#or so he can have an easy transition into batfam

[adelinamoteru]

at some point some of yall will have to admit to yourselves that the jason todd you like and have built up in fanon is not the jason todd that he actually is

inconsistent canon writing included, I have no idea where these povs on him are coming from if ur not actually meaning to do a disservice to his character

[cookie-nom-nom]

How to Kidnap Bruce Wayne in 6 Easy Steps

The Batfam decided to have a nice evening together. They had it all planned out. The Joker was JUST put into Arkam, Harley and Poison Ivy were having a date night, and they sent the Riddler a 5k puzzle piece, so they should have a few hours. Hopefully.

But then entered...the comedian. Not a knockoff Joker, mind, an actual comedian serving as the entertainment for the night. The kids were running a bet on the odds of Bruce laughing. Not actual laughter, naturally, but how many fake laughs Bruce would decide to manufacture. Dick maintained it would be 8 times at most, despite what the others thought.

And then a PowerPoint presentation started, with the words Bruce Wayne emblazoned behind the comedian. "Brucie Brucie Wayne. Local philanthropist, runner of jobs and charities and orphanages. Gotham's number one eligible bachelor if and only if you like kids. But Ladies and Gentlemen and Folks, I'm here to tell you otherwise. Because this right here? It's alllll a mask. I know the real Bruce Wayne, and I have the proof to reveal his secret identity."

Bruce was very carefully keeping his eyes on the performer, refusing to acknowledge the eyes latching onto him, or the occasional covert elbows.

The comedian dramatically flourished the remote and changed the slide. A stock photo of a man littering had Bruce's face crudely photoshopped over it popped up. "See! A menace to society! And I have an extremely reliable witness who swears that the recycling bin was three feet away. Tsk. Some people just want to watch the world burn. Which maybe I'd be okay with since we Matched on Tinder, and yet not a single spark despite how much chemistry we'd have!" A wall of unanswered Tinder messages of bad pick-up lines and far, far too many winky faces filled the screen, all sent to a profile claiming to be 'Bruce Waine'. "This MONSTER left me on read! Can you believe it? Ghosted. And that definitely isn't on me, because my Mom says I can make anyone swoon. Who do you trust between the two? Wayne? Some millionaire who could never relate to your everyday experience?" The slide flipped between Bruce suavely dealing with paparazzi and a sweet older woman. "Or Mom, who can make wonderful potlucks, whereas we all know the Wayne Manor has nearly burned down on three separate occasions thanks to Brucie trying to use a toaster!" Technically all villain attacks, but the public needn't know that.

The Wikipedia page's list of philanthropic acts and charities sponsored by Bruce Wayne scrawled across the screen, the comedian gesticulating wildly. "All this?? PROPAGANDA! This is what he WANTS you to think! When in reality, he's a two-faced, duplicitous, littering, puppy-kicking monster who REFUSES to answER MY TEXTS, IT'S NOT HARD! I'M FUNNY AND HOT AND--!" The comedian paused in frothing at the mouth, as if suddenly realizing the audience was there. They straightened, pointedly adjusting their collar. "We all know the true darkness that lies behind his friendly, ditzy, sexy façade. And so our goal is simple: we are going to kidnap this menace for the wellbeing of Gotham (and my love life)."

Step 1: Become an orphan.

"Alright, the first step of Plan 1 is simple. Now that you're an orphan..." the slide changed with a silly transition animation.

Step 2: Irreversible and extensive surgery.

"Now this step is a bit expensive but-" they feigned a surprised face at the protests in the audience. Planted, no doubt. "I'm sorry, what's the hold-up? We don't have all night! This is literally the first step and you already have questions?" The comedian gestured wildly in the direction of the Batfam. Bruce narrowly avoided recognition thanks to his fondness for sitting menacingly in the shadowy corner of the room. "Seriously! There're KIDS in the audience! They're far too young to know how easy it is to get tragically orphaned at a young age and left with no stability and an empty hole in your life to be filled with grief, rage, and fear!

"Sheesh. Some people have no consideration for the faint of heart. Think of the children! Literally, think of the children you will be infiltrating." A flick of the remote and Step 3: Infiltrate an orphanage popped up. "We all know the easiest way into the Wayne household is adoption. Now that you've gotten extensive surgery to appear like a child, the hard part begins.

"Little is known about the entity known as children. I have put together research to aid in your mission. You need to know how to walk, how to dress, how to speak. Do you know what rizz is? Can you dab on command? One mistake and you're dead. You can fool the hearts of men, but children will rip a poor performance to shreds. I should know, I was bullied severely on the playground every time I tried to bring up the question of what the deal with airplane food is..."

The comedian went on, detailing the absurd plan to trick Bruce Wayne into adopting them. It hinged entirely on the fact he was a well-known moron. The Batkids found great glee in piling on the jabs as the comedy bit went on. Step 4: Marketability analyzed the various personalities and attributes of the Batkids to extrapolate how to lure Bruce into adopting the infiltrator, highlighting key traits like 'small' 'looks like a drowned cat' and 'a glare that is really terrifying for a baby to have'. Bruce found that portion almost tolerable, given some of the kids turned upon one another in something akin to a feeding frenzy. But it wasn't long before the full brunt of their teasing returned upon him as Plan 1 concluded with Step 5: Buying rope and duck tape while not looking suspicious and Step 6: Using flower language to apologize (for the abduction).

"...Alright. So, maybe you don't have the funds to shorten the length of your leg bones. Or maybe you don't have black hair and blue eyes. I get it, re-dyeing is messy. If Plan 1 is infeasible for your budget or lifestyle, then I've kindly considered a second revenue of attack."

A massive picture of Batman filled the screen. The crowd descended into mayhem. "Oh don't tell me the entire audience believes the butts match! We're conspiracy theorists here, but I thought you had STANDARDS!" It was possible Bruce's face was going to freeze in that perpetual rictus. Dick waved a hand in front of him, not sure when he last blinked. "Come on people! They're clearly different people. Which is why I'm going to recruit Killer Moth to do a little crime. All the funds that would've gone to child surgery can now be injected directly into the criminal underworld. It's basically the same thing our taxes do but faster! I've thought this through. Killer Moth will do anything for a price and you won't like actually be in danger. I mean, can you imagine dying to some D-tier villain? Cringe. Anyway, this is your 'in' with Batman. He saves you and it's all very heroic. And then you start chatting, maybe get his number; it's going great. It's been a few months of him rescuing you over and over again, and hopefully you haven't died or whatever. At that point you bring up Bruce Wayne. I mean he's getting kidnapped all the time! It has to be incredibly inconvenient for Batman, and he deserves a break for all his hard work. So the next step of this plan is to convince Batman to kidnap Bruce Wayne..."

.....................................................

The comedian paced backstage during intermission, rehearsing the next segment. It seemed to be going well, a good-sized audience. There was one group in the back that was particularly uproarious, save for one adult in the center. But then, the comedian was suddenly surrounded by children who seemingly melted out of the shadows. "I don't think you are supposed to be back here. Are you lost? Do you need help finding your parents? ....wait, shouldn't there have been guards...?"

"Didn't see any," Tim shrugged. Hard to, when they were strung thirty feet up in the rafters of the auditorium. "Anyway, we've just been adoring your act. Our Dad? Not so much, though."

"Eh, can't please them all. Some people just put celebrities on the craziest of pedestals."

"More like he's listening to someone ramble about trying to kidnap him." Beneath a mask a mile thick, Dad was writhing in mortification.

