#if I were the justice league and I got caught in the crossfire of a mutilated ex employee and their corrupt boss who mutilated them

[soullessjack]

the funniest thing about dc villains is they’ll either be evil capitalists with unethical experiment corporations, their employee who gets fucked over by their unethical experiments and just wants vengeance, normal crook who becomes an abnormal crook because they got hit with evil chemicals or Big Evil God Who Feeds On Death And Eats Children. incredible range.

[aprocessionofthoughts]

Trust

part 9 of DLM ao3

After the stew was done and Danny got out of the shower they all sat down to eat. They ate in silence for a while neither one of the bats wanting to push Danny into feeling uncomfortable, but Jason had a question he wanted to ask. He probably should have asked earlier, but he’ll blame it on the shock for not thinking of it sooner.

“Hey, Danny?”

“Yeah?” Danny said, setting his spoon down.

“How did you know it was me?”

Danny tilted his head and squinted, “What do you mean?”

Jason gestured with his spoon, off to the side Dick was watching them, his gaze analytical. “I mean, how did you know the guy in a red helmet was me?”

“Oh.” Danny settled and picked up his spoon again, through a mouthful of soup he answered, “It wuz th’ same ectoplasmic signature.”

Jason stared. He glanced at Dick, but he also looked confused.

Across from them Danny paused and glanced between them warily. He stared at Dick for a moment before turning to Jason. “Like I mentioned before, we’ve both been… death touched. And when someone’s been death touched a bit of ectoplasm gets incorporated into their system, the amount of ectoplasm varies depending on the situation. But when ectoplasm binds with a person it develops its own unique chemical signature. You can think of it like DNA. Ghosts and some machines can sense the differences, so when I came across Red Hood, I could sense that it was you.”

“Huh.” Jason said unable to come up with anything else in the face of discovering that he gave of what probably amounted to his own unique radioactive signal.

“And you said some machines can track this?” Dick asked. Jason was thankful that his brother was here because he wasn’t sure if he was up for asking all the necessary questions.

Danny looked hesitant again and looked at jason.

Jason nodded at him and Danny looked a little reassured.

“Yeah. There are a few. That’s how the GIW are tracking me. I don’t think they were around Jason enough to latch onto his ecto-signature so you shouldn’t need to be worried about them tracking you down. Gotham has plenty of low level ghosts so their scanners should be pretty muddled. But that’s also why I should go. My signature is stronger than the shades of Gotham and They know how to track it. I don’t want to give you any more trouble.”  Daanny wasn't looking at either of them, instead he was completely focused on stirring his stew.

Jason and Dick glanced at each other.

“Hey, Danny, look at me.” Jason said.

It took a bit, but eventually Danny looked up.”

Jason smiled slightly, “I told you I’d protect you, didn’t I?”

Danny looked away, biting his lip. “I don’t want to put you in danger.”

Jason reached across the table and placed his hand over one of Danny’s. “I’m Red Hood, kid, I can defend myself. And there are plenty of bats in Gotham who would love to help.”

“The GIW are different. They don’t care who they have to hurt to get what they want. They’ll just keep bringing in more agents until they get me.”

“Well then we’ll bring in the Justice League.” Jason said, Bruce would be okay with it if Jason told him it was to protect a kid. 

“I don’t want you to get caught in the crossfire. I won’t let you get hurt.” Danny said, shaking his head. 

Jason glanced over at his brother. Dick was always better with the emotional talk.

“We’re vigilantes Danny. We’ve been trained in defending ourselves and others.” Dick said.

“And they wouldn’t be able to take us down without causing people to go after them for attacking vigilantes.” Jason added.

Danny shook his head harder, he was staring at the table, his eyes slightly glossy. “They won’t care, they'll lie and say you were defending dangerous creatures, that you were being manipulated by evil ghosts.” Danny laughed bitterly. “Or they’ll claim you’re also contaminated and capture or exterminate you. They’ll do anything to get what they want.”

There was more to this, Jason knew. Something bad had happened to the kid, apart from the obvious scar, but now wasn’t the time to push for information. Right now, they needed to convince Danny to stay with them, to let them protect him.

