#cringes at the memory of Arkham Tim

[princessmossy]

Hey is it just me or has Tim Drakes hair just like progressively gotten worse in every comic since he first appeared. Bring back whatever the like 80’s-90’s were doing with the spiky hair please…

[xxgoblin-dumplingxx]

more softdom!jason, just anything you can give me

"Focus on me, sweetheart," Jason said, kneeling in front of the chair Bruce had set you in.

"It's so fucking loud," you whimper, swallowing hard.

"I know," he said, keeping his voice soft. In public- or even semi-public his options for distracting you from the sensory hell of so many emotions vying for your attention were limited. But he knew that if he could make you focus on one. On him. It would help.

Usually, you held yourself in a stranglehold, keeping your emotions in such a tight grip that, at times, he worried you'd snap. "Bruce back up," he snapped. The tumult of your feelings was spilling out, making everyone else anxious and creating a feedback loop that was going to send you into a spiral.

For once, no one argued and Jason was grateful. "Sweetheart," he coaxed, "gimme your hand."

"Jay." Your voice is barely audible. If he hadn't been watching your face, he probably wouldn't have heard.

"Where did you take her?" Jason asked, fighting to keep himself calm.

"Arkham," Tim answered, and Jason can hear the wince in his voice.

"Why?"

"Intel," Bruce said watching. Eyes narrowing as he watched Jason extend a hand, waiting for you to take it. Watching you cringe away, ready to bolt when a surge of anger from Jason slammed into you.

"Baby girl," Jason said, turning his attention back to you, "gimme your hand. I need you to focus."

"Hurts," you breathe as your head throbs. A breathtaking pain-causing black to bloom at the edges of your vision as your nose starts to bleed.

"Let's make it better, Kay?" he said, taking a deep breath. "Take my hand-" All he could do was think I love you. Bury his rising panic under softer feelings. The way he felt when you giggled. How warm and safe it felt to have you laying on his chest.

"Why don't you just take it," Tim snapped.

"Tim-"

"It has to be her choice," Jason said quietly. Nothing else was your choice. People's emotions and wants pressed in on you from all sides, all the time. He'd promised you that. Everything was on your terms.

When your fingers twitched, he smiled a little, despite the look in your eyes and the blood on your face. "That's it, sweetheart," he said softly. He knows you're not really seeing. "Just a little more. I'm right here. We can make it better, kay?"

Finally, when your fingers brushed his, he took it, pressing your hand against his heart. "Focus," he said, "Kay? Breathe for me. Remember? That time we went and saw the Elephants?" It was a memory that still made his chest ache with how sweet it was. The way you giggled and cried. A little childhood dream realized. "We got grape snow cones," he murmured, remembering the feel of cold sticky kisses and smiling a little when you shover slightly. And he can see the fog start to clear.

"You counted my freckles," you whisper, fingers digging into his shirt.

"You have 87," he hummed, brushing hair out of your eyes with his free hand. "Good girl," he said softly. "Keep talking okay? Tell me about the elephants."

"They played harmonica."

"Yeah they did," he said, exhaling. "I'm gonna get the blood off your face, kay?"

"We gave them a pedicure."

"And you cried," he said, smiling a little and taking tissues to your face gently. "It was a good day, huh?"

"Today is not-"

Uh-uh," he scolded, "we're putting today to bed, sweetheart. It's all over."