The way the stages of grief so clearly filtered through the comedian's face was fascinating to watch. "..........Bruce Wayne is in the audience?" they asked weakly. "Like. Right now? Watching? Waiting to ambush me with lawyers?"

"Dad's in the bathroom." Batman was desperately out on patrol to avoid his family's heckling.

"Actually, I don't think he's caught on that you're talking about him yet." Jason grinned evilly.

"Man, I heard he was a bimbo but I didn't know it was that severe. My condolences, truly. Thank god the second half of the interview is about trying to plan a dinner date that doesn't get ruined by supervillains. I do NOT need him coming after me for slander. Uh. You aren't offended, right...?" They could not afford any type of lawsuit. Or controversy. The comedian stuck to petty Twitter bait, not actual problems.

The hoard of children beamed. Suddenly, the comedian realized the exits were cut off. A teen's arm looped around theirs, another surprisingly firm grip across their shoulders. "Nah. Actually, we had some suggestions. How'd you like to do a live interview...?"

.....................................................

"Alright folks, you're never going to believe this, but during the intermission I was cornered by children. It was terrible, I was having flashbacks to second grade..." an artistic shudder. "But thankfully, these ones just wanted to harass me after listening to me ramble about trying to seduce and/or kidnap their dad for the last half hour. Can we get a big welcome for the Wayne kids! I'd introduce them but they all look identical to me!" A fantastic roar of applause at the sudden special guest segment. "Luckily, these kids have graciously elected to let me interview them so that I have better data to act on when trying to kidnap their dad. And is he in the audience still...?"

"Nope! Still in the bathroom. Has been for thirty one minutes."

"Either he needs to see a doctor or he's locked himself in again. How often does that happen?"

"At least twice a month," Jason grinned. It wasn't an infrequent excuse to explain disappearances.

"One wonders how he survives. I like that in a man. Now, quick question. Which of you is the cutest?"

"Damian!" the hoard chorused. The youngest one snarled at once, rounding upon the others. The comedian scrambled away in what was unfortunately not a particularly exaggerated fashion. There was pure murder in the twerp's eyes.

Luckily, three brothers restraining him appeared to be enough. "Don't worry he has his rabies shot yearly," one smirked.

With cautious steps, the comedian approached where Damian was being dangled like a baby kitten. A few moments of examination, and they delivered the verdict that Damian was, in fact, a precious baby boy. The child hissed nastily. "Look at his beautiful eyes! Adorable. You could just get lost in them. Which is why I plan to print out approximately 30k pictures of this child and plaster Bruce's entire room with them. He'd never be able to leave, absorbed in his adorable adoptee."

"I'm his only biological offspring!" Damian snapped, literally. Dick had to jerk out of the way to avoid losing his fingers to the chomping child. "And that would never work!"

"Really? Doesn't he keep little picture rolls of you and corner near strangers into cooing over them?" The comedian is passed Bruce's wallet by Stephanie. "Wait, how'd you get this?"

"I took it from Dick, who stole it from Jason who stole it from Tim, who took it to reprimand Damian for stealing it from Dad."

"Wow, he is not observant in the slightest! I feel even better about my odds now. Oh, would you look at that, countless pictures..." They pulled out a roll. And then kept pulling, and kept pulling, the camera roll beginning to puddle at their feet. It was almost like a clown's handkerchief, save the fact the string of photos was sturdy enough to be used as a rope if needed. More than one of Gotham's rogues had been captured under the guise of Bruce rambling about his children.

"How much can he fit in one wallet?!" Something metallic clanged to the floor of the stage, and the comedian held up a pair of expanding handcuffs for the audience to gawk at. "Well well well, looks like I have excellent taste in men. Wait, there's also some pepper spray. When in Gotham, I suppose. Wow that's a concerning number of pocket knives...and approximately 2k in 100 dollar bills-- well isn't this scarily similar to the list of supplies I recommended in step 5! What, did he just hold someone ransom? Wait. Oh my god, that's how he made all his money. It's guilt that makes him a philanthropist! And all this time we thought he was perpetually haunted by his dead parents! WAIT." The comedian let the crowd howl, periodically interjecting as they paced the stage with grandiose graveness. "I have had an epiphany!" The laughter finally petered out, the comedian allowing the silence to linger. "Guys," they said, deadly serious. "If he made his millions kidnapping people, and I kidnap him....does that make ME Bruce Wayne???"

Batman had to dodge jokes from his kids for weeks afterward.

[ellana-ravenwood]

NEW PART : “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore” 2/3 - Batfam x Fem!Reader (Marvel crossover)

Well, almost two months of not writing as I really lacked the motivation to do...anything, here I am. Back, with the part two of my little Batfam/Marvel crossover ! This is a transition chapter just to settle a few things before the big final chapter where the all action will take place ;). I hope you will still like it :

If you wanna catch up, here’s PART 1 And here’s my masterlist : @ella-ravenwood-archives

__________________________________________________

“Wow, this looks a LOT like Wayne Manor !”

Damian exclaimed as he looked down from the jet and spotted a gigantic house in the middle of the trees. Even the grounds looked like his home, with the forrest surrounding it, and it’s remote location a bit out of a big town. 

The basketball court opened, and the “X-jet” slowly lowered down into it. 

The guy called Wolverine absolutely refused to take one of the Avengers’ planes, saying that the S.H.I.E.L.D tracked those down, had all kind of surveillance on them, and didn’t want one of them inside the school. Too many valuable informations could be stolen and used against them. 

When “Iron Man” assured him he checked those planes daily to make sure they weren’t rigged, Wolverine just raised his eyebrows, smiled and said : “Sure bub, sure. Nick Fury would totally let that happen, and your technology is definitely superior to the S.H.I.E.L.D. They most definitely do not steal and copy everything you do, and know how it works”...And they ended up taking the X-Jet.

According to your youngest sons, it looked and was much cooler anyway. Kinda reminded them of the Batplane...It made Bruce smile, that they liked the X-Men’s plane better just because it kinda looked like his. 

You were landing inside a bunker like place, when Wolverine said :

“Welcome to Xavier school for gifted youngsters.”

************

A few hours before :

Shortly after Wolverine announced you needed to go see a certain “Charles Xavier”, and after a quick introduction, most of you got ready to leave. 

It was decided that not all of the Avengers would go to the school because searches and investigations were always more effective when multiple groups would work in multiple places. And there were a LOT of those dudes, so they could most definitely cover more grounds by scattering all around, and asking questions. 

You absolutely refused to be separated from your family again, and even if Bruce thought it would’ve been better to split up and each go with a search team, he didn’t push it too much. 

Obviously, none of the kids wanted to be separated either, and when you had an idea in your head, it was very difficult to change your mind. You’ve always been a very stubborn woman. 

So Bruce relented and it was decided you’d all go to the Xavier school, as you were the one that knew Klarion the most, and could help Charles to narrow his search down a bit. 

With you came Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Storm of course, the Xavier school was their home after all. Along also came that Captain America guy, Iron Man, Spider-Man and Thor. 

Hawkeye, Black Widow, the big green guy and a few other Avengers you could not remember the name of for the life of you (there were so many new people ! Even with your “charity” practice, where you often faked remembering people’s name, you just couldn’t keep up...it didn’t help that they obviously all had code names rather than simple easy to remember ones like... “Kevin”, for example. Or John. John was good, short and easy to remember) left for other places where the trail was still warm.  

And so multiple “teams” were formed to cover multiple grounds. 

Your family and a few others were going to the school in the hope that Charles Xavier could find Klarion thanks to his mental powers, while other teams would go investigate the Brooklyn Bridge where Klarion was last seen, and yet another team was going to find a certain “Dr Strange” since he was apparently able to travel through dimensions or something ? 

