#what is cass and steph's ship name

[necrotic-nephilim]

there is not enough femslash in batcest circles. the girls deserve to be just as weird about each other as the boys are. if BruDick gets to be weird father/son/brothers/lovers/friends/rivals/soulmates then it is only fair that Babs/Cass get to be mother/daughter/sisters/lovers too. Something about that deep intrinsic but undefinable love that is born out of trauma, especially if you consider Cass not knowing what healthy love looks like in the first place. i think it's fun and deserves just as much fandom content.

besides that, you can get even more niche with rarepairs like Helena/Steph. Huntress/Spoiler: Blunt Trauma is already a fantastic comic and even though it's their only real canon interaction it has so much potential. very comparable to TimJay in how Helena tries to get Steph to understand her morals and the corruption you could play with it.

batman: huntress/spoiler: blunt trauma (1998)

that comic also highlights on how both Steph and Helena are outcasts of the Batfamily and don't have the approval of Bruce to be doing what they do in "his city". I think there's so much Potential in Helena taking Steph under her wing because Bruce won't let her in and it becomes a weird codependent toxic sapphic mess. I think the protectiveness Helena feels over Steph from the get-go is so clear and the way she wants to look out for Steph, wants to make sure Steph understands the real world? I love them. Helena should be allowed to steal Steph, actually. I think it'd be fun.

there are a lot of other possibilities too like Babs/Steph or even getting weird with Helena Bertinelli/Helena Wayne and the existential question of "is it selfcest or not." But these two specifically live in my head rent-free, especially Helena/Steph and one day I'll convince everyone else to ship it too.

[christaspirit]

Her ears were ringing. There was someone beside her, but she couldn’t… remember his…

She blinked back tears, trying to keep her breathing steady. The boy next to her shook her shoulder. There was pressure on her back…

The… wall…

She tried to focus her eyes… when had they blurred?

Her hands… fingers… green… no…

She looked at the opposite side of the enclosure, to…

She couldn’t…

Danny spotted her…

Keep…

His eyes went… wide?

Going…

The room was spinning…

Dark shapes dropped in front of her. Black, purple… yellow?

Someone was… talking…? To… her…?

—

“Sweetie, are you okay?”

“She’s been holding the wall since they started moving,” Damian told Spoiler. “Her brother is holding the other one. She stopped responding a few hours ago.”

“Crap,” Spoiler muttered. “Keep her awake. We’ll get everyone out as quick as possible.”

Damian nodded, glancing over at Ellie v(“Ellie,” she had corrected him, many hours before, when he had initially called her Danielle, before she had fallen silent.) She didn't look too good. Her skin had taken a pale and ashy sheen, sweating was dripping down her face.

The worst part was the fact that she appeared to be melting. He'd spotted her fingers the last time she'd communicated with her brother Danny (likely short for Daniel, but he didn't have confirmation on that), and they'd started to melt lazarus pit green.

Her arms were shaking, her eyes were glazed over.

Damian looked over at Tim.

'how is DANNY' Damian asked.

'better than ELLIE' Tim responded.

That was... good. Not great, but acceptable for now.

But Father, Black Bat, Signal, and Spoiler would need to work fast.

—

The bats had shown up. Finally.

Ellie wasn't going so great. She'd only barely managed to communicate, and she was about to give. She'd need an ecto-shot as soon as they were both out.

Civilians were being evacuated on Ellie's side first. How exactly they had figured out that the two of them were holding back the walls, Danny would put up to them being detectives. The yellow suited one... Signal? Had asked how he was doing. Danny figured he could hold out for another hour, maybe.

He could feel the weight of the wall. He didn't even want to know how many joules it was taking to hold it back at this point.

About half the civilians had been evacuated by this point, most of them from Ellie's side, though they had started to be pulled from his side as well.

"Danny, hold on," the boy sitting next to him, Tim, said.

"...'m... tryin'..." Danny muttered.

That was when the other wall began to move. His eyes went wide.

"Ellie!" he shouted.

No, no...

—

Her eyes fluttered. She was... moving?

The wall!

Her eyes shot open, and she braced, but the wall wouldn't...

stop...

There was a pressure on her shoulder.

Why was everything spinning?

People... not...

"Ellie, c'mon." A soft voice. Who...?

The... boy. Next to her.

"You did good, sweetie." A different voice. Female.

What was...?

She squeezed her eyes shut, then tried to focus on her surroundings.

There were... less people in here.

Firm hands picked her up, and she was moving.

—

Tim watched as Damian carried Ellie to the center of the room, and Black Bat helped them out. The other wall was moving in, with her no longer keeping it in place.

But the poor girl looked horrible. Tim doubted she was even aware the other bats had arrived, she looked so out of it.

There were just over a dozen civilians left.

Danny was clearly struggling at this point. It had been hours since they'd been locked up down here, and holding the wall in place was clearly draining. Danny didn't look as bad as Ellie did though, so that was good.

Danny's eyes were shut in concentration. He was sweating by this point. When he had started holding back the walls, it looked so casual, but not at this point.

Tim could only provide support, and hope that Danny wouldn't give out.

—

Danny focused on taking slow, even breaths.

Ellie had gotten out safe. The boy who had sat beside her the whole time had carried her.

She didn't look great, but if he could get her an ecto-shot within the next half hour, she would be alright. At the rate the bats were getting people out, she would be fine.

Only a few more left.

—

"Danny." Tim shook Danny's shoulder. Danny opened his eyes and blinked a few times. "C'mon, let's go."

Danny looked around, and nodded.

Tim got to his feet, and held out his hand.

The other wall had finished moving, which didn't leave as much space, but they would be fine, considering the speed the walls moved at.

Danny took his hand, and got to his feet. As soon as he wasn't touching the wall anymore, it began to move.

Danny tried to walk forward, and stumbled.

"Danny, are you okay?" Tim asked.

"I-I..." Danny squeezed his eyes shut.

Crap... Tim quickly relayed his options, then scooped Danny up. Danny blinked in surprise, glancing at him.

"Just..." Tim didn't know what to say.

He carried Danny over to where Black Bat was waiting. She let out some giggles.

"What?" Tim asked.

If he could see her face, she would be grinning. She pointed at Danny.

"It's... nothing," Tim said, face heating up.

Black Bat shook her head, but held out her hand.

Within a few seconds, they had been grappled out.

Safe, finally.

—

Tim had picked him up like he weighed nothing.

Danny knew he was light, sure. But still... Tim didn't know that!

But they were out.

Danny hadn't even realized how weak he felt until he'd tried to walk, and his vision had immediately doubled and blurred.

But they were out.

Danny looked around, and spotted Ellie. She was being propped up by the boy she'd been with.

"Ellie!" he shouted.

Tim let him down, and his legs nearly gave out as he rushed over to her.

"She's not doing very well," the boy said, far to formal for someone who appeared to be, like, 15 or 16. Possibly just a little younger than Ellie. "She needs to go to a hospital."

"No, that... no," Danny muttered, and he reached into his pocket, hiding his hand slipping into his thigh to grab an ecto-shot.

He pulled Ellie over.

Oh, she really wasn't doing good.

She'd fully passed out by this point. Her fingers were dripping ectoplasm, and her skin was pale.

The ecto-shots, developed from the original ecto-dejecto, had been formed to look almost like an epi-pen. Danny stabbed her outer thigh.