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Soulmarks, Part 2

First part

~~~

She sighed and rested her hands on her hips, her fingers carefully detaching her yoyo.

They were giving her orders, she could tell from their tone, but she couldn’t understand a word he was saying. She barely spoke English outside of a few vague lessons she’d had when she was a kid, and they were talking too fast for her to catch a single word.

“You know, I’d love to do that, but I don’t speak English.”

The person paused at this, and then they switched to fluent French: “Oh, sorry. Turn around slowly and don’t make any sudden moves.”

She slowly turned around, resting her hands behind her back. His gun lowered slightly to point at her legs and she let herself relax a little bit. A shot would be absolutely terrible, but at least he wasn’t actively trying to kill her.

She flashed Nightwing a bright smile. “Why, hello, sir!”

He raised his eyebrows slightly. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

“I’m Ladybug...” They didn’t know who she was, so she didn’t have to hide her yoyo. She pulled it out from behind her back and started doing tricks with it to let out some of her nervous energy. “And, well, I’m here because I think my soulmate is in trouble. Apparently you, Batman, and Batgirl all know them.”

Nightwing’s eyebrows disappeared behind his bangs. “Uh… can you prove that?”

“See, the problem with that is most of my soulmarks have disappeared for them. All of them, actually.”

“Oh.” He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I guess I’ll explain it to you…”

“Oh! No, they’re not dead! I thought they were, but then a new soulmark appeared and it’s… weird? Weirder than their normal ones, at least...”

She trailed off. Her eyes narrowed slightly. He’d certainly phrased the ‘I’ll explain it to you’ thing oddly, it was almost as if there was someone else there that she didn’t know about.

Her eyes searched the area for a sign of movement as she continued: “I don’t know if you can make sense of it. It’s a gun, but it’s one of those fake ones with the little flags that say ‘BANG’ you see in cartoons…”

Her eyes spotted a flickering in the shadows and she cringed mentally. Damn, she hated it when she was right. Whoever they were, she couldn’t see a glint of metal. So it was probably safe to assume they didn’t have a weapon out --.

“Where was it?”

She pulled her attention back to Nightwing. “Over my heart. Do you know what it means?”

He obviously knew, but he seemed hesitant to say anything. This really didn’t help her anxiety about the situation. He’d been prepared to tell her that her soulmate was dead, so just how bad could this be?

He opened his mouth to tell her, but he was cut off as a gun went off a few blocks away.

Listen, she wasn’t proud of it. But she was anxious... and it was at least two-on-one... and he’d had a gun pointed at her. She latched her yoyo around his wrist.

His eyes found their way to the polka-dotted yoyo and shock flickered across his face. “You’re-- oh sh --!”

She threw him to the next building without thinking and brought her hands up to her mouth as he crashed into a wall. Oops. He was a human.

She wheeled around to find Batgirl and held up her hands with a weak smile. What was the English word? “Sor-ree,” she said. She pointed the woman in the direction of the gunshot. “Can you? I’ll fix ‘im.”

Batgirl was apparently stunned enough by what Marinette had said that she complied.

She quickly hopped over to where Nightwing was and cringed as she summoned her lucky charm. The first thing she thought of popped into her hand: a computer mouse. “Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorry,” she mumbled.

He could only groan in response.

“Miraculous Ladybug,” she said.

He was enveloped in ladybugs and, when they cleared, he was patting himself with a shocked expression. “What the-- how did-- why--?”

“I really didn’t mean to hurt you, I swear. Are you alright?”

“I’m… fine, apparently,” he assured her. He slowly pushed himself to his feet and gave her a weak smile. “Well… that was certainly one way to meet the inlaws.”

“HUH?”

~

She let them escort her, blindfolded, to the batcave.

Did she think it was stupid and unnecessary? Yes, she was already lost enough without the whole blindfold thing. Did she care? No, if this is what it would take to figure out if her soulmate was okay she would do it.

The blindfold was whipped off her face and a gasp left her lips.

“Oh, I need to get me one of these.”

Nightwing laughed and Marinette felt her face warm. She’d meant to be quieter.

She was allowed to wander around while Nightwing explained the situation to Batman and Batgirl. She tried not to laugh at all the names on plaques starting with ‘Bat’. She wondered if Nightwing was actually called BatNightwing.

“Ladybug!” Called possibly-BatNightwing.

She smiled awkwardly as she walked over. She perched herself on a railing.

Batman handed her a tiny device and she raised her eyebrows.

“It’ll translate everything so we can all speak in our native languages,” he explained calmly.

She nodded and placed it in her ear and pressed on. Lights flickered in front of her eyes and she stared at the interface in front of her with a stunned expression.

She reached up and selected her language and then waved for them to go ahead.

“Your soulmate is Tim Drake. He went missing on patrols about three weeks ago,” explained Batman.

Her eyes widened at the text in front of her and she pulled out her yoyo again. Her soulmate was a vigilante? You’d think she know about it from her soulmarks...

“What was his hero name?”

Nightwing shook his head. “Vigilante, not hero. And Robin.”

She hit herself in the face with her yoyo. Ah, so he wasn’t an avid birdwatcher, he was a bird-themed vigilante. She supposed that did make sense, considering her chosen career path.

Batgirl crossed her arms over her chest. “And you swear it’s a gag gun?”

“Do I have a reason to lie?”

Batgirl shrugged a little bit.

Batman seemed to think for a minute before sighing. “She’s a child, we can’t tell her this.”

“A child who launched that guy --” she jabbed a finger towards Nightwing “-- across some rooftops.” She smiled brightly. “So, how about we start talking, please?”

Batman sighed again. “No need for threats. We think he’s been captured by Joker.”

“And Joker is…?”

“A Rogue -- or I guess you would know of him as a criminal or villain. He’s pretty big here,” explained Batgirl.

She nodded slowly. That explained the deck of cards that had been on her back since she was a child. She started messing with her yoyo again.

“So, he was captured by Joker and…?”

Everyone looked at the oldest to explain, and Batman shook his head slightly. “He’s seemed to have lost his identity, if everything has disappeared.”

She thought about this for a minute and her face paled. What could Joker have done to him for him to lose his identity? She found herself hoping he’d just gotten hit too hard on the head once and lost his memory. That was the best case scenario.

Somehow, she doubted it.

“Right, so how do we save him?”

~

The Batmobile was… cramped.

The thing was huge, but there was very little actual room to sit for anyone besides Batman. Nightwing joked that it was almost as if he didn’t want anyone else in there.

In the end, Marinette got to sit in the passenger’s seat while Nightwing and Batgirl cursed their father out from the roof of the car. Sure, they were going slower than usual so no one would fall off and die, but it couldn’t be fun. She messed with her summoned yoyo (yes, she summoned a yoyo with her yoyo, what of it?) as she listened in to make sure they didn’t fall.

All too soon and yet far too late, they stopped at the gates to Arkham Asylum. She and Batman climbed out and helped the others down.

They all hopped the fence and Marinette sent a cheeky grin as she slipped through the bars.

Nightwing sighed. “I wish I was that tiny again.”

She gave a quiet laugh.

Everyone’s slight smiles dropped off their faces as they entered the asylum.

A shiver ran through her at the singing that floated through the mostly abandoned building. Everyone exchanged glances and then Nightwing and Batgirl split off.

She and Batman made their way through the halls, following the sound. She fought the temptation to curl in on herself or run away.

Batman sent her a look, a ‘stay back’, and then burst through the door.

Marinette slowly inched around the door as well, looking for cover. The place looked like Picasso had tried to make a house. There were walls where there shouldn’t be and an extra floor that just jutted out from the wall. Typical household items were placed around at random. It felt warped and… wrong.

The woman cut herself off and set a vase of flowers on the table. She turned around and looked up at the chair. “Puddin’, company!”

Marinette took the chance to dive under the table.

Her eyes landed on a… was that a bazooka? She’d never seen one in person before, and being so close to it made her anxious. She scooted as far away from it as she could. Her fingers pulled up the tablecloth slightly and she ducked down to see what was going on.

The man in the chair turned around to look and then smiled. “Hello there,” he said, stepping down. “Welcome to our happy abode!”

Joker and the woman embraced each other.

Batman didn’t humor them. “Where’s Robin?”

The couple looked at each other with mock confusion. “Robin? There’s no Robin here!”

“Maybe he means our little J!”

“Of course!” Joker snapped his fingers. “That’s it!”

They both looked at a blue curtain and Batman scowled as he strode towards it.

The woman giggled and reached under the table, her hand poking Marinette’s face. She made a quiet sound in the back of her throat and continued on, grabbing the bazooka. “Uh-uh! No peeking!”

Marinette’s eyes widened in horror as she pointed it at Batman but, before she could react, she pulled the trigger.

Ribbon wrapped around him.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

“Mommy’s little helper!” Said the woman brightly.

Joker pressed a kiss to her cheek. “You know, bats, we’ve been doing this little runaround of ours for years. It’s been loads of laughs, but the sad fact is…” He stepped towards the curtain. “None of us are getting any younger.”

“That old clock’s a-tickin!”

“Quite right, poo. And Harley and I were thinking it was time to start a family. Add a Joker Jr. to our merry brood.”

“But rather than go through all the joy of childbirth, we decided to adopt.”

“We couldn’t do it legally, but then we remembered you always had a few spare kids hanging around!”

Harley beamed and suddenly grabbed one of Marinette’s pigtails. A curse slipped from her lips as she was pulled out from under the table. “Whoops! There’s another one!”

“A surplus, really!” Joker grinned more widely than ever. “So we borrowed one.”

He pulled back the curtain with a dramatic flourish to reveal… an operating table?

She looked at the person on the table and felt bile rise in her throat. Their skin was blotchy white and paper-like from bleach treatments. Their eyes were unblinking and nearly pupil-less. The smile on their face was so wide that it had to have been stretched somehow.

“He needed a little molding, of course. What kid doesn’t? But, in time, we came to love him as our own. Say hello, J.J.”

The person started to laugh. The kind of laugh someone makes when they’re trying their hardest not to cry. They hopped down and laughed harder, their arms clutching their stomach as a few stray tears slid down his face.

~~~

Next part

Every time I think I know how long a fic is going to be I’m wrong help --

Taglist

@pawsitivelymiraculous @golden-promises @salty-fang @kitsunebell @sassakitty @octobitch @glastwime859 @miyla-lokidottir @onlyabatfan @ira-sairain @2confused-2doanything @ultimatetornshipper

[dumbkiri]

Fate Changes Three

Parts: [1, 2, Here, 4, 5 ]

Summary: [Name] and Barbara’s lives are on the line. Batman has a difficult choice to make and while he abandons the only person that keeps Jason alive in memories, [Name] is content with his decision. This is her chance. 

Pairing: Jason Todd x Female! Reader

Genre: Action, Slight Angst

Word Count: 3.1k //  7 pages

Warnings: Guns, Suicide, Blood, Death

"Because like you, Juliet, Romeo never died."

 His words haunted her like her nightmares. His modified voice still echoing in her head. His Arkham symbol planted in her memories. Everything about him, threw her off her tracks. It was bothersome that she couldn't find out who he was. Then [Name] thought about the star-crossed lovers.

Romeo died in the story. What did the Arkham Knight mean that Romeo never died? Juliet was under the influence of a sleeping potion which gave Romeo the impression that she died. He mourns for her like a true lover and voluntarily drinks poison because he believed she was dead. Juliet not even a moment before wakes up from her sleep and finds Romeo dead. Juliet then stabs herself in the heart. 

