#roys art corner

[royphobia]

take a picture!

[heyaritou]

"I'm so relieved…"

[cnka]

Bunch of mediocre sketches and wips I won't finish

[neda-epik]

Now that i think, i never posted this gem.

it's inspired by some post here on Tumblr but it's been so long ago i don't remember, tag them if you can

[kingcrow01]

@bill-longbow I read your fic Soft target earlier today, especially liked a line, and decided to draw it:

“His skin itches and his muscles tremble and his eyes sting and Roy has to turn his head and bite hard into the flesh of his hand to keep from screaming.”

I loved the internal struggle that Roy was having, and I’m definitely going to check out more of your work!

[c-show]

C. Show

[hometoursandotherstuff]

1932 fairy tale house in Berkeley, CA has 3bds, 4ba, 3,126 sq ft, $1.950m. Look at how cute and hobbity it is.

Entrance hall with a lovely winding staircase, niche and arched doorways. Look at the stone flooring.

Cozy living room in front of a big rounded fireplace. Beautiful high-pitched ceiling, built-in bookshelves and windows.

Look at how cute this little pass-thru is w/the little shutters and built-in cabinet.

The dining room is in the rounded area we saw outside. Look at the ceiling!

Plus, it has doors to the patio.

Cute galley kitchen. Look at the wrought iron on the little serving window.

Look at the door on the pantry.

On the 2nd fl., the primary bedroom is so large and has a reading corner.

Beautiful views from the windows.

Nice en-suite.

Plus, the closet fits a washer/dryer.

The bedroom across the hall is beautiful, too. Look at the alcove.

The en-suite has a brick shower with a wood floor.

Even the smallest bedroom is large and has built-ins.

Going to the lower level. There's a bench in that turret.

This art is sculpted right into the wall.

Beautiful family room. Look at the little opening in the wall.

The sun room makes a great art studio with all the natural light.

There's a laundry room down here, too.

Plus a toilet and a shower.

And, a large room with a kitchenette.

Garage behind the house.

Beautiful gardens on the 4,356 sq ft lot.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1500-Le-Roy-Ave-Berkeley-CA-94708/24839965_zpid/

[fatehbaz]

"The most fashionable bathing station in all Europe". British industrialists and American mining investors plotting the colonization of the Congo, while mingling at Ostend's seaside vacation resorts. Extracting African life to build European railways, hotels, palaces, suburbs, and other modern(ist) infrastructure. "Towards infinity!"

---

In 1885, King Leopold II achieved an astonishing and improbable goal: he claimed a vast new realm of his own devising, a conjury on a map called [...] the Congo Free State. [...] [A] fictional state owned by the king, ruled by decree, and run from Brussels from 1885 to 1908. [...] This was [...] a private entrepreneurial venture [for the king]. The abundance of ivory, timber, and wild rubber found in this enormous territory brought sudden and spectacular profits to Belgium, the king, and a web of interlocking concession companies. The frenzy to amass these precious resources unleashed a regime of forced labor, violence [millions of deaths], and unchecked atrocities for Congolese people. These same two and a half decades of contact with the Congo Free State remade Belgium [...] into a global powerhouse, vitalized by an economic boom, architectural burst, and imperial surge.

Congo profits supplied King Leopold II with funds for a series of monumental building projects [...]. Indeed, Belgian Art Nouveau exploded after 1895, created from Congolese raw materials and inspired by Congolese motifs. Contemporaries called it “Style Congo,” [...]. The inventory of this royal architecture is astonishing [...]. [H]istorical research [...] recovers Leopold’s formative ideas of architecture as power, his unrelenting efforts to implement them [...]. King Leopold II harbored lifelong ambitions to “embellish” and beautify the nation [...]. [W]ith his personal treasury flush with Congo revenue, [...] Leopold - now the Roi Batisseur ("Builder King") he long aimed to be - planned renovations explicitly designed to outdo Louis XIV's Versailles. Enormous greenhouses contained flora from every corner of the globe, with a dedicated soaring structure completed specifically to house the oversize palms of the Congolese jungles. [...]

---

The Tervuren Congo palace [...]. Electric tramways were built and a wide swath of avenue emerged. [...] [In and around Brussels] real estate developers began to break up lots [...] for suburban mansions and gardens. Between 1902 and 1910, new neighborhoods with luxury homes appeared along the Avenue [...]. By 1892, Antwerp was not only the port of call for trade but also the headquarters of the most profitable of an interlinking set of banks and Congo investment companies [...]. As Antwerp in the 1890s became once again the “Queen of the Scheldt,” the city was also the home of what was referred to as the “Queen of Congo companies.” This was the ABIR, or Anglo-Belgian India Rubber Company, founded in 1892 with funds from British businessman “Colonel” John Thomas North [...].

Set on the seaside coast, Belgium’s Ostend was the third imperial cityscape to be remade by King Leopold [...] [in a] transformation [that] was concentrated between 1899 and 1905 [...]. Ostend encompassed a boomtown not of harbor and trade, like Antwerp, but of beachfront and leisure [...] [developed] as a "British-style" seaside resort. [...] Leopold [...] [w]as said to spend "as much time in Ostend as he did in Brussels," [...]. Ostend underwent a dramatic population expansion in a short period, tripling its inhabitants from 1870–1900. [...] Networks of steamers, trams, and railway lines coordinated to bring seasonal visitors in, and hotels and paved walkways were completed. [...] [A]nd Leopold’s favorite spot, the 1883 state-of-the-art racetracks, the Wellington Hippodrome. Referred to with an eye-wink as “the king incognito” (generating an entire genre of photography), visitors to the seaside could often see Leopold in his top hat and summer suit [...], riding his customized three-wheeled bicycle [...]. By 1900, Ostend’s expansion and enhancement made it known as “the Queen of the Belgian seaside resorts” and “the most fashionable bathing station in all Europe.” Opulence, convenience, and spectacle brought the Shah of Persia, American tycoons, European aristocrats, and Belgian elites, among others, to Ostend.

---

Leopold’s interventions and the Congo Free State personnel and proceeds played three pivotal and understudied roles in this transformation, all of which involved ABIR [British industrialists].

First, it was at Ostend that an early and decisive action was taken to structure the “red rubber” regime and set it in motion. In 1892, jurists such as [E.P.] had ruled, contravening [...] trade laws, that the king was entitled to claim the Congo as his domanial property [...]. Leopold [...] devised one part of that royal domain as a zone for private company concessions [...] to extract and export wild rubber.

Soon after, in 1892, King Leopold happened to meet the British “Colonel” John Thomas North at the Ostend Hippodrome. North, a Leeds-born mechanic [...] had made a fortune speculating on Chilean nitrates in the 1880s. He owned monopoly shares in nitrate mines and quickly expanded to acquire monopolies in Chilean freight railways, water supplies, and iron and coal mines. By 1890 North was a high-society socialite worth millions [...]. Leopold approached North at the Ostend racecourse to provide the initial investments to set up the Anglo-Belgian India Rubber Company (ABIR). [...]

---

One visible sign of Ostend’s little-known character as Congo boomtown was the Royal Palace Hotel, a lavish property next to the king’s Royal Domain, which opened in 1899. With hundreds of rooms and a broad sweep of acreage along the beachfront, the palace “occupied the largest space of any hotel in Europe.” [...]

King Leopold met American mining magnate Thomas Walsh there, and as with North, the meeting proved beneficial for his Congo enterprise: Leopold enlisted Walsh to provide assessments of some of his own Congo mining prospects. The hotel was part of [...] [a major European association of leisure profiteers] founded in 1894, that began to bundle luxury tourism and dedicated railway travel, and whose major investors were King Leopold, Colonel North [...].