The drippiness of her fingers vanished, and her color began to come back. Ellie's eyes fluttered open, and she looked up at him. She still looked tired, and she'd definitely need rest.

But she'd be okay.

"Dan...ny?" she muttered.

He pulled her close into a hug.

"Thank goodness..." he muttered.

DPXDC PROMPT

Danny and Danielle are sitting on opposite ends of a room full of people, with the only exit being the middle of a 10-foot high ceiling.

The Gotham rogue who captured them is getting increasingly irritated that their trap to move the walls closer isn't working while the Bats are getting closer.

[ti-girl1226]

Duke would use Martha and Thomas as an excuse to over power Bruce. Duke can see ghost y’all meaning he can probably find a way to communicate with them. (He probably uses sign due to him already knowing it for Cass) Anyway I can see him fully being done with Bruce who he dosnt really see as a dad dad, like sure he’s his dad on paper but Duke knew his parents for a long long time, like his dad was there and active and his mom was to and they still are alive just not there mentally. He would definitely get super sick of Bruce at some point and just go to Martha and Thomas, probably Martha and just bitch about Bruce to them. Oh and Steph and Cass definitely know about this they all come together at least once a month to bitch about Bruce together although Cass has few things to bitch about but she dose find it hilarious what the other two have to say.

Duke sitting on his bed holding his pillow as Cass paints his nails he’s talking to the group: -So then he yelled at me for buying bat burger in patrol! Like sorry I’m hungry You don’t pay me for lunch!

Steph sitting on a chair next to Cass painting her own nails: Right! Wait is Martha here?

Duke: Martha is always here

Martha nods watching the kids with a smile while Steph turns to Martha’s chair to imitate eye contact because it felt weird for her just to talk into space

Steph: So your Son today *cue fifty minutes rant about how Bruce tried to adopt her again which leads into how he then forced her to go to her apartment earlier like the manor dosnt have room for her and how Alfred had already had made her dinner so she guess she was okay with leaving to her apartment but she really wanted the pancakes that Alfred was gonna make the next day*

One day Steph is mad at Bruce for not giving his credit card away so she drags Duke into the room.

Steph: Is Martha here?

Duke, somewhat scared for his own life: no?

Steph: Martha!

Martha runs into the room or well through the wall but into the room still. Bruce is looking at Steph like she’s crazy and Duke is just confused.

Duke: she’s here now

Steph: can I use your sons credit card? (She says like an angel not the gremlin she was five seconds ago)

Martha gives a nod

Duke: she says yes.

cue the rest of the Batkids coming to Duke to get Martha’s or Thomas permission for things. There list are different on what they have granted but here are some of the highlights for each kid i think would be cool

-Thomas-

Jason- although I am tempted to put gun and every now and then go back to crime lord business because “back in my day we could only have the mob do things if we slept with them or gave them money” (no he did not elaborate on the slept with part.) I have to say it infact no matter how much Jason may want it to be that it is not that. It is when he asked if he could pay for the therapy with Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn with Bruce’s card.

Tim- Dating Kon and Bernard at the same time. (Yes I ship timberkon)

Dick- sadly doesn’t need much or ask for much so his is kinda lame compared to the last two but his would be to sneak out Duke and Cass.

Steph- Tea sessions being paid for with Poison Ivy, Cat woman, Harley Quinn.

Cass- a cat

Damian- to watch Harleys hyenas while the Ivy and her were on a date. Bruce never found out

—Martha —

Jason- college

Tim- got back into cloning at one point for the fun of it.

Dick- Not a really a request but wanted to get the same type of pearls that she had and give them to Cass as a gift. So he asked for the manufacture or well business she bought them from.

Steph- Baby names and advice. Duke wasnt there for his powers but one night a few years after she had her kid around the day that would have bin there birthday she cried and just felt like a shit mom, and just talked and talked about it just putting her feelings out there. The next morning she woke up to a note on her desk in a nice cursive telling her she was a good mom and how if she ever wants to she can just ask and Martha will find her baby for her. After all ghost don’t need to stay in one place and can’t be noticed.

Cass- outfit advice, although unprompted and not requested. She like the suggestions

Damian- again kinda veering away from request but he wished to know what kinda paint he should use and she told him where her old art room was and which key to take form Alfred to unlock it.

A little not at the end from me I’m not trying to make Steph look materialistic here or that she is like a gold digger, I just think that Steph would first off end any other arguments, and arguments is a strong word here, with “your not my dad” but she needs her money because she don’t work with Bruce not to get paid. And he got so much money what’s a few hundred, she saw the amount Wayne industries brings in when she was dating Tim and even after that he can spare some change. Also felt weird having Duke fight with Bruce for the same reason because I feel like both Steph and Duke if they do get in trouble ever they just pull the your not my dad card. Steph will do the your not my dad like that one meme. Duke however will put on the manipulation to a ten and go “why are you being so controling and like this? Are you trying to be my dad?! Are you trying to replace my dad?” Then cue sobs and a I’m staying at Dicks, Jason’s, or Steph’s (if he’s feeling really petty he’ll say he’s going to Clark’s) and then a dramtic packing of things through (fake) tears Cass ask where he’s going and he pretends to be Sooo guilty saying he dosnt know when he’ll be back and he promises he’ll be back for her dance recital and also to tell Damien he’ll be there for the art show he has in a week. He never makes it out the door. Bruce gives in.

[magnoliasandarson]

Window Watcher

Bruce Wayne was a man lost, a rudderless ship floating aimlessly in dark water. He left his dinner table like a mourner from a graveside, silently pushing in his chair before walking to the study. The shiny, cheap tinsel mocked him from the banisters, and the portraits of his children on the walls followed him with judgmental glares. He kept his eyes trained on the floor, determined to shut out the damning faces and painfully optimistic decor his son had hung earlier that day.

He found himself at the old grandfather clock, fingers trembling as he moved the hands. It was hard not to think of his parents, of the way they had loved him so openly and joyously. He wondered what his mother would think of the way his children had fled her table, what his father would say about how his son was faring as a father. He didn’t have to think about it long; he knew he was disappointing them both.

The Batcomputer was a technological masterpiece, but it was also a tapestry of his children’s talents and creativity. Dick named it and helped create it, Jason added extremely detailed biographies of villains (more like novels), Tim and Babs (who wasn’t his- but was as good as) fine-tuned it into the marvel it was, Steph and Duke added colorful stickers illustrated by Damian to add ‘a bit of light’, and even Cass had created software. It was a testament to their skill, so it only fit now that Bruce sat down and used facial scanning software to locate them all (bar Damian).

Two pings at the cemetery immediately had his legs tensing to run for his suit. Tim and Jason. The plastic of the mouse under his hand started to give as he saw his boys sitting at the grave of Jason Todd, faces shining in the grainy footage. 

It was ironic, in a horrific and vile way, that he had forced Jason to his grave for a second time. That his inability to see his child as that instead of a rogue soldier was once again costing him everything. He was good at that, chasing off Jason… chasing off any of his children, really. It was strange; Bruce knew he could never stand to be ordered around, could barely tolerate not being the leader on Justice League missions, but his brilliant boy, the child whose fire matched his own- he expected to bend. 

Tim was a pale shadow next to shining stone. Even through grainy footage, Bruce could see the tight lines drawn across his son’s face. He was so serious; he’d always been that way; or that was how Bruce tried to think of his stoic son. If he was being honest with himself, he could recall a much smaller Tim smiling a rare grin as he explained a theory on a case. He could also remember shutting the boy down, ordering him to take his role seriously. The words were poison when they left his mouth; he had spent his entire caped career struggling to separate the mask from Bruce, but he expected a child to stay a vigilante at all times. 

