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igotanidea · 6 months

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Mistletoe: Jason Todd X reader

Christmas bingo day 15: mistletoe

Christmas bingo masterlist

"for the love of –‘’

She really should have seen this coming, right?

***

“Y/n?” she was barely reacting too distracted by what her beloved boyfriend Jason just told her “YN!” her blank face expression made Todd want to shake her a little to bring her back to reality. As for now he was effectively fighting that urge but each second of her acting like a lunatic were putting his patience to a very hard test. “How many fingers do you see?”

“Now that’s mean.” She came to life rolling her eyes at the charades

“Made you get back down to earth.”

“I’m shocked, not hazy.”

“Why?”

“Why?” was he even serious “you want the list on chronological or alphabetical order?”

“Humour me princess.”

“First: you’re attending a Christmas party at the Wayne Manor? You?”

“It’s only for Alfred’s cooking.”

“Mhm. Obviously.” she teased” Second, you are going to wear formal clothes? You?”

“I’m pretty sure you’ll like me in a suit, won’t you?” Jason reached for her waist pulling her closer to him and caressing the small of her back.

“I like you best when - “

“Oh, don’t I know that….” He murmured in her ear “we’ll get there too I promise.”

“Jace?” her sudden pulling back took him by surprise and when she raised her head to meet his eyes, the unclear message coming from them made him shiver.

“You don’t want to go?” a few years prior, if someone were to tell him he would actually have a girlfriend and wanted to show her off to his siblings and – well – Bruce- he’ll laugh at that person face. In the darkest times he was on the war path with his adoptive father and even being in the same city was almost unbearable. Not that it was sunshine and roses now, but they definitely worked through some differences and – a real miracle –talked for the first time in years. “It’s okay if you don’t.’ no matter the effort there was no way to hide the tone of disappointment in his voice. “we can spend the Christmas eve together, just the two of us and –“

“No! no, no! Jason. I do want to go. I mean , come on, Wayne Manor. Maybe I’ll finally wrap my head around the fact that my boyfriend is the son of a billionaire and start taking advantage of it.” She laughed happily ruffling his hair, that were calling for a hairdresser, but she loved that unruly shag regardless. “I just wonder-“

“what? You’re chickening out? You already know all of them, guess that eliminates the element of surprise when Dick climbs the chandelier or starts balancing on the chair.”

“Am I reading too much into it?”

“What are you talking about, princess? What’s there to overinterpret – oh!”

“Yeah….” She muttered and looked down, suddenly embarrassed of what she said, cursing herself internally for destroying the atmosphere as his grip weakened and mouth hanged open. “You’re inviting me to an official party. As your official girlfriend….”

“It’s not like they don’t know we’re together. Damn, Y/N, you had no idea how much teasing I had to put up with.”

“What did you to Tim, Jason?”

“Nothing! I swear.” he let go of her completely, much to her irritation, raising hands in surrender. The man build like a tank were trying to protect himself from his significantly smaller girlfriend.

“Jason Peter Todd.”

“Nothing permanent. Now, don’t change the subject.”

“Me? I’m still waiting for your answer.”

“You’re not reading too much into it. I want you there. Officially. Before someone get any stupid ideas of stealing you away from me.”

“Not a change, pretty boy.” She drummed her fingers on his chest, feeling his heartbeat “not when I almost give you a heart attack every time I’m near you. It’s the kind of power you don’t give up easily.”

“You say that now, you power-hungry woman. I’m sure you’d love some more hearts to your collection.”

“I have always been a fan of quality rather than quantity. And so it happens I got the best quality available on the market” she smiled at him lovingly, her pretty eyes sparkling.

“You’re mine, you little tease” in a blink of an eye he was holding her again, running fingers through her hair and connecting their foreheads, letting himself be vulnerable and wishing she could read his mind and hear the words he was unable to articulate “thank you…”

Thank you for existing.

Thank you for staying by my side.

Thank you for loving me.