At the height of Congo expansionism, fin-de-siècle Antwerp embodied an exhilarated launch point [...]. Explorers and expeditioners set sail for Matadi after 1887 with the rallying call “Vers l’infini!” (“towards infinity!”) [...].

---

Text above by: Debora Silverman. "Empire as Architecture: Monumental Cities the Congo Built in Belgium". e-flux Architecture (Appropriations series). May 2024. At: e-flux.com/architecture/appropriations/608151/empire-as-architecture-monumental-cities-the-congo-built-in-belgium/ [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me. Italicized first paragraph/heading in this post was added by me. Presented here for commentary, teaching, criticism.]

[caitwritesao3]

Based off this art, story inspired with the help of @krizariel 🖤 happy early Christmas

Jason grimaced at the tiny slip of paper sitting on his counter. ‘Timothy Drake’ Raising the beer bottle to his lips he took a long sip. He already disliked Christmas, even more so now that he had been expected to attend the festivities at the manor. Alfred once again this year pulled out the tattered blue stocking with their names stuffed inside. Secret Santa.

Last year Jason had pulled Bruce’s name, the year before that Alfred’s but this year… this year he pulled the pretenders name. Jason had audibly hissed and crumbled it up in his fist, downing the rest of his whiskey before heading home. Now three hours and several beers later Jason couldn’t look away from the name scrawled in neat cursive.

What the fuck was he supposed to get Tim! That little prick already had everything in the world. He ran a multi billion dollar company, had taken Jason’s place as Robin, had pretty boy looks…

Jason shook his head downing the last of the sour drink, the bottle clinking on the counter. No, no he wasn’t going down that road again. Tim wasn’t pretty, at least not to Jason. Nope, sure his dark hair framed his slightly round face perfectly, those bright baby blues that seemed to stare into Jason’s soul, not to mention his smooth pale skin that looked so soft.

“Fuck!” Jason swore digging the palms of his hands into his eye sockets.

Roy popped up from the couch where he had been asleep. “What! Who, ow!” he cried out falling onto the floor, his elbow smacking the coffee table. The red head grumbled rubbing the bone as he padded into the kitchen. “You still on about this? Surprised it hasn’t burst into flames yet with you staring so hard.”

Jason glared at his friend snatching the paper up and pocketing it. “This is fucking stupid. I don’t even like him, what do I get him for Christmas.”

Roy gave Jason a knowing look which was met with a middle finger. Jason deposited all his empty bottles into the recycling, swaying on his feet. His vision going slightly blurry, all the alcohol finally hitting him. “Ya know…ya know it’s fucking stupid. Like, I’m already gift enough ya know!”

“No…” Roy deadpanned, crossing his arms.

“I came back from the dead! Like fucking Jesus!” Jason shouted, pointing at Roy. “Why aren’t I being celebrated and having gifts brought to me!”

Roy slapped Jason’s hand away, “Firstly, wrong holiday you’re confused with Easter. Second, how drunk are you?”

Jason did laps around the couch, running his hands through his already mess of curls. Still running his mouth about how the family should be worshipping him, how stupid Christmas was and how fucking stupidly pretty Tim is.

Roy let Jason rant his eye drifting over to the corner of their apartment. Rolls of wrapping paper leaned against the wall, rolls of ribbon tossed across the floor. “You’re absolutely right Jaybird!” Jason blinked at Roy, mouth still open from where he stopped his ranting. “You are a gift and I think Timmy should see that!”

Jason cocked his head like a little lost puppy, still swaying back and forth. “Wha? Yeah… yeah!”

Roy grinned evilly as he plucked the roll of thick red ribbon off the floor. “Get naked, I’ll get your phone!”

—

Tim sighed, head hitting the back of his office chair. His eyes were starting to cross from staring at the same reports for the last four hours. The meeting had run over and he missed Alfred’s annual secret santa pick. Last year Bruce had drawn his name and handed Tim a blank check right then and there. That check which still sat in the desk drawer to his right. Bruce always did like to cheap out.

A ping from his phone caught his attention, Jason’s name flashing. Groaning Tim waited, this late Jason never contacted Tim unless he was being annoying or bleeding out. A minute later it pinged again, bleeding out it was. Time to go. Tim gathered his things, picking his phone up before leaving the office.

The reminder vibration caught Tim’s attention, he pulled the phone from his pocket swiping up on the screen. “What the fuck!” He exclaimed, his face burning. Next thing Tim saw was the floor after he had walked directly into the closed elevator doors. Scrambling for the phone, not that anyone else was here this late, Tim took a deep breath glancing down at it.

The first text said ‘Merry Christmas! I’m your gift’ with a winking emoji.

The next was a picture of Jason, naked. Well not fully… wrapped around his body haphazardly was red ribbon. It crossed down his chest, twisted around his waist before layers of it were wrapped around his thigh and his… Tim’s mouth went dry as he zoomed in on Jason’s crotch. Was he half hard or was it just that, no. No bad Tim!

Tim slapped his face once, twice, three times. Before he could stop himself he texted back. ‘Have you been compromised?’

The response was instant. ‘Compromised by those abs of yours Timbit.’ Tim choked on his spit, throwing the phone into the passenger seat.

[maria-from-ga]

Cyborg, the Greatest Titan

(Titans (2023) #7- Cyborg shows why no one can bring him down)

So there was once a seemingly innocuous question asked on Titans Twitter:

Though some used it to prop up their faves, it turned into a serious and big discussion: Who is the Greatest Titan, epitomizing what it means to be a Titan the most?

There were a variety of answers, majority being one of Dick, Donna, Starfire, Raven, or even Wally. But what I noticed was the surprising lack of one answer: Cyborg.

One of the most popular Titans, whom DC clearly sees as one of the Titans Trinity (upper right corner):

(The Promotional Art for DC Comics' Dawn of DC Initiative by Dan Mora. Cyborg was to chosen to represent the Titans along with Nightwing and Starfire)

Whose removal from Titans lore caused a massive fan uproar, yet among Titans Twitter, probably the most dedicated of Titan fans, Cyborg's name was barely mentioned as a candidate to be the Greatest Titan:

Victor Stone who at his lowest, found the Titans, a team who became the family he needed who loved him without judgement:

(New Teen Titans #1 - Cyborg meeting the Titans for the first time)

(Teen Titans 5x10 "Go" - The prequel episode where all the Titans meet. Cyborg is ashamed of his cyber-mechanics but Beast Boy repeatedly assures him that they are cool and shouldn't be hidden)

The man who took what the Titans did for him and made it his mission to be that for others.

(New Teen Titans #22 and Titans Vol 2 #21 - (Left) Cyborg realizes the Titans mean so much to him because they are his friends who helped him not feel alone & (Right) Cyborg's internal monologue about how Titans taught him being part of team and accepting help from others was a good thing)

(Teen Titans 5x10 "Go" - Assured by Beast Boy, Cyborg tell an ashamed Raven she's a freak among freaks and fits in just fine, a nice callback to his NTT origin)

(Teen Titans (2003) #1- Cyborg relaunches the Teen Titans to include the upcoming generation of teen heroes so they can have a place to grieve Donna's death & find acceptance)

(Teen Titans 3x12 - "Titans East" - Cyborg helps establish the first off-shoot of the Teen Titans: Titans East)

He transformed the team from simply being a group of former sidekicks to a safe haven for all teen heroes

(Teen Titans #100 and Dark Nights: Death Metal: The Last Stories of the DC Universe: Together - showcasing the multi-generational roster of Titans that Cyborg helped establish)

(Teen Titans 5x12- Titans Together - The global roster of Teen Titans that Cyborg helped to create that expanded from the initial off-shot of Titans East also started by Cyborg)

The Titans Are About A Team of Teens That Grew Into A Family

(Dark Nights: Death Metal: The Last Stories of the DC Universe: Together - Donna talking about how much the Titans grew from a team of 5 into multi-generational families)

A Family of Teenagers that not only help each other in the struggles of being a hero but also the struggles of being an adolescent, having turbulent emotions in a turbulent world

(Dark Nights: Death Metal: The Last Stories of the DC Universe: Together - Donna talking about how much the Titans had it tougher than the League because they had been facing Justice-League-level problems since they were kids, and yet every time still came out on top)

And who has committed to this mission more than Cyborg?