You weren’t too sure, honestly, after hearing so many new infos and names you kinda zoned out and expected Bruce to remember everything for you (as often, really, more than once he was the one to help you remember the name of a politician or actress, whispering it in your ear as they walked towards you).

As you were in an elevator that would lead you all to the roof’s airport so you could go and try to find Klarion, Dick bended to whisper in your ear :

“Do you remember any of their names ?”

You turned to him and, as discreetly as you could, answered :

“Absolutely not. Except for that Spider kid, because he’s adorable and Damian seems to like him. And the one that got Jason and I here, Deadpool. Though he’s not even here anymore. I can’t recall any of them...I think one is like, Odin or something ? The one who brought Tim, I forgot which one but I know he’s a viking god or something.”

Your son let out a little snort, trying to suppress his chuckle so none of the people can hear you, but...

“I wouldn’t blame ya if you can’t remember many of us. After all, travelin’ in another dimension and seeing all those new things is a lot to take in, I know what I’m talkin’ about. So rememberin’ our names ? Tough.”

The short man who made you blush earlier said. He had a sort of gentle smile on his face that you’re pretty sure was rarely there, but it seemed yours and your son’s inability to remember much of anyone’s name made him genuinely smile. He adds, his voice lowering a few octave in an intimate way :

“I can help you rememberin’ in the plane if you want to.”

“I’ll help her, thank you very much.”

Your husband says, interposing himself between you and that...Badger guy ? Was that his name ?

“Logan.” 

He answers the question you didn’t ask, and you’re genuinely surprised. With a charming smirk that you thought only Bruce could have, “Logan” adds :

“It was written all over your face you didn’t remember my name. And hey, I’d like for you to call me Logan more than Wolverine y’know.”

Bruce gives an outraged look to “Logan”, as you try your best not to blush (that guy had a strange kind of aura...he was essentially a hairy midget who was totally not your style and yet he seemed to have a strange effect on you).

Wolverine answered your husband’s glare with an infuriating knowing smile, and you could almost feel Bruce’s blood boiling. 

It’s only Tim and Damian laughing quietly that eased the atmosphere. But their laughter most definitely finish to vex your Broosh, who threw an arm around your shoulder and looked proudly high in front of him. 

Jealous Bruce always made you smile, and here, doing some PDA while on a mission ? Yup, definitely jelly. 

The elevator quickly brought you to the top floor, where you discovered a rather big “airport” for such a building. Quite the fancy place. Even Bruce never even though about putting an airport on his roof. A heliport was amply sufficient. 

The man called Tony Stark, who had a rather advanced armor around his body, casually walked towards one of the plane stamped with a big “A” on. 

“Seriously, those people don’t know the meaning of the word “discreet””. 

Your husband said as he saw the planes. You roll your eyes, but don’t say anything. You don’t think any less though, because those words were coming from a guy who had a “bat” aesthetic in everything he did, including flying vehicles so...Not particularly discreet either. 

But Logan grabbed Iron Man’s shoulder before he could reach one of the “A” plane, and said : 

“Ah where are you going Stark ? We’re not taking one of yours.”

Tony rolled his eyes the hardest he could, as he shooed away Logan’s hand and said, beyond exasperated : 

“I’m telling you for the thousands time Logan, our Avengers planes aren’t tracked !”

“Says you. We’re still taking the X-Jet.”

“But there’s more space on our planes.”

“We’re still taking the X-Jet.”

“They’re faster !”

“We’re still taking the X-Jet.”

“I promise you they’re safe, they won’t spy on your precious little school, the S.H.I.E.L.D has no hold over our planes !”

Short silence. 

“We’re still taking the X-Jet.” 

“Be reasonable Wolverine please, this is getting ridiculous.”

“Bub, do I look like someone who’s reasonable ? We’re taking the X-Jet.”

“But-”

But the short hairy man known as “Wolverine” was already leaving, clearly not about to listen to more of that Stark guy’s plea. 

Well apparently...you were taking the X-Jet.

************

It must’ve been less than ten minutes since your family, a few of the X-Men and a few of the Avengers climbed into the jet flying in the direction of the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, when Logan jumped on his feet, put the plane on auto-pilot and rushed at the back of the vehicle.

“The hell is wrong with that guy ?”

Jason asks as you all turn to look at him run across the plane. Your husband looks insistently at you as if to say : “see, I’m better” (like you needed a proof of that). Clearly not quite over the fact the clawed mutant managed to make you blush. Twice. 

For the past fifteen years, he was the only one that ever managed to do that !

Dick says :

“Maybe the toilets are over there ? I mean, when you gotta go, you gotta go.”

But then Logan comes back with Deadpool, dragging him by the collar.

“What are you doing here Wade, I thought we told you to leave and never come back !”

“Wow alright Scar, tell your hyenas to lower their guard please I’m not here to cause trouble; honest !”

Deadpool says, his hands up as he faces the Avengers taking a fighting stance in front of him. 

The man who brought you to the Avengers’ Tower was immediately kicked off of the building as soon as you all started to make plans to run after Klarion and Loki.  Somehow though, and oddly enough it didn’t really surprise you, he managed to get onto the X-Jet. 

“Wade, whenever you’re around trouble just comes by itself. We told you not to tag along already. Three times at the watch tower until we forcefully throw you out. So now, time to leave.”

Wolverine was opening the jet’s hatch, but before he could get a hold of “Wade”, Deadpool jumped on his feet and went to hide behind your husband.

“He’s clearly a mad man, he’s trying to kill me ! Hey, you’re very against killing right ? I read it somewhere in a comic once...”

“What ?”

“Nevermind, I’m crazy. But I deserve to live, just like everyone ! Just stop him from trying to kill me ! PLEASE GOD OH GOOOOOOOD, I’M TOO YOUNG TO DIE !! I STILL HAVEN’T SEEN ALL THE FANTASTIC BEASTS MOVIES AND I’M...TOTALLY A VIRGIN !! I’VE BEEN A FAN OF J.K ROWLING FOR DECADES, I DESERVE TO KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEEEEEEEEEEEN !! I DESERVE TO KNOW REAL LOOOOOOOOOOoooOooooOoooVE !!”

Deadpool was yelling dramatically, latching his arms around your husband’s leg.

And you had to admit, there was something comical about seeing a grown ass man holding the big scary Bat like that. Bonus point for the face Bruce was making, clearly unsure as to how to react to all of this. It was rare to see an unsure Batman.

Ah, but in the short time you’ve known that Wade Wilson, you already realized that he was probably the only person that could destabilized anyone with his behavior. You kinda liked that. 

Logan was rolling his eyes now, and with a sigh walked resolutely towards Deadpool and Bruce. 

But your husband stopped him by putting a hand on his chest. And though Logan was at least an entire foot smaller than Bruce, he still looked impressive as his eyes narrowed at your husband and his muscles tightened, fists slowly closing. You had a bad feeling about all this...

“Listen, bub. You have no idea what this guy is capable of. And believe me, if I throw him out of the plain  he won’t-”

“I can’t let you do that. He might be clinically insane, but we can’t just kill him like that !”

“But he can’t die and-”

“YES ! YES I CAN, I’ll die a horrible death if he throws me out.”

“Wade you-”

“Please mister Batman, don’t let him throw me out ! Show that you have a heart and ignore all the bad writing you’ve been a victim of lately !”

Once again, there’s a small silence following Wade’s apparent words of madness...But you have to say, you’re not a big fan of throwing people out of planes either. So before everything turns sour, as you can see both Wolverine and Bruce getting wayyyy too tense, you interpose yourself in-between all of them. 