Thank you for accepting my broken, imperfect love.

***

As every real woman, she had nothing to wear and had to fix some outfit with the old clothes, found at back of the closet, about to feel terribly underdressed.

Or at least that was the plan, before she found neatly wrapped package with her name written across the paper and became a proud owner of the most beautiful and elegant dress she has ever seen.

Turned out Jason had an amazing sense of fashion, picking an outfit serving as a mix of style and quietness.

However, when she asked him about it, the only answer she get was I know what I want to see you in. In Jason’s language it was a sign of care that she won’t feel like an outcast around the female guests, but also a little hint at potential jealousy and protection against possible lustful glances from other men.

Doing a poor job at the second part of it, cause once they entered the manor, all eyes landed on her, leaving Jason gritting his teeth and refusing to leave her alone for even a second. This drove him to such an extreme that he even followed her to the bathroom and was giving responses on her behalf whenever anyone dared to ask her to dance.

“No, of course you can not dance with her. Can’t you see she’s already got a partner, back off, dude.”

Such words were followed by the tightening grip on her hip each time a man gathered enough courage to come too close.

Too close being a couple feet.

“Jason!” she whined at some point “don’t be mean. You don’t dance, you had grown attached to the chair and I'm bored. Come on, just let go off me, it’s not like I’m going to run away from you or anything…” she tried to break free but it was no use, considering both Jason’s strength and possessiveness.

“Sorry, princess. I don’t trust those fops. Can’t risk their hands wondering some place only mine are allowed.”

“But Jay-“

“No one but me dances with you.” He said sternly and much to her surprise dragged her to the dancefloor. What was even bigger shock was that he actually knew how to move. He knew the steps, had a perfect sense of rhythm and definitely did not stump on her feet, not even once, holding her gently, leading her to the music and being delicate and protective, almost making her swoon with the charm.

Apparently, she didn’t know her boyfriend at all.At least not from this side.

He never failed to make her feel safe and loved, but now – encompassed by his arms, held like the most precious person in the world, she felt like a true princess. Something she never experienced before.

“How do you like that, love?” he whispered in her ear, holding her a bit more firmly, causing her heart rate to spike.

“moderately –“

“Then why is your heart racing?” he spun her around perfectly, making sure she was quickly and safely back in his hold.

“It’s not.”

“Well then, it’s about to.” He smirked guiding her a little bit to the right, looking up with the mischievous look in his eyes.

Mistletoe.

“You’re not going to kiss me in the crowd with everyone -“

He was going to.

And most importantly – he actually did.

Luckily she didn’t know that plant wasn’t there earlier and only appeared because of some skilfull vigilante being jealous of the glances thrown her way. Luckily she didn't hear the muffled chuckles coming from the side of the stairs as Dick, Tim and Damian appeared all together out of nowhere, after being gone for a longer while.

She didn't care.

Not as long as she was standing under the mistletoe fulfilling the tradition that came with it with the most wonderful and sneaky bastard if a man there was.

And who couldn't care less about the glances now.

#jason todd x reader #red hood x reader #jason todd x you #red hood x you #jason todd x y/n #red hood x y/n #jason todd fluff #red hood fluff #christmas bingo

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friggsdc · 3 years

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Title: little delinquent pt iv

part iii | part iv

Warnings: Female!reader (bat!sis), mostly plot with family fluff, AU, hurt/comfort

Word Count: 4600~

Synop: It had Bruce and Dick sharing a look for a moment before the latter spoke up, “It’s not like I’m against continuing to expand the family, but…” he eyed the child you held nervously, “please don’t start bringing home every child you find…” he tilted his head, “he’s bad enough.” Bruce settled a light glare at his first son (that definitely wasn’t what Bruce was thinking), though Dick was stilled by the way your eyes narrowed at him instead.

“His name is Terrence,” that was all you said, brushing past as they were suddenly on guard at the inherited Wayne-scowl on your face.