Victor who fought for the team when everyone including past leaders like Dick and Donna walked away:

(Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day and Titans (2008) #21 - Left: After Donna's death, Dick decides to disband the Titans and everyone walked away. Right: After Final Crisis and Prometheus' attack on Roy, nearly all the Titans have left the current Titans roster, but Cyborg stayed fighting for the team)

Why: Because he knew how much future teen heroes needed the Titans. To guide them and give them a home as the Titans did for him long ago

(Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day and Titans East Special- Left: After Donna's funeral, Cyborg sees members of Young Justice, especially Cassie, not handling Donna's death well and generally feeling worthless and he decides to restart the Titans. Right: Cyborg tried to convince the New Teen Titans and Roy to start up a new team of Teen Titans to help more teen heroes, but they all refused)

Stubbornly keeping Titans alive when everyone else wouldn't, allowing Titans to reach their greatest potential: a global network so any teen of any generation can find a home

(Dark Nights: Death Metal: The Last Stories of the DC Universe: Together - Titans across generations have gathered to join the fight against Batman Who Laughs)

A man who because the Titans gained utter defiance in who he is, saving not only himself from despair, but also became devoted to giving other teens that same courage, inspiring them to show that they are not freaks nor they are ever alone, thus changing so many lives (go to 2:38 for the start of the iconic speech, but I recommend starting at 2:17)

(Teen Titans 3x13 - "Titans East" - Cyborg's defiance in who he is prevented him from falling to Blood's mind control, defeating Blood saving his fellow Titans, and thus saving the day)

Victor is not only a candidate to be the Greatest Titan, but ultimately is the Most Deserving.

Cyborg is the Greatest Titan, the Lynchpin, without whom the Titans will not work and ultimately cannot because he believes in it the most and thus embodies its ethos the best

(Teen Titans #20- Tim Drake realizing how essential Cyborg is to the team and how he changed Tim and helped Tim after the death of Donna)

The Greatest Character in Fiction, An Inspiration, A Legend: BOOYAH!!!

[empressofthewind]

Fun Facts About Mello:

He is the third youngest character in the series - a little less than 6 months younger than Sayu, and 50 days older than Matt.

His highest rated skill in Volume 13 is his initiative at a 10/10, equal with Misa, Watari and Gevanni. His second highest is his social skills, rated at a 9/10.

He died in a church in Karuizawa, a resort town about 170km (~106mi) out of Tokyo.

His first appearance in the manga is in chapter 59, and his last is in chapter 104 in a brief flashback sequence. He appears in a total of 24 chapters and 244 panels, excluding Linda's drawing of him, his photograph, and any official art separate from the plot. Factoring in all of that, he appears in 266 panels across 28 chapters.

He has his facial scar for 101 of the panels he appears in.

He makes the most appearances in chapters 70 and 77, appearing 27 times in each. Including the official art and the photograph of him, chapter 77 wins by a count of 1.

Of his 244 appearances, Mello can be seen eating chocolate in 88 of them, or 36% of his total screentime. With the inclusion of three panels in which the chocolate itself is not shown (panels of him with crumbs falling from his mouth, a crumpled wrapper in his hand and licking his gloves respectively), this rises to 37%.

The most panels of him eating chocolate take place in chapter 70, with a total of 22 panels showing the chocolate bar in some capacity.

The hand Mello uses to hold his chocolate bar frequently alternates, with 42 instances of him using his right hand and 40 with his left hand. In the other 6 panels, he has it hanging from between his teeth.

He typically bites off the corners first and demonstrates a fairly even split between the decision to bite off the right corner or the left corner, with a slight preference for the right. On one occasion, he chooses to lick the chocolate instead, and on two occasions, he breaks off a piece with his hands.

There are 178 total panels of Mello talking, including dialogue delivered over the phone and other conversations in which he is not visible. 19 of these panels include him talking with his mouth full.

He talks the most to Soichiro Yagami, with 57 panels involving dialogue from Mello directly addressed to him. The next highest is President David Hoope, with 19 panels, and a close third is Near, with 18 panels.

He specifically addresses only 4 of his mafia associates; Kal Snydar/Jack Neylon, Roy, Skyer and Jose. He only speaks directly to Rod Ross twice, and never addresses him by name.

Aside from the flashback in 104, the last person he can be seen talking to is Takada. His last words were "And I don't want to hear a peep, got it?"

[royphobia]

yay

[roseofbattles]

“Bad news,” Rebecca says, cornering Roy in the hallway outside the bathroom. “We have to go out for dinner tonight.”

“Hello to you too, Catalina. Tell me, do you plan to make a habit of ambushing me in the most inconvenient places?”

“You should be prepared for that,” she says, brushing off his complaint. “What if I were an assassin?”

excerpt from An Argument for Therapy by more_than_melody

art preview by @littlewitchbee

this is part of a project I've been working on for @royaibigbang which will be posted Oct. 3rd!

[gilbirda]

For the prompt thing?

Jason has spent the last year trying to keep his brothers from finding out he needs reading glasses.

*taps mic* Uhhhhhh, anybody there?

heheh..... Yeah, took me a while, but here you go

----

“Huh, I didn’t know B changed his glasses.”

“He uses glasses?”

“Yeah, to read.”

“I didn’t know?”

Dick chuckled, the sound getting closer to a strangled chicken. “B is getting old, but don’t say it in front of him.”

Tim smiled, storing the piece of information next to the rest of blackmail material he always had on hand. It was moments like these when Dick was glad his little brother was on this side of justice.

“So these are his? Weird place to forget them.”

True. They were in the Manor, but it was an unspoken agreement that the library was Jason’s territory. Everyone would come and go, but this particular part with the cozy sofa and Wonder Woman blankets was Jason’s corner.

Dick opened his mouth to make a comment about it, but rushed and heavy footsteps interrupted his thoughts.

Jason’s face was red as he walked between his brothers, picked up the glasses, and turned to leave. 

“No fucking comment.” He threw over his shoulder, his boots stomping on his way out.

Dick and Tim looked at each other, making the split second decision to follow the quickly retreating figure of Jason making a swift exit.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Tim ran so he could block Jason’s way out. “You need glasses?”

“I do not.”

Dick looked down at the fist circled around the cute round metal frame glasses. “Looks to me that those are yours.”

“They aren’t. Roy forgot them here.”

Jason was a good liar, but even that was one of his worst attempts.

“Sure. In your comfy corner.”

“Don’t call it that.” He growled.

Dick and Tim looked at each other, smirking. Forget blackmail, this was going to the family group chat.

----

Great art of Jason with glasses!