Three separate alerts went off on a cross street seven blocks down from the graveyard; his eldest was blaring his truck horn at the crowd of stragglers stumbling their way through the crosswalk. Dick’s face was red, and he was clearly shouting obscenities, forever an untamable force. He was always so sure of his convictions, so fixated on family. Secretly, or maybe not so secretly, Bruce had become envious of his son- of how he parented the younger kids, of how they went first to him, of how he was passionate in all the ways Bruce was cold. The resentment festered in his chest, cruel and unforgiving. 

The computer chimed again, flicking through channels to land on Duke. Bruce squeezed his eyes shut briefly; the boy might never forgive him. Duke was walking through Gotham, hands jammed in his pockets and eyes trained down, headed towards his old home. All Duke had talked about at breakfast for weeks was how excited he was to have a real Christmas with the family. Bruce had ruined that. The boy was so painfully bright; Duke would have always been made of sunshine even if his abilities weren't light-related. Bruce had never been that way, always too wrapped in his own darkness. There was poetry in Bruce pushing even the boy made of sunlight to walk alone in cold shadow.

The monitor beeped a warning when he tried to switch to the Clocktower. He clicked in his override, determined to at least see if his daughters made it safely there- but a message popped up-

Leave us alone, the birds are staying in the nest tonight.

The screen flashed once, the Oracle insignia, before going black.

Bruce was left staring at his reflection in the dark monitor. He could see it, his father’s face, in his own. Could see the gentle man that always had an open hand and ridiculous joke. He remembered his father in excruciating detail, the stories he’d narrated with funny voices, the detective shows they watched together, the games that would always end in laughter. In Bruce’s memory, Thomas Wayne didn’t have nearly as many stress lines as his son currently did. 

His eyes glimmered in the warped image, and he dragged his palms over his face. His eyes were Martha’s; they had always been so loving. She had always looked at him like he was something precious, something worth caring for. He had never once doubted how much his mother loved him. He had never once felt unsafe in her arms.

He wondered, now, if any of his children thought of him with similar fondness. He doubted it.

Squaring his shoulders, he stood from the computer and bellowed for Robin to report for patrol.

There was always next year.

[hmslusitania]

Either 16 or 21 or both or neither

There was no specified ship, so it ended up being kind of pre-relationship TimKon

The party had been a questionable choice, Tim can admit that now. Nothing says “I’m so totally over a relationship, see how fine I’m doing!” like throwing a Halloween party, drinking a little too much at the sight of his ex-girlfriend making out with her new girlfriend who is, for most purposes, Tim’s sister, and then retreating to the bathroom because his more recent ex-boyfriend had actually taken him up on the invitation and brought a plus one.

Which is why he’s hiding in the bathtub in his own bathroom, not totally shielded from view by the novelty map of Faerûn shower curtain Steph had helped him pick out. At least it matches the elf ears that had seemed like a good idea six hours ago, and at least the porcelain he’s resting his face against is cooling and pleasant.

His relative peace — generally not helped by the thumping of the bass from the stereo in the party beyond his room — is interrupted an unknowable amount of time later by the bathroom door opening without a knock, and then he’s in the company of…

“What are you supposed to be?” Tim asks without lifting his head from the side of the tub.

Kon looks down at his “costume” which includes fingerless gloves, a denim jacket, and a black and red buffalo check shirt.

“Breakfast Club?” Kon prompts.

Tim blinks at him.

“Come on, we watched it for YJ movie night like last month,” Kon reminds him.

“I wasn’t there,” Tim says, miserable, and sags a little farther into the comforting embrace of the side of the tub.

“We were gonna do a whole group thing, right, except we decided you’d for sure have to be Ally Sheedy, not Emilio Estevez or Anthony Michael Hall,” Kon continues, unphased by Tim’s demeanour. “But then Cissie wanted to dress up like Wendy instead, and I’m pretty sure Cassie’s dressed up like me, which is kinda a head trip. And Bart had some whole situation where he can’t make our party because he got roped into babysitting Jai and Irey while they go trick-or-treating, because as screwy as my family might be, only when you’re a member of the West-Allen family do you really get to go babysit your, uh…”

“Second cousins,” Tim supplies.

“Huh, I definitely thought that was gonna be a weirder chain of relationship,” Kon says.

He sits on the bathmat next to Tim’s head and pokes him in the side of the face.

“Stop,” Tim says.

“So is there a particular reason you’re hiding from your own party in your bathroom?” Kon asks.

“I’m bitterly single?” Tim replies.

Kon considers him. “So, I get why you invited Steph, because she’s still for sure one of your best friends, and I’m pretty sure you’re, like, contractually obliged to invite Cass to events, and they’re a matched set. But like… your civilian ex-boyfriend who likes to conspiracy theory about the majority of the rest of your guests?”

Tim groans and shuts his eyes, only to have Kon pry one of them open and stare at him up close.

“I wanted to prove I was, like, mature and evolved and so totally over it,” Tim says, and feels stupid even saying it.

“Which is why you’re drunk in your bathtub, sure, yeah, I get that,” Kon says, and smiles when Tim rolls his eyes.

“You don’t have to be in here being nice to me, you can just like… enjoy the party,” Tim says.

“The party where my ex-girlfriend is dressed up in my clothes and making out with our other very good friend who’s dressed up like my all time fictional crush? That party?” Kon asks, and Tim snorts.

“Do you ever think about the fact you dated two girls named Cassandra and both of them turned out to be gay?” Tim asks.

“With really similar taste in women, also,” Kon adds. “And, like, yeah, every once in a while.”

Tim hums and closes his eyes again, but this time, Kon doesn’t pry his eyes open.

“I know you’re mad at me,” Tim mumbles finally. “You didn’t have to come.”

“I’m not mad at you,” Kon says, and this time the physical botherment he inflicts is tweaking the elf ear Tim had spent a stupid amount of time gluing on. “I was questioning your judgement, which is so not the same thing.”

“Judgement I definitely didn’t improve by throwing this party, right?” Tim guesses. Kon makes a noncommittal noise.

“Like I get that you have a thing for blonds with a penchant for getting into trouble, but…” Kon says.

“Not just blonds,” Tim mumbles before he can think better of it. He blinks when he realises what he’s said and finds Kon staring at him curiously. “I’m really fine, Kon, you can go enjoy the party.”

“Nah,” Kon says, and before Tim can move to stop him, he clambers over the side of the tub to squish into the narrow space between Tim and the shower wall, his combat boots which have a certain authenticity that say they might have been Pa Kent’s from the ’60s clunking against the basin. Kon wriggles his shoulders trying to get comfortable for a second, and then gives up and wraps his arm around Tim. It’s just for the better use of space, Tim’s sure, but it’s… it’s really nice. And when Kon tugs him sideways until Tim rolls over so he’s resting the side of his face on Kon’s chest rather than on the side of the tub, it’s so damn pleasant he can barely stand it. “I’d much, much rather be in here with you.”

It makes Tim’s heart flutter in his chest and he knows Kon can hear that, which is just embarrassing, and which he can only sort of blame on the alcohol.

“Yeah, okay, Bender,” he says, trying desperately to hit annoyed.

Kon gives him a full belly laugh that echoes off the bathroom tile, and squeezes him just a little closer. “I knew you’d seen the Breakfast Club before.”

