on the bed in the guest bedroom. 

“May I ask what caused such bruising.” he asks.

You look over at Bruce who’s out of his nighttime suit and is watching from across the room. 

“A really big box.” 

You see Tim leaning against the door archway, hands behind his back. Bruce was Batman and Damian was Robin. That meant the Tim shaped Red Robin was Tim. He steps further into the room and reveals his hands.

He hands you two pills, “for the pain.”

You take them out of his hands and put them into your mouth. Then he hands you an opened water bottle. You take that and gulp down the pills, you have to tilt you head back a bit. 

When you tilt it back forward you feel the hammering of the punches again. It makes you wince. Alfred had already did the best he could with your face. No stitches thankfully. But just bandages and ointments.

“So how long have you known I was his child?” you ask Tim.

He shrugs his shoulders, “After the gala before the lunch interview”

“You mean the set up to get my DNA.”

He winces when you say that. 

“Tomatoe, tomato.”

Alfred lets you know that he’s done wrapping you and that you should lay down and try to get some rest. Which you don't argue with, you get the feeling that you don’t really argue with a man like him. He helps you pull your shirt down.

So you lean back slowly into the bed. You try to hold back the sounds of pain but one slips past your lips. This makes Tim and Bruce stand over your bed.

“You don’t have to worry. I’m pretty sure I’m not gonna die from a couple beatings from Ra’s.” You say plainly.

And it hurts Bruce. Damian had told him that you were in the league years before. But he could tell the harsh treatment you suffered there stayed with you. You were able to take so many hits from Ra’s it was something he never wanted to witness in his life.

“Any normal person would.” Tim says.

Bruce looks over at him.

“Well after I came out the pit things changed.” You answer.

They both look at you then. You figured Damian told at least Bruce that you were brought back to life by the pit. Maybe he was leaving that to you to discuss. 

“We’ll talk about this in the morning. Get some-” Bruce begins.

Then you hear the incoming footsteps to your new room. Sure enough Damian pops into view in the doorway. He wastes no time in running over to you, stopping short of hugging you once he sees the wrappings peeking through your newly acquired pajamas.

“Alfred says you’ll live.” he says.

You nod you head lightly, as to not start another headache before the ibuprofen kicks in. 

“You got there right in time.”

“I shouldn’t have let him get to you in the first place.” 

“Wasn’t your fault, besides I can handle myself.” 

“Obviously not look at your face.”

“I was in retirement. Cut me some slack.”

Bruce interrupts the impromptu match the both of you were having. Even though a part of him didn’t want to. He wanted to see the two of you interact more, since the both of you were family after all.

“Time to rest, say goodnight Damian.”

Damian takes another look over you. 

“Goodnight.”

He walks out the door with his brother and father. And they shut the lights on their way out. You're thankful you get to shut your eyes for a bit. The homecoming Ra’s gave you was anything but sweet.

By morning time, you wake up to find Damian sleeping in a chair at the end of your bed. He has a blanket pulled over his form, from either Alfred or Bruce you take it.

-

“Thanks for offering to do the dishes with me. I know Alfred is probably losing it in there.” You said.

Bruce looked at you with a laugh, “Yeah.”

When you handed the last dish for him to dry and cut off the sink you didn’t make a move to leave the kitchen. You had some words to say to him now that everything was out in the open.

“I wanna be clear, that day when you hinted at the recorder being on and me hearing your conversation with the others, I wasn’t rejecting you.” 

Bruce stopped drying the plate for a second. You saw him falter. He tried to pick up like it didn’t happen but you saw it. Instead of letting him continue you grabbed the plate from him.

He looked at you. 

“You weren’t?”

You shake your head, “No. I think you're a great guy, from what I know at least. And you had to be or my mother wouldn’t have liked you. Nor would she had wanted me to find you.”

“About your mother-”

“We can talk about her another time. I’m talking about you Bruce Wayne. I wanted to let you know that I do wanna figure out this relationship. I couldn’t say anything before because there was things I was unsure of.”

He cleared his throat.

“Like me?”

“No I wasn't unsure of you. I was unsure of how you would react about me and my past. I was your secret child who had been murdered and brought back to life by a mercenary who trained me to kill. On top of that, I had unknowingly cared for your youngest son before either of us knew anything.” you said.

He nodded his head at your words.

“But I think I knew I was sure of you when you wanted to fake me out about the added information in your interview. When you let me walk away.” you said.

Bruce tried to hide a grin but he couldn’t do it, “I thought you rejected me that day.”

“I was trying to protect you. Before I knew who you were during the night time, that is.”

“So now that you know, how do we do this?” he asked.

You hold up on finger, “First, you will not send me money. I make enough as it is and I do not need more.”

“Maybe just a savings account then.” 

“No, Bruce, no accounts. And no secret accounts either, I’ve heard from Alfred about your little set ups and such.”

“Sneaky.”

“I like him”

- 

When you finally get to the dinning room in the morning everyone, sans Alfred, is waiting for you. You hold onto your wrapping as you take the open seat next to Damian and across from Jason.

“I just wanna say I’m sorry for flirting with you before I knew you were family.” Jason says.

He doesn’t sound that sorry, which makes you look over at Damian. He’s got a proud smirk on his face. You face forward again.

“It’ll never happen again right Todd?” he asks.

Jason mumbles something indescribable. 

Then the room is filled with a moment of silence. It’s not really awkward per say, but you think it’ because they all have so many questions they don’t know where to start.

“So you guys LARP every night?” you ask.