......

“Because like you, Juliet-”

Juliet, she was still alive. She was only sleeping. 

“Romeo never died.” 

Romeo was tricked.

“I fear too early, for my mind misgives-”

The Arkham Knight wasn’t going to let her kill herself. 

“Some consequences, yet hanging in the stars-”

If Juliet had woken up earlier, she wouldn’t have allowed Romeo to drink the poison. Because she was alive.

“Shall bitterly begin.”

The roles...they switched. 

......

 "Where's Barbara?" [Name] asked sitting in the middle between two armed guards. Her eyes trained on the Arkham Knight sitting casually in the passenger seat. His fingers drumming to the song playing on the radio. She recognized the singer's voice: Frank Sinatra. The man who sang the famous song in her dreams. 

"Hey," She addressed the Arkham Knight, "I asked you a question." 

Her attitude earned a hit from the guard on her right. He slammed the butt of his gun on her chest. She reacted with a strangled gasp. Her wounds hadn't fully healed. She was surprised she was still alive. 

"Barbara Gordon is in another car. Away from you." The guard on her left gave her an answer.

 She nodded her head and weakly said, "Thanks."

 Her head hung low and she was very exhausted. [Name] hated showing her weakness, but tonight was like no other night. Tonight she was going to experience fear and that scared her to no end. The rest of the car ride, [Name] had slept. The guards, of course, kept a close eye on her. Even the Knight would look over his shoulder to see what she was doing. Every time, he would see [Name] twitch in her sleep. It was either her fingers or her legs that often twitched. Sometimes she would flinch so hard that the guards would point their guns at her only to see that she was still sleeping. 

"Man, Batgirl has some weird habits," The guy on her right said. He set his gun down and looked at his partner.

 The left man replied back, "She flinched so much in only five minutes." 

The Arkham Knight scoffed and turned the radio higher before saying, "She's having a nightmare." The two guards looked at each other and shrugged. The Knight knew more about Batgirl than they did. They weren't going to question his knowledge. They weren't that stupid.

 [Name] heard what the Knight said and cringed. Only one person knew why she flinched in her sleep. Not even Batman, Alfred, Barbara or Tim knew.

 ……

“Jason, do you ever think that we could live outside of Gotham?” [Name] asked sitting in the backyard of Wayne Manor.

 Jason was casually laying next to her with his arms behind his head. The blanket beneath them providing sanction from the damp green grass it was placed on. Jason’s blue eyes traveled from the stars to [Name]’s back then to the stars again. “Not really?” He said with an unsure tone in his voice. The teen didn’t quite understand what she was trying to say.

 [Name] rested her chin on top of her palm and watched as the stars twinkled happily above them. Her [e.color] eyes reflecting the beautiful night sky. She bit her lip and finally got the courage to say what she wanted, “I think that in order for me to be happy, I need to live somewhere else. Gotham reminds me too much of-" She paused and rephrased her sentence, "Gotham isn’t a place for me to be.”

 Jason sat up at her words, “You’re not serious, are you? Gotham is your home." He watched her as she stayed quiet. Jason continued with a nervous stare. His heart racing faster than when she confessed to him. "It’s where Bruce taught us how to fight. Where Alfred comforts us in the time we need it. It’s where you help me come back to Earth.” He was not happy with her at the moment and [Name] knew that.

 “Jason,” She softly said, her eyes no longer on the night sky. Instead, they were staring straight into deep ocean blue eyes. She wanted him to understand why she wanted to move away from Gotham. “I need this. I need time away from Gotham. From crime fighting. Bruce offered to help me move to Metropolis. It’s not too far from here and I’ll still visit you guys. It’s not like-”

“You don’t get it, [Name]. I need you here with me.” Jason said and scooted closer to her. He placed his hands on her arms and brought her closer to him. “You...I like you, a lot. And you telling me that you want to move away from Gotham makes me feel like I did something wrong. Tell me, what did I do?” 

[Name] smiled at him and felt that he was calming down. That he was willing to listen to her reasons. “Jason, you did nothing wrong. If you did, I would tell you. But you,” She removed one arm away from his grasp and used that hand to reach his head. She brushed her fingers through his hair and then traced his jawline, “You will always be my home, Romeo. Don’t you ever forget that.”

He sighed and rested his forehead on her shoulder, “When will you move?”She resumed combing her fingers through his hair. Her eyes went back to the stars, “I move next week.”

Jason picked his head up from her shoulder and pressed his lips on her cheek. He then spoke up, his voice frail and soft, “At least write to me, okay?”This earned a giggle from the [h.color] haired teen. She covered her mouth and gave him an incredulous look. “Write letters? What century are we in?” [Name] laughed and laughed while Jason crossed his arms over his chest.

 He was currently pouting where he sat. “Writing letters is more personal than sending emails or messaging through technology, alright?”

[Name] couldn’t stop her laughing and Jason had about enough with her teasing. He grumbled under his breath and stood up off the ground. He began walking away, but [Name] grabbed his hand gently in hers. He turned back and saw her hair dancing with the light breeze. Her eyes reflecting the moonlight. 

“Of course, I’ll write to you, Jaybird,” She promised. 

Jason smiled and pulled her into his arms.

 They sealed the promise with a sweet kiss.

……

"[Name]."

It was someone familiar calling out to her. She knew that soft voice. That caring voice. 

"[Name], please, wake up." 

She felt someone tap her foot and she flinched in her sleep. Her eyes begged for her to open up and she begrudgingly agreed. [Name] blinked her eyes open slowly and her focus was absolutely trashed. It took her at least a minute to see who was sitting in front of her. "B-barbara?" [Name] asked sitting up in her position which caused a groan to escape her lips.

 "I wouldn't move too much if I were you. You put up quite a fight tonight. Not only that, but you been shot, survived a car crash and earned bruises from those military guys." Barbara let her head rest against the crate behind her. Her arms were also bound behind her back. She didn't look as bad as [Name] did, but it was evident that she endured just as much.

 "Before you ask, the Arkham Knight stuffed us back here. It looks like a large storage room." [Name] nodded her head, "You can see more than I can." She blinked her eyes again and the darkness around her was starting to get lighter. Her eyes were adjusting.

 "Barbara, do you have any idea of who could be the Arkham Knight?" Barbara shook her head, "No." Then she brought her green eyes to the beaten Batgirl in front of her. "Y-you have an idea, don't you?" "I am not sure," [Name] looked down at her legs, "he gives me these vibes. His actions...they remind me of him."

 Barbara squinted her eyes, "What do you mean 'him'?"

 [Name] sucked in a breath. It took her exactly two minutes to spit the sentence out. "They remind me of Jason." 

Barbara shook her head. Denying [Name]'s words of truth. Jason was dead and her friend needed to get over that fact. "He died," Barbara reminded [Name].

 [Name] involuntarily cringed at her words, "I know, just listen-"

 "The Joker killed him. We all saw the tape. We all saw him murdered in cold blood." Barbara was once again, relentless with her words. "He died, [Name]. He died being Robin." 

"I know!" [Name] yelled at her friend fighting back her tears. Why does everyone have to remind her that Jason was dead? "All I'm saying is that his actions were close to Jason's. I was hinting that maybe the Arkham Knight knew Jason. A childhood friend-" Not possible. "Or a classmate," Wrong. "Someone who knew him." Never.

 You know what you're saying is wrong. You know deep inside that- 

"How do we know it can be one of those options?" 