You know that Bruce already having prejudice against Logan because he flirted a little with you is not any good news, and Wolverine himself ? Well it seemed like he also could suddenly snap if pushed too much. 

“Wow wow wow wow. Let’s be reasonable about it. Yeah yeah I know, you’re not a reasonable guy. Well you’re going to be right now.” 

Your words surprise the Wolverine so much, that his fists unlock and his eyebrows raise. Your husband gives him a sneaky look that most definitely means : “haha, she got you didn’t she ?”. But he’s immediately put back in his place as you glare at him too, and he relaxes as well. Forcibly.

“Ok. I must admit I don’t know Deadpool since very long, but he’s the one that lead us to the Avengers. You guys are the one that instantly attacked him without giving him any chance ! Now maybe you gave him lots of chances before -at those words, all the Avengers and X-Men nods- but just give him one last one ok ? I have a good feeling about him.” 

************

You were sitting next to Deadpool...Who was literally taped to the wall. You guessed in this world, the black electric tape was very strong. According to Logan, this was the only way to make sure he wouldn’t do anything stupid. Dangerous for everyone, or for himself. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t convince them to let you join and all.” 

“Ah well no worries, at least they didn’t throw me off the plane ! I hate when that happened. Regenerating from being as flat as a pizza is very painful.”

“You can..regenerate ?” 

“Yup ! Haven’t you noticed, the tear your kid made with that knife looking like a bat in my awesome costume I definitely clean often...is still there. But the wound isn’t.” 

“Oh right. Neat.” 

“Not really. Healing powers mean I can’t die, and I really want to die...” 

“...That’s awful. Are you ok ?” 

“Does someone that tell you they want to die sound ok ?” 

“Well if they say out loud they want to die it’s like a cry for help, so a sort of step to recovery you know ?”

“I-Wh-...What ? I never saw it like that. I mostly just talk about it out loud because I hope someone will hear me and finish me off somehow.” 

“Oh.” 

After that, it seemed like Wade did not want to talk anymore as he turned away from you, and somehow managed to put on a pair of knock-off air pods in his ears, and blasted the main theme from the movie “The Godfather” so loud that you could hear it as you were sitting next to him. 

************

There was a long silence that installed itself in the plane, as no one talked and thought of the task ahead, completely focused on...

“So, I have no idea what you guys’ names are. I zoned out half-way through the little man’s explanation, as I already listened to it when I found him and my friend Hulk was holding him upside down.” 

Thor said casually, shattering this all impression of seriousness. It makes you chuckle, even more so when Dick exclaimed : 

“OH THANKS GOD (literally) ! I was so afraid to ask ! I’m so glad you started. Because except for Logan, Ororo and Kurt who literally saved my life, I cannot remember who any of you are !”

You full on laughed, as the idea that none of you really knew how the others were called and yet still managed to trust each others was very funny to you. Quickly, your communicative laughter reached the rest of the team (well, almost, Bruce and Logan only exhaled a little bit of air, like a millisecond chuckle). 

It takes you all a little while to calm down, but as you all stop to laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation, Thor continues : 

“So, should we introduce ourselves again ? This time there’s much less of us, it should be fine. Guests must start, it is the norm. Go ahead now, little Red Robin’s sidekicks. Introduce yourselves.”

“...Red Robin’s sidekicks ?” 

Your entire family turns to Tim, who turns very pale all of a sudden. He smiles awkwardly at you all and says : 

“Um. To my defense, I was hung upside down by a green goliath who was threatening to “smash” me and the subject of family seemed a little iffy with Thor here. I said the first thing that came to my mind.” 

This makes you and your husband smile, and your two oldest son to roll their eyes. Your youngest however, jumps on his feet and says : 

“I’m Robin ! And most definitely not his sidekick ! I’m...”

There’s a pause where Damian looks at his brother almost sadly, and oh you know exactly what he’s about to do. 

“I’m his brother. His equal. Or so I thought...” 

Oh. Smart little Damian. Guilt tripping your Tim, so that in a near future he will do something for him. Tim reddens even more in embarrassment and adds : 

“It really was just to save myself ! I don’t think of any of you as my sidekicks ! Of course you’re my equal Dam-Robin ! And um, I’m Red Robin by the way. Like the restaurants. Um.”

Thor shakes his head, lost in thoughts, and then says : 

“Robin and Red Robin. Very smart. I see how much research you put in your aliases.” 

You weren’t sure if the man was serious or being sarcastic...But the way he was nodding thoughtfully made you think he was actually more serious than anything else. The blond bearded man continued : 

“Well my turn now ! I am...Thor ! GOD OF THUNDER ! Son of Odin, God of all. We’re going after my brother, Loki. Who befriended that Klarion of yours. Your turn again now.”

Thor points at your oldest son, who doesn’t hesitate to jump in and say : 

“Nightwing ! Son of Batman, the Black Knight of Gotham ! I’m the oldest of our ass beating organization. Criminals. I mean, we’re not criminals...Well, depends of your definition I guess. But what I was saying is, we beat the asses of criminals. Um. Yes. Have I said I’m the oldest of the family ? Well technically my dad is the oldest, but I mean-”

“I’m Jason. Perpetually helping my older brother here to avoid embarrassment by cutting him off rudely and fulfilling my little brother’s duty at the same time. Two birds with one stone. I like guns. Unlike my dad...”

Bruce just gives an exasperated look to Jason, and your son rolls his eyes : 

“I just gave you the perfect opportunity to introduce yourself ! Amazing transition ! But I guess you weren’t ready, so um...Discout Bruce Wayne, go.”

You slap the back of your son’s head at his disrespect towards your new friend, and give an apologetic look to the one you think is called “Iron Man”. But clearly, your son’s jab doesn’t bother the man (probably because he has no idea who Bruce Wayne is) and with a hint (a big big hint) of arrogance and pride, he says : 

“Tony Stark. Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Also Iron man, I saved this planet multiple times.” 

“...And very modest. Not over the top at all. Mm. Reminds me of someone, before I met him, and with less charisma.”

You say, giving a look at your husband. He smiles and winks at you, while Tony Stark frowns, pretty sure you just insulted him. But you don’t leave him the time to say anything as you continue : 

“(Y/N). I don’t have a superhero name because technically I’m not one. It was kind of...unlucky for me to be there. At the same time lucky, I would be dying of being worried sick right now if I wasn’t there and knowing where my family was. And...That’s all.”  

“Wolverine. But y’all can call me Logan.” 

Ah. Short (like him). To the point. You liked it. 

“Batman.” 

Even shorter (unlike him), you liked it even more. 

Turning to your husband you smile and forgetting for a second you were surrounded by a bunch of strangers, you cuddled a little closer to him. 

“I’m Storm. Or Ororo. As you wish. I control the weather, and I teach at the Xavier school, I help young mutants to understand their power more. As I wish I had that kind of help as a child.”

Wow. Majestic. You were quite impressed, and clearly, so were your sons. You had to close Jason’s mouth. And Dick’s. Tim and Damian got the message. 

“Spider-Man ! I um...Can do whatever a spider does. According to that song at least. Sorry. I’m not good at introductions, my teachers always said so. ”

You smile encouragingly at him. He was one of the only one you remembered the name of, only because he brought your youngest son and seeing how Damian talked about him, he seemed quite fond of him already. And it was rare, that your kiddo was fond of someone that fast, so that Spider kid must be quite something. You got it though, he did have a relaxed, nice vibe about him, if not a bit awkward. 