Tim busts out laughing along with Dick. Jason crosses his arms over his chest with a chuckle. Damian, who you can tell is looking at you like you’ve grown another head, isn’t laughing. Neither is Bruce. Like father, like son you guess.

“I think you’re gonna fit right in.” Dick says.

“Speaking of which, are you gonna live here now?” Damian asks point blank.

Bruce beings to apologize for him but you shake your head and let him know it’s alright.

“I’m going to remain at my own residence. If you wanna come over you know the way.”

Jason has a look of shock on his face and Damian stops him. 

“Shut it Todd.”

-

A knock comes from your front door. It must be one of them, maybe they forgot something? You jog over to the door and open it.

Dick Grayson is in your doorway. 

“Did you leave something here?” you asked.

“No, I just wanted to say that I’m glad you're a part of the family. Honestly I’ve never seen Damian so calm before. And not his typical calm where he’s planning out every exit, this is different. It’s like he’s a normal kid.” he said.

You are speechless for a moment. 

“Thank you for letting me know, Dick.” you smiled.

“Gotta get going, a flight to catch.” 

You nodded you head, “Jason said you were in between red-heads. Do I wanna know what that means?”

He chuckled.

“I’ll let you know when I visit again, gotta go meet Wally.” he said.

Then he left with a simple wave. You could tell he wanted to hug you but didn’t want to cross any boundaries you might’ve had. In all honesty you would’ve hugged him back. You can see a bit of him in Damian and you’re thankful. 

You closed the door and turned the lock. 

-

As the rest of the boys cleared out, Bruce slid over your phone. The new one that you thought you had dropped on the sidewalk when you were taken. You reach for it and it’s totally fine.

You look up at him.

“Thanks, how did you get this?” 

“Nyssa.” 

Her name makes you still. She was never going to contact you after that night. Whatever friendship the two of your had was over. It was going to be hard to come to terms with but you’d have to make do.

But why did Nyssa have your phone?

“But this was on the ground last time I checked.” you asks.

“We saw on cctv, she picked it up while you were being put into the van. She had it on her the whole time, she’s the reason we were able to find you. Nyssa turned it on and it pinged a tower.” he answers.

Maybe it would be the last thing she ever did for you. Saving your life. You didn’t know what to think about her actions. It all felt like a past life or something.

You turn it on and see that you have unread messages and unanswered calls. Spanning days.

“How do I have all of this on my phone?” “I might’ve asked a favor from Killer Croc. It’s just the SIM card don't worry.”

“You mean Batman asked Killer Croc to find my phone?” 

“He told me it wasn’t that far from where you dropped it, outside of your building.”

“What I’m hearing is you and Killer Croc talk one-on-one.”

-

About fifteen minutes later, after Dick returned, there was a knock you were expecting. It came from your fire escape. You hurried your way into your room and drew up the blinds. There he was.

You slid open the window.

“Hurry up and get in, it’s fuckin cold out there and I’ve got nothing on.” you said.

He climbed through the window and stood toe to toe with you. 

“I can see that. Nice tank top.” he joked.

You raised your eyebrows at him, “You know I can just kick you out of my home you horny bastard.” 

“Oh but then we couldn’t all the fun stuff.”

“That would indeed be the point Jason.”

He kissed the top of your head. Then he began to peel off his jacket. The same one that he wore to the gala when you first met. He looked just as good right now as he did that night. The cigarette smell might’ve added to that too. He placed it over the chair that sat in the corner of your room near the window.

It was a quick, like lighting really, and you saw him move his eyes away but he looked at your scar below your collarbone. It stuck out like a sore thumb when you two weren’t rolling around in the dark.

But before you can say something to him, he speaks.

“I never told you this, but I think we must’ve ran into each other before all of this.” he says.

You tilt your head, “where would I run into you, Jason Todd?”

“I’m not sure, maybe in a past life or something.” he shrugs.

You watch as he walks past you, heading to the kitchen no doubt. Out of the both of you your fridge is the better choice for actual food and not takeout. You follow behind him, only up until your room’s doorway which you lean your body against. And you think to yourself, you have a couple of past lives now.

[bigskydreaming]

Doing some writing today off and on between errands and work, and jumping around various Kings of the Sky installments, specifically Dick, Jason and Cass stuff, so probably gonna post snippets from a bunch of them as I go. 

(Kings of the Sky is an AU that goes canon divergent from the point of Jason calling Dick for advice for dealing with Bruce after the Garzonas case and where things end up going dramatically different from that point on. Including Jason not dying, being part of his own lineup of Titans between Dick and Tim’s, Dick being adopted not long after the Church of Blood incident, Cass being the third Wayne kid to be taken in and adopted and with Tim and Duke being next and then Damian coming along later once they find out about him. This is basically my ‘the family’s alright’ AU with largely ‘Good Dad Bruce’ except for Dick and then Jason yelling some sense into him about the other, respectively, in the first two installments, just FYI).

Anyway, this bit is from a story called “In Their Shadows Grow Trees Of Good and Evil,” set about a year after Cass has been adopted, when she and Jason are both sixteen and Dick’s twenty-one. Also just FYI, because canon has never been specific about what ways Cass is neurodivergent due to the comic-book style ‘rewiring’ of her brain so that she could learn to speak later in life, I tend to go with her being dyslexic and having aphasia. She sticks exclusively to sign language and being a silent presence in her costumed personas, so that there’s no chance of people connecting the dots between Black Bat and Cassandra Wayne, as she mostly speaks verbally in her civilian persona and doesn’t hide her aphasia. The reason there’s not likely to be any obvious signs of aphasia in the snippets of her I post is because I wait until I complete something to choose words at random to replace with aphasia-born mixups, so its more realistic and I’m not gearing her dialogue towards deliberately placed moments. Just in case you were wondering.

