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flamingpudding · 6 months

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Fictober23 Prompt: 27 - "I don't know if they will accept this."

Fandom: DPxDC

Rating: T

Warnings: -

A/N: Started writing this yesterday and finished it during lunch break today. So I decided to take a break tomorrow and post this early :D

Danny nervously poked his scrambled eggs as he sunk just a little lower in his chair. His eyes flicked back and forth between all of his new siblings that were currently in a heated discussion not noticing his slow withdrawal from the discussion and acting like he really didn't want to get noticed by them.

"Have you seen Mister Freeze's new sidekick? The white haired one that's probably a Meta with ice powers?"

"You mean Wraith?"

"Wait, I thought the kid was Ivy's sidekick? He helped blow up a facility last week!"

"No, no, no, no! Isn't he with Scarecrow?! I am sure he accidentally screwed up with the Fear Gas ten days ago so no one go harmed! But Scarecrow screamed at him that being new to the job wasn't an excuse."

"Didn't he help Catwoman steal two artifacts a couple days ago? One of them wasn't cat themed though I am pretty sure he was with her that time…"

"Wasn't he also the kid that was with Joker the last time he broke out? You know the white haired kid that was forced to assist him and tripped him right into his own trap and made the whole arrest a lot easier and quicker than usually?"

"It's like the kid switches who's sidekick he is every week…"

"Maybe he is interning with villains before breaking off to do his own thing? We better keep an eye on him."

Danny sank just a little bit lower in his chair and avoided looking at Alfred. Of course Danny knew about his new family's night time jobs, well day time in Duke's case, but when they had asked him if he wanted to take part in it he had declined. They didn't know about his second form, they only thought of him as a Meta with ghost powers that just escaped a horrible situation and now wanted a quiet and somewhat normal life. So they had accepted his decline in going into hero work, especially Alfred and Bruce appeared to be most relieved and happy about that decision at first.

But what Danny hadn't told them was that he might have declined going back into hero work, that didn't mean he would stay completely out of that side of his new family's life. The half ghost hadn't planned on it but it had all started with him accidentally coming across Poison Ivy. She reminded him of Sam in her values, so before his brain was able to catch up Danny asked if she wanted help blowing a facility that was pumping toxic waste into the water. Years of helping Sam with organizing activist protests did that to his brain.

One thing led to another and somehow Danny found himself more often than he liked in his phantom form acting as a sidekick or assistant to the rogues this family was fighting. In a way Danny felt like he was now more of an anti-hero than a hero, still fulfilling his obsession of protecting by finding creative ways to foil the rogues' plans if they get too dangerous or murderous but not really doing the whole righteous hero stick either.

Plus by working with Mister Freeze and Scarecrow at times he also gets to fully live out the mad scientist side of his brain. With them especially he gets to create whatever his weird wired brain could come up with, though, he did 'accidentally' leave behind USBs or papers with his inventions for Tim to find at the crime scenes.

What his new brother did with them was none of his business. If the Bats and Birds suddenly had new equipment in their arsenal that looked eerily similar to his inventions than that was that.

The problem was… his new family probably wouldn't like or accept that kind of turn of events. They were righteous and defenders of justice with moral codes and standards, Danny wasn't sure he could fulfill at the moment. Watching his new siblings arguing back and forth about Wraith, his new anti-hero alias Selina, Harley and Ivy had come up with, made his stomach sink every morning. In fact Danny was getting more and more scared with the passing days that his new family would kick him out the moment they learned about it just like his former parents had done.

He wished he had Jazz's contact to talk this over with her, but because of his situation Bruce found it better to wait a little longer before he could safely reach out to her. Maybe he could ask if Harley could talk with him instead.

A cup of tea was placed before him and Danny's head snapped up (when had he started to look down?) to find Alfred smiling calmly at him. "Master Daniel, I believe a nice cup of tea will help calm down your nerves."

"Thanks." Danny mumbled his hands cupping the cup and letting the warmth of it seep over his hands into his arms to comfort his nerves. He took a sip, eyes going wide for a moment before he looked over to Alfred who was currently taking away Tim's third cup of unfinished coffee while the other was distracted with the ongoing discussion. The old man gave him a knowing smile and Danny couldn't help the small grateful one that formed on its own, though he also couldn't help the slight feeling that Alfred knew what was frazzling Danny's nerves so much.

"Jason, maybe you can get into contact with Wraith?"

"Why the fuck should I?"

"You have a different reputation than us as Red Hood. He might be more willing to talk with you, to figure out his motives and such."

Danny choked on his tea, hurriedly placing the cup back on the table before pounding his own chest in a desperate attempt to get any tea that went down the airpipe out.

"Danny! Are you okay?" Dick was instantly on him, worried older brother vibes and all that.

He wheezed before breathing in relief once he stopped coughing, giving the oldest a barely hearable "I'm fine."

"<tt> Try not to die stupidly like this, Fenton." Damian clicked his tongue and Danny gave him a toothy grin.

"I am already half dead." He heard Jason snort. While the family thought Danny was just a Meta with ghost-like powers. Danny had explained his accident to them and how he died and revived with powers through it when they asked him why he was insisting through jokes that he was half dead. Jason and Dick were the only ones who really enjoyed his death related jokes and puns, the others were more worried about his mental state.

"Leave the death jokes to Todd, Fenton."

"Oh come on, don't ghost me like that! My jokes are just as much to die for then his are!"

"Fenton."

Danny just laughed, while the previous discussion made him fear for the future, he still loved the family he had gotten added into by sheer luck. He had come to quickly love them all and felt like his own weirdness fit perfectly into theirs. It truly made him hope that he could stay with them for a long time and maybe even add Jazz into the picture as well once his whole situation was more secured and Bruce would allow him to contact her and his friends.

Later that day Danny was in the library reading a book on Molecular Structure of the human biology and how it can mutate depending on external influence, as a preparation for his next endeavor as Wraith with Killer Croc, when he felt tapping on his shoulder.

Turning his head slightly Danny startled finding Cassandra in his personal space sitting next to him with a mirthful smile. She gave him a small wave as a greeting before sitting back a little, apparently satisfied with the fact that she sort of scared him there a little.

"Hey Cass." He smiled, putting one of the many bookmarks, Jason had distributed and stored away everywhere in an effort to stop his siblings from creating dog ears in books, on the page he was on before closing the book in his hands.

"You worry too much, relax." She signed with a reassuring smile once Danny had turned his full attention on her. Confused, the half ghost on the other hand tilted his head, puzzled about what Cass was going on about. He did feel rather relaxed right now.

"You being Wraith." Wide eyed Danny hurried to cover Cassandra's hands, like one would cover another's mouth if they blurred out a secret. His eyes hurriedly darted around in their surroundings but aside from the shelves filled with books Danny couldn't see nor sense anyone that might listen in on them.

Cass was shaking in silent laughter as Danny nervously turned back to look at her. "How…"

Slowly she freed her hands from his and patted them comfortingly before beginning to sign again, smiling knowingly. "I saw. Your body language is the same."

"I…" How was he going to explain this? He had gotten found out, was Cass going to tell him to leave now? Was this the end of his new found family life? It came sooner than he anticipated. Blankly he stared at his hands that uselessly lay in his lap on the book cover, one hand slowly moving to nervously trace unseen patterns on the books spine.

Danny did not see how Cass frowned at that action, all mirth gone from her smiles. She did not like her brother was drawing into himself, doubt and fear started to radiate from his body language and Cassander didn't like that even more. She moved a little closer, so that she would have an easier time to reach Danny and poked his cheek mercilessly until her little brother looked back up at her.

"No need to explain." She actually spoke instead of sign just to show Danny how serious she was. "It's fine. Funny even. Like Selina."

"But…" A lump formed in his throat and he swallowed, trying to find the right words. Cass waited patiently for him. "Mom and Dad… my former parents… they didn't accept me as a ghost hero…"

Cassandra nodded but didn't sign nor say anything, seeing that there was more her newest little brother wanted to say but still trying to find the right words for. It was something she could relate to. Unable to find the right words, hadn't she been through that before too. She lay a comforting hand down on Danny's shoulder, once more waiting patiently.

"I… I don't know if they will accept this… this turn of events. Especially in this family. You all are taking the Hero route and I…" Danny swallowed once more. "I can stop, I can change. I just don't… I don't want to lose another family…"

Before Danny knew what was happening he was enveloped in a warm hug, he blinked several times before realizing that Cass was hugging him tightly. He was held like this for a while before she drew back from him, poking him once more to make him look at her once more.

"No need. Don't stop." She spoke her voice, soft and smoothing while smiling at him brightly.

"But…" She shook her head, silencing whatever Danny wanted to say before giving him a mischievous smile, her hands letting go of his shoulder so sign her next words. "You are not hurting anyone, you keep them from killing, from being too dangerous to civilians, not really breaking any big laws. You help us in your own law breaking way. Like Jason does."

"I am not as good as him…" Danny mumbled still unsure but Cass only smiled fondly ruffling her little brother's hair.

"You started to smile more since you became Wraith." She flat out told him, causing Danny to look up at her stunned and she laughed silently. "Keep going. If you go too far, I will be there to pull you back."

"You're like Jazz…" Danny mumbled, finally with a little smile on his face and Cass returned it with a satisfying one of her own before pulling him in for another hug, he returned this time.

That night, Orphan watched happily how her little brother laughed carefree and freer than he had in a month sitting on Killer Croc shoulders, testing out his newest invention while the rogue was trying to get him off, unsuccessfully so far. Her other brothers surrounded the two and tried to figure out what was going on since Wraith was supposed to be their rogues gallery sidekick and not challenge them like that.

She laughed even when suddenly out of nowhere a USB-Stick hit Red Robin in the face. Obviously she had caught Wraith flinging it in his direction, but she was not about to tell them that. Orphan would let them figure that out on their own, meanwhile she was going to enjoy watching her newest little brother smile and laugh while being the chaos gremlin she had seen in him from day one as he was messing with the rogues as well as vigilantes / heroes of Gotham.

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johannestevans · 25 days

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what's really fun about embracing batman's antics as a parallel or representative to BDSM culture is like. the doylist explanation is that the secret identities are such a large part of the plots

but from the watsonian perspective, why does no one pull off each other's mask?

why don't the villains pull off batman's mask? not just during a physical fight, but during the others - when scarecrow knocks him out with poison, when the riddler knocks his head in to put an exploding collar on him, when the joker drugs him so he can do his weird shit to him?

why do none of them pull batman's mask off during regular fights, unless the pulling off his mask is SPECIFICALLY a plot point of the comic? why doesn't batman pull off bane's mask, or catwoman's?

why in gotham do people generally let other people keep their masks on?

unless it's a specific plot point of the story, as i said, in general everyone - both villains and heroes - respects the other side's anonymity to a certain extent. the villain is only unmasked once they are caught and apprehended, the hero almost never

and it's because like. the masks are part of it, right. their identities are part of it. both villains and heroes engage in these personas to represent parts of their identities that are otherwise stunted or repressed

where the likes of wonderwoman and superman appear in their superheroic antics unmasked - implying that THESE are their "true" identities, implying that there is little artifice to them - batman is an alterego of another man

and yet, as many kinksters will tell you, a mask does not necessarily create the repression your real face does. wearing a mask or a disguise or costume can, in fact, strip away layers of artifice - as it does in the soul of batman

batman is cold where bruce wayne often doesn't permit himself to be. batman laughs at joker's or other freaks' jokes sometimes, and makes dry - dark - quips of his own.

batman goes out in the rain and beats people up, and craves to be beaten up in return.

and yet he doesn't tear anyone's mask off - and for the most part, they don't go for his. joker even comments on it in some things, talks about how it would ruin the game if he unmasked him, and that in itself is a sort of metacommentary on what i'm discussing here

as i've said before, all superheroes are kind of gay, and kind of kinky, because what they do - being in the closet and having a secret identity; having a special costume and/or mask and/or powers that you don't usually have when closeted, etc - but here like

there is an implicit boundary here between superheroes and supervillains where they don't cross this line, and it's to do with maintaining the sanctity of the "space" in which they're "playing" (not playing) together. they maintain their respective identities to maintain the vibe

the villain is unmasked when they are apprehended because that marks the end of play, in which their identity is stripped from them as punishment for being apprehended; the hero is unmasked when the villain wishes to graduate the level of pain and/or remove them from the space

this tbh is also why i love so much when like. the joker makeup is literally burned into his face and is just Like That now - it's the idea that this was once or WOULD HAVE once been an alterego, but it is now permanent whether he likes it or not

because the fundamental point of the joker is that he can't stop, won't stop, because he is so devoted and so deep in his villainy - and that while batman and bruce wayne are a few identities deep, he might as well always be wearing the cowl, even though ppl can't see it

#musings #batman #batjokes #batman x joker

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clockwayswrites · 3 months

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I am curious about Another Red? what's the idea for that one if I may ask?

