#hawk x dove

[doumadono]

Warnings: DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT! villain!Hawks, f!Reader, non-con, taken captive, elements of necrophilia, murder, blood, bondage, forced orgasm, unprotected and rough p in v, Hawks is an ass here, minors absolutely do not interact - a kitten dies if a minor reads this! Synopsis: Hawks has some "fun" with you after catching you spying for the Commission A/N: this story was written for @lewed and it's a contribution for the Secret Santa event hosted by a wonderful @ectologia

MY HERO ACADEMIA MASTERLIST

Pain. As you slowly opened your eyes, it was the first sensation that greeted you — burning, irresistible pain spreading throughout your body.

The surroundings were dark, and you found yourself uncertain of whether you were still alive or perhaps already dead. Attempting to move, you realized the cold sensation around your wrists indicated the presence of some form of handcuffs.

"Marlene!" You whimpered quietly. "Marlene!"

There was no response, only a lingering, eerie silence.

You tried to move, but you couldn't — your legs felt numb, and you were tethered to some metallic structure. Your entire body ached; every attempt to shift, every shallow breath, was accompanied by pain.

Suddenly, a metallic lock clicked open with a key, and a stream of light flooded the room for a moment before disappearing as a tall, dark silhouette stepped in, closing the door. A few seconds later, a dim light illuminated part of the room as two old lamps hanging on either side of the door flickered to life.

You caught sight of him, and your blood turned icy cold. 

Thick combat boots, dark pants paired with a fitted black t-shirt adorned with golden patterns, and a pair of massive red wings. 

You shook your head, still reluctant to believe your own eyes. "Where's my friend?" you inquired anxiously.

"She's alive," came the calm response from the man with red wings.

A glimmer of hope sparked in your eyes. "Can I see her?"

There was a measured pause before the answer, "If you cooperate."

Your dry, blink-filled gaze met his. His emaciated face betrayed no hint of the intentions behind those words.

Hawks observed as you settled into the discomfort, bound wrists and ankles causing a persistent ache. The worry emanated from you, a palpable scent of pungent sweat, akin to a cornered prey navigating the uncertain terrain.

Hawks fixed his gaze on you for an extended moment, a silent observer in the dimly illuminated room cast by the faint light of aged lamps near the sturdy metal door. 

Slowly, he withdrew to the room's shadows, disappearing momentarily. Amongst a collection of cartoon boxes, a triumphant grin crossed his face as he discovered his sought-after item – a hefty hammer. Returning to your vicinity, he playfully toyed with the ominous tool in his grasp.

"Please, let me go. I won't breathe a word to anyone," you pleaded, attempting to maintain a semblance of composure.

His grin widened, feathers rustling slightly. "Oh, I wish I could, little one. But we've stumbled upon a problem. You and your best friend have gotten a bit too close to the truth about me and my colleagues from the League. Weren't you warned about the dangers of working for the Commission?”

“Please, I swear I won't tell anyone…”

Takami approached you with a frown, his golden eyes bearing a weight of seriousness and intrusion. With a rough hand, he tightly pulled back your hair. "I've made it clear before – cooperation is the only ticket out of the mess you've landed yourself in.” He set the hammer down.

"Please," you implored, devoid of weapons or the freedom of your limbs. Contemplating the distance, a fleeting thought of a potential headbutt crossed your mind. Standing could be an advantage. However, all these options dissipated as a tear traced down your cheek. His hand, not occupied with your hair, coiled around your neck, constricting your airflow. A soft sound escaped you, but as his grip weakened, you hastily gulped in air.

"Good girl. Breathe while you still can," he remarked, his hand tenderly patting back your hair, while your eyes held a bitter scorn.

"Please, take me to my friend. What have you done with her?" you pleaded.

"Oh, she's safe. For now," Hawks declared, rising to his full height. 

Your eyes scrutinized the young man, assessing every detail. There was a darkness in his aura, a stark contrast to the times when Hawks, the former Pro Hero Number Two, was known for helping people. Something had transpired between him and the Commission, and the Hawks people once adored had transformed into a ruthless villain, now one of the most perilous figures in Japan.

Hawks firmly gripped you under the armpits, drawing you in close. Thick ropes of chain encumbered your feet, challenging your balance. Your wrists and ass clung to the pole you were tethered to, seeking stability as the shackles jingled against the unforgiving metal pillar. 

His presence pressed down on you, and you cowered beneath its weight. A hand delicately traced your jaw, toying with your dry and rough lips under his thumb. “When I tell you what I want, you’ll do exactly as I say. You wouldn't want to witness the way darkness emanates from me when I command it, girl. Mind your tone and follow my instructions. Once I'm content with you, I'll allow you to see your friend," the former hero warned.

Your whimper lingered as his thumb persisted, applying pressure to the edge of your lip. It delved in, moistening against your tongue as it pressed against the intrusion.

“Suck,” he commanded. 

You vehemently shook your head in defiance, resisting against him. The notion of biting his thumb crossed your mind, perhaps even snapping it off. You strained to lean your head back, attempting to evade his grasp.

“Don’t try anything. If you do, I hurt her,” Hawks warned with an amused grin glued to his lips.

Your eyelids descended, halting an approaching flood of tears. Sealing your mouth around his digit, you sucked as per his request. His thumb pressed in deeper, and you complied.

"Good girl, yes. That'll do quite well. Now, back on your knees," he directed.

You obeyed, using your bound hands to steady yourself as you half-fell.

Hawks nonchalantly undid his belt, followed by his button and zipper. Darkened briefs emerged where the trousers opened in a V, and his hand slid beneath the band. “Now, open your pretty mouth for me, babybird.”

You followed his command, extending your tongue forward, a queasy sensation building within you.

"Excellent," he remarked, his hand delving beneath the thin fabric of his briefs, gradually revealing his long, veiny dick, slightly curved upward.

"Please, don't… What more do you want? We can erase all the intel we gathered!” you begged pathetically.

"Shut up, whore," he commanded, stroking his growing member. "I don't want anything but this from you. It might be the only thing you're good for, I think. Lick," he instructed, rubbing the reddened, swollen tip of his dick against your tongue. "Wet your tongue again for me, babybird."

You swallowed and opened your mouth wide once more. 

He positioned himself against you, and your lips instinctively sucked. A salty bitterness lingered on your palate as your curious tongue explored the head of his cock.

Hawks hissed as the tip of your tongue flicked the sensitive part of his frenulum underneath. "That's right," he affirmed, pushing in deeper, causing your cheeks to bulge. Takami ran his slim fingers through your hair, keeping you steady on his cock. Pulling out just enough to watch saliva stretch from your lips to his shaft, he thrust back in, repeating the motion until you emitted a desperate noise, gagging yourself on his dick.

"Good girl. That's enough of that for now. You just saved your girlfriend from a beating. She'll appreciate that when she wakes up from her last one." Takami grinned as he rubbed the tip of his erection across your swollen lips, wiping away a fallen tear from your cheek before moving behind you. He worked at the shackles around your wrists.

You felt them loosen and drop, but his hand replaced them, gripping you firmly. He pulled you against the pole, the cold metal burning your neck. As he lifted the white shirt from your torso, you pleaded with the faceless hands to stop. The room vanished momentarily as the shirt passed over your head, landing on the floor beside you. Then, your hands were locked together once more, this time in front of you.

You shivered as the cold air filling the room grazed your exposed, bruised skin.

The restraints around your ankles were skillfully loosened with a series of subtle clicks. Your uniform pants were swiftly discarded, followed by your cotton panties, leaving you bare except for the metal-clad bindings around your wrists as you resumed your kneeling position.

A palpable shift in the room's atmosphere ensued.

Hawks, charged with desire, was visibly electrified. His engorged and reddened member pushed back into your mouth, eliciting a moan from him. "You look stunning with your mouth full of my cock," he murmured, reaching down to play with a nipple between his fingers. "And you're damn good at it." His fingers tenderly smoothed your tousled hair as he guided himself deeper into your throat. "Do you ever do this for your boyfriend, if you have one? No? But I bet you fantasize about it. Yes?" He chuckled, reveling in his revelation after your tongue flexed under the weight of his dick. "I knew it! Your boyfriend is a good boy, huh? Just the missionary routine, not letting you explore, even though deep down, you crave it. It's okay, you can imagine I'm him. I'm sure you already are, judging by how wet you're getting. Just picture me as him, but on a wild ride, eager to try something new.”

Slimy fluids trickled from your pussy, tracing a path down your thigh, the disloyal testament of desire slicking your inner folds.

His fingers continued their dance, skillfully teasing your erect nipples, each touch met with an eager response. A sharp squeeze on the left elicited a cry from you, and as he knelt before you, he drew the aching nub into his mouth. "What makes you climax, babybird? Tell me. I want it to be as pleasurable for you as possible!"

A whimper escaped your lips as his calloused finger glided through your folds, everything feeling unsettlingly taboo. A part of you yearned to resist, to break free and escape. Yet, a more primal instinct responded to his calculated touches, a primal need for closeness with a male that seemed to overpower your rational mind, corrupting it.

A creeping finger eased into your pussy. "You're so wet and tight, just look at that. Didn't want to give me a blowjob, but it's obvious it got you excited," he remarked. A second finger joined the first, curving against the walls of your vagina. The pressure felt both pleasurable and unsettling.

"Do you enjoy that, babybird?" he inquired.

You squirmed away, finding yourself seated on the floor.

He pressed your arms over your head, taking in the sight of your breasts. The supple flesh swayed like ripples on water. With one hand gripping his throbbing length and the other on your hips, he guided the two to meet. "You're making the right choice, obeying me, Y/N. I'll bring you to your friend soon. Just one more thing I need you to do for me." The head of his penis entered you gradually, a delectable stretch spreading through you.

The mingling sensations of pleasure and pain raced through you like wildfire. The boundary between anger and passion blurred, akin to smoke and cloud intertwining. "N-no," you cried, attempting to push him away by pressing your feet against his thighs.

He huffed as he thrust fully inside you, easily bottoming out. His wings fluttered as arousal overcame him. "Fuck, you're so tight, holy shit. Almost feels like you're a virgin."

An involuntary moan escaped your lips, and you cursed yourself for that.

"I just need you to do one more thing for me, babybird. I want you to cum for me. I know you can do it, little bitch."

Your eyes squeezed shut, tears threatening to spill. His heated and girthy member glided in and out of your drenched pussy. The unforgiving concrete pressed against your back, each forceful thrust leaving bruises as he relentlessly drove you into the ground.

Hawks restrained your arms by holding your wrists above your head, his dominant hand skillfully working your clit. “Fuck, fuck, yes, little dove, I love how your pussy is clenching around me. You're such a good babybird.”

You futilely cursed at him, weakened by the onslaught of physical pleasure. His erection completely filled your pussy, allowing him to penetrate deeply from this angle. Despite the way he mercilessly circled your clit with his thumb, you resisted the urge to wrap your bloodied feet around him and ride his dick back. The struggle not to climax intensified as he sensed your unraveling, cruel laughter escaping him.

"Will your boyfriend ever fuck you like this? No, he'd probably be too gentle," Takami panted between words, thrusting into you with an unrelenting pace. "A girl like you craves it rough, needs it like this. A girl as scarred and desperate as you wants to feel something. A good girl always wants to be damaged. If you want to see your friends and family again, you'll cum on my cock.”

Frustration escaped your lips in a scream. Your ass throbbed, and your core pulsated with proximity to climax. The images of your friend and boyfriend flashed in your mind, intensifying your inner turmoil. In the dimly lit room, through tear-filled eyes, Hawks' face remained elusive. Your juices squelched, trickling down your sensitive skin to your asshole.

"You're holding back. Cum, and I'll take you to your girlfriend. Cum for me." Takami kissed your breasts, fingers maintaining a tantalizing rhythm on your clit, a friction you secretly enjoyed.

Your hips surged upward uncontrollably, and you were cursing the duplicity of your own desires and pussy.

"I told you to cum for me." He struck your face, the impact strong enough to briefly black out your senses.

Impatient, Hawks groaned, his throbbing cock signaling an impending climax. He dispatched a few feathers from his wings, their sharp edges slicing your skin on the shoulders and calves in an attempt to rouse you.

A loud hiss escaped your lips as the sharp cuts decorated your skin, tears streaming down your cheeks. "N-no, I don't... want to! Please! Please, don't cum in! I'm begging you! Please!’ you tried to move away but he slapped your face again.

A warmth surged through you, an irreversible tide that swept away any chance of retreat. Suppressing your moans, you felt your core tighten around him, forcing him through a final series of thrusts before he climaxed within your rhythmically clenching pussy. Your orgasm, though unexpected and unwelcome, was all-encompassing. Legs shaking, abdomen twitching, you writhed beneath his touch, attempting to muffle the sounds of pleasure, aware that he observed the explosion of pleasure within you. The sneer of his release transformed into a cruel smile.

"I knew you wouldn't be entirely worthless to me," he remarked, tucking his member away once again.

"That's so sad."

"W-what's sad?" you asked, still catching your breath. "You promised I'd be able to see my friend. Where is she?"

Hawks, unbothered by your voice and a wet stain on his pants from your combined releases after he retracted his cock, sent one of his feathers to illuminate the room while switching the lights on. 

It was then that you saw her — your friend, lifeless, naked and hanging upside down on the opposite wall, her ankles bound to the ceiling, her torso gruesomely cut from throat to vagina.

The echoes of your own screams reverberated in your ears, but the voice seemed alien, almost primal — like that of a wild animal.

Hawks approached the suspended lifeless body and callously slapped the vagina of your deceased friend. "She wasn't as cooperative as you. Unfortunately, we had to eliminate her."

Tears streamed down your face as you choked on your own sobs, struggling against the metal restraints binding your wrists. "Why! Oh God! Oh God! Marlene!"

Hawks explained, "She didn't want to listen," just as the metal door swung open. “Such a waste. I wasn't aware that preserving one's virginity was still a concern in today's girls' world. But I must say she was fucking delicious. Not as much as you, of course.”

Entering the room was none other than Dabi, casually leaning against the wall, observing the macabre scene. "Came to check what's taking you so long, birdbrain.”

"I was reuniting our lovely Y/N with her friend. She was a good, obedient girl to me, so I decided to reward her."

Dabi furrowed his brow, rolling his eyes a little. "Memory cards, birdbrain," he reminded.

Hawks casually retraced his steps to your discarded clothes, rummaging through the pockets of your uniform pants. He retrieved two SD cards and handed them to Dabi.

The scarred villain ventured further into the room, reaching for a Nikon camera on one of the shelves. "Can't wait to get off to this little tape tonight," he chuckled, shooting you a cold glance.

A lump formed in your throat. They had recorded everything — every violation inflicted by Hawks, every involuntary response of your body. Dread enveloped you.

“Please…” you whispered.

Hawks gave Dabi a look, and the other villain nodded.

"Shush, shush, shush," Dabi cooed, crouching next to you, sizing your face with his hand, turning it more to inspect it. "Don't cry. This little tape will be sent to your dad in Kyoto, a small keepsake of you. He'll be able to see your last moments. How his precious, little daughter, working so proudly in the Hero Public Safety Commission was taking villain's cock like a cheap whore. I'm sure he'll be proud."