In Their Shadows Grow Trees of Good and Evil

“Hey Todd,” sneered an exquisitely obnoxious voice. “Why’s your sister so fucking weird?”

Jason sighed the sigh of a soul a mere century into its eternity of damnation as he rose from the lunch table he’d been studying at and crammed the rest of his books into his backpack. Then he pasted a cheerfully bland smile on his face and turned around, geared for academia warfare (teenage prep school edition).

“Hey Craig,” he said brightly. “Why’d you come out of the womb so ugly your parents had to tie a piece of steak around your neck just to get the family dog to go near you? Mysteries abound.”

The advancing junior slowed a step, momentarily rocked by his truly impressive return volley. The grimace Craig’s already gargoyle-esque features twisted into made his face even more unpleasant to look at than usual, which was quite the feat. Jason would have applauded if just looking at it hadn’t already turned him to stone.

But the bargain basement basilisk kept on towards him rather than turn tail and skulk off to pop his emotional blisters, so Jason sighed a sequel to his first one. Looked like it was one of those days where Craig felt up to powering through. Guess someone had eaten their self-esteem Wheaties that morning. Joy.

“You think you’re pretty hot shit, don’t you, Todd?”

Jason shrugged. “I mean, to be honest I kinda have a one track mind, so right now I’m mostly just thinking about punching you in your mistake.”

“My what?”

“Your face,” Jason elaborated with exaggerated patience.

“Huh?”

“Oh my god, I’m saying your face is a mistake. See, its not as fun when I have to stop and explain it to you. Ugh, you ruin everything.”

He neatly sidestepped the older boy as R2-Dumbass stayed frozen, smoke coming off of his internal CPU while trying to catch up. For a second Jason thought he was home free, but then he remembered the universe fucking hated him so haha, sucks to suck. Also, a small crowd had gathered to witness the verbal jousting match, and nothing invigorated an asshole like Craig more than an audience of like-minded peers. So there was that too.

“Whatever. Laugh it up all you want, you little shit,” the junior rallied. “But just remember, mocking your betters will never change the fact that you were born street trash and you’ll be street trash until the day you die.”

Honestly? Not his best effort. Jason almost felt bad using any of his good material. Seemed like overkill at this point. But he did have a strict Scorched Earth policy to maintain, so.....

“Yeah but my dad could buy out and ruin your dad so that means I still win, right?”

He smirked as the barb landed and Craig’s face set into a sunset vista of strangled purple and furious red. Bam. Direct hit.

“Listen, you - “

“Oh for fuck’s sake, it was rhetorical,” Jason interrupted. “I don’t actually care what you think even a little bit. Nobody does. You don’t matter. Please go be irrelevant elsewhere, you’re fucking dismissed, you loser.”

“Speak for yourself, charity case.” Oh goodie, Craig’s backup singers had finally arrived. Now if only he could remember to care enough to learn their names in the first place. Seriously, who told the extras they could have lines? “All the jokes in the world can’t change who and what you are.”

Jason shrugged and continued nonchalantly up the hill to where his sister was standing with arms crossed, staring down at something on the other side.

“True genius is never appreciated in its own time,” he tossed back over his shoulder. “I’m sure I’ll be immortalized in song eventually.”

The mob of morons deigned to let him go without further incident. Though he suspected that had less to do with his scathing wit and more to do with him being headed towards Cass. She was immaculately presented as always, wearing the Gotham Academy uniform like she was born to it despite hating its uncomfortable stiffness every bit as much as he did. But that was just Cass for you. 

For all that she still struggled at times to engage verbally or speak up in social settings, her mastery of body language remained without peer. She could chameleon-camouflage her way into matching poise and posture with anyone - a skill that had allowed her to walk into school on her very first day with her head held high as though she owned everything in her sight. Exuding so much Queen Bee Intimidation Factor even the other hive queens were afraid to approach her  themselves. Sending forth their drones to try and woo her into an alliance, only to see her remain oh-so-casually above it all, a slightly contemptuous smile adorning her lips.

Basically, she scared the shit out of their classmates without them having anywhere close to a true understanding of why, and Jason was outrageously jealous. Rude. Unfair. Why did his siblings always get all the cool toys when all he had was his rakish charm, scintillating intellect and debonair.....nah, who was he kidding. He was fucking awesome. 

“Sup, sis,” he said, cresting the hill to stand beside Cass. “Just FYI, I just took a popularity bullet for you, which means you owe me your dessert tonight. Its a family rule that’s totally a real thing and definitely not something I just made up right now because Alf is making chocolate soufflé.”

She made no acknowledgment and remained stock still, a Colossus at Rhodes peering down into the shifting shadows of the parking lot below.

He peered down as well, though with absolutely no idea what they were looking at. Solidarity, yo.

“So are we staring fixedly at anything in particular, or should I just pick my own spot and commit?”

His humor was totally wasted on her as always. Instead of laughing and telling him what a lovable goof he was, she just inclined her head in the direction of a blonde girl where she was standing next to the driver’s side door of a Mercedes-Benz, dictating final commandments to her peons before departing. Well, probably. Jason was just guessing, based on his own body language reads, and like, general disdain for literally everyone at this school that wasn’t related to him.

He made a face. An extra special one reserved just for this classmate in particular. “Ugh, Madison Dunleavy? She’s the worst.”

Cass raised a cool eyebrow. “I thought Craig Hendricks was the worst.”

“He is. They’re both the worst. Its a hotly contested position here at Gotham Academy.”