Tim rolls his eyes and smacks Kon in the stomach with a light, open palm. It gets him another laugh, and maybe, just maybe, this party hadn’t been the worst idea after all.

[winged-bat]

^^ @littlegreekhero you get it!!!

[in a perfect world zero would be brenda]

the feelings I have about this actually, like you’re telling me out of the two of them Zero was the love interest, not say the one who gave her a sense of community and finally gave her meaning to Cassandra outside of batgirl, the one whoses interest in Cass lied solely in her safety and being open, someone who was in fact Cass’s full chose that she considered all *hers*, like it should have been brenda pls

[shes always thinking about the meaning of love]

yes exactly, like her understanding of what love is and what it entails is all warped, she sees this simplified and sort of artificial side of it not really understanding that love itself has many different sides and ways of presenting itself

[she does not notice -or ignores as they don’t fit into her framing of “love”- the very real trust and love she develops towards the women in her life]

this this this, I chose to believe she doesn’t notice bc she doesn’t know that’s an option and something she can have to herself

it would be really interesting if you went down the she ignored it bc it makes all the sense as Cass is someone who strives for perfection and what is perfect if not herteronormality, like the potential

[“A” life if not her own (her plant)]

THE ROSE!!!! that shit was gay af, like im entrusting this physical representation of my love to you as you are the one I trust to keep it safe and well for my return (specifically my return to you)

thinking about cass having comphet

[londrya]

Soooooo

I think it's a relatively wide spread head cannon that the Bat kids ship Bruce and Batman, if only to make fun of him.

And I totally agree.

But!

I offer you this: They secretly write fanfiction about them. (Or any other person they ship him with) (Could potentially lead to a shipping war between them tho)

I think Dick first started writing them as a joke. But by now he somehow is one of the most well known authors under the tag.

Jason is his beta reader. They don't know it's the other one though.

Tim sometimes co authors dicks works.

And Steph is one of the first people to read anything that dick writes.

The conversation when they find out should also be funny.

*In the kitchen*

Steph: Iiiiiiii! Cass! A new chapter is up!

Tim: A new chapter?

Steph: Yes!

Dick (Suspicious because he just uploaded the new one): Of what?

Steph: Of this really great fanfic I've been reading for ages!

Jason: What's the name?

Steph: Uhhhh... I honestly don't know. It's by my favourite author though. The name is G0th4m&bats?

Jason: You don't say...

Dick: *slowly walking out*

Barbara (popcorn in hand and ready to watch the shit show go down): Don't you dare walk away Mr. G0th4m&bats

Jason: WHAT?!

Tim: Why are you so shocked? I should be the one!

Dick: Huh?

Jason (spiraling): I've betad the fanfics that my brother writes about our father and his secret identity for years without noticing!

Dick:HUH?!

Tim: That's not that bad. I've co written said fanfictions with him

Dick: H U H ?!?!?!?

[glow-worms-are-believers]

Meltdown meet-cute (dp x dc)

Steph was cold and hungry. Which honestly, was pretty par for the course for a stakeout. At her side Cass was standing as still as the gargoyle up in Bristol, and had been unmoving for what felt like forever. Cass really was just inhumanely good. Letting out a fond huff, Steph turned back towards their current target for the night.

They had chased a tip that the warehouse was a base of operation for some human trafficking ring that was coming through Gotham. Now it was only a matter of timing the guards and casing the place to make the take-down quick and efficient. Though with Cass here, that was almost a given.

"How was ballet?" Steph asked as they waited for the new people to come in.

"Good," Cass answered and it sounded like she was smiling behind her mask.

"I'm so hyped for your next recital," the blond said. "Maybe they'll let you do Laurencia variation you showed me last time."

"Not yet," the other girl answered fondly. "More practice."

Then, before Steph could answer, Cass spoke up again. "Look."

One of the man had looked at his watch and was turning to the other guard. Time was almost up, then.

"Showtime," Steph said as she let a smile stretch on her face.

Simultaneously, both girls jumped off their perch and fell towards the warehouse. Grapple-guns made noises and the drop wasn't high enough that they couldn't just roll off the impact, so that was what they did. Getting back to their feet, they silently crept towards the eastern front of the building where the blueprints had shown there would be a high-placed window for aeration (thank you, Oracle).

Steph dangled down as she broke the latch open, as Cass kept a lookout. Silently both vigilantes slipped in and landed softly on the ceiling metal beams. There were big crates piled up beneath them, but none big enough to contain human beings. Then, Cass nudged her and Steph turned to see those long metal shipping container.

Bingo.

Still up in the rafters, the two quietly moved towards the two big metal boxes. Making sure no guard was around, the two vigilantes dropped down and broke the lock swiftly. They started opening the doors with the things being rusted enough to make a noise Steph winced at. Finally, they got it open, only to be met by an empty container, with zip-ties littering the bottom of the box.

Had someone beaten them to the rescue or had the people been moved?

The two bats exchanged a glance before Steph nodded towards the other container as Cass nodded. They both moved to the other box and made quick work of the lock and the door, and this time they could make out one form in the very back of the container, seemingly glowing slightly green. Maybe some guard with a conscience had slipped in a glow stick in to ward off the complete darkness.

"Hello," Steph started. "My name's Spoiler and this is my friend Black Bat. We're here to help."

As she talked she and Cass walked closer and pulled out their low-level flashlight, casting a little light around. They could now make out what seemed like the frame of a small person, possibly a kid.

"Can you hear me?" Steph said as she inched forward.

With still no response, she took the chance to put a hand on the person's shoulder and gently guiding them into turning around. As the person came into view, Steph couldn't hold in a gasp.

It was a young girl, looking around 13-14 years old, but the truly horrifying thing was that where her legs should be, there was only a puddle of fluorescent green goop.

"Please," the girl begged as she turned imploring blue eyes on Steph. "Help me."

[celaenaeiln]

not dick grayson related but what do you think about timsteph and stephcass?

Tim and Steph

I really, REALLY tried my best to ship Tim and Steph together or see them as a ship but I just couldn't. They had some cute moments together like these -

Detective Comics (2016) Issue #963

But Tim sorta didn't treat Steph all that well. He didn't mean it maliciously, but he was way too in his head and worrying about his duties to spend time with Steph or be good to her. He kinda dumps her out of the blue and yanks her around for a bit. Steph was too romantically invested in her and Tim's relationship to focus on what she really wanted to do career-wise or in her life. They wanted very different things.

But it's not that I wish they didn't date. I'm very happy they dated. Actually they needed to date to find out that they were incompatible with each other because Tim and Steph's dynamic is that exact line of "We dated, but we found out we're incompatible, so we're just best friends." So I don't ship them but I'm glad they were together because I like their exes-turned-best-friends dynamic.

Steph and Cass

Ironically, I don't ship but they're without a doubt the most shippable! If I'm being honest, they're super romantic on a casual basis.

Batgirls Issue #4

KADJFKAS;FJANDSFKJAN; IF I COULD BLUSH I WOULD BE BLUSHING!!

Batgirl (2000) Issue #28

CUTE!!!

This feels like another Superbat type relationship where DC gets as close to shipping them together as possible but then puts them away under the name of "best friends".

I don't really ship Steph or Cass with anyone but if I ever did, the closest I would come to is with each other.

[casscainmainly]

Stephcass has one of my favorite ship dynamics, namely:

"Damn, I'd better start hallucinating them right now."