More Another Red! (came in before the other one was published as I'm spreading them out to avoid eating dashes).

So, as said, Danny flees to Gotham with red dyed hair and a punk look. But this Danny was never a hero- he was never Phantom. But in a city like Gotham, he can't avoid that forever.

There's a Scarecrow attack. People are trapped but Danny... he doesn't need to breath, right? Or not often at least. He can help. So he puts a bandanna over his mouth and rushes into the gas.

Oracle notices him first on cameras and chimes in "Looks like we have another red on the field."

#askme answeryou #Anonymous #ask game #dp x dc #another red

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celaenaeiln · 5 months

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I saw in a panel one time that when Dick revealed his identity to the other Fab Five, Batman happened to catch him right in the middle of it and confronted him about it

Though of course Dick stood his ground verbally, stating his trust in them after what they’ve been through.

You think that might’ve played into the long arc of Bruce and Dick having differences between them emerge as Dick grew older and more distant from being that chipper partner Bruce could have by his side?

The Titans (1999) Issue #42

The Titans love Dick's independence but Bruce hates it.

I think you're mostly right but I think it's not so much of differences as it is freedom and self-governing.

Nightwing (1996) Issue #134

The thing about Dick's robin, Dick has always been a little too good to just be Batman's sidekick. Too good at fighting, too good at detectiving, too good at being an equal, a partner.

Batman/Scarecrow Issue #1

He can read Bruce's mind like he's eating candy. He's used to Bruce letting him do whatever he wants, but now all of a sudden, Bruce is telling him what to do and what he can't do. It's getting on Dick's nerves that one second he had all the freedom in the world and now Bruce thinks he can't do what he's so used to.

Dick think Bruce's sudden distrust in him is because he thinks Dick can't keep up or that he's doubting his skills somehow. So he starts acting out. What he doesn't understand is Bruce isn't doubting his competence, he's being protective. After a decade Bruce has finally realized that it's too dangerous for a child to be going around doing the things he has been doing, so it's not a reflection of Dick's abilities, but increased self-awareness and responsibility that Bruce has gained.

And this is what causes the friction.

The resolution of Dick's earlier conflict is this-

Nightwing (1996) Issue #135

Dick is fully capable of holding his own, of solving his own mysteries, and fighting his own cases. But Bruce believes that because he's too young to be at that level. So Dick sets an ultimatum. While Dick was looking forward to it like a kid waiting for his 18th birthday, Bruce was counting down the days like Doomsday Clock, dreading the moment. At finally when it was time, he made his move first because it's easier to fault the other person always.

It's not their differences really that caused them to fall apart. Their difference is what caused Bruce to love him. He loved that Dick was such a joyful, energetic, and eager child. It fear that turned into protectiveness that turned into control which soured their later relationships.

While Dick may have been excited and ready about becoming his own hero, Bruce ruined the moment because he didn't want to let go. That's partly why I think their later years were so tumultuous. They both knew what was coming, they just had different ideas of it.

He was mad that Dick ran away the first time, so how do you think he's going to react with the knowledge that Dick is going to officially leave him? Hence the firing.

You know in hindsight, this is probably another reason why Bruce will forever hate the Titans. He probably thinks they're the reason Dick's turned away from him and he hates that.

#dick grayson #robin dick grayson #bruce wayne #batman #cl paladin of nerd fandom65 asks #thanks for the ask!#titans as family #roy harper #arsenal

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nobodyfamousposts · 11 months

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Another Miraculous Crossover Nobody Wanted (DCxML)

In the midst of so many Batfamily/Miraculous crossovers, the thing I feel so many people forget is that the Waynes are...well...themselves.

Sure, they're awesome vigilantes. Trained in martial arts and with great mental fortitude to help them against the likes of Scarecrow's fear gas, Joker's venom, and Mad Hatter's manipulations.

...the problem is that Hawk Moth is a whole different ballgame.

He doesn't target their fears or dreams. He targets ANYTHING. Like petty annoyances. Frustrations. Sleep deprivation. Obsessions. Things the Batfamily generally try to ignore on a regular basis.

If he can akumatize and reakumatize the same man over his love of pigeons and people who feel they've been wronged over silly reasons, there's SO MUCH that could come from the complete dysfunction/emotional constipation that is the Wayne family. Remember, ANY frustration or annoyance or upset counts.

Meaning Ladybug and Chat will be having their hands full with the Waynes until they leave.

And given that Hawk Moth comes up with the silliest costumes and powers...

...the others would never let them live it down.

...

It was a beautiful day in Paris. And an absolutely wonderful vacation to the City of Love, where everything was peaceful and nothing was wrong.

Dick stood at the window looking out over the city.

Tim was on his computer doing some reports. Possibly Wayne Enterprises work, but more likely mission work.

Damien had apparently gotten tired of grumbling and was focused on sharpening his sword—which Bruce really shouldn’t have let him bring. But given the situation, he couldn’t argue against letting Damien have something that would help him stay calm.

Cass had found a magazine to occupy her time, though she seemed somewhat confused as to the male teen model that kept appearing in nearly every line.

And Jason…

…he was grinning. And watching Bruce with such anticipation, looking downright hopeful as he waited. Not helping was that he was holding what appeared to be a brand new camera, fully prepared to start recording.

Bruce knew why.

But he would not give him the satisfaction.

Because nothing was going to happen.

Absolutely nothing.

Bruce twitched.

SNAP!

And his pen cracked from the sheer amount of pressure he was putting on it. Which was admittedly an annoyance, but wasn’t that big of a deal…

…if it wasn’t the 15th pen he’d broken in the past three hours.

It was fine though.

Nothing was wrong.

He was calm.

Calm.

A muffled voice could be heard from outside despite the room being on the seventh floor of a building. Which of course was a coincidence and not because someone was actually right outside the room….and the building.

And perhaps if Bruce tried really hard, he could convince himself was just someone singing a line out of “American Pie” and not someone talking about butterflies.

No.

Because there were no butterflies outside. Because he was fine!

Not the slightest bit upset!

At. All.

“That’s thirty-three…” Dick counted.

…

…Dammit.

Bruce sighed.

“Did she come back to the roof?”

“Actually, she never left.” Tim confirmed, not even looking up from his computer. “She stopped leaving after the last incident and has just been standing there for the past couple hours now, catching them as they come.”

A long pause.

“How…?”

“Her partner has been bringing her water and snacks. And keeping watch whenever she has to leave to hibernate or use the little bug’s room.”

Bruce groaned.

Why couldn’t it be a villain? Or a fan or stalker? He could deal with those. He dealt with them all the time.

It was the well intentioned young superheroes that he had a harder time dealing with. The ones that wanted to help but were misguided in not understanding that their help wasn’t necessary.

“Gotcha!”

“Thirty-four.” Dick droned.

…no matter how many magical butterflies implied otherwise.

“Maybe we should do what the nice Ladybug hero asked and finish up our business in Paris?” Tim suggested.

“I refuse!” Damien shouted, jumping to his feet. “This villain has made a mockery of us and it must not be allowed to stand! I will not leave until he has been caught and my sword has tasted his blood!”

“Damien, we don’t kill, remember?”

“I wouldn’t kill him.” Damien said, looking away with a pout. “Just…dismember him a bit.” He frowned, consideringly. “Maybe cut off his arms. He can’t continue villainy then, right?”

Tim sighed.

“So that’s a no on going home early then.”

They heard a noise from the roof.

“Is she leaving?” Bruce asked, trying to hide how hopeful he was.

“Nope. It’s her catboyfriend back again.” Dick replied, blithely.

Bruce sighed.

“Do you think they’re dating?”

“Dick.” Bruce warned.

“Because the city seems to be really hamming up the romantic angle between the two and it’s kinda hard to not see.” Dick continued.

“Dick.”

“Even if it is kinda weird that they’re essentially shipping teenagers.”

“Speaking from experience there, Dickie Boy?” Jason cut in, cheekily.

“Stop it. Both of you.” Bruce ordered. “The goal of coming to Paris was supposed to be to deal with the emotional terrorism from Hawk Moth.”

“A little hard with all your emotional constipation there, B.”

Jason smirked.

“Or should I say ‘Justice Man’?”

Bruce twitched.

#ml fic #ml crossover #dc crossover #bruce wayne #batfamily #dick grayson #jason todd #damien wayne #tim drake #ml crack #ml humor #miraculous ladybug #bruce wayne is bad at feelings #jason is having too much fun #yes I'm making fun of them #I do it out of love

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weirdmarioenemies · 3 months

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Name: Sacksquatch

Debut: Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies

Look! It's a burlap sack! I don't know what it is about burlap, but I love when a creature is made of it. It just feels right. I think scarecrows establish that burlap is destined to become a creature, and we all know that scarecrows walk around at night and when no one is looking, stealing crops from rival farms to use for bartering with birds.

So why shouldn't non-scarecrow burlap be able to come to life, too? It just makes sense! The one improvement I have in mind for Sacksquatch is that it does not contain potatoes, my preferred thing for a burlap sack to contain.

Instead, it contains sand, because it is a Sandbag! The kind you use to batten down the hatches (I am not using that phrase correctly), or to lighten your hot air balloon, or a whole bunch of things. I'm sure it can be nice to hug one if there's no one else around, or even if there are people around who you like less than a sack of sand. Sacksquatch in particular is said in one game to be from a factory, and in another to be from a construction site. The implied branching timeline of Sack Of Sand!

Here is the funny sack in its debut on the DS! It debuted as a bonafide Monster, an enemy to get in your way and be fought, and this rough-textured ruffian just loves to blow sand in heroes' eyes to temporarily blind them. That is VERY rude, but I can't be mad at it. What else is a leaking sack of sand to do? Drop a grand piano on you? This is just what they do!

As with most Dragon Quest monsters, Sacksquatch would appear in Dragon Quest Monsters games, where it can be YOUR friend! Will you welcome it? It will probably sprinkle sand in your undergarments for a giggle, but that's probably how it shows affection! And in the recent DQM3, if you fuse it with a killer hymenopteran...

You get the all-new Saccharine Sacksquatch! I know this looks like cheese, but it is honey! Unlike gray sand, honey is a substance which I am actively a fan of. Saccharine Sacksquatch is a strange concept! I would not think to fill a burlap sack with honey (and I would not eat honey from a sack), but it is certainly more striking than if it was full of oats or dirt or something. These sacks love to eat honey and try to raid the nests of killer bees, but I think a perfect solution would be for it to allow some regular bees to nest within its body. A sack full of bees! Don't squeeze it! I like to think it would be able to taste any honey it contains.