Jason got up, walked around the table and crouched by Danny’s chair. “Kid, look at me.” Jason said gently. He waited till Danny did before continuing. “I know you’re scared,” Danny opened his mouth and Jason continued before he could argue, “and I know you’re worried about us getting hurt. But this is what we do. We fight to protect people. And there are a lot of powerful people on our side. And I’m sorry we haven’t been there for you before, I’m sorry we didn’t get to you in time in the past, but we’re here now. Together we can take down the GIW. Let us help you.”

Danny’s eyes started watering, and Jason reached up to give his shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Then Jason was falling back as the kid launched himself at him. Jason held Danny as he started to sob. “I’ve got you, kid. I’ve got you.”

“Thank you.” Danny whispered as he cried. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

[lazydoodlesandfanfic]

Would You Kindly (Justice League X Male!Reader)

Characters: Justice League X Male!Reader

Universe: DC

Warnings: Mention of illegal activity, and a tiny bit of swearing

Request: Can i get a Justice League x male reader who is so has the power of mind control and their so powerful all they have to do is say: can you kindly _______? The Justice League spies on the r but when he gets captured he's gives up. And decideds to stop But the league give him a choice join J.L.A OR GO TO JAIL. HE JOINS J.L.A.

It took a long time for the Justice League to become aware of you. You covered your tracks well and it wasn’t until an outside source connected several abnormalities which led back to you, and they went to the nearest hero with their findings. When the group found out how serious this was, they all got to work on locating you and finding ways to stand a chance- which was admittedly hard. 

They’re pieced together that you had the power of mind control, and through security cameras with audio and talking to the victims of your powers, all you said before making your request that forced them to do as you said, was “Would you kindly”. It was so subtle and polite but it did the trick, and no one was able to refuse your request. Your crimes included stealing a large amount of money from a bank which you used to get an apartment, and you then ‘convinced’ your landlord to lower the rent and even let you skip months when money was short. However, you also had used your powers for other things; getting another ice cream free to give it to a kid who dropped there, told by the child, and you also stopped a guy getting mugged by telling the robber “Would you kindly fuck off?”. There were several other reports of people who had encountered you and had good experiences. Still, with your powers, you posed a threat if you decided to use your powers for the wrong thing. 

Bruce was in charge of locating you, with Diana being the first one to talk to you and Barry was immediately back up, then Clark, Bruce and Arthur were his back up if things really went haywire. Bruce located you and got a good read on your routine and soon they located a good place to confront you; You walked down a pretty isolated road on your way home, where there was no risk of civilians getting caught in the crossfire. “Hopefully there won’t be too much of a struggle.” Diana pointed out. “If we act before he’s able to say those words and give an order, then we’ll be alright.” 

With a plan in mind they acted, Diana several steps behind you so you wouldn’t notice her as the others followed from high above, until you reached that section of road. “Excuse me?” She called after you. You turned, immediately recognising her, and she heard you mumble ‘shit’. “You know why I’m here?” She asked, catching up to you as you shoved your hands in your coat pockets and chuckling. 

“You finally caught on that I can make people do as I say with a simple phrase?” You questioned, and she nodded. “So… am I under arrest or… do you have that power?” You inquired.

“We’d like to talk with you… if you’d come with me?” She opened an arm to request you to walk in the direction. You picked up on that first word, and you knew it was best to just nod and walk. As you walked behind you, you heard the amount of footsteps grow, and peaking to your left you saw the black of Batman’s suit, and on the right Superman. Oh yeah, you’re in deep trouble. As you reached the end of the street, the batmobile appeared, opening up, and you were ushered inside, where you were isolated from the driver though you felt the car move.

Eventually the car stopped, the door opened and you pulled out, greeted by the Justice League and judging by the cave layout, you were in the batcave. A majority of the team were already sat around a table, The Flash even teasingly patting the seat next to him, and you did as told once again. 

“Alright Y/N, firstly we’d like to know about how you obtained these powers?” Aquaman asked, referencing to yourself with his hand.

“I honestly don’t know, I think I used my powers for the first time when kind of sarcastically asking a teacher if I could go to the bathroom. Then it worked and on a hunch I tried it again and again it worked… dunno why that phrasing and that alone triggers it but hey.” You shrugged.

“And you use it to better yourself?” Superman asked. 

“Not always. I only really use it in those situations when I’m desperate. I was a little shit in school, I barely passed and I’ve got a list of incidents from school so it’s hard for me to find a place that’ll both take me and pay me enough to live. And honestly most of the time it’s a slip of the tongue. I say the words and only then realise what I said and I’ve tried in the past-it’s irreversible.” You explained. “But I do like doing the little things to make someone’s day.”