Never sure which s more fun, not knowing when they are hallucinating (Steph with Cass after she defeated Shiva's disciple" or knowing full well its a hallucination, or a haunting (Cass with Steph's ghost after the Gang War)

Just, peak Homoeroticism, they are so normal about each other.

Oh god we need need NEED hallucinations in the new Cass solo. I think everyone should be hallucinating all the time actually. Hallucination and homosexuality both start with h - how curious!

Something I really really love about the hallucinations in Batgirl (2000) is we see them saying things they would never say to each other. Steph talks about how insecure Cass makes her feel, both in terms of ability and whether Cass likes her. An overlooked aspect of their early relationship is that Cass is not good at conveying her enjoyment of Steph's company, leaving Steph to say "you barely even look at me, much less talk..." (Batgirl #26).

You barely even look at me. If that isn't the stuff of angsty romance I don't know what is!!

[victimsofyaoipoll]

Round 2

Propaganda Under Cut

Iris West

Treated terribly by fandom because of racism and misogyny

Iris is one of the oldest Flash characters (well, oldest by measure of the Silver Age Flash) and despite the show's problems she was adapted pretty well. Her being pushed aside 100% has to do with her being Black in the adaptation. The most popular ship on Ao3 for that show is her white husband x a white passing supervillain clearly intended to be read as actually white who has been in LITERALLY ~SIX EPISODES. He DIED IN 2016. THEY ARE STILL DOING THIS

Gets mom friended like you wouldn't BELIEVE. People hate her because she was childhood best friends with The Flash and has chemistry with him :( like it's her fault she's sweet and smart and not the male blue coded villain to the red hero. I am so tired

Stephanie Brown

Literally my best friend ever!!! Every time she shows up in a comic I point at her and smile!!! She’s the vigilante known as spoiler & batgirl & was a robin before getting fridged because of editorial mandate and misogyny she deserves so much better @_@. The m/m that some people hate her for is timkon; like they ARE very gay but people are genuinely insane about hating her instead of also realizing that she too is gay (insane amount of subtext w her bff cass). Basically she was Tim’s girlfriend for a long time on and off. People will literally call her abusive for no reason they’ll be like oh but she didn’t apologize for starting a gang war accidentally and faced no consequences for it :/ as if she wasn’t literally KILLED OFF BRUTALLY. And although hate is rarer for her nowadays from what I’ve seen she’s also a victim of Background Lesbian Syndrome. And also a victim of Woman Not Allowed To Have Ocmplex Feelings in the source material itself (tim is canonically bi now yay but like steph wasn’t allowed to have any complicated feelings at all at her on again off again ex breaking up with her for good???). Anyways she’s the light of my life.

she’s the light of my life my baby girl my everything. she canonically dated tim drake, but people love to ship tim with his male friend kon or his male brothers (🤢🤮) and so they constantly sideline her, making her the quirky wingwoman or sometimes even villainizing her by trying to claim she was abusive to tim. i don’t know why so many people hate her my girl will literally just be standing there and people will hate on her.

Stephanie was first introduced in the 1994 Robin series as a side love interest for Robin, but when she turned out to be really popular she became the main love interest. Because of this, she was fully fleshed out as a vigilante calling herself Spoiler to try and take down her villainous father, the Cluemaster. She later grew a lot closer to other cast members, such as Batgirl and Oracle, to get herself a firmly established place among the bats. Then, she dies in a gang war after taking up the Robin mantle. Eventually, in 2009, she was brought back from the dead and took on the Batgirl mantle. Her and Robin get back together sometime around ~2010 and they are solidly together until 2021. Then, Robin breaks up with her off panel for zero reason in canon, only to date some really boring guy named Bernard. By fanon, she's often demonized and turned into an abuser to make either this ship, or a lot of other mlm ships happen. Either that or things are mysteriously set in the time she's dead despite characters who were not yet introduced until she returned appearing. strange.

[theacemagpie]

Hold on my gf raised the right question

What IS the ship name for steph and cass?

Spoibat? Cassteph? Stephcass? Brain? Lol brain (<- my suggestion)

Batbat? (<- my gf suggested as they both are bats)

Unless there's an official name we're too dumb to think of

[some-rotten-nest]

Random DC/DP headcannons bc I can't sleep

Expect many typos

Danny hates storms, especially thunderstorms bc of the lighting cracking in the sky

Danny wears a power cuff like a bracelet that dampens his more violent powers bc he's scared of them (wail, large-scale ice like with undergrowth etc)

In one of his magazines, instead of bullets Jason keeps solid ectoplasm just in case, and so it's not conspicous

In his Phantom form Danny has a streak of black hair where his white usually is

Jason is fright knight (unless it's a Jason-Danny biologically related fic. Ghost Zone law says no one you share blood with (clones included) can become fright knight (but they can join the court and have other ranks))

Danny made a contingency plan against himself and with the help of a sibling (Cass most likely, though she did seem a bit sad) got it on the bat-computer. Password protected so Danny can't get into it. Bruce doesn't know and won't know until/if Danny goes bad. Bruce made a separate one for him.

Tim gets low and non-harmfil doses of ectoplasm in his coffee bc it is like a shit ton of caffeine for a living person. (Yes, some Amity Park drinks have ectoplasm in them too)

Danny asks Bruce, Tim and Lucius for help with Ghost King Shit TM

Duke has to squint when looking directly at ectoplasm (Danny's trying to find some solution but there isn't one)

Jason has a shadow core

Damian got extinct animals from Danny as a birthday gift multiple times (a dodo bird named Delilah, a messenger pigeon names Luke and a splendid posion frog named Ares)

To piss Bruce off, Jason got a pterodactyl he's named Flynn that he takes on patrol. Safe to safe, people get a hella more scared of Red Hood. Bruce hates it but Jason does actually love Flynn and Bruce can't bring himself to take Flynn awya

Danny made a patrol playlist for every member of the bat family and beyond bc he has one for when he goes out as Phantom (they all listen to their playlists and love them)

Before Danny was fully pulled into the family, he'd flinch at Dick's escrima sticks and still catches himself staring the weapon, his heart pounding

Danny found out Captain Marvel was a kid bc while on a mission with him, Captain Marvel pointed out that there was a pirate ship hovering above them and that Danny should probably deal with that. He'd, and any other Amity Parker that overhead, never laughed so badly in his entire life. Billy was never so scared & confused.

Bart and Danny are friends bc Dan had leveled most of the future before the Beatles took over what was left (I'm actually not that sure about Bart's backstory so feel free to correct me if something's wrong here)

Cass and Danny have staring contests alot. Sometimes the others think they've fallen asleep with their eyes open. They didn't.

Danny had a Twitter account for Phantom without Bruce knowing, but when Steph was trying to convince Bruce to let her have one she mentioned it and Danny had to delete it (he has an alt he now posts every embarrassing thing Batman does and has ever done)

Puns. So many puns between Dick & Danny.

Danny mumbles in his sleep

Crows flock to Danny like hungry tigers. Damian's envious but he gets to pet & feed them so it's mostly okay.

GW likes Jason and let's him borrow books whenever he wants to (also any destroyed book ends up with GW but that's a pretty common hc) but Jason has to swear not to give them to Danny. Not that Danny wants them.

Duke is helping Tucker out with studies and Tucker Duke with tech. Technus sometimes shows up too to help.