She rolled her eyes and nodded back down at the Queen of Air and Darkness. “So. You know her?”

“Nope,” Jason said. “Come to think of it, I’ve actually never seen her in my life. No idea who that is. Can’t help you, sorry. Shall we go home?”

The Eyebrow of Inquisition speared him with clear intent. Who the fuck needed words when you could pack the Encyclopedia Britannica into a single facial expression?

Jason sighed gustily. 

“I had a slight altercation with her freshman year that led to her declaring her undying enmity for me until the end of time. The word nemesis may or may not have been thrown around once or twice. I can’t recall.”

The Eyebrow of Inquisition lowered nary an inch. Ugh, she wanted more? Why did everyone in his family hate privacy, with the obvious exclusion of himself when snooping through Cass and Dick’s rooms for blackmail material, which was actually intel-gathering and thus another matter entirely.

“Okay so basically what happened was my first week here I overheard her talking shit about me and not even twenty minutes later she was pretending to kiss my ass in homeroom, like probably because of Bruce, y’know? So I just busted out laughing and told her to fuck off and die and she has inexplicably loathed me ever since.”

Avoiding further Eyebrow Inquisition-ing, he made a show of peering around aimlessly. When the silence extended and it was clear Cass was absolutely not going to break first, Jason waved a hand in dismissal and took to peering oh so casually at his fingernails. "I suppose I was less tactful back in those days.”

He chanced a look up, finally, and saw his sister’s eyebrow had somehow managed to mighty morphin power ranger its way into a configuration evoking both judgment and disbelief, with the latter perhaps aimed at the idea he was significantly differing in the tact department these days either.

“I don’t love the implications your face is making right now,” he told her.

She ignored him, because of course she did. 

“Does she know Dick?” She asked instead. Jason shrugged.

“I mean, maybe? She’s probably seen him around at one of those stupid galas we have to go to, and actually I think maybe she has an older brother who was either in Dick’s grade or like, one above or below it? I don’t know.”

Now both eyebrows were doing the dance of disbelief. Okay, so maybe that was poor situational awareness on his part, since it wasn’t like Gotham Academy was a big school with a ton of other kids and also he’d only been in the same class as Madison for like over two whole years, but whatever. There were extingent circumstances.

“Look, she’s a total snob who’s always looked down on me and in return I willfully ignore both her existence and that of everyone and everything even tangentially related to her. Its called equality, Cass.”

She pursed her lips and went back to the peering, because of course in the mind of Cass it made total sense that the Grand Inquisition didn’t need to be followed up by any explanation on her part, what the hell. Like was he supposed to have inferred it?

“What’s this all about anyway?”

“I heard her talking about Dick earlier,” she said without peeling her eyes away from her personal recon mission. “I don’t know what she said though, I just heard her say Grayson, and then I was busy looking at what her body was saying. I know it was about Dick because she shut down when she saw me. And I didn’t like the way she....looked....before that happened. The way she was talking. It was.....”

Jason frowned but held back any follow-up questions while he waited - with total patience because he wasn’t an absolute cad, thank you very much - for his sister to find the word she was hunting for. It was a major source of frustration for her, that whatever neural map her brain followed put body language and spoken language in totally different regions of her brain, separated by a fairly great divide. Meaning she usually had to make a conscious choice to focus on body language or conventional languages - whether verbal or sign. But it tended to be one or the other; she’d yet to master taking in and comprehending both forms of ‘language’ at the same time. And none of them had quite figured out how to convince her that she wasn’t actually missing anything when she chose to focus on one specific form of communication - that she was still observing far more than most people ever would.

“Proprietary,” Cass settled on at last. She nodded her satisfaction with her choice of word, and Jason waited a whole two point five seconds before sticking  his whole foot in his mouth.

“Proprietary?” He asked with a scrunched nose as he weighed that for possible context and implications. “You sure?”

She glared. He winced. It was a whole thing.

“Yeah, I know, sorry, sorry, I heard it the second it was out of my mouth. We don’t actually have to experiment with the legitimacy of if looks could kill.”

Cass rolled her eyes, but eh. That could’ve gone worse.

Jason swiftly redirected attention anyway. Discretion is the better part of valor, after all.

“So. The Queen of Air and Darkness was talking about our big bro, and her mood was.....proprietary, huh?” He recapped while digesting the info like a boss. “Well. Definitely not loving that, I gotta say. Hold please.”

Pulling out his phone and pulling up his most recent texts, he began typing furiously.

“What are you doing?” Cass asked.

“Texting Tom,” he replied, because duh. Hah, now it was his chance to have the answers that should be patently obvious and thus make with the ‘are you kidding me’ when she asked obvious questions she should know the answer to! How do you like them apples, sis?

“Why are you texting your boyfriend right now?”

Jason rolled his eyes, because fair is fair, but never ceased texting for a moment. Time was of the essence here, probably. Well, maybe. Okay probably not. But it’d still been like half an hour since he and Tom had last texted and that’s a very fucking long time in teenage years.

“To be our getaway driver tonight, obviously.”

She stared at him. He didn’t look up, but he could feel it anyway. He was very intuitive like that.

“What?”

Jason heaved another sigh, one keyed to tones of ‘oh my god, do I really have to spell this out,” exasperation. He was just racking up the bonus points here. It was really too bad this wasn’t an actual competition he could actually win and this was all just pettiness taking place wholly in his own head. Lame. 

