#early on when Damian was still hard to handle

[dragonfly0808]

So my Batfamily brain rot is back (not that it ever really left) and I just had a thought like…

If you’re a henchman/criminal in Gotham, seeing your life flash past your eyes is gonna be a somewhat regular occurance but… what if like… the thing that truly made a henchman’s heart fall to his ass was when they hit Robin just a little too hard and this 10 year old kid just starts crying and goes ‘Daaaaaadddd!’

That’s the moment when they truly think they’re going to die because said dad, the kid is calling for is a 6’6 demon from hell who’s all muscle and shadows and vengance and a lot of Gotham still thinks he’s a cryptid

The henchmen all drop their guns and try to calm the kid down but it’s over in 5 seconds flat. Batman breaks several bones before speaking to Robin in the softest voice they’ve ever heard him use and the criminal world, who was already a bit hesitant to fight a kid have even more reason to take it just a little easy on Robin.

And like, I can picture different reactions with every Robin.

Like, for Dick, he’s ten and we all know he was the most violent Robin second only to Damian so maybe when he’s ten or eleven and has calmed down a little, a henchback who still remembers what a little shit he used to be decides to get back at Robin, slips on a pair of brass knuckles and BAM

And then, little Dick just stares for a moment in shock, cheek already starting to bruise, the criminals he’d been fighting all stay still because it was a nasty punch and then…

“Daaaaad!!!” He cries out in a whiny voice that reminds them that Robin really is just a kid and it all clicks into place.

Even Bruce wasn’t expecting that, Dick has just started calling him dad and he still isn’t used to being called that so to hear his kid calling for him in the moment where he is startled and hurt and a little scared… the henchmen don’t even have time to react and they wake up in the hospital with concussions and maybe a few broken bones.

It doesn’t take Dick long to calm down, it was mostly that the hit from a random henchmen really startled him and got him right in the cheekbone. But Bruce still finishes patrol early and Dick still hides under Bruce’s cape all the way to the Batmobile.

Then comes Jason and Jason was such a sweet kid, I headcannon he was the one that called Bruce dad the most often while being Robin. So one night during patrol maybe he finds himself fighting Penguin or Two-Face and it’s been a long night and he has an exam the following day and Bruce is fighting another villain at the other side of the warehouse

The point is, the henchmen and Two-Face start landing hits on eleven year old Jason in his gut and at some point he loses sight of Batman fighting on the other side of the room. Jason gets scared because he’s never really fought without Batman and while he knows that Bruce is still in the warehouse, he can’t see him and the handle of a gun hits the back of his ankle and he falls and he sees Two-Face or Penguin or one of the henchmen getting ready to grab the front of his uniform and beat him up and…

“Daaaaddd!”

The criminals freeze for a moment. They’ve heard the stories of what happened the last time a Robin called scared for dad.

They’re fucked.

They all drop their guns and try to get Jason to calm down, but he’s crying just a little bit and calls again, his voice breaking and despite having been at the other side of the warehouse just a second ago, Bruce somehow drops from the ceiling and it’s over before the criminals can keep pleading with Robin to calm down.

Jason tries to apologize for ‘acting like a baby’ but Bruce is having none of it and carries him back to the Batmobile and Jason is happy to just hide his face in Bruce’s cape because he knows his dad will always be there to save him.

Then comes Tim.

And Tim gets found out while doing reconnisance and somehow he finds himself face to face with Bane who manages to wrench away his bo staff and Tim is just eleven and he is scared because Bane doesn’t look like he’s going to hold back

All Tim knows is that the crack he hears must surely be his ribs either cracking or breaking and he can’t breath and he can only muster enough air for a single word… and he calls for his dad through tears and fear

And at this point… at this point Batman has already lost a Robin, Tim may not be his legally but he is his son just as much as Jason was

Bane spends a month in the ICU

Tim is embarrased that he reacted like that. He thinks it makes him less of a Robin to called scared for Batman… for dad.

So Bruce tells him of the other two times it happened. It’s one of the first times he’s spoken about Jason to Tim so bluntly.

Then comes Stephanie.

Stephanie never calls Bruce dad when she’s Robin. She’s not his daughter and he’s not her dad. They’re not sure what exactly they are to one another.

As far as Bruce knows, Stephanie’s version of Robin never called out to him when she was scared.

What he doesn’t know is that it did happen. Just once

It was the last time she was Robin. When Black Mask had her and she thought she was going to die

At some point while bleeding and feeling nauseous and so scared she could barely hear anything that wasn’t her own heart beating wildly against her chest… she called for dad. Not for Arthur Brown, but for Bruce

Black Mask laughed at her

Stephanie never tells Bruce

And finally… Damian

Now, we know Damian would probably never be startled enough to call for Bruce out of instinct, so I can see 2 scenarios in which this could happen.

First, he sees another kid do it. He sees a kid close to his own age laughing and playing, then tripping and staying quiet for a split second before crying out for mom and dad and he just… assumes that’s something kids do when scared and hurt and startled and does it mostly in an attempt to be a little more ‘normal’

Or, my favorite scenario… he hears of the other times it has happened. He overhears maybe Dick remind Jason of what Bruce did when Jason called out to dad as Robin. Tim maybe jokes that a Robin calling for dad is still the villains’ greatest fear

So Damian stores that knowledge away as a battle strategy just in case he ever needs it… and maybe a small part of him wants to put it to the test, to see if his father would protect him as brutally as he’s protected the Robins before him

So some random night during patrol, he’s up against several henchmen, a few of them grab him from behind, trying to hold him down. Damian is fighting against them when one of them swings a cylinder of metal that Damian thinks might’ve been meant for the plumbing and…

The henchman breaks Damian’s nose, there’s blood dripping down his chin and staining his uniform

Now… it is most certainly not the first time he’s broken something, he’s more than used to the pain, in fact, he barely feels it. However, it gives him a chance to put his little theory to the test

And so Damian allows himself to sound like the ten year old that he is and in a whiny, teary voice, goes… “Babaaaaa!” (Bonus points if it’s the first or second time he’s called Bruce baba instead of father)

What Damian didn’t take into account though, is that Batman and Robin aren’t the only ones on patrol that night. They made a big bust. The biggest part of the operation was over but they were still fighting a few stragglers. The whole fucking family is here.

And they all hear his cry.

Damian doesn’t think he’s ever seen a fight end so quickly. The henchmen only have a split-second of surprise before vanishing, being tackled or shot or having knives buried on their shoulders by his siblings.

The one that actually broke Damian’s nose is being beaten up by Nightwing, Damian doesn’t think he’s ever seen Grayson so angry.

A shadow kneels in front of him, father. Baba. He’s checking Damian and Todd is right at his side, both speaking in hushed tones, checking his injuries and wiping the tears that usually came with a broken nose.

And now… Damian is used to his father and Grayson treating him like a child, trying to be as soft as they can with him. Even Cain does it to some extent.

But… having Drake wrap an arm around him, calling him baby when knocking out one of the criminals that had hurt him ‘that’s my fucking baby brother!’ and continue to hold him later into the night on the couch, having Brown willingly give up all the snacks she keeps in her utility belt and promise to take him to Batburger the following day for milkshakes because he was ‘a champ’. And Thomas wraps his favorite blanket around Damian while they’re fixing him up.

Todd decides to stay the night at the manor. Which he never does. They all decide to spend the night at the manor when Damian still sniffles on the Batmobile and they have breakfast all of them together. Which Damian isn’t sure has ever happened before and Cain gets Alfred to make pancakes with chocolate chips instead of blueberries.

They call him baby in hushed whispers but for once, it doesn’t bother him even though it really should

But most of all, Bruce refuses to let him go for a good five minutes after he first cries for him. Smoothing down his hair and whispering that it’ll be okay and just being soft in a way Damian has never seen before.

He sleeps between his Baba and Grayson and he knows that Todd and Drake and Cain check in on them at least twice in the night for some reason.

And he realizes it’s… it’s nice. Maybe this really could be an effective battle strategy to be employed again someday.

[dcxdpdabbles]

Holiday request: the audit

"What time is your bedtime?" Uncle demands just as Damian is about to go to Batcave to suit up. For a moment, he fights the urge to proclaim he doesn't have a bedtime because he is not a child. Then he remembers that Uncle had been the one to install the anti-child soldier rule in the League of Assassins.

He allowed them to be trained to defend themselves and the organization but not to be sent on missions or be trained to the point he claimed as "abusive." Uncle believed that the young of Infinity Island should be treated like children and that doing so was not a means of offense.

Instead, Uncle thought providing a peaceful and gentle childhood was a gift. Mother claimed it created weaklings, which is why Damian had pushed himself to this point of skill, but even she had known that her brother's wrath would fall upon her if her more intense training techniques were introduced to him too early.

Damian would like to believe he was one of the best in the League of Assassins, but he knew he wasn't. Uncle Daniel's rule made it hard for him to advance against larger opponents.

He could best everyone in his age group in controlled duels and sparring, and he stood a great chance against the idiots in Gotham streets, but only because none of them had any official training.

In the beginning of his life in Gotham, Damian consistently lingers in the background in battles against enemies such as Bane, Killer Croc, or Scarecrow. He was skilled enough to know he would be a liability if he attempted to take a point, but Father had quickly adjusted his training, and Damian was slowly but surely advancing in his skill set.

Mother would be pleased to learn he was better than the assassin's two age groups above him and that his pain tolerance hide rose. Uncle Daniel had likely noticed as well.

He knew it was due to all those hours out in the field of Gotham's darkest streets.

It had been one of the first things he had been displeased with Father over, and if he wanted his plan to work, he needed to make the sacrifice.

"Nine o'clock," he grumbles, crossing his arms. "Nine thirty if it's not a school day."

Uncle Daniel smiles proudly, leaning back into the doorframe of Father's office. The rest of Father's brood stands around looking confused as Uncle shoots Father a smug look, only to frown at Father's glee. Even someone as great as his uncle had thought Father wanted them on the field.

Not that they had all forced his hand. Damian should show him all the security his father had installed to keep him in the manor and the surveillance hours during which he broke through said security to fight crime.

In fact, Damian should asked Drake if he still had the video where Father had shouted at the top of his lungs, "For the last time, just STAY HOME and let me handle the EXTREMELY dangerous hostage situation, kids!"

Only to slap a hand over his face when Brown had taunted him through the coms. "You can't tell us what to do!"

"Yeah, B, you must learn to control your children." Todd's mockery was nearly drowned out by the sound of gunfire. "We're out of control."

"Damian can not stay home alone," Father says, snapping him from his thoughts. He's glancing at the other idiots in the room, who are all making faces, but this is just the opportunity Damian has been waiting for.

He's not about to let them ruin it with their stupid demand to join Father in the field.

He raises his chin, blurting out his demand. "If we all stay behind, Uncle Daniel shall go with you, Father. To keep you safe."

Both men look butler disgusted, which is what prompts Drake to speak up. "You know Bruce? I actually feel a little under the weather today. Maybe I can stay with Damian, and Mr. Fetnon can go for me."

"That won't be necessary when Steph-"

"Oh shoot B! I have this really big essay due tomorrow, and I was going to stay on coms tonight while I worked on it. I can't go with you. Sorry"

Father appears desperate when he flings his eyes to Richard, who only shrugs. "Sorry, Cass and I are going undercover tonight at the new club. I can't watch your back while trying to get party college kids to tell me where the new drugs are."

"Jason-"

"No."

"I guess I have no choice." Uncle Daniel sighed as if this was all a big chore that Damian had thrown at him. "I'll make sure your incompetence doesn't get you killed. Let's go."

Father's teeth are gritting, but when the visitor steps closer to whisper in his ear, all the protest drains from his body, and he, too, sighs wearily. Damian wished he knew what was said between them, but his uncle had covered his mouth, so he could not lip read.

"Fine. But no killing." Father bites, and Uncle scowls

"I don't kill. I know how precious any life can be." He seers, getting into Father's face. He stabs his pointer finger in the middle of Bruce's chest, pressing down roughly on every syllable.

Damian is about to step in, recognizing the rising anger in his mother's brother, only to watch, in real-time, as Father seems surprised by the comment. Much to his hopeful glee a slight blush rises on the man's cheekbones, even as he turns around to moved the clock.

Uncle rolls his eyes before sinking into the ground as Father vanishes from sight. The office has a long silence before Brown breaks it with a nasty snort.

Utterly mannerless, that one.

"Oh, the sexual tension! They will definitely be fuc-" She cackles, only to pause when her eyes land on Damian as if she had forgotten he was there. Brown reached up to pet down her hair, clearing her throat. "They seem like good friends."

"What? I don't believe you understand. Father and Uncle can barely stand each other."

Drake snickers. "Barely stand"

"Enough," Richard speaks up, popping open the top two buttons on his shirt. It's part of his disguise to look as alluring as possible, though Damian doubts someone would give an idiot who can't correctly dress himself the time of day. "Let's leave Bruce and our house guest alone. We all have jobs, so Steph, get on coms, Tim, get some chicken soap, and Damian, get to bed."

"Wait, I'm not actually sick-" Drake protests, but Richard walks right through his protest. He pushes the idiot out of the office and marches him down the hall toward the kitchen.

Damian watches them go before glancing over his shoulder to where Brown vanishes from sight down the pole to the Batcave in a flash of yellow hair. He nearly joins her, but Uncle would have his head when- and it would be when, not if- he found out he wasn't sleeping.

He still has a year to get them together. He must make sacrifices that wound his pride, such as these. Damian pouts to his room but changes into his sleepwear and brushes his teeth anyway.

His bedtime is only ten minutes away.

[damiansgoodgirll]

i know it might be early but can you write about reader being in the judgment day and seeing her family breaking up at summerslam and so even if rhea and damian just lost they comfort her because they know how important was the jd to her? like they were her family.

oh i’ve been waiting for this request honestly

damian priest x reader (platonic) + rhea ripley x reader (platonic)

tw : mention of abandonment, family issues, feeling of loneliness, brief panic attacks

don’t break my heart

if someone told you a year ago that you would have joined the most successful faction in the wwe at the moment you probably would have laughed at them in their face.

and yet, a year ago rhea and the rest of the judgment day saw your potential when you were just in nxt. they saw as the fierce and feisty teenage girl that no one could handle and they knew that they wanted someone like you in their team.

you were only twenty but it felt like you were in the business for forty years. you knew that wrestling was your passion and you wanted to trasform that passion into your everyday work.

your family didn’t agree. they didn’t see what you saw in wrestling and so they couldn’t see the talent you actually had. they said you had to focus on a real career path, that once you finished high school you had to apply for more colleges you could. they wanted a future for you that you didn’t want.

and when you tried to explain to them that all you wanted to do in life was wrestling, they kicked you out. they didn’t want you in the family anymore and you never felt so broken in your life. you were lucky your best friend let you into her house so you helped her with what you could. you found a part-time job so you could help her pay the bills or the food while you were still training to become a wrestler.

it was hard but somehow you managed to get signed into the famous wwe.

but once you joined, you realised that it wasn’t perfect as you thought it would be. you struggled with getting booked and the first time you actually got booked they set you to lose even if you knew you would have won those matches easily. but the pay was good and fans started to recognise you more.

in reality you felt lonely and alone. you barely made any friends as they labelled you as the new one and you didn’t feel welcomed at all. your family still didn’t talk to you and due to you constantly being on the road, you lost contact with your best friend.

one special day the judgment day surprised everyone in nxt, claiming that they were looking for you so when they saw you fighting on the ring, they decided to make a special appearance and shocking everyone.