Johnny and Jason are dEAD bffs

Sam and Babs get on like a house on fire

Talia met Danny and they're actually friendly to each other. Sure, she's trying to trick Danny into giving her his throne, but Danny knew that and wasn't about to let that happen

Danny will randomly punch his siblings, smirk, then bow and say "my leige" and run away. The sibling now has the crown and is chasing to punch Danny back because honestly fuck that

Constantine is slightly terrified of Danny and Bruce uses it like a threat-- "John, if you don't answer, Danny will contact you." It works like a charm

When too excited, Danny and Jason will start talking in Ghost speech. It freaks everyone else but Damian and Cass out bc the same sounds came from the pits

Take, edit, have fun with whatever you want here. It's just bs that crawls around my brain for funsies and won't let me sleep.

[but-a-humble-goon]

for, https://www.tumblr.com/but-a-humble-goon/754670294342500352/name-a-character-from-one-of-my-fandoms-and-ill?source=share

Cassandra Cain, naturally.

If you already got Cassandra then I'll take a wild swing and go for Emerald Sustrai.

I ain't got Cassandra yet funnily enough. Cassandra Cain Three personal headcanon facts about them -Even after she learns to talk she's still trying to figure out what's going on via inference in 90% of social situations. Words are challenging and not the kind of challenging she likes. -Cass hates stakeouts more than anything in the world. She is a creature of pure motion, she must be free. It takes all of her considerable will and discipline to sit still for longer than an hour or so and it feels like actual torture. -She gets sincerely very emotional listening to Evanescence. She's got no idea about their pop culture context, she just feels very seen by their music. Like she senses a spiritual kinship. A reason they suck Basically everything about how she treated Stephanie in Batgirl 2000. Didn't trust her, didn't respect her, tried very hard to drive her away, completely took their friendship for granted, was generally insufferable and mean to her constantly, took Bruce's side against her and pushed her into getting herself killed. A reason they are great Cassandra Cain is genuinely the kindest soul in the entire DC universe. She is the very essence of empathy and compassion. She would take on the entire world to fight for the life of even the worst person who ever lived. I've said it before but no matter how much the universe tries to hammer the message into her that you can't save them all her response will always be "watch me." A reason I relate to them She's terrible with her emotions and even worse at social interaction and everybody around her misconstrues this as her being emotionless or just projects their own biases onto her. People talk about her like she isn't even there and even though she acts like it doesn't sting, it does. She feels like everybody around her got given a manual on how to be human properly except her. Top tier OTP I don't really ship Cass with anyone. If she's gonna end up with someone at this point it should definitely be Stephanie to give the middle finger to all of the queerbait between the two over the years. Five things that never happened to the character that I believe should have happened. -We should have actually gotten to see her seeing Steph alive again for the first time after War Games and gotten all the devastating emotional fallout of that. -they really should have done a Cass vs Jason storyline at this point, it's kinda ridiculous that they haven't. -Batgirl 2000 should have had a real ending and not just sort of fizzled out the way it did. -Bruce really does need to sort his fucking life out and admit he's basically been feeding her self-abuse, ruining her life and failing her as a father and mentor. -SHE NEEDS A GODDAMN SOLO BOOK AGAIN Five people that the character never fell in love with and why -Conner Kent, much as I think there's probably still some not entirely platonic feelings between them, I don't think anything could ever really come of it, that's why I like where they left off. -Tai'Darshan, because that whole plotline was stupid. -Rose Wilson. If you were to ask Cass she'd tell you it's because Rose is a punk ass bitch. -Zatanna. I know it's like the joke that every bat is at least a little bit in love with Z but Cass could never be with somebody cooler than she is. -Any of her brothers, no matter what people seem to think, because that's disgusting.

[meloncholy-words]

Robin: A Word That Means Run (Chapter 1: Nightwing)

Nightwing hasn't been Robin in years. He still remembers what that name means in a situation like this.