“Well, clearly we now have to go snoop in Madison’s house aka lair to see if its actually a house or a full on lair. Because she’s either a creeper or like, legit evil, and its important to know which one before we proceed, because obviously we can only bust her for being a weird creeper about our brother as Jason and Cass, whereas if she’s legit evil, that’s gotta go down as Robin and Black Bat. I’ll handle the snooping, you’ll take look-out, but we still need a wheelman and that’s why I’m texting Tom. This is all very mission-oriented, okay. I’m a professional.”

“Right,” she affirmed, while sounding anything but convinced. “Why don’t we just tell Bruce?”

Without looking up or breaking stride, he said: “I’m going to give you til I finish typing this sentence to figure out what was wrong with what you just said. Remember that we are talking about hypothetical danger to our brother, and also Bruce’s idea of a proportionate response to any of his children being in even hypothetical danger. And also our brother’s idea of a proportionate response to Bruce’s idea of a proportionate response. Look, you’re still new so I’m gonna need you to just trust me on this one. Its gonna be a no on telling Bruce without further intel.”

Cass said nothing in response to that, which meant that she was conceding the point and recognized the wisdom of his words. Or maybe that she was just gonna go ahead and do what she wanted anyway and just wasn’t bothering to fight about it, but it was probably that first thing.

“Well you better not just make out with your boyfriend all night,” is what she said at last, and that got his attention reeeeeal quick like.

“Umm. Wow. Okay. So, first off, you’re not the boss of me and who I make out with and when, so jot that down. And second, now I’m definitely going to make out with my boyfriend extra hard, with the exception of when we are actually on our recon mission because as previously established, I am a professional. And also, again, you’re not the boss of me.”

Jason ignored her Eye Roll With Extra Emphasis, and instead just held up his phone to Text With Extra Emphasis, as he read along with what he was typing.

“By the way babe, we have to make out extra hard tonight,” he said, tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth while he dragged out his dictation with the kind of focus that usually led to Bruce asking why he couldn’t apply as much intensity to training as he did to pettiness. “Cass has suddenly decided she can dictate terms to me and I need to shut that shit down ASAP, so thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter. Smoochies and other gay stuff to the best boyfriend ever.”

Jason frowned as a response pinged back seconds later. 

TheCatsMeow: ....the things I put up with for the sake of your weird family dynamics.

TheOnlyRobinThatRocks: Yeah, yeah. You’re a saint among were-panthers. Must you mock? Why can’t you just tell me I’m pretty instead?

TheCatsMeow: Sorry. Let me try again. OMG you’re so pretty Jase how did I get so lucky xoxo.

TheOnlyRobinThatRocks: No. Its too late. It feels forced and unbelievable now. You’ve ruined it forever.

TheCatsMeow: Got it. From now on I will only tell you that you’re repulsive and hideous.

TheOnlyRobinThatRocks: I’m breaking up with you.

TheCatsMeow: But after I help you with your mission tonight.

TheOnlyRobinThatRocks: Obvsly. I’m a professional. Why do people keep forgetting this?

TheCatsMeow: And also the making out to spite your sister.

TheOnlyRobinThatRocks: Yeah we should do that first too. I mean we already penciled it in.

[justcourttee]

Flirty Ladybird saves Blushing Mess Damien from a hostage situation and the bat fam gets there to witness it.

Flirty and Confident Marinette is ALWAYS a pleasure to write. 

A Kidnapped Date

“This is the third time this week you’ve been kidnapped Mr. Wayne. I’m starting to think you commission these guys just so I can save you.”

“I told you a million times woman, Mr. Wayne is my father. Stop addressing me as if I were some aristocrat with a stick up my ass.”

Her giggle sounded hysterical to him as she leaped off her victim leaving him to fall into an unconscious pile on the ground. Watching her toy with each of the thugs like this was some kind of game for her, Damian couldn’t help but be impressed. When Ladybird first showed up in Gotham City six months ago, his father had put it up to vote as to whether they should act on her existence or allow her to run free with a warning.

Clearly, they had made the wrong decision.

“So Prince Damian, when are you going to ask me out?”

“Excuse me?” The heat that rose to Damian’s face was instantaneous. Ladybird was always forward, but this was a first. “Prince isn’t much better than Mr. Wayne.”

A sickening snap came from behind him as the thug let out a cry before a thud indicated that he had passed out. Two leather-clad hands gently snaked their way down his shoulders sending a shiver through his body. Normally, he would have pushed away from the advances of women like her, but at the moment his hands were tied, quite literally.

“Hmm, this is genuine silk huh? You really did dress to impress my prince.” Her lips brushed his ear as her whispers tickled his skin. “This is quite an expensive suit, do you always roam Gotham City dressed as such, or was tonight in hopes of seeing me?”

Her hands slowly traveled further down his chest resting on his abdomen as she draped her chin over his shoulder. The baby hairs that strayed from her bun mocked his self-restraint as he did everything he could not to lean over and lay his cheek on them. Damian was positive she could feel his heart racing no matter how much he begged it to stop.

“Say, what if I give you my number pretty boy?” Her hands began to travel again stopping just above his belt. He wanted to push her off, but some part of him stayed complacent as his quickening heart felt like it would explode with one more inch. “Of course, it would have to be my work phone, I’m not quite sure you could handle my alter ego.”

“Didn’t you finish your job? Just untie me and leave woman.” Damian couldn’t control the crack in his voice and any hope she hadn’t noticed vanished as the melodic sound of her laughter echoed.

“If that’s what you wish my Prince. Besides, I know Batsy is sitting in the shadows ready to rush in and return you to your father.”

Damian stiffened immediately as he tried to stare into the darkest corner of the room for his father’s silhouette. That bastard knew Ladybird was playing with him and decided to watch the show. He hoped his father had made his peace with whatever afterlife he believed in.