"Because it's someone who has a large target on Batman. Someone who knows Batman himself possibly even his true identity." Barbara finished. 

The door to the storage room opened. "I assume you two know Batman's true identity." Scarecrow popped out of nowhere scaring the girls for a quick second only for that fear to turn into anger. They weren’t going to answer an obvious question. Scarecrow knew for a fact that they knew who was under the mask. He walked closer to them and his feet stopped to stand in between them. Scarecrow looked at Barbara and then to [Name]. His sinister eyes boring into her fear stricken ones.

"Batman is here as we speak," Scarecrow informed them, "It's time for him to choose which Batgirl he wants to save." 

"What do you mean?" [Name] asked the tall man. He gave her a smile; a creepy and sinister one. Then she looked at Barbara, but her green eyes were trained on the floor. The commander's daughter knew what was going to happen, but she was still drawing a blank. "You'll see, Batgirl."

 The Arkham Knight walked in silently and picked up Barbara. He carried her over her shoulder and ordered his men to help [Name] up. They followed his order and lifted her off the floor. She gasped out loud and the Arkham Knight whisked his head in her direction. He watched as she hunched over in pain. Her face contorted and her arms wishing to hold herself together. Her face was decorated with more scratches and bruises. He wondered what her suit was hiding beneath. Broken bones? More bruises, but much more darker, yellow? 

 "Enough with the dramatics, Batgirl," Scarecrow chastised, "the real show has yet to begin." The Arkham Knight followed after his men. Barbara silent as ever and [Name] wincing every time his men lifted her off the floor. She was too tired and weak to fully stand, so they resorted to dragging her body to the cell she was going to be stuck in. Fear gas would soon be in her system screwing up her already screwed up mind.

 ……

[Name] was carelessly thrown into her bulletproof glass cell. Her body roughly colliding with the floor. Her neck aching in pulses that matched her heart rate. She coughed up and spat blood on the floor. In so much pain, she curled up into a ball and cried out from it all. 

"Batgirl." She heard Batman call out to her and she weakly looked up from the floor. "Bat...man," She groaned and pushed herself off the floor only to stumble against the nightstand next to her. Something clinked against the floor and she brought her full attention to it. There mockingly laying in front of her was a loaded pistol. 

She then looked in front of her to see her mentor. "Batman, I tried to stop them. But I ended up crashing into a tank and the car- we could have died on impact. I could have, but the Arkham Knight...he sav-" 

"Save your breath, Batgirl," Scarecrow popped up on the screens behind her. The background dark and the light on him. "Batman, the task is grueling ahead of you. Standing before you is your current Batgirl, the one you held dear to your heart." [Name]'s heart raced. "And in the other cell is your former sidekick, Barbara Gordon." The Scarecrow chuckled. "You have one choice to make tonight. Save your current Batgirl or the crippled one. You have two minutes to decide. Every ten seconds you wait, a light dose of fear toxin will be injected in their system via the collar they wear." 

[Name]'s hand flew to the collar around her neck. She didn't even know when they put this on her. Why couldn't she have felt it earlier? Her eyes were then directed to her right where she saw Barbara sitting down in her wheelchair. "Your time starts now." Scarecrow finished and [Name] ran up to the front of the cell. She placed her hands on the glass and called out to her mentor, "Batman, you have to save Barbara!" She felt a sharp prick at her neck and her vision slowly changed on her. 

"No, no," Barbara yelled out holding her hands to her head. "Leave me alone!" 

Batman looked between the girls. [Name] banged her hands on the glass to get his attention, "Listen to me, this may be the last time I get to speak to you," another dosage of fear toxin entered her system, "I don't blame you for anything. Not even Jason’s death for which you blame yourself. It wasn’t your fault that the Joker got to him before we could.”

She closed her eyes, so she won't see the horrors in front of her anymore. But that didn't stop the voices.

 "You left me alone to die, now look where you ended up. Alone.” Jason taunted.

 "Not true, you aren't him," [Name] responded with heavy breathing. Her lungs working at a fast rate due to her panicking. She took a deep breath in and stumbled away from the cell to see Jason’s dead body lying helplessly on the floor. Batman was no longer the center of her attention because the fear toxin was clouding her vision. 

The Joker’s laugh echoed in her head and she slapped her hands over her ears. But she could still hear his demented cackle; one of pure evil. Then she heard Jason screaming and yelling as Joker tortured him over and over. Her knees buckled and hit the floor with a pop. 

"I c-can't," [Name] cried and looked behind her to see the gun laying on the floor. She crawled over to the weapon and felt the familiar cold kiss her fingers. 

"What will you do, Batman? It seems both of them are willing to kill themselves." Scarecrow watched amused by what was happening. 

Both Batgirls reached for their weapons. Batman wasn't going to let either one of them to pull the trigger. But he had to think fast. With a heavy heart, he gave [Name] one last good look at her. This is not how he wanted to remember her. She was always so bright. So loving. Yet [Name] gave him permission to save Barbara before her. So he worked on opening Barbara’s cell before the redhead could reach the gun on the nightstand.

 ……

[Name] wasn't going to deny that her heart ached when Batman chose Barbara over herself. Who was she kidding? Barbara will always hold a special place in Bruce Wayne's heart while [Name] wasn't even sure he saved a spot for her.

[Name]’s mind drifted to the pistol. Her fingers wrapped around the cold gun and she stared at it helplessly. She could end it all right here. Pull the trigger and let her brains splatter against the wall behind her. She could let her body fall limp into Death's arms and have him take her away to wherever God deemed her soul to rest. But suicide isn't welcomed in Heaven. Taking your life was an insult to God who gave you the ability to live. At least that's what the nuns at the orphanage told her. 

"You can be with me."

 [Name] flinched at how cool and calm Jason's voice was. She knew he was standing right behind her in his Robin costume. She knew the fear toxin was still being applied in her body. Running its course and digging a deeper hole, a place where should would fall in and never come back to the surface.Her fear was coming to life. But she had to look at him again. Just this once. 

Slowly, she turned her body around and her eyes widened. Standing before her was Jason, but he looked better. He was wearing casual clothing which consisted of a red tee and jeans. The outfit she last saw him in. 

"Don't you want to be with me, [Name]?" 

BANG!

 She jumped up at the sound of a gun going off and she went to turn around to see what Batman was doing, but Jason stopped her. 

"You don't want to look over there, it's not pretty." He warned her and placed a hand under her chin to keep her eyes on him.

 [Name] closed her eyes and her hand gripped tighter on the weapon. Batman didn't save Barbara in time and he won't save her either. Because she was going to be with Jason. No one was going to stop her anymore. No Batman. No Arkham Knight. 

"All you have to do is pull the trigger. Then I can hold you in my arms forever." He cooed and removed his hand off her face.

 [Name] opened her eyes and looked at the gun one last time. The metallic black color shining in a different light. The weight of it light as a feather. She cocked it and lifted the barrel toward her. It touched her chin and she smiled.

 This was it.

[bat-losers-inc]

Kintsugi: Chapter 6

Warnings: adult language 

Summary: Final Crisis/Red Robin AU. Dick admits Tim to a psychiatric facility after Bruce is lost in time. Jason finds him suffering at the hands of a Scarecrow-copycat and breaks him out. While safe in Jason’s apartment, Tim still struggles with panic attacks and drug withdrawal. At a loss for what to do, Jason calls Roy Harper.