Sacksquatch makes a small cameo in Dragon Quest Builders 2, where it is the icon for Faerie Fertilizer. Though made of bones, petals, and dirt, the description calls it "manure", so I will not be including the image. Just in case. Perhaps an unwholesome appearance, but I appreciate it. Compost Is Cool!

#sacksquatch #dragon quest #dragon quest ix #dragon quest 9 #dragon quest monsters #nor mario #funky friday #mod chikako

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wandixx · 2 months

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Ghost of fries and Hero of cookies part 4

All work words count: 14 643

Words in this part: 2999

Summary of whole work: Duke wasn't expecting to wake up from his quick rooftop nap to some meta kid with fries. He also wasn't expecting kid to stay

Danny asked Dani to stay safe while she was in Gotham. Where would she be safer than under the wing of local hero? And he looked like he needed bad day combo anyway

This part summary: Dani haven't considered how hard it can be to save people from house fire

Beta read by @audhumla-sailor though English is second language for both of us, so proceed with this in mind. I also know all of the charaters through fics alone, so probably ooc. Stay catious if it's something you don't like

First part, Previous part

Trigger warnings: house fire, panic attacks, temporary character death (am I over dramatic to say this if background child character's heart stops for a long moment and Dani hears it?) slight dissociation (tell me if I missed something, I'll fix it)

Dani proved to be useful addition to Duke’s patrol routine even though she couldn’t always join him, had very little actual training and was a certified mess most of the time. It was nice to banter with her in the free time, she did help when needed and her enhanced hearing was great in finding trouble he would otherwise overlook. She also often brought snacks (he did too, because girl had no idea what was healthy and in the love of god, if he didn’t try to get her in better habits).

“Fire on seven. Some people are stuck inside,” Dani blurted out and flew faster than baseline person should be able to withstand. Duke run and grappled after orange blur she became. It was less than perfect that she couldn’t tell more specifically where things were going down, but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t train.

They rarely intervened with fires, unlike Gotham’s police and CPS, firefighters here worked pretty great. Dani knew this, so her going there in the first place meant something was up.

On a fly he grabbed his gas mask. It was made to withstand Scarecrow and Joker when they released their toxins and not smoke so it should do its job. He hoped that Dani would stop before entering so he could give her spare mask and well, coordinate. But she didn’t, of course. What did he expect from kid who body tackled Joker’s goon without second thought about idk, four other goons with guns being in the same room! He only saw end of her cape in between flames when he swung to the right street. Duke made sure his mask was secure when he stopped on a nearest save rooftop to assess the situation. Fire was too big to be put out with personal means like fire extinguishers so all they could do was to evacuate.

“Hoopoe, you reckless idiot, don’t die in here,” he muttered, sure she would hear him before grappling inside too.

***

About five seconds after entering building, Dani decided that she didn’t like fires. It probably came from her time in Amity but she was far more comfortable when she could beat the root of the problem into submission. Also, it was surprisingly loud, like need-to-cover-her-ears-for-a-hot-moment type of loud. Not louder than a rogue attack, it would be really hard to beat that level of noise but fire was worse in some way. It was somewhat similar to nails on a blackboard. Not in a sound per se but in a vibe she got from it. How she couldn’t tune it out like she usually did.

She straightened herself and dove ahead to the nearest person she heard. Smoke rendered her eyes nearly absolutely useless. Though she saw, heard and felt enough to find safe routes. Of course she could go intangible and in theory wouldn’t be affected by anything from physical realm but even when intangible fire kept burning for some reason and she would prefer to stay raw to being crispy. Rescued people should stay unfried too.

She didn’t quite remember first few rescues, just that it went smoothly, she took a leaf from Danny’s book, throwing some puns and references she didn’t quite knew but from context thought they would fit. Then once outside, she kept telling them to wait for paramedics and went back inside. She was more and more on edge for some reason.

She was really glad she didn’t need to breathe as much.

Middle-aged man grabbed her arm and shook her violently, asking to save his children.

“Fourth floor, fifth window to the left. Please save them!” man cried. Dani felt kinda like snapping but took deep breath to stop herself from it. Signal would be disappointed if she yelled at panicking civilian. She could kinda relate to the man anyway. She was probably also panicking.

“I’ll save them, I promise,” she said instead, phasing out of his grip.

She heard them, little boy weakly whispering to his sister that everything would be alright as soon as the heroes would get to them. His voice was hoarse, choked, interrupted by shallow breaths while the girl sobbed. Dani darted their way. Fire unit and medics were finally getting closer.

Girl yelled when caped hero appeared in room full of smoke. They both were sitting, older boy slightly swaying.

“It’s okay, I’m here to get you out to your dad,” she soothed, grabbing them both into a hug like carry. She barely jumped away from under the crushed lamp that fell where they were half a second before. Girl yelped.

“It’s okay, I got you, it’s okay,” she muttered, hoisting kids into more comfortable position. She flew nearest way out of the rom, looking for a clear spot on an outer wall. Her stomach dropped and core spasmed when she realized that boy stopped breathing, going limp in her arms. She was panicking throughout whole of this fire rescuing mess but only then she became frantic.

Maybe it was because of the smoke that kept cluging in her throat. She didn’t need to breathe as often but now she felt like she was suffocating and was suddenly all too aware of each bit of air she managed to swallow in her lungs.

She almost dropped when they finally got out. It took less than a second for her to fly to the kids’ father. She put girl down a little to hastily before gently laying boy n the pavement. Adult was beginning to hyperventilate and honestly Dani wasn’t too far behind him. She wished Signal was there. He would know what to do. Dani only had been on one first-aid course and she spent the better part of it on reviewing memes.

She had to remember something!

Breaths! She had to make absolutely sure if he was breathing!

She remembered practicing this one, so she did as instructed, counting to fifteen instedad of ten for a good measure. Then to twenty just to be safe. She knew she was counting too fast anyway.

Boy wasn’t breathing.

He wasn’t breathing!

She wished her ears were deceiving her but there was no heartbeat too!

What was she supposed to do now?!

Oh, right, she remembered chest compression thing from movies. She could do it.

Someone yanked her back, so hard she almost hit her head.

“You’re doing it wrong. I’m nurse, I’ll do it,” young woman declared, already kneeling were Dani was mere seconds ago, unzipped boy’s hoodie and got to work. Only then halfa realized that they got circled by small crowd of people rescued from building. Two of them were calming boy’s family down. She would use some comforting too.

She scrambled to her feet, racing out the crowd. Nobody even glanced her way.

She turned around and flew back inside the burning building.

Why did it feel like running away?

First ambulance arrived three rescues after the boy. Dani was so relieved she had to stop for a moment because her knees buckled and flight betrayed her for a hot second. She heard only four other people inside and Signal. They would finish soon enough.

Good.

Her head was spinning slightly.

“Congratulations, you are being rescued, please do not resist” she announced with forced confidence, appearing next to the man who probably was in a gang. Thankfully he didn’t fight her. When she was back in Central City one of the Flashes told her to make sure that people know she was trying to help them especially if they seemed like the type to choose fight over other crisis responses. This man certainly did. He almost punched her anyway.

Next was boy who was far too little to be left alone. She gave him her cape. She assumed he could use the comfort it gave her. There was a reason she choose comfiest blanket to this role.

She heard Signal making his way to the last victim but for some reason it was slow going. She flew up there after the last reassuring words to the boy.

She learned why Signal got stuck about three seconds after appearing on the right floor. It was a literal epicenter or whatever it was called. The root of the problem. The literal Hell on earth. Dani stopped for a moment, downed by the coughing fit and tears making her sight absolutely useless.

Signal was talking to someone. Asking them to calm down. She wasn’t sure. Dani forced herself to stand up and go see what was happening. She was probably swaying a little.

There was young woman in the middle of the fire. There was no scent of burning skin or hair so Dani assumed there were some powers involved. Thankfully most likely she wasn't a ghost. Dani wasn’t in the right headspace to fight a ghost and as cool and competent as Signal was, he couldn’t fight ghosts either.

Woman was visibly terrified. She kept screaming, begging Signal to go away because she was too dangerous to be so close. Hero tried to talk her down. She yelled that it was all her fault and she shouldn’t be saved.

Oh.

Woman had to just learn about her ability and lost control over it. Go big or go home, right? She didn’t exactly have home anymore so…

Dani barely kept herself from hysterical laughter.

Ghost fights were so, so much easier, she just had to beat the cause of the problem into submission and trap it in the thermos. No persuade it into stopping.

It was all too hot, too loud, too suffocating.

Dani could barely think.

Creaking of the ceiling boomed through her brain, somehow getting over the overwhelming cackle of fire that made her just want to hide in the corner and cry, even ignoring absolute onslaught to her other senses.

Ceiling was going to fall down and crush all of them.

Dani could barely think, so she didn’t.

She forgot to turn intangible when she crushed through window, meta woman held tightly in her arms. Thank Ancients she was durable enough to not break her head for that. Signal could handle himself. Hopefully.

Dani gasped on fresh air. She felt lightheaded, barely cognizant from instinctual relief to be out. She was free falling, her body limp, eyes half-closed, wind rushing in her ears and on her face. It was paralyzing but not in a bad way.

It felt good.

It felt like freedom.

It felt like something she could do for the rest of eternity.

It felt-

“HOOPOE!” panicked yell cut through her haze.

Right.

She was plummeting to the ground. She held someone. They would die when they crushed.

She should stop falling.

Could she do it?

She had to.

She dropped off the blue haired woman with the nearest medic squad and ran. Or flew. She wasn’t quite sure. Her brain still didn’t feel right. But she knew she had to leave.

Next thing she knew was the pain from practically collapsing on a wall and dumpster she hid behind. From what, she had no idea. She had no idea about anything.

So she did only thing she still could.

Dani cried.

***

Duke was getting frantic in his search for Dani after that room collapsed. He knew she made it out, he saw her falling head first to the ground. He was trying to catch her but he knew he couldn’t do it on time. And then she caught herself, left Abigail with medics and flew away in a blur. And Duke couldn’t go right after her because some cop had questions. Duke did his best to wrap it up quickly but still by the time he could look Hoopoe was nowhere to be seen. He was straining his eyes trying to see any sign of her but other than the boy with her cape as a blanket there was nothing. He was tempted to ask Babs for help.

Scratch that, he didn’t have time to do this on his own. Pride and this stupid bet be damned. He turned on his comm, not bothering to go off the main channel.

“Oracle, I need you to search for white-haired preteen girl dressed in white and black. Somewhere near Rossaire street. Probably there will be no clear footage”

“Need help in search?” Steph chimed in gently “Spoiler can be there five minutes flat”

Duke considered it for a moment. Steph knew how Dani looked (as much as anyone who saw her only in photos could know how she looked) and wanted to meet girl anyway. She could be useful help. On the other hand, she mentioned before she had some important stuff. And he wasn’t sure how Dani would react to someone unknown finding her in this state. Last thing he wanted was scaring girl even more. He searched road for Dani’s past light, again.

“No, don’t worry. She just got a little overwhelmed”

“Alright, good luck with finding your kid then”

“She is not my kid!”

“Signal who-” Bruce grunted but got interrupted by Babs.

“Turn right, she entered blind zone but I can lead you there”

“Thanks O”

“No invisibility?” Steph mused.

“Thank God for that,” Duke answered, while grappling to the left. He shoot forward as fast as he could ”Or maybe not. She has to be quite out of it”

“Left again”

“Signal, who are you looking for?” Bruce asked again.

“Next alley to the right. It’s the last place I can see her”

“Thanks O.”

“Signal-”

“Later B.”

Duke landed in the alley, turning his comm off. He knew that sooner rather than later he would have to explain himself and would probably get endless teasing but it wasn’t important at the time. He searched again for past light. He run after glimpses. He stopped when he heard sniffle from behind a dumpster. He slowed down, approaching loudly. It wouldn’t do any good to scare her.