"What... Please, please!" Your voice rose in desperation. "Please! I won't tell anyone. I can spy for you, I can do whatever you want. Please!"

Dabi observed you with amusement. "Isn't she the sweetest?" He cast a sidelong glance at Hawks before leaning forward to lick the tears off your reddened cheeks.

You winced, trying to crawl away.

Dabi grinned and rose, exiting the room. "Just don't leave a mess here. I'm not keen on cleaning up after you, birdie."

As the metal door closed, you whined like a wounded animal. Instinctively, you knew you weren't going to make it out of this situation alive.

Hawks approached you, ruffling your hair. "You were a good girl. I want you to know that."

"Please," you tried once again. "Please, free me."

He smiled at you. "I'm freeing you."

A swooshing sound filled the air, and the next moment, you were suffocating with your own blood, unable to draw a breath. The blood quickly poured down your chest through the cut throat, and soon your head hung lifelessly to the side.

Hawks lingered for a moment, watching your lifeless body. He couldn't resist slipping his hands down and between your legs, rubbing your still warm and slick folds, pushing his finger in one last time. "Such a waste," he murmured, licking his fingers clean before getting up. He used the hammer he had earlier picked up to crush the phone he retrieved from the pocket of your uniform trousers. Following that, he doused your body, as well as your friend's, and the floor in gasoline before igniting it with his lighter.

Whistling happily under his breath, he left the room and ascended the metal stairs, leaving everything that had transpired behind, not bothering to turn around even once.

[animestsstuff2]

Twitterpated

ProHeroHawks x VillainFem Reader

This lil story/fic will involve depictions of Hawks primal needs. I kinda feel with mutation quirks its pros and cons for all things and with that Hawks having a mate and a heat. Ya know he’s all twitterpated for you. This is a lil slow burn! You are a villain for the L.O.V. There will be character description but mainly on things like (light eyes glistened or hair fell over your face) otherwise up to you guys

Content warning: pretty chill first chapter just an intro really, some fighting, mention of injury, burning flesh. Potential spoilers if you haven’t watched to season 4/5 i think

Hawks stood on top of a large telephone pole knocking back his coffee as he suppressed a yawn. He was on night patrol and this was only night one. His eyes watching over night life below. It wasn’t too busy after all since it was Monday but his eyes stayed narrowed as he scanned the lit streets and shadowed alley ways. His feathers out fluttering about for something..anything to give this ProHero something to do.

He tipped his head backwards body following as his wings bristled, something was going on and it excited him. His wings stretching out as they flew him forward to where he felt it where the rest of his feathers were gathering. He made his way to a lesser part of the big city his eyes scanning the smaller houses with overgrown gardens. His eyes scanning the area when he seen it. A bright blue flashing to his left and he swooped round, landing on the roof and stepping to the edge.

“L-Look! I-im sorry but I don’t have it right now!” Two people, a criminal and a civilian. Hawks crouched low as he watched the palm of the mans light up in blue flame. Hawks chewed his lip debating whether to step in as they hadn’t noticed him.

As a hero he should step in but as a double agent he should leave Dabi to his business. He decides on the latter giving a quick glance to the guy being threatened only to see hes already staring at Hawks. He feigns a look of care as he presses his index finger to his lips, getting up from his position he pulls a long feather from his wings. The fluffy plume now taut into a red blade. He moved to step off the roof when a hand reached round his mouth and the feeling of something sharp prod his back.

Hawks eyes widened genuinely as his body stilled. The feather in his hand fluffing out as he finally registered the person behind him. His brows furrowing as his own wings puffed out on instinct trying to grasp who this was and how they slipped by him. It was almost impossible not with his senses.

“Hey there birdy” He sucked in a breath as the sultry voice just giggled in his ear. He was no longer as sleepy as he was earlier. He opened his mouth not knowing what to say as his eyes fell back to the man only to see a blue flame lick him up. Hawks nose crinkled at the smell of burning flesh as the raven haired man spun round.

“Hey there pro” he grinned sending a nod most likely to whoever was behind Hawks. The hand was removed as the person stepped back and on instinct Hawks spun. The long feather once again pulled as sharp as a knife as he pushed the tip under the persons chin.

His hand faltered as his eyes met yours. A white cloth mask was pulled up over your nose but the bright moon made your eyes glow. His feather reduced to fluff as his mind for a moment drew blank and you only giggled at the supposed ProHero. You lifted a gloved hand up and gently pushed the feather aside. The action sending a tingle down his stomach and he straightened up. His wings were never sensitive, why now.

“Hey Angel, not a very nice way to act towards our dear friend here” Dabi’s voice broke Hawks from his thoughts as his head turned back to the scarred man who already had a cigarette in his mouth. Hawks watched as the girl before him jumped from the roof his preying eyes not missing the white that appeared when her cloak shifted from the fall. That white looked like feathers, like wings.

Hawks followed putting his bigger feather back as he sent out smaller plumes to survey the area and ensure no one was watching. His narrowed eyes watching the two villains before him.

“Did you really need to burn him Dabi? It always smells so bad” you whined as you crossed your arms moving closer to Hawks whose feathers bristled again.

“Stop whinin’ now especially after you begged me to let you come with” Dabi snapped back taking a drag of his cigarette.

“You gonna tell me what that was about? Save me n’ the commission some paperwork” Hawks asked, watching as Dabi’s mouth stretched into a humourless grin.

“Yeah? Yano, just cause the boss wants ya doesn’t mean im your buddy too” He grumbled and Hawks rolled his eyes at the mans antics.

“At least gimme a name and why you did it. You need me to kill another pro just so you’ll spill?” He hummed. His eyes flicking to the girl beside him, more specifically her hand that was reaching for his wings. He pivoted on his heel turning his body completely towards you as he grabbed your wrist tightly, narrowed eyes and slit pupils staring at you.

“Calm down Birdy. I just wanted to know if they were really as soft as everyone says” You teased sending him a wink. Hawks brows furrowed at your behaviour and just shoved your wrist away frustrated a villain was toying with him.

“His name is Ito Takashi. He owed the boss some money and wasn’t able to pay up so I took care of it” Hawks eyes glanced over to the embers of what was once a man, what once was a life and felt guilt chew at his heart. He, however, remained stoic and only rolled his eyes.

“Bit far burning him though” he observed and Dabi just shrugged as he eyed his companion. Her eyes focused on Hawks this entire time.

“Hmm, suppose I coulda used one of your little feathers to slice him huh” Dabi muttered as he reached a hand and plucked a red feather from Hawks wings. The mans bird like eyes honed in on the feather that sat in Dabi’s palm.

“I don’t think you’ll miss this one”

The blue flames swallowed it whole and Hawks suppressed the small sting in his back and rather focused his attention on the shove Dabi received from the all too quiet girl.

“What? You feel bad for the guy just cause you share the same quirk as him?” He teased as you shoved him again and slapped his arm. Hawks attention shifted as he stared at her now. You averted your gaze but Dabi only chuckled, reaching over and snatching the cloak from you. The metal broach snapping as the fabric lay on the ground.

Hawks eyes widened at the white wings that emerged from your back. They were almost the size of his own. His heart quickened as something stirred in his chest. The wings stayed tucked behind you but it was obvious how big they were for the curled far over your head and the bottom feathers lay on the grass at your feet. You were quick together the cloak from the ground and pull it back over your shoulders, clicking the broach back together as your eyes met Hawks.

“Get a good enough look little Bird?” You hummed but he could sense the anger in your tone. He relaxed his previously tense shoulders and glanced at Dabi.

“Yeah we got another you Hawks. Shes a beauty, names Angel, well obviously I can’t tell ya her real name. I wouldn’t let her wings deceive you..Shes far from holy” Dabi chuckled as he moved his attention to his phone and sighed.

“Alright Dove, crusty wants us back” Dabi turned and began waving his hand for you to follow. Your eyes finding Hawks already staring at you.

“Till next time Hawks don’t miss me too much” You chirped as you followed after Dabi. Hawks paused momentarily before taking to the sky, eyes scanning for the two villains only to find you both gone. His brows furrowed as he continued to fly over the city finding himself landing on the roof of a tall building.

A strange feeling was building in his chest as he crouched low. His eyes watching the city below but not really paying attention as his thoughts trailed back to you.

Who were you?

There was no way the commission didn’t know about you, especially with a quirk similar to his. If they did have information on you it most likely is old. The commission has intel on almost all of the criminals in Kyushu and surrounding areas, even if it was limited like Dabi’s or Shigaraki’s they would have something, so why didn’t he know about you? Why wasn’t he warned of someone like you, someone like him. The U.A student Tokoyami is one of the only other individuals Hawks knew to have a similar based quirk.

“Hmm..Angel” The name didn’t ring any bells either aside from church ones as he mulled over his thoughts, trying to distract himself from the continuing feeling in his chest.

This feeling only dragged further throughout Hawks night shift and when 8AM rolled round he was immediately through the balcony doors in his office. His body warm and feverish, feathers puffed and wings twitching as he headed out of his office, finding his assistant already at his desk with a pile of paper work. His head snapped up with a smile that dropped upon seeing the hero.

“Hawks! You don’t look so good are you okay?” Hawks waved him off. He could feel the sweat along his forehead. He didn’t need a mirror to know how bad he probably looked.

“Yeah, don’t worry just think chugging a bunch of coffees has got me all wired up. I left some documents on my desk of reports needing sorted. I’m on nights this week so i’ll leave anything for you on my desk each morning” his assistant only nodded slowly as the pro headed by and down the elevator, leaving his agency and taking to the skies as he quickly flew home.

He couldn’t strip fast enough. His boots kicked haphazardly off, next was his belt that got slung over the sofa. His gloves chucked in the hallway along with his cargos. His jacket shrugged off as he peeled his tight black shirt from his warm body and hit the shower button. The warm water that usually comforted his sore muscles made him recoil as he turned it to cold.

His forehead resting along the tiles as his wings stretched and continued twitching. His feathers unable to keep still as some smaller ones plucked themselves off and flew mindlessly around the bathroom. Hawks just sighed as his eyes closed, trying to ignore this feeling. He could be sick but he rarely ever gets sick, though its not like there isn’t medicine available to deal with this. His thoughts continued as he decided he’d call the doctors before he went to sleep. His hand running through his wet hair as his mind kept buzzing, skin stayed hot and wings tweaked.

Angel..

[diejager]

Joyce, can we have headcanons regarding that sicko bastard known as Jeffrey Hawk aka The Clown? I ADORED that thing u said about him having a dad bod ❤️❤️

*Hands you an ordinary Ultra Ball as a gift*

Oddballer, you’re asking a lot from me, aren’t ya?? That man is just so big and filthy that I’m sure he smells.

The Clown NSFW Headcanon

Cw: DARKFIC, DUB-CON/NON-CON, drinking, blood, gore, amputation, clown stuff, manhandling, gas/hazing??, tell me if I missed any.

Once a young and athletic kid, building his body to fit a certain way to help him ease through all the hard labour he did, now it his under a warm layer of fat, thick and heavy, bulging over his belt and breast round and soft. He might’ve had some difficulty to run, ambling or striding across the fields with a slow and taunting skip to his step, menacing while he hit the cork of his bottles and shook his special concoction. It made him all the more terrifying, slow and comfortable in his walk, strategic and strangely familiar with every type of hunt, ears keenly aware of the screams and pants of survivors, hungry for the dopamine those pained sounds gave him —especially yours. 

His special bird, the first he’d every wanted to keep, locked away from the other killers and survivors alike, chained to his carney’s caravan by the ankle, bloody and filthy just to his liking. It brought back memories, favourable ones, his first successful hunt, catching a little robin in his hand, the soft and pretty red plumage picked and broken, but you weren’t something he wanted broken.

He liked the fire in your eyes, the fearful and spiteful glare you sent him when he cornered you in the chosen realm, snarling at him like a feral creature. While he hated doing unnecessary work, abhorred the thought of you losing the flare in your being, taming such a wild cat was rewarding by itself. If he could tame you enough to be able to hold and touch you without too much fight, but keep your temper, it was a win-win in his mind. There was nothing more he hated than a husk, a shell of a broken man to keep as a pet. 

He took brave and foolish alike, young or old, nothing was off the table for him, all he needed was the true part of them, a finger to remember his exploits and victory, throwing away the part he deemed trash —fake. He could smell it from their bodies and figured that the hands - fingers - were the truth, a part that showed the person’s life, deeming it a satisfactory boon for him conquest, but you, all parts of you sang a different story to good ol’ Jeffrey Hawk. A true treasure to keep intact. 

While he would love to keep you to himself, a little bird that would sing to him every day with snapping teeth and kicking feet, he wasn’t as favoured by her as other killers were, almost forgotten to his dirty little corner of the forest in his bloodied and smelly caravan, fingers littering every flat surface and beer bottles stacked or rolling across the floor. If he had such a favour, he would keep you in a comfortable corner, placed over a sullied mattress with blankets stacked over it, keeping you warm while he dressed you in his shirts, all browned and smelling of metallic blood and his musk. 

It was thick and heady, mixing with a scent of alcohol and iron, age-old sweat and dirt. You’d complained about his stink, gagging and choking on the many times he cornered you, pressing himself against you to feel and smell you under his grasp. Nose buried in your hair and arms pulling you to his front, your back arching by the neck against the solid mass of his stomach, soft and pudgy if it wasn’t for his rough clothes scratching your tender skin.

It brought tears to your eyes. Be it from the stench of him and his intoxicating tonics, or his wandering hands, slipping under your shirt until it rode up, removing a piece of protection from his hungry eyes, he loved watching you cry. Call it a recreational hazard from his job, tears and wails were just a part of his duty under The Entity’s guidance, but he simply adored your pretty tears, pearly things rolling down your cheeks and your cute sobs filling his lecherous ears.

You don’t know how much it affected him, the pout when you bit your lower lip in frustration while you struggled against him, the squirming that riled him when he had you in his arms, and your spitfire-like tongue, hurling every insults under the sun at him. It stirred something deep in his guts, a dark pleasure bubbling from his loins, fattening the growing hardness between his leg. He easily got worked up by you, the solitude of his lifestyle and the starvation for any kind of touch led his to drool and hunger for it. 

Your skin against his, soft and beautiful, bending easily under his kneading hands, his rough and bloodied glove as forced you on his lap, seated still to let him lap and suck at your small fingers. His tongue curling around your index, thick and lithe, and suckled in his warm and wet mouth while his tongue felt around, drool running down your wrist. He lost himself in these moments, aroused out of his mind and huffing hot breath against your disgusted face.

He liked your reaction —he liked any reaction you gifted him. He savoured each and every one, your gleeful ones, your sorrowful ones, your frustrated one, and your painful ones. He drank it all up like the drugs and alcohol he found pleasure in, gorging on you like an addict would. You were his new addiction, his new drug and dependence. And he hungered.

[thesakuragarnet]

Lick Your Wounds

Summary: When Dabi arrives at Hawks’ apartment after a failed recruitment attempt, he quickly learns that the Commission has made the hero hide his true colors.