[carolmunson]

idk, is this anything?

gig economy is fucked so eddie bites the bullet and ‘goes corporate’ for a minute to supplement his income between shows and merch design.

visual merchandising, ecomm and wholesale

and when he says ‘corporate’ he means ‘working for steve who is the CFO of robin’s wildly and randomly successful print and art supplies company.’ buy some art and learn how to do it.

eddie doesn’t wear a suit — not required, lax attire. millennial ‘corporate’. waiting outside the door of the office in the hallway in some big building where a bunch of other companies work, too.

eddie doesn’t know what D2C means, or EBITDA, or ROI, or KPI, or what SLAs are or CSAT scores. to be honest, he doesn’t plan to learn and he doesn’t really care. he just wants to do cool shit with his friends, and all his friends work here now. with some stragglers.

eddie looks up when he hears click, click, click on the wood floor around the corner. leather boots. heeled. pristine condition. follows up to the knee to sheer black stockings over thighs, skirt, sweater, glasses. long leather coat billows behind, bag weighted and heavy in the crook of her arm.

he expects her to blow right past him. and she does, right into the office he’s supposed to be in. he watches as she clicks in the code on the door and flicks the lights on inside. he hears her click her tongue in annoyance, the sound of her coat coming off and the bag slumping down on a table. completely ignored, he looks around the empty hallway.

maybe he’s outside the wrong room? but rob’s business name is on the door. so she’s gotta work here, which is crazy because why wouldn’t anyone tell him about the hot girl in the leather coat that works in the office? he’s been single for months now.

[albatmobile]

Cardinal Sins Chapter 11

𓅪 Living with your vigilante boyfriends for the past year has been amazing, well, almost. Butting heads, old wounds resurfacing and a deadly threat still looming overhead could threaten the sanctity of everything you've ever fought for. Will you finally overcome your tainted past and survive the trials and tribulations, or will your relationships and your faith crumble under the pressure?

Rated: M | 7.2k | TW: violence | Contains: answers fem!Reader x Jason Todd x Roy Harper [masterlist] Previous in Series: Art of Rehabilitating Snowbirds

Chapter Eleven: Meet Me in the Woods

You stare down at your phone quizzically but, nonetheless, make your way over to the sliding glass doors. Upon opening them, you’re shocked to see Jade on the balcony. 

The slim woman is casually leaning against the railing as she takes in an aerial view of the city below. Her head tilts slightly as if to acknowledge your presence as you sidle up beside her, rubbing the sleep from your eyes as you do. The twinkling lights and sound of traffic coming from the sleepless city below further serve to wake you up.

“Kinda surprised to see you again,” you say, breaking the silence. “I’m glad you kept my number.”

“Are you?” she asks coyly. 

Jade is clearly teasing you, much to your chagrin, but you’re too tired and too confused to do much of anything other than blush. You can’t help but feel entirely out of your depth with her. How exactly is one supposed to make small talk with an assassin? No, really, someone please send over notes for small talk with a merc 101 stat.

Without the help of any 101, you simply shrug, figuring it’s the least awkward thing to do in this situation. 

When she continues to stare at you out of the corner of her eye, you ask, “So, what’s up? Why are you here?”

“I think I have some information that may be beneficial to your little gang,” she says through the smallest of smirks. “Figured I’d be nice and let you in on it.” With this, she moves her hand in front of her face, splaying out her fingers as she looks over her nails nonchalantly. “You planning to keep me outside in the doghouse?”

“No, of course not,” you sputter as you quickly move to open the balcony door to welcome her inside clumsily. The entire situation is a strange juxtaposition to the last time she’d been in your apartment and, you know, tried to kill you for, like, the third time.

Once inside, however, she stays close to the door, silently looking around the apartment before allowing her eyes fall onto the open door of Lian’s room. You watch as her dark eyes soften briefly before she suddenly focuses on you again. 

You think she’ll finally tell you why she’s here, but instead she says, “You really treat her like your own.” Her voice is barely above a whisper when she speaks.

“Always,” you say earnestly. 

She waits a moment before responding, “Good.” The way she looks at you, you can feel the respect that radiates from it. You open your mouth to ask why she came, but she beats you to it. “My contract’s been up for a while, I’m sure you know,” she says, and you nod. “However, as of a few weeks ago, they reached out asking if I would reinstate it.” You have so many questions, yet your mouth remains shut. “Last time I was here, I intended to follow through with the job.”

Your eyes widen. “So, you’re here to kill me?” 

You really don’t feel like having round 2, or, well, whatever fucking round it’d be with her at this point, while Lian’s asleep in the next room. This doesn’t, however, mean you’re not willing to throw down if it comes down to it. You also know that while Jason and Roy are ready to sleep, both are keeping an ear out for you and are ready to intervene at a moment’s notice.

Jade scoffs, “If that were the case, you’d already be dead.” She eyes you up and down, noticing how your fists are now clenched, and laughs- honest to god laughs. “Calm down, rabbit. I told you I had information, now, didn’t I? The people pushing the renewal are the same as last time.”

“Who?” you demand.

“Well, Two Face’s crew were the ones who set the bomb off in your apartment.”

You take in the information quickly, your mind spiraling all the while. 

“What about Deadshot? Do you know who sent him?” you ask.

She looks entirely amused, as if she’s doing you a favor by letting you interrogate her. Regardless, she answers. 

“That would be Black Mask.”

Your mind is racing a mile a minute, no, second, as you take everything in. That just leaves…

“So, who sent you?”

With this, the corner of her lip quirks up briefly. “Feeble man called Scarecrow.” Scarecrow? Who the fuck is that? She seems to read the confusion on your face because she adds, “He’s green. I’d only started hearing about him after he contracted me, but since then, well, let’s just say he’s quickly making a name for himself.” Was that the man you saw escaping with Joker in your first vision? Was this the man from the tunnels?! No, the man in the helicopter at the dockyards? “For the last year, he and Joker have been inseparable. I know they’re planning something big, but they won’t let anyone in on it.”

Her information, though extremely helpful for filling in some of the gaps, only leaves you with more questions. Was Scarecrow just helping Joker vaporize the existing serum, or was something far more sinister awaiting from this deadly duo? What did The Court have to do with anything? Are they all teamed up, or are they battling it out for the glory of Gotham?

“I…uh…” You turn to Jade, confused as to why she’s suddenly stuttering. “My kid lives here. What I think they have planned, I can’t stand by and allow anymore,” Jade confides. “It’s bigger than just killing a few people for money… It’s a culling. They don’t care who they hurt; they care about how many they hurt. I refuse to let Lian become a casualty. That’s the only reason I’m telling you this. Got it?” You nod quickly, brows furrowing as you await the next reveal. “I don’t know why, but I think you can save everyone. It’s clear you’re already on the right track. After all, you were the one who found them in the tunnels,” she trails off coyly. “Or did I mistake you for another vigilante, Cardinal?”

“What about the tunnels?” you demand in a rush, ignoring her previous statement. You need to hear it. You need to hear that you’re not fucking crazy- that these visions hold meaning. 

Jade crosses her arms in front of her, staring you boldly in the eyes as she assesses your reaction. Finally, she sighs, uncrossing her arms as she does so.

 “From what I’ve gathered,” she shifts slightly, appearing uneasy as she reveals the information to you, “they’re poisoning the water supply, and they’re using the abandoned subway tunnels to do it.”

“Who’s they?” you ask, but as soon as the question leaves your mouth, she looks around at the windows as if expecting someone to suddenly burst through them. When they don’t, she gives you one last meaningful glance before showing herself out. 

“Don’t let Lian down.” With this, you watch as Jade flips off the balcony and into the encompassing darkness below.

Finally alone, you slump against the wall closest to you. Part of you considers waking up your partners, but you know it won’t do any good this late at night. With the weight of the world on your shoulders, you start planning. There’s no time to waste, and there’s no way you’ll be able to sleep now, anyway.

I think you can save everyone.

Fuck.

