#but she was still a kid batman used and got killed
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oifaaa · 2 years ago
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speaking my truth….
people who write jason with pit madness actually just want stephanie brown
I mean for the most part fanon Jason really is just Stephanie Brown with the main differences being the crime lord thing and Jason being Bruce's adopted son but I think it would be easier to just make an au where stephs a crime boss rather then completely destroy Jason's whole ass character by giving him pit madness
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autisticrosewilson · 3 months ago
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So do you guys actually think that Jason's entire story, relationship to the others, and philosophy amounts to him being a rebellious teen who wants his dad's attention? Like are you 100% serious? I thought you were joking about that but too many of you are saying it with your whole chest.
And what the fuck is this "Bruce antagonizing Jason is fanon!" Shit I've been seeing? You guys are aware that a parent can love their kid and still be a shit parent right? I know you guys don't want to fathom the thought that maybe your blorbo might also occasionally have to face responsibility for consistently endangering children but let's not start being delusional now.
Bruce does love his kids, that doesn't mean that he hasn't hurt them. And I'd also argue that for the most part he feels in the right for it, and he's said multiple times that he believes it's for their own good, so you can't even argue that he's sorry about it. It's okay for you guys to admit that your PERSONAL INTERPRETATION of the character wouldn't do that but don't sit here and pretend that it's not a facet of the source.
#you can argue meta until you're blue in the face#but I can't ignore the ingerent abuse of Batman and Robin because DC is always drawing attention to it#Stephanie and Jason directly died because of Robin#Stephanie wanted to impress Bruce to live up to his idea of a sidekick and prove her worth#Sheila only sold Jason out when she found out he was Robin#Damians life certainly got worse when he became Robin/moved with Bruce#if you bring up racist retcons I'll kill you btw#how are we supposed to read children dying and being tortured and traumatized constantly#and just ignore that these are children#I can ignore the reality of child sidekicks in campy light hearted early comics#but if DC wants to deal with serious topic they're going to have to deal with some serious implications too#Also that post that's going around about “Bruce loves Jason and it's Jason who's causing all the animosity” is such bullshit#what the fuck are you even talking about#and let's not act like Jason is the ONLY one at fault and Bruce is just a poor loving father#is Bruce spreading that utter bullshit about Jason's death and who he was not an act of violence?#was he not the one to cast the first stone by disgracing Jason's legacy and using a version of him that never existed as a cautionary tale#and I know some of you are going to argue that with most of the kids there's nothing Bruce could have done to stop them#and this is the one time in which I will ignore all the very real ways that he could have#but I still think that in universe the characters have a right to be angry about it#Jason always since his debut as red hood been a vehicle for calling out Bruce#he's so heavily steeped in meta narrative because his run is when they started dealing with the real BAD cases#The Cult Garzonas onscreen murders were getting more common#AND NO ONE CAN CONVINCE ME THAT BEING ROBIN DIDN'T MAKE JASON'S LIFE WORSE#THERE WAS NO REASON TO MAKE HIM ROBIN HE COULD HAVE BEEN VERY HAPPY AS JUST A NORMAL KID#But Bruce made having a place in his home synonymous with being Robin because the narrative dictated it had to be#what was homeless orphan Jason going to do? say no?#it was basically coercion and it doomed him and he has every right to blame the adult that put him in that position#dc#bruce wayne critical#bat family
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timmydraker · 13 days ago
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Tim accidently referring to the Joker as Dad but those who know about Joker Jr aren’t present and so everyone is left with the ‘realisation’ that Tim is the son of the biggest nightmare to their family.
It’s probably Jason and Steph, her there to bother Tim but Jason went to the manor for food and the two naturally started arguing. Maybe Jason tells Tim to stop costing on his case and prove a point be made against blonde, but Tim just offhandedly goes, “Later, I think my dad broke out of Arkham again but the guards aren’t doing anything. Maybe they’re in on it…”
The two present naturally look at each other with confusion and for the first time stop bickering to peak over his shoulder and see what his case is because, holy shit Tim had a villain for a dad and didn’t tell us? Only to see numerous photos of the Joker in his cell and many reports over the last week of how he’s been behaving and Jason…
Steph pushes the man out of the room when she sees his face go from frozen fear to anger, thinking it’s towards Tim and his secrecy and, while she totally gets that, now isn’t the time.
Though when they get into the Jason starts a rant about how Bruce and Dick should have told him that the monster had a child, even if that child wasn’t Tim! Jason protects kids! Did they think he’d hurt him just because of who his father is?
No!
If anything, he’d become the kids full time body guard to stop that mad man from making Tim into another version of himself!
The two naturally go to tell the others, pulling Damian, Cass and Duke into a mostly unused room and telling them what they discovered, all while Tim stays in the library working on his case.
Cass is beyond worried but also confused because he doesn’t seem to have any physical characteristics of the Joker or Harley, but maybe the mother is different? Perhaps it’s still Janet and either she had a fling with the Joker or something far worse, which makes the young girl enraged on the woman’s behalf.
Damian makes a comment about him killing Tim, not in a serious manner but more as an option, but Duke shuts it down, saying that having a villain for a parent doesn’t mean anything about who you will be. He points out those in the family of that nature and other heroes like Superboy.
When asked why they didn’t get Dick or Babs involved, Jason says they defiantly know and lied about it.
It’s only after another three hours of working that Tim catches himself referring to the Joker as dad and shuts his laptop, making his way to Bruce’s room to hide under the older man’s bed like he usually does when that happens, only to overhear what his siblings are saying.
Tim presses his ear against the door to hear better.
“If that maniac had a kid, surely he’d have told everyone he had an heir or something.” That’s Steph’s voice, filled with worry that only he and Cass could detect as she hides it under a whiney tone.
Jason is next to respond, “maybe he doesn’t know? I mean, did Tim ever even interacted with him before he became Robin?”
It doesn’t take much more than that for Tim to realise that he must have been talking aloud again or absently answered someone earlier and misspoke in front of them.
Panic fills him as he avoids telling Bruce when he gets bad, even if it’s just a small thing, because the older man will start of being a concerned parent then go into Batman mode and only just stop himself from putting Tim in the confinement cell. Sure Tim came up with the idea of the cell so he wouldn’t hurt anyone if his conditioning got too bad, but he’s learnt the signs. He’s not a mindless drone, he still knows who he is and doesn’t hear someone talking to him or anything like that.
He just… sometimes forgets the Joker hurt him.
It’s not Tim’s fault that memories of watching TV with him and Harley, tucked between them with a big bowl of ice cream felt better than most memories of his real parents.
But he knows it’s wrong, always comes back to calling the Joker his enemy.
Bruce just doesn’t get that.
Tim hears them talk a bit more, theories about who his mother might be, if Tim is safe at the manor, if Joker knows he has a son…
Opening the door, Tim stands there and stares at them as all eyes snap to him in alarm.
He doesn’t let anybody speak, cutting them all off quickly, “He’s not my dad. Go the cave and search for file number 26557933301-JJ and put in the code AGELAST, all caps.”
With that he turns and leaves, walking at first before running to Bruce’s room to hide.
He goes to family dinner and pretends not to notice the quietness or how Jason is still there, eating his food quietly and waiting for the ball to drop.
Naturally, Damian is the one to say what he wants first, “So why is okay that Tim shot the joker but I got in trouble for stabbing Bane?”
Everyone groans.
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cloakedsparrow · 5 months ago
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Dick: Okay, I think we’re gonna have to do ‘Good Cop, Bad Cop’.
Jason: Yeah. It’s tropey but it works.
Dick: Exactly. Wanna flip for Bad Cop?
Jason: You’re kidding.
Dick: Or we could play Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock?
Jason: Dude, I can’t be Good Cop. I kill people, remember? You can’t kill people and be Good Cop.
Dick: Those were traffickers and mob lieutenants. These are Rogue goons.
Jason: What, like that matters?
Dick: Yes, that matters. They don’t care that you took out some mobsters. They care that you revived the Joker after beating him to death and then let him go.
Jason: I didn’t revive him, I just didn’t let him die yet! And I didn’t let him go either! That was Batman! I was gonna kill the psycho!
Dick: Yeah, well, you still kept him alive and the goons probably know it. Just like they know I was happy to leave him dead when I killed him.
Jason: What?
Dick: You heard me.
Jason: You…?
Dick: Killed the Joker? Yes. I thought he killed Timmy and then when I confronted him, he said your name and…I didn’t stop hitting him until he choked on his own blood.
Jason: Then…how is he still alive?
Dick: Batman revived him.
Jason Fucking what?
Dick: Yeah.
Jason: Well, now I definitely can’t be Good Cop. I’m way to pissed for that shit.
Dick: Well, so am I.
Jason: Fuck.
Dick: Fuck.
Jason: So now whadda we do? Try to beat it outta him?
Dick: No, he'll lock down. That's why I suggested "Good Cop, Bad Cop" to begin with.
Jason: So we need a Good Cop.
Dick: Okay, I’m gonna call Timmy and see if he can come play Good Cop.
Jason: Good plan.
Dick [talking into a secure (& Batman-proof) phone]: Hey, Robin, you busy?
Tim [on speakerphone]: Kinda, yeah. What’s going on? You sound weird.
Dick: Hood and I need to get some intel from a goon, and we’re thinking “Good Cop, Bad Cop” is the way to go but neither of us can pull off Good Cop right now.
Tim: Shit. I’m in Bangkok right now-
Jason: The fuck are you doing in Bangkok?
Tim: Speedy needed help with a thing.
Dick: In Bangkok?
Tim: No. She’s in Korea.
Jason: So, again, why the fuck are you in Bangkok?
Tim: Because Lady Shiva’s here and she’s perfect for what Speedy needs, so I’m calling in a favor she owes me.
Dick: You’re calling in a favor from Lady Shiva because Speedy needs help with a thing in Korea.