DabiHawksWeek2024 Prompt Three: Bl00dplay

THIS WORK IS 18+ ONLY! TAGS BENEATH THE KEEP READING SECTION

Word Count: 2,022 words

AO3 link

Tags: DabiHawks, bl00dplay, smvt, dead dove: do not eat, bl00d and injury, DabiHawksWeek2024, DHWeek24NSFW, swearing, s3xual content, oral fixaiton, tongue f*cking a wound, t0p dabi, b0ttom hawks

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

Dabi loves Hawks’ bed. It doesn’t creak. It’s big enough for Hawks to completely spread his wings when he’s lying down on his back. It’s soft and comfortable. It’s all the things that his cramped room at the villains’ hideout doesn’t have to offer. The sheets feel nice against his skin; they aren’t scratchy and thin and snagging against his staples. In short, it’s perfect, and Dabi finds it increasingly harder to get out of after each late-night “interrogation” with the hero. 

However, it’s the first thing that enters Dabi’s brain when he gets stabbed in the forearm, ripping through his scarred skin and revealing the flesh and blood beneath. It was just a low-level criminal that he’d tried to recruit for the Paranormal Liberation Front…now he’s nothing more than ashes in the alleyway. He wants nothing more than to sleep in Hawks’ bed. He craves comfort…and the last thing he wants is Ujiko offering any services…services that might end up turning him into more of a monster than he already is. 

So, Dabi is climbing up the fire escape that leads to one of Hawks’ secret Commission apartments; he just hoped that this was the one Hawks was using tonight. It wouldn’t be a big deal if he wasn’t there; after all, Dabi just wants to patch up his wound and get a good night’s sleep. Still, he wouldn’t complain if he could get said good night’s sleep after fucking Hawks’ brains out. 

Dabi fishes into the pocket of his pants, wincing with every movement from the dull throbbing in his arm as blood slowly drips on his shoes. His fingers manage to wrap around the copied key in his pocket as he scrambles onto Hawks’ balcony, and he shoves it into the lock, turning it and flinging the door open with a grunt. 

SHIIK!

Dabi gulps when he feels the feather blade pressing against the nape of his neck the moment he steps inside; two golden eyes gleam in the darkness, but they seem to soften when they meet the glowing cerulean of the villain. 

“Oh…Dabi. You didn’t call,” Hawks mutters, eyes narrowed at the uninvited guest.

“Didn’t have the time,” Dabi shrugs, pushing the blade away with two fingers, and he straightens up his posture. “Need your med kit.”

Hawks sniffs…and then goes rigid as Dabi closes the door behind him. 

Hawks is a bird of prey. There’s no doubt about it…especially with the way he’s eyeing the gaping wound on Dabi’s arm. It isn’t exactly a “gaping wound”, but, to Hawks, it might as well be. The way the blood subtly pours out. The need to suckle and lick and bite bubbles in Hawks’ brain. The blood…it smells so good… and Hawks just knows it tastes even better. Hawks is a heteromorph… a mutant as his HPSC handler used to call him. He had animalistic cravings that resulted from his bird-like Quirk. There was a reason his moniker was Hawks . 

“ Fuck ,” Hawks moans under his breath, pupils turning to slits as his pulse quickens, hunger flaring and talons unsheathing. Part of him wants to rip the wound open and drink Dabi dry…to let the crimson rivers run until there’s nothing left. Even more specifically…because it’s Dabi’s blood. His soulmate. His lover. It smells sweet… delicious even… erotic .

‘NO.’ The Commission leader’s threatening voice cuts through Keigo’s psyche, and he straightens up, wiping the drool from the corner of his mouth and adjusting his posture. 

Dabi blinks, confused. His vision is shit, but he can vaguely make out Hawks’ movements in the dim shadows of the apartment. Hawks isn’t breathing…or at least he’s breathing so shallowly that it’s impossible to tell. Hawks steps to the side, nodding his head curtly toward the master bedroom, and Dabi hesitantly walks by him in the darkness. Hawks knows he should stay put. He knows he shouldn’t follow Dabi…he shouldn’t risk it…but…he can’t help it. His feet move with a mind of their own, stalking Dabi as he walks into the bedroom and to the connected bathroom. Dabi switches on the light, and Hawks gasps, covering his mouth before he can sigh like a porn star. The crimson oozes out of Dabi’s arm in a thin rivulet, tantalizing and captivating and making Hawks’ heartbeat throb in his ears. The gasp was enough for Hawks to get the scent of Dabi’s blood raw in his veins…and it’s overwhelming. Hawks grabs the frame of the door, gripping tight enough to make it creak as he stands on shaky legs. His basic instincts are telling him to pounce…to suck the scarlet out of his lover until he’s had his fill. 

“Fuck’s wrong with you?” Dabi grunts as he looks for the medkit in Hawks’ bathroom cabinets. Hawks mumbles something unintelligible, his voice strained and his gaze distant. 

“Huh?” Dabi blurts, raising an eyebrow as he looks over his shoulder at Hawks. 

“Don’t…cover…it up,” Hawks whispers, “Please.”

Dabi stops his search for the medkit, brain reeling from how his composed pet Pro is suddenly losing his goddamn mind over a freshly bleeding gash. He slowly turns around to face the hero, thoroughly unsettled and irritated. 

“You want me to stand here and let it get infected? You’ve seen my body, birdshit, I can’t do that,” Dabi snaps, annoyed. Hawks looks pale in the bathroom light, sweat beading on his forehead as he swallows thickly. 

“You’re acting like you’ve never seen a stab wound before,” Dabi scoffs at the twisted fascination on Hawks’ face.

“I’m…I’m not allowed around trauma calls. Can’t be around blood,” Hawks rasps, voice low and husky; his happy-go-lucky tone has completely vanished. 

“You were around blood in Kyushu,” Dabi retorts, and Hawks subtly shakes his head.

“Sometimes it’s unavoidable,” Hawks replies, still soft.

“You were fine, then,” Dabi snorts, and Hawks takes a deep breath.

“I was fine because…it wasn’t yours ,” Hawks murmurs, and the wheels in Dabi’s head start turning. The calculating, hypnotic stare, the wet corners of Hawks’ mouth, and the trembling in his voice point to one thing.

“God…you’re actually turned on right now,” Dabi chuckles, his face contorting from disturbed to amused as a sly grin spreads across his scar-laden mug. Hawks seems to squirm in place, unable to refute the claim.

“You sick motherfucker,” Dabi sneers, taking a step closer to Hawks, who goes completely rigid once more, eyes trained on Dabi’s exposed flesh. The blood’s already started to coagulate…but that doesn’t matter. Hawks still wants to lick the wound clean. 

“Awww, what’s wrong, birdie? Commission says you can’t have a little taste?” He teases, waving his arm closer, and Hawks feels like he’s going to explode. 

“I don’t wanna hurt you,” Hawks says through gritted teeth.

“I’d turn you into fried chicken if you hurt me,” Dabi huffs matter-of-factly. “Nothing wrong with a little consensual blood play. C’mon. Live a little. You can betray those bastards…for me .” 

Dabi holds his arm out toward the Pro Hero once more, watching him wrestle with his inner demons and instincts. Sure, it might be a little unconventional, but Dabi was anything but conventional. If having him lap at his blood was enough for Hawks to disobey the HPSC, it was enough for Dabi. It was part of the sick thrill of corrupting his new toy. 

A few moments of silence pass…and then…the tension snaps. Hawks grabs the villain’s hand, breathing hard and eyes locked on his target. Dabi flinches at the sudden movement, the thought passing through his head that this might have been a terrible idea…until Hawks begins gently kissing up his hand. Dabi’s expression softens. The winged Pro’s lips travel up Dabi’s wrist, the kisses growing slower and more intentional as it gets to the trail of blood leading to the wound. Dabi inhales sharply when Hawks moans against his skin, his tongue lapping at the dried blood until his scarred skin is spotless, leading to the open slit of skin. Dabi gently bites his bottom lip, swallowing the urge to sigh. He’s much more into this than he thought he’d be. Right before Hawks can reach the gash, Dabi pulls his arm away, making the hero whimper and practically crumble into the ground. Dabi clicks his tongue, his lips curling into a shit-eating grin. 

“Let’s move this to the bed.”

…

…

Dabi shudders as he presses inside Hawks, positioning his forearm beside Hawks’ head. The hero promptly latches on, moaning like a bitch in heat as he suckles the wound, licking it clean. Hawks never slashes. He never chews. He simply traces his tongue in the wound, indulging in the taste of Dabi’s blood. He doesn’t want to hurt him, and this…this is enough. It’s enough to satiate the instinctual drive within him that the HPSC spent years locking down and hiding away. Hawks simply stares up at Dabi, eyes wide yet predatory as he flicks his tongue. Dabi, whose nerves have long been fried, can’t feel the obvious pain. It’s not visceral enough…if anything, it just tickles. Whatever it’s making him feel, part of it is arousal. Hawks has never stared at him this way before. No one has. It makes him feel wanted…no… needed .

“Fuck, baby,” Dabi groans, gently rocking his hips as he ruts up into Hawks. The hero doesn’t even flinch, eyes rolling into the back of his head as he continues to lap at Dabi’s injury.

“Taste so good, Dabs,” Hawks slurs, pulling back to cry out when Dabi hits the right spot deep inside. The tips of his fangs gently press into Dabi’s wrist, biting tenderly to leave an impression in his flesh as drool dips down his chin. Dabi pants, steam rising from his body as his Quirk sets into overdrive with his emotions, threatening to burst free. Dabi doesn’t know how Hawks hasn’t come all over his own stomach yet; he’s never seen the Pro this goddamn hard before. Hawks’ cock bounces idly, untouched, somewhere between red and purple, stiff and covered in precome. Hawks groans, drunk on pleasure as he repeats Dabi’s name over and over. He’s never felt such a euphoric high before…one that the Commission would surely disapprove of. They could go to hell. In this moment…his walls are down…his blood is boiling…he’s in heaven . The taste of Dabi is potent on his tongue, filling his lungs, his mind, and his soul. It’s so toxically intoxicating and overwhelming…he’s obsessed . 

“Gonna come,” Hawks whines pathetically, stuttering as he stares up at his lover, focusing on the ecstasy pumping through his body. Soft “ ah~ah~ah’s ” trickle down from Keigo’s lips as he tenses up, and Dabi fucks him through his orgasm as come spatters across his abdomen. 

“ Shit ,” Dabi moans, his gravelly voice leveling off in an uncharacteristically high pitch as he paints Hawks’ insides white, hips stilling only when his balls are empty. 

Hawks and Dabi stare at each other, panting as the smell of sex sifts through the air. The villain sees the crimson smeared across the hero’s mouth, tainting his sun-kissed skin. It’s such a sadistically beautiful display, cheeks flushed and eyelids heavy. Dabi bends down, tasting his own blood on the hero’s lips as he passionately kisses him. Hawks groans, hands rising up to rest at the back of Dabi’s neck as he deepens the kiss, flicking his tongue into his mouth. Dabi’s gash throbs, the dull pain suddenly becoming very visceral in the afterglow. He’s definitely going to need to clean it up. Hawks disconnects their lips, pulling back and admiring his lover looming over him. 

“You’re too good to me,” Dabi mumbles, shaking his head as he cups the side of Hawks’ face, rubbing his thumb along his cheek. 

“Think I came so hard I blacked out for a bit,” Hawks chuckles, letting the waves of the afterglow wash over him.

“Listen. I still need that medkit,” Dabi huffs, and Hawks grins, his bloodthirst temporarily satiated. 

“I'm good now. Let’s get you patched up.”

[nade2308]

"It is good to know that out there, in a forest in the world, there is a cabin where something is possible, something fairly close to the sheer happiness of being alive.”

— Sylvain Tesson

Part 1 || Part 2

@thethistlegirl

[iwishiwasbatman]

Me and My Ghosts We Had a Hell of a Time

Pairings- Titans x OC, Dick Grayson x Platonic!OC, Slight Jason Todd x OC

Warnings- Violence, Swearing, Torture, Kidnapping, Angst

Summary- Chaos ensues at Titans Tower, bringing together old and new heroes. Elana faces old foes and ghosts she thought were gone.

Word Count- 12,975

A/n- I’m back… but with a prequel to “Masked Love”. I swear I’m working on the next part :)

“Headed in outside box 6,” I sounded off into my comm while heading into the football stadium. Me, Donna, Dick, and Hank were taking positions around the stadium while Dick would confront Dr. Light head-on. My eyes widened when I got to my vantage point. Dr. Light was standing in the middle of the football, drawing power from every light in the stadium. “Guys, we should do something about this, like, now,” I said to the rest of my team. I activated my bow and strung an arrow right as Light finished charging. You could smell the electricity in the air.

“I’m glad you could make it!” Light yelled as Dick walked onto the field. “All of you!”

“Shit,” I mumbled.

“So much for the party of five surprise,” Hank sighed. Even from up high, I could see a smirk form on Dr. Light’s face as he fired a ball of light from his chest plate at Dick. It missed but provided the needed distraction for him to disappear.

“Anybody?” Dick asked into comms. I quickly made my way down to the main level.

“I got a visual,” Donna answered. “He’s headed toward the southern concourse exit.” I dashed out of the stadium in hopes that I could cut Light off. I got there just in time to see Dick dodge a beam of light, which ended up hitting a car, and flipping it. I fired an arrow that hit Light in the shoulder. He let out a cry of pain and ripped it out, but it didn’t seem to hurt him that much. In retaliation, he shot a ball of light at me, causing me to dive out of the way. I quickly rolled back up and sprinted at him. I ducked under another beam of light and uppercut him in the jaw. He stumbled back, allowing me to kick him down. He shot a beam of light that whizzed past my head, blinding me for a second, and used the distraction to stab my leg with the arrow I shot at him. I hissed in pain but managed to roll away in time to avoid another beam of light. I took cover behind a car to pull the arrow out of my leg.

“You know, I’m not supposed to kill you, but burning a hole through your head sounds like a good idea to me,” Light called from the other side of the car. I furrowed my eyebrows at his words.

“You’d have to catch me first,” I taunted, choosing not to ask about what he meant. A blast of light hit the car, and I had thrown myself just in time to avoid being crushed. I skidded across the cement into the car Donna was behind with a thud. Light stalked toward me with a smirk. I pushed myself up and readied my stance. As he prepared to fire again, Dawn came out of nowhere and tackled me to the ground as Hank ran at Light.

“I’ve got this! Cut him off from the other side!” Hank yelled.

“You good?” Dawn asked.

“Yeah, fine. I had that handled,” I growled.

“I know your did,” she said. Light shot a blast at Hank, hitting him in the leg. Dawn checked to make sure he was okay before calling in Light’s location.

“He’s headed to Buchanan,” she said.

“Got it!” Donna said, racing off. I pushed myself up and followed as fast as I could. Donna knocked him down using her lasso as I got over there.

“I got him,” Dick said. Behind him, a bus pulled through.