•••

Everyone seems confused as to why you’ve called a meeting at Wayne Enterprises at the ass crack of dawn, but regardless, Dick, Luke, Tim, and Damian meet you, Jason, and Roy there at 1:47 AM. Everyone’s suited up, but you can’t help but refer to them by their actual names, considering no one else will be in the building for at least another three or four hours.

The sun isn’t even a thought in the dark sky as your makeshift crew gathers around the executive conference table. Oliver and Dinah are currently on babysitting duty, while everyone around you preoccupies themselves with chugging down cup after cup of coffee to stay alert. 

With Bruce busy on patrol, the city’s fate hangs in the hands of his disciples.

After you catch everyone up on what happened a mere half an hour ago, you reveal the information you saw on the sticky note in the lab. For now, you keep the serums under wrap. You don’t exactly know if they’re a part of the plan, so you don’t want to derail the concrete leads you have until absolutely necessary.

“It’s all going down on April Fools,” you finally say, taking in the stark faces in the room as you do so. 

“Today?” Dick asks hesitantly as if dreading your answer. “Did you find out where?”

You nod. “The Gotham Marina.”

“How do we even start preparing for this?” Connor asks.

“Well,” Luke starts, “after the pool party, I went back to the tunnels to get another sample.” His suit suddenly whirs to life before producing a vial of clear liquid in the palm of his hand. You finally feel heard. Regardless of what Bruce thought of your visions' relevance, Luke acted on his own, trusting your claims over his own boss’. “I’ve been analyzing it for days now but still can’t make sense of it beyond a 32.41% match with the sample taken from the warehouse.”

After nearly two hours of analyzing, Tim and Luke both concur that it looks like it contains an amplified version of Joker Gas combined with something else. When you mention the emerging villain, Scarecrow, both look at each other, then back down at the sample before rapidly searching through Bruce’s database. After a few clicks, a scraggly mask suddenly pops up on the screen. The image is clearly a screengrab from Bruce’s bodycam and is apparently from his first and only run-in with Scarecrow a year ago, so the details are pretty blurry. Nonetheless, you still feel a familiar itch when you stare upon his mask, though you can’t place why. 

Another beat of silence as your crew watches them run another analysis on the water before a loud beep startles you awake. Apparently, you’d been drifting off into Jason beside you, with Roy doing the same on his other side. Jason looks down at you briefly, then his eyes flit to the screen where ‘UNKNOWN % MATCH’ is displayed across the screen.

“Could there be a remaining element besides Joker Gas and what’s in the subway water?” Roy asks as he moves closer to the screen to analyze the formula.

“If so, it’s most likely The Winter Rose,” Tim responds gravely.

“Annnd what exactly does that mean, again?” Wally asks, scratching his head in confusion.

“Nothing good,” Luke supplies. “I tried to formulate just what exactly its properties are but couldn’t find anything conclusive, even in a lab like this. Not to mention, we still can’t account for their formulation, considering we don’t have the complete percentages, let alone dosage they actually plan on using.”

“So, you’re saying that you need a bigger lab, right?” Dick steps forward, seeming to have a new plan formulating in his head as he does so. 

Luke nods as he considers the idea. “I mean, we’ll need a bigger lab regardless. Wayne Enterprises isn’t big enough to produce an antidote this complicated, especially not on this scale,” he admits.

“I think I can help you out, then,” Dick says as he takes the remaining sample from the chemical processor. 

“The antidote will have to be water-soluble,” Roy interjects before Dick can disappear.

“That too,” Luke agrees as the three men stop to look over the screen again as if it’ll suddenly reveal hidden information will suddenly be revealed. When the screen remains the same, Luke sighs, “With so many unknowns, what is a bigger lab even going to do?”

“We at least need to find something conclusive on the rose’s qualities before we can begin large-scale production, so that’s what I’m going to do. Plus, if there’s any trace of the stem in the water sample, The Watchtower will find it,” Dick says. “I need the stem, too. I’m not risking missing anything right now,” he demands as he fiddles with his wristwatch to contact Oracle. “I need contact with The Watchtower. Prepare a zeta tube connection for me off of The Gotham Center. In the meantime,” Dick says as he faces the remaining faces in the room, “start prepping a prototype antidote from what we know-."

“We hardly know anything,” Roy interjects. “We’ll just be wasting valuable time, Dick.”

However, Dick doesn’t seem to hear him. He thanks Tim, who brings him the bagged stem, before moving over to the disgruntled redhead. From here, Dick places a sturdy hand on Roy's shoulder, reminding you much of Bruce.

“At this point, sitting around fiddling our thumbs is the only thing that’s actually wasting our time. Let’s get a move on,” Dick says. He gives Roy, then everyone else, a meaningful look before exiting the room with Wally. 

Roy huffs, “So, while Dick’s in space, we’re just supposed to-.”

“Space?!” you cut Roy off with wide eyes, finally feeling awake for the first time since, well, Cheshire’s unexpected visit. “The Watchtower’s real? And it’s actually in space?!”

Everyone looks around in amusement, but you’re entirely amazed at how casual Dick is about going to fucking space.

“Shit,” Roy mutters to himself. “Don’t tell Bruce that I was the one who told you, okay?” In response, you half-heartedly mime zipping up your lips, smiling gently when the redhead’s frown finally cracks at the cute sight.

While Luke, Tim, Roy, Jason, Connor, and Damian look over the previous results, you, Steph, and Jon exit the conference room in search of a vending machine.

Right now, you’re tired, anxious, and seriously hungry. You know you won’t be much help to anyone unless you get some junk food in you and fast.

As soon as you’re out in the hall, both Stephanie and Jon notice the shift in your disposition.

“What’s wrong?” Jon asks with his dark brows drawn in concern at your uncharacteristic quietness.

Stephanie hums like she agrees with the question, “You seem off, for sure.”

“Haunted even,” Jon adds absentmindedly. He at least has the decency to throw his hands up in faux-surrender when you shoot a tired glare his way.

While everyone’s just now starting to understand how serious this is, you’ve known for so long and have been ignored at every turn. Even now, they have no idea what’s coming, though you have little more information to offer them.

“Thanks,” you huff half-heartedly. You’d escaped The Court mere hours ago, and now, here you are with time ticking dangerously close to combustion. “It all adds up,” is what you end up saying. Your words do nothing to quell the concerned look upon either of their faces, so you attempt to assuage the conversation. “I just mean,” you sigh, “everything’s coming to a head. It feels like the floor’s giving out beneath me, and all I can do is sit here and wait for it to envelope me whole.” Okay, well, that wasn’t any better.

Steph looks around at the bustling room and draws you out into the corridor. “What’s going on?”

“I still don’t think, even with all this manpower, that this is going to end well.” You can’t even bring yourself to look at her as all your visions angrily swarm your brain like a hive of wasps. “We’re too late,” you confess solemnly.

The vending machine is half-empty when you come upon it. Stephanie quickly inserts a code that causes the front of the machine to creak open like a door, leaving the insides ripe for the picking. She wastes no time in shoveling its contents into Jon’s arms before shutting it and motioning the three of you back down the hall.

“I don’t know why I’m the only one carrying anything,” Jon grumbles lightly.

“Super strength,” Stephanie supplies easily. “Well, that and feminism probably,” she adds after pretending to think on it.

They both look at you, once again noting in concern how you seem entirely preoccupied in your own head. Glancing at each other in concern, they engage you again.

“You know we’re all here for you, right?” Jon asks rhetorically as he jogs to catch up with your quick pace. “We’ll figure this whole thing out. It’ll be okay,” he promises you, though you seem largely unconvinced.

Meanwhile, Stephanie continues to take in your unfocused form as she gently places a hand on your shoulder. You halt in your tracks, finally coming back down to Earth. 