“we want you y/n” you remembered rhea saying and the crowd screaming of joy “we want you in the team” and so you joined them.

you thought it was all for publicity but truth was that they really saw potential in you. you were young and you already had a big potential of becoming a real threat for the women division.

so they helped you train. rhea and damian showed you some moves and techniques you’ve never saw before, finn was like the mind, teaching you how to trick your opponent with simple mind tricks and dominik was your comfort person, he helped you gaining more confidence, especially during your first matches.

later on you opened up about your past with them. how you basically had no family as they kicked you out, how you had no friends because the girls at nxt didn’t like you and how lonely you felt but they made sure to change all of that. they always included you in their car trips, sundays together and movie nights.

you finally felt like you belonged somewhere.

so you couldn’t believe of what you were witnessing while watching rhea losing against liv at summerslam. tears in your eyes as you watched dominik turning on rhea and betray her like that.

you were backstage watching the whole match with finn and jd and you couldn’t stop your hands from shaking.

“no no no no…dom please…don’t do that…” you whispered as your eyes were glued to the tv.

you couldn’t deny there had been tension this past weeks but you were the judgment day, you always solved all the issues you had so why was it happening now?

“y/n…” finn slowly approached you. his heart was breaking for you, mostly because he knew what was going to happen and mostly because he knew you didn’t deserve to be put into this mess.

“finn…we have to do something we…” he hugged you because he couldn’t lie to you. he couldn’t find words to comfort you because what he was going to later was gonna make you hate him.

you cried into his arms until damian broke into the room and started screaming. he was visibly upset and he couldn’t understand why dom turned on rhea.

“did you know that?” he started screaming at finn but before he could answer you jumped in.

“of course he didn’t…”

“no i didn’t know man” finn lied. he didn’t care about lying to damian, but you, after he said that he simply left the room without saying anything to you.

you stayed there, confused while your brain was trying to elaborate everything that happened in the past 30 minutes.

you knew rhea wanted to be left alone so you guys waited for her to calm down. she joined you a few minutes before damian’s match started “hey” you smiled at her.

“hey…” she put her arm around your shoulder and let you rest your head over it.

“you good?”

“i’ll be okay…not the match i imagined but it will be okay” she softly smiled at you. you knew she was hurting and that she was clearly pissed, but she didn’t want you to worry for her so she pretend that everything was fine.

as damian’s match began, you both had hopes for him to retain his title but everything went downhill when you saw finn turning on damian.

“rhea…what-what is he doing over there?” rhea was as shocked as you were because finn wasn’t supposed to be there.

“i…i don’t know”

“rhea we have to do something! damian’s gonna lose and…” but before you could continue, she grabbed your arm when she saw that you were about to leave the room and she stopped you.

“there’s nothing we could do y/n…” she was hurting as much as you were.

“no no, please rhea…i can’t, this group can’t break up please…” it was like losing a family all over again “we have to go there and help damian, talk some sense into finn’s head and…and”

“hey y/n…calm down, come here” she hugged you as she sensed that you were panicking “there’s nothing we can do right now…they made up their minds”

“but finn…finn, he told me everything was going to be alright, he told he didn’t know anything about dom and now, now he’s just going to betray us like that…rhea we have to stop him…” you were visibly crying right now.

but before you could continue or before, she could answer you, finn did unthinkable and betrayed dam on live tv. he made damian lose his title and while coming backstage, he had this twisted smile on his face that made you sick enough.

“where are you going y/n?” rhea asked you when she saw you about to leave the room.

you stayed there for a minute, thinking if you should go to talk to finn or go to comfort damian “i don’t know…i wanna talk to finn, i need him to tell me to my face that he doesn’t care about us, that he doesn’t care about this group and…”

“love, please stop” rhea’s heart was breaking for you because she knew how much you loved the group as it was your own family “there’s nothing we can do now…finn and dom turned on us but me and damian aren’t leaving you, i promise you”

“rhea’s right…” you both turned your heads to face damian. he had a broken look on his face and it was clear that he was hurting “we ain’t going anywhere y/n…”

“damian…” you went for a hug and he softly smiled when he felt your arms hugging him as strong as you could “i had no idea finn was going to betray you like that…he told me everything was okay and then…”

“it’s not your fault y/n…you couldn’t have known that…”

“are you okay damian?” you asked, feeling guilty that they were the ones who just got betrayed and you were the one crying about it.

“i’ll be okay…you know finn was like family to me and see him betraying me like that. it will hurt for a while but we are a family and we stay together through all of this” he smiled at you.

“i just…i wish i could talk to them and”

“y/n, love…nothing you say would make them change their minds…” rhea softly spoke to you.

“i know but they can’t break this family apart…” you wanted to say group but you never felt like you were part of a group, you felt like you were part of a family and suddenly you felt 18 again, when your parents kicked you out and turned their backs on you.

damian and rhea knew how much that affected you, how scared you were of abandonment and they promised that you would have never felt like that again. but they couldn’t keep their promise as long as they wanted because finn and dom were breaking the group apart and they couldn’t do anything about it to stop them. they knew how much you struggled to make friends and apart from them and a few other wrestlers, you didn’t have many friends.

you struggled again in the women’s faction because they all were too focus on themselves to make space for someone else, apart from shayna or bayley, the rest of them never acknowledged you.

damian introduced you to jey uso and some other people like drew or la knight and even if they were all kind to you, you couldn’t really rely on them as friends because they weren’t.

so all you had left was the judgment day, until now.

“hey hermosa…we are not leaving you okay?” damian reassured you.

“everyone leaves at some point…”

“hey none of that nonsense okay?” rhea almost scolded you “you probably weren’t expecting this, i saw it coming eventually but trust me when i say that me and damian won’t leave you alone…you still are part of this group and we ain’t leaving you behind” rhea gently rubbed your back while you were wiping some of your tears away.

“rhea’s right…we are here and we are here to stay…” damian smiled at you.

“thank you…”

“don’t thank us love, it’s the truth”

maybe, in the end you still had a family that cared about you but for now, you couldn’t wait to kick finn and dom’s asses on monday night raw.

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

part two

[stove-top96]

Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree

Y Batfam x Gn Reader

Synopsis: With your family all in town, they decide it’s finally time to decorate the Christmas tree.

Featuring: platonic Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne

2.1k words

Something I whipped up while I shoulda been studying for bio. All advice is appreciated!! Supposed to be a one-shot but I might make a part two who knows?

9 months, you’ve been here. Sure there have been other holidays like Easter, birthdays, and Halloween, you just “weren’t adjusted enough” to celebrate them with Bruce and his family. it still feels wrong to celebrate Christmas even if you’re “adjusted”. Years Before you haven’t really had anyone to celebrate it with, but you still had the choice to celebrate how you wanted. In all honesty you preferred being alone, away from Dicks clinginess and anger issues. Jason’s protectiveness was insufferable and you always get caught in the middle of his and Bruce’s fights. Tim’s stalking and creepiness is so unsettling. Damian’s intense stares and demand for your attention drive you crazy. Bruce’s overall presence is just way too intense for you to handle.

Sitting in your room, eyes fixed on the book you're reading. There’s a fast knock, and your door swings right after. “Everyone’s at the manor today, so we decided now’s the perfect time to decorate the tree” Dick’s voice filled with excitement. You never got a say in this decision, but then again when have you ever. “You sure it’s not kinda early?” You question, carefully with the wording so you won't get in trouble for having an “attitude” whatever that means. Looking up you can see his grin, he’s clearly excited and you're almost jealous. It'd probably be a lot easier if you felt like them. “It’s already December” he answers dismissing your objection, now there’s no way you’ll be able to get out of decorating this tree. “And when is everyone in the family all here together at the same time” you do see his point, much to your disdain. Jason could never tolerate being in the same room as Bruce, only showing up when he was on longer missions or to whisk you away for the night. Damian had started to take on longer missions as well, although they only took about a week. Dick and Tim had their own teams to run, taking up a good portion of their time. These facts really made you jealous, being stuck here because of their selfishness while they still get to see the world made you hate them even more. “I guess you have a point” you agree, following Dick down the long hallway.

Holding your hand he led you to the living room. You want to pull away, but he’d probably just get upset and cling to you even more this evening. Grinding your teeth you’ll just have to bare it until you get to the living room.

Clearly they’ve planned to do this for a while. boxes of decorations already clutter the big living room, Bruce is currently following Alfred’s instructions on how to set up the tree, Damian and Tim are digging through boxes, and Jason is untangling lights. It’s honestly a very uncharacteristic scene of your “family”. this is probably the closest thing to normal you’ll get tonight, might as well play along hoping no one will bother you too much tomorrow.

Dick makes his way over to some box, labelled ornaments. Still not letting go of your hand you try not to roll your eyes too hard, opting to help him sort through the box. “These all gonna fit?” You mumble to yourself absentmindedly as you unwrap the ornaments, and gently set them on the table. “We’ll make it work.” Jason pipes up, finishing the lights. He motions you over, you assume part of the reason is to help him the other part to get back at Dick for something. Why else would he have such a shit eating smirk? Dick sends Jason a quick scowl in retaliation. God, all your doing is helping him with the lights, it really isn’t that deep.

“Kay Bridie, all you gotta do is wrap them ‘round the back once I pass them to ya.” Bridie is his nickname you know he knows you hate. He's obviously trying to get a rise out of you. Why else would he talk to you like your five. Bruce sends him a warning look, telling him not to push it. You roll eyes and nod your head giving him a response is probably the worst thing you could do right now, it’ll just raise his ego and he’ll tease you for the rest of the evening. As you and Jason pass the lights back and forth, it never really occurred to you just how tall this tree was. Wincing at the thought of how long this will take to decorate, let alone spending it with these people. Like everything else you don't have a choice, so you keep passing the lights forward. “Sure you’ll be able to reach the top?” He knows the answer, once again he’s just trying to get a reaction. “We’ll see” you know you won’t be able to reach, but there’s a chance if you go on your tip toes and reach real hard. “I can always lift you if it’s too hard” Jason’s comment makes the family briefly pause what they are doing, Damian even shoots Jason a glare. Anything’s better than that. So you stand on your tippiest of toes and reach as hard as you can, and you’re actually able to make it to the top. Much to the families relief, if Jason got to carry you like that it’s likely he won't let the others live it down

Dick seems done with unwrapping the Ornaments. Truthfully you’ve never decorated a Christmas tree before, and all though you’d rather be anywhere but here there’s still that inner child who has always dreamed of decorating their own tree. “You gonna help me put them on babybird?” Dick asks, saying no will do more harm than good so you opt for a different excuse “What if I drop one though?” You ask, hoping he’ll take the bait, knowing he'd never fall for it. “We’ll just clean it up then, no big deal.” Like always he doesn’t fall for it, although you admit the excuse was kinda dumb. “If you say so” he has his grin from earlier, as he passes you the colourful ornaments. Looking closer at them it’s clear they’re expensive, rightfully so they’re beautiful with red and gold accents. As you look for the right spot to place them Dick comes up beside you, “don’t think to hard about it babybird, just put them on it’ll all come together” he can sense your growing anxiety and doesn’t want to spoil your mood so early, so he keeps his space and offers words of encouragement. You're thankful at least he somewhat knows when to back off “I don’t know, I’ve never done this before”, you step closer to the tree not really knowing where to put it, so you just place it next to Dick’s. Pride swells in Dick’s chest, “just like that” he encourages smiling to himself. Placing various ornaments on the whole tree you lost track of time, maybe because Dick was giving you some space to enjoy yourself for once. Whatever the case, as you decorated the tree your smile brightened the room, and was appreciated by everyone.

“Why don't you put the star on top this year?” Bruce’s voice calm and content, his lips slightly upwards, which is the closest you’ll ever get to a smile. “I won’t be able to reach the top though” you were barely able to reach with the lights no way you’ll be able to place the star on the very top. “Don’t worry about that” Bruce says, passing you the gold star. it’s beautiful with intricate carved designs, it’s a little heavy. You wonder if it’s made of gold or not? “What do you mea-“ before you can even finish your sentence you're hoisted up into the air by Bruce. You're a little mad he gave you no warning, but you're willing to let it go. Bruce probably won’t mention it again he’d probably just keep the memory for himself, he definitely would never tease you about it. As he holds you near the top of the tree, you secure the star on top. Smiling that bright smile as he brings you down, any earlier feelings of unease washing away as you let yourself get carried away with all the decorating.

“What candles should we light?” Tim approached you, holding three different candles in his arms. Grabbing the first one, dark green in colour it smelt like pine. “That one’s nice” you note passing it back to him. The second a deep red smelled like peppermint and made you feel just a little nauseous. “I’m not into that one” passing it back to Tim who just sets it on the coffee table. Grabbing the last candle a light brown one, it smelt like a warm cozy cinnamon, you figure it’s the one that will make the room feel most welcoming. “I think we should light this one, what about you?” You ask, wanting to make sure he’d be okay with your choice. “I agree.” Tim says, not even bothering to smell the other candles. He leads you away from the tree and towards the mantle, the box still full of decorations beside it. Why is nothing done? What were they all doing while you and Dick were decorating the tree? “I kinda don’t have a vision for the mantle” Tim admits, you're pretty sure he’s lying and just wants this opportunity to be close with you. Although you're kinda getting into this whole decorating thing, it’s even starting to feel a little fun. So you're not as mad as you want to be. “Okay, I guess I can try”. Finding fake greenery, pinecones in the box, even some red ribbon. you're starting to get a vision of what you want to happen. Too tired to get up and do it yourself you start bossing Tim around. It's kinda fun, he’s good at following your instructions, always knowing how exactly you want the ribbon draped over the greenery and the exact spot you want the candle holders. Tim knows what he’s doing, he likes seeing you smile and hearing your voice even if that means you’re bossing him around, he’ll gladly follow any order you give him.

“We must hang up the family's stockings.” Damian states, motioning towards some sort of metal rack he put together. At least he did something. The rack is fixed with 7 hooks, they must have bought a new one to hold your additional stocking. “Sure” you smile “what box are they in” you ask, “that is the issue, someone did not label the box they put them in last year” he grumbles, shooting Dick a glare. You giggle “we’ll find them”. The family pauses for a beat, it had been months since they heard you laugh. Today truly is a day worth celebrating in their eyes. After about 15 minutes of searching you finally found them. “I found them!” You exclaim, and Damian turns around to sort through them with you. The stockings are actually kinda cute, red knitted socks with everyone’s names on them. Your stocking was the exact same. You wonder how far in advance they had yours made? As you and Damian hung the stockings starting with Alfred’s and working your way down, you didn’t expect yours to fit in so well when hung on the hooks but it didn’t bother you, it’d be more weird if yours was out of place.

“It actually looks kinda good” you hate to admit, but the warm lights radiating off the Christmas tree bring a nice ambiance to the room, the colorful ornaments adorned on every branch, and a sparkling star that rests on top. The Cinnamon scented Candles flicker on the mantel, draped with red ribbons and greenery. Each family member's stocking hanging in front of the fireplace waiting to be filled, the crackling fire really completes the look. Taking a step back to really appreciate the room you feel a sense of pride bubbling in your chest. “Why wouldn’t it, we’re the ones who’s decorated it” Damian states matter of factly, clearly also somewhat proud of his work. “I think this is the best it’s ever looked” Dick’s excitement still present from earlier. “You got a point,” Jason agrees, with a small smile on his face. “It’s been a while since I got to relax like this” Tim states, smiling soaking in the view. “Alfred informed me dinner will be ready in about 10 minutes, why don't we start to head over”. Oh god, you’re way too exhausted to deal with a family dinner.