“I am Captain America, please to meet you all, I am very glad we’re on this mission together. Let’s hope for a peaceful coalition until this is all over. Now that the introductions are done, I think we should-”

“Oh, typical American to forget the German guy ! I’m Kurt, an X-Men since many years. But a lot of people in the circus called me Nightcrawler and it stuck. You can call me whatever you want.”

“In the circus ! No way I used to be in a circus ! I was an acrobat !”

“Oh me too !”

Dick excitedly jumped on his feet, so did Kurt, while the one called “Captain America” was clearly feeling very uneasy. 

“I um, am sorry, Nightcrawler. I did not pay attention. I would never-”

“Relax Kapitän, I was only teasing. I know you would never forget me on purpose ! It was my fault. I was standing in the shadow. I disappear, in the shadow.” 

Damian’s eyes widen as he witnessed Kurt slowly becoming invisible as he retrieved to the shadows. 

“WOW ! So cool !”

Nightcrawler came into the light again, and smiled brightly at your son : 

“Thank you very much young man, it is rare people think of my ability as rare. Usually, they’re frightened.” 

Damian looked curiously at Kurt, and asked : 

“...Why ?” 

You could clearly see the shock on the mutant’s face, at the candid and innocent question Damian asked. It was probably the first time in a very long time he met someone that did not judge his appearance at all...You were very proud of your son, in that moment. 

“Wow is that really what you’re all going for ? What a joke ! And you say I’m the dishonest one ? Well let me re-introduce all of you.” 

The cute and sweet moment is shattered by Deadpool sly laughter, the shift in the mood is brutal and you wonder how it happened. He continues : 

“I can’t say anything about you all...Batfamily, I don’t know you, only through a few terribly written comics. I’m sure you’re much more than the cliches in there...Proof is that little Tim here hasn’t had a drop of coffee in hours ! And Jason didn’t shoot anyone, also that Damian kid totally accepted Nightcrawler seconds ago and wasn’t a brat !” 

Silence. What ? Comics ? What was he even on about...

“You’re such hypocrites though, all of you -he points at the Avengers and X-Men- Stark for example, he’s an ex-arms dealer. He likes to think of himself as a philantropist but he really never did something for someone else that didn’t benefit him in some ways, so he really isn’t like your husband. I don’t know why people in the real world always compare the two...”

“What ?”

“Nevermind. Wolverine. He killed more people in his life than me, and my job for a long time was literally to kill people. Granted his life is long, but the man can get crazily out of control and kill anything that moves ! It happens a scary amount of time. Storm, thought she was a goddess back home but really was just a pickpocket that gullible villagers put on a pedestal ! Kurt ? Act all nice and religious, but did some pretty terrible thing in moments he had to survive ? Isn’t that right Kurt ? Oh and Cap ? A literal war criminal. Well, I mean in some stories, but like he fought during World War II and was most definitely not always nice and did questionable things...As for Spidey here ! ...Well he never did anything wrong. I refuse to hear about all those times he supposedly was an asshole. Spider-Man is amazing. That’s all.” 

There’s a big silence, as your family looks at the Avengers and X-men suspiciously. But then Deadpool adds : 

“Oh, and by the way, I’m Wade. Completely crazy, and highly unreliable. I hear voices. A lot of them. Well not a lot of them. Just two. But it’s two more than most people do.” 

And then he laughs like a mad man, and the sudden tension falls just as fast as it rose. Wether Deadpool was telling the truth or not, you couldn’t know. But there was something sure about this all thing : he was most definitely not all there in the head. 

Plus, you had a gut feeling that you could trust those guys, after all, they did look like a lot of people you knew back in your own world. Like if they were their counterpart in this universe. Plus it seemed you all had the same goal...Stopping Klarion, and whoever that Loki was. 

It was vital, to avoid chaos across the multiverses. 

************

The introductions made, you started to all talk about your respective world. How it was where you were from, and how it was here. 

“Registering mutants ? It sounds very...Germany nineteen forties.” 

“Ah yes, some of our mutant compatriots think the same. But us, X-Men, still hope for a peaceful and nice way to resolve everything.” 

(...)

“But what are you really avenging ?” 

“I’m telling you it’s just a name !” 

“...It makes no sense. Like, the X-men are called like that because of the X genes, if I understood. Back home, our League of Justice is called like that because...Well, pretty self-explanatory, but you, why “Avengers” ?” 

“It just sounded cool ok ?!”

(...)

“And so we did that trick in the circus, where I would jump and teleport to the other side and in the dim light people would just think I did an impossible jump !” 

“That is wayyy cool !” 

(...)

“Are you a mutant too ?”

Damian asked Spider-man, and Peter answered : 

“No, I was bit by a radioactive spider.”

“Oh ! Were can I acquire such a spider ?!”

“Damian ! Stop trying to get superpowers , you’re perfect as you are !”

You scold your son, and Damian continues, looking dad : 

"I used to have superpowers...When my father resurected me with a crystal from Apokolips.”

“You died ?”

“Yeah. We all died once. Or faked our death.”

After those words your youngest son glares at your oldest, who yells : 

“OH YOU’RE NEVER GONNA LEAVE THAT DOWN ARE YOU ?!”

(...)

Conversations were happening a bit everywhere, as you were steadily flying towards The Xavier school for gifted youngsters, slowly discovering each others, and the worlds you were coming from.

************

“Wow this looks a lot like Wayne Manor !”

“Wayne Manor ?”

“Our house, back in our World.”

Damian exclaimed, and his father cleared his throat in a scolding way (a talent, really).

“What ? Do you seriously expect them to come to our dimension and tell everyone who we really are ? The chances are thin father. They’re the good guys of this world as well. Plus look at them, none of them really hide their identity. Except for Spidey.”

“Well they’re wrong. I already told you keeping your true identity secret is crucial. This is why we keep our aliases, even here.”

“AH ! Couldn’t agree more dude !”

Spider-man says, turning to your husband. Bruce continues :

“Very poor choice of them. If any of their enemies truly know who they are, their home will be targeted.”

“RIGHT ?! They all parade around with everyone knowing their real names like what’s their problems right ?”

“I have to agree young man.”

“You know the X-Men ? Their school was blown up like, thirty times because everyone knows where they live, and because they dox themselves all the time !” 

“Irresponsible.” 

“RIGHT ?! I’m so glad you agree !” 

Ignoring the current conversation about secret identities, Wolverine, or rather “Logan” as he himself told you to call him (most definitely have a problem with the concept of code names and secret identities, in this universe) lands and says : 

“Welcome to the Xavier school for gifted youngsters.” 

************

“So, how dangerous exactly is this Klarion boy ?”

Charles Xavier asked, sitting in one of the salon in the school. 

“He’s already extremely dangerous, but if paired with someone like Loki, he’d be even worst. At least according to what Thor told us about his brother.” 

Your husband answers, all stoic and serious, and then Thor awkwardly says, as if ashamed : 

“He’s adopted.” 

“Adopted brothers are still brothers !”

Damian fiercely said, narrowing his eyes at the god of Thunder. It made your heart warm, to think how such a long way he came. A few years ago, when he first entered your life, he would’ve never defended adopted sibling with such convictions. 

Tim ruffles Damian’s hair, and winks at him before saying : 

“Look at him Dam-Robin, he clearly didn’t think before he spoke ! And I think it was a joke, right Thor ?”

Thor nods, even though he wasn’t sure he was really joking. He most definitely loved his brother, but it was true he was adopted ? The God of Thunder was a bit confused as to why the little man took it so personally. Ah, but they were raised in very much different ways...