“Dick!” I called a warning. Dr. Light threw down his hand and disappeared in a flash of light that was so bright, we all had to cover our eyes. Light was gone. My eyes met Dick’s in a knowing glance. We’d screwed up.

—————————

I leaned up against the side of the elevator and took off my black surgical mask with a sigh. The anger practically hung in the air between all of us as much as the electrical smell did. I blamed myself for losing him. I should’ve been able to knock him out at the very least. His words had distracted me. Who told him not to kill me and why? The question hovered over my head, seeming to add weight with every step I took. Of course, the automatic answer that had popped into my head was the mercenary that had just made an appearance in town, but I shot that idea down quickly. Slade would never work with someone like Arthur Light. He’d end up killing the idiot himself.

The ding of the elevator pulled me out of my head. We filed out of the doors, Dawn helping Hank. Dick wordlessly offered to help me, but I brushed him off. My pride wouldn’t allow me to be helped. As he walked by, I caught sight of Hank’s seared flesh. His skin was an angry red and the area around the burn was charred. He definitely had it worse than I did.

“I’ll get some gauze from the infirmary,” Donna said, hurrying off. The tension between Hank and Dick was easy to see through the way Hank looked at the ex-boy wonder.

“You had a chance,” Hank broke the silence. His voice, along with his hunched shoulders and tense muscles, made his anger clear. His eyes seemed to shoot holes through Dick’s head. Dawn stood next to him, calm, but still clearly disappointed.

“He would’ve killed everyone on the bus,” Dick replied calmly. I was waiting for my turn to take Hank’s anger, but he never turned it to me. Why, I didn’t know.

“And he’s gonna kill how many more now?” Hank’s voice rose.

“I’ll get him,” Dick said.

“You mean we, right?” I crossed my arms. Dick‘s eyes flitted to me for a second.

“Maybe you’ve lost the taste for how this works,” Hank said, steeling his gaze and stepping toward Dick. His hostility made me tense up, ready to jump into action.

“We’ll get another shot!” Dick was getting annoyed.

“The old Robin would’ve taken the first one!” Hank said. I thought Dawn and I were going to have to stop Hank from beating up Dick.

“Hey, hey. That’s enough,” Dawn called Hank’s attention, turning his face to hers. Hank glared at Dick until Dawn had led him out of view.

“He’s not wrong,” I said, meeting Dick’s gaze.

“I don’t want to hear it. If anyone missed their shot, it was you,” Dick said.

“What I was gonna say before you so rudely interrupted me was that it was all our faults, not just yours,” I said, letting him hear my annoyance. “I think the pointing fingers thing we got going on is stupid and immature. We’re adults for god’s sake.”

“Where’s Dr. Light?” Jason’s voice drawled, pulling me and Dick out of our conversation as he, Gar, and Rachel walked in.

“Jason,” Rachel warned, sensing his antics.

“A little stealth job on a guy who shoots, what, headlamps?” Jason ignored her. “I mean, half the city’s on fire, and still no sign of Dr. Light.” He took a step toward Dick. I knew he was pissed with the older man, but I could practically see the stupid idea in his eyes.

“Not the time, Jason,” Dick sighed.

“Look, I don’t take orders from you anymore, man,” Jason said, getting even closer to Dick. “I do what I want when I want.”

“Jason,” I warned. His eyes moved to me for a split second, then back to Dick. Dick tried to get around him, but Jason matched his movement.

“Get out of my way,” Dick said.

“I think you got it all wrong. You’re in my way,” Jason said, hitting Dick. The air stood still with tension. Jason’s cockiness showed brightly in his eyes while Dick’s exhaustion and annoyance were evident in his. “Maybe you need to see a retirement package.” My whole body tensed even more than before. Jason looked over at me and I gave him a warning look that caused his eyes to soften. It didn’t last long. He looked back at Gar and Rachel and the fire in his eyes returned. He balled his fist, preparing to punch.

“Don’t,” Dick warned. Jason didn’t listen. Instead, he launched his fist at Dick who easily grabbed it and threw him to the ground. I sighed and rubbed my eyes. His inability to control his anger was going to get him killed. “Shit. Here.” Dick held out his hand for Jason to take. Jason looked up at Dick with more rage than before and slapped his hand away, getting up on his own. He shoved past Dick toward his room, stomping every step of the way. Dick sighed and looked over at me and I simply shrugged in response.

—————————

An hour later, I slipped out of my window and climbed down to the ground. I couldn’t sleep and it was a certain mask that was keeping me up. I needed to see if Deathstroke was actually in town. Maybe I could get the jump on him if he was and end our blood feud for good.

I made my way to a bar in the bad part of town called Lazzo’s. Tommy Lazzo, the owner, knew every criminal happening in town. If anyone had heard even a whisper of Deathstroke, it’d be him. I took off the jacket I wore for my suit and my mask, threw them in the small bag I was carrying, and walked in. Almost everyone was staring as I took a seat at the bar where Lazzo was wiping down the counter. He looked up at me and a huge grin spread across his face.

“Well, well, well. Look who it is. I haven’t seen you in here for a little while,” he said.

“I just got to town not that long ago,” I said.

“With the Titans?” he asked.

“Yup. Although, I’m here for your help with a more… personal matter,” I said.

“Ooh, this sounds exciting. What do you need to know?”

“Deathstroke was caught on camera a few days ago. What do you know about that?”

His eyes darkened. “This sounds an awful lot like what you asked for five years ago. We both know how that ended. I’m not particularly interested in repeating history.”

I slapped a hundred on the bar. “I can either give you something for the info or I can just take it and leave you empty-handed.” He looked down at the money, another smile growing on his face.

“This is why you’re my favorite, kid,” he laughed, grabbing the cash. “According to what I’ve heard, he’s been hanging out around the tunnels. I don’t have any specifics and those tunnels are huge, but I have full confidence you can find him with the way you operate.”

“The tunnels? Okay. I can work with that,” I sighed. “No one hears I asked. Could lead to trouble for you.”

“I’d never betray my favorite customer even if I wasn’t in danger,” he said. I raised an eyebrow. “That was once and you got through it easy. Don’t hold grudges. It’s bad for you.” I rolled my eyes and stood up. “You should come around more often. I miss having someone come and screw with people every night. It was entertaining.”

“You do realize I’m 19, right?” I asked.

“Didn’t stop you before,” he said.

“I have to be responsible now. I’ve got a babysitter who likes to do check-ins every night. He’s kinda crazy,“ I said.

“Let me guess… the tall brunette I’ve seen walking into the tower.”

“You know it,” I laughed. “I’ll visit you more, I promise.”

“That means you can’t get yourself killed tonight going after your mercenary friend.”

“I’ll do my best,” I said, grabbing my bag and heading for the door.

After changing back into my suit, I made my way to the closest tunnel entrance. It was dark and cold and smelled like shit. Perfect habitat for walking filth like Slade. I pulled out a dagger and advanced deeper in, sticking to the shadows.

About two miles in, I heard voices. I clutched my dagger tighter and moved toward the sounds. I was ready to put up a fight. If Deathstroke was hanging around here, anyone else in the area would be bad news.

“You wanna get out of here fast, Right? The two of us will get the job done in half the time.” I froze in my tracks. That was Jason. What the hell was he doing? And who was he talking to?

“Robin?” I called. Two figures peeked out from around the corner. Jason and Gar.

“Elana?” Gar asked, wide-eyed.

“Dude, code names,” I hissed. “We’re in the field.”

“Oh, right. Sorry,” Gar apologized.

“What are you doing down here?” Jason asked.

“I could ask you the same.” I crossed my arms.

“I asked first,” he countered.

“I’m on patrol,” I lied.

“No you’re not,” Jason scoffed.

“Are you looking for Dr. Light, too?” Gar asked.

“You’re looking for Dr. Light?” I asked.

“Dude!” Jason exclaimed, looking at Gar.

“Why the hell would you do that?” I asked.

“For the same reason, you’re going after him. That is what you’re doing down here, isn’t it?” Jason turned the focus.

“Maybe,” I said.

“Fine. Three people could make this go faster,” Jason said. “We should split up and cover more ground.” He didn’t wait for anyone to agree before taking off down the tunnel I had just come from. I didn’t want to tell him that tunnel was clear because if Deathstroke and Dr. Light were down here and he caught them alone, he’d end up dead. Letting out a sigh, I headed off into the tunnel in front of me. I heard Gar mumble something about dark and scary tunnels before heading down the middle tunnel.

As I walked through the long, winding tunnels, I could only dwell on one thought. If Slade and Light were both down here, they’d have to be working together. It made sense. Earlier, when Light told me he wasn’t supposed to kill me, did he mean because Slade wanted to do it himself? The problem was that we couldn’t even beat Light alone, so the chance we could beat both psychopaths was slim to none.

I was almost another mile in when I heard a metallic scraping. It seemed to trail me as I walked, so I kept my pace so as to not alert them. The noise got closer and closer until I could make out that it was the sound of a sword scraping against the walls. Slade was tailing me.

“Cowards stay in the shadows instead of coming out to fight,” I said, stopping in place.

“And stupid little girls pick fights they can’t win,” Slade shot back, stepping into the light in full body armor.

“I’m sure they do. You fight a lot of them?” I taunted.

“Just one.” He launched at me with his sword out. I quickly rolled to the side and pulled out my own sword.

“You got slow, old man,” I snickered. He growled and lunged at me again. I blocked his sword with my own and kicked at his ankles. He expertly moved back before striking again. Swing after swing, we took turns attacking and blocking. In the middle of one of my attacks, I activated my cuff and it shot out into the space between his armor on his shoulder. He hissed in pain and sent a particularly hard shove my way, allowing himself time to retreat. “You’re out of practice,” I taunted.

“If I wanted to end you tonight, I’d do it. You just got lucky. You’re not the target tonight,” he said.

“Then who is?” I sneered, hiding my fear for the two boys down here with me.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” a new voice chimed in. I snapped my head to the side to see Dr. Light. He shot a beam of light at me, but I simply moved my head to dodge it.

“You missed,” I shot.

“Maybe I meant to.” He smirked. The area around me lit up with fire, leaving me standing in the middle of a flaming circle. I stumbled back in surprise but quickly regained myself as Slade came at me with his sword once again. He swung at me, only for me to push him back, but that’s when Light shot a beam out of his chest plate. I quickly moved my sword to block the blast. It hit my sword and deflected away, but with enough force to push me back. I barely managed to stay out of the flames, the heat radiating onto my heels.

I was in too tight of an area, fighting a man whose armor protected him from the fire around us, and had a psycho shooting balls of heat at me. I was in a rough spot. The flames were too high to get over and I had nothing to put them out with. As I dodged another attack from Slade, I called into the comm line I shared with Jason.

“Get out of the tunnels,” I panted. All I got in response was static. A wave of dread washed over me.

“Something wrong?” Slade taunted. “Can’t call your teammates?” I growled and jumped at him. As he blocked my attack, I managed to throw my legs forward into his stomach, though my calf caught his sword. He went backward, giving me the chance to increase my attacks. I swung my sword at his chest. His form was weak as he blocked, so I was able to kick at his hand. He lost his grip on his sword and it flew from his hand. That distracted him enough so that I could sweep his legs and send him to the ground.

I was about to take my sword to his helmet when something hot hit me in the shoulder. Dr. Light had hit me with his blast. I was thrown to the ground with a hiss of pain. To make matters worse, I had landed too close to the fire and could feel the painful heat on my face as well as the burning on my shoulder. I tried to get up as quickly as I could, but a boot to my throat stopped me.

“The initial plan was to kill you first, but that seemed too anticlimactic for what I owe you,” Slade said. “I’m going to kill your entire team and make you watch. Just like I did to your parents.” As he had monologued, I found my dagger in my thigh sheath and jammed it into his leg. He cried out in pain and moved his foot. I jumped up and threw my elbow at his mask, but I could do anything else. He grabbed my burnt shoulder and dug his fingers into the charred skin. I yelped in pain as he threw me face-first to the ground. My head smacked the cement with a sickening thud and I could feel the warm blood pouring down my face.

Slade pulled me up by the hood and sent multiple punches to my stomach until I was completely numb and coughing out blood. He then threw me back to the ground and swung his sword down at my face. Using all the strength I had left, I caught it in one hand, earning slices along my palm. My arm shook as I pushed back against his sword.

“I thought you said we weren’t gonna kill her,” Light spoke up from somewhere I couldn’t see. I could feel Slade’s hate-filled eyes through his mask. With a growl, he withdrew his sword.

“He’s right. I’m not gonna kill you,” Slade said, looking down at me. I managed to push myself onto my stomach to try to get up, but Slade quickly stomped on my ankle, snapping it to the side. I bit my lip to silence my cry of pain. “But there are other ways to hurt you.” He started to walk out of the ring of fire.

“You’re a coward,” I growled, though my voice was strained. “You’re gonna regret not killing me now.”

“Not this time,” he snickered before leaving. I was barely able to see him and Light retreat through the flames.

At this point, my blood was mixed with sweat from the heat. My chest hurt, probably from the smoke in my lungs mixed with the hits I’d taken. Blood rose up my throat, so much so that I had to spit it out. My shoulder was completely burnt to a crisp, but I couldn’t feel it. I definitely would the next day, though. Through all my pain, I could only really worry about Slade’s words.

“Robin,” I choked out into my comms. I still only got static. I didn’t have a comm channel with Gar, so I decided to do the next best thing. “Gar!” I yelled into the tunnels. The yelling had caused me to start coughing, blood rising up my throat. When I got no response, I tried again, but still, no answer. My heart rate picked up. “Robin!” I tried this time. Silence. I dropped my head and shakily got to my knees. I needed to find a way out before I inhaled too much smoke.

“Elana!” My head jerked up to see a figure running around the corner. It was Gar. I breathed a mental sigh of relief.

“Do you know where Jason is?” I asked, before starting to cough again.

“No. We’ll find him in a second. I gotta get you out,” Gar dismissed.

“No! Gar, he’s in trouble!” I yelled, coughing up more blood midway through my sentence.

“So are you.” He got closer. “There’s a hose at the subway tunnel entrance. It’s not too far. I’ll be right back.”

“Gar-“ He was gone before I could finish. The heat and smoke became second problems as images of Jason trying to fight Deathstroke flashed in my mind. I managed to push myself to my hands and knees, most weight on my uninjured shoulder. I wouldn’t be able to walk well, my ankle was messed up. I spit out the blood in my mouth and tried to push myself up to my feet. After a couple falls, I managed. It hurt in my ribs to stand up straight. I definitely had a broken rib or two.

“Ok, I got it!” Gar came running around the corner once again, this time with the hose. He turned the nozzle on the handle, but nothing came out. It felt like a fight against time. I needed to get out to find Jason and stop Slade from hurting him.

“Come on, Gar,” I groaned.

“I’m trying!” he cried. He hit the nozzle again, and, finally, water came out. The fire around me died with a hiss. Limping as fast as I could, I made my way to Gar. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“We gotta go find-“ I was cut off by a scream bouncing off the walls.

“Oh, man,” Gar muttered. We took off down the tunnel, adrenaline keeping me on my feet. We called his name as we ran down the dark passages, but got no response. Once we got to where his cry had come from, the metallic smell of blood hit me like a truck. Gar crouched down to look at something on the ground.