“Hoopoe?”

Her breath hitched. Duke sat down next to her far enough to not invide her personal space but close enough to make her feel not alone.

Her face was black from ashes and smoke other than where her mask was and cleaner tracks her tears were making.

Her mask was laying on a ground (clearly forcefully thorn off which ouch), cape obviously nowhere in sight. When she calmed down, he would ask what happened with it. It would probably be a good distraction. But not now.

“Hey kid. Can you try breathing a little slower for me?”

She mumbled something, inaudible between loud wheezing.

“I know it’s hard but I’m sure you can do it. Who if not you?”

Girl visibly tried, shifting around as if she tried to find some much needed comfort. Clearly, the lack of pressure her cape was giving her wasn’t helping.

“How about you try putting hand on my chest and matching my breathing? It often helps”

She moved her hand and he led it to his chest. Dani shuddered.

Slowly, telegraphing his movements Duke extended his arm and put it across Dani’s shoulders. Girl leaned into it with choked sobs.

“I know it was scary,” he muttered as she shook silently “You did so well, Dani”

Girl let out quiet, high-pitched whine that didn’t sound quite human, trapping him in the hug much stronger than child her age should manage. He rubbed her back gently.

They sat in silence, as girl relaxed a bit.

“I officially despise fires. Just not my vibes, y'know,” was the first thing she managed to say. Duke smiled, still trying to comfort her. He knew far too well what she was trying to do. He let her. Every hero needed to retreat to humor every once in a while. Majority of his family and associated vigilantes did it constantly.

“Right here with you”

She looked at him, searching for something on what little she could see on his face.

“You see more, don’t you?” she asked but didn’t wait for an answer “It was too much even with normal eyes. How can you be so calm?”

“I have normal ears and after fifth or tenth time it loses its charm”

“Yeah, okay,” she wheezed out “I didn’t expect the fire to be so loud. And smoke was a bit much in terms of texture and smell and everything”

“I would give you a mask if you waited, you know?”

He felt more than saw how she shrugged. It seemed like she wasn’t exactly listening to him anymore.

“But since you didn’t, we should get you looked up by some professional. You breathed in some nasty stuff”

Dani didn’t respond. Then she sprung up with gasp, a little out of his grasp, not standing but sitting straighter. She grinned, wide, eased thing gracing her lips as fresh tears began to create new paths on her dirty cheeks. She let out a choked laugh, more sign of relief or release of tension than actual happiness. It sounded rougher than usual, probably because of smoke and ashes aggravating her throat.

He wanted to ask what was up but it felt like the wrong time for it.

“He is breathing again” Dani cheered gently, as if unsure before repeating loudly, letting herself believe “THE BOY IS BREATHING AGAIN!”

Girl was shaking again, no bothering with drying tears this time.

Duke could guess what happened. He didn’t want to think about it too hard.

“It’s great to hear”

“Yup!” she grinned between fat tears.

They sat in silence as Dani gradually calmed down again. He knew she didn’t feel all that well yet, she couldn’t but she was probably calm enough to not break down in the middle of the BatBurger.

“I think this day counts as quite bad one,” girl said, wheezing a bit. Duke smiled, knowing where this was going. He ruffled her hair.

“Yeah, I think so too”

None of them said anything for a long moment.

“You’re up for a ‘bad day combo’ Gotham style, Hoopoe?”

“Yup” she smiled.

********

Apartment building: *is on fire*

Dani: It can't be that bad

Narrator voice: It was in fact, much worse

Kid, whose heart stopped thankfully didn't have too many issues tied to it and nothing life treatening long term. Every person who was in the building during fire left relatively unscathed. This fic is supposed to be mostly fluff I'm not killing anyone

Kid who got Dani's cape-blanket refused to phisically let go of it for solid two weeks. Later it still had to be in his sight. Understandable since his life went of the rails and did it hard. Kids ripe age of seven shouldn't be home alone. Especially not for whole day...

Dani: *still clearly shaken* Does your bad day combo include fries?

Duke, on his way to The "I had mental breakdown and need calories" Waffle Foodtrack: No, but we can change it!

Underpayed BatBurger employee: ...

Duke&Dani looking like they've just returned from war:...

Underpayed BatBurger employee: ...

Duke&Dani:...

Underpayed BatBurger employee: *deciding they don't have enough mental energy to care* Welcome to the BatBurger, can I take your bat-order?

Duke: One kids meal, please

Employee at The "I just had mental breakdown and need calories" Waffle Foodtrack, used to seeing Bats crying: *sees Hoopoe munching on her fries but in a sad way* Ah, babiest one got christened by fire already?

Employee: *takes out notebook to note down crazy combo this kid will come up with**they have every Gotham vigilante in here*

Dani: I haven't had a waffle ever before so maybe nuttella and whipped cream? I don't know, sweet?

Employee, offended: Let me surprise you.

It was great waffle, sweet enough to give sugar rush quite big group of preschoolers. It had marshmallows, sprinkles, whipped cream, jellybeans, whatever else this person on the mission found and could mix. Dani absolutely loved and devoured it.

I finally didn't forget to add read more!!!

I really want to draw Dani and Duke togheter but I can't find any pose references that satisfied me. Do you have any good ones? Can be chibi though preferably not

Next part

#dpxdc #dc x dp #dcxdp #dp x dc #dani hangs out with duke #signal got new sidekick and he cares about her deeply #no jokes for this part tags either #though I hope you had fun at Waffle Foodtruck #hoopoe's cape shock blanket #wandixx writes #ghost of fries and hero of cookies #have a nice day dear stranger who got to this part

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laufire · 23 days

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just finished watching "never fear", and episode of the new batman adventures clearly based on "fear for sale", a post-crisis!jason story. so of course, I have some thoughts!

both share the premise that scarecrow has invented a new toxin that removes fear. the episode then deviates from the issue in several ways, for example with the choice of the targets: comics!scarecrow offered his drug to athletes, tnba!scarecrow went through a middleman who offered it to scaredy cats who wanted a leg up in life (btas had a plot about scarecrow using his classic fear toxin on athelets while dick was robin though, so I get why they wanted to switch things up). another difference is in how early bruce is dosed with the anti-fear toxin AND the way it affected him. the biggest one is jason's role versus timmy todd's, though.

as a sidenote before I get into the meat of it: this episode does also showcase the little ways in which they differ in personality. timmy todd fits the *idea* your average middle-class person would have of a street kid lol. not necessarily in a bad way, always, but to me it's telling that jason's academic enthusiasm and artistic inclinations seem nowhere to be found in timmy todd.

but let's get into it. in the comic, jason and bruce are at the racetrack and they help rescue a driver whose car was catching on fire (bruce goes for him, ordering a nervous jason to dose it with water). later jason is dosed with classic fear toxin (and sees a burning bruce disappointed in him) and gets kidnapped by scarecrow and used as bait. scarecrow has also dosed batman with the anti-fear toxin, hoping to see him destroy himself out of fearlessness, but obviously bruce pulls through via some impressive feats. the comic ends with this image that just. yeah we're gonna forget about the unintentional foreshadowing for a moment because OUCH.

detective comics #571

in the show, bruce gets dosed early on, and it makes him dangerous. it, specifically, removes his fear of killing. timmy todd, the only other bat in the episode, has to task himself with stopping bruce. and he's very proactive about it, vis a vis comics!jason's more passive role. and very effective! he ties up bruce, he doesn't fall for his trick when bruce pretends he's seen the error of his ways, frees himself from some cuffs in the *very brief* time he's subdued, and gives batman the antidote, stopping him from killing the scarecrow. bruce validates his choices at the end of the episode, telling him he did the right thing.

this is the first time I've seen some comics!tim in timmy todd, though it's two-fold. I think one half of it could be and probably was intentional, while I suspect the other half is a matter of the show's creators developing similar goals as comics!tim's writers in an organical manner.

the first half is this: "fear for sale" was telling a story about bruce as a father and caretaker, and about jason as his child and charge; "never fear" was following the idea of comics!tim as a jiminy cricket figure, someone who stops bruce from "crossing the line". the context is different (inner conflict vs. external influence), and timmy todd does it in a timmy todd way and not a tim drake way, because their personalities are notably different. but the idea is there.

the other half is, timmy todd, just like dc comics when they created robin!tim drake, had writers that wanted him to be more proactive, to more *independence* as a HERO than the role of robin afforded post-crisis!jason.

this, as I said, I don't think it was tnba's writers "grabbing" a trait from comics!tim. mainly because it was not a trait only afforded to tim, although he is who perfected it. batman and robin are a duo but, although I'm not an expert on this era, dick already left gotham and had his own team and his own adventures as robin, separate from bruce. and pre-crisis!jason was also more proactive in his role, insisting on his role as partner, etc.

it's curious because bruce has that infamous scene where he tells gordon to basically treat jason as an adult because of how his difficult life experiences had made him "mature", the comics at this time very much do not treat jason as an adult, imo. even later, when starlin comes with his own agenda, I would maintain that: he doesn't see jason as an innocent kid, but neither, obviously, as Batman's Partner with everthing that comes with it.

and just... it's definitely something I've felt before, but this episode makes me feel more than a little mournful for what could have been, you know? mournful for what jason could have been, had he been allowed to really mature into the role, and enjoyed the perks that came with it.

#talking to the void #my thoughts #dc #dcau #dc comics #dc thoughts #jason todd #timmy todd #tim drake #bruce wayne #favourites: you raise sons #bat clan #id in alt text #captioned

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l-starlight-l · 2 months

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The love of a hero

Smoke signals

Masterlist

A/N: so I was reading some of my old post and low-key hated how it was written so I decide to rewrite the whole love of a hero series. Hopefully it’s a little better now!

Description: it’s your first day of work at Arkham asylum and you share a smoke break with a handsome hero

Warning: smoking, cursing, mental hospital

Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader

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:Reference:

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Being one of the most successful Psychiatrists in the country you hadn’t planned on getting fired from your dream job. You had been working at black-gate prison for three years and in one day it all went down the drain. You needed a new scene away from all of the shit that happened so you had decided Gotham was the perfect city to move to and there just so happened to be an open position at Arkham Asylum. You had a good feeling about your new life as soon as you made it off the train. You had friends in the city and it seemed like a place that needed a good fixing up, which was your specialty.

The only condition of the asylum hiring you with your strange record, was you had to start immediately. Which meant as soon as you got into Gotham you were racing to get to the creepy building on the outskirts of the city. When you got there you could tell they were in deep need of staff. A kind older lady met me in the lobby and introduced herself as the head doctor, she gave you a tour of the facility and a list of patients that were yours. The list was very long, it had about sixteen names on it, and you had never had this many patients. You made it your goal of the day to at least introduce yourself to each one of the patients. As you scanned the list some very popular names were on it like, Harvey dent or Pamela Isley. One name in particular caught your eye, Harleen Quinzel, you had known her before she became what she is now. You had went to school together and ended up getting pretty close. You pushed her to the end of the list so you could prepare yourself to see her again after everything that she’s been through.

You had just finished your sixth session of the day with “the scarecrow” and it had shaken you up a little so you thought a brake would help. You looked around for a quiet place where you could get some fresh air. Luckily when you walked out a pair of doors at the back of the building there was a small bench and no one to be seen. You let out a sigh of relief and plopped down on the bench. You rustled for something in your pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. It was a bad habit you had picked up while at black gate but you were cutting down. You only smoked when you were stressed, which seemed to be happening more and more often. Patting your pocket you find nothing, “are you fucking kidding me” slips from your lips as you realize you don’t have a lighter.

You leaned back and close your eyes trying to find some relief before going back to work. There’s soft footsteps that land right in front of you. You lift open one of your eyes and see a very large man in-front of you. You look up at him, he’s wearing a big red helmet. You think for a second, there were a lot of vigilantes in Gotham but which one was this. “Red hood?” You quietly asked confused.