In any case, the focus of the conversation went back to Professor Xavier.

“So, do you think you can find Klarion ?” 

Your husband asks, his seriousness back (he might have been a little on the softer side when he witnessed Damian defending his “adopted” brothers as being really his brothers, but now he was all back to business). 

“Well, we won’t know if I do not try, right ?” 

************

You, Bruce, Tim, Jason, Dick, Damian, Storm and Charles Xavier went to the school’s underground, while Wolverine, Nightcrawler and the Avengers stayed in the upper levels. 

Logan didn’t seem to trust them much, especially not Tony Stark. And if he stopped Tony Stark from going down to Cerebro, then in all fairness he had to stop all the other Avengers too. 

You and your family ? It was different. He had a good feeling about you, and his guts never lied. Plus Charles needed you to guide him to find Klarion, the infos you had on the boy being crucial in his search.

And so Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and Nightcrawler stayed up there, discussing any plan of action possible once they’ll find Klarion. If, they find Klarion. 

Deadpool was there too, now taped to the wall in the salon, as no one was quite ready to give him his freedom yet. He was softly whistling an unknown song, all the while carefully listening to his “friends”. 

************

Cerebro was an impressive room with a single helmet in the middle. Was this huge size really necessary ?

“The size of the room is indeed necessary. It permits for a lot of components to be added, and for it all to function. All the walls are made of very complicated circuits without which the all machine wouldn’t work. 

Wow ! It was as if he-

“Read your thoughts ? I am sorry, I tend to indeed do so with people I just meet. It’s a...defense mechanism if you will, to make sure they’re not ill intentioned. But in your thoughts, I perceived no malice, which is why I’m allowing all of you here, in my Cerebro. Plus, your common knowledge of that Klarion boy is crucial to finding him.” 

Ah. So this is why the X-men left you alone with their leaders so easily. He was a telepath, not just able to find people with his mind. He could read them, and know if someone was thinking something bad or not...Well, at least, it was easy to build trust. 

At least on his side, because thinking about someone always reading whatever you thought were made you uncomfortable. What if you suddenly thought about a wild night you spend with Bruce ? Oh my God, here you were, thinking exactly about that !

“Ah, do not worry, I read into the minds of those I do not know up until I trust them. And I trust you know, so you can...Think of whatever you want. I’ll just add that you most definitely find each others well.” 

What Professor X implied as he smiled at you and Bruce made you both blush, and you quickly looked away, trying to think only about Klarion. Thankfully your son had been completely oblivious to it all, or...Well, those poor souls.

“Stay perfectly still, please.”

Before you could ask why, the machine started and WOW, it was overwhelming ! Millions and millions of voices all talked at the same time, and silhouettes of people started to appear everywhere. 

How the hell did that Xavier did...whatever he was doing ? 

Slowly but surely, less and less people floated into the air, until eventually, only one person remained...

“It’s Klarion !” 

Tim exclaimed, and sure enough, in front of you, was Klarion. He was sitting on something, and saying unintelligible things. 

“Where is he ?” 

Bruce asked avidly. But Professor Xavier’s forehead had more and more creases, and sweat slowly pearled at the corner of his temples. 

“Hey, hey what are you doing you sneaky little rat ?!” 

Klarion. That was most definitely Klarion. Looking straight at you all. Did he just sense Charles ?

“I’ll have you know I’ve been train about mind invasion, it’s witch school 101 ! Now, get...OUT !!” 

And suddenly, the entire machine shut down and with a groan of pain, Xavier took his helmet off. You rushed to him, worried, but in his calming voice he said : 

“I am alright my dear, but this Klarion boy is much stronger than I thought. I wasn’t quite able to get his exact location, but I think we can work with what I have...”

************

Charles managed to have an area where Klarion could possibly be, but it was very vague. However he projected the 3D image he found of him as he searched with Cerebro, and showed it to everyone in one of the X-Men’s many briefing room. 

“This is what he looks like. I can actually manage to print a decent quality picture of him, based on the mental image I have in my mind. If we go to the area I spotted  him, we could...”

“Heyyyyyy ! I know that little Wolverine haired guy !” 

Cutting the professor off, Deadpool, who, from his spot handcuffed to a heater (it was still an improvement from being taped to the wall) said. He had managed to catch a glimpse of Klarion, and clearly...recognized him ?

“You’ve seen him before ?” 

Bruce asks, suspicious. After all, Deadpool had proven so far to not be the most reliable guy indeed. Yet he still somehow tried to help nonetheless. 

“Yeah I did ! You should’ve told me what he looked like, would’ve saved us a lot of work ! I kinda thought he was just yet another one of Logan’s kid, I mean, the dude NEVER uses protection ! Anyway I saw him on my way to get you two from the subway station, and I saw him go in a very special place, from which I was coming out. He’s at my ex-wife’s Shikla’s place...And I mean “ex” as in we’re no longer married, not like, she’s part of the X-men; They’d never accept her, she’s a total psycho ! She kinda rules over the world of monsters and often plans for the end of the Human race. Should we go visit her ?”

And that’s how you embarked for a new adventure down under...Literally. 

To be continued...

__________________________________________________

Well after months of not writing...I tried :/. I hope you still like this little transition chapter. You probably noticed a lot of characters had almost no “screen time” even though they were present (and how Deadpool has a lot of said screen time...i needed him to find the witch boy), I’ll do better in the next chapter ! It’s just I needed a little sort of transition to go from searching Klarion to finding him, if that makes sense ? I hope you’re not disappointed and think things are moving too fast, or things aren’t making sense/are a mess, with this more lighthearted chapter, real action coming next chapter, and thanks for reading ! 

If you did like it, as always : feedbacks and reblogs are more than welcomed <3. Thanks in advance !

[sassycassie-s-writing]

Maskless

By: SassyShoulderAngel319

Fandom/Character(s): DC, BatFam - Dick Grayson/Nightwing

Rating: PG-11/T- (for violence)

Original Idea: This imagine by @imaginesofthefandoms101​

Notes: (Masterlist)(By Character)(About Me) I wrote two versions of this before deciding that the first one was terrible and completely rewrote it. Hope you like it! If anyone’s curious about version 1 I might post it on my main blog. I also really love writing Nightwing’s puns. @welovegroot @batboys-and-other-messes

^^^^^

“‘Night Stan!” I called to my boss as I left the building. The elderly man waved at me with a little smile. I beamed back and ducked out the door.

Blüdhaven after dark was scarier than Gotham. I’d lived in both and I could say that for certain.

Technically it was still my opinion but Blüdhaven was scary. The shadows seemed like they were alive and writhed with what little light illuminated the darkness from streetlights and billboards in a terrifying dance. The night was overcast, as usual, so no moonlight made it quite to the ground, even though I could see the slightly brighter patch of clouds where the moon was soaring through the sky.

I pulled my jacket tighter around me as a chill breeze blew down the street. Why had I agreed to work late? None of the public transit was running, my feet were sore, and I lived a mile-and-a-half away. Not to mention it was getting cold.

Shivering, I zipped my jacket up and started walking faster, eager to get home. To take a warm shower and drink hot chocolate or make a can of soup or something.

I had half a mind to call my best friend and ask him to come walk me home. He was a BPD cop and would literally drop everything to come get me. But… he was probably overworked and exhausted, as usual. And busy. Always busy.

As though by some psychic power of the universe, my phone started buzzing in my pocket.

Incoming Call… Bestie (Dick)

“Hello?” I asked, pressing the phone to my ear.

“Did I wake you?”

“No. Worked late. On my way home.”