Tim: Yep. You got it.
Dick: No, that’s- You say that like it doesn’t require any further-
Tim: Can you hang on for a second? There’s an assassin tailing me.
Dick: Shit. Do you need us to send someone out there?
Jason; Starfire should be done with her thing by now. She's not on your shit list, right?
Tim: No, I like Kori. But I’m good now. My assassin got the other assassin.
Dick: You have an assassin?
Tim: Kinda? She defected from the League of Assassins and is up for hire but she always gives me priority since she feels like she owes me a life-debt.
Dick: Again, you sound like you think that statement doesn’t require any further explanation.
Jason: So you hired your assassin buddy to kill the other assassin?
Tim: What? No. Of course not. She didn’t kill him. We’ll question him later. She never kills on my jobs since she knows I don’t like it.
Dick: What about other jobs?
Tim: That’s her business. We aren’t all control freaks, you know.
Dick: That’s-
Jason: That’s good, Little Red. Good that you have healthy boundaries.
Dick: I have healthy boundaries.
Jason: Sure you do.
Tim: Okay, you’re gonna have to argue that on your own. I’m supposed to help my friends out with something after I get Shiva to help Speedy, but I have to handle this interrogation first. So how about I just send my friends the twenty-five plans I drew up and ask Bunker if he minds helping you out before he joins us? He should be able to get inside Gotham in less than ten minutes.
Jason: Oh, Bunker’s perfect for Good Cop.
Tim: Right? They’ll spill everything and probably give him their grandma’s secret family recipes on top of it.
Dick: Wait. Back it up. You have twenty-five plans drawn up? What are you guys up against?
Tim: Nothing we can’t handle. Young Justice figures, why even bother with a plan B if you aren’t gonna cover the whole alphabet?
Jason: There’s twenty-six letters in the alphabet, Little Red.
Tim: Yeah, but plan Z is always the same, so we don’t bother listing it anymore.
Dick: Is it ‘get an adult’?
Tim: Of course not.
Jason: When you were a Teen Titan, how often did you call in an adult when you probably should have?
Dick: Okay, that’s fair.
Jason: So what’s plan Z?
Tim: ‘Fuck it, we ball’.
Dick: That’s not a pl-
Jason: That’s perfect. I love it.
Dick: No. Don’t encourage him.
Tim: Thanks, Red. So do you want me to ask Bunker about helping you? I’m kinda on a time crunch now.
Jason: Yes, please.
Tim: Okay. He’s on the way. Is there anything else?
Dick: Whe-
Jason: No, we’re good. Have fun storming the castle!
Tim: ‘Kay, bye!
Jason: Bye!
Dick: The fuck-
Jason: Bunker and I can handle the interrogation here and Timmy and his assassin friend are gonna be busy with an interrogation there for a bit. If you take off now, you can probably catch up with him and go all big brother like you’re dying to.
Dick: You sure?
Jason: Yeah, I’m sure me and Bunker can handle this asshole.
Dick: Thank you.
Jason: Yeah, well, you did kill the Joker. That’s gotta count for something, right?
Dick: I’ll tell you all about it after I make sure Timmy doesn’t get himself killed or lose another organ.
Jason: I’ll hold you to- Timmy lost an organ?
Dick [already calling Kori to get him to Tim]: Later. I’m on a time crunch now!
Jason: I’m holding you to that!
Jason: *sighs* No one in this family knows how to share.
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clockwayswrites · 1 month ago
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Bird Brained, or something. Part 22
masterpost NGL this part might be really rough. This migraine is killing my, but I wanted to get it written.
“Just stay behind us, Mr. Wayne,” Maria Ramirez ordered.
Bruce nodded as he paced. Facts about her ran through his head without his bidding. Ex Air Force. Bruce had hired her after she left, angry and with an honorable discharge the Air Force hoped would keep her quiet while the man who assaulted her got a pension. She was a little hot headed, took shit from no one, and was impressively competent.
If she continued this way, she’d be Bruce’s choice for the next head of security.
He still didn’t want to listen to her.
His kids were at the end of that stairwell along with the Mad Hatter and several of the man’s goons. Bruce was confident in Robin and Red Robin’s abilities to protect themselves from the threat, but this was different. This was Damian and Tim.
Robin might be magic, but the child in the suit was just a child. And children could die.
Bruce shook his arms out to try and get rid of the nerves. He could afford the motion as Bruce Wayne where he couldn’t as Batman.
As Batman he could have been at the front of pack and already through the door.
Bruce measured his breathing, forcing it to slow.
Ramirez held up a fist. The rest of the security force readied themselves.
One—
Two—
Three—
They breached the door with shouts of ‘hands in the air’ and ‘get down on the ground’.
“I work here! Doctor Daniel Fenton, R&D,” Danny’s voice called out.
“Get on the ground, hands behind your head slowly,” Ramirez ordered.
Bruce burst out of the stairwell. “I can vouch for—” Wings. Danny had wings. He was still human, human enough, but he had inky black wings that were spread wide along with his raised hands. “—Dr. Fenton.”
Ramirez glanced at Bruce, but kept her tranq gun trained on Danny. “Sir?”
“I can vouch for Dr. Fenton, he’s a friend of the family,” Bruce said more evenly as he took in the rest of the scene.
There was a remarkable lack of blood for the bodies scattered across the small space. Some were unconscious while others clutched their heads. The floor was scattered with crushed mind control devices and the occasional feather. The Mad Hatter was as far back in the elevator as possible, mumbling about ravens and writing desks. Danny stood in front of the door to the safe room. His spread wings assured no one got past him. The outside of Danny’s wings were white, Bruce realized. It was like they were inverted from the larger bird form.
“Tim and Damian are in the safe room,” Danny said quickly, breaking through Bruce’s thoughts. “They’re not hurt.”
Bruce’s shoulders slumped. “Thank you.” He ran his hands over his face and sucked in a purposefully even breath. Then he dropped his hands and looked at the security squad. “Dr. Fenton’s meta status is a personal mater not to be discussed, am I clear?”
There was a course of ‘yes sir’ from security and a soft, relieved, ‘thank you’ from Danny. Bruce nodded and strode towards the safe room. He snagged Danny by the wrist as he passed and pulled the stunned man along with him.
“Bruce?”
“Thank you,” Bruce said again as he started the biometric scans for the safe room. His thumb ran rhythmically over the back of Danny’s hand. The skin there was soft, like the down feathers of a chick. “Thank you for protecting my boys.”
“Of course, I always will,” Danny said, sounding completely serious, though Bruce could feel Danny’s hand trembling in his own.
The vault like door hissed as the air seal released and it started to open. Bruce knew that Danny said that the boys were fine, but as soon as the door was open enough, Bruce pulled Danny into the room and the semblance of privacy that it offered.
“Are you alright? Are you both alright?” Bruce asked. He rested his hand on Tim’s cheek while he looked to Damian, who was standing against the side wall, arms angrily crossed.
“No one even laid a hand on us or got close,” Tim said. “Danny, Dr. Fenton, made sure of that.”
“Which was completely stupid,” Damian bit out, his words harsh and angry and hurt.
“Damian,” Danny tried.
“No! It was stupid! You willing deprived yourself of allies! If you insisted on us being in the safe room then you should have been in it also!”
Danny’s wings drooped. “Damian, honey, this… this form of mine is still new. I didn’t want to risk—”
“You said you wouldn’t hurt us.”
“I would never, but there’s still things that could go wrong—”
“Shut up!”
Danny flinched back at the should, wings pulled tight against his body. Then he took a carefully measured breath and made himself relax. The wings opened up again a little and, with clear uncertainty, Danny opened his arms.
With all the speed of his training, Damian dashed forward. He rammed into Danny hard and wrapped his arms around Danny, clutching him tightly. Danny leaned down a little. His wings came forward to wrap protectively around Bruce’s youngest.
“You are an idiot,” Damian said harshly into Danny’s sweater.
“Some times,” Danny agreed, “but it’s alright. We’re all safe. It’s alright, little chickadee.”
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acid-ixx · 5 months ago
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"hostage situation"
series masterlist
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nightwing, to his siblings: okay, so we have to be real careful because the joker and harley quinn are holding our baby sibling hostage and we can't put them in anymore danger.
nightwing, looks at red robin: i'm sure they have some traps laid around the lair so you'll be disarming it.
red robin, nods:
robin: then me and todd will be handling any spare targets, no?
nightwing: of course. cass, steph and duke will be guarding the entrance. babs?
oracle, speaking in the intercoms: this is the closest point of entry where (name) is being kept hostage.
red robin: security cams suggest there's more than just harley and the joker in the lair. a bunch of their goons are heavily guarding both the entrance and the exit. we should thread carefully.
oracle: there's no camera's where (name) is exactly at, but there's a specific room where it's shown that the two are often visiting.
batman, who had been lurking behind them: this is a priority mission. we can't afford to make mistakes.
robin, eyebrows raised: though, is it necessary to bring the entire family? me and my father could handle this entirely by ourselves.
jason, sighs: don't pretend like you weren't the first to suggest the entire justice league to come searching for them, kid.
batman: enough arguing, (name) needs all the support they could get after this. so on my count, we are to bust open the door.
dick: alright, everybody, prepare.
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*meanwhile, inside the lair, in a makeshift "house"*
(name), sitting on a comfy chair whilst holding a cup of hot chocolate and a book in the other, sneezes: oh— did anyone mention my name?
harley quinn, already on her way to wipe their nose: oh my baby! is our baby sick?!
(name): no, i just suddenly sneezed?
the joker, in another room: i spy with my little eye, a child way past their bedtime~ c'mon babyboo, let's get you to bed!