“I see…” Wonder Woman nodded, before she took a breath in. “We have a proposition for you.” She informed you. “Either you agree to partner with us, use your powers for good and to benefit people, where we’ll also input to make sure you have a roof over your head or… we take you to the police station and hand you in for the crimes you committed.” 

“That’s like asking me if I wanted my favourite cake or to...well… go to prison. Count me in then. What do you need me to do?” You told her, leaning on the table waiting for input, making several members smirk at your enthusiasm. 

Hope you like it! If you have any questions, please send them in! 

*Not my gif

TAGS: @rebellionofthecattle @courtneychicken​  @graysonmalfoy​ @bellero​ @aesthetjic​ @originalpottervengerlock​ @supernatural-pan​ @esoltis280​ @lena-stan-xavier​ @lady-of-lies​ @sebstanismylife​ @macbetheliza @mandywholock1980​ @cdwmtjb8​ @caswinchester2000​ @determinedpines​

[frankendykes-monster]

If you have the time, I remember you said Batman Brave and the Bold was better than the DCAU. Why do you think so exactly?

Warning for some rambling because I am sleepy.

Even though this is not how it is supposed to work, as I grow older, I progressively like less and less "adult" superhero media. I couldn't tell you when this process began, I just know I thought The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen were hot shit when I was 16 and now I just have copies of them on my shelf out of obligation more than anything.

But more so I think my frame of reference with regards to superheroes is deftly inspired by Grant Morrison and David Mazucchelli's statements on the subject. Grant Morrison for just how much he can shamelessly embrace how endlessly fucking weird superheroes are and how that should be the default of the sub-genre. His quote "Adults...struggle desperately with fiction, demanding constantly that it conform to the rules of everyday life. Adults foolishly demand to know how Superman can fly...when the answer is obvious even to the smallest child: because it's not real." began to put the pieces in place for me. Mazucchelli's "once a depiction veers towards realism, each new detail releases a torrent of questions that exposes the absurdity at the heart of the genre. The more realistic superheroes become, the less believable they are. Its a delicate balance. But this mucb I know: superheroes are real when theyre drawn in ink." is the complementary statement. Seeing Batman be described as a "detective scientist ninja that dresses like Dracula and drives around in a rocket car" by Chris Sims is pretty much how I got to this moment now. Superheroes are completely and utterly ridiculous, you cant take them seriously in the way a lot of people do.

Superheroes functionally first dealt with the issue of realism after the Marvel boom of the 1960's. Stuff like the Fantastic Four being unable to stop Galactus no matter what they do or Spider-Man being put through the wringer permanently changed the game, and there's never been a definite answer to what direction these characters should go in the decades since then, so I typically regard the Silver Age over at DC to be the most "superhero-y" that superheroes have ever gotten (we'll get back to this).

What this all has to do with the DCAU specifically is that it goes too far for my tastes with regards to my personal tastes at this moment in time. It's gotten the critically acclaimed reputation it's gotten for taking itself seriously and yeah I'm no longer in the audience for it. I'm just not interested that much in superheroes in any capacity having to prove that "theyre not just for kids" because, first, superheroes are fictional characters for children, second, god I dont even fucking know anymore. This is more a problem with audiences in general and the cultural expectations of when you become an adult that you're no longer allowed to have fun so people can't take any of this shit seriously so in turn it forces itself to become serious. I remember someone explaining that the 1966 Batman series wasnt campy and silly, it just presented Batman in an honest way, and when people saw that Batman is by nature silly, they couldnt take Batman seriously, because a lot of people are just humorless and not much fun. Anyhow.

Yes I appreciate stories discussing the ethics of vigilantism and the addressing that innocent people would be caught in the crossfire, or when you get to Justice League Unlimited specifically with its 9/11 fallout stuff, but that's been the default for...a WHILE now. I'm very much sick of it. Seeing stuff like The Boys get super popular over on Amazon's streaming service or fuck it the plot of Avengers: Endgame being about how all these characters that children love and look up to fucked up and failed everyone is just rather depressing. This not even touching the fact that the most recent live-action incarnations of Batman and Superman are basically serial killers.