“You’re walking?!”

“Gotta,” I said. “The buses and stuff don’t run this late.”

“I'm gonna come get you,” Dick said.

“Don’t bother,” I said. “It’s okay. You’re busy. What were you calling about, anyway?”

“Doesn’t matter anymore. Let me come get you.”

“Dick, don’t worry about me. I'm already more than halfway home,” I lied. I was nowhere close. He didn’t need to know that. I was maybe a quarter-mile away from work. Maybe.

“I do worry about you because I know this city.”

“Then just stay on the phone with me till I get home,” I said.

“… I can do that.”

“Good. While you’re doing that, why did you call in the first place?”

“I was hoping to convince you to go to the BPD’s Halloween party with me.”

“The police department is having a Halloween party?” I asked, pausing for a moment at a crosswalk.

“Yup. I was hoping you’d go with me.”

“What, like a date?”

“No. Everyone at the precinct knows you and likes you from when you stop by with cookies. Just come as a friend. My coworkers would love to see you. We can be ketchup and mustard or something.”

“Dang it,” I said jokingly, crossing the street when the signal changed. “I was really hoping you were going to say Batman and Robin.”

Dick snorted. “Who’d be who?” he teased.

“I’d be Robin. Duh. I'm a shrimp,” I said, laughing. Dick chuckled. “I'm just kidding. That might actually be hard.”

“No it might be fun. Better than ketchup and mustard. Though you’re pale enough to be salt and I'm tan enough to be pepper,” he remarked.

“I am not wearing a seasoning shaker to a par—ARGH!” I shrieked as hands caught my arms behind me and yanked me into an alley. Screaming, I kicked and thrashed. “Dick!” I shouted, knowing that even if he could hear me—assuming my phone hadn’t broken when I dropped it—he wouldn’t be able to make it to me on time. I hadn’t even told him where I was.

Slamming my elbow into the man’s solar plexus did nothing but jar my funny bone and send tingles all the way down my arm and into my fingers. I huffed in frustration and tried wrenching my arms out of his grip. No avail.

I kept struggling as two other men loomed from the shadows, each one taking one of my ankles as I tried to get away. “This one’s a fighter,” Left Ankle Grabber said.

“Fighters ain’t worth it, boss,” Right Ankle Snatcher added, voice considerably lower. “Need easy targets.”

Arm Holder chuckled. “No. This one… this one will break,” he said, voice low and way to close to my ear for comfort. His breath smelled terrible—cigarettes and coffee. I coughed and wriggled, suspended in the air by three men who could easily overpower me. “They just need the right… hammer.”

I screamed and jerked around, trying to get away. Nothing. If I could reach my pepper spray in my jacket pocket…

Whoosh! Thud! A shadow dropped out of nowhere from above behind the ankle grabbers. Whatever the shadow was straightened up. They were backlit but I recognized a human silhouette with sticks poking out from behind almost like shoulder antennae.

Nightwing. Blüdhaven’s protector.

“Y’know,” a voice that was vaguely familiar but harder than any voice I’d ever heard (since I’d never met the Batman) remarked casually. “Taking care of low level scum like you guys is… right up my alley!” He snapped his fingers and made finger guns at the men. “Eh? Huh? Good one, right?” he asked. His smile was so blindingly bright that I could see it in the darkness. “‘Cuz, y’know, we’re in an alley?”

No response.

The newcomer sighed. “No? Okay then,” he relented.

Nightwing whipped his escrima sticks out, twirling them around his hands, and whacked Right Ankle Snatcher in the side of the neck.

I got dropped on my butt unceremoniously by all three of them in favor of a fight. I scrambled out of the way as Nightwing successfully defended himself in a three-on-one, close combat situation. Looking around frantically, I tried to find my phone in the darkness. Hopefully it hadn’t broken. Dick was a cop. Maybe he was listening. Maybe he’d had dispatch send someone…

Nightwing did a flip over Arm Holder’s head and landed between me and them, blocking punches on his sticks and with his own arms and hands.

Left Ankle Grabber managed to get a solid punch that Nightwing couldn’t dodge since he was preoccupied with the other two.

Nightwing’s head snapped to the side so hard his mask popped off, landing near my knee.

The force of the punch sent Nightwing spinning down onto his hands and knees, facing me.

He coughed and grunted, eyes screwed shut. “I saw that coming,” he muttered, tilting his head up to get back to his feet.

“Oh my gosh,” I whispered as I caught sight of his face in the shadows. My next word was barely more than a breath. “… Dick…?”

It was definitely his face. His nose. The eye shape. Jawline. Hairstyle. How had I never noticed before?

He must have heard me because his eyes snapped open, almost scared. They were a piercing blue I knew better than I knew my own eyes. Before he could say anything, Arm Holder was hauling him to his feet. “We’ll teach you to mess with our town, punk,” he snarled.

Nightwing snorted. “Wow. I'm so scared,” he deadpanned.

He twisted and whacked Arm Holder in the ribs with his escrima stick, getting released from Arm Holder’s grip. The three creeps ganged up on him. He seemed to struggle a little since he was outnumbered.

I bit my lower lip and curled up, terrified, and unable to look away. I could swear I heard the crunch of a collarbone shattering. Whose collarbone, I didn’t know. I hoped it wasn’t Nightwing’s.

As the fight stretched seconds to minutes, I got one better look at Nightwing’s bare face. There was no denying it. Dick Grayson, my best friend, was Nightwing. The Blüdhaven vigilante. I gasped and could have laughed if I wasn’t so scared.

I watched, unable to do anything else, worried for Nightwing and praying he wouldn’t get too hurt.

Left Ankle Grabber got a little too close to me. I yelped and scrambled back.

Nightwing—Dick—glanced at me. He clenched his jaw and bent his knees.

With five good whacks, he knocked all three men unconscious within seconds. He flipped one of his sticks in his hand and shoved them both back into the holsters on his back. His face was still mostly covered in shadows. He scrambled to find his mask on the ground, keeping his face turned away from me.

The fear of the situation dissipated, leaving only frustration in its wake. “Dick, stop trying to hide your face,” I said. “I know it’s you.” I leaned forward and scooped up his mask where it was near my knee and flung it at him. It bounced off his elbow.

He caught it and stuck it on his face. Then turned to leave.

I got to my feet. “Richard!” I snapped, a little louder. “Don’t you dare. You’re my best friend!”

Nightwing stopped and then turned back to me. His face caught the light of an electric billboard. He looked like he was caught between angry and disappointed.

“I… I… you… you weren’t supposed to know.”

“How long have you been keeping this from me?” When had I met Dick? Was it before or after Nightwing turned up in Blüdhaven?

Dick clenched his jaw and set his fists on his hips in the same motion he would have shoved his hands in his pockets had he been wearing civilian clothes.

“Not long enough.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why?” My voice was sharp and angry to my ears, but also hurt.

He sighed and took a step closer to me, resting his hands on my shoulders. He reached up with his left hand and brushed my messy hair out of my face and back behind my ear before tracing the backs of his gloved fingers down my jaw. “To protect you.”

How was I supposed to respond to that? I was still shocked that he was Nightwing, frustrated that he didn’t tell me earlier, and a little betrayed too. “Protect me from what?” I finally managed to say.

“When you live the life I do… you make enemies,” Dick said. “Those enemies can and will target the people I care about if they know I care about them. Nightwing can’t have civilian friends. Not if they want to be safe.” Dick bent down and scooped up my phone. The screen had cracked. He held it out to me. “I guess… I guess nothing will ever be the same as it was now,” he added quietly.