(name): awe, but it's like, 10pm. i wanna read some more.
harley, about to pick (name) up: then let momma read the book for you in bed, cutesy pie—
*the door to the kitchen slams open*
dick, with his escrima sticks on-hand: surrender (name) to us now or—!
dick, absolutely befuddled: wait, what?!
damian, with bruce in tow: what's the hold up, nightwing?!
damian, about to jump right in front of dick before he was stopped by bruce's hand on his shoulder: what is... this?
bruce: ... explain the meaning of this, harley.
harley, holds (name) closer to her chest as she's equally confused: what do ya mean, bats? ain't it obvious i'm taking care of my child?
(name): uhm...
damian, visibly offended: what do you mean, your child? (name) over there is ours.
the joker, walks over to the room in a hurry: what's with all the commotion over here?! (name) is supposed to be in bed, harle— batman?!
bruce, with squinted eyes: don't act stupid, what is this all about?
nightwing, surveying the room: wait, why is (name) in pajamas?
(name), trying their best to shrug in harley's tight hug: i'm... supposed to go to bed...?
the joker, about to walk over to (name) before he's stopped by a batarang almost hitting the side of his head: hey! what's that for? i'm clearly not trying to attack my own child!
bruce: (name) is my child, not yours.
the joker, glaring at batman: well, it's not my fault they choose me over you!
(name) wayne, interrupting the two: uhm... i did technically disown myself from the family so—
damian: disown yourself?
(name): i have every reason to—
dick: look, baby bird, you don't know what's right for you, these guys are dangerous—
(name): i literally got nearly killed by some nobody criminals if not for harley saving me but okay, nightwing.
bruce, whose attention is now on (name): you almost got what now?
(name), rolling their eyes: i almost died, batman. now if you excuse me, i think i deserve a good night sleep tonight.
(name), looks at harley who still hasn't released them from the protective hug: can we?
harley quinn, facepalming in her mind as she stares back at (name): oh, i should've bought you to pam and selina instead.
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hypewinter · 1 year ago
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Hal bent down as the little girl approached him. Even then, he still managed to tower over her with how small she was.
"Hey there little lady," he said. "Anything I can help you with this fine evening?"
The little girl looked at him anxiously, fiddling with her hands. Ok so not a nervous fan. Hal immediately switched to serious mode, scanning the crowd for anyone who could be her parents. He didn't see anyone running up to the two of them or even so much as keeping a watchful eye from a distance.
"Is something the matter?" Hal questioned, making sure to keep his voice even and calm.
The girl continued fidgeting, her big blue eyes scanning from side to side. Finally she spoke. "You wiff da space po-eece yes? Not da am-ear-ree-ca one?"
Hal smiled at the girl. "Yes, I'm with the space police." Honestly that was oversimplifying the Corps a little but he had long since gotten to citizens calling him a space cop.
The girl offered up a small nervous smile of her own. "So you won't tell da gov-ment what I tell you wight?"
Hal was on high alert now. Just what was this little girl trying to tell him? "I won't tell. I promise," he said after a second.
The girl broke into a big smile at this. "Really? Dis way den." She started tugging Hal along and he began to follow.
"Where exactly are we going?" he asked.
"You see," was all she replied.
Hal was led down a couple different alleyways and was beginning to think he was walking into a trap when they reached an abandoned building. The girl dashed in and up the old rusted stairs, with Hal following closely behind her.
If this really is a trap, I'll never hear the end of it from Batman, he thought morbidly as he cleared the last step. Instead of finding himself facing an ambush however, he saw a boy curled up on an old mattress. The girl was already by his side as Hal approached.
"Don wowee Danny, I got help. Like I said I would," he caught the little girl whispering as he knelt down next to the boy. He had to have been older than the girl. Three years older maybe? Yet he was still so small. Hal took sight of his condition. He was in pain. That much was certain by his little face scrunched up in agony and his quiet moans. He was also sweating profusely. His raven black hair sticking to his forehead. Fever maybe?
Hal continued his observations as he scanned down the boy's body until he got to his stomach. The boy was clutching it and Hal could make out blood bleeding through from underneath. Oh no.
He quickly yet carefully removed the boy's arm to get a better look at the wound. The kid let out a groan as his arm was peeled away. Hal couldn't help but thank Oa for all his training that helped prevent him from letting out a gasp.
The boy's chest was covered in blood. Dark red mixed with flecks of green soaked through his shirt and there were bandages that had been amateurishly tied around the wound.
"How did this happen?" Hal asked, turning back to the girl. He did his best to keep his tone as gentle as possible.
Her smile was gone now, and her eyes welled up with tears. "He pwotected me," she said. "Dey wanted to huwrt us. Dey shot at us. Danny pwotected me."
Anger boiled within Hal. Who would shoot at these children? They were only little kids. If what the girl had said earlier was anything to go off of, the answer had something to do with the government. He would have to take care of that later though. For now, this boy needed medical attention.
"Let's get Danny to a hospital," Hal said resolutely, as he got up.
"No!" the little girl screeched. "No has-pee-tail. Too dan-er-us!"
"But he needs-" Hal started but then he met the girl's eyes. There was abject fear in them. As if going to the hospital would be a death sentence for both children. Where else were they supposed to go though? The boy- Danny needed medical attention stat. That much was certain.
Hal paused. There was one place. He sighed. Batman was going to kill him for this.
"Okay okay. No hospital. But what about space?"
"Space?" the girl repeated.
Hal nodded.
The little girl smiled. "Danny lobes space!"
"Well then. That's perfect."
Hal constructed a new bed for the boy, carefully easing him onto it before putting a protective dome around both children. The little girl giggled as he lifted them up. He then turned to the wall where he created a giant hammer to knock it down. Then they were off. Flying higher and higher, towards the atmosphere. As the Watchtower got closer in sight, Hal couldn't help but groan. Taking civilians to the Watchtower? Oh yeah, Batman was definitely going to kill him.
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brucewaynehater101 · 3 months ago
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Hm if Janet/ Talia happens there is a chance that Tim met Damian before the rest of the bats, which means there is also a chance that Damian prefers Tim to the rest, which means Damian might either
a) be given Robin willingly by tim
or
b) go with Tim to save Bruce
I love your brain. Fudge. We're gonna add into Lady Shiva [Sandra] too :)
Okay... Hmm... So, Talia and Janet get together in a way that both Damian and Tim know of each other.
Let's just say Jack died when Tim was five, which caused Janet to either take Tim with her or visit Gotham more often. This includes taking Tim to meet up with Talia after the two get serious.
The siblings have a seven year age gap (depending), so the theoretical youngest they can be is when Tim is seven. I would assume Talia is still somewhat enamored with Bruce... So let's say the youngest is when Tim is eight.
This is vital because this is before Tim figures out that Batman = Bruce. Tim meets his maybe brother who's one. He knows he's the son of Batman (which is really cool to the eight year old!!!), but doesn't know who Batman is nor that he should inform him.
Nine year old Tim figures out who Batman is... and does he inform his moms or keep it a secret? Either way, he doesn't tell Bruce about his two year old son. That's Tim's little brother, and he doesn't want to share with Dick (he's nine, y'all. He's intelligent, but he assumes he wouldn't become a brother to Dick. After all, Janet isn't dating Bruce too). Therefore, Tim asks for some lessons from Talia so he can continue being the cool big brother.
Talia asks Lady Shiva to come over and help out. This leads to a romance between Janet, Sandra, and Talia. Tim also becomes well-trained with the bo staff and other measures (he's not training for Bruce, but Janet won't let him kill. She thinks he should be older before making that decision for himself [since she's dating two killers, she can't really tell Tim no]. She's fine with Tim learning how to as long as he isn't actually doing it).
Lady Shiva, after seeing both of her partners with kids, tracks down twelve year old Cass. Cass thus learns to speak with Talia and Janet's resources and becomes an older sister to Tim and Damian. She will spend time with either Damian or Tim [or both if they are together] when she's not spending time with her mom (and the two of them are able to resolve their differences a bit more with Talia and Janet's help). Cass will travel with Tim sometimes to Gotham.
Damian, with Talia, Janet, and Tim around, does not become as adverse or guarded to Bruce's family. It helps that Tim gushes about the Robins and Nightwing to Damian and refers to them as Damian's brothers (but not Tim's. Thus, Tim accidentally gives Damian the mindset that Tim and the Waynes are separate groups that might fight. Damian is extremely loyal, so he'll choose the brother he's known practically his whole life over the strangers he's only heard of in stories [if it came down to a fight]).
Then Robin (Jason) dies. Damian is five and thus much too young to become Robin. Tim talks to Talia (and then Janet) about Tim stepping in.
The moms do *not* want to do this. This would mean less time with Tim, hiding his travels from the Detective, and their soon to he thirteen year old getting into harm's way (even though he's only planning to ask Dick at first).
Tim is a stubborn guy, though, so they agree as long as Tim passes a certain marker in training. It takes a few months, but the moms nervously allow Tim to do what he must. Cass goes with him, though, so they'll be more reassured. She doesn't make her presence known to the Bats, but Tim's gotten used to knowing when she's there or not.
The moms are not pleased when they realize he's Robin. They do find out that Tim is able to lie to Bruce and pretend to be a prodigy with training. Tim tells the grieving man (who's not as focused as he should be) that the kid got experience from gymnastics and mixed martial arts. That's why his base is so good. He also takes down King Snake again and excuses some of his more lethal moves (that he learns to adapt to less lethal) as training from Lady Shiva during that time. He lies that he will have no further communication with the woman (his third mom).
So Tim is a scarily efficient Robin who makes time to visit Damian and his moms (where he also receives more training). He tells Damian that he's merely holding the title of Robin for the kid if he wants it when he's older.
The timeline is a little fucky, but Tim finds out (maybe less than a month into being Robin), that Jason is alive.
At first, he's excited, relieved, and disappointed. Jason can come back to being Robin, but all of Tim's work (him putting up with Bruce's bad attitude [and no. Tim does not tell his moms about that]) is for naught.