So while the DCAU doesnt usually ever go that far (except for Batman Beyond: Return of The Joker, which is so insanely fucking dark that its the story equivalent of a train just derailing after it accelerates to a virtually nonstop speed), its still a little much for me at this point in time. I dont rather like "superheroes existing in the real world", I like them existing in their own universe playing by their own rules. I'll get back to it and appreciate it more sometime in the future, just not the near future.

So anyhow, what does this have to do with The Brave and The Bold now? This show specifically aims to directly imitate and reify virtually every element of Silver Age comics, AND I LOVE IT. This is a show where you only see Batman unmasked/referred to as Bruce Wayne for ONE episode. It has no qualms about what it is, no conflict of identity, no growing pains trying to make itself relevant, it does what the fuck it pleases. Other than maybe Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, it's the piece of popular media surrounding the sub-genre that is so comfortable in its own skin that it's just endless joy to watch.

There's also the fact that even though Batman is in the title, and is the star, he doesn't really hog the spotlight. The Brave and The Bold, even though its structure is based on a comic series from the 1970's, takes advantage of the fact that since Batman is (was, I guess) the only thing making DC any money, they might as well use him as the springboard to attach every obscure character from every corner of this entire universe. I mean, where else would I or anybody else growing up across 2009 - 2011 would have learned about Blue Beetle, Plastic Man, Red Tornado, Wildcat, Kamandi, Deadman, OMAC, the JSA, 'Mazing Man, the Creature Commandos, the Metal Men, the Doom Patrol, Hawk and Dove, Booster Gold, the Outsiders, etc. You can point to the DCAU getting around to deep cuts like the Seven Soldiers of Victory, but for me personally, my intense love for the entire DC universe can be traced back to this show specifically.

[trickstermiraculous]

You Had Your Chance To Help Years Ago And You Blew It

Chapter Ten:  I Want To Get This Meeting Over And Done With

Summary:  Ladybug and Jument meet up with Superman.

Author’s Note:  Short Chapter, Sorry.

Marinette was glad that she had finished her meeting with Jagged when the Akuma hit. Luka was kind enough to cover for her while she ran off to transform and get back to her old school. It took thirty minutes and from the roof, she could spot both Tim Drake and Dick Grayson caught in the crossfire which meant Batman will most likely bring this up in the meeting tonight.

Once home she spent the rest of the day finishing her work along with scrolling through headlines and tweets to see what people started to write about Paris’s heroes. As expected their aged was brought up but Paris citizens quickly shut it down by saying that these heroes have been on their own for four years without adult heroes to guide them and they have done a damn good job considering the world hadn’t ended yet with Hawkmoth getting miraculous.

Her mother helped her prepare for the meeting by going over-rules and agreements against the justice league coming into Paris. Marinette did quick petrol before both she and her mother waited on the Eiffel tower for Superman. He landed in front of the heroes, raising an eyebrow at her mother.

“Who is this Ladybug?” he asked politely but had a hint of suspicion in his voice,

“Jument current holder of the horse miraculous” answered Jument,

“I need her for teleportation if there is an Akuma while at the meeting and I suspect many of the justice league won’t take a ‘child’ seriously so I’m bringing one of the temporary adult heroes with me” continued Ladybug sneering at the ‘child part’.

“No, it’s ok we just expected Chat Noir” explained Superman,

“Both he and I are the leaders of Paris’s heroes, we can’t leave Paris with two of its main heroes” respond Ladybug while Jument tapping her foot,

“Can we just go to the meeting now?, we don’t want to be out of Paris longer than we have too” asked Jument,

“Of Course” responded Superman as he put his finger to his ear, “Cyborg, we are ready”.

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light and suddenly the two Paris heroes were in a metallic room, on a platform that was surrounded by a computer, the windows should an endless black void which gave the indication that they were no longer on earth. Both Batman, Wonder Woman and Cyborg stood in front of them.

“Welcome Ladybug and…” Cyborg trailed off when looking at Jument,

“This is Jument, the holder of horse miraculous” stated Ladybug, “Chat Noir is busy with patrol right now since we have to have at least one of in Paris at the same time”,

“Oh well, they welcome Jument and Ladybug to the watchtower” Cyborg replied.