I took the phone and shoved it in my jacket pocket. “No kidding,” I said.

“Let me walk you home.” He gestured to the alley exit and tapped his ear. “Oracle, do me a favor and notify the BPD of my current location. Three attackers are unconscious. Victim’s safe,” he said into a comm-link I hadn’t noticed before. There was a brief pause during which this “Oracle” presumably said something. Dick nodded. “Copy that.”

We left the alley. I tried to think of something to say, but everything I thought of was either overly angry—like, too indignantly angry for the situation—or just seemed really lame.

I didn’t want to apologize because I didn’t know what I’d be apologizing for. I didn’t really have an outburst. But I really couldn’t think of anything to say.

Dick sighed as we reached about the halfway point between my work and my apartment. “Look, I'm sorry that I didn’t tell you. I know that must hurt. But I was trying to do the right thing. I care about you way too much to put you in unnecessary danger. You’re… you’re the only relationship I have with someone who doesn’t have a costume and an alter ego. And it’s one of the best relationships I have.”

I glanced up at him. “Thanks,” I said. “For… for saving me. And for trusting me. And for… being my best friend.”

He nodded and we kept walking.

When we finally got to my apartment building, he stopped at the door. “This is where I take my leave,” he said. “We’ll talk later, I promise.”

“Go save the city, Nightwing,” I said. “And thanks again.”

He grinned. “Always.” He moved to leave.

“Oh, and Nightwing!” I called. He glanced back at me. “Be careful.”

That earned me a playful, charming Dick Grayson smirk and a wink. “Never.”

[minchen0897]

Family

Hey there! It’s Batfam week and i decided to try and participate. (I am not sure if i can write something to every prompt, but i wanted to try - and will do again next year so maybe i get better). Again, i tried. This is for Prompt 1: Family  -  Gen, 1321 words TW: well, there is some not so friendly talk in the beginning. So i guess if you are sensitive to that, you have been warned. 

“Urgh...i can’t believe it! My family is so annoying, and now that woman gives us an essay on family!” Damian overheard Chris saying while they left the classroom. Chris was one of his classmates and fit the definition of ‘snotty, spoiled brat’ perfectly. He also wasn’t done lamenting his misery to everyone in his near vicinity. “Mom just yesterday wanted to know why i was buying another knife. Like, duh - i am collecting them! Obviously! Also it is better to have a weapon on yourself in this city” - well, Damian could sort of understand his point in that, but one look at his classmate was enough to determine that he would not stand a chance in a fight against even a newbie henchman. “And Dad is always asking me these weird questions. I think he suspects i am gay. Which i am obviously not. And when we’re eating in a restaurant they are always so embarrassing! I wish they were dead, i swear.”

Chris rambled on and on, but Damian had heard enough, and it left him frowning. Though not only the nonsense Chris spewed, but also the problem that he had no idea how to fill even one page on the topic of family yet. There was simply no way to exactly describe his family dynamics without endangering their nightlife identity, and the one they maintained when there were cameras near was just not so interesting. Plus, thanks to media, people already knew a lot about the ‘spotlight’ family. Walking to the car with which Pennyworth was waiting for him, Damian pondered further on the issue at hand. The teacher had said the topic had to be family. There had been no word about describing the dynamics of his own family. He could also answer a question, something like ‘what does family mean’ or ‘what is family’ - a more theoretical approach to the topic, maybe. His mind made up, he greeted Pennyworth and they drove home.

 The next day, a saturday, Damian got to work on the essay. He had thought it would be easy - the more theoretical approach. Yet here he was, sitting at the kitchen table, an empty document in front of him and thoughts in his mind that could not be written on paper since he could not even grasp them fully. And he hated it. Pennyworth currently was the only one accompanying him, reading a book - The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis apparently - while drinking a cup of tea.

“There seems to be a problem, hindering you to write your essay. Can i be of any help, Master Damian?”, the british butler asked suddenly, pulling Damian out of thoughts he had not realised he needed to be pulled out of. The youngest Wayne scoffed. “No, i don’t require help.” “Very well then.” Excluding the rhythmic ticking of the clock at the wall and the returning sound of flipping book pages, silence returned to the room.

In the end - roughly thirty minutes later - Damian packed his things and headed back into his room, a heavy frown attached to his forehead.

He was not getting anything done just staring at the blank page, that was obvious. Yet he was determined to finish this task, and today nonetheless. Preferably before 10 pm; he was required on patrol.

Without a start there was no finish.

And so he began to type.

 What is family?

 Immediately he deleted the sentence. A minute later he typed it again, sighing passive aggressively.

 Humans are known to live in larger groups ever since evolution allowed it; one can say that family association are as old as humankind itself. Over the course of several thousands of years, more than one definition of family, often differing from one individual to another, was made. These definitions are not only reserved for humans. Animals, too, can have a similar concept to ‘family’. One of the first things coming to mind regarding that probably would be a pack of wolves; but it does not always have to be a bigger ‘family’. Swans are known to choose a partner for a lifetime, and crows tend to visit their parents even after leaving the nest for the final time.

 Damian spent the next three minutes thinking about a way to not stray further from the topic of the human definition of family.

 As the given examples above show, there are different ways and sizes to see ‘family’.

 Probably not his best transition.

 For some people family might mean only the closest relatives; for some family might mean including the second cousin of their grandmother’s uncle.

 Maybe he was exaggerating a bit, but there probably was someone out there who counted them as family.

 For some people the concept might mean only relatives through blood, for others the bloodline does not matter at all. Instead they focus on a bond formed through shared moments. It has been written before that ‘friends are the family you choose’, so for some their friends might be more of a family than their actual relatives. Adopted children also count as family, as a matter of fact.

 He thought of Grayson - and subsequently also of the rest of his brothers and sister(s).

 How one sees family might change in time, given certain circumstances apply or situations differ from before.

As a member of a family that is mostly composed of adopted people, i can say with certainty that it is not different from other families, as far as i heard reports about the life of those other families. Arguments take place nearly every day. Team ups against siblings too.

 At this point Damian had long since decided to never show this essay anyone. He would bribe his teacher to not speak to anyone about it.

 Tragedies strike an adopted family as hard as those who are considered ‘normal’ families. Why there is a need to differ between certain kinds of family has yet to be explained, just as much as why there appear to be several kinds of family.

 Damian was not content with his essay. Not at all. He felt like there were things missing, like he couldn’t write exactly what he was thinking.

 Family is a net of special bonds shared between several people. It does not matter who these people are, if they are relatives, if they share special characteristics, or how many people share it, as long as it is shared by more than just one person.

Family can grow.

Views on family can change.

Adopted family members are still family members, even though it might take a while for everyone to ‘warm up to each other’.

 He was never letting anyone see this. Especially not his brothers. He would never hear the end of it. Thinking about it, Cassandra and Stephanie would also never see this. He would print exactly one exemplar of the document to give to the teacher, and then erase every trace might left.

 As shown in human evolution, family is necessary to survive. It can be a source of comfort, though there also are cases in which family relationships have shown to be toxic and dangerous to the health of certain members.

In conclusion, Family is a complicated concept to which everyone sooner or later forms an opinion that can differ greatly from person to person.

 It was no masterpiece, and Damian still was not content with it, but he deduced that his teacher would find it suitable work.

Looking at his alarm clock Damian quickly got to work on removing every trace of this essay. It was already 9 pm, and he needed to prepare for patrol. Before he stepped into the cave he pushed every confusing thought about the concept he just spent several hours thinking about into the farthest corner of his mind.

The focus on his job as Robin took over, and the nightlife began.