“Listen, we’re all in this together,” she says gently, and Jon nods cutely in agreement. “Some High School Musical ass shit, okay?” She cracks a smile, urging for you to do the same, but yours falls entirely too flat for either of them to believe. “Look, we’ve got the best people trying to crack the case. We’re all busting our asses to keep everything in control,” she tilts your head her way, looking into your eyes sincerely as she says, “so, no matter what happens, no one can say we didn’t try our damndest to save as many as we could, and I’m okay with that.”

Your eyes search her crystal blue ones for answers neither of you possess. 

“Well, I’m not.” You shake your head lightly. With this, you gently brush her hand off your shoulder to rejoin the others. It’s all hands on deck, and you can’t afford not to put every millisecond of your time into figuring this shit out. 

You’re going to save everyone. You’re going to put an end to this.

•••

Less than later and nowhere closer to any further answers, Dick returns with the results. Meanwhile, Wally follows behind him, looking entirely lost in thought.

“Please tell me you guys found something,” Roy desperately greets the stony looking men.

“Well, the subway water seems to just be a mixture of Joker Dust and Fear Gas. The stem, on the other hand, well,” he trails off as he stares at you uncomfortably, “it’s symbiotic.” Dick sounds grim as he faces the expectant room. Your stomach drops, queasiness overcoming your body as the realization dawns on you… Everyone seems to come to the same conclusion at once. “This means that what she’s been seeing have been actual glimpses into Joker’s brain,” Dick finishes. 

Their analysis confirms that the Cadmus scientist had been telling the truth. The reason you’ve been getting sick, the reason you’ve been losing sleep for a year, is because of this new serum. The more injections, the more trials, the more you’ve combined with that fucking psychopath. 

It completely breaks your heart when the majority, Jason included, takes a step back from you like you’re some kind of fucking ticking time bomb. Fuck’s sake- that’s exactly what you are.

“She’s a liability,” Tim says abruptly, looking as if he regrets his words as soon as he sees the hurt look on your unmasked face. “Sorry,” he says sheepishly, though he now appears cautious in your presence. 

“What are we going to do?” Steph asks, searching across the other disturbed faces in the conference room. “If she can see his side, there’s a big chance that he can see ours, too. We can’t afford to have our plans-!"

“Hold up,” Roy interjects as he comes to your side, “she’s not leaving if that’s what you’re trying to get at.”

Dick looks around uncomfortably. “I already alerted Bruce,” Dick says. “He doesn’t want her-."

“I don’t give a fuck about what he wants. This is her city just as much as it is his- mine,” Jason growls suddenly as he sidles up on the other side of you. You look up at him shyly, hoping he doesn’t think any less of you now, knowing what’s been going on inside of you for so long. He meets you with reassuring eyes that quell the anxiety you felt when he’d originally backed away from you, though not entirely. “She’s an invaluable asset to this team regardless.”

To help prove his point, you decide it’s as good a time as any to reveal the tubes you’ve been keeping under wraps.

“I have these serums,” you interject hastily. “They were in the lab I was held in. I don’t know if they’re going to use them, they may not even necessarily be the final versions of anything, but at least it’s something,” you interject hastily. “This is what we need to focus on now,” you say. “We have mere hours left whether I’m in this room or not. People are going to start showing up for work soon, so we need to make sure we’re not wasting what little time we have left in here.” You hand over the tubes, the second one carefully as it’s severely cracked, to Luke, who looks down at them like he’s seen a ghost. He meets your gaze briefly, seeming as hesitant as the others until you say, “I was right about the Subway water. Just think about what else I could be right about. This is a dire situation, and it’s only going to get worse. Trust me,” you say, pointing at your head, “I know.”

“That’s great and all,” Dick says with a smile that falls flat, “but this whole thing could be a set up to throw us off their trail. Maybe they wanted you to find these- it could be a plethora of other things. I really don’t think it’s a good idea to fully invest in this as a last resort.”

“These vials are our last resort though,” Luke says, still peering at the vials as if they were somehow going to explode in his hands. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take, especially if they can help us figure out percentages. Connor,” Luke says suddenly, “I’ll need your help analyzing the green vial while I check your analysis over. Wally,” Luke turns to the other redheaded man in the room, “I’ll need you checking over the purple vial while Tim checks over your analysis. We don’t have any time to fuck anything up, so everyone needs to stay sharp and, most importantly, fast.”

Connor and Wally briefly look at each other, then at Luke before, ultimately, taking up the challenge. With their super speeds and the two smartest men in the room checking their work, you start to think your group may just finally have a chance to stop this.

As the official plan starts taking shape, Stephanie and Dick agree to break off from the group to scour the subway systems for signs of anyone.  Jon, on the other hand, takes up the daunting task of surveying The Court Headquarters for the emitter. That is, if it’s even still there. You wouldn't put it past The Court to have another last-minute trick up their sleeve.

With the tasks all divvied up, you, Roy, Jason, and Damian help out wherever and however you can.

•••

Once Wally lays out the framework, Tim’s quickly able to piece together that the green vial is what’s currently in the subway water sample. When he and Luke go to compare Connor and Wally’s findings, they soon come to the conclusion that the purple vial is completely different and oddly absent from the water sample entirely. This fact stumps everyone in the room.

“At the very least,” Wally starts, “Connor and I can finally start composing an antidote.”

“We’ll need two,” Luke surmises, and Tim agrees. “These obviously are samples of a different formula, but it seems probable that they work in conjunction with each other.”

“Test the purple formula again,” Roy urges suddenly. “It has to be a match for The Winter Rose.”

Wally blurs out of view for a few minutes before phasing back.

“Preliminary results are showing a possible 100% match,” Wally states grimly. “How are we supposed to figure out an antidote for an extinct rose? No, no, no. How are we supposed to figure out an antidote and somehow make it water soluble in, oh, I don’t know,” the speedster sarcastically looks down at the watch attached to his suit, “two hours?”

“Not by sitting around moping,” Connor pipes up. Damian huffs in agreement as he fiddles around on one of the available monitors to attempt his own deduction with Roy’s help.

It’s at this exact moment that Jon flies back into the conference room appearing panicked.

“The emitter,” Jon speaks at a nearly super-human speed that you struggle to keep up with, “it’s gone. Their entire base is up in flames.”

Jason wastes no time in contacting Dick.

“Are you guys seeing anything?” Jason asks. “We have evidence to believe the emitter is on the move.”

Static.

“Nothing down here yet,” he finally replies. “We just got here a little bit ago, though,” Dick adds before cutting out into static again.

You can’t afford to waste any time, something Luke realizes as he resumes doling out more tasks.

“We’ll need all the super speed we can get,” Luke says as he comes upon Jon. “Think you can handle a little bit of chemical analysis?”

“I, uh,” Jon sputters. The Kryptonian appears as if he thinks anyone else in the room is better qualified for it but accepts regardless. “Of course.”

With three speedsters working on an antidote, everyone else in the room works on motives.

“They’re obviously after control,” you say. “They keep mentioning something big, and having symbiotic control over a fear-crazed Gotham City seems like just the way to do it. If Joker has anything to do with it, it makes sense that it would happen today, anyway.” April Fools has Joker’s name all over it and is just another clue leading you to believe that Joker really is involved in this whole plot.

“What I’m sure everyone is thinking is that they’re going to use the emitter in the subway system, but until we have proof of anything of the sort, we can’t believe it to be a fact,” Damian warns. “We need to remain sharp.”

“It seems like a plan The Court would want in on, but why would they want Joker to be the one in control?”

“They’re going to fuck him over, or, well, at least try to,” you say before repeating what you’d heard at The Court meeting a week prior. 