[thesuperiorrobin]

𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝~

❥Pairing: Damian Al Ghul x Wife!Reader

❥Word count: 1.0k

❥Warning: mentions of blood but very brief, mentions of killing, mentions of kidnapping

❥S: Damian worst fear is losing his beloved wife (I wrote this in an hour. It’s 3:20 am rn☹️)

“This is so unlike you” Damian grumbles under his breath as he lies on a bed, a green silk robe hanging off his shoulder as you tend to a deep wound on his midsection with a needle and thick thread in hand. There’s sweat dripping down his forehead. A part of you feels bad but at the same time, he decided to have you tend to all his wounds after coming home from a mission his mother or grandfather sent him on.

Some days he’ll come home with a scratch or none and other days he’ll come back with gashes and marks that’ll stay permanent on his tan skin. As the needle in your hand digs into his skin once more—it hits a nerve that has him griping your wrist tightly and hissing loudly. Despite being an assassin, despite going through every single hard training process there was, a torture process, he still feels his pain.

“I’m sorry” you watch as Damian lets out a heavy sigh, letting go of your writs and gripping a metal handle beside the bed. “Just a few more so please bear with me” Minutes had felt like hours to Damian once you finished. And with your help, he sits up straight, groaning as we do so. One last step was to wrap the now stitched-up wound with bandages. His arms are up slightly as you reach over his back with the long white strips and bring them back to his front repeating the same process a few more times.

Once done, you help with his robe, gently as ever. You pat away any dust that drapes his shoulders. There’s still anger that clouds his eyes when he looks down at you “What happened?” Your hand grazes his cheek softly before placing your cold palm up against his warm cheek.

“It’s nothing, Zawjati. Come let’s go to bed” Your heart throbs at the sudden name. His hand reaches up to your hand, the sliver hand on his finger shining brightly as you gently peel it off his face, kissing it softly before he places it back down at your side. A visible frown finds its way on your lips as he walks past you with his head down.

“It’s clearly nothing. I can see it in your eyes” It’s a mumble but Damian can hear it loud in clear. Your eyes connect for a moment before you sigh—averting your eyes away from his “Let me clean up first, I’ll head back in a bit”

Damian leaves without saying a word to you. It takes a bit longer, mostly because you take your time cleaning and sanitizing. It takes thirty minutes before you’re heading back to your shared bedroom. You expect him to be asleep after being away for so long, but he’s wide awake when you enter the room, sitting upright on the bed rob long gone and with a book in his hand waiting for you. He places it down, on the nightstand beside him.

“You should be asleep” You shake your head, making your way to your side of the king-size bed.

“I can never sleep peacefully knowing you aren’t by my side” he lifts the silk blanket from your side—waiting for you to get in the covers.

You waste zero time as you jump in, head landing on the soft pillows. A sigh of relief leaves your lips once he throws the blanket over your shoulder. He watches as you snuggle closer, eyes closing. Damian’s arm reaches for the small lamp on his nightstand. The once-dim room turns dark within an instant as he turns it off. The wound on his midsection has Damian getting under the covers carefully. The shuffling stops and the room goes quiet. Damian thinks you are fast asleep, but when he feels your fingers tracing gentle shapes on his biceps he thinks otherwise.

Goosebumps cover his body. He can’t sleep either, not because of you tracing his skin, but because his mission early has him thinking. His target threatened you, threatening to take you from his side permanently. The assassin can handle petty little threats, but when they’re about his wife, all he sees is red. His wound was just the aftermath of his outburst. They’re all dead—every single one of them.

He has nothing to worry about—so why is he still worrying about it?

How many others, how many of his enemies feel the need to target you just so they can take him and the rest of the league down?

How much more does he need to paint his hands red just to keep you safe and sound, far away from harm's way? Damian would never say it out loud, out of fear and out of his reputation, you are the most saint and innocent thing to ever happen to him in his life. Someone so innocent and pure belongs to him, someone who’s the exact opposite—someone who can paint an entire city red with his bare hands if he needed to— have you sound asleep beside him—acting like he can’t break you with just his thumb.

When he looks at you—all his worries disappear just like that. Your breathing clams him down. Why worry, when he has you safe and sound right beside him? He takes one glance at your sleeping figure beside him, so peaceful and beautiful, curled up against his arm. His other arm reaches over to brush a few strands of your hair out of your face. He lets out a small breath as he watches you snuggle closer. He moves a bit, arm sneaking its way under your neck and over your shoulders, head on top of his arm using it as a pillow.

“I promise I would never let anything happen to you, beloved. Not now nor ever” A single kiss goodnight on your forehead and he closes his eyes, the darkness following soon after.

[messenger-of-babel]

Three Year's the Charm

Summary: You're nervous to make yourself known as Bruce's partner at his annual winter gala. (Bruce Wayne x reader)

Word Count: 1.4K

Notes: Please see the note attached to the Christmas Masterlist! Due to unforseen circumstances I've had to slow and put a pause entirely for some places. I'm going to try and double posts when I can. Much love and Merry Christmas!

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Christmas was supposed to be a time of peace, of getting together with family and friends. To open presents in front of a roaring fireplace, to eat baked treats with festive drinks. 

Your Christmas was shaping up to be wildly different. Sips of alcohol or eggnog made you more nervous as you watched guests pile in, filling the foyer of the manor.

This year’s tree was magnificent, covered in blue and silver and stretching to the ceiling of the ballroom. You had watched Alfred give harsh instructions to the workers setting it up, standing at the top of the stairs like a foreman till it was perfect. Bruce had told you it was his pride and joy each year, and it was better to not get involved when Alfred was tasked with decorating the tree. The year before Alfred had often for a beautiful golden look, and the year before had been a wonderful red and white combination.

This was like any other Wayne Christmas Gala, (you had attended three so far) except this time, you were going to be introduced on the arm of THE Bruce Wayne, the namesake and host of the entire thing.

While you two had been in the talking phase Bruce had an excellent handle on his public image, and any paparazzi that managed to steal a snap from you was unable to locate it when they went to work the next day. You relationship had been reduced to his hand on your thigh when you went for late night drives, or even later romps in the back of his car with tinted windows. Stolen kisses normally held behind the enormous Christmas tree once all the guests had gone were now to be on display for all to see, and more accurately, for every glare. 

You weren’t a stranger to the way that the public cast looks to every supermodel, reporter, and actress that had been on the playboys arm over the years. You had seen the snide glares and haughty stares afforded to his partners, and you know that once you walked down those steps on his arm you’d be next. 

When you feel him step behind you, warm palm on the hand of your back, you tense. “You’re worried.” He murmurs, voice low as he scans the ballroom below. “It’s not a good look on you.”

You cast your eyes back. “It’s hard to not be. I’ll be torn apart by angry women and billionaire men alike. What a Christmas.” You mutter back. 

“It won’t be so bad, baby, I promise.” He says, moving his hand in circles to try and sooth you. “But if you prefer we can-“

“No.” You sigh. You had thought about that all day and had been half tempted to ask him to call it off. But you couldn’t.

In The early years of your relationship you didn’t mind being a secret, knowing that Bruce wished he didn’t have to keep you out of the light either. Yet as they wore on and you fell for him more, you got selfish. You wanted him to yourself.

So even if it came with the stares and made the pit of dread coil in your stomach, there was still the part of you that wanted to be with him down there under those Christmas lights.

“I want this.” You say softly. “I mean, I want to be with you. Properly.” You give him a small smile. “Besides, I’ve just gotten Damian to like me. I’m not going to back down at something infinitely less scary.”

Bruce gives a chuckle to that and wraps his arms around your waist, resting his chin on your shoulder. “You really did get him to warm up, in the end.” He teases.

“I don’t know if I’d consider him warm, but he’s definitely less cold.”

“Oh come on, he shows affection.”

“Just last Tuesday he rolled his eyes in my direction and muttered something under his breath in Arabic.”

“See? He does that to me all the time too.”

“I don’t know if that’s an affectionate thing either.” You laugh, grinning wider when he lightly pecks your shoulder. His warm hands pat down your sides and you step towards the staircase yourself.

The chatter was like a low hum as Gothamites socialised below, drinks in hand as they circled the floor like well dressed sharks. “Don’t worry,” Bruce whispers, smiling softly as if to encourage you. “I’ve got you.”

With a squeeze of his hand you moved your other to the banister, steeling yourself as you both begin to descend the stairs. As if your first step set of an alarm, heads began turning your way and narrowing in on your form. Each step down, every inch down the curved staircase made conversations hush. You could feel the stares piecerce through your outfit, discoing you from the inside out.

Were you good enough for Bruce? Had they seen you before? Were you famous? What were you this time? A swimsuit model? A CEO? From old money? New money? A stray from the side of the street? An accountant on wall street?

The questions were heavy in the air, easily crushing out the Christmas spirit that the band weakly tried to keep alive. When you hit the final step and felt the smooth marble of the ballroom floor beneath you, the feeding frenzy started. They began to circle you and Bruce, smiles shining and fake.

They offered you greetings, and handshakes and smiles,  but the beating of your heart made it hard to focus on them. Silently you looked up for Bruce, and he understood what you were asking.

“Everyone,” He called into the crowd, tone charming and sly smile on his face. At the sound of their host the guests turned like dogs, focusing in on the billionaire in front of them. “I hope that everyone is enjoying the festivities, please, help yourself to the drinks and more, God knows I can pay for it.”

Theres a scattering of laughter as he jokes with them, flashing them that billionaire grin. “I want to take the time to introduce my partner here,” he looks down at you, tugging you closer to him. “No better time than Christmas, I think. So on behalf of us Waynes here,” his hand tightens around you. “and all of my sons, we wish you a very Merry Christmas.”

Theres applause after he raises his glass in a toast, and the band starts again with full force. You flick your eyes up to Bruce, who is currently studying the chattering that has spread across the guests with a smirk.

“What did you do that for?” you hiss, tugging him closer to your face. He smirks back, that boyish glint in his eye returning.

“You wanted me to fix it, darling.” He chuckles. “I did.”

“You called me a Wayne.”

“That I did.” He grins. The band starts a slow rendition of ‘Last Christmas’ and he tugs you towards his chest, feet already moving in a lazy waltz. “It’ll keep them guessing for a while. They’ll try to figure out what we are, but they’ll behave in case you’re already my spouse.” He smiles down at you, watching you follow his waltz.

“Already?” you raise your eyebrows and he shakes his head softly, lowering his head towards yours. “What do you mean already your spouse?” you ask.

“It means,” he murmurs, spinning you till you were dancing under the light of Alfred magnificent Christmas tree. “That I may have just spoiled my New Year’s surprise.” He huffs.

You study him under the LED’s, how the light flickers off the edges of his face, highlighting the contours and shadows of his skin. You raise a hand to trace them softly and he turns his cheek into your palm. This was Bruce Wayne, the man who fought for the betterment of Gotham every night. Who looked nothing but weary standing in front of you now, about to mark the end of another year.

“Merry Christmas, Bruce.” You say softly, offering him a small smile.

“Merry Christmas.” He rumbles back, eyes lighting up again. He dips his head down to press a kiss to your lips, and you can feel the corners of his mouth tilt upwards when he does.

You loop your arms around his neck, foreheads touching. You could only wonder what tree Alfred would put in the manor next year, and if once you were officially a Wayne he’d let you help choose the colours.

[duckybuiltwrong]

Christmas Carol- Platonic Y. Batfam

Chapter 1

CW: Decaying skin (not that descriptive, it is a ghost of a dead person.), hints at past abuse or neglect.

A cold and dark night is something that strikes fear into most of the criminals of Gotham. Running around this close to Christmas day was bountiful. Pickpocketing people with money that was meant to be spent on presents for their loved ones. This caused most criminals to take the chance, either to be caught by the Batman or come home with dollars on dollars, if the right people were robbed. Luckily for the criminals, Batman was not out on the streets. Oh, no. The indestructible, the unbeatable, the world’s greatest detective and father, was out of commission. Unable to work, clearly and terribly-

“I am not that sick,” Bruce held a firm face to Dick, as his eldest slowly led him away from the batcave, giving his siblings a quick nod to go ahead and start on their patrols, “I am not saying that you are dying. I am just saying you need a break. It is a low fever that can get worse-”

Bruce interrupted the young adult, “I am aware of how fevers work, these nights however,-” The young adult shot right back, “Can be handled by the rest of us- which is more than enough.” Dick said as he pressed the button to the elevator, letting Bruce get on as Dick stood in the elevator door, “I already texted Alfred, he should be giving you medication sooner or later. Please, actually get some rest and not try to be a hero for the next few nights.” Dick pleaded with his puppy eyes and Bruce was too tired to fight Dick on it, “Okay, only for the next few nights.” Bruce would never admit it though, Dick and him both knew that.

Resting, however, was not going to his own bed. No, for Bruce, it was going to his office in his own home and working. He was resting, his body could get the rest it required. The ache in his limbs and subtle headache would not slow the hero. Of course not, Batman never slows, but Bruce Wayne does. 

So in the study, where the Grandfather clock that belonged to Thomas Wayne and so forth sat, ticking away. The walls are lined with books or photos. The main one being a family portrait with its own space. Bruce in the chair as everyone from Dick to Duke surrounded him. Even Damian had stood still for it. Despite being raised by assassins, he still moved around like a child.

Bruce sat at his desk. His leather seat under him as he was in a white undershirt and blue plaid lounge pants. The room was lit by his desk’s lamp, the fireplace, and a scented candle. The same scent his father and him used to get every year, it was Bruce’s favorite.

As Bruce sat at the desk, his trashcan next to it was being filled with snotty tissues. Bruce was going over some of his company’s paperwork. Looking into charities, programs, and branches of his company. Using his computer to check the money spent and earned. Bruce knew it was early night, it got dark faster in these days of winter. The time should have been nine or ten o'clock, but as Bruce sat there, the grandfather clock struck. Bruce knew it was probably going to stop around the ninth to tenth ding but no, it went for more until twelve were given. 

As Bruce turned to look at the clock, he was confused. Bruce turned to the clock on his computer to see it was off, but staring at his face was not his. No, on the black screen of the computer was a ghostly figure. Bruce shot up from his seat. His feet planted firmly under him to hold his body up, the figure on the computer was gone. Bruce could not think much of it as a sudden, freezing, gust of wind hit his body. A shiver cruel and hard crawls up his body as the same gust of wind carries his paper off his desk. The gust alone was not what caused such a violent shiver to hit him however, no. It was the sound of the gust, it sounded like a distant wail.

Bruce sighed as he wrote it off, he was paranoid. A ‘worry wart’ as Alfred always called him. Bruce went around his desk to get the paper when another gust surrounded him. But instead of the quiet wail, it seemed almost louder, like a whisper in his ear. It sounded so heart broken and it made him a bit sick to his stomach. Bruce grabbed the paper and stood up tall, before marching over to his studies window. He was going to see who was crying outside of it, it could be a gardener. But when he opened the curtains abruptly, only the city stared back. Seeing the window completely locked and closed made Bruce think that something was not right. So as he closed the curtains again, he was spooked when the clock struck again. But it never stopped at one, no. It went all the way back to twelve.