A/N: I'm not going to apologize for any inaccuracies in lore and characterization. If canon can fuck off and do whatever they please than I can too. I'll try staying as close to what I know as canon as possible but also I do what I want lmao.

~~~

Chapter Warnings: Explosions, minor gun violence(no one gets shot but there are guns), canon typical violence(nothing graphic/explicit! it's just there), swearing, Scarecrow's fear toxin (though the effects of it happen off screen), mentions of past violence, mentions of injury(stitches, concussion, etc.). No permanent injury or death occurs! Let me know if I should add more warnings!

AO3 | Chapter List

The case was simple: Scarecrow was shipping out vials of fear toxin to buyers from other cities. There were five buyers; one from New York City, Washington DC, Brooklyn, Metropolis, and Blüdhaven. All that they had to do was intercept the sales, arrest the buyers, and run tests on the toxin to check if it was a new strain. It usually wasn't, but it never hurt to check. If it was, that would mean that Scarecrow was planning something big.

The issue was that all sales were happening on the same night, and all in different parts of Gotham, with not enough vigilantes to handle all of them.

Red Hood was investigating a new business of dealers near his territory, trying to gauge how much of a threat they were so he could take them out. They were experienced, and growing fast; if he didn't nip it as fast as he could, it might grow out of control and start becoming an issue.

Spoiler and Black Bat had had a recent run in with Killer Croc, and were both benched due to injuries. Steph had a sprained ankle, and many stitches all along her arms and back. Cass had a dislocated shoulder and concussion, as well as many stitches along her legs and torso. Both were lucky to have not gotten worse.

Signal, despite insisting that he should go, was out of commission. He'd already worked well into the night shifts the previous three nights due to several kidnapping situations that happened too close together to not be connected, but ended up just being very coincidental. That, plus his need to keep his grades up, had him pretty sleep deprived. While not usually an issue, a fourth night out later than he should've been would've only made it worse, and fear toxin with sleep deprivation was one of their absolutely nots.

That left only Batman, Robin, Red Robin, and Nightwing to deal with busting the sales. Four vigilantes to deal with five sales in five separate locations within the city. No problem, could be done very easily.

Nightwing had gotten the sale in Fashion District. The information that Oracle had been able to dig up lead him to an alley behind a two-story boutique. An unusual meeting place, but better than some abandoned warehouse. That was just becoming cliche at this point.

He was perched on a rooftop above, blending into the dark, clouded sky. It wasn't as efficient as the shadows, but he had been yet to be spotted. A car was already waiting, three guys twiddling their feet as they waited. The buyers, undoubtedly. Nightwing sat studying them from above.

Their car was a black SUV, covered in family stickers. Likely to be more inconspicuous, but could've been from one of their moms. Criminals were just like that sometimes. Two of the men were obviously well built, their frames on the bulky side. The third wasn't quite so built, but he seemed relaxed as they leaned back against the metal frame of the car, so he wasn't just some lackey dragged along. Likely a getaway driver, maybe the leader of this operation.

After around 15 minutes of sitting around, a van pulled up to the entrance of the alley. The driver stayed inside, while the the passenger and a few men from the back hopped out. The gimmicks of their outfits told Nightwing that they were Scarecrow's men. One of them was carrying a briefcase, which he identified as the goods.

The three guys snapped to alert, the leaner man taking charge. That clued into him being the leader. They met each other half way, a conversation springing from hushed voices. Nightwing strained to hear what they were saying, but that wasn't the important thing. What he needed to do was stop the sale from happening.

He monitored the men for a bit longer, listening to them speak. They were haggling, probably. If they sale went through, than he would need to apprehend all of them. If it didn't, he'd only need to deal with Scarecrow's men. The others would be their own cities problem.

"My sale fell through," came Red Robin's voice crackling through the comm in his ear. "Moving in now."

Below him, the leader gestured back toward the car. One of the bulky men moved towards it, opening the back and pulling out a small duffel bag. He handed the bag over, and Nightwing shifted to get a better look at the bag that was being opened.

Yep, that was cash.

"My sale is going through," Nightwing said into his mic, hushed. "Moving in."

Before the trade off could happen, Nightwing slipped off the ledge of the roof quietly. He angled himself slightly, making sure that when he landed it was on the lean man's shoulders, sending him shooting down to the ground under the weight. The man under him grunted as he hit the ground, letting out a wheeze. He wasn't unconscious, but he made no move to get up. Probably due to the pain of being slammed into an alley's concrete floor from roughly 180 pounds from above.

"Gentlemen," he chirped in greeting, electrifying the ends of his escrima sticks before flipping of the man under him towards the other two. The men reached towards their waistbands, likely reaching for a gun, but it mattered little when the electricity pressed hard above their collarbones. They spasmed, muscles stiffening under the shock, before collapsing as he pulled back.

Scarecrow's men gasped, followed by shouts and the sounds of feet scuttling away. Nightwing grabbed the lean man's collar, tossing him towards the other two. He dropped a bead in between them that exploded, wrapping cord around their limbs and tying them together.

"I'll be back for you!~" he called in a sing song voice, spinning around to watch the henchmen loading into the van. He pulled one of his sticks up, letting the hidden grapple inside of it shoot into the side of the building. The van roared to life, and Nightwing used the momentum of his lines tension to propel forward, landing on the roof as the wheels screeched against the road.

"Sale went through, moving in," came Robin, and from the sounds of exertion coating his voice, he was a little late on that callout.

The van wiggled underneath Nightwing's grip, trying to shake him off. Nightwing acquiesced, his hands gripping the edge of the top as he forced his legs down and through the windows of the back doors.

Several more shouts filled the air, and Nightwing was quick to silence them. He was also careful to not shatter the fear toxin that had been dropped on the floor in the struggle. The passenger in the front whipped around, and Nightwing was distantly aware of the glint of metal pointing towards him, but he snapped the wrist pointing the gun at him before he even recognized it as a gun.

The henchmen yelped in pain, and then did it again when his head was slammed into the dashboard. Nightwing hopped over the seats, landing on top of the unconscious body, his feet resting in the lap of the driver. In his hands, a stick came to life with more electricity.

"You gonna pull over?" he asked, smile in his voice as he waved the shocked-up end at the other. The henchmen let out a small whimper, leaning away from the weapon. Nightwing almost felt bad for him as he screeched off to the side, obeying.

When all of the henchmen were tied up, and Nightwing had doubled back to make sure the almost-buyers hadn't managed to escape, he notified the police before sitting back on a roof, basking in his victory.

"All involved are apprehended and waiting for police custody, and the toxin has been secured," Nightwing said, stretching out from where he was sat. The men didn't put up much of a fight, but the few blows the did land would probably bruise in the morning. Probably. This was a surprisingly easy run. "Reports?"

"Scarecrow's men are being tied up now," Red Robin replied, his voice soft after the fight. "Toxin secured"

"All involved apprehended," came Batman, who hadn't given the status earlier, the asshole. "Toxin secured."

"You never notified us you were moving in," Nightwing said helpfully. Not that it mattered too much; he was Batman, he'd be fine. "I'll start moving into the last sale now. Send me the location, O." Then, after a beat, "Robin, status?"

There was a brief stutter of silence. Nightwing hardly noticed it as he crossed from building to building, careful not to break anything. Hardly.

"Robin?"

"All involved apprehended," came the shaky voice of Robin. Uh oh, not good. "Toxin secured, one... one vial broken."

Shit.

"Try staying calm, I'll head your way," Nightwing said, spinning on his heel to where Robin handled his sale in the Narrows. It was on the opposite side of Gotham, but he'd be damned if he didn't do anything to-

"Actually," cut in Oracle's voice, "You should get over to Diamond for that last sale. You're the closest, and if all other sales are finished by now, that one might be close to done, or already finished. Red's the closest to Robin, he can go."

Red gave an affirming hum into his mic. "On my way, hang tight Robin. ETA like... 12 minutes."

Robin didn't respond, which made Dick's heart stop, but he turned back to his original path. His family was reliable, and they'd be fine. Stopping this sale was important, and he wasn't even close enough to object.

"I'll go with Nightwing," Batman said, voice gruff and focused as usual. "If they're wrapping up, and he gets there too late, I can keep speed with the batmobile."

"Acknowledged," Nightwing acknowledged as he soared over the gaps between buildings. "ETA 5 minutes."

Those five minutes were rather silent, only filled with his heavy breathing and grunts and he hopped and rolled around and off the rooftops. The vials in the briefcase he had pressed against his ribs clanked together ominously, but there was not breaking glass yet. He hoped there wouldn't be.

This time, the place of sale was some old, rundown warehouse. Nightwing gently set down the briefcase on the roof, dropping through a shattered skylight and moving like a spider in the rafters. There was arguing below him, loud and... not quite angry. No, it was frustrated, and building up to anger.

"I'm just saying, that seems like a high price to pay for something we don't even know works." The accent suggested Blüdhaven. Good, these were his own criminals then. He could handle that just fine.