Then he visits Jason without informing Bruce to confirm. He quickly understands that Bruce can not know about Jason in that current state. However, Tim encourages Damian to seek out a relationship with Jason (who's Damian's older brother).
Tim goes back to being Robin, and Cass finally gets caught tailing Tim. Tim vouches for her but asks Barbara to look out for her instead of Bruce. Cass is then allowed to patrol and assist Tim officially (as well as gain some independence and her own cases outside of her younger brother).
Jason becomes close with Damian before and after being shoved into a pit. This becomes fractured, however, when Tim first shows up to meet Jason again.
Jason does not like Tim and spits all the shit he did in canon. Tim becomes upset but allows Jason his space. Damian becomes upset with Jason, so Jason reluctantly starts hiding his resentment (he eventually gets to thinking of Tim as a younger brother. It takes a bit, though. It then takes a while for Tim to believe him).
Anyways, yes! Damian knows Tim will give him Robin when the time is right, and they also have healthy communication set up.
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thearkman360 · 3 months ago
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How Batman: Caped Crusader wasted Firebug
(MAJOR SPOILERS for Batman: Caped Crusader & Batman #318)
Hoo-boy, this is gonna be a long one...
When I heard that Firebug was going to be used in Batman: Caped Crusader I didn't pay it any mind outside of "Oh, using an obscure Batman villain that's like Firefly who isn't Firefly" and when I watched the episode with Firebug I found him to be a funny little goober villain played by Tom Kenny, that might as well have been Firefly, and nothing more. I was a bit shocked by his death since it was very sudden but other than that I didn't care.
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After this I decided to look up Firebug and discovered that he has this whole backstory and motive not used in the show. In the comics, Firebug is a veteran named Joey Rigger that targets and burns down apartment buildings in Gotham City not out of rabid pyromania but out of a sympathetic cause; the buildings are deathtraps! (well at least the first two, the third was just bad luck)
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His baby sister was killed after ingesting lead paint chips from the walls of the apartment the Rigger family lived in, his father was killed after falling through some stairs and breaking his neck in a different building they moved into after Rigger's sister died, and his mother had a heart attack when the elevator she was in got stuck.
Joey was serving the military at the time when all of this happened, leaving him with a strong sense of guilt. After coming back home, now with demolitions expertise, he decided to ensure that nobody would ever be harmed by the apartment buildings again and that's why he burns them down as Firebug. His plan is to just destroy the buildings that killed his family and then go back to normal. He even sends anonymous tips to the police so that people can evacuate in time, though he first encountered Batman when he was saving people that were still stuck in the building. Not saying his actions are morally correct, the third building was literally just a bad elevator, but you can't really blame him.
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Eventually, Batman foils Firebug from destroying the skyscraper that killed his mother and Firebug tries to suicide bomb himself, Batman, and the skyscraper but jumps at Batman, who dodges, and Firebug falls out of the skyscraper and explodes.
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Firebug is a really interesting and sympathetic character. In a way he's a dark parallel to Batman; their families were killed by a part of Gotham City, they have expert training in their field, and put on a silly animal costume and try to enact vengeance on the part of Gotham that killed their families.
In Caped Crusader, he's Firefly with a name change. They have Flass and Bullock mistakenly call him "Firefly", he's a deranged pyromaniac, and he has nothing more than that. Why?! Why not just have him be Firefly? Firebug has had two successors, Harlan Combs (a suburban father that murdered his kid's babysitter) and the third Firebug was some asshole that bought Joe Rigger's shit from an auction.
In the Caped Crusader episode "The Night of the Hunters", Firebug targets the slums of Gotham and tries to burn them down. Why not incorporate his backstory and have these slums be where his family died? In the comics, Joey Rigger was depicted as African-American in his first appearance and then white from then on. I'm surprised they didn't have that be part of the plot. Joey's neighborhood was a slum overlooked due to its African-American population and that resulted in poor living conditions that killed his family. But nah, they just had him be bootleg Firefly.
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TV show screenshot: Batman: Caped Crusader
Comic screenshot: Batman #318
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annie-creates · 2 months ago
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Almost four hundred years
Pairing: Agatha Harkness x sister reader
Genre: fluff
Words: 900
Note: So I usually don't introduce new characters on a whim but I've been so obsessed I literally jumped out of the shower for this, so I just had to write it right away even when it's not that good. And to my possibly new Marvel/witchy/Agatha fans who haven't seen me before, hi, I hope you like this and please check out my blog for more very demure, very cutesy and most of all very lesbian fanfictions I write.
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When you got on the Witch’s road, you didn’t know exactly what you expected to get out of it. You weren’t hungry for power, you were doing alright for yourself and there were seemingly no problems to be fixed or mysteries to be answered in your case. But the thought of belonging somewhere some time again was taunting, almost mocking you. You knew building an actual lasting coven with Agatha by your side was impossible, but still you hoped to have something that at least reminded of home.
As you left today’s trial behind and healed the teen’s wounds, you set up a campfire gathering around, using whatever was available to sit on. In your opinion, the ground covered in leaves was good enough. The kid was resting and Agatha was nowhere to be found, which gave room for an actual friendly conversation with the rest of the witches. One by one they shared stories and funny encounters, keeping the mood up, and you quite enjoyed their quirky company.
“Y/n, what’s your problem with the kid?” Lilia asked suddenly, all of them noticing you weren’t exactly fond of his chirpy personality. “Why are you so cold to him?”
“Nonsense, I’m great with children,” you emphasized, slightly offended.
“Come on now,” Jen forced with an amused smile.
“Well first of all, he’s unhealthily obsessed with Agatha and that in itself is a red flag if you ask me,” you shrugged. “And anyone who likes her this much just doesn’t know her enough.”
“Well for how long have you known her?” Alice reiterated.
“Almost four hundred years,” you admitted with a bit of shyness.
“How come?” asked Teen joining you at the fire without you noticing. “What’s your problem with her anyway. People change, she’s not the same witch she was in Salem.”
“Not this much, no. She killed my mom… my family, my coven, everyone I knew at the time,” even after all this time it was hard admitting everything that happened, partly because you blamed yourself for at least half of it. “And unfortunately, she’s my sister.”
“Wait so you’re… Y/n Harkness?” Alice questioned.
“Yeah,” sometimes that name scared even you yourself. “And believe me there isn’t a day I didn’t wish I was there back then to stop her. But at the same time… she’s my sister, you know? And she wasn’t always bad… she was a good witch, corrupted by her powers too young,” you turned to Teen. “It’s like having an emo kid, you think it’s just a phase and fun and the next day they’re smoking pot and running around at 1 a.m. playing Batman.”
“You think dark magic is just a phase?” Jen laughs.
“Well who hasn’t ever tried a bit of it, right?” you brush it off with a guilty smile.
“Wow you’re acting like I’m the only one wicked here. I clearly remember you set your ex-boyfriend’s car on fire… with him in it,” Agatha snaps back as she joins your circle.
“Hey, that was your idea! And I was only a 100, you led me to it,” at your response she snorts and gets up again to rather get a walk.
With a sigh you get up off the ground to follow her this time, which wasn’t any hard of a task. Your relationship with Agatha was complicated at the very least, but to you, she was still the only family you had left, even if it was her fault. Gently brushing her clearly tired shoulder she refuses to look at you.
“Agatha… I know I haven’t always been the nicest to you, but you’re my family, I love you. And I want you to know I will always stand by your side, even if I don’t agree with you,” after all you would be a little lost in this world without her.
Giving into your comforting words she turns around embracing you in a tight hug. It was hard being mad at you, after all she was the one who always caused the problems in your relationship. No matter how much you wanted to talk sense into her, she was always selfish and short sighted. As she hugged you, she felt herself finally catching the first break in at least the last five years. You could feel all the trauma and exhaustion from the past few days getting just the littlest bit lighter when you shared it together.
“I miss him so much,” she admitted into your shoulder.
“I know. I miss him too,” you assure her, her lost son clearly being a constant on her mind lately.
“I don’t know if I can save him,” Agatha whispered with vulnerability you didn’t see often.
You thought of something comforting to say. „I know you will try everything you can to get him back,” you kissed her cheek lightly.
Holding onto her, you didn’t feel completely lost in the wide world, and you realized no matter how bad she screwed up, you’ll always be her light, just like she was your torch, hurtful when held too close for too long but helpful, warm and comforting at the same time. You didn’t know if there was any chance her son was still somewhere at least a little alive, but you knew that if there was one parent in the world who would move mountains and rivers to find their child, it was Agatha.
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the-sinful-voice-witch · 12 days ago
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Crimes against Stephanie Brown:
Getting only 24 issues of her run as Batgirl. I wish she had more, after all isn't Cass getting now a new run as Batgirl again?
Not appearing at the boy wonder comic when it was specifically Robins related and instead they put Barbara as Batgirl (like if you wanted a Batgirl use the fucking Batgirl who used to be a Robin).
Not being included at birds of prey with Cass and Babs.
Getting 2 heroes team projects with her included rejected. (In one she was with Supergirl and Damian, denying us that is a hate crime)
Not appearing in Damian's drawing of people who loves him when she is canonically the first big sister figure he had and she helped him be a kid and have fun.
Getting her character denigrated by Tim's bisexual actions like: dumping her without giving her a reason or having a proper talk, ghosting her for months, only talk to her after their friends force him to do it and then without warning or asking her introducing his new boyfriend to her and make her react like a fujoshi 13 years old wattpad writter saying that "the best day ever" Is meeting her ex' new boyfriend in the most cringe way ever.
The time they tried to erase her time as Robin and Batgirl in the new 52 reboot
Only let her be Robin for 2 months and was fired for doing something every Robin has done more than once.