---

A/N: ee;;;; enjoy me not knowing what this plot is, idk tbh, but it’s fun to write. It’s more plot than fluff, which wasn’t what i meant to write sighs. I’ll probably write companion pieces to this that’s zero plot all fluff. The plot wasn’t meant to be so deep, but I mean, uhm… enjoy papa Bruce and mama Alfred~

---

[bigR] Dad’s upset.

[bigR] He’s talking less than usual, not even grunts.

[bigR] I think he’s ignoring me?

[you] crap

[bigR] Worse, there’s no news.

No news? True, you hadn’t seen the info feeds light up, the networks had been offline all day, but nothing from Tim’s side? If you didn’t hate Luthor before, well…

[you] this is giving me a headache ::dizzy_emoji::

[bigR] No kidding, I think he’s figuring a few things out.

[bigR] Patrol with B, everything’s unlocked, bb @ late.

[you] is typing…

“You sure it’s okay?”

The taller male gave quite the toothy grin, a large hand coming up to pull the awkwardly fitted shirt collar back to center, admiring your new outfit. “You can just bring it back later, besides, I think it’s cuter this way.” After a few hours and an incredibly long phone call between Jason, Tim and yourself, the three of you combined were able to get the suit to come off.

Tim said he still had a lot to go over, but that the laptop was actually incredibly useful. Much of what Tim had been talking (and geeking) about had been lost on Jason and you, too focused on Terry and wrangling the alien suit off.

Jason said he’d be jealous of the strange futuristic-like material if it weren’t for the second skin-like fit, happily poking fun at Nightwing’s taste in suits.

Most of the work was done on Tim’s side since he apparently already had the ability to take control of the suit. It was something you were rather… anxious about, but unlike the manor, Jason’s place had the advantage of no Bruce and no cameras.

So now you sat in the same pair of pants you’d come over in, the only pair of flip-flops he had. They were far too large for you, but your toes would have to hang on till home, and a large t-shirt that fit well enough.

“Muscle up, Buttercup” was written on the front, Superman’s flexed arm between the words.

“Your taste in clothes is…”

“Cheap. Like second-hand cheap.”

“But… why…”

“To spite Bruce? I pay more for job-related injuries than money I actually have, it’s been tempting me to go back to crime, honestly.”

“…you sure that’s not to spite Bruce as well?”

“I mean,” he shrugged, an impish grin on his face as he lightly ruffled the top of your hair, causing you to childishly swat his hand away, “isn’t that what everyone else does? It’s fun, you should try it sometime.”

“Uh-huh…” you were honestly too much of a—

“Daddy’s girl,” he snorted lightly, unimpressed.

Before slipping one of Jason’s unused backpacks on, you stuffed the batsuit in the bottom, and the jacket you arrived in on top. Turning just in time to see him picking up Terrence’s sleeping form with incredible gentleness, you cooed lightly.

“You know, you’re not bad at that,” he looked at you, frowning, ears flushing before his attention went back to the bundle in his arms.

“Not even…” instead of moving to take the child from him, you opted to stand still and just watch the interaction instead, as if a point were being made.

Big boy looked like he was terrified of breaking the child in his arms, like an heirloom British teacup, “You look cute like that, a giant teddy bear and a tiny uh... new bat?” Walking over, he turned his eyes to the side, not a single trace of anger towards the situation in his voice anymore, “don’t get used to it,” he muttered, unsure of himself. “But you could get used to it,” you smiled, taking the giant marshmallow from him, “he’ll be around from now on, you know. You’ll have uncle duties~” Your teasing only increased his rising timidness, “right…”

“Well,” he began, heading to the door once you had everything, “I’m already late for patrol, let’s get you home.”

Alfred had greeted you at the door and mentioned putting on some tea, and you gladly accepted, though not before you went up and changed. With the promise to be back downstairs in a few minutes, he took Terrence from you to ready him for bed. Adorable child was actually quite active, having tired himself out at Jason’s temporary housing.