The light from his desk started to go out as another harsh wind swept the room. The papers on his desk go flying. The fireplace crackled wildly and harshly before going out. The bulb on the desk lets out a popping noise as it too went out. Only the candle sat, untouched. But Bruce went to pick the papers up quickly. He watched as a zombified hand reached from behind the desk, reaching for the candle. His gut twisted as the index and thumb finger of the hand pinched the wick, the light leaving the room.

It did not stay dark though. A glow came from a figure now standing in front of the family portrait. Their hair was long and flowed with unseen or felt wind. It was a woman, the dress was a dead give away. But instead of it being a regular woman, she was decaying. Even as her back was to Bruce, he could see her arms and feet, flesh peeling off and muscle seen.

The chains on the figure also caught his eye. A chain trained from a children’s book to under her hair, a chain on her neck. Shackles on her wrists and ankles. The weights to those were other child related things. A teddy bear, a mostly ripped drawing, and a hairbrush were the more prominent things.

Bruce could see the light surrounding her, it was a cold blue. Lonely and sad, but as he watched her. The figure moved, not to him or towards the painting. No, their shoulders shook with force and they hunched forward. Their weighted hands holding their face as they let out a sob. As the figure cried, Bruce finally lets out a breath, but it came out as a puff of air. The type you could see in freezing temperatures. Bruce did not notice how cold it had gotten until then. Bruce needed to understand why this figure was in his home and what they wanted. 

Bruce stepped forward to talk to the ghost but his foot crunched on one of the weights on accident. A sudden tune came from the weight, a music box that had Winnie the Pooh on top of it. He was in a dancing pose as the figurine spun in a circle. Bruce could not dwell on it for too long because right after, the woman lets out a mighty scream towards Bruce. Bruce backed away on instinct as the woman glared at him. Her body turned around now and the light turned from a cold blue to a purple. It was dark and stung Bruce’s chest with a heavy weight of fear…no, it was anger. Rage. Bruce realized it was not his but her’s. She beat him to breaking the silence, “You dare break another thing of theirs?” She accused Bruce. 

“Of whose-” Bruce tried to speak but the woman looked horrified and  fearful, to angry and torn. The sides of her cheeks were held together by muscles. Her collarbone was poking through a sliver of decaying skin. “DO NOT ACT AS IF THEY ARE NOT KNOWN! THEY ARE YOURS!” She wailed. Bruce quickly knew he could not get anywhere with a woman who was this hysterical…woman? Maybe banshee, better suited the cries and wails coming from her. “Mine? Who is mine?” Bruce tried to calm the situation even though her feelings were clouding his. He wanted to cry so badly right now because of her. “They are not even in the picture.” The woman sunk to the ground as she sobbed. She looked over her shoulder at the photo. Her tears were the colors she reflected. Falling to the ground in a blueish purple to only dissipate after hitting the ground. The woman stood shakily. Her legs looked as if they would cave out from under her at any minute.

She took shaky steps to the painting which filled Bruce with sudden fear. The woman reached for a tear and started to touch the painting before Bruce could stop her. The tears burned into the painting as she drew precisely. A figure being drawn fast as the tears on her fingers seemed to have their own mind. So only a few seconds later, did the woman back up to look at the finished product. “Who is-” Bruce started as he stared at the unfamiliar person the woman drew onto the painting. 

The woman turned to Bruce as the books on the shelves started to shake and fly. Some only shake and others stay on their shelf. “You forget them?” The woman asked, so heart broken. “I entrusted them to you and you forget? Our baby?” The woman stepped closer to Bruce as he took a step back, “I am sorry-”

“Our Y/n- YOU FORGOT THEM!” She screeched the grandfather clock dung multiple times again and again, going past twelve. Bruce tensed up, “Y/n? I do not know a- I do, yes.” Bruce spoke suddenly to the woman. She seemed to relax at this. Looking down at her feet to the books. “You have no children's books.” she stated as she looked at her feet. Bruce nodded even as she could not see him, “Yes, I have no need for them.” She just clenched her fist, “They needed them at some point, did you buy them for Y/n?” The woman spoke and Bruce tensed again, he never realized he had relaxed with the energy from her glow. “They never asked for-”

“They should not have to.” The woman snapped at him. “INJUSTICE! YOU DO THIS AGAINST A CHILD AS THEIR FATHER! YOU SHOULD BUY THEM ANYWAY! YOU HAVE THE MONEY TOO.” The woman wailed as she marched to Bruce. She took one of the weights, which was the teddy bear on her left wrist, and picked it up like it weighed a boulder. Using it to throw it at his chair behind his desk. It went through his desk and landed in the chair, she used it to yank the chair against the desk until the chair moved the desk from her force in a quick motion. As she did, she screamed at Bruce which caused him to fall into his chair and she climbed onto him. Moving to clutch his chest, “our deed has done this to them. We did not love each other and now they are punished for it. Cut from our cloth only to be treated like its own garment. They were not prepared.” The woman looked at Bruce, they met eyes before she looked at his lips. “They were such a delicate piece of fabric, I should not have held it so thoughtlessly.” She moved to kiss his lips. Bruce was sitting there in complete shock and confusion. As she kissed his lips she looked back into his eyes. He was being kissed by the ghost of a corpse. 

“They are invited down from their room every Christmas, they just do not-” The woman pushed off of Bruce as he spoke. “DO NOT POINT BLAME FOR OUR INJUSTICE!” The woman grabbed at her face as her nails dug into her skin. Taking some off with her frantic flails. “DOWN FROM WHERE?! THEY HAVE LEFT! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THE ONE THING TYING US HAS LEFT THE SAFETY OF YOUR HOME! Or what should be their safety. You shall be their downfall with your inactions.” She glared as tears fell. The room was freezing and the glass of the candle started to freeze over. The woman stared at Bruce as she suddenly seemed to break again with a wail. “You, you shall be punished Bruce. Three. Three but not me. You have three ghosts to see. Each of the cold and dark of night. To when the clock strikes twelve shall you see. Tonight and the next of it and of that one. I hope you suffer while alive and learn. For if you do not and you still live like this, you shall die like me.” And with that, the lights flickered and her glow disappeared, leaving him all alone with his thoughts and beating heart. 

He lets out a sneeze at the sudden feeling of his nose running. But as he looked for a tissue, the papers that were on the floor originally were back in their spots on his desk. The candle and fireplace back to their warm fire. The desk lamp was no longer out. The clock went back to its original time of 10:13, it was still the night of the twenty-first. The books were back on the shelves. But the painting, as it was back to its original sight, seemed so bare and empty. “When did they get that big?” Bruce whispered under his breath. You used to be at his knee. Yet the ghost, of what seemed to be your mother, drew you as a young adult. A knock on the door signified that Alfred was here for what was probably the first round of medications. Alfred had been close to you, right? Maybe he could answer these new found questions that had just surfaced from Bruce's mind and guilt.

[yall-batman-fanfic]

Babysitting | Bruce Wayne/Batman x Reader!Magician ft Justice League

Synopsis: While babysitting their sister, the Robins notice that Valerie is scared in the many rooms in the manor without her parents. When Bruce and Vivian return, they are in it for a shock.

“Say goodbye to Mom and Dad and Alfred, Val!” Dick waved his sister’s little hand at the direction of Vivian having a hard time getting in the car for the business trip she was supposed to attend with Bruce abroad. 

It was the first time the couple had to leave their daughter for more than a day, and while Bruce was upset that he wouldn't see her from the moment he wakes and goes to sleep, he was holding up pretty well. Vivian on the other hand… she was suffering from separation anxiety. It reminded of the time she also had separation anxiety with the other kids. When Dick moved out, he would see her sitting on Dick's old bed and just looking around. When Tim was moving out, she won't letting him go. Whenever Jason leaves for his jobs then, Vivian would also try to get him to stay longer at the manor.

It's a hard thing for her to do. Letting go of their children or saying goodbye to them despite claiming that she’'s the ready one between her and Bruce. 

“Viv, you gotta get in the car,” Tim said, smiling cheekily at her as she kept looking back with a pout. 

“Don’t worry, my love, if we finish early we could head back as soon as we can,” Bruce reassured her. “And Val will be safe with her brothers.”

“I know, it’s just that… three days, Bruce?” Vivian sighed.

“We get there early, we finish early, we might be back before then,” Bruce helped her in the car. When she was inside, he said to Dick and the others, “We’ll try to make this quick.”

“Where’s the trust?” Dick smirked. 

“You know how Vivian is.”

“We know,” Jason crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll make sure neither of them get food poisoning. I’ll also handle Val’s food.”

“Good. We’ll be off before Vivian jumps out of the car. See you all in a couple of days. Damian, behave.”

Damian huffed and rolled his eyes at his father. 

After Bruce went in, the car drove off, leaving the four brothers with their sister saying goodbye to their parents.

“That was easier than I expected, actually,” said Jason.

“Yeah, I was expecting Viv to do some magic so she gets to stay,” said Tim.

“Come on, she know that it's time that she leaves this adorable munchkin with us,” Dick raised Val so he could see her face. “Are you ready for a fun day with us, Val?”

But Valerie was silent. Her eyes fixed on the car that drove away and a look of confusion and loss was seen on her face. “Mumma? Dada?” She asked Dick.

“They're going on a business trip,” answered Dick.

“Mumma? Dada?” her voice cracked.

“Oh, boy,” Jason sighed. “Here it comes… I guess now we know that Viv's the easy-mode, it's this one that's gonna give us a little challenge.”

Valerie started to whimper and reach out to her parents that have gone and then eventually cried. “Mumma! Dada!” She kept calling out.

“Give her to me,” Damian took his sister from Dick. “Come on, Valerie. We'll wait for Mom and Father.”

“Dami, Mumma and Dada!” Valerie tried to explain but was a blubbering mess.

“I know, I know,” Damian walked inside. “Let's go play in the garden. She likes the garden,” he told his brothers and went inside to pass the halls that lead to Helena's garden. “Drake, bring Bat-plush!”

It took a while for Valerie to stop crying, she tired herself out eventually and was just sitting on the large bed in her nursery with Damian and Dick as company as Jason and Tim were working on Valerie's food and milk, and their lunches. 

“Come on, Val,” Dick laid on the bed, his face upside down in the baby's view. “Give us a smile, Viv and Bruce will be back in a couple of days.”

But Val still kept frowning and holding her Bat-plush, believing if she held it tight enough and wished harder her parents would come back to her. She was used to her dad leaving in the middle of the day but her mom and Alfred was always there with her. Damian too but he also leaves then comes back hours later. Now it was just her and Damian, and the manor felt so big all of a sudden. Big and empty.

Mumma would always have that light that warms the entire manor, her and Alfred, Dada's light was more like a shadow that covers them all and keeps them warm in the cold night. Damian's was more like those lights that her Mumma would make for storytime. Now Mumma, Dada, and Alfred's light were missing. They weren't there to light the place. And she needs that light to keep the monsters away!

Damian and Dick were there with her but she wasn't sure if their light can keep the monster in her closet away.

Valerie…

Valerie turned to the corner of her nursery. It was a bright morning, but they never minded if it was bright or dark. They were always there and Mumma’s light would always keep them away. 

“Oh, no! What happened?” Dick got up held his sister who pouted and was starting to cry. “No, no, Val! Aw, come on, kiddo, you're gonna give yourself a tummy ache if you keep crying.”

“Maybe we should meet with Todd and Drake in the kitchen,” Damian suggested. 

It was no better in the kitchen, Valerie kept crying and crying and tried hiding her face on Jason's chest. They can't get her to eat because of it and neither of her brothers could understand why. Why was she crying so much?

Tim's idea was to take them to the garden, Valerie loves it there, hopefully she'll stop crying there, and it helped. Valerie's cries turned to whimpers and she was able to eat her mushed food and milk. They had a picnic there, and played a game of identifying the colors of each flower and plant. But they can't stay in the garden forever, the afternoon sun was harsh and they should head inside. Besides, it's time for Valerie's bath.

~*~

Jason was the one who knows how to give babies a bath without accidentally dropping or slipping the girl, but as he gave her a bath Valerie kept crying. Valerie loved bath times, he's watched Vivian give his sister a bath so many times and only once did Valerie cry, the rest she enjoys it. She loves playing with water and the toys. 

“She's still crying?” Dick asked, getting worried as Jason left the bathroom with Valerie wrapped in a towel.

“Yeah, I'm getting worried, Dick,” Jason sighed.

“It's almost naptime, hopefully we can figure this out when she gets her nap.”

“Hope so, her stomach's getting filled with air with all the crying. I bet that's one of the things that's making her so upset too… okay, Val, time to get that air out of your belly.” After he got her into the Nightwing onesie that Dick prepared, he did it on purpose to mess with his brothers, Jason did the technique he learned on how to make babies fart. Luckily for him, this fart didn't have anything with it when it came out, and more luck Val fell asleep too. 

Placing her in her crib, Dick and Jason put on the baby monitor – both camera and walkie — and then went to the sitting room where Tim and Damian were exhausted from trying to get Valerie to stop crying. Both had the parenting books that Bruce and Vivian read and disregarded after none of those things worked.

“How did you get her to stop crying?” Tim asked.

“Nap time,” Dick slumped on the couch with Damian. “I blame the three of them, they won't leave Val alone for one minute.”

“I don't think that's the case,” Tim said. “Val's perfectly fine whenever Viv leaves her with us for the day or when we take her out of the house.”

“I'm with Dick,” Jason sighed. “Maybe we should try…” he toko the book from Damian and saw the page. “This one – we wear their clothes and hopefully she smells them on us through the clothes.”

“So, who's going to wear one of Vivian's dresses?” Tim asked.

Silence came to the sitting room.

“Does it look like it would fit?” Jason said.

“I guess Damian?” Tim smirked.

“Fine, but only for Valerie – and no pictures!” Damian said.

“Pair it with the heels too.”

“There's four of us — Todd and Grayson wearing father's clothes, you and me – Drake – are wearing Mom's dresses.”

Tim let out an exasperated groan. 

“Well, let's go raid our parents’ closet to find one that Valerie would like,” Dick grabbed the baby monitor and got up from the couch.

Vivian and Bruce's closet was bigger than their own. It was a walk-in closet with one side dedicated to Bruce and the other for Vivian. While Jason and Dick took one of his dress shirts, Tim and Damian were debating about the dresses that Vivian wears on a daily basis.

“How the hell does she wear these? I look like a box in it,” Tim asked as he went out wearing one of the shirt-dresses he's seen her wear for casual outings. 

“For someone smart, you're fucking stupid,” Jason muttered. “And you look like one of those children in Annie.”

“An orphan wearing… whatever expensive brand this is.”

“She bought that in the department store,” said Damian, coming out wearing Vivian's Gotham University jumper.

“What the — where did you get that?” Tim asked him.

“Drawer. Mom puts her home-wear there.”

“And you could have said that before I put this on?!”

Damian smirked. “And miss this opportunity?” He took a picture of Tim.

“Do not send that out!”

“Too late,” Dick chuckled when he saw the photo in their siblings-only-group chat. “Cass is sending a lot of emojis.”

“Hey, I think Val's awake,” Jason went to the bed where he tossed the baby monitor. “What the---”

“Why, what's wrong?” Tim asked.

“She sounds like she's talking to someone.”

“Probably just her making sounds. Let's go get her and try to get her back to sleep,” said Dick but he froze when he heard another voice, one that sent chills down their spine.

“Let's play…”

Valerie whimpered.

“You shouldn't be here…”

Silence.

Valerie started crying.

“SHE'S MINE!”