“What are you doing here” he asked but not in an aggressive tone, it was more of a confused tone. He didn’t put right answer you question but you took it as a yes.

“I should be asking you that” you say with a tinge of annoyance in your words, “you’re the big masked man who came out of no where”

You can’t actually tell through the mask but his body language makes it seem like he’s embarrassed. He reaches for his head and takes his helmet off revealing a very handsome face clad in a black domino mask. “Sorry I was just surprised, no one is usually over here” he says softly ruffling His bad helmet hair.

You nod like you agree with him even though you have no idea. You hold up the cigarette in your hand and ask “you got a light”.

He nods and takes out a cigarette of his own, putting it in his mouth and holding the light to it. You get up and touch the tips of the cigarettes together in the flame so they light simultaneously. When you sit down and look back up at him you can see his face is a little flustered. Maybe that was a weird thing to do to a stranger. “So are you a new doctor here?” He asks clearing the awkwardness from his voice.

You nod taking a drag off the cigarette and blowing it out, “it’s my first day” you say with a laugh. You eyes wonder up and down him as you wonder, “and you? Are you one of the “bat-boys” that run around Gotham” you ask doing air quotes with your fingers.

He chuckles, a deep sound that makes your ears hum. A smile grows on your face as you watch him. “I suppose you could call me that. You don’t look like you’re from Gotham?” He questions taking you in.

“I’m not” you say bringing your knees to your chest on the bench and taking another hit of the cigarette, “I just moved to the city, well not yet, after my shift I get to move into my new apartment” you admit.

He smiles and opens his mouth like he’s about to ask something else but his phone rings. He pulls it out of his pocket, he reluctantly steps away to answer it. You can tell he is annoyed with the person on the other side. You watch him with a smile on your lips, you caught yourself being a creep and take another drag and look away. He finishes up on the phone and walks back over, putting out his smoke. “See you around doc” he says with a warm smile and disappears into the shadows. His smile stays with you even when he’s gone, it felt so warm and genuine. You let out the breath you were holding and finish your cigarette. You stand up from the bench and dust yourself off, you need to see him again you decide. You walk back into the building regretting the next few consults you have.

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Word count: 1,029 >~<

Tag list: @princessbl0ss0m @mxtokko @atadoddinnit

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not-another-robin · 10 months

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The people have spoken!! Mighty Mouse lore drop under the cut! Very 5th grader core but it means a lot to me. Hope you enjoy!

The original Mighty Mouse, MJ Fierro, was a young soldier in the eighties who volunteered to be a super soldier experiment. She was granted heightened strength, agility, constitution, and senses - but her powers were deemed too unstable for the field, so they simply abandoned her. With her new powers and no help from the government, she decided to help her community of La Puente, anonymously thwarting injustice. She gained the local name "Mighty Mouse" because of her stature, but refused any accolade. After ten years of fighting, she left crimefighting behind her to start a family.

Fast forward 25 years, and MJs body is starting to deteriorate. A devastating cancer has formed, possibly caused by the experiments done to her. She passes away before 50, leaving behind 3 children.

The youngest of these children, Marcel Montgomery, starts to experience changes at the age of 18. Weird things are happening - they don't know their own strength, their senses are becoming overwhelming, and their clumsiness suddenly leads to no injury. After investigation, it seems the mutated DNA from their mother was passed down to them alone, activated at the same age their mother recieved her powers.

Marcel idolized their mother and took all of her lessons on heroism to heart. They decide that with great power comes great responsibility, and with the help of their friends, they take up the legacy of Mighty Mouse. They are bad at it. They lack coordination and any skill, and they start to worry their powers might attract undue attention to their family. They need someone to teach them.

Marcel strikes out on their own to the most super-crime infested city in the world - Gotham. Jumps right into the deep end. Alone, they start their search for Batman. He just seems like the mentoring type - I mean, how many robins are there at this point?

During a scarecrow attack, Batman encounters the new hero trying to get help. They get civilians to safety, but he warns them to stay away from the source. Sorrounded by scarecrow gas, Batman is in a vulnerable position - and Mighty goes in any way. Affected by the gas, Mighty starts to panic, momentarily distracting scarecrow and allowing Batman to neutralize him. He takes Mighty back to the cave for inspection after hearing their fears of not being able to protect their loved ones, and failing their mother.

At the cave, Batman insists Mighty is in over their head. They know that, that's why they're here. Mighty begs Batman to take them under his wing, just wanting to do right by the world and their mother.

"I just want to be like you. I want to be like her."

Batman knows the feeling.

And thus Mighty Mouse is the new sidekick in gotham! Posing as a personal assistant to Bruce Wayne, and also just being a personal assistant to Bruce Wayne, Mighty Mouse is born.

#ok so writing it down this story is. kind of embarrassing #but cringe is dead so. testing those limits aecrbynu #still. ty for all the interest!!#narsposting #dc comics #batman #dc oc #dc self insert #mighty mouse #batman oc #batman self insert #yes the original mighty is based on my actual mom #bc i a am sentimental and came up with this shortly after her passing :')#ALSO DON'T GET IT TWISTED we are anti us military in this house #my mom just.... wasnt #mighty hates the military industrial complex and how it treats the people it exploits 👍#marcel montgomery

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look-at-the-soul · 1 year

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The man behind the mask

Jonathan Crane x reader (Cillian Murphy as Scarecrow)

Requested by: @kpopgirlbtssvt Thank you so so much for sending this idea! I’m sorry it took me so long to write it, but I wanted it to be perfect… I hope you like this 🥰

A/N: I’m finally going through some requests I had saved in my drafts. And I knew the only way to get through this story was sharing something a little bit personal…

❗️When you go out (club, restaurant, pub, whatever) don’t leave your drink unattended, not for a single minute, I mean it, the only time I agree to go a club - I was never the big party girl- there was a group of 8-10 big men in red t-shirts, they stood out because they weren’t locals. One of them spiked my drink, I saw the bubbles like those alka-seltzer things, (I didn’t drink it), but then I made the mistake of going to the bathroom with my friend and when we came out, a group of four of them were walking towards us. Luckily our other friends intercepted us midway out of nowhere and we got out of the club through the emergency door, it was a miracle it was open, and I know for local news that’s a group that uses woman as human/organ trafficking, again, be careful when you go out 🙏🏻

Jonathan raised his eyebrows at the stupidity in legs sitting in front of him at the bar.

Four men rushed past them, talking in English with a foreign accent about a girl who was drinking the special cocktail.

“You know the consequences if you don’t get him first.” He warned standing up. “I don’t think you want to see my mask, again.”

He came all this way for nothing, that useless man only had excuse after excuse for not making a simple job.

When it came to his time, he was really jealous of it, he wanted things done efficiently. That’s why he decided to leave before he lost the little patience he was given. Taking the stairs to the first floor, he made a face when he found the place crowded, but the frown increased when someone accidentally bumped into him.

“‘m sorry, I don’t feel really well.” The girl apologized before passing out right in front of him, he barely had time enough to catch her in his arms.

“No, no, no. Ughhh.” He groaned.

The group of foreigners started walking towards him.

“Move over scrawny.” Said one of them.

The rest of them laughed, bringing back all the horrible memories of his childhood when his classmates bullied him for being short and skinny.

Closing his eyes, Jonathan swallowed hard, placing the girl carefully on the floor. “Take that back.” He warned.

They all looked like gigantic monsters with big and strong bodies.

The group erupted in laughter.

It was a natural thing to take the scarecrow mask from the inside pocket of his suit and putting on while taking the small gas device in his hand.

Pressing the button, the gas came out of the mask without a warning and they started screaming uncontrollably, as they watched their worsts nightmares come to life.

Still wearing the mask but not using the gas, Jonathan looked at the girl, who briefly opened her eyes. “Help m-”

Was all she could mumble before passing out again.

Shit. Jonathan thought, he wasn’t a hero, he wasn’t a savior, but he couldn’t leave this girl just like that.

So against his will, he took her in his arms.

***

Lighting the fireplace he cursed himself for giving in and bringing her to his house, but as he saw her features he confirmed he couldn’t leave her at the club.

He knew she had been drugged, Jonathan knew the modus operandi of the club; every night they picked a couple of girls, spike their drinks and take them for human or organs trafficking.

It was a terrible escenario, yes, but it was a reality. Something he didn’t have any business in.

Although he was involved now, because of the girl sleeping in his couch. Walking around, he grabbed a needle, electrolytes, and some vitamins, to try to contrarrest the effects of the drugs.

He was surprised by his own kindness towards this stranger, but as he watched her frown soften, he wondered if he wasn’t as terrible as he thought of himself.

Your head felt as if it was smashed against a wall several times, you felt dizzy, the whole room spinning around, your entire body hurt making you wonder if a train hit you and you didn’t know.

Then you saw it, something connected to the inside of your arm.

As you tried to take the tape off, a soft hand came to stop your movement.

“It’s alright, you’re safe now.”

The sharp move made your whole body ache, as you tried to move away.

“Where’s the man with the mask?” You asked feeling groggy.

“Everything is fine. Drink this.” Taking the tablets and water, you thanked him in a whisper.

Your eyes dancing across the room, you could see it was still dark outside. And with that you drifted back to sleep again.

Not noticing when Jonathan checked your vitals three times during your sleep.

When you finally woke up, it was a whole new day, the day was sunny and a soft melody could be heard in the background.

Your mouth felt dry, and your vision was a bit blurry.

“You will feel better tomorrow, just need to have some rest.” The deep voice startled you from behind.

Looking down your body, you were covered by a light blanket from your waist down, the upper part of your body had a hoodie on, you felt your strapless dress disheveled, thankfully it was covered.

“W-who are you?” What the hell happened last night?

“Dr. Crane.” He answered looking at her through his glasses.

But by the scared look that crossed your features, he sighed annoyed by this soft side of him.

“Jonathan.”

He was always Dr. Crane, or the Scarecrow, he was never Jonathan. Not in public at least.

And he felt awfully naked showing someone that part of him.

“Y/N Y/LN.” You stated still unsure. “I-I need to use the bathroom.”

He was still a stranger but he seemed like a good person too.

“Take the hall, to your right.”

With a small nod, you followed his instructions, but before disappearing in the hall, you turned to face him.

“You were the man wearing the mask, weren’t you?” You remembered it too vividly; his voice, his eyes, the way he protected you.

Surprised by your words and your memories, he nodded.

But he was even more surprised when you rushed towards him to give him an unexpected hug.

“Thank you… for saving me.”

He couldn’t remember the last time someone thanked him for something, or the last time he got a hug like that.

But it definitely meant more than he could explain.

As you were in the bathroom, Jonathan kept his eyes closed, still too engrossed in your perfume and the way your arms wrapped around him.

Why did it burn? And why did he wanted more?

Those were questions he didn’t have answers to, but he was soon pulled out from his thoughts as he heard a loud noise in the bathroom.

Opening the door, Jonathan found you unconscious on the floor.

“Y/N!” Jonathan tried shaking your arms slightly. But there was no response, the drugs you consumed at the club affected your system, even though he knew the possible side effects, he got scared. He couldn’t take you to a hospital, he couldn’t explain someone had spiked your drink and he tried to help you.

With a groan he lifted your motionless body from the floor, walking back to the big couch and one more time, providing you with another dose of the cocktail he used earlier. Thankfully he had everything you needed right there at home, he had a couple of medicines he considered to be necessary in his emergency kit.

Moving away the hair from your face, he found himself smiling for no reason, or at least he wasn’t capable of finding the right words.

Checking your pulse, he finally took a deep breath as he saw the numbers coming down to a normal rate. Unsure if you were allergic to anything, he kept the doses to the minimum, and added something else to help you get rid of the drugs in your system faster.