Pairings: Jason Todd & Tim Drake, Tim Drake & Roy Harper, Roy Harper & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Dick Grayson, Roy Harper & Dick Grayson.

Jason bolted out onto the hospital rooftop through the access door, jumping the pipes, ventilation ducts, and skylights as he made a straight shot towards the roof’s ledge. He slipped his helmet on and shot out his grappling line, catching it around an office building across the street before jumping. He didn’t fall for long as his line snapped tight, drawing him up and over to the other building’s higher roof. It was imperative that he get to higher ground if he wanted to stand any chance of an escape via the rooftops of Bludhaven. But he’d barely cleared the hospital parking lot before a Birdarang flashed in the moonlight above him and cut his line.

Jason sucked in a panicked breath as his heart flip-flopped into his stomach with the sudden change of direction. He curled into himself and performed a painful tuck and roll onto the harsh concrete of a lower roof, jarring his shoulder and rattling his head inside his helmet in the process.

Jason heard the zip and clang of a line being shot behind him and pushed up onto his feet, flinging himself onto the next rooftop with the aid of his spare grappling gun. Enough rooftop brawls with the big man in the past had taught Jason to always carry a spare, or two. It seemed that Damian had inherited his father’s dirty habit of line cutting. Jason should have guess that the apple wouldn’t fall far from the rotten fucking tree.  

He made it across five more buildings before something lashed around his ankles and tripped him up. He pitched face first into the concrete, smashing his helmet hard enough that his heads-up display dissolved into a flickering mass of pixels.

“Another one bites the dust,” he growled, chucking the helmet away and making hasty work with his knife on the cords around his ankles. Not quick enough, he thought, as he stood up just in time to duck one of Robin’s flying kicks to his now exposed head.

Jason flipped his knife around, slashing backhand at Robin’s neck and stomach. Damian lunged up under his arm and jabbed him in the armpit. Jason’s hand spasmed and his knife fell through his numb fingers and bounced on the ground between them.

Jason pulled a gun, but Damian was faster— his katana scratching at the unshaven stubble on Jason’s neck before he could even release the safety on his gun.

Jason stilled, breathing hard. There was no use continuing to try to run or fight, he knew they’d just continue pursuing him. “You owe me a new helmet.”

Damian shrugged one shoulder. “If you hadn’t run from us you’d still have it. I think that makes it your fault, not mine.”

There was a rush of air to Jason’s right as Dick landed in a swish of black material.

“Where’s Tim, Jason?”

He turned to glare at him. “Safe from you. I think that’s all you need to know for right now.”

Dick uttered a noise akin to a growl, his voice a deep rumble as he said, “If you’ve done something to him, Jason, I swear to god I’ll—”

  Jason used the gun to wack Damian’s katana away from his neck with a clang of metal on metal. He’d quickly grown tired of the sensation of it pressed against his skin. “Why don’t you shout my name a little louder, huh! I don’t think all of Gotham heard you yet. Wouldn’t want to leave out all those criminals in Arkham. You’d really make their day.”

“Is this a joke to you? I’m trying to find my brother.”

“What makes you think he wants to be found?” Jason countered.

“Tell us where he is, Hood,” Damian demanded, “Or I’ll get the information out of you another way.”

Jason caught the rise of his arm and leveled a finger at him, spitting, “Don’t you dare even think about sticking that katana back in my face, you goddamn chihuahua of a human being.”

Damian face scrunched in confusion. “Chihuahua? What the hell does that even mean?”

“Oh, I think you know. Yappy, stupidly aggressive, makes you want to punt them into the sun.” Jason smiled menacingly at him. “Now, shut up, the adults are talking.”

 “Oh yeah, you’re really proving to me that you have the welfare of the young in mind, right now.” snapped Dick.

Jason laughed harshly. “Oh, I see! You think I’m a horrible person for talking to the demon brat like that. Well, I think it might be a good idea for you to stomp down on that judgemental attitude right now, yeah Dickie? Because from where I’m standing, I don’t look so bad. I mean… at least I didn’t lock my teenage brother in a psych ward against his will and leave him there to be experimented on by a goddamn psycho scientist who gave him a drug problem!”

Jason really wanted to get in his face and shove him on his ass, but it seemed his words had the same effect as Dick rocked back a step. “A— What?”

“Oh, yeah. That shit’s on you. His ‘guardian’ who washed his hands of him the second he became too much of an inconvenience.”

Jason shoved Damian out of the way and went to retrieve his belongings, intent of leaving the two assholes he called family alone to sort out their shit without him.

“Jason, wait. I just want to understand!”

Jason looked back over his shoulder at Dick. “You want to understand? Go listen to Keselman’s tapes. Then maybe you’ll understand just a fraction on the nightmare that Tim went through  and is still going through.”

Jason turned and left, knowing it wouldn’t be the last he saw of his brother. He just hoped he could keep him away from Tim for a little while longer. Otherwise, he didn’t know what would happen.  

It was late morning by the time Tim awoke from his stupor, his parched tongue smoothing cautiously over the cracked skin of his bottom lip. He cringed at the coppery taste, like pennies. He found the glass of water that Jason had left by the foot of his bed and chugged down what little remained. Hearing the clatter of pans from below and catching the whiff of coffee in the air, he slipped downstairs on sock-clad feet.  Squinting against the bright sunlight coming in through the many windows along the first floor, he made his way into the kitchen.

He’d half expected to see Jason and Roy sitting on opposite sides of the kitchen table recounting fond memories over coffee and eggs, but all he found instead was Roy in front of the stovetop, flipping an omelette in a fry pan.  

“Where’s Jason?”

Roy flinched. The spatula jerked across the surface of the fry pan before he righted it enough to slide his omlette off onto his plate. It was only then that Roy turned to him, plate in hand, the air of forced nonchalance present in every feature Tim’s eyes landed on. What other more subtle emotions he was putting out, Tim couldn’t figure out at the moment (as it took more concentration than his brain could muster up).

“He went out to gather some intel last night but hasn’t gotten back yet. Probably decided it was just best to crash at another safehouse then hike it all the way back here.”

Tim hitched his body up onto one of the bar stools positioned around the table. “All the way back here? Where was he going?”

Roy cleared his throat. “Bludhaven.”

“So Breckenridge,” Which only served to highlight how his continued presence was in Jason’s life was complicating things. “Which is why you’re so worried, right? With Batman and Robin undoubtedly out looking for me, if they caught sight of him there last night there’s a chance he could lead them right to us.”

“I’m not worried about anything. Jason has evaded them before and he’ll do it again. Now, what do you want for breakfast? I make a mean omelette.”

Tim shrugged, food being the last thing on his mind. “Just coffee and toast.”

Roy tilted his head, pale eyebrows pulling together. “You need to eat. And eat real food, at that. How does scrambled eggs, toast, and orange juice sound?”

Honestly, the smell of Roy’s omelette was starting to turn his stomach. He let a nauseated chill sweep through his frame and readjusted his damp shirt so it didn’t stick to his back.

Tim rolled his eyes. It was like the diner incident all over again. “It sounds like something Jason told you to feed to me. Tell me, do you always do whatever he tells you to do? Don’t you have a mind of your own? A cup of coffee isn’t going to kill me.”

“Yes, it will.”

Tim stared at him in disbelief until Roy threw his head back in silent outrage.

“Jason told me you were supposed to be some kind of genius, so I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out yet.”