The four Robins bolted from their parents’ bedroom. Valerie's nursery was just near the master bedroom, and when they got in there, they first saw their sister standing on her crib, crying, then a woman wearing black by the window.

“Who the fuck are you?!” Jason was about to charge at him but the woman then raised her hands in surrender.

“I'm not here for her, Jason,” she said in a soft tone and an English accent. “Not to worry. It's not her time yet, she has a long life ahead of her.”

Dick's narrowed gaze on the woman turned to a surprise when he realized who it was. “You’re Death,” he said.

Death smiled at them and settled on the bed. “I came for someone else and it just so happens they're here with us now.” Her gaze went to the crib where Tim took his sister from leaving the two souls that stood beside her. “It's time,” she said to them.

The ghosts tried to ask for more time, an extension.

“She’ll be alright now,” Death explained. 

“Who are you talking to?” Damian questioned.

Death smiled sadly. “The souls that protected Valerie from those who haunt her. They came just in time too… but they can’t stay any longer, they’ve done their part and have finished their remaining business here.”

“And that is?” 

“To see and protect their grandchild and to see their son happy.”

Thomas and Martha Wayne.

Death turned to the two souls and held out her hands to them. “I’ll inform her other grandfather about this. He’ll make sure to protect her, but now we must got. You have roamed this world long enough, it’s time you see what comes after.”

The two souls turned to the girl who still had tears falling down her face. They both asked for a moment so they could say goodbye. It felt like a cool breeze on Valerie’s cheek, but one that was comforting, and then disappeared as they took Death’s hand and disappeared.

~*~

Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian built a fort in the sunroom of the manor with crosses, holy water (“Viv keeps some stacked in the cellar,” Tim told them when he came back with a jug of it), and salt. They weren't sure why salt was needed but Dick read that it also repels demons. And there was no way they were going to let a freaking demon take their sister. After contacting Vivian and Bruce about what happened, they waited there with Valerie happily playing with her Bat-plush, it was the first time that day she smiled and laughed, and Tim kept looking through the bible about the part he remembered hearing Vivian recite when she trapped him, Alfred, and Damian in Gotham University's chapel a exorcised a demon.

“Was it this one?” Tim asked Damian.

“I remember someone saying that it's the individual who asks for absolution, it's not given,” said Damian.

“They gotta make a manual on how to use this,” Tim sighed and read through. “How about this, it sounds like it expels demons.”

“Do you even have a license to exorcise a demon?” Jason asked.

“I don't think you get a license for that.”

Dick raised a brow and turned to them. “Yeah, I mean, only priests and those like Viv get to do it, right?”

Tim was confused. “Do you need a license to exorcise a demon?”

“I think the only thing you need is magic.”

“But not all priests have magic.”

Silence came to the four of them.

“We'll ask Viv when she gets here,” Tim closed the book and placed it on the table. “So, we're just going to hang out here and wait huh?”

“Yup, not going back in there,” Jason muttered. “And that's coming from someone who died.”

A portal appeared in the room and the couple who were just about to settle in their hotel were now back at home. 

“Dick, how is she?” Vivian ran to her daughter and saw. “Did Death explain what it was that was haunting her?”

“No, but Death already dealt with it too,” Dick said. “Well, I think she did. She mentioned that she'll talk to Dream about it too.”

From the corner of the room, a figure appeared dressed in black robes. Lord Morpheus has come. “I have dealt with it,” said Dream.

“What was it?” Vivian asked him. 

“Hell is in disarray at the moment,” Dream explained.

“Why? What has this got to do with anything?”

“Lucifer has abandoned their post as Hell’s caretaker.”

“What – he just got tired? Can the devil do that?”

Dream shifted in his place, his gaze turned to Valerie and saw her looking at him with big and curious eyes. “The Morningstar has handed me the keys of Hell, and I have yet to control the realm. With Hell in disarray, the underworld too is affected.”

“And the souls that are haunting Valerie?” Bruce asked.

“Valerie can see those beyond the Waking World, much like her mother,” Dream approached the child and from his sand he created a token. A little gargoyle, a live gargoyle that yawned and cooed at Valerie. “And with her magic, there are souls and those beyond who are taking advantage of the disarray and are trying to return to the realm of the living. Valerie has inherited her mother’s magic – she is homo  magi – and the souls can sense that she has the spark that could bring them to the world.

“The only reason that you never sensed it is because your magic alone scares them away, but they hide in the shadows, preying on Valerie’s magic and innocence for them to puppet. I shall take care of Hell and have Death return all the escaped souls back to the afterlife. With this,” He placed the living gargoyle on the table for Valerie. He smiled when Valerie reached out and patted the gargoyle’s head. “Will protect her for now, while she has yet to learn how to do so on her own.”

Valerie reached for the gargoyle and patted its again, the gargoyle made a sound and purred in Valerie’s palm. The girl giggled and turned to her Endless grandfather and reached out to him. Dream held her tiny hand.

“I shall return to Hell and find a new steward,” said Dream.

“I guess Lucifer likes to fuck with us, huh?” Vivian sighed. 

“It seems so. The Morningstar’s desire to defeat me – us – has resulted in handing the key to the domain of Hell. A much challenging task.”

“If there’s anything that I’m needed for, just tell me,” said Vivian.

Dream nodded, he gave one last look to Bruce and the boys and disappeared.

“So, what do gargoyles eat?” Dick asked. “I mean, we gotta know since you’re going back to your trip.”

“Nothing, it’s just there,” Vivian said. “We don’t have a meeting today, maybe we can stay here for a couple of hours,” she turned to Bruce.

“We can, just to make sure Valerie is alright,” said Bruce. “By the way, can either of you explain why you two are wearing my shirts, and why Tim and Damian are wearing Vivian’s dresses?”

Vivian turned to her two youngest sons and said. “Yes, please do.”

“Val won’t stop crying, we thought if we wore your clothes she’ll smell you on us and stop crying. Turns out she’s just being haunted by ghosts – we’ll put these back,” said Dick.

“Should we be worried about other things while we’re away?” Bruce raised a brow. 

“No, we got it,” said Jason. “We were doing well before the ghosts came.”

Vivian frowned and kissed her daughter again, “I’m so sorry that you got this from me, Val.”

“Don’t be,” Bruce said to Vivian. “It’s not a curse, it’s a gift, Vivian. One that would protect her, and you’ll be here to teach her about it. For now, the gargoyle will do.”

~*~

“You’re heading back?” Dick asked Bruce as he watched Bruce and Vivian place Valerie in her crib, asleep, with the gargoyle, before heading back to their trip. 

“We are. If anything happens, don’t hesitate to call us,” said Bruce.

“We will… by the way, I think you should know this.”

“What is it?”

“When Val was haunted by those ghosts, Death said that there were two ghosts that came and protected her, and the reason why she was here was to collect their souls for the afterlife… the souls that protected Val have been within the grounds and Crime Alley for decades, Bruce, and they only finished purpose here because they got to see their grandchild and their son be happy.”

Bruce’s eyes were wide in shock.

Dick smiled and placed a hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “They’re okay now, Bruce… and they’re proud of you – of your work, the family you built, and the man you became.”

A smile crept on Bruce’s face and seeing that his surrogate father was having a hard time to hide or show his emotions, Dick brought him to an embrace.

“They’re okay now, Bruce… and you’re doing okay.”

~ Later that night ~

“Jason, it’s your turn for patrol,” Dick entered the nursery.

“Shh!” Jason hissed at him and pointed at a sleeping Valerie. 

“Right, sorry…” 

Entering the nursery, Dick replaced Jason at the spot beside their sleeping sister who was hugging her pet gargoyle. A bright night light was placed below the bed to show to her that there were no monsters there.

Lying beside Valerie, Dick sighed and got out his phone to entertain himself. He had finished his patrol for the night and swapped with Jason to keep an eye on Valerie. Tim was in the cave to give them a hand in the computer, while Damian insisted on doing his regular hours for the night. 

When the cold breeze came, Dick turned to the corner of the room. Nothing. Or maybe it's because he can't really see ghosts or Any of those things that Vivian and Val can.

A whimper came from Valerie and the gargoyle sleeping beside her growled while in their sleep. Valerie hugged her gargoyle and Bat-plush.

He looked around the dark room. 

He made a call.

“Yeah, Dick?” Tim asked.

“Do you know where Alfred keeps the nightlights? I think we need more… you know, for Val.”

“Right… for Val,” Tim snorted.

“Is Nightwing afraid of the dark?” Red Hood teased.

“Am not!” Dick hissed in a whisper. “Just tell me where they are!”

“I'll go get them, just stay there with Val,” said Tim.

Minutes later, Tim came to the nursery with the nightlights and a flashlight and a cross.

“Not a word,” he gave Dick the nightlights. 

“Right. I won't tell everyone that Red Robin is walking around with a cross and holy water.”

Jason burst out laughing in their comms and Damian kept teasing Tim. 

“You heard what Dream said, Hell is out of control. I've seen the exorcist movies!  I'm not letting A demon possess my body!”

Silence came to the room and the comms but for the sound of Valerie talking in her sleep.

“Give me one of those,” Dick pointed at the Holy water.

“I'm gonna go to The church and restock,” said Jason.

“I'll get more crosses too,” said Damian. “And remind Mom that she needs to teach us how she does exorcisms.”

“Agreed,” they all said.

[dumbkiri]

𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐒𝐈𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝟐

Highly requested and I am so sorry it took forever to get this out. I'm still a bit unhappy with this work and I need to get back into the Batboys and their behaviors lol

For now enjoy this part two of Blood Siblings

"You need to strike with more force, [Name]. I haven't seen you this bored since Damian left," Her instructor, Ali, looked at her with his dark brown eyes. His arms fell down at his sides and he set the bottom of his staff down. “Is there anything you-”

“I saw my brother when I left for that short period of time,” [Name] said with her head held down in shame. Her eyes had shown conflict swirling around in the light of the early sun. Her mind was elsewhere and not in her morning training. Her hands wrapped up in white tape screamed at her to use them to fight. 

Her hands knew nothing besides fighting and killing.

Not even the feeling of someone holding it with care and security. 

“And I saw my father. Zhao was going to kill them, but I put a stop to it.” 

She looked up at her instructor and he had his mouth wide open. Then he walked up to her at a brisk pace and set his hands on her shoulder, he whispered, “Does your mother know about this? If she finds out—“ 

“I can handle her punishment, Ali, so there’s no need to worry.” [Name] said looking up at Ali to reassure him. Talia wasn’t the greatest mother, she rarely showed any affection toward her. But she did have her moments. “Damian looked at me in disgust as if I was the one who did something bad. I killed our enemy and saved them by being overrun. So why?” 

Ali moved back and set his hands on his hips in thought. He put his hand under his chin and said, “It’s because he doesn’t have that drive to kill anymore. We don’t have to fight our enemies over and over again because we put an end to their lives. Damian fights in a different way, one that doesn’t really benefit him.” 

“But killing is wrong to him and…” [Name] looked at Ali and whispered to him, “My father said that I was welcomed. That I could be there with him, with my brother.”The hopeful look in her eyes shattered upon seeing her instructor’s face.  

Ali’s eyes grew big and wide as saucers. He shook his head in denial and replied to her ridiculous statement, “You can’t do that, [Name]. Your mother will hunt you down and punish you. Talia will not forgive you for running away, she already gave up on one of her children. She won’t give up on you.” 

[Name] knew Ali was right, maybe that’s why she had this terrible feeling in her gut. She could never be free. She felt like a lioness trapped in a cage pacing back and forth memorizing the perimeter. “I know that, Ali.”

“You know what?” A curt voice cut through their conversation.

[Name] and Ali turned their attention to Talia who stood at the entrance of the training area. The daughter sighed and showed her bandaged hands to her mother, “Ali was reminding me that I should strike with more force. But I don’t know how hard I’m hitting when I can’t feel the pain.”

“Obviously not hard enough if your instructor is telling you,” Talia put her hands on her hips leaning on her right leg. Her eyes were dead set on [Name] and the younger female felt suspicious of her mother. Ali noticed the tension and he brought out some tape taking [Name]’s shaky hands in his. “[Name] let me rewrap your hands. It seems the ones you are wearing are too bloody.” 

[Name] pulled her hand back and said, “I’m fine, Ali. Let’s continue with-”

“No.” Talia said sternly. The older female walked down the stairs with a dark look across her face. Ali immediately took a step back feeling the wrath from Talia come off in waves. [Name] felt it too, but she stood her ground. She wasn’t going to back down from her mother. She would go through torture to keep her pride. Not that the beating did anything to her when she couldn’t feel pain. 

[Name] didn’t dare speak first to her mother and waited for the woman to speak her mind. To ask her questions.

“I know you killed Zhao, many of the assassins that accompanied you two mentioned how you were the one who brought him down.”

“I had a perfect reason to stop him, “ [Name] stated looking at her mother with determined eyes. 

“And what was that reason?” Talia asked with gritted teeth. Her anger showed and it was as if she wasn’t trying to hide it. 

[Name] swallowed the lump in her throat, “Zhao was planning to kill Damian. I stopped him from committing that treason. I won’t allow scum like Zhao to end my brother.” The bracelet she wore around her ankle while training reminded her of her bond with her brother. Despite not helping her a lot himself, she would do anything for Damian. Anything for approval because she knew life with the League wasn’t worth it. 

Obviously Damian thought the same because he never returned. 

Talia raised her hand and back handed the girl with a scowl on her face. “Zhao was ordered to kill Damian, you stupid girl. He had to do it to show his loyalty to you and you killed the man who was going to be your husband.” 

[Name] spit some blood on the cement floor and glared back at her mother. Talia wiped her hand and the scowl on her face never disappeared. “That look,” Talia muttered, “that’s how your father and brother stare at me.”

[Name] straightened out her back and said, “I understand why they do. You’re a monster.” 

Talia laughed and replied back, “My daughter, you will receive that same look from them when you show them your true colors.”

Then everything happened so fast. Ali yelled out her name and [Name] saw many assassins attack Ali with incredible speed coming out of their hiding spots. [Name] took a giant leap toward her mentor, but she was tackled by two other assassins. Quickly, one had sedated her, stabbing her arm with the needle of the syringe. 

She watched as Ali defended himself from his once comrades. 

Talia stepped over to [Name]’s slumped body and said, “I will break your spirit and you’ll become a ghost again. You brought this pain and suffering onto yourself.” 

[Name] could hear Ali’s grunts of pain and suffering. The kicks and punches the assassins delivered. They were merciless. They were demons. Ali’s blood was…everywhere. On his clothing, his body, on their fists and shoes, on the cement floor. She could only watch as she was pinned down. [Name] stopped struggling seeing the life leave Ali’s eyes and his body fell to the floor with a thump. Her heart raced from the disgusting sight. 

Her mentor, the only one who cared for her in this godforsaken place, had died right in front of her. She was woken from her sad state when Talia struck her face with her shoe. Blood leaving her nose and a bruise formed on her cheek. “Don’t worry, darling,” Talia crouched down in front of her and [Name] stared at her with a heated look, “Ali is in a better place now. But you, your punishment starts here and you’re working for me.” 

……

“You are going to pose as a captive of Joker.”

[Name] sat strapped onto a wooden chair. Bruises decorated her body in various places, but that didn’t bother her. The thing that irritated her was the mucky environment and the stench of dead bodies at her feet. 

“We need him to lure out your father and your brother.”

She looked around the living room she was stuck in for 4 days and began counting the seconds in her head, never stopping. It was how she kept track of the time, how much longer that psychotic man and his even crazier girlfriend would walk in with a bottle of water for her. 