“It still feels like we’re missing something,” Jason pipes up, leaving Roy to nod in agreement.

“Nothing’s missing,” Damian insists as he continues to type away at the large monitor in front of him and Roy. “Some men just want the world to burn,” Damian says, sounding grave. The man is still facing the computer screen, but his reflection reads clearly on the reflection on the screen. “You know that as much as I do, Todd.”

•••

Nearly two hours later, you’re no closer to a cure, but the process is steadily moving along. Connor, Wally and Jon are all on the cusp of discovery, it’s only a matter of minutes before one of them has a breakthrough, they inform the room.

Suddenly, the comms burst to life again.

“We’re not seeing any movement down here,” Stephanie says. “Nightwing and I are headed over to Batman’s position at the marina.”

“We’ll give you all the heads up when it starts getting active,” Dick adds.

By the time Luke sends you, Jason, Damian, and Roy to prepare to go undercover, it’s nearly 7 am on April Fools. 

In the meantime, Bruce has closed off the entire R&D wing for the day to make room for the speedsters and their experiments as they slowly inch closer to a cure. You can’t help but wonder if it’ll be enough.

With little else to do but wait, your partners drive you back to your apartment where they encourage you to try to get some sleep. After a bit of convincing, your tired body easily manages to nod off. Your dreams are surprisingly empty, though the fact isn’t comforting in the slightest. Especially not when you know that at any point, shit could go down. You’re all just waiting on the call.

•••

After not nearly enough sleep, the team reconvenes at the Clock Tower.

Superboy, Flash and Jon have already made the breakthrough, now all they need to do is mass produce the antidote. Nightwing and Spoiler are still busy scouting out the marina for any changes while Batman meets Commissioner Gordon and a small fleet of policemen in the tunnel systems. Bruce had let the commissioner know about the terror plot on Gotham sometime while you were asleep, so the police are on standby and equipped with masks. In the little time they have, the police are doing everything they can while still remaining inconspicuous to minimize the effects of the anticipated gas attack.

All the while, Luke and Oracle watch all sides of the operation from her gigantic computer screens that easily rival the size of the Batcave’s. For safety, Alfred has agreed to stay with Batwing and Oracle and is currently puttering about in the small kitchen, dutifully making tea for the sleep-deprived tower inhabitants. 

When Damian arrives at the tower, he steps out of the elevator, then turns back to dramatically drag in a decently filled clothing rack. You and your partners remain mostly quiet. Everyone’s exhausted and on edge- it’s not a good combination. 

It feels like Damian’s just arrived when you get the heads up.

“They’re starting to board the ship,” Nightwing alerts over the comms, sending a flurry of panic into the pit of your stomach. You don’t feel prepared in the slightest. 

“The women I’m seeing are all wearing red,” Spoiler adds after a beat.

“There’s still no sign of the emitter down here in the tunnels,” Batman adds gravely. “I’m heading back out on patrol. Nightwing,” Batman suddenly says, “we’re on damage control for the time being. Spoiler, Red Robin, Batwing: you’re in charge of intervening where needed. We’ll need all the help we can get once the antidote is ready; that’s our top priority, but for now, focus on finding the emitter. Oracle will keep an eye on all aspects of the plan and communicate any changes as they become apparent. Robin, Red Hood, Arsenal, and Cardinal will be doing recon on the yacht.”

“What about us?” Jon’s voice crackles over the comm system. 

“Just focus on making the antidote,” Batman replies. “One of you will need to help disperse it while the other two remain producing more of it. We can’t risk not having enough.”

“We’re out of time,” Jason says grimly. “It’s now or never.” 

There’s no time left, just as you’d feared and warned for months now. 

With no other choice, you don the only red dress on the rack of options for formal wear Damian had brought. 

The dress is as over-the-top as your gown for the Wayne Gala all those years back had been. It’s a sleeveless, satin, crimson ball gown with a high slit running up the left side (X). However, the sweetheart-neckline dress leaves your scar completely visible, something Damian fixes in an instant. He gently hands a diamond choker to Jason, who easily fastens the cool metal around your neck, hiding the scar from view. With matching, extravagant earrings, and some strappy heels, you feel complete.

“You look beautiful,” Jason says in a hushed voice, leaving you to blush. Though the fate of the city rests in your hands, you can’t help but get lost in this intimate moment. Damian leaves to go change, but Jason and Roy stray behind. 

With Alfred conversing quietly with Babs and Luke, the three of you are left to your own quiet huddle.

“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” Roy asks gently. 

You know it’s nothing about undermining your abilities and everything to do with checking in with you. You haven’t slept much in the past, well, months at the very least, coupled with the fact that you just escaped The Court of Owls mere hours ago and were about to come face-to-face with them again, plus Joker.

“As much as I want to play Oracle with, you know, Oracle,” you joke, “I know I can help put a stop to this. I need to be there,” you insist, “to help put an end to this.”

With your resolute behavior evident, your partners are left to gather you up into a group hug. 

“Feels like a fucking goodbye,” Jason replies with thinly veiled distaste. “I don’t do this bullshit; it’s bad karma.”

“Well,” Roy teases as he squishes the two of you harder, “you do today, Jay.”

Eventually, Jason pulls away. Regardless of his previous stance, Jason leans down and places his rough hands against your soft cheeks. Without wasting another second, Jason’s lips brush gently against yours, slotting against them with a soft familiarity that leaves your heart pounding. Your hands rest on his muscular shoulders as you apply more pressure to the chaste gesture, savoring each and every second of Jason’s careful touch. 

When you split apart, you feel the heat of a wildfire blush gracing your cheeks in the wake of his love and reassurance. Still in Jason’s hold, you feel Roy’s verdant eyes impishly watching. When you finally manage the courage to abashedly glance at the redhead through your lashes, you feel an unwarranted flash of shyness shock your system. It’s something Roy notices easily, and his smirk portrays easily. 

Jason glances down at your heated cheeks, then over at Roy’s wolfish grin before relinquishing you over to the redhead.

Roy wastes no time in taking your hands into his, squeezing them gently as he openly eyes you up and down.

“You look fucking amazing, baby,” he breathes earnestly. “Definitely going to remember this for later, trust me,” Roy adds cheekily, leaving you to giggle. Your heart thrums happily against your flushed chest, all while your eyes excitedly trace all the familiar features across Roy’s handsome face. “Come on now, princess,” Roy says as his eyes flit with each movement yours make. It’s as if he’s waiting for approval he should know he’s had all along. Well, that is until… “You know you want in on this,” he finally finishes his sentence with a lame waggle of his fiery brows. 

And, just like that, the spell is broken. 

“Dude,” you bemoan through a fit of laughter, only further spurred on by Jason’s snort. However, when Roy uses his hold on you to spin you around into a deep dip, your laughter abruptly stops. 

“I’m gonna get that kiss, darlin’,” Roy insists with a wink. 

Yup, the blush is 100% back on.

“Roy,” you trail off breathlessly as your eyes meet his. 

Suddenly, Roy’s light green eyes shift, and yours dutifully follow suit over to an enamored Jason. While you’re still dipped in his arms, Roy stretches his neck to steal a kiss from Jason, who huffs at the contact though his cheeks tell the true story. More crimson than your dress, his cheeks light up in a way you know leaves him even more embarrassed. It’s cute.

The cute sight is only bestowed upon you for so long before Roy can no longer contain his patience. 

“C’mere,” he says in a raspy voice as he draws you to his lips. Nothing about this kiss is chaste in the slightest, something Jason obviously enjoys as he lets out an approving hum as you sigh against Roy’s eager, wet lips.

For a moment, you truly forget about what’s about to happen. Just a moment. Then, reality crashes back down.