Emptying the contents of your stomach wasn’t something nice, you felt more embarrassed than ever, but after you regained consciousness, Jonathan assured you it was the only way.

You didn’t know this man, but he saved your life, not only at the club, but by taking care of you the way he was doing it. He gently explained you the side effects these drugs could do, he made sure you stayed hydrated and was constantly checking if you needed anything.

“I’m sorry your free night from the hospital shift ended up like this, taking care of a groggy.” You admitted embarrassed, hiding your blush in the glass of water he offered you. “First time I go to a club for a birthday, I was never the big party girl-type and I pass out… how did I end up here?” You asked embarrassed.

Jonathan’s features changed, he looked serious and concerned. “They drugged you, Y/N.”

It took you several minutes to process his statement, your hands started shaking as Jonathan adjusted his glasses on his nose.

“Shouldn’t have say that, sorry.” He offered you a half smile, he was nervous.

“How do you know that?”

“There’s a lot of people behind them, you were lucky they couldn’t take you.”

“I was lucky because you saved me.” But as you saw him shaking his head, you repeated it. “You did.”

“No, it was Scarecrow.” He mumbled.

Frowning you asked him what he meant, but he shook his head again and stood up.

“You need some food.” You saw him shifting his weight from one foot to another. “What would you like?”

“Indian?” You asked with a smile and he knew he was in trouble.

Big troubles.

Some time later, you were sitting with him in his immaculate kitchen telling him that you were a teacher of seventh graders, but at the moment you were enjoying the school break. Without really noticing, you shared a big part of your personal dreams with him, for some reason he had this mysterious energy around him, but you could also see he was humble.

But also extremely shy and quiet.

Leaning back in your chair, you asked: “What’s your specialization?”

Jonathan was about to take a sip of his drink, when your question took him by surprise.

“Let me guess.” You wondered. “Pediatrician?”

What was he supposed to say? Oh, and by the way… I make sane people go crazy and then keep them locked in an asylum?

“Cardiologist?” But as you saw the doubts in his eyes, you pursed your lips in a tight line. “Sorry, don’t want to bother you, I can get all detective sometimes.”

“No, is it that… I’ve a place for people who can’t be on their own,” he took a deep breath and looked down at his plate.

“See?! I knew you have a big heart.” You stated in a cheerful mode, feeling better.

He felt terrible for lying, but he didn’t have another choice.

“Listen…” He tried to explain but you cut him off.

“Don’t be so modest Doctor… sometimes you have to admit you’re a hero and you also need to learn to take compliments.” Picking up the things you used, you turned around to throw it in the trash. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you did, I feel much better now.”

Against his will, you called a taxi to go back home, not without thanking him once more for what he did.

But your gratitude wasn’t enough for him.

There was something else growing in him, something stronger, something he wasn’t capable of naming yet. Something he had never felt before.Jonathan felt an uncontrollable need to be around you.

He had never cared about anyone else apart of himself. But after taking care of you, he genuinely felt like he could be a better person, after getting to know you a little he knew he needed your cheerful personality around.

And as the days passed by, he wasn’t able to let go of your memory.

But little did he knew that every night after he saved you, you would dream of that night at the club, the way his blue eyes stared at you as he carried you in his arms.

You were only able to remember small glimpses of him, everything was so blurry unfortunately, but deep down in your memory, images of him looking down at you through that mask showed up constantly in your dreams.

It wasn’t the fascinating color of his eyes, no, it was something else. You were grateful that he saved you, yes, but it was more than that.

Realizing that he was afraid to give the first step, you decided to show up in his front door the next Thursday at midday.

A maid welcomed you and asked you to wait for Dr. Crane inside, she would announce you shortly.

“This better be important Dolores, I don’t like to be interrupted when I’m doing my experiments.” You heard him say as he took the stairs from the basement.

You saw the shocked expression in his face as he found you in front of him. Maybe it was absurd to think that he would welcome you with open arms, he was probably busy.

“Sorry if I interrupted you, Jonathan… I just wanted to give you this back.” You showed him the hoodie he used to cover you.

When he looked down, your nerves increased. Did you made a mistake thinking you could take the initiative?

Embarrassed for your actions, you left the bag of food you also brought. Turning around, you wished the taxi was still outside.

“You have no idea how many times I wished I could see you again.” He finally stated as you reached the front door.

“What did you say?” Your heart started beating at a crazy speed.

“Sorry if I was rude, I wasn’t expecting to actually see you again.”

You smiled and relaxed a little. “Well you didn’t ask me for my phone last week.”

Frowning, he answered: “big mistake.”

A nervous chuckle left your mouth.

“Honestly, I didn’t think you would like to see me again.”

Now it was your turn to frown. “What makes you say that? You’re a good man, I will be forever grateful with you.”

There were things that would probably make you think he was a monster.

Jonathan walked away from you, turning his back at you, hands in his pockets.

“The mask is supposed to have the opposite effect, Y/N.”

Taking in his words, you could see the battle he was fighting inside.

“Show me… Show me the mask.” You pleaded.

“No.” He immediately interjected.

“I already saw the mask, Jonathan and what I saw is that the man wearing it, saved my life.”

Seeing your smile made him forget about everything. He was convinced he would only see you in his dreams, but you made him question himself so many things he thought were figured out by now.

Staring at the mask in his eyes images of all the people he had tortured flashed before him, and the last thing he wanted to cause you was that, he was terrified to show you who he really was. The more he thought about it, the more he confirmed he shouldn’t really be walking back from the basement with the mask on.

You didn’t know you were holding your breath until you were close enough to see his blue eyes through the mask. The memories of that night playing in the back of your mind, you suddenly remembered listening someone screaming, you could only see Jonathan’s back, everything around you was moving, blurry, as if you were underwater.

Your hand moved up to touch gently the seams over the closed mouth. Had he been silenced in the past? Had someone forced him to see the world from behind the mask? Was he trying to protect himself from someone?

“There was something else…” You could see through the holes that his eyes were closed. “A gas.” You remembered.

“Y/N…”

He didn’t want you to see that side of him, he didn’t want you to see Scarecrow.

“What are you afraid of?”

“That it will push you away.” He whispered.

But you encouraged him to show you the gas as well.

Jonathan swallowed hard, afraid to scare you, he was ready to see the horror in your face. But his breath got stuck in his throat as you didn’t even flinch, when the gas dissipated and you were still there, he couldn’t believe it.

Confused, he blinked. “Y-You didn’t see it?”

“See what?” You frowned. “I only see your mask.”

There wasn’t something that scared you?

Hesitating, you bit you lower lip a little while your hands touched the hem of the mask covering his face.

Maybe you had to be drugged in order to meet him.

In a very intimate and delicate motion, you pulled it from his head. Holding the mask in one hand, you ran your free hand through his disheveled hair to smooth it, loving the way it fell against his forehead.

His fingers felt cold against your cheek, but his lips were the perfect fit for yours when he titled his head to kiss you. Tentative at first, to then move at a slow rhythm.

Accidentally, Jonathan pressed the gas button as his hands circled your waist, taking you both by surprise. Looking into each other’s eyes, you both chuckled at it, only to start kissing again.

And for the first time, he knew that he could show someone the real him, the man behind the mask.

***

Tag list: @lyarr24 @datewithgianni @cloudofdisney @gretelshelby @lespendy @prettylittlehoneyeyesxoxo @onlydeadcells @esposadomd @stevie75 @strayrockette @the-forest-witchh @forgottenpeakywriter @elenavampire21 @peakyscillian @babaohhhriley @ange-thoughts @shelbydelrey @shaddixlife @sloanexx @kpopgirlbtssvt

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a1307s · 5 months

Text

Flickers of Green #2

(Dick Grayson & Jason Todd)

[Art is not mine! Credit to fish-goat]

Requested by: quirkyshortdumbo11

Keys:

Y/N: Your Name

Word Count: 6,214

Warnings and/or Pre-Notes:

Cursing

Mentions of Death

———————————————————————

I walk out of the abandoned building, the sounds of my gunshot and the now-dead drug lord's screaming still ringing in my head.

Nowadays it seems that these sounds comfort me more than Bruce ever could. Fucking Bruce. I hate him. I hate Batman. I hate the Joker. I hate myself for letting Y/N die. For dragging her to her death. For not being able to save her. For me being the one that's alive.

I can't let guilt cloud my mind right now. It's hard to kill someone as you're feeling guilty for causing the death of someone else. I need something to clear my head, something to reset myself. Coffee should help, it always did when I was originally alive.

I glance around, trying to get my wits together and figure out where the nearest coffee shop is. I tug my phone out of my jacket, taking a glance at the time. Nine thirty-two. Late but not too late, except for coffee. I don't know if anywhere with a decent cup of Joe will be open. I don't need that watered-down bean soup shit they serve at gas stations.

Pamela's cafe will be open. They're always open. I don't want to go there though. The last thing I need is more memories of Y/N.

I do a quick Google search, hoping to find any other cafe open, but I don't. I don't need coffee, but I do need something to eat and a donut sounds so good right now. I can't even remember what a donut tastes like. I'll just have to eat my feelings alongside the donut then.

I pull up Google Maps, glancing over it quickly before heading towards the cafe. The plus side of Pamela's is that the staff is pretty chill with anything; heroes, villains, and citizens alike.

It seems that in the past couple of years, the girls on staff have been adopted by some of the villains. I see Ivy, Scarecrow, and Harley coming and going from there a lot.

When I was at the Iceberg Lounge - aka Penguin's bar, strip club, and not-so-underground business - he mentioned that he "keeps up" on the girls and pays some of their tuition. He also mentioned there's a new girl that started a couple of months ago and that she's "a feisty little one that doesn't fear shit". That coming from Penguin is a bit of an honor. Not many people can get a compliment like that from him.

Maybe I'll meet this feisty new girl tonight. Maybe I'll take her home. I could use the distraction. However, I don't usually end up doing anything with them when I do get them home. I usually just lose my shit cause it's not the same as it was with Y/N.

I switch between being mad and being indifferent about being unable to move on from her. She died only ever loving me, why can't I live only ever loving her?

The neon lights of the cafe cut into my line of sight along with cutting through my thoughts. I forgot how obnoxious all the neon was. Standing right outside the cafe is Penguin and a young girl. She's in the 50s dinner uniform Pamela's staff wears. She's also wrapped up in a fancy-looking coat.

I feel half bad for the girl. If she's working at a cafe, she can't afford a coat like that, which means it's from the Penguin. It's never good for anyone - much less a young girl - to be in debt to Penguin.

My pace slows as I approach them. "Come on Feisty, just let me pay for your courses. Then you wouldn't have to work so much."

"No, I'm good. I don't mind supporting myself." The girl's voice is soft but firm as she speaks. Maybe she isn't as stupid as I thought.

"Listen here you little bitch-"

"No, you listen here you fucking flightless bird," the girl yells back, causing a bit of laughter to brew in my chest. "I already told you I don't want your money and unlike most of the other girls, I don't owe you shit so back off."

"And if I don't?" He asks, starting to turn the head on his cane. Under the head is usually a knife that Penguin is known to use on people when he doesn't get his way.

The girl yanks the cane away before any damage can be done, causing shock in both the bird and me. "If you don't I'll stab you to death with your own cane. Go back to your dumb pimp square." Penguin stands there for a second, just staring at the girl before he walks away mumbling to himself. His wobble is more present than usual now that he doesn't have his cane to support him. The club owner wasn't kidding about this girl not being scared of anything, or at least she was good at pretending.

Now that the fat man isn't in the way, I'm able to see the girl he was talking to. As my eyes scan over her my mind both empties and explodes. Standing in the neon lights is the spitting image of Y/N, which is impossible... because she's dead.