Dying so fast in DCeased when she became Damian's Robin and never coming back even after Taliah said she would use the Lazarus pit on her.
Not having a visual reaction of Selina, Cassandra, Dick and Babs to her being alive.
Jason not mentioning her to rub it on Batman's face when he came back to life for revenge or mentioning her to black mask, what a wasted opportunity!
Never had the realistic representation of the trauma she should have after being tortured by black mask.
Never hanging out properly again with huntress (well I think they were seen together again once but not enough), Supergirl, Black Canary or Green Arrow junior after the reboot.
The fact that in my opinion she never got a proper apology from all the people that wronged her and treated her badly, like a lesser fighter, like she was a bother, like she wasn't made for vigilante life, I think I saw Tim apologizing to her but it felt shallow.
Not showing us Tim visually crying for her death.
Completely ignore how was her very first interaction with Catwoman, in which Selina was extremely kind and sweet with her only to screw it in the second meeting in her run as Batgirl and later in the new 52 reboot making Selina be a jerk to her.
Making Alfred be cold and dry to her in their first interaction, yes he later cries on her death and then he is very happy when she comes back and later he stands up to her against Batman's stupid tests but it doesn't erase the fact that he was mean to her when he met her and I think that was out of character with Alfred.
Her teen pregnancy arc, some people might think this was a way to make her character more tragic and deep but that pregnancy arc didn't bring anything good to her character because it was all about Tim not her and it makes my blood boil. This arc was just a cheap "easy" Way to make Tim and Steph become closer in their relationship by making Tim be there for her and taking care of her even though he wasn't the father and help her and that and I suppose it was also to make more dramatic her death telling Batman that she had a daughter and Batman be all like: "I'll make sure the baby never has to ask for anything" And then Steph dies... Seriously this is the one thing I wish they could erase from canon FOREVER, making Steph go through that just to make her deepen her relationship with Tim only for getting killed off and eventually dumped with everything she already had on her plate was CRIMINAL
Jason not meeting her properly before the stupid new 52 reboot and still not having the trauma and dead Robin talk with her.
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ryoalouette · 1 year ago
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Machi's #15 DPxDC Idea
Bruce couldn't understand what was happening, or why, or how, or why, or when, or well, anything at all. One day he found two civilians, two teens goofing around the cave like two newlyweds. When Batman, with capital B; tried to interrogate them he only got mockery.
"What's with the long face?" They said before disappearing through one of the smaller caves. For a moment Bruce thought he had hallucinated the Asian boy and the Hispanic girl. Only to find the same Hispanic girl with a blond boy making out on Red Robin's bike. Plus another couple with them! And all of them were holding hands!
Then, a few days later, while he was investigating the lower levels of the batcave he found a black boy with a red beanie flirting with Jason, and Jason was flirting back? Batman had to pull everybody out of the caves and call for an emergency meeting. Only to find a boy with black hair passed out at the meeting table, using Batman's reports as cushions. Sitting next to him was a girl with also dark hair drinking with a straw from a coconut.
"Poor Danny," she said. "After all these years he still can't deal with alcohol." And then she promptly started to offer coconut milk to everyone.
He snapped at her but she only raised an eyebrow and left carrying the boy, Danny, on her back. And then the music started. Day and Night it would start playing at the most random moments. Samba, Rumba, Fados, Boleros, K-pop, anything went in, they even accepted petitions if the kids yelled loud enough. Steph had gotten in the habit of asking for Kill Bill's OST and Dick constantly asked for Taylor Swift. They even answered when Damian complained about their choices and asked for Chopin's nocturne. And then the batcave started to grow flowers! And trees? And the fruit was edible? What the heck?
"Sounds to me like you have a nymph infestation," said Wonder Woman after hearing his rant report. Batman stared at her like she had grown another head.
"I mean, flower powers, free love, did they have pointed ears?" Batman nood. "Yup, definitely a nymph infestation." Batman kept staring at her. Don't look at me like that, they are very common where I come from. The only solution is to wait until they get bored and move on. If you try to get rid of them violently not only you will fail. But also will risk the wrath of the gods." Batman kept staring. Wonder woman sighed. "I will call Pan to see if he is missing any nymphs and wants them back".
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vln-vibes · 2 years ago
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The Good Ol’ Switcheroo
GUYS
GUYS
GUYS
I know there’s fics out there with switcheroo hijinks with Tim and Danny but imagine this---
Jazz and Babs
and
Danny and Tim
But like at the same time
So the Fentons are visiting Gotham, the reason why is a bit up in the air;
Jazz wants to visit the Gotham U campus, the Fentons have a meeting with W.E for a business deal (they’re sus about the whole ghost hunting thing but it doesn’t hurt to scope out what they’re capable of) or maybe they’re hunting down Batman because they’re sure he’s a ghost. Reader’s choice tbh.
Unfortunately Jazz sprained her ankle the week before while ghost hunting with Team Fenton. This also led to her parents coddling her and she just barely managed to convince them to still go on their trip as a way to get Danny a vacation.  The only caveat; they force her on a wheelchair for the duration of the trip.
Spring forward to a random Thursday afternoon during their vacation; Danny and Jazz were dying of embarrassment (in his case re-dying) with their parents antics. They didn’t think Gothamites would blatantly stare at them all things considered but even they had their standards they guess.
Danny bought himself some sunglasses and a coffee while Jazz just put on her reading glasses and just tried to bury herself in her new Spoiler themed sweater.
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Of course that’s when the chaos started.
It was just their luck that just as they finally got away from their parents that a rogue finally attacked; where there was a rogue the Batman wouldn’t be too far behind.
Danny’s plan was just to hide in a random alleyway or wait until the coast was clear to use his powers and fly them back to their hotel room and wait for everything to die (hah) back down. That’s not what ended up happening.
“There you guys are, c’mon time to suit up”
The duo are too stunned to do anything as they’re dragged off by this random rich guy (Bruce Wayne) and into a really expensive and familiar looking car (the Batmobile). The door folds open and Jazz’s wheelchair is fastened in seconds, Danny just kinda goes to sit next to her (can’t let his sister be kidnapped by herself). 
There’s a guy sitting shotgun next to the original alley guy. He’s wearing a mask. Oh shit its Nightwing.
“Looks like Freeze is at it again, Uptown’s already halfway covered in ice. No time to waste Red Robin”
Red Robin? Like the food chain??
In those few seconds the Batmobile is speeding off, the alley guy is now the Batman and they’re passing a speeding RV going the other way. Cue that one Umbrella Academy meme but its Tim and Babs staring back at Danny and Jazz.
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A compartment opens up revealing Red Robin’s suit with the cowl. 
‘Why the hell not? It’s not like it’ll kill me’ is all Danny thinks while he puts on the outfit, ditching the cowl tho because it looks ugly and instead grabs one of ‘Robin’s’ extra masks that were next to it. He took a selfie and sent it to Sam and Tucker, one also featuring a Done looking Jazz.
“You got that RR?”
“Hn yeah sure”
It isn’t until halfway through their fight with Mr.Freeze, not even noticing how the usually chilly Tim doesn’t look the slightest bit cold, when they meet up with Black Bat that any of them are clued in to what happened.
“Not Red Robin. New brother?”
“What are you talking about Cass, he’s right there?”
Cue to Danny using Tim’s bo staff to propel himself and air kick Mr.Freeze’s helmet.
“Ice to meet you frosty!”
“Yeah no. Our parents may be nuts but we’re not open for adoption” Jazz quips from the comms, strangely not too different from the system Tucker uses when they out hunting for ghosts.
“Wait I thought you were just recovering from the cold!?”
“Twisted ankle actually. On your five!”
Meanwhile Jack and Maddie got a ecto signature at the other side of town. They spotted Danny and Jazz leaving the library, grabbed them (not noticing the yelling crowds running the other way). 
They let the GAV fasten the kids in before speeding off to catch the ghost.
In his defense Tim was working on one hour of sleep in the last 48 hours and Bab’s lost her voice from her cold. In all the ensuing chaos Babs dropped her phone and Tim’s just ran out of juice.
They’d thought it was a Standard Wayne and Co Kidnapping until the duo in hazmat suits kept referring to them as Jazz and Dann-o. Hopefully not insane and trying to fake being a family. Hopefully
They take a turn into Crime Alley and the duo look at each other as they see the GPS head towards one of Red Hood’s places.
This would be good
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timmydraker · 3 months ago
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CW: use of R word
Tim who, as much as he doesn’t want it to be true, is a poster boy for typical Neurodivergence. He’s more logically thinking that emotionally and needs obvious signs of someone’s emotional state that he can put together to understand how he should respond to help them.
But that’s not what bothers him because that doesn’t bother his parents.
Instead it’s his passion, though not in technology and detective work as they quickly found use for that in their business, but for bugs.
Ever since he was a kid Tim has been enamoured by insects and arachnids and even fungi. He would only read books that talked about bugs or had one on the cover, but since it helped him learn to read at a steady pace his parents didn’t mind.
At least, not at first.
When Tim got into coding just so he could make his own little web-journal for all his bug finds, they were happy he was learning how to organise and structure at just six years old, but when he only did those things regarding bugs…
Tim had his first panic attack when he watched his father pick up his terrarium filled with Diapheromera Femorata (Stick bugs) and chucked it into the bin. The glass shattered as the corner his something hard and he was forced to watch his bugs struggle to navigate the glass and rubbish, most of them injured.
His mother had gagged when she saw them and demanded the whole bin be burnt with the bugs still inside.
Tim had been so heart broken, but mostly confused. His parents traveled the world to dig up dirt and old items that were mostly the same yet they didn’t like bugs?