“I apologise Ladybug that I hadn’t got in contact sooner if I had known the Ladybug miraculous was active-” Wonder Woman was cut off by Ladybug waving her hand,

“Apologises can be given later, right now I want the meeting over and done with so I’m not out of Paris while a night Akuma appears,” Ladybug said with Jument nodding behind her,

“Right this way then, the rest of the league is waiting” growled Batman as he leads the group down one of the many hallways.

Author’s Note: Sorry for the short chapter. It's just recently I had writer's block and my mental health crashed badly (although I'm better now).Hopefully, the next chapter will be longer, although it may take a while to come out since I want to take time with this one since it's the meeting between the Justice League and Ladybug

AO3  Wattpad

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[radiance1]

*AHEM*

now I love this and Danny destroying the world? Hm yes great angst for later.

But also my brain can't help but feel that, would Danny destroy the world? No, no I don't think he will.

Since his obsession is protection and being a hero and all, and since it's impossible to go against their obsession(at least I think?)

I don't think Danny would actively try and destroy the world, not adding his own sense of justice as well, since the people on earth had nothing to do with it.

Now the Justice League however...

Yea there're fair game.

You can say that after what they did they did, he would maybe see them as villains? idk but who cares.

*AHEM*

Now to go and make some stuff.

-

Batman's relationship -due to recent developments- with the Justice League has become strained as of late.(Not counting Superman and Wonder Woman)

He isn't seen as much around the Watchtower unless there's a meeting that requires the all of them present, or when the Bat computer can't handle whatever he needs it in(which in itself is very rare).

Even when Superman and Wonder Woman got him into the Watchtower, -aside from the time he sat everyone down and berated them about the dangers of plugging something that powered a super weapon into something as vital as the Watchtower, or anything at all actually- he ignores everyone unless their needed for a mission.

All his focus went into safely studying, ensuring it's safety, making sure to not accidently plug it in somewhere and making sure the core gets the energy it needs to fully heal.

Batman is incredibly stressed over the fact that a child was plugged into his Watchtower and used as a power house. If he never left this wouldn't have happened. Hell if he responded faster and knew about the villain beforehand, none of this would have happened.

If only he was better.

This whole situation could have been avoided and a child wouldn't have been caught in the crossfire and almost killed.

He doesn't have time to fully educate the justice league. But when he's done he will make sure they learn.

And he has a bone to pick with Martian Manhunter. He heard the child was screaming, he knew what was happening, and yet he did nothing.

And sure, maybe his reaction is unfair to the alien. But fuck that. He will make sure the alien knows to inform him whenever he hears fucking screaming in Batman's Watchtower.

For now, he just needs to do damage control and make sure the child can get out of this alive.

-

Welp that's Batman's part :D. I dunno if this is ooc but Bruce's parental instincts is going into overdrive and muddling his logic regarding the Justice League right now.

-

Danny doesn't know what's going on. The Justice League, he thought- he thought they were hero's. But they hurt him, they hurt him and they knew he was hurting. He screamed from for long, Martian Manhunter heard him, he was sure of it.

He told other League members. But they didn't.take.him.out.

They ignored him. They connected him to this, Watchtower and it took way more than the villain's super weapon.

And it hurt.

It hurt so much.

What did he do to deserve this. He didn't do anything wrong, he didn't want to serve the villain. But he was forced to. Why can't they see that. Why aren't they helping him.

He's hurting.

And their doing nothing.

But then suddenly.

It stopped.

He didn't know why.

Why know.

Why after so long.

Why take him out after hurting him for so long?

He doesn't know, and frankly? He doesn't care. He just wants to sleep.

*Few days later*

The first time Danny woke up he felt...nice.

He wasn't being hurt anymore, actually, he feels quite comfortable.

He doesn't have enough energy to form his body but, if this continues he would be able to form after a few weeks. He thinks at least.

-

Batman doesn't know if they child can hear him. Or if the child is even conscious at all. But...

"I am sorry." He says. "I'm sorry that this happened to you, if I was faster, none of this would have happened to you."

Batman doesn't care if his apology falls on deaths door. And he knows he doesn't deserve this child's forgiveness. But the least he can is...

"Child. I will keep you safe"

I have

a

thing

So so

Ghost Cores

right?

Now now

Hear me out

What if

They could be used to power things

and how much power something gets from a ghost depends on their strength.

It doesn't really cause harm persay. But it does make the ghost powerless, based on much power was taken, it could either be a short time or a long time.

so some villain that's threatening the earth wants a ghost core to power their world ending machine or magic item.