“This…man…you will not lay a hand on him. You will need to keep him in front of you and bring your father into the light. Make him vulnerable and when the moment is right, kill him.”

[Name] heard the creak of the door first before it slammed open revealing the green haired man and his crooked smile. He held a bottle of water in his right hand and he dragged a mallet in his left. She knew that the mallet belonged to his woman; Harley Quinn. 

She waited for him to smack that thing across her face like he did to the dead ones at her feet. But Joker had something else in mind as the mallet glided across the wood floor. He set it up against the wall and chuckled, sitting down right next to it. 

“It’s been two days, little killer,” Joker taunted, holding the water bottle in the air, “two days since you’ve drank your last sip of water and four days since you’ve eaten.”

[Name] knew that, but kept her mouth closed. She hated talking in general, most of all this guy wasn’t someone she wanted to talk to. Her eyes flitted across the room and to the wall opposite of Joker. Another body, most recent, was a woman wearing a pale pink pencil skirt and a white button up shirt. Her heels were on the floor that were kicked off in her struggle to keep the largest of thugs Joker owned off her. 

But she wasn’t much of a warrior. She was an innocent woman that worked for the wrong man, Bruce Wayne. [Name] remembers her screams and the sound she made when the thug slammed her body on the wooden table that matched the small decorations of the chair she was strapped to. 

She remembered the sound of her skull being crushed by Harley Quinn’s evil swing of the malicious mallet. They all laughed when the table broke from the force and the smashed brains scattered in that area. 

The flashbacks of it all came to a stop when thunder rolled and lightning flashed lighting the small apartment up more. “You’re just like him, you know?” Joker said as he put his hand underneath his chin and his elbow rested on his knee. He scrutinized her. 

[Name] just hummed in response and Joker jumped up excitedly. He pointed the water bottle in her direction with a maniacal laugh, “There! Right there, little killer! That hum you made as a response to my statement sent shivers down my spine. That look you give when you want water too! Oh my, I just want to carve you up for him!”

Just like that, Joker dropped the water bottle on the floor and strode over to her with quickened steps. He pulled out a pocket knife from his purple blazer and pointed the blade at her lips. He grabbed her neck in his gloved hand and slipped upward to her chin. [Name] didn’t move or show fear in her eyes and that made Joker all the more ecstatic. 

“Now smile for me, little killer. Show me what you got,” The purr he let out as he let his fingers glide across her flushed lips was disgusting. [Name] wanted to shove that knife into his eye so badly. “I said,” Joker used both of his thumbs to spread her lips open, showing her pearly white teeth, “to show me your smile.”

“I don’t smile,” [Name] pulled her head away from him and replied coolly and to her surprise, Joker relaxed his tense shoulders. His hands retracted to his sides and he backed up with a less than pleased expression, “He would have shown a smile, I knew he would have. I know him, but you,” Joker drawled out angrily, pointing the knife at her, “I don’t know you. Not yet, at least!” He laughed into the air and he spread his arms out wide. 

“Come in, boys. I wanna see if this little killer can put on the same show he does!”

Ten thugs walked in some holding bats and wrenches in their hands as they filtered in the living room. They stood in a horizontal line behind Joker showing their ugly faces and terrible outfits. They really were crazy people in this awful city. Why would she want to live with her brother and father in this city of filth? 

“Clean up any other mess that tries to dirty you, my girl.”

Then a switch went off, [Name] moved on autopilot. She removed the rope around her torso the day the loonies tied her up there and it felt good when it slid off her body. Joker smiled and began to bow in front of her, “I present to you…the little killer of the desert.”

……

“This is!” Damian slammed his fist on the wall and glared angrily at the Bat Computer. He was enraged seeing the sight on the big screen. A picture of his twin sister tied up to a chair seemingly unconscious and beaten bloody. 

Bruce was just as angry as his son, but he couldn’t let that cloud his judgment. Just what was Talia thinking? “Joker sent this to Gordon stating that he caught an assassin from the League,” Tim piped up looking at Damian who was seething in the corner. 

“What is she doing back in Gotham?” Damian asked himself, removing his fist from the wall. He stalked over to the computer and analyzed the photo closer. “I know she can get out of those ropes, maybe she escaped already. But if that’s true, she wouldn’t hesitate to kill Joker.” 

“Finally, we have someone in the family willing to kill that psychotic clown you call a human being,” Jason, donned in his Red Hood costume, crossed his arms over his chest. Everyone looked back at him and he shrugged his shoulders carelessly, “What? I’m just saying that maybe if you just kill the guy, the city can finally get back on its feet. I died because of him, so cut me some slack when your “morality” is on the line.” 

Bruce stood up and grabbed his cowl, speed walking to the Batmobile. “I want everyone searching for her right now.” Damian followed Bruce, right on his tail and said, “Do you think she came back to live with us?”

Bruce jumped into the Batmobile and Damian did the same. Then Bruce pulled out of the Batcave with Jason and Tim trailing behind on their motorcycles. They were driving anywhere and everywhere for clues on where she could be. The rain slapped the earth with a rageful night of fighting. And Damian had to think, question why his sister came back if not for the first reason he gave out. 

“Your mother wouldn’t have let her go that easily, Damian.” Batman replied after a while of thinking.

“I know that, but I got out. [Name] can do the same and I think she only got caught by Joker to get us out,” Damian speculated with his eyes looking at the streets his father sped by. 

Bruce hummed and opened his mouth to say something, but a man wearing a clown mask jumped in front of the Batmobile with his gun raised high in surrender. Immediately, Bruce yanked the wheel to the left and narrowly dodged the masked man. The Batmobile spun out of control before Bruce used the boosters of the vehicle to spin it in the other direction regaining traction.

It worked and Damian looked at his father with a glare, “And you say I can’t drive.” 

……

“W-we need help,” The clown thug pressed his gun closer to his chest, not wanting Batman or his sidekicks to take the only weapon that can protect him away. “She…she’s killing everyone and she’s too fast. Everything we did…she can’t feel it! Her blood, their blood…it’s everywhere!” The thug cried out and pointed toward the alleyway that he popped out from. 

“Who are you talking about?” Batman asked, but he knew full well who the man was speaking about. [Name] was skilled, maybe even more than Damian. He heard the stories of his daughter and felt guilt for not taking her with him. She must have been on the verge of breaking and tonight Joker broke her. 

“Joker called her The Little Killer of the Desert,” The thug looked around to make sure she wasn’t around to hear him. “And she went on this rampage! We hit her with our best shots and she’s still running around killing all of us!” 

“And what about Joker?” Damian walked up after giving his brothers a heads up about their location and status. 

The thug shook his head and scoffed, “That crazy bastard laughed and for some reason, she left him alone even though he instigated her! I’m telling you, you guys won’t even stand a chance against her.”

Damian rolled his eyes and began walking into the alley filled with determination to save his sister. Their mother must have brainwashed her with a mission and keywords to have her perform a massacre on Joker’s men. 

Damian wasn’t surprised to see a factory in Joker and Harley’s style the more they walked into the area. Neon lights were everywhere as well as clown faces and diamond shapes all over the walls. Then there was a chorus of hoots and hollers from a radio, a fake audience. 

A miniature fighting pit had been made in the center of the apartment complex and right in front of the factory. Then a cry of help was heard before the man choked on a heap of his blood. A katana dug deep into his back, the tip of it connecting with his heart of black. Then it protruded out of his chest covered in blood and rain.

“Oh, come on! Is there anyone out there able to stop her! This is getting boring!” Joker’s voice shouted watching the teenage girl swiftly take her katana back. The body in front of her dropped joining with other dead ones surrounding her. 

Joker stood up from his makeshift throne and pointed over at Damian, “The Boy Wonder! What a crazy match up against my little killer! Come on in and take your best shot, be careful though she has been-” He cackled and gestured to the bodies, “killing all of her opponents!” 

Damian cursed under his breath and looked back at Batman, “I can take her on while you catch Joker na question him on why he had her in the first place.” 

Batman silently stared at Damian and mulled over his words. Then he looked over at Joker saying to the teen, “I’ll be back as soon as I can.” 

…

Soon felt like forever especially when Damian struggled to capture his sister. “Is this what Grayson felt like when I first met him?” Damian grunted out when [Name]’s fist made contact with his nose. In his daze, [Name] jumped at him and straddled his waist. Quickly she swiped a kunai from her vest and aimed it at his heart. 

“Snap out of it!” Damian shouted, his hands holding back her own which held tightly onto her kunai. The tip of it touched the tip of his padded armor and he felt her weight pushing forward to drive it into him. She said nothing the entire time she fought him and she still said nothing trying to end his life. 

“This isn’t you!” Damian grunted out, holding her back as much as he could. “I am your brother! You are my sister! Wake up, [Name]!”

She didn’t relent. His words weren’t reaching her. Their mother, their cruel mother must have spent weeks breaking her mind in order for her to forget about him. He yelled out as he forced the kunai away from his chest where his heart lay. His eyes blinked away the rain that fell on his face and her face drowned out in the background. 

Instead his eyes focused on the bracelet he tied around his wrist today. The little charm on it with the button inside gave him some sort of hope. Maybe this could wake her up from this nightmare. Making quick work, Damian let the kunai dig into his right palm and he cried out while pressing the button on the bracelet. 

His blood dripped onto his face as the sound of a small beeping came from her ankle. It beeps continuously and he looked up at her this time, seeing his distraught sister. Not the killer their mother made her to be. The noise, this certain beep, has been her saving grace for a while now. 

“Brother, did you know?” She asked quietly, afraid that somewhere their mother was watching them from afar. She pressed the dagger closer to his chest, keeping up this charade. When Damian subtly shook his head in disagreement, she went on to explain, “Mother brainwashed me with certain words and methods. I killed so many people under the guise of Little Killer of the Desert and I woke up in their blood with their bodies surrounding me. So Ali used the beeps of this charm to snap me out of it. It took trial and error because it had to be activated by you in order for it to ring.” 

[Name] snatched her hands away from Damian’s grasp and with a flash of lightning above their heads, he felt the sharp blade at his neck. “The bracelet went missing for a year, do you remember that? Ali stole it one night and we began training my mind to listen for it. I was sent with Zhao to kill you. But you pressed this charm and snapped me out of my mission. And here I am, on the same mission.”

She backed up and pushed herself off of Damian’s body. She couldn’t look him in the eyes, not when she failed again. “One of us has to die in order for the other to live, Damian,” She dropped her kunai onto the floor and cried, her tears mixing with the rain. She can’t kill her brother, he has a life to live and it’s a fulfilling one. While she…she’s always been a ghost, no one on this planet knows she lives. 

Damian has a family, he has friends and he has enemies that know of him. 

Now [Name] has her brother, only Damian knows how she laughs or how she used to pull pranks on him when they were younger. He knows that she likes to read books, to dive into different worlds that aren't always just about fighting. Damian knows she likes to dream, to dream of a life where she’s in control. 

“It’s me or you, brother,” She swallowed thickly and brought her eyes up to him, “Do you understand?” 

“I understand.” He solemnly whispers and with another flash of lightning, she attacked him. In his defense, Damian picked up the kunai off the floor and raised it up. His instinct had been faster than what his father taught him. The kunai she slipped from her hip didn’t even make it to his heart. But his did with a nasty squelch. 

He refused to move, but she pressed it further into her chest and smiled softly. The relief, it was such a relief to feel the weight of all the ones she killed off her shoulders and back. Blood leaked from the corner of her lips as she said, “Better you than her.” [Name] looked up from his teary eyes and at the woman standing about ten feet away from them. She rather die in her brother’s arms than the woman who claimed to be their mother. 

“Live long, Damian.” [Name] gazed down at his trembling hand that caused her death. Yes, her death would haunt him forever. But he understood what she meant. He had to be the one to end her life. She held his hand tightly in hers and she slumped forward in his sitting position. Her head hit his shoulder and he sat paralyzed in his spot. 

His beating heart pounded louder than the rain hitting the cement. He struggled to breathe because he felt the breath leaving her lungs. He felt her tight grip weakening and her heart slowing down. “No, wait,” Damian pleaded and shoved her backwards, her eyes already closed, “no, this wasn’t- Why! Why would you make me do that!” He shouted in anguish. 

Then the clicking of calculated steps from behind him got louder. Talia was here to collect his sister’s body, probably to drop her in the pit. He couldn’t let that happen. [Name] belonged with him, finally put to rest and to move on. 

Before Talia could reach any closer to her children, a clang of metal pierced the air. A batarang stuck out from the cement, warning Talia not to step any closer to the twins. 

“Back away from them,” A deep voice warned with anger laced in his threatening tone. 

Damian looked up from [Name]’s fatal wound and saw his father emerge from the shadows with a beaten Joker and Harley Quinn. Both criminals were knocked out and captured, his bloody knuckles holding tight onto their leashes. 

“I’m taking her back, she belongs with me” Talia said with a click of her tongue.

Batman dropped the criminals onto the floor and walked with an aura of darkness shrouding him. He stepped right in front of a crouching Damian who held tightly onto [Name]’s dead body. 

“She’s going home with us and having a proper burial. She deserves it,” Batman said.

“You don’t know what the girl deserves!” Talia lashed out, her nails digging into her palms. 

“She’s not your daughter, Talia!” He snapped back. 

“You ruined that the moment she died and you resurrected her in the pit. You forced her into becoming a killing machine, making her forget who she truly was. A girl who loved playing tricks on her brother, a girl who read books to escape her reality and a girl who dreamed of a life that belonged to her. You stripped away my right to being her father and supporting her like I did for her brother. She’s going home where she belongs.”

Talia faltered and looked down at her children. Damian was still in a stump, never moved away from the feuding parents. “How much did he tell you about her?” 

“Everything,” Bruce said with a stern voice, “I wanted to know what my daughter was like. If she had any hobbies or interests besides what you made her do. I wanted to know her just in case she came back with us, just in case she wanted my help getting away from you. I may not have been the greatest father or the best at times, but hearing about you and what you did to [Name]...” 

Bruce wanted to ask how Talia could mistreat [Name] like that. But one look at Damian and he knew he needed to get his son home before he completely broke. 

“She’s an assassin to you, but she’ll be a daughter to me most and foremost.” Bruce declared and Talia scoffed at his words before turning on her heel. If Talia had the League with her, maybe she stood a chance against Batman, but she didn’t. 

With Talia gone, Bruce knelt down in front of his grieving son and placed a hand onto his shoulder to ground him. 

“Damian,” Bruce called out gently, “it’s time to go home.” 

Damian looked down at [Name] and pressed his face into the crook of her neck and let out a wail of sadness. Those words should have been for [Name] too. It was always what she wanted to hear. Instead she lived a life as a ghost. Her name will be remembered only by him and their father. 

He didn't understand why this had to end like this. So why did he tell her he understood?

[multiverseworm]

You know what? My current obsession is Master Chef, so… Here is how I picture that would go with the Batfamily.

MasterChef: Batfamily Edition

For obvious reasons - Alfred is the chef judge.

The competition gets one person eliminated each week. They get tested in skills such as chopping, cooking, baking, plating, problem solving, and other miscellaneous events.

There’s 10 participants and each week one gets eliminated from the competition until the master chef remains.

Participants:

Bruce, Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian, Steph, Cass, Barbara, Kate and Duke.

Week 1 - Soups

As we enter the competition, all of the participants are expectant of what their fellow competitors are able to achieve.