Quickly, you’d headed to Tim’s room to empty the contents of your bag in his faraday cage, hoping that it was secure enough being in his room. Once you’d locked the safe’s door, you headed out of his room and down the hall to your own. Sorry Jay, but the shoes were uncomfortable, and the shirt kept trying to strangle you more than the shirt of a giant should. Pajamas sounded wonderful right now.

The now empty backpack was tossed to the side near where Duke had left the your clothes from earlier in the day, and a few immediate items for Terrence. You figured everything else was probably in the nursery now, hoping it was all waiting for you in the next few days. The awkward clothes you’d worn over the suit had been tossed on your day clothes, and then Jason’s shirt and shoes were dropped on top.

The shower was quick, and having changed into a fresh pair of pajamas, you suddenly felt sluggish, your shoulders now heavy with tightness. Come to think of it, your thighs also felt rather wobbly, like jelly… but the only strenuous activity you can remember doing in all honesty was… base jumping… was it the wings? It’s all you could honestly come up with. Maybe you weren’t used to such a thing yet, and as you rubbed your shoulders, you headed back downstairs to the sitting room. “Nn…”

“Sore?”

It was still too early for anyone scary to be home right now, so…

You nodded, collapsing on the small sitting couch, Alfred going to stand from his seat to fix you a cup of tea from the tray on the table. “I did a dumb thing today. I’m not certain if I regret it or not.” He handed you the tea plate and cup before returning to his original position on a rather regal looking chair, “I’ve already put the Little Master to bed for the evening. The Young Masters went to bed awhile ago, though I suspect, they are not, actually sleeping.” He gave an amused hum at the thought of Damian and Jon and what they were totally not doing.

He definitely hadn’t noticed when they’d snuck out earlier. Nope, not at all.

It was a long day filled with heightened emotions, anxiety, stress, confusion, and at the end of it, you were just so tired, and Alfred had always been your confidant next to Tim, and—

You tried to keep quiet as you spoke.

“I jumped out of a really tall building. Like… ninety feet up? I’m not certain, I was watching my life flash before my eyes.” He sighed and frowned into his own tea, “Master Bruce has already left for the night, Master Tim is accompanying him, as the boys are… supposed to be here for a night off. I really had hoped you’d grown up to be more intelligent and not as reckless as your brothers.” Or your father, Alfred mused, sipping at his tea, pinky out, the proper macaroni gentlebutler he was.

“I mean, I panicked, I was in a batsuit, I had a lot of intel on me, like, literally stole a laptop and backed up something called Project B (whatever that meant, though you had your suspicions having met Conner), there was a ton of guards outside going from door to door… I don’t have the same muscle mass to fight like my militant brothers, I was scared of what would happen if they caught me, like dad’s reputation?, I may have been overwhelmed by the—”

“—batsuit?” Ah, you looked up from your tea with wide eyes to see him staring, uncertain if the twinkle in his eye was worry or mischief. “Yeah, that. Uhm… Please don’t tell dad,” you sat up straight, gave him your biggest crocodile tears, and were about to clasp your hands together like a beggar before he waved your antics off. “I would not, not unless it endangers your life, Young Miss, you know that. Including young Master Terrence, of course.”

“This afternoon I must ponder over, What you did was, how shall I say, not okay,” he spoke, stern.

He stood to walk over, seating himself next to you while smiling gently, “though I must admit, I am quite curious as to the story behind all of this.” You gave your own small smile as you stared at your tea, “Yeah. I still don’t know all of it yet, myself, but… it’s actually really cool…” The two of you spoke in hushed tones.

Bruce may have been your father, but much like him, you were raised by Alfred, and seeing as you usually weren’t allowed out on the field like the others, your disposition was as Alfred’s was; support. It was something your brothers and father relished in when they had any extra time over the years. You loved to spoil them, and they were readily eager for it.

It was also thanks to Alfred that you’d learned you had a unique knack for espionage.