Nightwing slipped around the rafters a little more until he had a clear view of everyone. He took a quick headcount. Five of Scarecrow's men, and he thought he saw another van outside, so probably more in total. Seven men stood before them, and Nightwing thought he recognized them from a gang who caused a lot of problems for him. It was hard to tell in the dark. This warehouse was so run down that there wasn't even any lighting in here.

"Twelve counted inside, likely more spotted outside," he said into his mic, his voice kept low and even as the men continued to argue. "The outcome of this is probably gonna be a big fight, so have your rebreather on just in case."

Nightwing slipped his own rebreather over his mouth, fastening it tight behind his head.

"Understood. I'm pulling up now."

The arguing below softened, and Nightwing was struggling to hear what was being said again. He did notice the exchange of bags, though.

"Good, the sale just went through. You're just in time."

Once more, Nightwing dropped from the sky like a missile. This time, he focused on the henchmen, as the gang men had the fear toxin. He had to be careful to not break them open. Even if he had his rebreather on, fear toxin wasn't fun to deal with.

These henchmen put up a bit more of a fight. Not good enough, of course. The metal pipe to the back of his head was, though.

Four of the five of Scarecrow's men were down, and what knocked him off his feet was a metal pipe. Damn. He tucked and rolled with the blow, bouncing up on his hands and knocking the weapon away with a kick. He was back on his feet, escrima sticks in both hands and poised to fight when a shadow descended upon the others.

The fighting only increased with a new player in the ring, but it was easier this time. Batman wrestled the briefcase of vials out of the gang's hands, tossing it on the floor behind him and out of the crossfire. The final henchmen had been forgotten in favor of the others. By the time another four men were down, Nightwing had realized that it was a mistake.

A click of metal made Nightwing whip around, arms raised and ready to either take or deal some serious blows. What he saw, instead, was a grenade mid air, heading fast towards him. It bounced off the ground, nestling against the briefcases handle.

Nightwing's muscles tensed, crouching low and fast, the hold on his weapons loosening. He needed to grab the briefcase. If the toxin blew, everyone without a rebreather would be affected. Dealing with a large number of criminals was hard; dealing with a large number of criminals who were terrified out of their minds and fighting like caged animals was hell.

His eyes flicked over to the grenade, and he hesitated. That wasn't good. You never hesitated on the field like this. But he knew those grenades. Most had plenty of seconds of fuse in them, for optimal range. If a grenade blew up too quickly after it was thrown, you'd get caught in the crossfire. But these ones, the one that had been thrown his way and was nestled against too many vials of fear toxin, was very short fused. The best way to take out a bat was to surprise them. That was very hard to do.

Using a weapon with no guarantee of survivability for the user was a good way to do it.

Nightwing wouldn't have time to move, not anymore. Maybe if he'd jumped at first, he could've gotten far enough away. But he was crouched down low, leaning toward the thing rigged to explode in at most two seconds, one hand reaching forward. His mind processed, vaguely, that he should run. Maybe he could run still, maybe, but would his body catch up to his thought process? Probably not. It hadn't even registered he was in danger yet.

Shit. He was going to die, huh? Or at the very least get badly injured. He was going to maybe die because he was too slow to recognize danger and his body was even slower to respond to his mind's commands and-

"Robin!"

His body moved before his mind caught up this time. He didn't know why. He hadn't been Robin in, what, 8 years? 9? But he new that name. He new that tone. He'd heard them both countless times over the years. And when they were paired together like this, when his veins were full of adrenaline and his stomach felt like a pit of ice, it meant run.

So he did. His legs pushed up, and his hips turned so fast he might've gotten whiplash, and his arms reached out until they found something firm and dark and safe. There was the flutter of a cape, and then there were strong arms around him, grabbing so tightly that the skin and bone underneath them ached.

There was an explosion. He didn't feel it. He could hear the sound of it, the gunpowder igniting and swelling into a cloud of fire. He could hear shouts and shrieks around him, groans and yells and maybe something breaking. He could feel his side grinding against something he recognized as the floor, but it felt distant.

He could feel his face pressed into a chest, coated in a thick material that had repelled knives, bullets, and wandering hands and fingers that traced the bat design on it after he had saved someone that he would gag about later in the back of the batmobile because he was too small to ride shotgun.

The floor under him stopped moving, and the screams had cut off. He peaked an eye open, looking up at the roof of the warehouse. There was a face there, with a chiseled jaw and scars that were small enough they could only be seen up close. There was black material that only covered the top half of that face. Above them was a thick substance in the air. Fear toxin, he registered after a few moments.

Slowly, the two bodies pulled apart. A hand was under his arm, guiding him up to stand. A survey of the area showed no deaths. Everyone unprotected had at least been far enough to only have been blown back. No missing limbs, no cuts, no burns. Just a few bruises.

"Are you guys okay?" Oracle asked, a hint of panic in her voice. "Cameras showed a bright light go off inside, and your vitals are off."

"All good, Oracle," said Batman, still surveying the scene. "There was a little explosion. No one seems seriously injured. Everyone else is unconscious, though, and there's toxin in the air." He didn't mention calling for his Robin.

"Good news about that!" Red Robin chimed. "It's not a new strain, which means we have antidotes on standby. Also, Robin's doing alright."

"Hn, good. We'll tie up loose ends here and head out. See you at the cave."

There was a round of sign-offs, and the two in the warehouse began rounding up the unconscious thugs. Toxin seeped out of the skylight above. The henchman that threw the grenade was nowhere to be seen, likely having fled during the chaos.

"I left my case of toxin up on the roof," Nightwing said when everyone had been restrained. He didn't mention the name either.

Batman let out a hum of acknowledgment. "I'll be waiting for you in the batmobile to head back to the cave." The flutter of a cape - one that had protected him - let him know that his dad was gone.

Nightwing climbed his way up to the roof once more, slow and deliberate. His body ached a bit more, now that he'd taken more hits and had been thrown across the floor. Being thrown by an explosion wasn't fun, 0/10, would not do it again.

Despite that, there was a smile plastered on his face.

Dick kinda liked being Robin again.

[twisted-tales-told]

Thank you @thisliminalspacedaydreams and @otrtbs (and also @whorerific who's doing this with me) for tagging me in:

Author Interview

How many works on ao3: Thirteen! Three are WIPS and 2 are Active WIPs

How many words on ao3: 89,218

Top 5 stories by Kudos

In Our Midst

My Jamie

A Hearts Bruising

The Grand Opening

On Bookshops and Cupcakes <-first ever fic btw

Do you respond to comments? Fuck yeah I do! As long as they're nice!

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending? When you Wake up is Pathetically angsty

Do you write crossovers? More putting characters from one story into the universe of another story. Maybe a few cameo's.

Have you ever recieved hate before on a fic?

People ask me sometimes to expand on my one-shots. Also In Our Midst hasn't been updated since like July. People want more of her & I am literally working on the next chapter as fast as I can. U don't understand how big she is.

Do you write smut? Two future WIPs will have explicit tags

Have you ever had your fics stolen? Yeah my pandalily duology makes it onto wattpad sometimes. It makes me feel bad.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? I don't really play well with others in creative projects, or any kind of projects...I am not a team player. I do things on my own timeline and how I want to do them, and I have learned to love this about myself in recent months but it was rough going there for awhile guys!

What's your favourite ship of all time. Don't make me do this please don't make me do this. I have so many u don't understand. I have. So Many. I am a multifandom girlie to my Core. Like Kara/Lena from supergirl has been haunting me recently. All aftg dynamics you can think of (unless nicky is there. nicky belongs with his german guy only thanks). Jegulus, Dorlily, Jason/Dick, Jason/Tim. Timkon. Cass/Steph, Superbat, Lex/Clark (smallville edition) [redacted stranger things ship], percabeth, Nico/Will, like I could go on. Newtmas, Birdflash, Korra/Assami, Morgana/Gwen, Morgana/that blonde girl they made her sister because they're pussies. Merlin/Gwaine is a big one. Like I can't name one they all tumble out of me. Rhy's/his pirate boyfriend im too tired to name in Darker Shade Of Magic. Nick/Bree/Sel from Legendborn. McGonagall/Pomfry also. I have a whole war au for them in a draft somwhere. I need to stop.

Have you ever had a fic translated: no, but feel free as long as it goes on ao3 or that russian ao3.

Whats a wip you want to finish but don't think you ever will? Mercy Be is dead until I have a Supernatural and Hungergames Renaissance at the same time.

What are your writing strengths? I think I really know how to make time flow. I know how to create a Vibe. An Energy. I know how to build a character.

What are your writing weaknesses? Continuity. If I didn't have to make this make sense it would be so much easier.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages? LOVE it! Unfortunately Im scared of looking stupid to people who speak those languages.

What's a fandom/Ship you haven't written for but want to? I would love to write some DC fics. It took me about a year in the marauders fandom to start writing for them, I assume it'll take me about the same for DC. Probably write a silly little camping one-shot...it'll become something maybe

What's your favourite fic you've ever written? My lowest ever kudo'd one actually. Ghosts Of Us, Mary centric, Marylene and Marylily. background prongsfoot, wolfstar and Jegulus (trust me it makes sense). I want to go back to her. Flesh her out even more. Make her 100k one day.

Done! No pressure tags @cr-amber @sophsicle @residentrookie and anyone else who wants to! Im just sleepy. need to stop to sleep.