His wrists began to loosen as the soft thump of the ropes hit the floor. As he stood, Damian turned to thank her only to be met with soft lips on his. The contact couldn’t have been for more than a second but it startled him. Quickly he took a step backward tripping over his own feet and landing on his butt.

“Ciao, I’ll see you at your next kidnapping mon amour!” His eyes traveled to the glass roof where she stood sending him another kiss from above before she disappeared.

With a single finger, Damian delicately traced over his lips. She had really kissed him. He had his first kiss sto-

“Woah ho ho, Ladybird totally just stole your first kiss!”

Damian felt his entire face flush as he swung behind him making contact with Jason’s gut.

“Did she taste like strawberries? I bet she did. She looks like the kind of girl who uses flavored chapstick.”

Dick was smarter as he stood at an arm’s length away from Damian’s blind swinging.

“Damian, if your girlfriend keeps interrupting these kidnappings, we’ll never get the information we’re looking for.”

“She’s not my girlfriend Drake!”

Damian reclined until his back his the ground. Instantly, three faces loomed over him, each wearing the same smug expression.

“What do you think Brucey? Can’t we just let her in on the mission so she’ll stop saving our ‘damsel’ here?”

“Not yet Jason. How else do you think Damian will get experience with talking with the opposite sex? If  I expect to see him married one day, he’ll need to continue these dates.”

Damian let out an involuntary groan as their laughter billowed around him. Covering his eyes with his arm, he allowed them a few more moments of joking around. Besides, it wasn’t like he could hear a word.

His mind was miles away running with the thought of stealing the next kiss from her.

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[winterwolf0916]

Batboys with a Medium! S/O

Request: If you're still accepting Batfam requests; may I request Batboys having a medium S/O? It takes a toll on them if they witness things from horror movies A/N: Happy late spooky day. Also I apologize this is short. I felt really down today and I just felt so...sad for so many reasons. Anywho who cares... At the end of the day, there's a light at the end of the tunnel, right? Word Count: 1K

Dick

This man thought you were joking

A medium?

Fr?

Yeah he fought aliens, atlanteans-

He was raised well enough to know to never fuck with Amazons. He knows they’ll kick his ass but they adore him like a little baby

-people, crooks, animal like people, and a couple of other beings that are just questionable.

Yeah he remembers a lot of horror movies with those sorts 

Yeah he went against some “monsters” who actually turned out to be people like an episode of Scooby Doo.

But come on, ghosts?

Oh how he ate those words

He was only brushing his teeth in his apartment until he felt the room go cold and saw a woman with a half ripped face appearing in the mirror.

-Was that Dick screaming?-

You sighed and grabbed your items for communication since you’ve figured the apartment was haunted for like a good 2 weeks

Dick tried to stop you from ever entering the room

He should’ve listened to you but nooooo

His jaw dropped when he barged in the bathroom to find you and the lady giggling.

Turns out she thought her relatives still lived here and she wanted to give them a scare

Woops

After that night he believed you and promised to never make fun of the paranormal ever again

You help him so much on patrols

You get visions of the future and warn him about secret plans from every single villain

“Aha! It seems like you have fallen for-why is my henchman in my trap?” 

-Cue Penguin hanging off of a building and police cars surrounding him-

On a special day, it was Dick’s birthday

You woke him up before the sun was out and pulled him to the couch

He was confused before you held his hands and told him to close his eyes before-

Oh…

He sees his parents

He also communicated with them by your help

After a few hours, he was awakened from the couch and you gave a sheepish smile.

“Happy birthday.” 

Jason

“Am...Am I a ghost or a zombie to you?”

He was teasing of course. 

He died ok?

So of course he believes in the paranormal but he wouldn’t think they would do so much harm.

Until one night...

You pleaded him not to go out for patrol

Since earlier in the day you got a vision predicting how the night will go for Jason

He’s can’t miss patrol for the night he said

No reason to be scared of that warehouse he said

He’ll be alright, he said…

Please say sike right now 

As soon as he returned home, he was so shaken up.

Jason has always been so tough on the outside but this…

His walls were cracked open to the point where you could sense his dangerous aurora broken apart.

You were pretty angry at the spirits of what they did to your boyfriend 

He was trying his best not to act afraid in front of you and flinch by your touch

As he was fast asleep and you cleared away the bad dreams, you left to the warehouse and spoke with the spirits

Turns out those bastards were having a blast reminding him of the terrible trauma.

Oh was that how they felt?

You cracked your knuckles and gave those suckers a hell of vanishing.

How bad?

You caused a slight earthquake at Gotham Harbor giving those assholes thousands of punishments in various painful ways

Not a single soul decides to mess with Jason because of what happened that night

Like Dick, you and Jason would meditate so he could talk to his parents or his old friends.

He now believes you.

Tim

Ghosts?

Spirits???

Supernatural??????

This man sometimes uses tactics to keep himself awake at night

Watching horror movies was one of them

It was a semi for believing

He would sometimes be paranoid for certain things

Like someone watching him

Then after he confessed of his paranoia, it was strange that he never encountered that feeling again.

-You scared off a spirit that has been haunting him for the past month-

You would remind him where his items are before he could even ask or notice they were missing

“You left your jacket at the library.” “Your keys are on the counter hon.” 

Or “Babe have you seen my-” You pointed at the closet while going on your phone.

There are times when Tim have to leave for patrol after countless of all nighters

Which is something ludicrous and dangerous because one slip up could cost his life.

And you being you, would sometimes expose who was the one holding masacres or the location of the criminal to Bruce.