Roy finally releases you from the dip and Jason wastes no time in gathering you back up into his arms.

“Part of me wants to take you away from here,” Jason admits as he stares deeply into your eyes. “Everything in me selfishly wants to keep you out of this, to keep you safe. I know Roy feels the same way.”

“I remember saying something similar to her.” The sound of Damian’s voice startles you as the man rejoins your group in the main area of the tower, fully dressed in a three-piece suit. “As I recall, everything ended up fine,” he finishes with a small smile in your direction. 

“Let’s fucking hope so,” Jason says, sounding somewhat terse. 

This all feels so much more dangerous than The Court meeting, and you can't help but wonder just how many will die tonight on account of your negligence. You can’t help but bemoan that you didn’t speak up more, that you hadn’t been louder about what you felt was happening all along. Regardless, you’re going to make it right- even if it’s the last thing you do. If not for Gotham, for Lian.

“We need to get a move on,” Damian insists, motioning to the two suits still on the rack. Without further convincing, Jason and Roy snatch their clothes up before retreating off in the direction Damian had just emerged from.

While your partners are getting dressed, you turn your attention to the remaining dresses on the rack, only to find something bright red amongst them.

“What are these?” you question Damian as you pull out two long pieces of red fabric.

“Ah,” Damian replies as he steps closer and takes one of them from your hands, “I almost forgot.” You quirk a brow at his statement. It’s not in Damian’s nature to be forgetting things pertinent to a mission but it further shows just what a shit show the past few hours have been for everyone involved.

“Are those the gloves?” Luke asks suddenly, seemingly distracted from whatever Babs has on the screen as he addresses Damian.

“Gloves?” you ask dumbly before finally clearly seeing the seams of the fingers. “For me?”

“Well, you’ll need some kind of weapon, now, won’t you?” Luke teases as he watches Damian help you into them. “Damian and I had a bit of free time and wanted to try to perfect your suit’s gloves. These are still technically in the prototype phase, but they’re made out of a similar material to Batman’s cape.” You look over the design appreciatively. “You’ll notice the claw material is still just as strong but a whole lot lighter.”

“So light, I don’t even see the claws,” you joke as you look them over on your arms. They just look like completely normal, elbow-length gloves. 

“See,” Luke says excitedly, “that’s the beauty of the material.” 

With this explanation, or lack thereof, Damian takes your arms by the wrists and jerks them down. You go to pull away from his hold when you hear a whoosh. When you look back down, the normal gloves have tented into impressively sharp claws, reminiscent of the ones your Cardinal suit has.

“It’s like a tent!” you reply excitedly, moving to sheath them and draw them out once more. 

“Yes,” Damian replies with obvious distaste, “like a tent.” His distaste doubles when you dramatically unsheathe your claws like Wolverine. “I fucking knew you’d do some dumb nerd shit like that.”

“Yeah, yeah, and you and Luke still created them, anyway,” you tease right back, still enthralled by the gorgeous weapons you don.

Before Damian can retort, his phone rings. He glares at you briefly as if to say you’ve been let off the hook before answering.

“You’re really calling me for some sappy goodbye?” Damian asks after he picks up with his signature tch. Though his words sound hostile, you notice the way his face softens at the sound of Jon’s voice on the other end of the call.

You step away with Luke to give Damian some space just in time for Jason and Roy to rejoin you. You swear your jaw nearly drops at the sight that meets you. You’ve never seen them so dressed up since, well, the last Court meeting. However, they were fully decked out this time in similar three-piece suits to Damian’s, complete with white gloves and slicked-back hair that wasn’t present on the last mission.

“Speechless?” Roy approaches you wolfishly. “So was Jay, if you catch my drift,” he teases a red-cheeked Jason with a cheeky nudge.

“Shut up,” Jason says half-heartedly, nudging him back with enough force to leave Roy rubbing soothingly at the not-so-gentle contact.

“This will obviously be a mission without firearms,” Luke starts sheepishly. “That being said, I’ve helped craft some of the best weapons I can for your crew.” With this, the man unveils two, dastardly looking swords that retract from their hilts at a breakneck speed with a sinister shhhink.

Jason eyes the blades appreciatively, nodding to Luke to convey such as he tests out their weight for himself.

“These definitely lessen the blow of not having my handguns,” he admits, sounding genuinely grateful. You, on the other hand, are just glad he’s playing along with Bruce’s rules for tonight. 

“Damian has a similar one,” Luke admits. “Stealth and strength are what we were going for when we were tinkering around in R&D, so all of the blades are made from a nearly indestructible material called Nth Metal. Actually,” Luke finishes with excitement as Damian pockets his phone and joins your group, “I made some collapsable arrows for Roy with it, too. The tips are entirely coated in a thin layer of the material to remain as lightweight and effective as possible.”

It’s all Luke has to say to get Roy giddily looking the weapons over.

“This is fucking sick, man,” Roy thanks him with a clap on the back and a wide grin. “Only you could pull some shit off like this.” At this, Damian clears his throat expectantly. “The fuck do you want, hellspawn?”

Damian’s deathly glare sears into Roy’s verdant eyes. 

“Some god damned credit,” the raven sneers. 

“Credit?” Roy asks, though his eyes appear too mischievous for the question to have been genuine. “Oh! My bad.” At this, Damian perks up a bit, though still seems entirely wary of Roy’s approaching form. “Thank you so much, Damian. You’re the smartest, most intelligent,” at this, Roy leans in and gives Damian a noogie, “little shit I’ve ever met.”

“Hey!” Damian quickly smacks Roy’s bionic hand from his previously meticulously styled hair. “I should kill you for this, Harper,” Damian hisses, getting up in the redhead’s face, but Roy appears completely unperturbed with a shit-eating grin.

“What’s the ETA?” You suddenly hear over the comms. At this, the mood in the room shifts immediately. 

With nothing left to stall your group, the four of you say goodbye to Babs, Alfred, and Luke before wordlessly making your way over to the marina. When you’re nearly to your destination, Batman’s voice startles across the comm system to debrief your squad.

“We’ll be nearby in case anything goes wrong. Remember, tonight, your group follows my commands,” Batman says. “You’re to keep it non-lethal.” With this, everyone in the car shifts their attention to a pissed-off-looking Jason, though he thankfully bites his tongue.

“Understood,” Jason responds tonelessly from the driver’s seat. “But just as you’ve done numerous times in the past, it doesn't mean I'm saving everyone.”

“Hood.” Batman’s warning is evident without anything more needing to be said.

“We’re all in agreement,” Damian ends up replying for Jason, leaving your partner to roll his eyes.

There’s a beat of silence before Batman adds, “Stay safe out there. All of you.”

As the car settles into park, you release a breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding in for who knows how fucking long. Before you can get too in your head, Damian shoves two owl masks into your gloved hands in the backseat before handing one to Jason beside him in the front. Handing one off to Roy, you blankly stare down at the remaining white mask, surrounded by a sea of red fabric. 

With the marina a mere two blocks away and the sun officially having set, you slip on the owl mask and step out of the car. 

This whole situation is all your fault, but you’re going to try your damndest to right it… to right everything.

It all ends tonight.

A/N: thank you for being patient while I got my laptop situation figured out! ars and cs have both been updated and edited in case you want to check out the change I made. The end of chap 10 has been changed if you want to do a quick reread before diving in here btw!

also, joker dust / gas is new to batman kinda as a way to show the rise of a new villain, meaning scarecrow may have been on batman’s radar, but he hasn’t necessarily put in time to figure out who was behind the mask yet bc scarecrow wasn’t really a big threat like joker aka why there’s not much info on the man yet

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