Here comes Danny.

Because what's stronger than the ghost king?

So the do the necessary ritual to summon, and this time they aren't a fucking idiot.

And actually managed to bind Danny into their servitude.

And they made Danny retreat into his core and stuff.

Now normally

Being used as a power source wouldn't really harm ghosts. More so just leave them without energy.

But here's the thing.

Danny's Half-Human.

So what this means is that it causes him great pain while he's being used as a powersource.

Cause it's taking anything that is viable as an energy source. Which normally it would only take ectoplasm, but since Danny's half-human.

It starts taking a lot more than just ectoplasm from his ghost half. Like blood, body parts, et cetera.

Now the Justice Leagues catch wind of this villain preparing to end/take control of the world, and that he managed to bind the ghost king to him.

So JL goes to combat the villain.

And while Martian Manhunter was passing on physic links to keep in contact incase the comms stopped working at somepoint.

And while doing so he accidently stumbles upon a mind not of the JL and decides to connect.

And what does he hear?

Screaming

Blood curling, anguished and extremely pain filled screams.

And what makes this even worse.

It's that it's the screams of a child.

Dude holy fuck.

I- dude I have no way to add onto this because it’s pure perfection but if anyone else does for the love of god please tag me in it.

[a-wayne-at-heart]

HYPNOTISED: A Jason Todd/Red Hood x OC Fan Fic

Summary: Snippets of a blossoming romance between Jason Tood/Red Hood and an original character (named Ima), with other DC characters in supporting roles. Jason falls for a waitress at a diner he frequents with his best friend, Roy Harper. When she is caught in the crossfire between him and Black Mask, he is determined to protect her at all costs. What he does not expect is her falling for him, too. And how much she becomes a part of his - and the Batfamily’s - life.  

** Not strictly canon. Romance + fluff + minor angst. A lot of Batfamily feels. Title from the Coldplay song. Currently 8 chapters long, each one to be posted separately due to length. Editing may occur, depending on inspiration. :) **

Chapters: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight

Seven

He had been patrolling for sixteen hours straight and decided to take a much needed break. Well, partially. This was a stakeout. Three weeks had passed since the warehouse incident and not a day went by when he was not on Black Mask’s trail. The creep was becoming increasingly difficult to track, even for the Bat family’s standards, so he was patient with every lead, no matter how small.

And in spite of having already gathered a mountain of evidence, he was hungry for more, or at least enough to lock Black Mask and his crew away for far longer than the crooked justice system allowed. Enough so that, this time, the powerful Gothamites could no longer bear the shame of their alliances with him. This was personal.  

Bruce would be proud. He chuckled at the thought that he was being more “detective” than “brawler”. Maybe the old man did rub off on him, after all.

"She checks out." Speak of the…

He almost fell off the gargoyle he had been straddling atop one of Gotham's ancient banks. His favorite. With his helmet off, he was about to chomp on a braaibroodtjies, when a familiar black cape whooshed in beside him. Only a few people could sneak up on him like that, and they all belonged to one family.

"Wh-"

"That young African-American waitress you've been harboring in your safe house," Bruce said gruffly, eyes firmly planted on the streets below and setting up a scoping device on the concrete balcony within seconds using short, well-practiced motions. His swiftness would still put men half his age to shame.

"Wait, what? How'd you...?"

"Why does this still surprise you, Red Hood?"

Jason shook his head. This was Batman he was talking to.

"That's, um... good to know. Thanks."

"Although, I'm surprised you didn't look into her background yourself."

"I guess I've just been... preoccupied." He did not have it in him to admit the real reason for it: he felt wrong going behind her back like that. He trusted her, was maybe even in… never mind. He did not need to hear another lecture on how emotional attachments affect “the misson”.

“Hn.” Maybe he already figured it out, anyway.

"The bounty. Which is why you and Arsenal are working together again." It was not a question, rather a statement of fact.

Jason still had connections to the criminal underworld, which was how he had gotten wind of Black Mask’s ominous offer: his and Roy’s heads for a measly billion dollars each. How original. A death threat was nothing new to him. Neither was death itself. If anything, he was more worried about his best friend.    

"Yeah. Good ol' Roy. We've got an international rogues gallery after our asses.” How many superheroes could brag about that?