Or ask a friendly spirit of yours to haunt a crook for a short while so Tim would get some sleep instead of leaving for the night and haven't slept for a solid five days

Making sure he doesn’t get nightmares

You would give him calming dreams and making sure he has enough energy when he wakes up.

-You debating with Tim that tea was better than coffee-

Him asking odd questions.

“Is mothman real?” “Huh?” “Yeah, you’re right that’s too extreme… How about werewolves?”

He’s too cute

Damian

PFFT

In the beginning he thought you were pranking him but he slowly starts to believe you

Like-

“Beloved I told you I can’t-”

“Careful, you’re going to hit your face.”

“Wha-” the door slammed right on his face with full speed.

-Jason died that day-

Another time was when you were meditating while he was having trouble training

You helped him by asking a few favors from the spirits and the next day, his arm was better.

You were like Oracle to Damian during his missions. 

And his missions were pretty fast because of your visions

When one of his pets died, he felt so down for months.

So you did everything in your power to help him communicate with this deceased pet.

He felt better

Whenever your visions get intense and you start to get dizzy, he’ll always catch you when you go unconscious or fall back

You and Damian meditating together

Comforting him when he has nightmares and clearing them away

Damian pranking on Jon by using your tools for communication

When the Superson entered his room, there was a faint scream and sounds of furniture crashing. 

Damian was cackling as Jon came back to the living room and his face was pale

Boy, you were angry

You gave Damian a taste of his own medicine for a good 2 days before he asked -begged- for you to stop.

“Now you see how Jon feels.” “There’s a difference. I remained strong for 2 days while he couldn’t last five minutes.” “Ok then, I guess I could ask Benny to for a visit-” “L/n, put the Ouija Board down.”

[liquid-luck-00]

Connections 6

Chapter 6

this is based on @thepeacetea daminette soulmate au

Masterlist *** First *** Previous *** Next

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Grandfather hated soulmates and the entire league shared that sentiment. His Mother was glad for the fact that he did not have any soul mark. That was good he wasn’t tied to anyone; he didn’t have to worry about it. It wasn’t until he was six that something changed, and he was thankful that he was alone in his room when it happened. A thought fluttered through his mind alone he instantly recognized was not his own.

An invisible bond. My soulmate will be affected by the *********** magic that affects me. They are my other half; I have to protect them.

“Tt” Damian allowed to be stated aloud. Protect me huh, as if! That was when it occurred to him I have a soulmate.

Damian bolted up and sat straight. If I have a soulmate and I just heard their thoughts. Well if this was their thoughts. Do they know mine. Damian was beginning to become infuriated with this new piece of knowledge, what struck him as odd was the fact that he felt like something was missing in the thought. It was as if that last piece could help him understand this peculiar event. In that moment, his mother came into his room.

“Damian it is time to go” His mother snapped him out of his thoughts, and he pushed this into the back of his mind. He followed his mother, and this was simply filled away in his mind under things that were useless or frustrating.

---

It wasn’t until three years later would his bond would infuriate him again. As far as he knew nothing was out of the ordinary. No one batted and eye when he already knew how to handle guns, they simply praised him for being a natural and he himself did not think of it either.

But then he had to get ready for the Lazarus Ritual. His mother came to retrieve him and then everything changed. He remembered walking behind his mother blinked and he was sitting in a large room. In his lap was a book filled with drawings. Wait what the Hell was he wearing. He looked at his hands and his skin was lighter, he was wearing a wait is this a skirt. Then he looked up and saw this thing. It was this little red blob with a black spot on its forehead between clear blue eyes. That was when he began to scowl.

The question left his lips before he could process anymore “Maza ank (What are you)?” he practically spat continuing still “Ayn anna (Where am I)?” the blob seemed to only stare in shock.

The little thing looked at him and then smiled. Why would it smile. “I’m Tikki and it is nice to meet you, soulmate to my chosen” it seemed to choose its words carefully, wait why did it respond in English. But it answered half of my question he was about to respond but this Tikki spoke again “As to where you are, I am not at liberty to say.”

He decided to shift to English as this creature seemed to speak it “What is the meaning of this soulmate to your chosen rubbish?”

“just as it sounds you are the soulmate of my chosen. You being here is a result of your bond.” He scowled and stared at the blob and it sighed. “You have an invisible bond but because your other half is my chosen you both have a bond different than anyone else’s on the planet.” He began to scowl harder if that was even possible. “this bond will only continue to grow but know that what one learns the other knows as well. I am assuming it is because of you that my chosen knows how to fight.”

This pulled at Damian’s interest they know how to fight because of me then what do I know because of them. He looked at the blob again and decided to ask “does your chosen know how to handle firearms, before today?” he half hoped he was wrong because if they did his soulmate may just be as dangerous as him if not more if this creature was anything to go off of.

It was quiet and then it nodded “yes my chosen has known how to handle firearms for years now.”

Shit. Well at least I know that they can handle themselves.

“I believe our time has come to an end. Until we meet once again soulmate of my chosen.” It spoke as he blinked and then he was standing on a balcony cliff overlooking the Lazarus pit as they took his grandfather out to his chambers. He dimly remembered his mother calling him and leaving him in his quarters. Then the memory of the ritual surfaced. It was odd he was watching it but it felt detached from himself almost like a video recording, there was no feeling just the ritual and the proceedings but he felt nothing from it.

---

Mari was going through her sketchbook talking about what she was planning for her dad, she blinked and she was walking behind a woman, her aura was deadly so she schooled her emotions and presented a blank face almost bored and then they exited the dark halls into an outcrop balcony of sorts overlooking a large cavern with a pool of bubbling acid green water on the other side.