Tim sighed and rubbed hastily at his face, wiping the sweat from his upper lip off onto his pant leg. “Look… in any other scenario I’d love to show off my skills and figure out what you’re thinking, but I feel like death warmed over right now. So, just tell me. Coffee. Yes or no?”

“Seriously, kid? Don’t you know anything about drug chemistry? Even Jason understands this.”

Tim slid off the kitchen stool and stumbled his way around Roy to the coffee pot. “Yeah, no worries. I’ll get it myself. You just keep on talking.”

Roy yanked the pot out of his hands, coffee sloshing around inside, and shoved it back into the stand. “You’ve been having panic attacks. Adding caffeine into the mix might legitimately kill you. That’s what happens the minute you come off fear toxin and all those benzos.”

“Yeah, alright I admit there was a bit of an adjustment period, but I’m fine now—”

“Who the hell do you think you’re talking to, huh? Whatever adjustment period you’re going through is far from over. ”

As much as Tim wanted to continue debating this point with Roy, he was worried that his persistent resistance to Jason’s rules would result in a change of living situations, and not for the better. He’d already learned on multiple occasions of late that this was a game he was doomed to lose with every hand he played. So Tim checked his emotions and stepped back, adding quietly, “Orange juice sounds great.”

Roy’s forehead creased. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to shout at you—”

“It’s fine,” Tim cut in, resuming his seat at the table. “I was in the wrong… like you explained.”

“No, really—”

The window over the radiator shot open and they both turned to see Jason clambering in through it, pulling a very familiar backpack in after him. He stood, dropping another broken helmet in the box with the others and addressed Tim in a slightly winded voice, “I brought some of your stuff.”

“Did you run all the way here with it?” asked Roy, as Tim took it out of his hands and peeked inside. “Because it sounds like you did. I thought you were doing extra cardio.”

Tim pushed past a few pairs of clothes to find his laptop, charger, and a jaggling mess of electrical components and tools in a pile at the bottom— from the way it was packed it looked like Jason had just swiped anything sitting out on top of his work desk into the opening without any knowledge of what it was for.

He sighed and moved the bag into Jason’s makeshift garage/workstation to sort out later. Maybe he’d be able to show Jason his gratitude by designing some tech for his bike.

He heard Jason as he came back into the safehouse. “Yeah, I doubled back and came the long way to make sure I wasn’t being followed. But look, I found it, it’s all in there!”

Tim rounded the corner to see Roy flipping through a familiar pocket notebook that set his hair on end, feeling for all the world like Roy was flipping through something deeply personal— like his diary, except he didn’t have a diary. He supposed if he did though, Keselman’s notes on Tim’s drugged rants and ravings would be the closest thing to what he’d put in one.

Jason pulled Roy’s plate across the counter towards him and started digging into it with silent and ravenous focus.

“Those are Dr. Keselman’s notes, aren’t they?”

Jason’s fork stilled on its path to his mouth and lowered as both he and Roy fixed Tim with an expression that was mixed equally with worry and guilt. It was one that Tim was noticing more and more, but it’s continued use didn’t make it any easier for him to stomach.

“I’m going to take your silence as a ‘yes’. When you’re done with that, I’d like to take a look at it.”

And burn it.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” said Jason.

“Why? I’m not going to find anything in there that I don’t already know.”

Roy shrugged at Jason. “He’s kinda got a point there, Jaybird.”

Jason snatched the bite of eggs off of his fork before waving it dismissively around by his head, “Fine, whatever you want. But if shit hits the fan then you’re cleaning it up.”

He moved to fill a mug with coffee from the pot. Tim watched him take the first sip from his standing spot by the couch, silent and ever so jealous of his health compared to his own.

“By the way,” Jason took another sip, “How did you two get on without me? Any problems so far?”

“Uh—” Roy hesitated and cast a questioning look at Tim. “Well, actually Jason—”

“Yeah, really good actually,” Tim forced a smile and shook his head ever so slightly at Roy. “Roy’s already giving out some sound advice. Kinda feels like I have another big brother.”

Another person to watch out for, that is. He felt horrible for thinking it because he knew if given some time he’d probably learn to like Roy— maybe even value his opinions. But as it stood at the moment Tim just couldn’t trust him to speak on his behalf. One hiccup in their current plans or a wrong comment to Jason could mess up the only good thing Tim had going for him. So Roy would just have to play along and fake it until it was actually true, his conscience be damned.

Jason smiled, looking eagerly between them. “So, does that mean what I think it means? You’ll sponsor him?”

Roy crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. “Just for a week or so, until Tim’s back on steady ground and can find another sponsor here in Gotham.”

Jason laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “You big softie.”

Tim scratched at his arm, stepping a little closer. “Hey, Jason? I’m not feeling so hot this morning and I’m kinda worried about what that’s going to lead to later on. Do you think I could take something just to ease the symptoms a bit?”

Roy coughed into his fist.  

Tim continued on hurridley, “I know you guys are worried about the dosages still, but you also talked about seizures and heart attacks and I think even just half a pill would push those worries from my head, you know?”

Jason and Roy seemed to hold a silent conversation with just a few shared glances at each other, before Jason turned back to Tim with an uneasy smile. “Yeah, I totally understand what you’re saying, Tim. But it’ll only take us a few hours to look over these notes and map out a solid step-down routine. And if we do, then we can start that step-down today and knock off an extra day where you feel like shit, you get me?”

“Yeah, no. I totally understand.” Tim tried for a smile and felt it twitch with strain. He rubbed at his mouth in an effort to cover it.

“So you think you can make it a few more hours?” prompted Jason in that soft careful voice that set Tim’s nerves on end instead of calming them.

“Yeah, um— I think I’m just gonna go sort through that stuff you brought back and see if I can make anything useful from it.”   

“Great idea,” said Roy. “Keep your mind occupied.”

Tim nodded hasilty and shuffled out of the room. He shut the door to the loading dock, relieved to have a barrier between Jason and Roy’s ever watching, ever critical eyes. Tim found one of Jason’s spare leather jackets hung up on a peg by the door and pulled it around his shoulders to block off the chill in the air that was sending him into bouts of shivers despite the sweat wetting the baby hairs at the back of his neck.  

He pulled out the stool in front of Jason’s workbench and perched himself on top of it, drawing his backpack into his lap to rifle through it. He pulled out his clothes and laptop first, pushing them off to the side to bring inside later. Then he upturned his backpack over the workbench, dropping a cascade of tools and electrical parts onto the tabletop. Tim shook the bag for any lingering pieces and then slipped his stack of clothes back inside to keep them clean from the dust and grease that stained the workbench from Jason’s previous projects.

Rummaging through a few of the drawers, he found a beaten up notebook and a stub of a pencil which he used to create a quick inventory of parts and tools, sorting each into its own pile. He checked the time on the old clock on the far wall, his heart sinking as he realized only a half hour had elapsed. Grumbling to himself, he dove into sketching some new gadgets, drawing on some old tech he’d put into the R-cycle during his years with the Titans— his leg bouncing against the bottom rung of the stool the entire time. All the while his ears were perked towards the inner rooms of the safehouse, eager for the sound of Jason’s approaching footsteps to signal the finalization of his new step-down plan.

Another hour passed and still it didn’t come. Tim threw his pencil down and rested his aching head against the table top with a groan. Keep your mind occupied? Fuck that, it felt like his head was going to crack in half like an egg.