When he asked one his Nanny’s she gave him an answer that he would never forget, “Well, you see… only those people like bugs, y’know? The… special ones, like re-“
Tim never even let himself think of the last word she spoke and from then only forced himself to only focus on his computer work. He still loved photography but now he took photos of skylines and trees, not the beautiful beehive a few yards behind his house or the spider webs that sat between branches like art works. He took photos of Batman and Robin and for a long time that was enough to make his longing bearable.
If he still followed several pages and articles about bugs either a secret email account, that didn’t matter.
His parents were happy with him even if they still made remarks about his ‘stupid little fixation’.
It’s when they are going over the paper work for Bruce to be Tim’s legal guardian while they weren’t home with Tim’s older brothers hanging around as moral support (bodyguards) that his parents mock him.
Janet is signing some paper with a stupidly expensive pen and chatting to no one in particular when she says, “You’re all lucky we killed this nasty little bugs of his so you don’t have to deal with them.”
Everyone else in the room freezes, beside Jack who huffs a laugh and adds, “Good thing we did, he’d probably be more of a retard otherwise- talking about ‘habitats’ and bloody spiders.”
All of the members of the Wayne family are dead quiet as Tim sits there with a clear look of disassociation coming into his eyes. Alfred has a calm look on his face that tells all who know him that he’s furious and Bruce is strikingly similar.
Jason looks ready to attack and Dick isn’t even moving to stop his brother or calm anyone down.
Damian is holding onto Titus’s collar like a lifeline but seems to give the hound some kind of silent order as the usually calm dog begins to growl low and dangerous.
Jack and Janet tense and stare at both dog and master, Jack ordering him to control his dog.
Bruce stands, letting Titus growl and taking the half signed papers and throwing them in the bin, “I changed my mind, I will be taking you to court for full custody of my son. Leave my house now so I may obtain a restraining order.”
Janet genuinely flounders for a moment and begins to shout about outrage and audacity but when Dick sees that Tim is starting to cry he stands up and reminds them that he is a cop before moving to pick up his second youngest brother and leaving the room.
Tim doesn’t hear much else, only muffled shouting and the sound of a door slamming.
He distantly realises he’s in the family room, not the one they use to have guest but the real one with beanbags and a snack draw, and is being cradled by his brothers. Even Damian is beside him, holding onto his hand tightly as they wait for Bruce and Alfred.
Tim sobs into Dicks chest for Alamos a whole hour before settling more, Bruce coming into the room and Jason and Dick reluctantly hand him over to he can be held by their father.
“Tim, chum, it’s alright. We’ve got you.”
The boy in question shakes his head, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I won’t talk about the bugs I promise-“
Bruce squeezes him tighter and kisses his head, “I don’t want that. What I want is to hear about your bugs.”
Stunned, Tim looks up at him with confusion and barely gets his mouth to move enough to ask what he means.
Dick coos from beside him on the next couch and runs a hand through his hair lovingly, “My sweet baby brother we love you, and you love bugs! So of course we want to hear about it. I’m so sorry we didn’t know how they had been treating you but it was wrong. There’s nothing wrong with you, I swear it.”
Tim sniffled, nodding absentmindedly. They gave him a moment for their words to sink in before Damian spoke up, “Timothy, I demand you tell me about your bugs.”
Jason makes a noise and elbows Damian as if to tell him to shut up, probably thinking the other was being rude, but Tim knows his brother well and just smiles. “I can do that, Dami. I… I don’t think you’ll be very interested though.”
Damian scoffs, “I will ignore that statement as it implies I would waste my time with something I don’t care for.”
Bruce smiles at his youngest and holds Tim’s hand, “I agree. Could you maybe tell us about why you like them? Or your favourites?”
It takes him a moment to respond, but when he looks at all their open expressions and gets an encouraging nod from Alfred, he stutters out a response before gradually gaining confidence as they ask genuine questions to his facts and descriptions.
They each make an effort to ask him about bugs, Jason asking a few times if he wants to check out some books that he knows use bugs as symbolism’s and Dick asking if he can tell him the difference between insects and arachnids several times. Damian and Bruce are both a bit more subtle with their support at first, but after a month Tim enters his room to find a giant terrarium with several different sections so he can have multiple bugs that might not get along with each other.
Bruce and Alfred don’t even make any comments or give disapproving looks when Dick and Jason reveal they each got a tattoo of the bug that Tim said he associates with them.
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secretlystephaniebrown · 1 year ago
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I Read Nearly Every Appearance of the Lazarus Pit Before Flashpoint and All I Got Was A Headache: A Meta Commentary
So! The Lazarus Pit!
The Lazarus Pit is obviously an iconic part of the Batman Franchise. We encounter it everywhere, from the Under the Red Hood movie, to the Lazarus Planet event which just ended.
But has the Lazarus Pit always been this way?
It's comics. Of course not.
Very long comic rant with citations below!
The Nu52 and following reboots obviously overhauled Lazarus Lore so completely they're functionally a different thing, so I'm not talking about them. Today, instead, we're talking about post-crisis/pre-Flashpoint Lazarus Pits, their contradictions, and what we can make of them.
The Lazarus Pits have been around nearly as long as Ra's and Talia have been, and even before they appeared, it was clear that Ra's had some method of extending his life.
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Batman (1940-2011) #235
The first Lazarus Pit itself seems to be in a chalet in Switzerland, and it's very different than what we will later associate it as. It is instead, a mortuary slab that lowers itself into a pit of "bubbling liquid"
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Batman (1940-2011) #243
In these early versions, the Lazarus Pit is portrayed as a medical invention that Ra's has used to extend his life.
It is shown to have consequences, which fandom has, of course, latched onto.
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Batman (1940-2011) #244
Here, we see the Lazarus Madness described as including "the strength of ten men", and he is able to be able to resist nearly all attacks from Batman and Lo Ling.
In addition, Ra's claims that he has used the pit too often, which is shown to be the driving force behind his interest in Bruce and his legacy.
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Batman (1940-2011) #244
Later appearances of Ra's and the pit throughout this era add a few more interesting tidbits.
He claims that only he can use the Lazarus Pit... but puts Talia in it in that same issue, claiming that it's okay if it's just a quick dip.
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Batman (1940-2011) #335
Is Ra's lying about no one else being able to use the pit? Almost certainly. He will start putting anyone he wants into the pit soon enough.
Those with a keen eye might notice that the Lazarus Pit is already going through some aesthetic changes: we're still seeing a slab being lowered into a small pit, but now the liquid within is orange! This will come up a lot!
Next up we have the storyline Grant Morrison refused to read: Son of the Demon.
In Son of the Demon, Ra's claims that there was an earlier version of the Pit, before the final version Bruce has already encountered. In this version, he claims that Mellisande, Talia's mother, was pushed into this proto-pit, and it killed her.
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Batman: Son of the Demon (1987)
Denny O'Neil will later retcon this in 1993, claiming that Talia's mother died of a drug overdose, and Ra's refused to bring her back.
But it is consistent in early versions of the story that Lazarus Pits, if not entered with proper care and with the right preparations, can be dangerous.
Bride of the Demon is the next storyline, and Ra's BRINGS the Lazarus Pits in this one. Ra's finds himself a hot MILF girlfriend and puts her in the Pit to make her younger so she can give him kids.
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Batman: Bride of the Demon (1990)
This Lazarus Pit is shown to be more experimental than past versions, with Ra's and Dr. Weltmann attempting to prevent the Lazarus Madness factor.
Ra's later puts a child in the pit as a bribe to his father, but the kid had possibly been dead too long, and it was hinted there were going to be long-term consequences for the actions... which were dropped. As was the wife, who was supposedly pregnant at the end of this story. Comics!
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This is the first time that limits on the Lazarus Pit are presented, but it is certainly not the last. This idea that there's an upper limit on how long someone can be dead for before a Lazarus Pit doesn't do anything will come back again.
Batman: Birth of the Demon finally brings in a more mystical aspect to the Lazarus Pits, which so far have been vaguely scientific. In this story, we are introduced to the fact that Lazarus Pits are located on the convergence points of leylines (which in-universe have something to do with the electro-magnetic field). Ra's's approximate age is revealed, and it is shown that Bruce and Ra's have been fighting a real-estate battle over sites where Lazarus Pits can be built.
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Batman: Birth of the Demon (1992)
In flashbacks, we learn that Ra's figured out how to build a Lazarus Pit, and was not actually the first person to use it. Instead, it was for the son of the Sultan Ra's worked for as a physician.
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After the Sultan's son went mad, killed Sora, and blamed Ra's for it, Ra's had his vengeance... by putting the son in a false Lazarus Pit.
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This pit was sabotaged by not being built on a Leyline. So uh... be careful with those, I guess!
So in short: by the end of this era of Denny O'Neil/Mike Barr Lazarus Lore, we know that anyone can use a Lazarus Pit, but Ra's controls them with his knowledge of how to create them. Bruce can find where they should be by tracking leylines, and will pass this knowledge on to others over time.
We then enter a new era! The Chuck Dixon era, to be specific.
Chuck Dixon has surprisingly few retcons for us. We first really encounter his take on Lazarus Lore in his mini series Bane of the Demon, where Bane works with Ra's and co.
We get a brief recap of the lore here:
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Batman: Bane of the Demon #3 (1998)
We are now introduced to an interesting new layer: the Lazarus Pits can be predicted, not just detected. Ra's has headquarters set up all over the world, in places where Lazarus Pits not only are, but will be. Some pit locations appear to remain the same throughout the years (Ra's has built numerous pits on the location of the first site: at least three that we know of), but generally, Lazarus Pits seem to be a one-time deal.
Ra's clearly has dedicated most of his life to these pits; to acquiring their locations, to predicting where they will be, experimenting with how to make them better... so obviously, he guards the formula for how to make them extremely closely, right?
Well. Not according to Chuck.
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Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (1989-2007) #145
And if you've noticed that head of green hair on the ground there, that's right folks! BRUCE WAYNE PUT A DEAD JOKER IN A LAZARUS PIT HE MADE HIMSELF.