She scanned the cave and then she noticed several people dressed in all black surrounding another man. From her vantage she saw a cruel face that was surrounded by black and white hair and beard. His eyes were the same acid green as the water and the aura around him as well. He wore a regal robe in a deep crimson accentuated by black and gold designs.

The cruel mad began to speak and she understood it as being Arabic.

“All here are to bear witness to the revitalization of the Demon Head. By the power of the Lazurus Pit…” more was said and then Marinette watched as the man took the robe off and stepped into the Pit. He completely submerged and the water glowed a sickly green and then he remerged. He put on the robe and continued to speak.

Mari knew that what she just witnessed was an abuse of the magic in the water, and she forced herself to remain impassive. She knew that everyone in the room would turn on her if she showed any emotion that would betray her. And then it hit her she knew no one and was talking with Tikki sitting in the parlor of Wayne Manor so how did she end up here. She watched as the man with cruel eyes left and she blinked again and then she saw Tikki staring at her expectantly, and she simply shook her head, Tikki looked sad and then Alfred came in.  

“Miss Mari” he tried to get her attention kneeling next to her on the couch, but she simply stared straight forwards. Everyone came into the room trying to find out why Alfred sounded frazzled.

Then she looked up and stared at Jason, she finally found her voice and asked “J… Jay… Jay-Jay why are… why are you covered in chaos magic” everyone was staring at her so she tried asking another way. “Why are you covered in magic from the Lazarus Pit?” everyone looked scared and now Mari was confused as well.

“How do you know that name, Mari?” Tikki asked her, breaking the silence.

“I” she didn’t know how to explain what just happened to her “I just heard it, I saw it, it was it was like a ritual”

“Tikki is this normal for a miraculous holder” Bruce asked looking at Tikki hoping for an answer

Tikki simply shook her head “No it isn’t. seeing the Lazarus arura is for a Ladybug, but this knowledge is not normal…” then she stopped ad gave Mari a knowing and sad smile. “Mari do you think?” Tikki didn’t have to finish the question for Mari to understand.

As Tikki asked her everything seemed to fall into place she was close to crying from fear or joy she didn’t know. “it might be, it’s the most logical.”

“What does this incur exactly?” Alfred spoke from kneeling beside Marinette.

“Her soulmate” Tikki said and that left everyone quiet once again. “Mari knows how to fight, that much you know but what you don’t is that she has never had any type of training. The same goes for several languages she has never studied, she can read a person’s body language without any difficulty, and now this.” Everyone was staring at her now almost like they knew something that she didn’t and that scared her.

Bruce kneeled down and pulled Mari into a hug. And whispered in her ear quiet enough so no one else heard but her “I’ll explain but for now it is okay to cry if your scared something must have happened for this to affect you so much”

Her eyes widened in surprise before she began to cry, and Bruce took her in his arms and together with Tikki left the parlor to her room.

---

Once they were in Mari’s room Bruce wrapped her in a blanket and sat next to her on the bed when the door opened. There stood Jason in front and right behind him were Dick and Tim, further in the hallway was probably Alfred. Bruce glared at them and they closed the door and heard several pairs of feet leave.

Bruce sighed and shared a look with Tikki before he spoke “Pixie do you know what the Lazarus Pit is?”

She shook her head no “not completely, no.”

“What do you know?” this time Tikki spoke.

“I could tell it was filled with magic. It was a pool of bubbling acid green water.”

“you said it was like a ritual can you explain” Bruce tried to keep his voice level. He had hoped to never have to explain this to Mari, Mari looked down into her lap and Tikki flew into her sights.

“He said it was a Revitalization Ritual. Something about a Demon”

He was surprised when Tikki started to speak. “The Lazarus Pit was created by a wish combining the miraculous of the Ladybug and the Black cat. The Ladybug magic allows anyone touched by the water to be revived, healed, and extends their life. It was created by the first wish. However, the Black cat’s magic breaks the soul of the person it touches, thus making them quick to anger and dangerous there is only one exception, but it is more of a rumor as it has never happened.”

Bruce asked without thinking “Can you heal someone from the pit after they come back?” If this is true we can help Jason.

“It is possible, but it would only be stated in the grimoire, and it was lost along with the peacock and Butterfly miraculous” Bruce couldn’t help the small frown but it was soon replaced by shock as little Mari hugged him.

“We will help Jay-Jay with or without magic” Bruce let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and hugged Mari.

“I know” he then looked at the girl and he now continued. “The Pit is controlled by a group called the League of Assassins and the Demon you heard of is a man by the name of Ra’s al Ghul.”

Mari looked pensive “Tall, cruel acid green eyes with black and white hair and beard” she stated as if recalling something.

Bruce just looked at her shocked “yes” he couldn’t believe this how did sweet little Mari meet such a man. “How. How do you know him?”

“I saw him during the ritual” this just brought up more questions, but all his questions died on his lips as he saw Tikki rise.

“Mari you swapped with your soulmate today” she stated it as a fact as if she knew and was confirming it. Mari nodded her head, and Tikki sighed. “I spoke with them while you were swapped it happened right before Alfred came into the room. They were direct and to the point, and I don’t think they knew that they even had a soulmate until today.”

This was news but then again knowing Ra’s despises weakness any assassin in training under him would as well. It also figures if it is an invisible bond, they are so rare that there is very little known how they interact with the soul. In this moment he knew that he would protect the little pixie in front of him wrapped up in a blanket, and he knew that her ‘Brothers’ would protect her as well.

Next

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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