When Bruce remained silent, he continued. “So, I guess Luke filled you in on the warehouse incident.” This face-to-face conversation was long overdue, with Bruce having just come back from a mission with the new Justice League of America he was mentoring.

“You were careless.” What, no cigar for not dying that time?

“We improvised.” He had only been following Batman’s no-kill rule. He wanted to argue that showing mercy was what got them into that mess. But this was not the time to sass. “I’m surprised you didn’t sic your new Watchtower pals on us.” Okay, maybe just a bit.

"It looked like you two had it under control." Ha. Right. Wait, did he hear that right? Apparently, Jason was not the only one uncharacteristically trusting as of late.

“See, I’m not so sure about that anymore. This girl, Ima… She saw everything, Bruce. She didn’t mean to, had no idea the exchange was happening. She’s innocent, but I doubt that matters to a sociopath like Roman. There may not be a bounty on her head right now -”  

“He may want to deal with her himself.” Bruce’s assessment made him cringe. Over his dead-again body.

Bruce listened patiently as Jason gave him updates, while still monitoring a local pharmacy for any suspicious activity. Although he did not get an invitation to the stakeout, he was grateful that his former Robin did not push him away this time. In spite of having been openly welcomed back into the family, Jason kept his distance, haunted by his past mistakes. He had a hard time accepting their affection, believing he did not deserve it just yet. Knowing that made Bruce’s heart ache.

The last time he saw Jason smiling the way he was now, as if he had not a burden in the world, was before Joker… No. He wanted to tell his son that he was proud of him for having outgrown (most of) his demons, for having become so much more than he gave himself credit for. That he loved him. But there were more pressing matters at the moment. And he did not want to scare him away.  

“... And she and Roy are getting along really well now, which is great! Less headaches for me. Plus, I mean, it’s not like it’s hard to like her, y’know what I mean? She’s pretty, and silly, and - and -”

Jason felt his cheeks turn red. Shut up.

“So, yeah, she’s great,” Jason finished sheepishly. How long was he gushing?  

He cleared his throat before becoming serious once again. If Bruce were at all annoyed by the waste of time, the man sure hid it well. Wait, was he grinning?

Jason slowly ran his hand through his hair, and sighed. “I don’t mind being on the run. I’ve been doing it almost my entire adult life. It’s bad enough that Roy got dragged into it, too. Well, okay, no - he gets half of the blame. But, Ima? I don’t know how I’m supposed to protect her without keeping her a prisoner in that safe house. Her brother gets murdered in cold blood before her own eyes, and she can’t even visit his grave to mourn him. I’m sure she gets lonely, too. And if anything were to happen to me, I don’t know how I’ll be able to -”  

"She can stay."

" - keep her... What?"

"At the manor."

"The manor?"

"Indefinitely."

Jason was rendered speechless. Just like that?

"I'll trust her because I trust you, Jason. You've always had good instincts, only you used to act brashly upon them."

"Bruce, I'm -"

"Not that person anymore," the older man finished for him. "Besides, it could give you an excuse to drop by more often."

It took Jason all of two seconds trying to process what he had just been told, until the sound of a grappling hook whizzing past him brought him back to reality. The cowl and cape were gone. Classic Bruce.

Oh, the old man had conveniently left the scoping device, too.

"Thanks, B."

[a-wayne-at-heart]

HYPNOTISED: A Jason Todd/Red Hood x OC Fan Fic

Summary: Snippets of a blossoming romance between Jason Tood/Red Hood and an original character (named Ima), with other DC characters in supporting roles. Jason falls for a waitress at a diner he frequents with his best friend, Roy Harper. When she is caught in the crossfire between him and Black Mask, he is determined to protect her at all costs. What he does not expect is her falling for him, too. And how much she becomes a part of his - and the Batfamily’s - life.  

** Not strictly canon. Romance + fluff + minor angst. A lot of Batfamily feels. Title from the Coldplay song. Currently 8 chapters long, each one to be posted separately due to length. Editing may occur, depending on inspiration. :) **

Chapters: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight

Now I’m hyp- hypnotised

Yeah, I trip, when I look in your eyes

Oh, I’m hyp- hypnotised

Yeah, I slip and I’m mesmerized

Now I’m hyp- hypnotised

Yeah, I lift to a permanent hight

Oh, I’m hyp- hypnotised

It was dark

Not it’s sunrise

One

In and out. That was the original plan, a simple extraction mission.