Your brothers were raised to protect themselves and others, getting to go out nightly on risky (and deadly) vigilantism escapades. More than that, they not only got to be of use to your father, but they were able to grow up around him, their lives dedicated to the same purpose.

To say you were jealous was an understatement, often worrying Dick and Jay at times.

To say you were your father’s daughter and just as like-minded as him was also an understatement. This was something Tim and Damian understood better than your two eldest siblings.

You were determined as heck.

You graduated from avoiding Alfred’s detection to stalking your father and brothers, skills honed even further as you learned how to use their toys and listen in on their coms system. It was your father’s own fault, leaving you alone all the time.

You would never be useless again.

You would never be left behind again.

“So, your brothers are helping you, then? I am glad of that, it means I need not worry as much,” even though Jason and Damian only knew half the truth, it was Tim who knew everything you did. Duke didn’t want to know and apparently Jon’s dad had warned him not to get involved with “bat business,” and Alfred… “If… If Terry’s parents…” how were you supposed to frame this part, exactly? You ere bothered by the truth of it, so... maybe making it sound worse than it was? If that was even possible... “if they were bad people, like really bad people,” as if suddenly remembering the walls had ears, you lowered your head and voice, barely audible for him to hear, “do you think dad would let me keep him?”

The both of you knew that wasn’t the issue, Bruce had no problem with the child staying, but…

There was something about the boy that seemed to be worrying you…

“If there is one thing I take great pleasure and joy in,” Alfred beamed like the proud father he was, “it’s that at least one of you children turned out more like myself than Master Bruce.” No, honestly, he was so glad you weren’t gloom and doom like your father and siblings, “I’m certain you could tame the wildest of beasts.”

His parentage held no ground here, the two of you understood the meaning behind the words, memories of when Damian met you for the first time after arriving at the manor surfacing, “I think you’ll do just fine with the child. I have all the confidence in the world.”

Maybe you were being overly paranoid about the whole situation.

The evening was finished in comfortable companionship between the two of you, and he’d shoo you away to bed long before it was time for the boys to come home.

After cleaning up and assuring himself that at least someone in the manor went to bed properly, he busied himself with the surveillance of the manor.

He made certain you wouldn’t be caught just because of his curiosities.

Through part of the night, you’d begun doing as much research into the relationship between Luthor and CADMUS as you had time for, the past few days having been spent going over only CADMUS information. That was until you got a ping on Luthor’s name written on several specific checks, and gathering as much information available. You looked for key phrases in the news cycle over the past day’s incident, as well as dating back several months. You’d even taken the chip out of your work phone and popped it into the laptop sitting on the bed in front of you, allowing network protocols to take over.

There was only so much the news would give you, so you checked in on security feeds from the area, keywords during phone calls used to see if anyone noticed, satellite intel snapshots, everything. Anything.

The time-sensitive channels still hadn’t opened, no information from other informants was anywhere in the Societies channel logs, not even the time-delayed backlogs.

Someone else was cleaning up.

Early morning, the best time to avoid anyone in the manor who had a night life, also just in time to get breakfast as Alfred made the first batch of the day. Though mostly for himself, he’d generally make extras as you’d often join. Heading down the foyer stairs, Terry’s barely conscious form bundled in your arms, you beelined to the kitchen, the smell your guide. “Ah, good morning Young Miss! I even made some for the Little Master, just in case,” Alfred smiled down at the boy in your arms, holding up a small bowl of minced and steamed veggies.

The kitchen was large for an older-modeled mansion, constantly rebuilt with minimal changes, but still cozy and incredibly sustainable. Between the door to the foyer and the opposite wall, where the door to the dining room was, there was a large table. Several shopping lists, foodstuffs, and cookware took up a good portion, but there as still enough room for a small few people to sit comfortably at once.

You smiled, sitting down in the chair the older male pulled out for you, then pushing you in, food for the child set on the table. You situated Terry in your arms, finding a nice spot to rest his bottom without worry of him slipping off, and reached over to spoon some of his meal to him.