“What is it?” I asked, my breathing heavy.

“Blood trail,” he breathed. He turned to me, wide-eyed. “I think he was dragged away.”

I swallowed hard. “We gotta find him,” I said.

“We have to go back. Your head is split open and you’re in no condition to fight Dr. Light,” Gar said.

“Deathstroke,” I said.

“What?”

“Dr. Light is working with Deathstroke,” I told him. Gar’s eyes became the size of saucers.

“We’ll need help.”

—————————

Gar helped me into the infirmary and sat me down on the medical bed.

“I’m going to get Rachel. Will you be good until I get back?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said, nodding. He hurried out the door as I started to take off my suit. I hissed as the fabric of my jacket rubbed up against the angry, red skin on my shoulder. The only way to describe how cleaning it felt was like literal hell. It burned at the touch of disinfectant and stung at every pressure applied. Still, I managed to get it cleaned and bandaged.

Once that was covered and I could move it easier, I hobbled into the monitor room and started searching for Jason’s tracker. I sat back in the chair with a huff as the search began loading.

“What the hell are you doing?” I groaned and spun the chair around to face Dick.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” I responded.

“Bleeding out from your head,” he said.

“I assume Gar filled you in.” I ignored his last comment.

“Yeah, he did. I want you in the infirmary right now,” he said.

“I’m currently busy running the search for Jason’s tracker.” As I said that, the search was completed.

“Subject: offline,” the female computer voice said.

“Well, dammit,” I muttered.

“If Jason’s still down there… all that concrete, stone, it would mask the GPS signal from the satellites,” Gar pointed out.

“Yes, it would,” Dick sighed. “We’ll deal with this in a minute. For now, you need to get cleaned up,” he said to me. “Come on.” I sighed and limped after him. “What were you thinking, going down there?”

“That I could deal with something you ignored, and then it’d be over with,” I said with a sarcastic smile.

“Ignored? We went after Light hours ago,” he said.

“Oh, you think- oh. I thought Gar told you,” I mumbled.

“Told me what?” He stopped walking and stared at me like his eyes could pry the answer from my brain.

“Do you really think Arthur Light could do this to me?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Who was it, Elana?”

“The orange and blue sword-wielding psycho.” As he stood there in shock, I shuffled past him, into the infirmary. As I sat down on the medical bed, he stomped in.

“Deathstroke has Jason?” he asked in a low voice.

“And Dr. Light, but yeah,” I said.

“You went out after Slade Wilson?” his voice rose.

“Yeah,” I said, preparing myself for a lecture.

“Why the hell would you do that?” he said, now shouting.

“I was trying to be helpful,” I mumbled.

“By getting yourself killed? Very helpful!” he yelled.

“Jesus, Dick, you’re gonna wake the whole tower,” I said. “And I’m very clearly still alive.” I didn’t raise my voice, no matter how much I wanted to, in fear of coughing up blood again. That would just make him even madder.

“Deathstroke isn’t someone to be taken lightly,” Dick exclaimed.

“You think I don’t know that?” I put on an ankle brace that was designed to hold my ankle in place, support it, and reduce the swelling. It was all I could do for the injury at the moment.

“He killed you before and you’re acting like him being here isn’t a big deal.” Dick crossed his arms.

“Thanks for reminding me, I forgot,” I bit sarcastically. “And for the record, I was 10 and he was a grown man who’d been an assassin for longer than I’d been alive. If I’d beaten him, something would’ve been seriously wrong. But that’s beside the point. Our main concern should be finding Jason right now.” I wrapped my hand that I had used to block Slade’s sword with the medical wrap that was laying on the table next to me.

“What you did was reckless and stupid. It could’ve been you instead of Jason and then we would’ve lost our best shot at stopping Slade. I need you to be more careful,” Dick sighed.

“If I say I’ll be careful, will you leave it alone?” I asked.

“Get cleaned up and then meet me by the elevator. I’m going to wake everyone else up,” he ignored my question. Before I could even reply, he was gone.

—————————

“Keep your heads on a swivel, guys, Dr. Light could still be down here,” Dick said into comms as we walked together in the tunnels. He had insisted I stuck with him. He was pissed after my stunt earlier.

“Dick, no sign of Jason's tracker on the third floor,” Donna said.

“Hank, did you find anything?” Dawn asked.

“Do rats the size of my head count?” Hank asked sarcastically.

“Stay positive, Hank,” Dawn sighed.

“I got dragged out of bed to trudge through sewer water 'cuz dipshit decided to go off half-cocked,” he growled.

“At least Jason found Dr. Light. Maybe he would have told you if you’d given him half the chance yesterday,” I pointed out.

“I don’t want to hear it from you,” Hank said. “You went after Light on your own, which is actually worse. Imagine what would’ve happened if you found him.” I furrowed my eyebrows, confused at his words, but I was distracted before I could ask.

“I found something. It looks like some sort of fuel and it smells like smoke,” Dawn said.

“Oh, ignore that. That was me,” I brushed it off.

“You were playing with fire? What are you? An arsonist?” Dawn asked.

“Only on Fridays,” I said. Dick gave me a flat look.

“Well, clearly you were doing something because there’s a bloodstain in the middle of a ring of the fuel,” Dawn said. I heard Hank start yelling at me, but I tuned him out and chose not to respond.

“Seriously?” Dick deadpanned. I just shrugged.

“Guys, I got something. Sending over the coordinates now,” Donna said. We all made our way over to her position quickly.

“Jesus,” Dawn breathed, seeing the blood trail.

“This is screwed,” Hank said.

“He was attacked here. Then dragged. Tracks disappear a hundred yards down,” Dick sighed, crouching down to examine the blood.

“He could be anywhere,” Dawn said.

“If he’s still alive,” Donna deadpanned. I snapped my head to her with a disapproving look.

“He's alive,” I said quickly. “If he was dead, Light would have left him here.”

“How does that make it any better?” Donna asked skeptically.

“I’m not saying it makes it better,” I argued.

“Dr. Light's using him as bait to lure us out,” Dick said.

“Back up. So the kid is bait to you now? Is that right? That's rich, Dick,” Hank scoffed.

“You were bagging on him a minute ago, and now he's your best friend?” The two men were face to face.

“Not about me, pal,” Hank said. “This is all because of you and your big, dumb, shitty idea to start up the Titans again!”

“I’m out,” Dawn said.

“Yeah, me too,” Donna echoed.

“What? Where are you going?” Hank called after them.

“To get Jason,” Dawn answered. “And for the record, this is all of our faults. Every single one of us.”

“Thank you,” I scoffed. “Someone finally said it.”

“It might be yours a little more though,” she said to me. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at her with an offended expression. “Still, get over it and move on. Jason’s out there and we’re wasting time.”

“Well, we can’t keep wandering the tunnels all night looking for this tracking signal,” Hank said. “We need a new plan.” I sighed and turned my head to look at Dick, but something else caught my attention.

“Elana?” Donna asked, seeing that I saw something. “What is it?” I lifted my flashlight and moved closer to the wall to find a camera. I ripped it off the wall.

“Well, it seems that our private conversation was not private,” I sighed, holding the now-broken hardware up. Sighs echoed from my teammates.

“Great,” Hank scoffed.

“Let’s just look around a little more. I’ll check in with Gar,” Dick said. I sighed and threw the camera to the ground before heading deeper into the tunnel. I wasn’t that far away when Dick called us all back.

“Guys, Gar’s got a signal on Jason’s tracker,” Dick yelled. We hurried after him as he led us just outside of the subway tunnel entrance.

“He’s not moving,” Dawn checked. When we got to the tracker’s location, we found something, but not what we wanted.

“It’s freaking Dr. Light,” Hank growled. Light was tied up to a post, bloody and very dead. He had a bullet wound on the side of his head. “What the hell?” Hank asked as a small piece of metal fell from the body. Jason’s tracker. Slade was playing games.

“Is that… Jason’s tracker?” Dawn asked, voice urgent.

“He cut it out of him,” I said, not specifying the “he”.

“Well, if Dr. Light’s dead, where the hell is Jason?” Hank demanded.

“He must be working with a partner,” Donna said. I looked at Dick and he met my gaze with a worried one. He hadn’t told the others about Deathstroke working with Light. The ringing of a phone came from the body and Dick was the one to grab it and answer.

I couldn’t make out words, but there was no mistaking Slade’s voice.

“Deathstroke,” Dick breathed. I clenched my jaw as my teammates' faces lit up with shock and rage.

“You piece of shit,” I growled.

“Ah, Miss Queen. I didn’t break any bones, did I?” Slade snickered.

“I swear to god-“

“Where’s Jason?” Dick cut me off.

“Oh, you mean your little sidekick?” The phone was now on speaker.

“Who the hell are you calling a sidekick?!” Jason shouted.

“Atta boy,” Hank said. The sounds of punches and grunts came through the line and I had to physically turn away. Dawn put a hand on my shoulder in an attempt at comfort. “You freaking bastard! Come try that shit with me!” Hank yelled.

“Just tell us what you want,” Dick said, his voice calm. The sound of choking made my skin crawl.

“As I was saying, if you want him back, hand over Rose,” Slade said.

“And we’re just supposed to trust that you’ll keep your word?” I bit out.

“Tonight. 3 am. Embarcadero Plaza. Outside. Use this phone to confirm.” With that, he hung up. The silence that hung over all of us was heavy, so I decided to break it.

“Well, shit.”

—————————

The elevator dinged as it opened and we walked silently into the entrance area of the tower.

“Kory?” I heard Dick ask as I walked around the corner. The pink-haired woman indeed stood by the bar.

“What happened to Jason?” she asked. Gar, Rachel, and Rose stood behind her, clearly waiting for our answer.

“Let’s talk in the training room,” Dick sighed. He turned to leave, everyone else behind him. I stayed back for a second to shoot Gar and Rachel an apologetic look, avoiding Rose’s eyes, then followed the rest of the team. When we got in, Dick caught Kory up.

“You should’ve thrown that girl out the second you knew she was Deathstroke’s daughter,” Hank said.

“Wait a minute. Pirate girl is this guy’s daughter?” Kory asked. I laughed.

“Yeah, and now he wants her back,” Hank said.

“Which we can’t do,” Dick added.

“Why not?” Hank argued.

“It’s not a crazy idea,” I added with a shrug.

“You’re not serious,” Dawn said, looking between me and Hank.

“I’m serious about ending this with Deathstroke once and for all!” Hank shouted.

“It might not be pretty, but neither is watching Jason get killed by that lunatic,” I added, raising my voice slightly.

“This isn’t Rose’s fault. We know it,” Dawn exclaimed. “The only reason we’re all still alive right now is because she’s here!”

“I’m not saying it’s her fault, I’m saying that if it comes down to her or one of our own, our decision should be obvious,” Hank said.

“We don’t give up kids to mass murderers,” Dick said.

“Why don’t we find this guy and neutralize him?” Kory offered.

“Elana already tried that,” Dick told her. “And failed.” I shot him a dirty look.

“It’s not that easy,” Donna said. “We barely survived his last attack.”

“Look, Jason is hurt, alone, scared,” Hank said. “And I-“ he cut himself off. “We all know what that feels like.”

“Bottom line is, he’s one of us and she’s not,” I said, crossing my arms. “So, handing her over, if it saves his life, I don’t know about you, but I can sleep a little better at night knowing I did the right thing!” After my words, there was silence.

“You good with this, Grayson?” Kory broke it. Everyone turned to Dick. He stood there looking like he didn’t know what to do. “Dick!” Kory shouted.

“Just give me a second,” he said.

“She’s just a kid,” Dawn argued firmly.

“Deathstroke’s kid,” I reinforced.

“Elana, we don’t need to hear any more from you,” Dick said.

“What the hell does that mean?” I narrowed my eyes.

“It means your personal grudges aren’t the only thing that I’m taking into account,” he raised his voice.

“This isn’t about grudges, it’s about logic!” I shouted.

“Shut up, both of you,” Kory snapped.

“Let’s be honest, the further she gets away from us, the safer she’ll be,” Donna sighed.

“If we leave her out there alone, Deathstroke will hunt her down,” Dawn said, the annoyance clear in her voice.

“Or worse, we lose leverage over Deathstroke once he finds out she’s in the wind,” Dick added.

“We’ve gone down this path before,” Dawn reminded us. “We all know how that ended. We’re not using Deathstroke’s kid to get to him again.” Everyone’s eyes traveled around the room, across every other face.

“Ah, screw it,” Hank said. “I’ll take her there myself. Good luck trying to stop me.” He turned to leave.

“Wait, have you lost your mind,” Kory called. “You’re all turning into monsters instead of trying to figure out how to fight one. If Deathstroke is as bad as you say he is, we all need to get our shit together and figure out how to fight him as a team. Otherwise, we’ve already lost Jason.”

“I wasn’t the one to-“ Hank started before something caught all of our attention. Rose what run past the training room.

“What was that?” Kory asked.

Gar came racing into the doorframe. “Rose, uh, overheard you guys talking about giving her up. She’s trying to leave,” he panted.

“Shit,” Dick muttered, racing off to lockdown the tower. We hurried out the door, splitting up and calling her name. I ran down the bedroom hallway, peeking into each room as I went. As I turned the corner, I saw her run past.

“Rose!” I called.

“You stay the hell away from me,” she spat.

“I’m not gonna do anything,” I tried to calm her. It didn’t work. She chucked a kitchen knife at me. I barely caught the handle as the tip was an inch away from my face.

“You want me dead! Why should I trust you?” she shouted.

“If it helps, I’m not allowed to kill you,” I muttered. She took off down the nearest hallway and I went after her. Before I caught her, she ran into a door that led to the training room and locked it. I groaned in annoyance before running in a different direction. I managed to run into everyone else back in the training room. Dick was leading the pack toward the kitchen where sounds of struggle could be heard.

“Rachel, don’t!” Dick yelled upon seeing the purple-haired girl standing over Rose. That’s when I got a good look at Rose. Her body was twisted in every direction, bones broken. She was dead.

“Shit,” I muttered. Rachel looked at all of us with tears in her eyes before running off. Kory called her name and ran after her.

“I’m sorry, kid,” Hank said to Rose, though she couldn’t hear.

“What are we supposed to do now?” Gar asked as Dawn went over to Rose’s body. We all watched Dawn carefully as she put two fingers to the girl’s pulse. Dawn perked up almost immediately.

“She’s alive,” she told us, turning around. A crack echoed through the space and I snapped my head to the source. Rose’s hand. Her entire body jerked and convinced as limbs began to reform themselves. It was a disgusting sight.

“What the hell?” Donna breathed. The last thing to crack back into place was her neck.

—————————

Any form of conscious thought I was having faded as I hit the punching bag. All that was on my mind was Jason. What was Slade putting him through? I almost didn’t want to know. It was all I could think about for the duration of my time at the bag.

As I sent what was meant to be my last kick at the bag, my phone started ringing. I huffed and walked over to answer it.