Bruce justifies it by telling Alfred that if he does this, it means Ra's can't use it later. However, it does not change the fact that Bruce put the Joker in a Lazarus Pit. No I'm not going to be over this ever. Jason might have a point, actually.
Ra's decides, after this, that he wants another wife. And he picks Dinah Lance! But whoops, as it happens, Dinah was tortured and can't have kids (also lost her Canary Cry), way back in Green Arrow, before Ollie died! So Ra's decides to throw her in a Lazarus Pit. It... doesn't go well. Lazarus Madness + Restored Canary Cry = one destroyed building.
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Birds of Prey (1999-2009) #33
Oh look! We've got locations! And of course every other Lazarus Pit we've seen or will see except Birth of the Demon is nowhere near any of these convergence points!
So! To recap the current state of the lore: Lazarus Pits are a combination of science and magic. They are an alchemical creation, built on leyline nodes. Generally, they are one-use only, or at least they require centuries to be re-usable. They can resurrect the newly-dead, but but Ra's is very cautious about letting other people use them, probably because he's a control freak, and he doesn't have too many of them left.
We depart the Dixon era and enter... the Nyssa Raatko era.
Nyssa is introduced in Death and the Maidens, with Greg Rucka, who is a huge fan of Denny O'Neil, still sticking pretty close to the original lore.
Here, we see that Bruce has still been on his kick of preventing Ra's from building more Lazarus Pits by buying up real estate where they could be. This forced Ra's to try to reconcile with his daughter Nyssa, who he gave a Lazarus Pit to sometime in the 1700s.
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Batman: Death and the Maidens (2003-2004) #1
"But hey!" I can hear you say. "Isn't part of the thing that you mentioned earlier is that they're one-use?"
Well they are! For Ra's.
Nyssa, however, is a smart lady.
Nyssa, at some point in her life, figured out how to make a Lazarus Pit reusable. So she's been getting a lot of mileage out of this baby, and has been since the 1700s.
This story also presents an explanation for why the Lazarus Pit is sometimes green and sometimes orange: Nyssa's is orange and Ra's has green ones. I guess maybe the earlier orange pits that Ra's had were him trying to make them reusable like Nyssa? Hmm.
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Batman: Death and the Maidens (2003-2004) #4
When questioned about it, Nyssa tells Talia that there used to be more pits, so he was less protective of them when he gave her this one.
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Batman: Death and the Maidens (2003-2004) #6
At the end of this storyline, Ra's is dead, Nyssa is the new Ra's al Ghul, and according to Bruce, she has the only Lazarus Pit left.
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Batman: Death and the Maidens (2003-2004) #9
Nyssa pops up again in Batgirl, facing off against Cass, and brags about her special pit again. Cass and Shiva both get dips in it. Fun times!
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Batgirl (2000-2006) #69
Yes, the torture hooks are a reoccurring feature of Nyssa's pit. I don't know why.
But wait! A brief interlude!
Jason Todd came back to comics in a storyline: Under the Hood, in 2005, which wrapped up in 2006. We weren't told how Jason came back in the story itself, but a few months after Under the Hood ended, we get Batman Annual #25, which shows Talia shoving Jason into a Lazarus Pit while Ra's was using it.
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Batman Annual #25 (2006)
There's no discussion about if this is a weird dip. He's got brain activity again though!
This is revisited again in Red Hood: The Lost Days, but it doesn't really add anything from the point of Lazarus Lore, except that Ra's posits that Jason, having already been resurrected, could have suffered some long-term consequences, unlike literally anyone else who had a dip.
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Red Hood: The Lost Days (2010-2011) #2
Anyways, enough Jason! Nyssa gets killed off-page in OYL, so she's gone now, Talia's running the show and oh fuck it's Morrison-era. And Morrison never bothered to read any other Ra's or Talia story because it wasn't Silver Age or something. So... retcon time!
The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul attempts to retell Birth of the Demon, but with a few retcons. The pits were discovered, not made, being the official point in which the Lazarus Pits become purely magical phenomena, rather than a work of alchemy.
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Batman Annual #26 (2007)
Bruce also mentions that the Pits are connected to actual waterways, which is a massive difference from the shallow pits from earlier eras.
This era does however confirm the concept that older bodies, further along in the decay process, probably shouldn't be dipped in the Lazarus Pit. At least, Dick convinced Tim of this fact after a little while.
(Also White Ghost wants a perfectly healthy, alive Tim to bathe in the Lazarus Pit, and this is never explained. Maybe it was a distraction?)
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Nightwing (1996-2009) #139
In this era, and the Batman: Reborn era following it, the Lazarus Pits are pretty absent, but the few references we do get from this point forward (including in Red Hood: The Lost Days, which are published in 2010-2011), tend to use the Morrison-era canon that the pits are natural. And also we're back to having a lot of them, instead of just Nyssa's singular one in the Balkans, and, since Ra's has a new young(er) body, there's no sense of urgency to buy up/prevent him from making new pits. Potentially, Dusan/White Ghost took advantage of the fact that the Bats thought Ra's was dead to buy back the real-estate and make new pits, but that's using the pre-Morrison lore. I guess in Morrison era, the Bats just... don't know where Pits are until they find one, and then they blow it up.
We also no longer see any one-time-use limitations. One could assume that Talia figured out the formula Nyssa used to keep the pits reusable and told Ra's, if we're trying to merge the canons.
And that's not even counting whatever is happening in the post-Flashpoint era. Lazarus Planet gives me a headache. Let's not talk about it just now.
Anyways, in short: I think the artificial, single-use Lazarus Pits are way more fun. But anyways, here's the citations to help you decide what YOU think Lazarus Lore should be!
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clean-bands-dirty-stories · 11 months ago
Text
Here, Allow Me ~ D.G.
A/n: Another one check marked :) It's still not the one I promised but uh... I hope that's okay. I've been struggling to write rip
Request: “ZATANNA MALE READER X DICK GRAYSON, they go on a mission together and dick and reader get hurt but dick more so and reader teleports them somewhere trying to keep him alive while help arrives. end it fluffy please” by anon
Word Count: 2900+
MASTERLIST
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There were certain things you just had to accept if you were going to date Dick Grayson. One of them was that he would always be in the field. Whether or not he was Robin or Nightwing, or even Batman, the suit would always be apart of his life. Another thing you had to accept: You would have to just keep up.
It wasn't easy to match pace with anyone in the Batfam, let alone someone you were dating. It was a little easier for Y/n though. After all, he had magic.
Everyone associated Y/n was Zatanna, but he had trained with John Constantine first. It was an accidental situation, but expected when a demon with a grudge against Constantine met a young, impressionable kid with a bone to pick with the world. He'd wormed his way into Constantine's life playing as someone born with magic he couldn't control and had gotten training from the man himself. Which allowed Y/n to get more powerful as he learned more and more about his target up close and personally - weaknesses and abilities alike.
Y/n was the only one who'd ever gotten close to defeating Constantine, and almost got killed doing it. But when he revealed himself as a secret bad guy - well, Batman was impossible to fool. He'd prepared for this, seeing Y/n's anger and noticing the way his magic was almost alive - not something inborn, but something almost separate that worked to keep him alive. That was actually how Y/n and Dick had first met - when the Young Justice had come to Constantine's aide and saved his ass. At the time he'd been dating Zatanna, but that hadn't lasted much longer.
It had been rough at first. They'd had to find the demon behind Y/n, and Zatanna had banished it and destroyed the link between it and Y/n, leaving the poor teen completely defenseless. He'd hated the team for it, and hadn't talked to anyone until Constantine offered to train him for real. After all, Y/n still knew a lot about magic, and the deep connection he'd had with that demon had left behind the potential to harness such energies. With the opportunity to remain able to defend himself and a rough home life he was on the run from, the team took him on and Zatanna began to help him along with Constantine. Eventually she joined the League and Y/n was left to stay on the team as the resident magic user.
After a while, Dick Grayson could claim he'd dated two magicians.
Y/n had taken a lot after Zatanna. He used magic by speaking backward as well, and took up the magician aesthetic. They looked like a set... which had been a little painful at first. She'd given Y/n her father's old suit and matching with him like that had been a little startling. But Zatara had approved and eventually everyone had adjusted. Because of all of this, Y/n hadn't been open to Dick's advances at first; he was sure Nightwing was just rebounding on someone who reminded him Zatanna who Y/n was sure Dick just missed.
Because of this they almost hadn't happened, but Bruce was tired of watching his family be alone because of this life they lead, and took a single moment to play a little matchmaker. He'd invited Y/n over for dinner - no masks. Y/n had discovered the identities of the entire Batfam when he had been analyzing them to take them all down, so there was no need for pretenses. Bruce invited the kid under the proposition that Y/n could go to school with Artemis, but that it would require a scholarship from the Waynes and they should get to know each other first.
Everyone knew it was bullshit - Artemis had gotten the scholarship without knowing the Waynes after all. But Y/n didn't, and that was the point. With Bruce's only slight tampering out of the way, he left the rest to the others. Y/n bonded with Jason first, then Tim and then Barbara. They all adored him and seeing him get along with the family was enough to have Dick tripping over himself by the end of the night. When Alfred himself approved of the lad, the deal was done. And with some words of comfort from Barbara, Y/n got over that lingering impression that Dick didn't really care about him.
Dick drove Y/n home, and they had a first date confirmed before they even topped at the cave where Y/n was staying with everyone else who didn't have anywhere to go. 
After that it wasn't hard to get approval to work with the Batfam directly as well as the Team. Y/n was busy a lot, working with Dick side by side and sometimes even without him. They learned how to balance work and relationship and personal life rather well. It wasn't perfect but all of it was theirs, and that was what mattered.
Then Jason died.