The most experienced ones in the kitchen wanted to demonstrate their skills right away and set precedent so everyone else would know who to be afraid of.

Kate, Duke, Barbara and Dick demonstrating great abilities with their different kinds of soups and appetizers. However, seems like the billionaire really can’t have it all, and that includes kitchen skills.

Eliminated: Bruce Wayne.

Week 2 - Sandwiches

Easy enough one would think. Well, Steph and Tim fell out hard in this challenge since they had never made anything that didn’t involve PB&J.

Damian made an excellent comeback from last week’s match and demonstrated an exceptional performance with his cucumber sandwiches (the other participants don’t seem to be happy with this result since it seems favoured enough).

Eliminated: Tim Drake.

Week 3 - All things Eggs

As the weeks start to go by, each challenge starts to get more and more complicated and the participants are feeling it.

Kate and Barbara are still holding strong their top spots in the competition bringing Benedict eggs or a Croque Madam, but this week Jason surprised everyone with a perfect French omelette one could fine at a decent Gotham restaurant.

This week, two contestants had a rough week when they burnt or included cracked egg shells into their food.

Eliminated: Cassandra Cain.

Week 4 - Italian

For this week’s challenge, the contenders were allowed more freedom to choose their dish with the condition it had to be Italian cuisine.

Duke and Damian prepared similar dishes by preparing tomato pesto and basil pesto for their pasta. This caused a timeout imposed by the judge when the youngest Wayne unsheathed his sword. This will retract points from next week’s challenge.

Steph and Jason both prepared pizza but the burnt edges on Steph’s are not a good sign.

As usual, Barbara, Kate and Dick remain on top each with a different type of dish.

Eliminated: Stephanie Brown.

Week 5 - All things Potatoes

So many variations, so many uses. Potatoes were brought by the participants in very creative ways now that we are in the middle of the competition.

Damian won this week’s challenge with an effortless and exquisite scalloped potatoes. Who knew he had this much talent to cook in him?

However, repetitive and boring dishes cost the top to our usual favourites. Only one dish that was presented in the form of French fries left out judge sighing and not in a good way.

Eliminated: Jason Todd.

Week 6 - Bake Off Part 1: Cookies

Baking is the most difficult part of being a chef. And the contestants found out the hard way.

Barbara delivered some ginger cookies she used to bake every Christmas at home, putting her at the top of this week’s challenge.

Kate and Dick barely handled their cookies not crumbling all over the place. But our two last competitors lost track of time: one got the cookies in too early and the other got them out too late. Raw or burnt?

Eliminated: Duke Thomas.

Week 7 - Bake Off Part 2: Dessert

In this week’s challenge, freedom to choose was once again granted. The only condition was to prepare a dessert that needed baking.

Dick’s strawberry cheesecake won over the judge’s palate since this recipe is something he seems to prepare quite often for his partner at home.

Damian had a good week with an Arab recipe for a Harissa, while Barbara’s brownies were out of this world. Kate however, seemed to made the mistake of using salt instead of sugar.

Eliminated: Kate Kane.

Week 8 - Bake Off Part 3: Pastries

Remaining top three in this competition and the first of the last two challenges is here. One of the most if not the biggest challenge for a baker: pastries.

This challenge was met with the best results of the contest so far. All three pastries were made almost to perfection.

Damian decided to go for something simple but effective, a cream puff. While Dick chose a chocolate croissant and Barbara Classic Éclairs.

A minor technicality should about all of this should decide the final two. And that is, the croissant was not bathed with egg wash and therefore lacked glaze.

Eliminated: Dick Grayson.

FINAL WEEK - Worthy of a Gala Dinner

As our two finalists enter the final round of the competition, our judge congratulates all the past participants for their ability to NOT burn his kitchen in the process.

This week’s challenge is meant to be the most exciting and stressful of them all. Our two finalists have to prepare an entree, main course and dessert worthy of a Gala for the Wayne Foundation.

All these weeks have been a preparation for this.

Damian and Barbara went their different directions to get this done. Barbara going for a classic approach and Damian having to adjust his dishes to his vegetarian style.

Here are the final dishes prepared by each participant:

Damian Barbara

Entree Tabbouleh Antipasto platter.

(Middle Eastern salad)

Main Meat-free Moussaka. Creamy salmon with

(Middle Eastern dish) roasted potatoes.

Dessert Lemon Carlota. Tiramisu with ice cream.

Damian’s dishes are a clear result of his heritage, the love he has for it, and discipline to learn new abilities and skills like he was always taught. His start in this competition was bumpy, but after assessing his mistakes he knew what he needed in order to succeed.

Barbara’s dishes are the result of years of helping out around the house when his father had to stay extra hours helping Gotham and learning how to do things on her own. She maintained her top profile throughout the competition, defining how a good and deserving competitor looks like.

Both of them clearly deserve the title.

So, for this time, and this time only, the winner of MasterChef: Batfamily Edition is…

[cdelphiki]

Jason and the Three Terrors spoilers

So I got an ask I'm going to put under a spoiler to answer! I'm going to include a snippet of my draft of a side story I'll post eventually, showing what's going on in Gotham right now!

HI I LOVE YOUR COMMENTS. Okay, to answer: We do!!!!! I don't now how much of the details will be put into the actual main story, since it's all Jason's POV, but I am working on a side story that's from Tim's POV. I might have it just be one "big" fic where I also have Bruce and Clark's POV and it's basically just jumping through part II showing what's going on with all them. Also Alfred will be preparing rooms for them all, just not quite yet. Bruce knows the kids won't be coming to him yet, but he and Clark are both working toward the four of them moving to Gotham to be with Bruce.

Tim basically figures it all out, Bruce had left the case to him to deal with, and Tim figures out Clark is in contact with the defectors pretty quickly, and once he makes the connection to Jason and Damian being Bruce's kid, he brings all the info to Bruce and Bruce is PISSED lmao. Anyway here's a small snipped from Tim doing the detective work: Its the most polished part I have, but it's still a rough draft. (This takes place on either Friday or Saturday morning, when Tim went over to Clark's house that same Saturday morning.)

-

Tim finally tracked down the League kids. It was surprisingly difficult. Whoever was on their side was good, because the paper trail of them going through airport security was wiped almost immediately after they left the airport. Tim couldn’t find any close up photos of them anywhere.

So it took him a week to figure out where they’d gone, but once he finally figured that out, it didn't take too long to track them down.

They’d bought train tickets to Metropolis, and Tim found where the teenager had exchanged his fake New York drivers license for a real Delaware one. Which was pretty damn impressive.

But it meant Tim had a clear photo of him.

And his first name.

And honestly? Tim was very, very confused.

Because this kid looked exactly like Jason Todd, just bigger, with straighter hair, and a white streak in his hair.

But Jason was dead.

Bruce grieved him way too hard for that to be fake. Jason was definitely dead.

But this kid went by the name Jason… Jason Johnson. Which was Jason Todd’s adoptive mother’s maiden name.

And the eyes were exact.

Tim had run them through a program to compare them to Jason Todd’s and, well. It said exact match. Same with a facial recognition.

When a new photo popped up on his newly created alert, Tim easily pulled the Daily Planet employment records and was able to double confirm. This definitely looked like Jason Todd.

But if he was Jason, why hadn’t he come to Bruce?

Was the League threatening him? Was he afraid to come to Bruce because of that? He’d gone to Metropolis, which was close. Did he know that the bats would figure it out, find him, and help him?

Tim was honestly ready to go straight to Bruce with all this, but he hesitated. Jason’s birthday was coming up in a little over a month, and Bruce was not handling it well.

If Tim was wrong here…

So Tim needed to gather more evidence.

The first thing he did was enlist Kon.

“Tim why are we doing this,” Conner asked, after he’d flown the two of them to Gotham Cemetery. It was just before dawn, so the cemetery was completely abandoned, giving them perfect privacy.

And it was way too early for Bruce to be awake, so he wouldn’t notice what Tim was doing, either.

“I have a hunch, okay?” Tim said, as he walked the last few paces over to the gravestone that said Jason Todd.

Conner stayed back where he landed and said, uncertainly, “This feels wrong. Isn’t it wrong? Like… grave robbing?”

“It’s not wrong,” Tim shot back, “We aren’t digging him up. Just looking.”

“What if I don't want to look?” Kon whined back.

Which was fair enough. Tim didn’t want to look inside coffins, either. But this was necessary.

“If I’m right, there’s nothing to even look at,” he said, “It’s empty down there.” And if it wasn’t empty down there, then they were dealing with a clone.

But the clone clearly wasn’t doing what Ra’s wanted him to do, because he’d gone and stolen three kids right from under Ra’s nose.

Kon held his gaze another long moment, clearly hoping Tim would change his mind. When Tim held the gaze firmly, and didn’t budge, Kon dropped his shoulders and grimaced.

And, finally, looked down at the grave they were standing near. He took a deep breath, then really looked, and his eyes went wide.

“Damn,” Kon exhaled, “You’re right.”

Tim couldn’t help his grin.

“How are you right?”

“I don’t know,” Tim said, “that’s what I need to figure out next.”

[davidmann95]

Momentarily returning to Tumblr for my SKYROCKET thoughts, in total:

I think the pitch is kinda overstuffed with blorbo-bait for what amounts to a really extended misdirect, but those are MY blorbos so excellent chance I would've enjoyed it on a month-by-month basis. Having on a mad whim recently read about half of the 90s/early 00s Superboy ongoing along with a few subsequent greatest hits, I think the actual core character arc and reconceptualization of Conner is smart and thematically justifies itself. I recognize this is reading stuff into the character that was not previously intended to be there and does not square 1:1 with every prior appearance, to which I say, welcome to figuring out new shit to do with collaborative open-ended characters who have been around for entire human lifetimes.

Skyrocket is a pretty dopey name though.

The look though? The look goes hard.

Sucks not to get a rare entry into the canon of high-profile queer superhero titles that wouldn't have been about the lead immediately finding a cool-but-not-in-a-threatening-way love interest and fighting a mystery evildoer trying to take over the world by doing A Homophobia.

How was it ever in question that Superboy: Man of Tomorrow was 'in continuity', it establishes that on the first dang page. And then still running the Action 'prelude' to this story that isn't happening? Some real nonsense.

"Conner Connie Kent is the Jason Todd of the Superfamily" is totally understandable, but nah, they're the Damian if Damian wasn't handled by Morrison and therefore a giant mess, as evidenced by 99% of non-Morrison Damian. If we as a society had guts and integrity, Kara would be the Jason, and then she would finally be cool. This has been my fandom hot take for the day.

My brand has been so cultivated that when "Superman Secundus" got a namedrop someone messaged me about it, lol.

[samgirl98]

Cain and Abel Wept 15/?

Prev | Next

Not too proud of this chapter, but here it goes. I'm posting it a day early so enjoy.

Danny pressed the panic button his brother had given him.

Then, Danny and his family attacked without a moment of hesitation. It was their right; these people were invading their haunt.

Danny went straight for Talia, not wanting anyone else in his family to attack the dangerous woman. He made two swords from ectoplasm and swiped at the woman. She dodged both swipes and brought up a knife with a green and gold handle to stop one blade, and with her free hand, she caught Danny’s wrist.

Danny went intangible and used the element of surprise to punch Talia in the gut before kicking her off the porch. She quickly got up and dusted herself off. She looked proud for some reason.

Danny brought one blade to cut across Talia’s chest and another across her neck, uncaring if it would be fatal. She dodged it. Talia got one of the blades, and it disappeared in her hand. Danny smirked and swiped the remaining sword. Talia barely dodged. A few strands of hair danced in the air from where they were cut.

“Oh, habibi, you have become a better fighter. More ruthless,” she praised. Danny gritted his teeth. When he was distracted by her words, Talia kicked his stomach breaking his concentration. The last sword disappeared. It didn’t matter; Danny went on the offensive with his fists.

(He always liked using them better than a weapon, anyway.)

Danny punched Talia in the face while she punched his solar plexus. Thankfully, it didn’t do much, as Danny didn’t have to breathe; it still hurt. He got a handful of Talia’s hair and pulled hard. To her credit, Talia didn’t make any noise while a handful of her hair ended up in Danny’s hand. Instead, she used the proximity to judo flip Danny to the ground.

Danny noticed his family had taken care of ten people, but they were getting overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Danny got angry. How dare Talia come to their haunt and start a fight? How dare she?!

Danny didn’t care how much Talia knew about his powers. He got up and threw an ectoblast at the remaining assassins. Danny turned neon-glowing eyes toward Talia after he knew his family was safe.

“What do you want, Talia?”

His family came to stand behind him, weapons ready.

“Really, habibi, I know I haven’t been there for you, but calling me by my name instead of ‘mother’ is rude, isn’t it?”

Danny’s anger grew.

“No, you know what’s rude? You and your lapdogs are invading our haunt and threatening us!”

Danny saw Talia flinch; it was barely noticeable. He knew his voice was growing inhuman, but he didn’t care. He wanted Talia and her assassins out of their territory.

“I’ll ask again, Talia, what do you want?”

“Can’t a mother come and visit her child?”

“You’re not my mother. You lost the right to call yourself that long ago,” Danny said viciously. His mom put a hand on his shoulder, showing her support.

Talia looked at Maddie’s hand before looking back at Danny. Danny could almost swear he saw hurt in her eyes. It couldn’t be, though; Talia didn’t care about him, about the failure of the al Ghul line.

“I found the Ghost Investigation Ward in Gotham. It seems your father missed their arrival to his city. The only reason they’re still breathing is that I didn’t want to bring attention if they went missing. Habibi, what has happened while you were away from my protection?”

Danny went his blood go cold. Beside him, his family stilled. The GIW had found him; they were in Gotham. They had run out of time.

Danny felt the world tilt.

“Tell me, Danny, why are these scums hunting you? From what I can tell, you are alive.”

Danny glared at Talia, “Why do you care?”

“I was the one who got you out of father’s rule. Do you honestly think I don’t have an invested interest in keeping you alive?”

Danny laughed sarcastically.

“Oh, mother,” Danny transformed, “I am far from alive.”

____

Damian was busy chewing Richard and Timothy out when he got a distress call from Danny. His family looked at him in confusion before the sound registered.

“We need to go. Now,” Damian said. He went to his room, got his sword, and put on a League outfit (his Robin outfit would be too conspicuous) before dropping out his window.

He didn’t have time to wait for his family to suit up.

Damian was halfway down the driveway when Jason stopped in front of him on his motorcycle; he was still wearing his civvies.

“Get on,” Damian didn’t hesitate.

The ten-minute drive felt like an eternity.

As they pulled up to the safe house, Damian saw Danny in his ghost form in front of their mother. Damian jumped off the motorcycle before it completely stopped and toward his brother’s side, sword out and ready.

“Mother, what are you doing here?”

How had their mother found Danny so quickly?

“Damian, you’re looking good. I’m here to warn your brother.”

Damian felt his blood go cold. Was mother here to threaten Danny?

“Dami, the GIW, they’re here; they’re here in Gotham.”

“What,” Jason asked as he walked between the Talia, her assassins, and the Fentons.

“Where did you see them,” Maddie asked. She tightened her hold on a glowing green staff she had in her hands. Jack’s face was grim but determined, and Jazz was wearing a mechanical suit while holding a nine-of-tail whip with her father's face on it. Damian knew when someone was moments away from a fight; he saw it often in his own family’s faces.

Jason must’ve seen the same thing because he turned toward the Fentons, “Wait, we should wait for Bruce to get here. It wouldn’t do you any good to go and attack them.”