“Hello?” What I got in return made my blood run cold. The sound of punches and grunts of pain. I didn’t even have to think twice about who it was. My knuckles turned white as I gripped my phone. “What the hell, Slade?” I growled.

“Miss Queen, how are you? How’s the head?” he said calmly.

“I swear to god, for every bruise you give him, I’ll give you five,” I hissed.

“Your threats don’t mean anything to me,” he said. “But I didn’t call to upset you.”

“That’s believable,” I scoffed.

“You seem the only competent one in that tower and I know Dick Grayson is too prideful to give in and hand over my daughter. Bring me Rose and I’ll give you the birdboy,” Slade said.

“Screw you! Don’t listen to him!” I heard Jason yell in the background. My heart broke at how exhausted he sounded.

“I would advise you do. I’d hate to pluck his wings,” Slade snickered.

“You gave us a time and a place to meet. Why are you calling me?” I demanded.

“Your friends are probably going to try something they think is smart, and it won’t work. I’m giving you a chance to be smart about this,” Slade offered. “Bring me Rose an hour earlier, same spot, and this can be resolved without further conflict.”

“He’s lying! It’s a trap!” Jason yelled again. I wasn’t surprised. A cry of pain came from Jason.

“Slade!” I yelled into my phone.

“I’ll be there, and I hope you will too, for his sake.” With that, he hung up. I yelled out in annoyance and slammed my phone back down, burying my head in my hands. I was sure Jason was right in saying it was a trap, but the worry that whatever we did would fall through had already been in my head. This was my fault. Had I just told Jason and Gar to get out, this wouldn’t have happened.

“Is everything okay?” Dick peeked his head in the door. “I heard yelling.” I didn’t move, debating whether to tell him or not. “Elana?” he asked, moving closer.

“Slade called me,” I said quietly. “He’s baiting me into a trap.”

“What?” Dick’s voice rose.

“Slade called you?” Donna walked in.

“Eavesdropping’s rude,” I mumbled, still not looking up.

“What’d he say?” she asked.

“He wants me to meet him early and hand over Rose because he knows the rest of you won’t,” I said. “Because the rest of you are actually good people, and I’m me.”

“What the hell does that mean?“ Donna asked, sitting down next to me.

“You’re all heroes. You’d never trade a life for a life. But me?” I laughed. “I’m the type of person to give someone up to a terrorist just because I don’t like them. He knows it.”

“Are you gonna do it?” Dick asked.

“I haven’t ruled it out,” I muttered. “You guys already have.”

“Do you want to do it?” Dick asked.

“No, but I want to save Jason,” I said.

“Deathstroke’s baiting you,” Dick said.

“Well, I know that,” I snapped, finally looking up.

“What Dick’s failing to say is that you’re just as much a hero as anyone else in this building,” Donna took over. “Whatever Slade Wilson says to make you second guess yourself is bullshit. If any of it was true, we would’ve ditched you on the side of the road by now.” I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

“Donna’s right. If we were worried about you handing Rose over, we would’ve done something about it,” Dick reassured me. “We trust you.” I nodded in response. “Let’s go get Jason back.”

We made our way into the kitchen where everyone was crowded around the table.

“Hank was right,” Dick said. “You were all right. Jason needs us. We can’t just stand here and do nothing. Deathstroke wants to make a trade, we make a trade.” I furrowed my eyes at his words.

“We can’t hand over Rose,” Hank said.

“No, we can’t. We won’t,” Dick assured. “But I have an idea.” He held up the phone we’d gotten off Light’s body. “Gar, you and Rachel stay here with Rose. Protect the Tower. I’ll contact Deathstroke. Confirm our meet-up at the plaza. And then we take him down once and for all. Together.” With that, he turned and headed off, the rest of the team following after him. But something didn’t sit right with me.

There was something in his voice and the way he stood. His shoulders were hunched defensively. His words carried a sense of finality I couldn’t shake. He wasn’t revealing his whole plan. He was going to do something stupid. His words about a trade gave it away. He was going to make a trade, yes, but instead of Rose, it would be him. And like hell would I let him.

My head shot up and I marched to go get suited up.

—————————

I was supposed to be watching the south entrance to the plaza. At least, that was the plan. A common theme I’d shown for years now reared its head. Throwing plans out the window.

I’d arrived at the meet early and found my way onto the floor Slade was on. Despite the very strong urge to run headfirst at the mercenary, I maintained my self-control and took to hiding in the rafters instead. Slade had yet to show his face or Jason’s, for that matter. For all I knew, he was watching me at that very moment.

“We set?” Hank’s voice came through the comms. The room was so silent I was worried if Slade were here, he could hear Hank.

“Clear,” I whispered, pushing my doubts aside.

“Plaza’s clear?” Donna asked.

“Yep,” Kory answered.

“I’m in position,” Dawn said. “Dick, do you copy?” She got no answer as I heard the elevator ring. “Dick, come in. Anybody got eyes on Dick?”

“Dick, we’re at the plaza. Where the hell are you?” Hank demanded. “Dick?” I watched as the elevator numbers started increasing, meaning Dick was headed my way. Instead of listening to the others continue to yell at Dick through comms he probably didn’t even have, I turned mine off. That’s when I saw Dick exit the elevator.

“I know you’re here,” he called out, presumably to Slade. “I’m sure this has nothing to do with Jason or Rose.” As he moved around the room, I followed his every step with my eyes. “You want your pound of flesh. Revenge for what happened.” Dick put his hands up in surrender. “And I want this to end once and for all.” My whole body tensed, ready to pounce and save the shithead below me. “So, how about we make a deal, huh?” He looked around the room before taking off his bulletproof vest and throwing it to the ground. I wanted to yell at him for being stupid and to keep it on, but not only would he not listen and it would blow my cover, but Slade would also find another way to kill him. “You can have me, instead of Rose or Jason. Pretty sure I’m the one you’re mad at anyway. Here I am.” Dick put his hands behind his head and got down on his knees. “Unarmed.” I saw a shadow move to my left before bullets flew at Dick, close, but not hitting him.

“You never learn, do you?” Slade said, stepping toward Dick. “Always the hero. But you’re not gonna dictate how this will go. You’re not a martyr. You’re a con man. Preying on those weak enough to follow you. The problem with con men… is that they never know when to stop. And someone else always pays.”

“Let’s just get this over with, huh?” Dick growled. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, ready for a fight. If anyone made a move, I was going down there. I almost did when I saw a certain pink-haired woman make her way to the corner of the room.

“Get up,” Slade ordered Dick. The ex-boy wonder did just that, hands still on his head. “Take a look.” Slade pressed a button that revealed Jason, tied to a platform, outside the window with a bomb on the wires holding him up. My heart jumped. “Say goodbye to your friend,” Slade said as he held up a detonator. As he was about to press it, I shot an arrow at the detonator, knocking it out of hand. Kory, who was hiding in the corner, shot a stream of fire at Slade, knocking him to the ground. Slade recovered quickly, pulling out his gun.

“Are you seriously listening to this bullshit?” she sighed, stepping out. I dropped to the grounding a smirk. Slade was torn between who to aim his gun at. I could feel his rage from across the room.

“What are you guys doing here?” Dick asked.

“Did you really think you were gonna compliment my hair instead of saying goodbye, Dick Grayson?” Kory sighed. Slade shot at Kory, who blocked the bullets easily. Dick jumped out of the way and I shot three arrows at Slade, covering for the three of us moving to one side of the room. A light from outside lit up the room as Slade began shooting at us again. I ducked behind Kory for cover before shooting out low. I swept his left leg, but it didn’t do much. Dick rushed forward and disarmed Slade of his gun, prompting a fistfight. Kory and Dick took his left and right and I jumped in the middle when I could. Slade expertly dodged our hits, most of them landing on his armor. I was able to kick out his knee, but my teammates weren’t fast enough to take advantage of the situation and were kicked to the ground. I covered for them as they got back up by throwing a dagger at Slade followed by swinging my bow at his face. Slade tried pulling out another gun, but Kory burnt the end of it off. Dick tried to grab onto Slade’s arm, but the older man threw the same arm into Dick’s face, knocking him back. Slade threw Kory into me and slammed Dick to the ground. Kory and I rushed back up to help Dick but had a gun fired at our faces. Kory was able to shield herself with her powers, but I had to roll out of the way. Kory rushed at Slade and the two began their own fight.

“Go get Jason!” Kory yelled before tackling Slade through the wall. Dick and I ran over to the window.

“Jason! Hang in there, buddy!” Dick tried to reassure him. I made eye contact with Jason. Fear was all I could see. I nodded to him in hopes to provide reassurance. Dick tried banging on the glass, but simply looked like an idiot.

“Move,” I ordered. I peeled off the rubber grip from my bow, exposing the metal part, and began slamming it against the glass. Every swing was harder than the next, adrenaline coursing through my veins. At last, there was a crack beginning to form. A crash came from behind us and I whipped around, looking for Kory.

“I’ll go help her. You get him in here,” Dick told me. I nodded and resumed pounding on the glass. The crack expanded an inch with almost every other hit. I was getting closer to shattering the glass every time the metal hit the window. Jason was watching with nervous eyes. I only stopped when I heard Jason’s muffled voice through the glass shouting a warning. I ducked just in time to avoid Slade’s sword and set my stance with my cuffs activated.

“Fine. I’ll do all the heavy lifting,” I muttered. He pointed his sword at my face before charging. I blocked his first swing with my right and jabbed at him with my left. He jumped back and tried to come at my feet, but I retreated a step and built up momentum to charge at him. Our blades clanged against each other as they cut through the air. He was as skilled as me, but I was faster. I picked up my pace and started throwing in kicks. I threw a kick at his face that he batted away, but it gave me an opening to bring my elbow down onto his knee. He fell onto one and rolled to the side before my blades could touch him. This caused me to overswing and lose my footing for a second, which was more than enough time for Slade to kick me backward. I caught my footing by leaning against the wall right as Slade swung his sword at my head. I ducked under the blade and kicked him right under his mask. He stumbled back and I charged his again, getting him in the armor break between his knee and thigh. He growled in pain and was barely able to block my next attack. He kicked me away from him and then threw down his sword. I retracted my cuffs with a smirk.

He squared up as I did, fists up and ready. I watched his steps, knowing they would reveal when he was about to strike. I was taken off guard when that wasn’t the case. He punched high and I blocked it with my forearm. My moves became involuntary as the speed of our fight increased. It was like riding a bike. I went to sweep his leg only to realize he had pulled out a dagger. My advancements turned into retreating steps as I tried to avoid the blade. Slade never played fair. That meant I didn’t have to either. He had me backed up into another part of the area where there were random scraps everywhere, so I was able to snatch a metal pipe and hit him in the face with it. He stumbled back and I swung again. After about my fourth swing, he caught the metal pipe and tore it out of my hand with a growl. As I began to block his punches and avoid his small knife all over again, I noticed Kory stirring in the ground. I took the window to jump out of the way, letting Kory send a stream of fire at Slade. He flew backward, but not before he threw a green, buzzing grenade toward me and my teammates.

The explosion went off at a deafening volume, making my hands fly up to cover my ears. Even that didn’t help as a buzzing made itself known in my head. I looked up in search of Slade and found him standing near the window with the detonator in his hand. I only managed to push myself upright as he pressed the button.

It was like time stood still. My heart froze on the spot as the windows shattered and Jason dropped out of sight. I rushed to the window with Dick on my heels, both of us completely ignoring Slade at the moment. We found Jason barely hanging onto the edge of the building, just outside the window.

“Jason, give me your hand!” Dick yelled to him, offering his. Jason took it as I frantically looked around for something that could help pull him back to safety. Jason’s other hand lost its grip and tried to grab Dick’s hand, but failed. “Hold on,” Dick tried to tell him.

“Don’t let go.” My voice came out in a pleading tone. Jason’s fingers slipped before finally giving way. His screams mixed with mine and Dick’s yells. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I was completely and utterly helpless as I watched Jason tumble through the air.

Then the unimaginable happened. Something, someone, came out of nowhere and caught him in midair. The relief I felt far outweighed my confusion. It was like he had a guardian angel.

“Let’s go,” I said hurriedly to Dick and Kory who both looked incredibly dumbfounded. We rushed into the elevator and after what took way too long, made it to the ground floor right as the sound of gunshots was heard. I was the first out of the elevator, sprinting into the street where Jason stood by a car with the man who caught him leaning against it in pain.

“Jason!” I called. We rushed over to him and Dick leaned down in front of the injured boy who I had noticed was wearing the Superman symbol.

“What happened?” Dick asked.

“That’s the guy who saved my life,” Jason said. Kory and Dick helped pick the boy up and lead him to the car. Jason and I let our eyes follow them until they couldn’t anymore. Then we turned to each other. I wanted to rush over and hug him, but I knew I couldn’t do that.

“Are you okay?” I asked him.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he reassured me.

“You fell for a while before you were caught. Are you sure?” I asked.

“I promise I’m okay. Don’t worry about me,” he said. He was definitely lying, but I wasn’t gonna get him to admit it.

“Jason! Elana!” Dick called.

“You go. My bike is back here. Tell Dick I’ll meet you guys back there,” I said before jogging off in the other direction.

As much as I’d like to say I meant that, I didn’t. Slade and I had unfinished business and I intended to finish it tonight. I’d leave breadcrumbs for Slade to follow me to the old records shop that was now a rundown, empty building. It was where Jericho worked. That’s where I’d end him. I knew Slade couldn’t be far from the scene, he was probably watching me already. If he saw I was on my own, he’d follow me. I threw on my helmet and sped off toward the records shop.

The drive there was smooth. Little traffic and no check-ins from Dick. I was there in a matter of minutes, taking off my helmet and picking the lock on the door before slipping inside. The amount of dust I inhaled upon my first step into the room was almost enough to make me turn back. Clearly, no one had been in the building for a while. My footsteps echoed through the dark space. I had come in to do surveillance of Jericho, but I had never been particularly interested in records. Maybe if I had been, I could’ve gotten to know Jericho and I would’ve been smart enough to know to keep him out of our problems. I sighed and moved further into the room. I had inadvertently caused the death of Slade’s only tolerable child and now it was back to haunt me. It was like the universe’s way of mocking me. First, it was Rose coming around the Tower, and everyone siding with her even though I knew she was up to something. And then it was the whole Dr. Light thing. And now it was Slade going after Jason. To think I was starting to feel a little sorry for killing Grant.

Something flew at me from behind and I whipped around just in time to catch the dagger as it was an inch from my face. Slade was standing in the doorway.

“Back for more?” I hissed.

“Isn’t that what you wanted?” he tilted his head.

“It’s exactly what I wanted,” I snarled, flipping the dagger in my hand so I could attack. He was the first to lunge, swinging an armored fist at my face. I parried the attack and jabbed at him with the dagger. My movements were fluid. Quicker and more precise than in the building less than an hour ago. I kicked at his chest, but he slid away and tried attacking me from a different angle. I stayed on top of his every movement. He matched my footwork with every step I took, making it hard to do anything but collide fists. I tried to move low to sweep his legs, but he was ready for it and hit me in the stomach, throwing me off balance. I growled and kicked out my legs, hitting him in the jaw. I tried to kick him again, but he caught my leg and threw me to the side. I rolled back up to my feet, now a distance away from him. “You remember what this place is, right?” I taunted. “This is where Jericho worked. He loved it here. Probably because it was his escape from his psychotic father.”