Tim pulled his laptop over toward him, telling himself it was routine updating he was doing as he pulled up his criminal database and pinpointed their current location, scrolling around in a five mile radius on Gotham’s map to see which criminals had joints nearby. He noted Penguin’s Iceberg Lounge with interest, only one subway line away, and a notorious meeting ground for some of Gotham’s flashiest crime organizations.

Just research, he reminded himself. There was a knock on the garage door behind him that startled him enough to slam his laptop closed. Tim half turned in his seat to look, almost believing he’d imagined it, until the person outside banged loudly against the grated metal again and sent it rattling on its tracks.

The door to the safehouse opened and Jason took a step down onto the stairs, eyes fixed on the exterior door, his hand lingering uneasily against the doorframe.

Tim watched him before whispering, “Did you tell anyone else about this place? Another outsider maybe?”

Jason shook his head and flinched back into Roy who stood behind him as the banging resumed.

“Jason open the door. I know you’re in there!” Dick voiced shouted, muffled by the wall between them.

Tim jumped to his feet and grabbed for his backpack. “You swore you wouldn’t tell him where I was!”

“Tim? Tim, is that you? It’s Dick, please just open the door!”

Jason threw up his hands. “And I didn’t, Tim. I spent all of last night trying to lose him and only came back here when I thought the coast was clear.”

“Well, it obviously wasn’t, Jason! And now he’s right outside!!”

“Hey, hey!” Roy shoved past Jason and down the stairs. “He might know where we are now, but that doesn’t mean we have to let him inside. Alright? I’ll send him away.”

“Don’t open that door,” said Tim. “please, don’t.”

“It’s gonna be fine,” Roy motioned aggressively to Jason, “Will you go stand by him before he dies of a panic attack or something? For fucks sake, Jason. I can’t babysit everyone.”

Jason shook his head as if to clear it. “Yeah, ‘course. Sorry.”

He jumped down the steps and moved to stand protectively at Tim’s side, positioning himself between Tim and the door and blocking Tim from sight with his broad shoulders. As Roy moved to unlock the padlock that held the door closed, Jason ducked his head to speak quietly to Tim.

“Remember, Tim. He might have come here wanting to talk but you set the terms. We won’t let anything happen unless you want it to. You have control of this situation.”  

Roy pulled on the chain until the door rested all the way up on the track. Dick was dressed in civvies and he barely waited for the door to clear his chest before ducking under. His eyes landed on Tim’s face where he’d shifted around Jason’s broad form to see more clearly.

Dick moved hurriedly towards them and Jason stepped forward and caught him in the chest with one hand. He stopped Dick’s forward progress with one aggressive jerk of his hand fisted in Dick’s shirt, pulling him back a step so he was eye to eye with him.

“You’ve got a lot of balls showing up here.” spat Jason.

Dick met his hard gaze. “I listened to the tapes, Jason. All night.”

His tried to shift his gaze around Jason’s head to catch sight of Tim. “I’m so sorry, Timmy. I didn’t know what was happening at Breckenridge— I couldn’t visit you—”

“Well, whose fault was that?” countered Jason.

“Please, Tim. I just want to apologize and make sure you’re alright.”

“He’s fine. We’re taking care of him.”

Tim sure didn’t feel fine in that moment.

“I thought you said he had a drug problem. He should be in a rehab facility, Jason!”

“That’s why I’m here,” Roy walked around them to stand near Jason. “I’m sponsoring Tim and overseeing his detox to make sure it's performed safely.”

Dick laughed. “Well, excuse me if that statement doesn’t fill me with confidence, Roy, but I really can’t trust my brother’s safety to you.”

“Yeah? Why’s that?”

Dick jerked his shirt free of Jason’s grip and turned on him. “Because you’re an addict, Roy. Jason might be okay with that and willing to give you a shot at sponsoring because you’re his best friend, but I’m not. Because from where I’m standing you’ve been in and out of rehab for years! If you can’t manage to stay sober then I really don’t think you should be giving faulty advice to Tim.”

“I think you should leave,” said Jason, so deadly calm that it scared Tim a little.

“I’m Tim’s guardian, Jason! You don’t get to decide what best for him, that’s my job.”

“Yeah, we’ll see about that.”

Dick flinched. “What the hell does that mean, huh? You gonna fight me for guardianship, dead boy?”

Jason shook his head. “Of course I won’t.”

Tim’s eyes dropped to the floor.

“Did you know that Tim got Bruce to sign off on emancipation papers before he died? Signed, sealed, but never filed— guess he never got the chance.  I found them in his apartment last night when I was waiting for you to lose interest in tailing me around the city and head on home.”

“What? Tim, tell me that’s not—”

“Don’t worry,” Jason cut over him with a smile.  “I took them with me.”

Tim’s eyes jumped back up to Jason, full of shock and unspeakable gratitude, as the older boy continued,  “I’m going to keep them save for him incase that’s still something he wants to pursue once he recovers. And based on recent events, I think we both know that he will.”

His words were entirely the threat that Dick perceived them to be. Tim was still reeling with the knowledge of it all and he couldn’t decide if he wanted to break down crying with relief or run and hide himself away and distance his mind from this broken person that his entire family thought of him as, someone everyone was trying to fix, or save, or reform. All he really knew was that thinking about this hurt his head too much and he needed to get away.

He dropped Jason’s jacket onto the stool and backed away from the trio towards the stairs that led into the safehouse, his backpack still slung across one shoulder.

He heard Roy speak up again as he was racing up the stairs to the second floor, pointing Dick not-so-kindly in the direction of the door. They were too involved in their own small grudges to spare him more than a glance. He found Jason’s bedroom at the back of the second floor, and rifled through the drawers— realizing too late that he wouldn’t have hid the pills in his room. Downstairs, Tim now remembered vaguely, but Jason and Roy would be back inside in a moment and he couldn’t be found searching the place for them.

With quickly diminishing hope, Tim dug into the pockets of Jason’s other jacket, the one he’s wrapped around Tim in Roy’s car the other night. No pills, but Tim came away with a handful of cash from the diner. It would be enough, Tim judged, and he could walk the other half of the way there if  he needed to save some cash.

He stepped out the fire escape off the second floor hallway, the cold air whipping his sweaty t-shirt around like the fabric of a kite. He was feverish and cramped with pains that came and went with the breeze, but he was alone. No eyes, he thought to himself, no stares and judgements and obligations. I’m free to be me, even if this version of Tim  doesn’t care to remember who Tim Drake was, should, or would be.

He raced down the fire escape steps and across the empty streets of the waterfront district with their vacant and boarded up warehouses. He’d woken up late in the morning and now at late afternoon the sun was dropping down into an evening array of pink, yellow, and orange clouds that tinted the rooftops and cast long shadows on the pavement.

Tim crossed his arms tight across his chest to keep warm and disappeared into the darkness of those shadows, leaving it all behind him.  