“We have the element of surprise,” Jack said, “and we have weapons. We are not letting them get hold of Danny. He’s our son!”

“Mom, Dad, Jazz, maybe we should wait for Bruce,” Danny whispered.

“Honey, if we wait for him, they might find you. She was able to. What’s stopping the GIW from standing in front of our doorsteps any second now?”

Talia lifted her chin, “I was able to find you the old-fashioned way; I doubt those blundering buffoons would be able to. I have an eye on them. They’re still setting up their base of operations. However, if you want to attack them, you have my and my assassins’ full support.”

“Thank you,” Jack said instead of denying help, “we would appreciate having your…expertise.”

“Okay, whoa, before we start, um, killing a bunch of government operatives,” Jason started, “why don’t we wait for Bruce and see what the Justice League has to say? The last thing we want is to compromise any peace between the Infinite Realms and the human world.”

“He’s right,” Danny said, “The GIW could easily spin any attack from us as a danger to all humans from inhabitants from the Infinite Realms. I understand you guys want to protect me, really, I do, but I have to think of my people’s safety as well, not just my own.”

Down the road, the Batmobile could be heard. A few seconds later, it stopped right in front of everyone. Batman came out, looking angry.

“Talia,” he said, “I think it’s time we talked.”

Daddy bats is angry lol; anyway I hope you liked

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[damiansgoodgirll]

I would like a story where Damian becomes extremely protective of his wife and child after a dangerous event occurs.

i looooove writing about this kind of stuff! let’s say this is kind of an utopia but it could still happen, okay?

anyway

damian priest x reader

‼️angst and fluff

wrong house

your life was perfect.

perfect like in one of those romantic comedy.

you had a loving husband, a beautiful daughter and a big house like you dreamed about when you were a kid. a huge living room, plenty of space for your daughter to run and play, a backyard pool and the classic white picket fence. you were in a nice and wealthy neighbourhood, surrounded by lots of parks and kind people.

what more could you ask for?

a couple of blocks away from your neighbourhood there’s been a few robberies, nothing major, just some teens thinking it was fun scaring old people, but police officers told you multiple times that you didn’t have to worry about it, that they have it handle it.

damian wasn’t so sure about it tho.

he made everything in his power to provide you with a beautiful house, a nice neighbourhood so you could feel safe when he was travelling for work so the idea of having teens breaking into people’s homes late at night made him shiver, especially when he thought about you and your daughter.

“are you sure it’s okay? i can come home early…you know it’s not a problem mi amor” he said through the phone.

“dam…” you said laughing “everything been calm for over three weeks, we’ll be okay…”

“i know it’s just…you know how i get when i’m not home, i’m only thirty minutes away from you and in case anything happens you give me a call okay?”

“i promise you dam…go back to training” you said laughing again.

“i will, tell maya that i love her okay? and that i miss her so much and that i will crush her with hugs and kisses once i come back home” he said smiling, thinking about his two years old daughter.

“i will i promise…go back to training, we’ll see you in a couple of hours…” you said giving him a kiss through your phone and hanging up.

you smiled watching your daughter being completely invested in the cartoon she was watching.

the evening went on normally.

you and maya had dinner together, you got her ready for the night but as usual she didn’t want to go to bed without having a goodnight kiss from her father, so, instead of going to bed, you spent the early night together, watching some cartoons and eating popcorn.

you watched the time and you knew damian would be back in an hour so you took a few seconds to close your eyes and relax a bit.

non even a minute passed that you heard some weird noise coming from the back door.

you knew for sure that damian wasn’t back, you didn’t hear the car and even if he was, you knew he never used the back door, so what was going on?

then you heard them, two, maybe three voices talking softly. saying how hard it was to open your door and that maybe they should go to another house. you prayed that they would let you alone but when you heard the click sound of the door opening you realised it was too late.

you grabbed maya into your arms and pulled her towards your chest. moving fast to the bedroom, you locked yourself in, and then you locked yourself into the bathroom, hiding maya behind you in the tub.

you knew you should have called the police, you knew that but the first person that came to your mind was damian.

you didn’t know what was going on, and if something bad was going to happen you wanted to hear damian’s voice one last time.

“please…” you whispered, waiting to hear his voice.

your hands were shaking and even if you were crying, you were praying no one would be able to hear you from downstairs.

“hey love” he answered.

“dam?” your voice broke.

“hermosa…what’s going on?” he asked, alarmed by the sound of your voice.

“dam they’re here…”

“who?” he knew who, he just didn’t want it to be real.

“someone’s in the house…dam, they’re in the kitchen, looking for something i guess, i’m in the bathroom with maya, we’re locked in…i know they never hurt anyone, they’re just kids but…damian i’m so scared, i don’t want anything to happen to maya” you broke down, trying to muffle your cries.

“listen to me amor, i’m coming back home right now okay?” he said and you hummed “you’re on the speaker, finn is with me and he’s calling the police right now, you stay at the phone with me okay?”

he didn’t know how he was able to remain so calm. in reality he was freaking out, just the thought of you and maya being in danger made his blood boil.

“is maya okay?” he asked.

“she’s okay, she’s scared too but she’s okay” you said, looking at your daughter’s face. she was confused and definitely scared but still she didn’t know what was going on.

“are you okay love? i’m coming back home, right now..you stay at the phone with me okay?”

“okay…” you said.

you hear the noise from downstairs growing closer to you, they were in the living room right now. you were lucky your house was big enough that you had the time to hide.

“damian they’re closer…i can hear them… i’m so scared…”

“i know princesa i know….keep holding on for me okay…i’m driving as fast as possible, keep holding on”

“i love you so much damian…so so much”

“don’t say that like it’s the last time you’ll say this…” damian’s heart broke, he couldn’t imagine how scared you must have been “i love you so much mi amor and i’m not going anywhere, ill stay at the phone with you, finn just told me the police is on their way…”

“okay…” you whispered.

damian kept talking to you but you stopped him when you heard the sirens ringing.

“police is here…” you whispered letting damian know about it.

you heard them breaking down the front door. you heard them chasing the kids around your house and you heard them calling your name.

you waited until they found you. they were police but you didn’t trust them enough to come out yet, you didn’t feel safe. the only place where you always felt safe was between damian’s arms and you couldn’t wait for him to be back.

you and your daughter were brought downstairs. you didn’t care about the broken furnitures, not when something worse could have happened.

damian ran into the house, fighting off police officers who told him to stay outside.

“my wife and my daughter are inside!” you heard him screaming, shoving past one officer.

“dam…” you said, tears running down your face.

“hey…” he whispered hugging you tight. maya was watching the whole scene with a confused smile. she was just a kid, too young to understand what was going on. one police officer was sat next to her, while you couldn’t let go of damian’s embrace.

“i was so scared…”

“i know mi amor, i know…everything is over now, you’re safe, you and maya are safe…” he kept repeating, more to himself, because he couldn’t describe how terrified he was when you told him someone broke into your house.

“i’m so glad she’s okay…i would have fought with all my life if something happened….”

“i know hermosa…she’s so lucky to have you as her mom, i’m so glad to call you my wife…and i’m so happy to see you both here alive, i’m so sorry i wasn’t here”

“damian, it’s not your fault” you said before he could blame himself “you’re here now and it’s all that matters”

“i love you so much…and you too maya” he said moving to bring her up in his arms.

she was just happy to see his daddy smiling at her.

“missed you” she said with her soft voice that always made your heart smile.

“i missed you too princess…and i’m not going anywhere for a long time” he said kissing her head “daddy is gonna stay here with you”

she seemed happy with his decision and so were you.

it was kinda selfish taking him away from his work but he knew that you wouldn’t trust yourself to be home alone for some time now and he didn’t want to leave you alone, never.

[kiragecko]

Some thoughts on Dick's relationship with Damian, from a parent with a 'difficult' child:

a parent's world tends to shrink, when their kid has a lot of needs. Keeping every trigger and support in mind, at all times, uses up a lot of energy. They never fully relax, because they could be needed at any moment, and have to be able to respond QUICKLY when needed

doing things that don't involve their kid becomes almost unimaginable. No one is able to babysit. Few people want them to bring their kid with them. Their kid doesn't handle new situations well, anyways. They'd have to leave early, and probably deal with misbehaviour until the kid settles again, so is it really worth it?

talking about both their kid's strengths AND the challenges becomes fraught. People give looks of doubt when they bring in positives. They agree too wholeheartedly with the challenges. It feels like they need to protect their model of their child's value, because everyone else wants to wear it down.

even when they can talk about their child's victories, translating the importance is difficult. These things seem tiny, or actually negative, or are things the other people have never even considered.

listening to other people's valid pain is equally fraught. YES, of course that's true, but SOMEONE needs to believe in this kid! If they agree, too often the other person doubles down, and says all this poison that HURTS. It's true, but it hurts so bad!

only about 50% of other people's criticism is actually valid. The rest is usually 'this neutral thing made me uncomfortable, and the kid ACTUALLY hurt me a different time so I'm assuming this was cruel as well'. And the parent understands why other people aren't willing to be charitable, but it's still adults blaming a kid for not being perfect. Over and over again.

even once they get to a point where they can step back, it's almost impossible. The crises that happened in the early days are hard to forget. And the fall-out if things go wrong is SO MUCH harder to work through than preventing things from going wrong in the first place

there are so many reasonable, easy to provide, needs that are impossible to explain. That the parent can NOT expect of others, but which cause the child SO MUCH PAIN when denied. It hurts, and it makes it hard to respect other people, sometimes.

it's hard to connect with others when their world consists mostly of a person that other people don't want to hear about. There's so little time for other interests. Which means there's little to talk about. It's lonely.

they find that their version of respect has shifted, and no longer matches what other people expect. Things that they're used to doing, either to respect their child, or to offer relief to the other people involved in raising their child, are meaningless to other people. They've stopped doing certain things that are unhelpful in their home, but expected outside of it.

they mourn who they used to be, but also value who they now are, and struggle to work through this with people who ALSO mourn who they used to be.

That's just a few things. There's lots more.

[beeceit]

You have some fair points, and I definitely am not saying that someone who has done well and truly evil things cannot become a good person if they work at it. It's more that I can't read early red hood comics without looking at the man behind the curtain

During the time Jason was dead they essentially retconned his character by insisting that he was violent and unskilled and bound to be a criminal, but none of that was ever really present. They also try very very hard to push the idea that being from crime ally meant he was inherently evil and Bruce was trying to change fate by teaching him to be good

The real world reason is they needed readers to trust that Tim Drake would be safe, because the only way to make Batman not a monster for taking on another Robin is to make Jason's death not Bruce's fault but Jason's. But instead of focusing on how it was a brash decision made in a moment of panic to save an innocent- his MOTHER of all people- and pushing extra for Tim to be trained to keep his personal feelings and vigilantism separate, they decided to make it so that Jason was just inherently a bad Robin and was bound to die regardless. (Which would still make Batman a terrible mentor and guardian for letting him continue fighting if he "always knew" but they gloss over that)

But one of the biggest differences between Tim and Jason is their backgrounds, and they NEEDED Tim to be better than Jason so readers would believe in Robin again. So Jason, being a homeless kid from crime alley, becomes a loose cannon and violent and reckless. And Tim, being a wealthy trust fund kid in an elite boarding school, becomes the opposite. Nevermind how Tim shows more recklessness than Jason actually did. Their actions and motivations are painted completely differently

Everything Jason does as red hood feels like such a sudden change of character because the resurrected Jason essentially IS a new character based on a game of telephone between a select few of his Robin era comics and a real life decade of slandering his character while he was dead.

Talia was portrayed as horrendously evil at this point (which was probably heavily influenced by racist writers tbh) so a lot of it could definitely be attributed to her training and manipulation. I personally interpret it as her setting up a test to see if Bruce would accept Damian, if she groomed the son he already loved into a monster and he still could love him, then their already monstrous son would be safe with him. That and the trauma of his death are the only real in story reasons that feel like explanations for why he could change so much. But it still feels wildly out of character for who Jason was established to be before his death, for him to do things like stripping Dick and Damian (who was like 10 at the time) to their underwear and putting them in front of cameras to let Gotham vote to expose their identity

I think a writing team who genuinely knew and loved the Jason that really existed before his death would have handled him way differently. I can see Jason coming back harder, I can see him coming back hurt and angry. I can even see a true to himself Jason still becoming a crime lord and lethal force because he loves Crime Alley and Batman neglects it, so he has to fight back for Crime Alley in the only way he knows will work

And instead he got written by people who decided his natural hair color was ginger and Bruce forced him to dye it black, even though in this continuity Jason already had black hair when they met

Of course the past is already set in stone, what happened was what happened. I just really wish he was handled with more care and respect than he was, instead of just becoming a vessel for the violent classism of the writers

I used to give the 'lazarus pit madness' trope for jason so much shit unless it was a REALLY good fic that did something interesting with the idea. But the more I read of pre52 red hood the more I'm just like "yeah no I have absolutely no idea how I'd reconcile all this heinous shit he's done without finding a way to make it not his fault actually"

I hate the 'jason was always a monster and bruce couldn't save him' nonsense so much, he was literally just a homeless little boy. MY BUDDY LITERALLY WILLINGLY WENT BACK TO BEING HOMELESS BECAUSE HE DIDN'T WANT TO HURT PEOPLE FOR MA GUNN EVEN THOUGH IT MEANT GIVING UP FOOD AND SHELTER AND DECENT TREATMENT

jason sweetheart I'm so sorry dc butchered you like this my god

When the characterization is so inconsistent the fandom has to resort to literal magic to explain it.

But seriously, I haven’t read a whole lot of Jason as Robin but from what I did read he was so tiny and just wanted to do good. It’s a disservice to every character involved for Bruce to adopt him because he thought he’d be a criminal otherwise. It implies Bruce thinks of every kid living in poverty as a shoe in for crime and not as some of the most vulnerable individuals in low SE areas. Which is just…so bad considering he’s 1) a rich white man stereotyping a large group of people and 2) someone that fights crime because of an act of violence commited in front of him as a little boy. A Batman that doesn’t believe in the goodness of a child (especially one like Jason who, like you said, gave up basic necessities for the sake of his morals) and protecting it in a way he wasn’t protected is a very very weird Batman to me. So it turns Bruce into a white knight and redhood into confirmation of Bruce’s stereotyping and paranoia.

If it was just Jason thinking that’s why Bruce took him in it would be a completely different animal. I might have even enjoyed reading about how Jason rationalized their changed relationship after he came back swinging (literally) and thinking that it’s some innate characteristic about him that drove the wedge between him and Bruce before he even realized it was there. But it’s very much not just Jason. EVERYONE. FUCKING. SAYS. IT. And tbh that kinda ruins everyone just a bit in my eyes. If not agreement and support for Bruce’s bs, they’re at least silently complicit in perpetuating it.

But beyond that, it also makes me think of Devin Grayson’s run where she kept fucking talking about how dick was “meant for crime” or would have obviously been a criminal if it wasn’t for Bruce. This was built on frankly awful stereotypes regarding Romani people. I bring this one up because the combination of the two does not make Bruce look as good as the writers seemed to think.

But if we ignore the bs involved and take the reason for Jason’s adoption at face value, I think it offers an interesting comparison between him and Damian. Jason is presented a child destined for a life of crime who eventually became one of The Villains despite Batman’s efforts. Damian was an heir destined for crime who eventually became one of The Heroes because of Batman’s efforts. Idk it’s just interesting to me.