“You don’t get to speak of him,” Slade growled. “You’re the reason he’s dead.”

“I don’t remember being the one to put the sword through his chest,” I snapped. He took off his helmet and let it drop to his side with a thud.

“I want to look you in the eyes when I kill you,” he said cooly, taking out his sword. I took off my hood and threw down my mask.

“Took the words right out of my mouth,” I hissed, taking out my own sword. I charged first, my sword aimed for his throat. It was blocked by his before he got hit. I swung low, nicking his ankle. He growled and came at my face. I caught his arm when he overswung his attack and tried to put it in a lock, but he shot his arm out before I could get a hold, punching me right under the eye with his sword hilt. That would leave a bruise. Because of the position I was in, Slade was able to yank me forward and send a punch to my stomach. As I fell back, his sword caught the skin on my cheek.

“Had enough yet?” Slade snickered.

“Not even close,” I growled. I shot at him again, this time with the speed of lightning. I kicked his chest, distracting him enough to be able to send a slice down the break in his shoulder armor. He retreated a step, but I stayed with him with a kick to his throat. He struggled to keep up with my hits as I drove him back toward the wall. He got desperate and tried to strike back, barely managing to scrape my side with his sword, but I was too quick for him to cause any real damage. I activated my left cuff and it shot into his side. He grunted in pain before slamming his head into my own, which made me fall back a little, taking my blade with me. My head spun as I stepped back into my stance, ready for him to come at me. When he did, he was slower which allowed me, even with my dizziness, to gain the upper hand and disarm him. I kicked out his knees, making him fall to the ground, and then pinned him with my sword hovering over his chest. “Tell Grant I say hi,” I spat with a smirk. I was about to bring my sword down on his chest when something flew into the room, distracting me. It beeped midair and I realized what it was. A grenade. Before I could move, it went off, throwing me back into the wall and smoke covered the room. I groaned, rolled onto my back, and coughed out smoke before getting up to my feet and looking for Slade. He was nowhere to be seen. “Shit.”

—————————

I crept out of the elevator into the dark Tower lobby, hoping no one would see me. I had limped about three steps forward, taking off my hood and mask, when the lights flipped on, causing me to curse and squeeze my eyes shut.

“What the hell are you doing?” Hank asked, standing in front of me with his arms crossed. “You look like shit.”

“Gee, thanks, Hank,” I bit sarcastically. Donna, Dawn, and Dick were with Hank, all staring at me intently.

“Where were you?” Dick asked. His voice was calm, but I knew the tone. He was pissed.

“And why do you look like you just got hit by a car?” Donna added.

“It was a truck actually.” I grinned. No one returned the gesture. “Okay, not funny. Got it.” I tried to hide the blood seeping through the side of my shirt with my arm.

“It’s almost five in the morning,” Dick said.

“My favorite time of day,” I said, still avoiding the conversation about my whereabouts.

“We told you no patrol. Jason almost died two hours ago,” Donna said, anger in her voice.

“Relax, I wasn’t on patrol,” I reassured them, though I knew what I’d actually been doing was worse.

“She wasn’t on patrol, she was hunting Deathstroke,” Dawn spoke up. Everyone’s gazes turned into lasers into my skull.

“Snitches get stitches,” I muttered. My head had been screaming at me for the duration of the conversation and as the air in the room seemed to stand still, it got even louder.

“You’re freakin crazy!” Hank said. “What the hell were you thinking?!”

“She wasn’t,” Donna said. I looked at Dick who was rubbing his eyes with his head toward the ground.

“I don’t know why you’re all so worked up. I’m fine,” I said.

“We have a right to be upset!” Dawn exclaimed. “This man killed Garth and his own son!”

“You said it yourself, he wants you dead!” Hank said. “Considering how you look right now, I’d say he almost succeeded!”

“Oh my god, guys! You’re being dramatic! You’ve known me for five years, some of you more! You should know I can handle Deathstroke!” I shouted, getting angry. The outburst caused me to feel blood rising up my throat. I had to fight to keep myself from coughing it up.

“Do you not recall the conversation we had yesterday?!” Donna yelled. “You know, the one about how you can’t go off on your own, especially against Slade Wilson!”

“For the record, I was pretty tuned out that whole lecture,” I pointed out.

“You’re going to get yourself killed!” Hank said.

“It’ll take a whole lot more than Deathstroke to kill me,” I defended, crossing my arms. “I think we’re done with this conversation. It’s getting ridiculous.” I turned to leave only to see Hank blocking my way out. “Are you kidding me? Are we seriously doing this?”

“Yes, we’re doing this,” Donna said.

“Even like this, I can still kick all your asses,” I threatened. I noticed Dick had gone quiet which was never good. He was leaning on the island with his head down.

“You came back here 24 hours ago with your head split open, two broken ribs, and some internal bleeding,” Dawn ignored my comment. “I don’t want to see your medical report for today.”

“Lay off, okay?! He looks worse than me!”

“That’s pretty impressive seeing as you look like you just survived the freakin zombie apocalypse!” Hank yelled.

“Slade Wilson killed my parents and almost just killed someone else I care about! I was ready to end it for good!” I screamed, probably waking up the whole Tower.

“And did you?” Hank demanded. “End it?”

“The asshole ran before I could finish him off,” I said bitterly.

“So it was all for nothing?!” Donna seethed.

“I don’t get why you’re all so mad! I went out to help this team! He wants to rip us all apart piece by piece and I figured if I stopped him for good, I could protect everyone in this tower!” I cried.

The bang of someone slapping the counter grabbed my attention. The room went silent and all eyes turned to Dick.

“You are unbelievably selfish! You say you went out to help, but everyone here knows that you went for your personal vendetta! If you would’ve died tonight, what do you think would happened to this team?! We wouldn’t last another three days! I don’t care about your blood feud with Slade! You being injured and still going after him was probably the dumbest idea you’ve ever had! Last time you did that, you almost died!” Dick yelled. He looked me in the eye with an intense glare. His eyes held a mix of anger and worry. I opened my mouth to comment, but he cut me off. “What if he had ambushed you?” he said, voice at normal volume.

“He didn’t,” I replied simply, though I knew it was a dumb answer.

“But what if he did?” Dick repeated.

“Then I would’ve handled it,” I said. Scoffs sounded from everyone else in the room and Dick’s glare got more intense.

“Go to your room and get cleaned up. I’ll be in there with medical supplies in a minute,” he said, his voice never losing its firmness.

“Are you telling me to go to my room?” I asked in disbelief. There was no way he was treating me like a kid.

“Yes.” His eyes told me not to challenge him, and though normally I would, I was too tired to argue further. With a huff, I limped up toward my room.

Once inside, I took off my suit so I was just in my sports bra and leggings. Blood was still leaking down my skin from the deep slice in my side and multiple bruises littered my skin. I couldn’t tell which injuries were from yesterday and which were from today. Although, my pride hurt more than the physical injuries. I had let Slade get away. Sure, I had been hurt, but that shouldn’t have stopped me from going after him. And this was after yesterday when he and Dr. Light jumped me. I had to do better.

A knock came at my door, pulling me out of my self-loathing. Jason stuck his head in.

“Mind if I come in?” he asked.

“If you want to,” I said. Lately, our friendship had been strained which was entirely my fault. I was terrified I’d end up getting him hurt. In a way, I had with the whole being thrown off a building thing. Slade had said that there was more than one way to hurt me as Dr. Light had trapped me in a circle of fire and shot beams of light at me. I quickly realized he meant Jason. “Aren’t you supposed asleep?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” he said tiredly. “Nightmares. You know how it goes.”

“Yeah,” I said softly.

“I heard what happened. Are you okay?”

“Me?” His question took me by surprise. “I’m- I’m fine. How are you?”

“Exhausted. Who would’ve thought falling would be tiring?” I laughed a little. He looked a little awkward standing there, so I patted the bed next to me. He got the message and came and sat down. I noticed the haunted look in his eyes the minute I saw them up close. “Did Deathstroke do that?” He pointed to my side. I nodded. “Why’d you go after him? He could’ve killed you.”

“I was pissy and emotional,” I said with a shrug. “I almost had him before he ran like a coward.”

“Where’s your first aid kit?” Jason asked.

“You don’t need to take care of me. You should be resting anyway,” I tried to tell him.

“I can’t sleep. Might as well do something productive. It’ll also be a good distraction.” He stood up. “I assume you still keep it under the sink.” I nodded.

“Dick’ll be in here in a minute,” I said.

“Sucks for him. I beat him to you,” Jason said with a smirk. I let out a small laugh. He came back and sat down next to me with a washcloth and first aid kit. Without another word, he started cleaning the gash in my side. As the blood began to fade, I spoke up.

“I’m sorry.” He didn’t stop with the cloth but looked up at me.

“For what?”

“I was there. In the tunnels and I wasn’t able to stop Slade from taking you. I should’ve stopped him, but I didn’t and because of that, you got hurt,” I apologized. “I’ve also been a shitty friend lately.”

“What happened with Deathstroke wasn’t your fault. I got cocky and it didn’t play out for me. None of that is on you. And I get the stress this whole Deathstroke situation has put you under. You don’t want to lose someone else to him.” He moved on to putting the stitches into my cut.

“That’s no excuse. I was a jerk and you didn’t shove it right back in my face like you probably should’ve. I’m sorry.”

“We’re good. I promise,” he said with a small smile.

“Jason, you should be resting,” Dick’s voice came from the doorway.

“Well, I couldn’t,” Jason said, annoyance creeping into his voice. “So I decided to do something productive.”

“I need to talk to Elana,” Dick said.

“Then just act like I’m not here,” Jason said with a shrug. I gave him a small smile to thank him.

Obviously, that wasn’t the response Dick wanted, but he only sighed. “You should’ve told us what you were doing. I know all about you and Deathstroke and I get being angry, feeling like you need to do something about it, but you need to remember he feels the same way. Your comment about him wanting to rip us all apart might’ve been more about you than all of us.”

“You’re projecting,” I deadpanned.

“I am not!” he snapped. I raised an eyebrow and Jason bit back laughter. “I’m not,” he lowered his voice. “I’m worried about you. Going after Deathstroke almost killed you once. The only reason you made it last time was because I was there to get you home.”

“Oh my god. Could you tone the ego down a little?” I scoffed. “You almost died too.”

“I’m trying to figure out why you thought it’d be a good idea to go at it alone and injured. We almost lost you.”

“You would’ve been fine,” I said.

“I disagree,” Jason piped up quickly.

“Ask anyone. You not coming home tonight would’ve torn the Titans apart,” Dick said. Jason finished up the last stitch and put his tools down. “And I know it’s selfish, but I’ve already lost too many people I care about. I can’t lose you too.”

“I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” I snickered.

“Don’t expect me to say anything else nice. I’m still pissed,” he said.

“Fair,” I sighed.

“I’m gonna restitch your leg. It looks like you pulled out stitches from earlier,” Jason whispered to me. I nodded and moved my leg onto the bed.

“But, you’re benched from patrol alone until we get Deathstroke,” Dick said.

“What?!” I exclaimed, jerking up which threw Jason’s stitching off.

“Stay still,” Jason reminded me.

“Dick, you can’t do that!” I hissed as I settled back down.

“Based on what’s happened the past two nights, I think I can,” he said.

“I wasn’t alone last night,” I said.

“You essentially were,” Jason said. I shot a glare at him. “It’s true.” He gave me an apologetic look.

“Come on, guys. That’s not fair,” I whined.

“It’s to protect you,” Dick said.

“I’m an adult, I don’t need to be protected,” I said.

“Considering how much blood you come home without, I’d say you do,” Dick said, crossing his arms.

“I’m fine,” I stressed.

“Clearly,” Jason scoffed.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on my side?” I asked.

“I’m on my own side always, Lanes,” he said with a smirk.

“You’ll be fine,” Dick said. “Both of you get some sleep. You both need it.”

“Yes, sir,” Jason mocked.

“Whatever you say, boss.” I gave a fake salute. Dick rolled his eyes and mumbled something about kids these days as he walked out.

“You’re all stitched up,” Jason announced.

“Thanks, Jay.” I gave him a small smile. “You’re a pro,” I laughed, examining the stitches.

“Considering how often I’ve had to do this, I should be,” he chuckled. “Your head is bleeding, too.”

“I’ll get that in the shower. You’ve helped enough already.”

“You sure?” he asked.

“Yeah.” We sat across from each other in silence, but we were both thinking the same thing. His eyes drifted to my lips and I realized mine had, too. Unconsciously, we had moved closer. As we drew even closer, reality hit me. “I’m sorry, Jay. We can’t,” I whispered, pulling back and lowering my head.

“Yeah, yeah,” he breathed. I felt him grab my hand and plant a kiss on my forehead. Without even thinking, I leaned into his chest, much like we used to do. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer and he rested his chin on my head.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“Of course.” He matched my tone.

[maidenofthecloud]

I ship to

Dark ace x Lightning strike

piper x master cyclonis

dove x aerrow

[writingafterdeath]

Rando Titan Headcanons |

Notes: Since it’s almost Christmas I wanted to write some festive little headcanons I can’t stop thinking about. 

Picking Out the Tree and Decorating it: 

you would insist on putting up the christmas tree the day after thanksgiving. 

you’d beg them all to come with you. 

you wanting to pick it out as a family. 

rachel, gar, connor, and dawn would be done to sweet talking needed. 

but in order to get the others to join it takes some convincing. 

kory would love the idea. she’s never had a christmas on earth before. 

once arriving to the christmas farm, you told everyone to split up and look for the best tree. 

of course no one could agree on a tree so you where the deciding factor. 

back at the headquarters, you made the gang lug the boxes of christmas decorations you’ve collected over the years out of your room. 

you start your playlist and smile, humming to have yourself a merry little christmas. 

gar and rachel beginning to dance. dick looks at a very suprised kory and the two join. 

the room fills with laughter, as hank grabs you throwing you over his shoulder as he starts to sway to the music. 

once the tree is decorated, the lights plugged in. 

you step back. taking a good look at the masterpiece in front of you. 

you let out a sigh of content and try to stop the tears that threat to escape. 

you haven’t had a proper christmas in years and this seemed to make you more emotional then you thought

Ice Skating: 

much to your surprise it wasn’t you who convinced everyone to got ice skating. 

rachel had talked gar into it and he forced everyone else to tag along. 

while everyone was skating you realized that hank wasn’t doing so good. 

the giant himbo was a little clumsy and he couldn’t keep himself up straight. 

which resulted in him needing help. which almost caused you to fall right with him he held on to you for support. 

you would be thrown into a fit of laughter watching him. 