Jason and Y/n had always been particularly close. They understood each other in a way the others really didn't. They were both carrying dark pasts on the corners of bright smiles, with the constant yearning for trouble settled in their throats. They'd been horrible pranksters, and not even Dick could always predict them or avoid them. Only Alfred had never been touched. Y/n had been on the mission with Jason when he died.  He'd been knocked out and Jason had been kidnapped... and then had to just sit and wait for Bruce to find his best friend.
Something changed after that. Y/n was darker, angrier. He smiled less. He was still good in the field, but he suddenly got really protective. Dick understood why Y/n felt the need to watch everyone, always run to their aid, but when it almost got Y/n killed he'd had enough.
Their first argument since even the beginning of their relationship had been ugly.
Y/n had to handle a lot more during the relationship than Dick did, and he felt irritated that after all he had taken with complete ease and no complaint, Dick was still asking more of Y/n. And then Dick asked Y/n to retire and...
When the two said they were going on a break, everyone knew that wasn't all. Everyone knew they were due any day for a break up. The Team, the Batfam - they'd all seen Connor and M'gann fall apart in real time and it had looked exactly like this. Y/n began to draw further and further from Dick, and seemed to stop caring about him altogether. He didn't seem to watch Dick's back every second anymore, but he also seemed to lose every single emotion he'd ever had. Batman was seconds away from cutting him off the team forcibly and resigning himself to losing Y/n as he distanced himself from everyone.
The moment never came.
It was a mission like any other. Infiltration and extraction. Y/n was particularly good at staying back anyway, so he had fallen into the role of look out. He had a lot of spells that helped his awareness and allowed him to play support. And with his recent habit of keeping an eye on everyone anyway, putting him on the front lines just wasn't where he was best.
It was Garfield who got spotted. It was hard for him to sneak around, and he could turn into something small for sure but when you're green it's a pretty obvious tell and some people just knew how to spot him.
Everyone was almost out when one of the flying bullets caught Dick's leg and he fell. Y/n didn't even hesitate - he teleported into the fight immediately and began throwing spells, keeping people back to try and give Dick the space to get away. Everyone else had scattered; they didn't even know Dick had fallen. It was up to Y/n, and when all you are is a spell caster there's just not a lot you can do against so many people by yourself.
Dick was amazed. Y/n's focus, the way his eyes took in every single detail. His words and the easy way they formed, even backward. He wasn't as good as Zatanna but he was excellent at the trade. The problem was Dick was losing blood fast, and it was becoming quickly clear that it wasn't just a bullet at all - he was poisoned. He couldn't get out of here without being followed and that would be even worse. So he moved closer to Y/n instead of away, gripping his ankle. 
It distracted Y/n, allowing something large to shatter against his shield spell, shrapnel slicing his shoulder. He screamed, and grabbed it, but it knocked him out of his stubborn decision to stay put and stand tall until he died. It forced Y/n to acknowledge that he was losing, and Dick needed him. Despite everything between them, that seemed to be enough. Y/n reached down, grabbing Dick's forearm, and Dick returned the hold. Y/n spoke quickly, and the pair was teleporting away again.
The second they were alone Dick was arguing with him. "Why didn't you do that immediately?"
"Because you were running away from me and I couldn't get to you without compromising both of our safety," Y/n snapped back without missing a beat. Right back to their forming bad habits...
Dick wasn't satisfied with Y/ns answer. "Why didn't you just teleport closer to me?"
"Because the point was to draw their attention, not grab you and get out! You were supposed to at least bind your wound so you weren't just freely bleeding."
"There was something in the bullet, I could feel it almost immediately. There's... something.." As the adrenaline of the moment faded and all that was keeping him talking was arguing - which, as it rose his heartrate, probably wasn't a good idea - he began to lose strength and collapsed in Y/n's arms. His eyes fluttered closed and he went silent.
Y/n's breathing immediately quickened, growing shallow. "Nightwing," he snapped, slowly lowering him to the ground. He forced himself to work slowly through the panic, checking Dick's pulse. It was skittish and getting slower. Something was wrong. Y/n could feel the panic increasing. He grit his teeth and forced away the images of Jason's broken body in Bruce's arms. He instead grabbed Dick's arm, turning it to access the body monitor all the Batfam wore. 
As he had the thought to get in contact with everyone else, he felt Miss Martian's psychic link restore and he reached out to her, drawing her to their location. He ran down the entire situation and analyzed how fast whatever was effecting Nightwing was effecting him.
M'gann didn't have to tell Y/n that they weren't going to make it to the two and back to the Cave in time. Y/n closed his eyes, forcing himself to focus. He needed to know what was wrong with Dick in order to save him. If he didn't, no one would. And Y/n wouldn't lose Dick. Not like he'd lost Jason. Not him. Anyone but him.
Finally the spells Y/n was casting to figure out what the hell was wrong came with a result. A specific poison, fast acting, 100% fatality rate. Y/n felt his anger rise as his vision blurred with tears. He blinked quickly to clear it, ignoring as the tears fell down his cheeks. He closed his eyes to force his mind to come up with the words he needed.
"Ezilibats mih." His words echoed and Y/n was immediately rechecking his heartbeat and vitals, but his vision was too blurry. He couldn't see anything, couldn't make sense of it. He was out of ideas - if this didn't work Dick was dead. The thought made Y/n crumble and he pulled Dick into his chest, burying his face in his hair. He was begging under his breath, shaking, in shambles. And that was how the Team found them.
At first everyone thought Dick was dead, but when Miss M told them he was fine, Y/n only began to cry harder and everyone exchanged looks but they knew what had happened without even having to ask. Y/n was silent on the ride back to the Cave. Dick woke up there, in their little hospital wing, all healed and completely fine. He was updated on what happened in the mission, and Connor took him aside to tell him about Y/n's reaction to the whole thing. "Just so you understand why."
Dick tensed. "Why what?" He demanded.
Connor pursed his lips. "He quit. The Team, everything. He said he's done and has been looking for entry level jobs so he can buy his own apartment and move out of the Cave." Bruce had given him a secretary job at Wayne Enterprises, and Y/n had been doing wonderfully - even after Jason's passing. If he was looking to get out of the job, then that would mean he'd stop coming to family dinners, stop dropping by for Holidays. He'd be alone and the Batfam would be missing one more member. The Team would lose their friend. Y/n was trying to disappear.
Dick didn't wait and no one stopped him. He was up immediately, only gritting his teeth at his hurt leg but otherwise walking perfectly fine as he moved through the halls at as quick a pace as he could manage while he hunted down Y/n.
He was in his room. Where he had been every free moment since Jason's death. Unsurprising then that Dick looked there first and, upon knocking on the door, wasn't shocked to see Y/n open it. He looked horrible, with heavy lids and bags under his eyes and a slouch to his shoulders. He looked exhausted.
"Before you try and-" Y/n began.
Dick pushed through the door and pulled him in a hug. "I'm sorry. I didn't thank you, thank you. Thank you for all those years ago, choosing to let us help you instead of turning away. Thank you for loving our family as much as I do and becoming apart of it. Thank you for giving Jason a best friend - he really needed it. Thank you for joining the team and saving so many of our lives so many times. Thank you for letting me love you. It was the best time of my life and I will always treasure it because you're an amazing person. Thank you for letting me know you."
Y/n was silent for a long time. He didn't move, didn't even seem to breathe. But then, just as Dick was losing hope, ever so slowly, Y/n's arms moved to wrap around Dick and hug him back. They melted into each other and Dick could feel the material of his shirt get wet as Y/n cried on his shoulder. 
"Bruce was right, I can't do this. I need to take a break." The words were a relief to hear.
"Okay," Dick agreed. He held his boyfriend tighter. They hadn't broken up yet, and he tried to hold onto that in this moment. It might be his last chance to think that.
Y/n seemed surprise at the lack of a response. "I won't be able to fight with you anymore - maybe ever again. We'll have way less time together, I won't be able to help you with cases. You'll have to face so much more on your own and we'll come to resent each other eventually. It'll fall apart like it always does. No time, no energy-"
"If you think that I'd ever resent you for prioritizing your needs, you're an idiot." Y/n's words died. "I will always love you for doing this. You should. You shouldn't keep going if you can't. I just can't lose you completely. I need you to be some part of my life. Everyone will miss you; the team; the family. Everyone. Promise me you won't quit at Wayne Tech. Promise me you won't disappear because you feel bad about retiring."
A shaky breath came from Y/n then and he held Dick tighter, burying his face in Dick's shoulder. They hadn't hugged this long in ages and it was what they both desperately needed. Y/n sighed, shaking his head. "Okay. I promise."
Dick leaned back and Y/n let him, even as Dick raised a hand to wipe away the remaining tears and pulled him into a kiss. They both lingered, and after a moment even relaxed. melted into each other. Dick didn't go far when the kiss ended, resting their foreheads together. "I don't want to break up with you. I want to give it a shot. I want to try, I want to fight. I don't want to fade from each others' lives - if it ends ugly then that's how it ends. I want to hold onto you."
Everyone knew how Dick's relationships ended. It was fire and joy and passion that slowly dimmed and faded into professionalism and business relations. They grew distant, but the fondness remained, and they parted on mutual, good terms. Dick always wanted to avoid ugly break ups, wanted to preserve relations as much as possible. The fact that he was willing to throw caution to the wind meant a lot.
Y/n chuckled, sighing a second time. "You're impossible, Dick Grayson."
Dick smiled. "Impossibly in love with you."
For the first time since Jason had died, Y/n laughed. Loud, with his full chest. His head fell back and he pulled Dick closer. The moment was warm and bright and all of the darkness and heaviness that had been plaguing them fell away completely, leaving them free and light. One thing was certain: they'd succeeded. They'd made it out the other side.
At least for now, they'd be alright. 
-
Male Readers: @ravenpuff-oli @sortzz @fadedver
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