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Soulmarks, Part 5

First part

Previous

~~~

The air left her lungs. Her suit was the only thing keeping her in one piece as he rolled over her.

Part of her just wanted to lay there and let him run her over again as she watched him come to a stop and start pushing his way back towards her, her entire body ached and screamed with every little movement, but she couldn’t let Chat’s sacrifice be in vain.

She pushed herself to her feet and watched Tim pick up speed. While he definitely had brute force on his side, his ability to make quick turns and stops was extremely limited.

Marinette jumped out of the way right before he could hit her again and he rolled right past, slamming into the white soldiers and toppling a huge group like bowling pins. He didn’t seem all that concerned with the bumps as he slowed to a stop and then started back in her direction again.

Hm…

She ducked through the crowds and grinned widely as Tim followed after her with no real regard for all the soldiers he was mowing down. They didn’t have magic suits to hold them together, so it affected them far more than her.

“HEY!” Yelled Bona-parts, who had finally noticed the commotion.

She sent him a cheeky wave and started in his direction.

The man was too smart to get bowled over, quickly dodging her/Tim’s attack, but she didn’t care about that as she knelt down and scooped Adrien up. She sent a wink as she ducked out the park and began running down the streets, Tim on her tail and rapidly gaining speed.

She slipped down an alley a while away that was too small for Tim to fit through. She set Adrien down.

Her soulmate groaned in irritation and punched the forcefield. Bright green light threatened to blind her and when she looked back Tim had been thrown back so hard he’d rolled a few meters.

He looked down at his hand and she could practically see the gears turning in his head. There was a short moment where he didn’t seem to know what to do. Then he shook out his hand and got to his feet.

He stepped back for a running start and then crashed into the alley.

Marinette was horrified to find that the building crumbled a little with the force.

He backed up and started again.

She listened to the dull thumping of the force-field crashing against the corners of the buildings repeatedly. The buildings would eventually cave, but that was a problem for a few minutes from now.

She wanted to lay down, but she knew that if she would she wouldn’t be able to get up. Instead, she settled for leaning heavily against a wall and resting her head back.

After a few minutes she finally managed to steady her breathing enough to speak: “You’re fucking stupid, you know that?”

“I think my plan worked,” he muttered, his face a bit pale as he pulled his broken leg to his chest. “Just… not how I intended.”

She shook her head slightly. “That’s literally the definition of a plan not working… but okay, sure.”

He sent her a slight glare and probably would have kicked her if either of their bodies could take it.

“Plagg, claws out,” he murmured, and there was a crunching sound as the suit forced his leg back into its normal shape. He pushed himself to his good foot and then slowly started applying pressure onto his bad one to get it used to holding his weight. “Well, we have…” He looked at the steadily crumbling wall as Tim ran into it again. “Around five minutes to plan before your soulmate makes this place cave in on top of us.”

She nodded and pulled out her yoyo. She messed with it anxiously as they thought.

She couldn’t come up with anything. Did it matter if she could, though? All the plans that she had employed that night had backfired spectacularly.

Ah, she could hear footsteps in the distance. They must have finished up Alya and Nino’s execution.

“They’re going to find us,” said Adrien.

She looked at Tim and cringed. He was right, unfortunately. A ball of pure light was hard to miss, and the sun was beginning to set. She may as well have had a neon sign over her head saying ‘Ladybug! Over here! Come get her!’

Her eyes found Adrien’s and she sent him a weak grin.

“Actually… they’re going to find me.”

~

She tore through the streets, Tim rolling after her.

She had considered trying to lose him through back streets and alleys, but decided against it. Even if it was a pain to dodge his attacks every few seconds, he was useful for taking down the soldiers.

She grinned as she turned a corner and saw the first group of soldiers. She glanced back and saw Tim slowing and then restarting in her direction.

She stood still, watching both of them coming at her.

She vaulted over the force field and grinned as Tim bowled over the guards. He turned around and rolled over them again as he started back in her direction.

Good, they wouldn’t be getting up any time soon.

She tried not to think about the fact that these were once people. After all, they were mindless zombies right now. She was putting them out of their misery.

Or, at least, she hoped.

But, since she could think of no other solutions, she continued using Tim to mow them down in droves.

As time went on, and the sky got darker, more and more soldiers started appearing, drawn by the light.

She could tell her soulmate was getting more and more frustrated as she dodged his attacks, but it wasn’t as if he could really change his strategy. There wasn’t much else he could do. He just had to hope she eventually tired herself out enough for him to land a hit.

And she was getting tired. And she could feel her injuries worsening the more strain she put on them. Her ladybug suit helped, but it could only do so much.

She was running out of time...

God, where was Bona-parts when you actually want to see him?

Oh. There he was. She reconsidered wanting to see him as her eyes found his blood-covered axe.

At least she knew where the akuma was.

She smiled and sent a wave to Bona-parts and then rolled to the side as Tim came past her.

The akuma dodged as well and stopped for a second to concentrate. She paused and looked around, waiting for the rumbling that accompanied the soldiers’ arrival…

But there was none.

“Where are they?”

She shrugged, trying not to let her relief show. “Would you like me to show you? I need to run from that guy anyways.”

“You do, do you?” He said thoughtfully.

“Try and use it against me if you want. Don’t think you have a way of pinning me down that won’t get you hurt, too, and my buddy here isn’t all that concerned with extra casualties.”

She saw Bona-parts take in the way that the green glow of the force field was somewhat muted and grimy. As if it were covered in a thin layer of paint.

“You killed them?”

She dodged another attack from Tim and shrugged. “I don’t think you’re one to talk.”

Bona-parts opened their mouth to respond and then whipped around, axe swinging. They missed Chat’s nose by centimeters.

Marinette cursed. There went that idea.

She pulled out her yoyo.

She glanced back at Tim and sighed. He was barreling towards them again. Fun.

Something clicked in her mind and she grinned as she gave Bona-parts a quick kick to the side. He scowled and turned his axe on her, swinging it --.

She jumped over his attack and he hit Tim’s forcefield. A beam of bright light forced her to look away momentarily.

She peeked her eyes open hesitantly.

Her soulmate had rolled an entire city block and was now lying unconscious in his bubble (or, at least, she hoped he was just unconscious, the kid had gone through enough).

Then her eyes found their way to Bona-parts. He was struggling to pull his axe out of where it had gotten stuck in a nearby building.

Chat grinned and pressed a finger to it. “Cataclysm.”

Marinette breathed a sigh of relief as she captured the akuma. Now all that was left was --.

Fuck. The lucky charm. She didn’t use her lucky charm at all during the battle…

Well, apparently it was a good thing that she’d summoned those handcuffs earlier after all.

She pulled them from her belt and smiled. “Miraculous Ladybug.”

Ladybugs swirled around everyone and she felt her bones mending under her suit. Cool, now she could actually take it off later without turning into mush.

She walked over to Tim and her eyes widened as he came into view. The ladybugs had helped him, too. His skin had been returned to a healthy shade and his hair was a glossy black.

Sure, it wouldn’t erase the memories of what had happened, but at least he wouldn’t have a constant reminder every time he looked in the mirror.

He curled up inside the bubble and rested his head inside his hands.

She looked away from her soulmate. She didn’t know if he was crying or just confused about why his likely concussion had disappeared, but it felt wrong to watch and find out.

Chat walked over and leaned against his baton as he smiled at her. “Well, Bona-parts is dealt with. Apparently, she worked at Amazon.”

Marinette nodded. “That explains it.”

He shrugged. “Yeah.”

She watched Tim slowly start to stir and winced. She really did not want to do any more fighting right now…

“Think you can do a portal to the bottom of a staircase?”

“Yeah. Why were you in an abandoned building, anyways?”

“Long story. Wanna meet some American superher --? Oh, wait, no, vigilantes. They call themselves vigilantes over there.”

He grinned. “Are they too good to be heroes?”

“Too bad, apparently. Even though they don’t have the balls to kill anyone.”

“Losers.”

“Absolutely. Wanna meet them?”

“I’d love to.”

Kaalki opened a portal underneath the three of them and they found themselves back in Arkham.

~~~

Next part

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