Cooking Christmas Dinner: 

I can only imagine what it would be like to cook christmas dinner.

you’d be busting your ass half with rachel, gar, dawn and connor.

hank and dick would be sitting at the table, watching as you guys work.

beer in hands.

hank would steal things off and on as you prepare it.

you’d swat is hand away every few minutes.

it would drive you insane but you would still laugh and have a smile on your face.

jason would come down stairs while your finishing up.

he’d make some snarky comment about how we aren’t a real family so why are we pretending.

when in reality he’s actually loving it.

seeing how happy everyone, is enough to convince him.

but of course he’s going to fuss about it the entire time.

@pinkchubbiebunnie

[ionizing-zenaida]

Goretober day 8: Xray.

The dirtiest sterile experience of your life. This ain’t an X-ray, or gore, but if you know, you know.

[jazzyrazzy157]

SH HS AU: Relationship (Romantic) or some of them))

(and a lot of shipping)

Arrow x Piper (Main couple)

Eplis (My Oc) x Ace (They exes)

Ace x Ravess (They dating but it mostly one-sided)

Finn x Perry (aka Peregrine)

(Maybe?) Ava (My Oc) x Stork

Junko x Dove (This ship is so cute)

[apopcornkernel]

reading birds of prey volume 2 and feeling like throwing up what even is this im goinf to cry hawk and dove my babygirls what did they do to you

[whywouldisayprinter]

These violent delights have violent ends

[animestsstuff2]

Twitterpated

Part 2

Masterlist here!

Your villain alias is Angel! Sometimes referred to by Dabi as Dove due to your wings but for anonymity purposes you (the reader) will be referred to as Angel for the majority of this fic🤍

Content warning: this is set after season 4/5 and will have spoilers up until season 7 mainly in later chapters tho! Hawks flirting cuz hes lowkey smooth with da ladys

Night two, 2:00am.

Hawks was jittery, was it from the third can of coffee? Or from his jumbled thoughts? He called the doctor after his shift yesterday and didn’t get a helpful solution. He shifted from his standing position on the top of his agency, crouching low as his eyes scanned the streets below not really focused as his mind drifted to the phone call.

“Sounds like your primal needs are poking through hawks” Hawks sighed as he lay on his bed, fingers carding through damp hair.

“Primal needs? What’dya mean?” He asked uselessly, he knew exactly what the doctor meant.

“Your quirk. You didn’t just get the mutation of wings Hawks like most mutation quirks other qualities are mixed. An example would be a cat-like quirk they, not all the time now, can be prone to getting a heat. Thats dependent though on how cat-like they are, its differen-“ Hawks zoned out, his face pink as the doctor continued on about heats and mating seasons. His body warm as his mind filled with thoughts.

He knows everything about his quirk, knows the weight of each feather, the way his wings have to be folded, the way they stretch. Its like breathing, so..why didn’t he know this? If animals mate every year why didn’t the spring months bother him until now, what has changed.

“Anyways! I digress. I speculate the reasoning for your sudden awaken in your more primal instincts is due to meeting someone of interest” Hawks attention was back on the phone pressed to his ear as he sat up. A sudden thought pushing to the forefront of his mind.

“Uh, yeah thanks. Gotta go” click, the phone was tossed aside as he got up, naked as the day he was born and began pacing his bedroom.

Was this your doing? Maybe this was your quirk. You had pressed something into his back last night and he forgot to figure out what. A groan fell from his lips as he sat back on his bed, hands cupping his face. No, this wasn’t some stupid quirk other than his in play. He wasn’t one for relationships, no time for them. He never reacted this way before towards his few flings. It had to be related to you, to your quirk. If only you weren’t a villain, maybe a mutual agreement could have be-

Beep!

Hawks blinked as his visor displayed a sudden report of criminal activity. A break in at a lab thirty minutes away. Hawks was gone from the rooftop. It would only take him ten to reach the crime. His heart beat hard against his chest as he thought of you being there, was this you? Would he see you again. This intrusive thoughts filled the blondes mind, one after the other. It was like someone else was in his brain, they didn’t feel like they were coming from him

Hawks eyes scanned the lab, seeing the sirens blare and lights illuminate the surrounding area. His wings flapping and keeping him up high as he saw two other pros join the scene below. Hawks eyes narrowed watching as they entered through the main door but just as they did a flash of white flew through the window to the left. He didn’t miss a beat as he soared after you. His heart beating faster now, easily catching up with you as he stayed above seeing you with a handful of supplies. He pulled a long feather from his back but his hand faltered. You flipped over now, slowing your pace as your eyes met his. Your gloved hand trailing up to trace the edge of the fluffy feather. Hawks heart skipped at the touch, it felt too sensitive, too raw even with gloves.

“C’mon Hero, it’s for the league. You’re not gonna stop me are you?” Your voice was low and teasing as you slowed even further. Your white wings outstretched as you circled one another high in the sky, going up and away from view.

It looked almost like a dance as Hawks felt his words get caught in his throat, only able to focus on the eyes that gleamed above the mask. You had a new one, no long a plain white cloth but rather a white mask now fit on your face. Hawks put his feather back regaining his composure as he flashed a grin, ignoring the way his wings stretched too far, tensed too much and his body ran warm. The two of you now alone, above the clouds. He couldn’t stop himself from glancing at the white wings behind you, smaller than his both in length and size overall but big enough to carry you.

“Stop you? I’d never lay a hand on a pretty thing like you” He wasn’t intending to say that but the words slipped out before he could think of another response. Your cheeks flushed and the reaction egged him on, something pulling in his chest.

Didn’t know you liked it rough Angel. I promise i’ll not hurt you too bad” the implication behind his words made your wings falter slightly and you almost fell. Your face definitely red as you thought of a response. Your eyes breaking contact with the avians yellow ones as you felt your stomach twist. Your emotions had been wired since meeting him yesterday, unable to play it cool anymore.

“Um, right. Well..Do I have to make it look like we fought? So people don’t ask questions?” You mumbled, thankful for the night sky and your mask for hiding the pink on your cheeks. Hawks brow raised at your reply and he chuckled. You really must be new to the league. Why were you even part of it? You didn’t seem crazy like the rest of those nut-jobs, especially that blood freak. Hawks wings bristled as he recalled the time he first met her. He focused back on you. The grin never leaving his face.

Thats not what I meant! I-I have to go!” Hawks grin feel as your wings flapped and spun you round. His hand moved quicker as he grabbed your forearm and your body tensed as the feeling went straight to the tension in your stomach

. “W-Wait. I was just messing with ya Angel” He didn’t know what else to say to make you stay. He didn’t know why he was even bothering, no rational thought could make sense of why the feeling in his chest wanted you to stay near him so badly.

“Whatever. I have to go. It’s already quarter to three if i’m not back before then boss will kill me” you mumbled, turning your head over your shoulder to glance at him. Your hair moving in the slight wind which picked up had strands falling over your face. Hawks all but blinked dumbly as his grip on you faltered and you pulled away.

You were quick immediately taking off as your white wings became nothing but a blur. His own puffed out and twitching, not even realising how fast they were flapping. His mind finally zoning back in as he let himself drop, coming down from the sky just a ways away from the hospital and going over seeing police already at the scene.

“Hawks! Did ya see anything?” His eyes moved over to a police man waving his hand. He headed over shaking his head and plastering a familiar grin on his face.

“Nah. I got sight of somethin’ but they disappeared through a portal before I could get close” he lied, it was for the league, not you. Hawks left before he could be questioned further remembering Kurogiri was in police custody, not a great lie.

His wings bringing him to a large building just a bit away from the lab. He felt it again. His body warm and skin sweaty. His wings spanned out from his back as he removed his gloves and wiped his clammy hands onto his bottoms. His throat feeling dry all of a sudden as he tried to ignore the tension in his stomach. His fingers carding through his hair as he let out a sigh.

Did you feel this?…

You did in-fact feel it. Your wings bristled as the wind caught under them, stretched out. You swooped through the air as you grew closer to the ground. Your arms wrapped around the supplies you’d been asked to gather. Your cheeks warm and hands clammy. You landed softly on the rooftop your wings staying stretched out slightly behind you as you made your way over to the fire exit door.

It swung open as you stepped inside the dingy stairwell. It was lit by a single bulb with no shade. The door swung shut behind you as you made your way down and into the sort of communal area below. The warehouse served as a secondary base of operations before the planned move to Deika city to uncover some ‘present’ One For All left behind for Shigaraki.

You entered the communal area seeing Toga and Twice sat on the dusty sofa toying with some board-game the most likely stole. You spotted Spinner hunched over the stove by the Kitchenette as he fumbled with a knife.

“Where’s Shigaraki?” You asked all of them.

“Tomura? Hes out right now! - no hes in his room! Twice gave a typical double response and your eyes moved to Toga.

“He’s in the workspace with Dabi!” She giggled and you nodded. She creeped you out the most to be honest. Her insistent begging to have some of your blood so she could fly bothered you.

You headed down the hallway to the ‘office’ it was really just Shigaraki’s room that he liked to call his office. You knocked once and heard the raspy voice beckon from inside as you stepped in and placed the supply boxes on his desk. His hands folding the papers in front of him and moving them away. Dabi who was previously leaning over the table straightened himself as he looked you over.

“How’d it go? Any run ins Dove?” The tall man asked as a smirk stretched across his marred skin. Your eyes averted from his as some feathers fluffed up recalling your encounter with the blonde haired hero.

“N-, No it went fine” you mumbled out. Your skin growing warm as your cheeks flushed. A single finger curled around your mask and pulling it down as it fell under your chin.

“No? Why ya all red for then? You run into our little bird?” His voice teased you as Shigaraki straightened up. This information new to his ears.

“Whats this? What little bird Dabi?” His fingers already scratching at his forearms skin.

“Ya know, our little birdy Hawks. Angel here has some feelings for him I reckon” Dabi chuckled as your skin prickled with bumps. The villain costume you had made thankfully hiding the goosebumps which prickled your arm.

“Hmm, that’s not good..no, not good at all Angel” Shigaraki stated as his nails curled against his skin further.

“No! It’s not true. I did run into him but he let me go. My face is just warm from flying so fast to get away” You quickly shot out and Shigaraki’s eyes gave you a once over before shrugging his shoulders and waving a hand.

“Whatever, just don’t let it become bothersome. You can leave the supplies here. Dabi you can go too” He mumbled and you nodded turning as Dabi followed close behind you now both exiting the room.

“You sure nothin’ happened Angel?” Dabi’s voice from behind made you jump as fingers trailed up the spine of your wing. His slender fingers pinching a feather..pluck! You flinched and spun round on reflex seeing Dabi with a sly grin on his face.

“You know. I don’t care much for the league or everyone else’s agenda except my own. The care I have for them is solely to fuel my own agenda and consequently it’s in my benefit to ensure everyone stays in their place” You swallowed thickly as the hallway became hot. Dabi’s hooded eyes staring at yours as your feather lay flat in his palm.

“See, i don’t bother going out of my way to learn about mutation quirks, the ins and outs. But I understand some people come together due to them, ya know, hook up or breed even” he laughed at his snide comment. You felt yourself grow warmer, cheeks flushing and heart rate increasing.

“And i just wanted to make sure our little Dove isn’t all twitterpated over our little Birdy, Hawks. Cause’ ya know, that wouldn’t benefit me at all” He stated and your eyes honed in on the blue flame that swallowed your feather. All that remained was ash and your right wing twitched feeling a slight twinge of pain.

“You understand, don’t ya Dove?” His grin only grew, stables stretching as they held the charred skin together.

You just nodded unable to form any words to reply but it was enough for Dabi and he turned without another word. You watched him retreat down the hall and through the door to the communal area and only then when the door shut did your rigid muscles relax and your breath finally become short as you clutched a hand over your chest.

“Fuck” you mumbled as you forced your feet to take you to your room. Your hand gripping the handle too tightly as you shut it behind yourself and rested your forehead against the wood. Your mind buzzing with thoughts as you concluded the only thing you should do and that was to ignore Hawks, which couldn’t be that hard.

Right?..

I also don’t know whether to make the character (you) a real villain with a vendetta against hero society or make her a unfortunate but good person who has caught herself intwined and/or in debt to the L.O.V

[thethistlegirl]

"Shadows of the Night" - by Pat Benatar

I keep telling myself I'm NOT going to get into anything new, but I ended up here trying to look up things for the Reacher series and running across Hank's backstory in Titans and going "well I need that" and then severely underestimating how much 1.09 was actually going to break me. Hank and Dawn trauma bonding got to me....and then I heard this song and went WELL time for a new playlist I guess...

@nade2308

[supershot73199]

How could you forget Cass? She just lurks in the shadows and occasionally brings him snacks. (She's his favorite) That's not to say she isn't causing trouble it's just that she's sneaky enough that someone else is blamed. Also know what would be funny? Raven showing up, that is alongside her boyfriend beast boy, and any other bird themed hero like hawk and dove, or the thanagarians/reincarnations from Egypt Hawkman and Hawkgirl.

Crow services

After Danny died he noticed that some animals had become more attached to him while others had moved away. Aggressive or death related animals seemed to react positively to his presence, although friendlier animals such as birds tended to fly away.

Of course, none of this prepared him for the number of crows that landed on his window daily. At first he was scared that they would consider him a corpse and try to eat him but after the third time they brought him a shiny object he assumed they just liked him.

Those crows became very fond of him, they let him pet them, they would perch on his head or shoulders, always present and sometimes even watching over him (A particularly intelligent crow he named Poe would drive his parents away with distractions).

So when he moved to Gotham to complete his studies he prepared for a farewell to his feathered friends; said friends simply ignored him and followed him around the city. Danny assumed he wasn't going to be able to fight them, so he let them be.

This is how the phenomenon called "The Invasion of Crows" began in Gotham, the animals were not aggressive but mostly indifferent, some of them agreed to carry letters as homing pigeons (After Danny asked them for the favor) starting "Crow services"

As long as you had the money or something shiny to pay them the birds would carry messages from one place to another, ironically they would give that payment to Danny, who only sighed and let them pass to his apartment, giving them: some food, shelter and a place to sleep, although he was worried the moment his neighbor would complain about the noise.

At first he let them stay on the streets because they were supposed to be free, but after the sixth time he caught Damian Wayne trying to adopt one he just rolled his eyes and now the little ones were living with him.

So yes, when Jason finally decided to visit his neighbor he didn't expect the red eyed crowd staring at him and judging his actions, one in particular lunged at him and he swore he was about to gouge his eyes out before a voice yelled "Poe, wait! "

Said crow looked at him for a few more seconds before perch on the head of the prettiest boy he had ever seen, who approached to offer him a hand "I'm sorry, they're very overprotective" he muttered worried.

Jason almost fell over laughing when he noticed that this was B's "weird case" about the rise in crows alongside the supposed "new rogue" in town, when all he saw was a college boy with a murder of crows living in his house, maybe creating a new messaging system.

He was going to have so much fun with this, maybe he'd even manage to go on a date with his eyes intact, who knows.

[nade2308]

“I joked about leaving him, but I’m not ready to give up on that little asshole. No matter how much he makes me want to punch him in the face sometimes.”

“Hey…we can’t give up. Kory’s right. If we turn ourselves into monsters trying to fight Deathstroke, there won’t be anything good left when it’s over.”

Part 1 || Part 2

@thethistlegirl