Word had gotten out that an exchange between Black Mask and a Russian mob boss was going to take place at an abandoned warehouse by the Gotham Bay docks: a billion and a half dollars for a briefcase that contained a classified Kryptonian substance that could be weaponized, and in evil hands, possibly set off a third World War.  

It was no surprise that Black Mask and his crew had not thought twice about doing the exchange in an unsecured location. It was an open secret that Gotham’s finest, save for Commissioner Gordon and a few others, would turn a blind eye. After all, they had the criminal to thank for their overseas vacations and fancy cars.

Preoccupied with mentoring a new Justice League of America, Batman put Red Hood up to the task. Arsenal was only too happy to be part of the action. “Just like old times, Jaybird!” the former Green Arrow sidekick had exclaimed. Though it had already been a year since the two Heroes-for-Hire disbanded over “professional differences”, they picked up where they left off easily. In spite of their constant bickering, they grounded each other and worked efficiently as a duo. (Plus, they both secretly missed the banter.)

The plan was to slip past the guards and into the container truck. After getting a hold of the briefcase, they were to evacuate immediately before alerting the cops of the exchange. “By taking the briefcase out of the picture first,” Bruce had explained, “we remove any leverage Black Mask has over us and keep the substance out of GCPD’s reach. I’ll explain everything to Jim when this is over. But for now, we can’t afford any slip-ups.”

But, clearly, life had other plans for Jason that day. When one of the guards he had beaten up begged him for mercy, he begrudgingly relented. Then, the second he turned his back, he heard radio static from the man’s chest pocket; the others were alerted of the hostile take over. He almost regretted his self-restraint, internally cursing at Bruce for showing him the high road. The Russians panicked and opened fire. Chaos ensued.      

So, there he was, just a fifteen minutes in, already running in zigzag lines to evade scorching flames and falling debris. His body was trying to keep up with his mind as he outweighed the risks of each potential exit route. Black Mask had ordered his men to burn down the warehouse, trapping him, Roy, the Russians, and whoever else was left.  

"Uh, Jaybird? I think this is our cue to go. Like any. Second. NOW,” Roy yelled, watching steel beams crash around them. He was down to two trick arrows that were of no use to the situation at hand. And unless they had some sort of deus ex machina, their only option for survival was to make a run for it. Roy went ahead, clearing a path for his best friend to run through.

Jason was about to follow when he heard a whimper behind some oil drums. “Gimme a sec, Roy!” Did he imagine it? Did someone need help? He crept towards the sound, both revolvers cocked just in case he was wrong. He could make out a silhouette with soft curves. A woman? Taking a deep breath, he quickly grabbed her from behind, stifling her scream.

"I'm not gonna hurt you,” he whispered to her ear. Unless she made him. He turned her to face him, and his breath got caught in his throat. The deep hazel eyes, the full brown lips, and the smooth ebony skin that haunted his dreams… now covered in soot. What was she doing here?

He would get his answers later. He slowly uncovered her mouth. She stared at him with wide eyes, clearly petrified. Then, as if she regained her senses, pounded her fists on the graphene-plated symbol on his chest. He winced, knowing that it physically hurt her more than it did him.

He held her close, dodging falling debris as he ran them towards the only opening in sight. Almost tripping over a fallen cargo box, he heard an explosion. The oil drums. He let go of a breath he did not realize he had been holding.

Roy was nowhere to be seen, and Jason hoped desperately that he had already made it out in one piece.  

"Let me go! Ugh!” she shrieked, kicking at him. If it was not for his reinforced codpiece (Dick’s idea), he would have been wailing in pain on the ground. He dragged her behind a post, just inches away from a falling block of charred wood.

The more she struggled, the harder it was for him to sprint them towards the nearest exit. There was no way he was leaving without her. But if they were to make it out of there alive, she had to calm down. And he realized that an emotionless mask with a voice modifier was less than comforting. A desperate time, a desperate measure. With a press of a button at the base, his helmet unlocked. Pfffttttzzz. “Let me try that again,” he said softly, cupping her cheeks, “I’m not gonna hurt you.” The sound of his real voice must have calmed her down because he could feel the tension leaving her body.

He could hear the sirens from a distance rushing towards the blazing warehouse.    

“Jason…,” she coughed out, before passing out in his arms.