Or is it? I'm technically dead and yet here I am. But if she was alive, she would have looked for me, right? Like I did for her? She would at least be at the manor, right? Bruce would take her back in or at the very least Dick would... right? Or maybe she didn't want to go back to them. Maybe she's mad at them too.

Y/N - I think it's her - turns on her heels, heading down the road. I need to follow her. If she is my Y/N I need to know. I need to be a hundred percent certain. At the very least, if it's not Y/N I should still watch the girl get home safe after she disagreed with Penguin.

What if it's not Y/N? What if it is? What if this is a trap? Is Al Ghul fucking with my head again? Did he set this up to trap me back within the League? Even if he did, I need to know what's going on. Just in case it is a trap, I stay hidden. I'll have the element of surprise if shit does go south.

I follow this girl, not paying much attention to where she's going but making sure to keep pace with her. If it is my Y/N I can't lose her again from careless mistakes.

My mind runs a mile a minute as I trail her. I need answers, I need to hold her, I need her to be Y/N.

Maybe-Y/N turns, making my heart race. Fear of losing her around the corner mixes with the joy of a split second of light enveloping her.

I catch a glimpse behind her ear. When we were twelve, right before Bruce took us in, we thought it would be a good idea to give each other stick-and-poke tattoos. We tattooed each other's names behind our ears. My name is there, behind her left ear, in my chicken scratch handwriting. It has to be her. There's no way Al Ghul could know about that. I don't even think Bruce knows about our matching tattoos.

My pace quicks as I slide around the corner after her. I need her. I need to tell her I'm here. I need - it's a trap.

Hands land on me, throwing me to my right. My boots slide against the gravel on the sidewalk, aiding in me losing my balance. I fall hard, harder than the Roman Empire.

On my way down, my helmet comes into contact with a trash can. The noise echoes within my disguise, promising to give me a headache.

"What the hell?" I bark, quickly getting back to my feet. I should have known this was too good to be true. I should have known it was a trap. I should have known to pay attention to my surroundings. What the fuck is wrong with me?

Once the sound rattling around my helmet quiets some I'm able to get a grip on my surroundings. Standing in front of me is Dick Grayson in his signature black and blue spandex suit. "Fucking Nightwing," I husk out, shaking my head to get the last of the echoes out.

"Hood," he answers, positioning himself for a throwdown.

From my last run-in with Bruce, it's evident he knows who I am. Despite his attempt to hide it, the Bat was throwing his punches. I'm guessing from the greeting that he didn't share his findings with Dick.

But fine, if a fight is what Nightwing wants, a fight is what he'll get. It shouldn't be difficult to get him down.

I cautiously walk toward him, preparing myself to swing. One easy hit. Just one to knock him down long enough for me to sneak off and find Y/N.

I swing at him, but he ducks. What a little shit. I don't want trouble, I just want to go find - he thinks I'm stalking her. Dick thinks I'm stalking Y/N. Does he know it's Y/N?

"Just move aside, Wing, it's not what you think," I call out louder than I meant to. I throw another punch, trying to get him down again. I don't have time for this. I don't have the want to explain who I am and who I'm chasing after.

Dick needs to get out of my way before I lose Y/N. I can't lose her again. I'd burn the Earth to a crisp before I let that happen.

My thoughts distract me, making me lag as Nightwing tries to sweep my feet out from under me. I almost managed to avoid it but do end up tripping a bit from my late reaction.

"You're a notorious killer chasing after a girl, what else am I supposed to think?" Grayson calls, his cocky attitude present in his words. Well, that answers my question; he doesn't know it's Y/N. Or who I am. Or maybe he does and doesn't want me to know that he's connected to her. I hate the hush-hush behaviors we both inherited from Bruce.

I stumble back, again causing my helmet to come into contact with more metal. I'm definitely going to have a piercing headache for the next couple of hours. Great.

As the object behind me catches my fall, my guns slide across it, reminding me of their presence. If he's not going to go down with physical force, a gunshot sure as hell will work.

Nightwing approaches me, pulling his weapon out from behind his back. He's mumbling, probably answering whoever is on the other end of his coms. Great, I'm going to have to go through Batman too to get to Y/N. If that's the case, so be it. Bruce's name is as good as carved into my bullets if that's what it takes to get Y/N back.

I take Nightwing's distraction as a chance to get the upper hand. Being the asshole I am, I sweep Nightwing's feet out from under him. It's what he deserves and quite good karma. He stumbles back, landing on his back a couple of steps ahead of me.

No time is wasted as I start closing the gap between us. My gun feels heavy in my hand as I pull it out. Richard made his own grave trying to get between Y/N and me again, but that doesn't mean I like laying him in it. I watch as he grabs for one of his sticks as I tower over him. He can try all he wants but it won't stop me; nothing will stop me. Y/N will be safe from him, from Bruce, from the life I dragged her into it.

I level the barrel to his head debating if I should just end it here. It would be quite the message to Batman. "Lady don't!" A young voice screams out.

I glance up to find who else is present but before I can my eyes lock on Y/N. She's rushed and flustered as she races towards me. Before I can stop her, she's shoving the gun up towards the sky. "Don't shoot!" She shouts, her words followed by the sound of the gun going off.

Fear flickers through me before my senses come in. Y/N isn't shot, she can't be, the gun is pointed too high.

She stands in front of me, anger rooted in her eyes as she looks at me. There are flickers of green mixed in with her normal eye color. I take in the rest of her, letting my mind go silent as I look her over. Y/N has a strand of grey mixed in her hair, just like me. She has to be alive because of the Laza pit. She has the same greying hair and recent green added to her eyes, just like me. Mine were caused because of the pit, so hers have to be because of it too, right? Is she suffering from the same side effects I did because of the pit?

"What the fuck is your problem, you daft cow?" Y/N yells, tugging the weapon from my hand before I can stop her. I have to stop myself from laughing at the situation. It's too much like it was when we were younger. Dick and me going toe-to-toe and Y/N swooping in to break us up once again.

"Don't stand there and look dumb at me. What do you think you're doing?" She repeats herself, her attention turning towards the gun.

I shift to point it down, so she doesn't accidentally shoot herself, but she beats me to it. The barrel is pointed at the open pavement between our feet as her hands work on disconnecting the bullets from the gun.

Y/N's fingers look smooth and soft as they work. I want to touch them. I want to hold them in my hands. I want to press kisses into them. I want to touch her. I want to know she's real.

"I..." I start, my mouth feels heavy and suddenly full of cotton. "Hi." The word sounds loud when it tumbles out.

"Hello," Y/N says back, her eyes sparkling. The color I've grown so used to comforts me despite the newly added flickers of green. She's so bright and here and alive.

Her focus stays on me for a beat longer as she hands me back my gun. Our fingers bumping into each other, sending shivers up my spine. She's alive.

I let the feeling envelop me as my eyes switch from her face to staying locked on the shitty tattoo behind her ear. My mind is on overtime, running through a million questions even as Y/N moves up and down in front of me. I can hear her voice as she talks to Dick but it's hard to focus on processing her words.

My eyes snap back up as Y/N stands. She whispers something, the words lost in her uncomfortableness. Am I making her upset? Is Dick? I glance around her to hopefully see what shifted her tone. Since being distracted, Bruce's new Robin has appeared in front of us. Is he making her upset?

Y/N starts walking away, causing panic about losing her to wash over me. Before I can stop myself, I reach out for her, my hand wrapping around her arm to stop her movements. "Let..." I start again, my mouth still feeling dry, and it gets drier as Y/N turns towards me. "Let me walk you home." The words come out quieter than I thought they would.

Her eyes harden as she looks at me and shakes me off of her. "What the fuck is with all you superheroes? Two days ago, I had a frantic Batman shoving hundred-dollar bills into my hand. You have been trailing me for three blocks, you-" So she knows I was behind her? Does she know it's me? Does she not remember Bruce is Batman? What does she remember?

I shake my head again, trying to Etch-A-Sketch the thoughts out of my head. I focus my attention back on Y/N. Her hands are on her hips, her right one popped out. I want to touch her again. I want to put my hands on her hips. I want to feel her between my fingers. I want to feel her warmth against me. I want-

My thoughts are cut off again when Dick starts touching her. "I... Y/N?" Dick says his tone as quiet as mine was. All the love-struck feelings wash out of me and are replaced with anger and jealousy. I don't want him touching her. I should be touching her. She's mine. She's always been mine. What the fuck does Dick think he's doing?

"Good guess," Y/N answers, her figure relaxing some. Does she remember that Grayson is Nightwing? Why does she remember that but not that Bruce is Batman? Does she like him touching her?

"Y/N?" He repeats, his face scrunched up in confusion. He needs to stop touching her before I lose my shit.

Almost as if Y/N can read my thoughts, she shrugs him off and starts walking away again. "That's my name, don't wear it out." Her tune is light and happy, making butterflies flap around my stomach. Nightwing and I stay frozen, watching her slip out of the alleyway before vanishing from our sight.

Dick's attention turns back towards me. His eyes are watery. Apparently, I'm not the only secret Bruce has been keeping from him, how in tune for the bat. "What's next? You going to end up being Jason Todd?" He asks, a sad laugh following. It tinges my heart, almost making me regret being willing to kill him a few minutes ago.

I hum a bit, turning towards the direction Y/N went in as I think about what I'm going to do. I start heading after her before changing my mind. I know she's alive and in town. That's all that matters. It'll be best for her if I back off, give her time to think over the event, and give Dick time to tattle to Bruce so I can see how they'll react. I glance at Nightwing behind me before opening my mouth again, "We both know that Y/N being alive isn't the only secret Bruce Wayne is hiding from the world."

I let the words hang behind me as I walk away. Waiting to go after Y/N also gives me time to think over what I'm going to do. If she doesn't remember parts of her life - if any of it - I don't need to scare her away by coming off too strong.

———————————

My heart jumps around as I walk up the path from the other day. The neon lights are still obnoxious as fuck, but I don't mind. Y/N will be there. I know she will. I've been watching her, keeping tabs on her, getting the hang of her schedule. I know, I know, I know. I sound like a stalker. But it's not stalking. It's... intel collecting.

I know she'll be here. She works until nine-thirty, so unlike the other night, I come in earlier, so I have time to see her. Time to talk to her. I also know they're not too busy at night so the cafe will at least be mostly empty, if not completely deserted.

From my stalk- intel collecting, I know Dick came in earlier to talk to her. I don't know what they talked about though. I don't know if I want to know. It pissed me off seeing Dick with Y/N. Pissed me off seeing him touch her again. Pissed me off seeing the smile that stayed on her face even after she left the cafe for class.

What does Dick think he's doing? I'm not stupid or blind. Hell, even a blind man can see how down-hard Dick is for Y/N. Even when we were younger, he pretty much had hearts in his eyes anytime Y/N was around. She wanted me last time; she'll want me this time too... I think.

The jingle of the bell on the door competes with my heartbeat for space in my ears. Sitting in one of the bar chairs at the coffee island is Y/N. Scarecrow is next to her, helping her with her chemistry homework. I'm not thrilled about this arrangement but at least Y/N is getting the academic help she needs.

"Hello!" Y/N peeps out, sending a smile at me as her attention turns away from Scarecrow. Her eyes soften when she focuses on me. "It's you again."

"It's me again," I mumble, taking slow steps towards her.

Scarecrow stands up, placing himself between Y/N and me. He's always been a small man, even when I was a kid, but he seems even smaller nowadays. "Again?" He asks, trying to look intimidating. He's barely intimidating when he's in his suit, and definitely isn't when he's dressed like a civilian.

"Again," Y/N peeps up, her voice still airy and soft. The same voice that used to whisper sweet nothings into my ear until I fell asleep most nights. "Helmet man here walked me home after I argued with Penguin the other night."

"You got into an argument with Penguin?" Crow asks, turning his attention from me to Y/N. "What did he want?"

"You know, the usual. He wants me in debt to him for another body to do his bidding," She teases a soft smile on her face in an attempt to comfort Crow. Scarecrow shifts around a bit glancing at me a few times.

I step aside, standing next to the skinny man and joining him looking at Y/N. She's so pretty, even out of her style and in the dumb uniform for the cafe. "Can I buy you a coffee?" I ask her, slowly tugging my helmet off as well as making sure the mask under it stays in place. The last thing I need is Scarecrow knowing I'm Jason Todd.

"Look at you, pulling all the guys today," Crow half teases, sending glares my way.

"I guess so," Y/N says, her smile even bigger as she scans over my face. Maybe she does know who I am.

"I have something to deal with. Will you be okay if I leave?" Crow asks, his attention not being pulled from me.

"I'll be fine. I'm pretty confident that I can take him if need be." Y/N giggles at herself, pulling a soft chuckle from Crow as well. He nods at her before turning on his heels and walking off. "What do you want to drink?" She asks, standing up and sliding behind the counter.

"I'll have whatever you're going to have." She hums, starting to make whatever it is she's making. I watch her move around, my eyes drinking in every moment. Memories flow in and out as I watch her. Memories of her hands on me, her lips on me, of her laugh, of her. "What do you think he's off to go do?" I ask, being careful not to call him Scarecrow in case she doesn't know. It would be better if Y/N didn't know; it would be one less person to protect her from.

She hums, her hands working at pouring our drinks out. "He's probably going to go line the fog machines in the Iceberg with fear gas. He gets pretty pissy when Penguin fucks with the staff." So, she does know. Is that good or bad? Probably good in this situation. "Here you go," She murmurs, pushing my cup towards me before walking back around the counter with her drink.

Y/N slides back into her seat, patting the one next to her. I obey, sitting down. Her eyes stay locked on me, the flickers of green swirling around them as she stares. The space is quiet, the only sound being us sipping on our coffees. "Are you stalking me?" She asks, filling in the space and causing me to choke a bit.

My lungs force out a cough in an attempt to counteract my choking. Y/N's eyes stay locked on me, the green standing out as she watches. "I... no?" Why the fuck did that come out as a question? That's pretty counterproductive. "No, I'm not." That's better... maybe.

She hums again, sipping on her coffee as she thinks over my answer. "Defiantly seems like you're stalking me. Most people don't sneak around and follow me all day." Once again silence falls between us. How am I supposed to respond to that?

Y/N sits in silence, enjoying her coffee as she watches me. Even though I know she's suspicious of me, I still find comfort in her gaze. "I don't remember much of my life before six months ago so if I'm supposed to know you, I'm not avoiding you. I just don't know who you are, so you don't need to sneak around me; you just need to talk to me. Well, and be patient please." She says, being the one to break the silence again.

Oh... So, she doesn't know anything. That's... scary. For many reasons. "Is there anything you do remember?" I ask, gently pushing my coffee back and forth between my hands.

"Snip bits of stuff. Though some things have started coming back since I ran into Nightwing and you. Some more came back after my coffee chat with Richard Grayson too."

Don't fucking say his name. Don't say it. You should be saying my name. Should be remembering stuff because of me. Not because of fucking Dick. "Oh ya?" I peep out, glaring ahead of me at the menu instead of focusing my anger on Y/N.

"Mmhmm..." She falls silent, nodding her head back and forth as if she's trying to wiggle her thoughts around. "Helmet man-"

"Red Hood," I say, cutting her off with my correction.

I turn my attention back to her, being met with her eyes already on me. "You're my Jason, right?"

"Ya," I push out, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. The word 'my' repeats nonstop in my head, bouncing around my brain as I try to sort through my feelings of bliss.

"I think I love you," She whispers, her hand dipping back behind her ear to mess with her tattoo.

The bliss is all washed away once the words hit my ears. She thinks she loves me? Does she not remember loving me? Of course not, Y/N doesn't remember anything. Well, at least a small piece of her remembers me. Remembers me enough to know she's supposed to love me and that's good enough. There's enough hope there for me to build on.

"Well, I know I love you," I whisper back, keeping my eyes on her to see her reaction. She's still looking at me, her eyes shining.

She hums a bit, tilting her head as she scans me again. "Can I take your mask off?" Y/N asks, her hands slow and gentle as they slide over my cheeks and come into contact with the mask covering my eyes.

"Ya."

Her fingers are soft as they snap off my mask. The joy drains from me as the warmth from her touch is removed. "Your eyes are green... I remember them being blue," Y/N says, her fingertips soon back on my cheeks.

I can feel my cheeks heating up, both from a blush and the hands present on my skin. "They used to be, now they're green." Y/N hums, running her fingers over my cheekbones before sliding them into my hair. I let my eyes close, soaking in her touches. It's calming, being able to be so close to her again, feeling her touch me again, feeling proof that she's alive. I lean forward a bit, getting close enough to feel Y/N's soft breathing coat my face. "Can..." Asking to kiss her might be a little much right now. Maybe I shouldn't ask.

"Can you what?" Y/N prompts, her hands dropping down to my shoulders.

My eyes snap open and once again they're met with the familiar color and the newly added flickers of green. Why did she only get slivers and mine completely changed color? "Can I take you on a date?" I finally ask, shifting a bit so our noses are touching. God, I want to kiss her. I want to hold her. I want her in every way possible. It's going to kill me having to work back up to that.

"I'd like that, Jason."

Yes. God, yes. "Say my name again," I mumble, rubbing my nose against hers.

"Jason," She whispers, bopping my nose with her own before pulling away from me.

———————————

Butterflies flap around my stomach, threatening to come up in a not-pretty way. My hands shake as I lift one to knock on the door of Y/N's apartment. The knocking feels loud as I do it. Maybe I knocked too loud.

The door swings open soon after, the door frame filling with the image of Y/N. She's dressed up with her hair down to cup her face. "Hi," I breathe out, my eyes drinking her in. She's so pretty, so perfect, so alive.

"Hello," she answers back, her eyes glancing at my hand. "You got me flowers?" Y/N asks, leaning against the door frame.

"Oh ya," I bark out, definitely too loud, as I push the bouquet toward her. I couldn't decide what flowers to get so I ended up getting three different bouquets and had the lady mix them. "Your favorite flowers are orange roses, but I didn't know if you still liked them or not, so I panicked and got more flowers than you probably need or want." That was dumb. Why did I say that? I feel like a thirteen-year-old with his first crush again.

"I still like orange roses," Y/N tells me, taking the flowers from me before walking back through the door. I follow after her, making sure to close the door behind me. Her apartment is small but cozy. There's not much in her home either but I guess that's expected since Y/N doesn't know herself.

There is a small couch and one of those old, bulky, shitty TVs tucked into her living room. The apartment smells nice, like pork and chili pepper. A million different dishes are stacked up around her countertop in the kitchen. "What are you making?" I ask her, sliding my jacket off before laying it on the couch.

"I'm making Pozole. I remember you liking it. Or I think you liked it. Somebody did at least," She mumbles a bit, keeping her attention to the pot on the stove in front of her.

"I like pozole. Alfred and you used to make it for me all the time."

Y/N's eyes light up at my words, making my chest fill with the warmth of joy. I walk into the cramped kitchen, making sure to stay out of her way as I stand in her presence. I watch her like a hawk as she works away, letting the warmth of the stove and the smell of dinner fill the space between us. For the first time in two years, I finally feel okay, finally feel at peace.

"You didn't answer my question the other day," I voice, sliding in closer to her. I want to hold her; I want to wrap my arms around her waist. I debate it for a second. I don't want to scare her off.

"What question?" Y/N asks, glancing at me before turning back to her project at hand.

"Is there anything you remember from our - er - your life?"

Y/N snaps the heat off, continuing to stir the pot as she thinks it over. "There's not a lot I do remember. I'm starting to remember this dude named Wally, I think. I don't know. I'm going to talk to Dick about him tomorrow. I remember a bit about Dick too but not much. I remember a bit about you... about us." Her eyes glance at me, before turning back to our dinner. She picks up some heat absorbers, wrapping them around the pot before setting it on a cutting board on the counter.

She's talking to Dick? About her memories? Or lack thereof, I guess. I don't want her talking to him. What's he going to say to her? What has he already said to her? What ideas is he putting into Y/N's head? Has Dick tried anything with her?

"What do you remember about us?" I ask, trying to push for more information as I try to forget my worried thoughts.

Y/N floats around the kitchen, taking out dishes for our food. My eyes trail her as she moves around the small space. "Umm... I remember us kissing a lot."

I chuckle a bit at that response. We do - did kiss a lot. We did other things a lot too. "Ya, ya we kissed a lot. We were very... touchy." Y/N giggles a bit as she makes our plates. My eyes keep glancing from her face to her hips. I really want to touch her. Before I can stop myself, I push off the counter I'm leaning on and wrap her up in me. My hands are firm on her hips and her back is pressed into my chest as I bury my head into her neck.

Y/N stiffens a bit in my hold before relaxing her muscles again. "We danced a lot too," I mumble into her neck, softly shifting her hips so we can sway together. She sways with me, her body weight feeling so good against mine. "You liked to read out loud to me too."

"Do you not know how to read?" She teases, shifting in my hold so we're face to face.

"I know how to read, I just read too slow for your liking."

"Oh ya?"

"Absolutely not, I just like your voice," I answer, lifting my head from her neck and placing our noses next to each other.

Y/N's hands slide up my arms, resting on my shoulders. "Our favorite book is The Great Gatsby, ya?"

My heart swells a bit at her words. "Ya, it is," I whisper, trying to focus my eyes on hers instead of her lips. It doesn't work so I decide to close my eyes, letting myself focus on her body heat instead. We stay silent, sitting like this, with me holding her. I could stay like this forever.

"Could you kiss me?" Y/N mumbles, shifting in my hold.

My eyes snap open, taking in her face. I roll the words over in my head. I already thought holding her was much for a "first date" and now she's asking me to kiss her? Maybe this is a trap. Maybe I'm making her feel like we have to move fast. Maybe Al Ghul is fucking with my head somehow. "Why?" I peep out, loosening my grip on her.

"Well, my therapist says doing stuff I used to do can help with my memories coming back. We were together ya?"

"Ya, we still are." Her face pinches some as her body stiffens again. Maybe I shouldn't have said that. It isn't fair of me to expect a relationship from Y/N. She doesn't even know who she is, let alone who I am.

"Well, I thought maybe kissing you again would help. We don't have to-"

"I really want to kiss you," I say, cutting her off, and tightening my grip on her again. Y/N's hands slide to the back of my neck, her fingers shaking a bit against my skin but her body relaxes again. "Close your eyes," I mumble, sliding my nose against hers again.

Y/N obeys, fluttering her eyes shut. I take my time, trailing kisses across her nose, her eyes, and her cheeks, before placing myself above her mouth. I soak this scene in for a second before closing the gap between us. Her lips are soft against mine and taste like mint gum.

I shift my hands up, cupping her neck with one and softly dipping the other into her hair. All my need and want and love is boiled into the kiss. Our lips shift against each other for a while, the kiss getting heated way more than it meant.

As my lungs start burning, Y/N pulls back, making me a bit sad. I'd gladly suffocate to death from her kiss. "Jason," She murmurs, her words a little slurred.

"Say it again," I whisper back, tilting my head so our lips are close again.

"Jason," She mutters again. Her lips brush against mine as she speaks.

Fucking Christ. This is too hot, too heated, too much for her right now but I can't stop thinking about hearing her whisper my name all night. "I can't wait for you to fall in love with me again," I say, keeping my tone at a whisper as I glance over her face.

"Why is that?" Y/N asks, her fingers tangling into my hair.

"Because I still love you so fucking much."

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