Strangely, he didn’t resist much, yawning in between bites as you had to scoop up what tried to spill out of his mouth, “so, how old might you say he is? I’ve been thinking about it, perhaps about a year?” you nodded as you looked up, agreeing with Alfred as he sat down, food cooking behind him in the meantime. “I think… if not that, maybe a few months younger… he can stand, and seems okay with soft solids… I think you’re right, maybe a year?” his clothing size certainly seemed to think the same, Duke having gone to extreme lengths to get a perfectly fitted wardrobe for the boy. He even included a few different larger sizes for the coming year as well.

“Hm…” Alfred leaned on his crossed arms, rested on the table as he eyed the boy, “I suppose we could begin early development lessons with him, signing especially, but I think he can do more, words, possibly.” In response, Terry sneezed, food spraying all over the spoon and bowl in front of the two of you, his eyes still groggy as he slumped in your hold. “Oh dear,” Alfred hummed in amusement, standing to bring you a small terrycloth towel to clean up.

Terry gave a small grunt as he pushed at the cloth now cleaning his face.

“Gonna… Gonna have to get used to that…” the suddenness surprised you, you knew it was a normal human function, but you just hadn’t… expected it.

“I think there will be a great many things for you to get used to from now on, even I will have to relearn a few things. It’s been… a very long time since an infant was in this home.” He went back to finishing his and your meal, a nostalgic and wistful look masking his face. Bruce had no idea what to do with you when you were an infant handed over to him, and it amused Alfred to this day.

Thinking about it, you looked down at Terry, your chin coming to hover over his head, almost as if you were trying to nuzzle him, loud enough for only him to hear, “…mama. S… Say mama.” The child just tilted his head and cooed at you instead, reaching up to pull at your hair again ohdeargodpleasestop.

Releasing your hair from the child’s grasp and holding both of his hands in yours this time, you tried once more, “mama.”

“Mmba,” he blew a raspberry at you as he slurred his speech, becoming more fascinated with the bubbles he blew than your inquiries. “Mm… bah.” He let out a giggle, popped his lips at you and then smiled, trying, and failing thanks to your hold, to reach for your hair again. After several attempts, he settled for turning slightly, resting his head on your chest as he watched Alfred and all of the very shiny cookware.

You flushed, wanting to beam but also feeling incredibly self-conscious about the situation still, it was honestly a lot to get used to. Frowning in determination at the snuggly bug of a child, you tried a different tactic this time, “ma.” He was still more interested in the food being cooked, however, and you heaved a sigh into his head of hair. “Mma,” well, it was a start, and you repeated your previous chant of mama to him, your own eyes wide with what felt like pride.

Was this how Alfred felt?

“Mmba.” Well, as you said, it was a start. With a sigh, you went back to shoving food in his mouth, though quickly you had to wrangle the spoon from his mouth each time. “Stop… biting it, Terry…” you wondered how Conner had gotten so smart in such a short amount of time, wondering if Terry had still been too young when you took him from the bio labs at CADMUS.

“Ah, good morning Sir,” Alfred greeted, and your head shot up to see your father standing in the doorway, bags under his eyes and a yawn hidden behind the back of his hand. “Good morning, Alfred,” he stared at the older man with a frown, obviously trying not to say something. Instead, he looked at you and the child for a long moment, giving both of you a morning greeting. And even though Terry couldn’t properly respond, he did give Bruce the same challenging look as the last time.

He was looking for something out of the ordinary, however, the only thing in the room that was new was Terry, nothing else seemed to be amiss. But you could tell, looking up at him from the corner of your eyes, head still downturned, he was searching.

“Morning dad…” you tried to be light as you smiled at him, nothing is wrong.

“Daah,” Terry tried imitating, but it was lost in the rest of his babbling as he grabbed the food from the spoon. He was making another mess as he shoved it in his mouth, fingers fiddling around tongue and mushy carrots. Thankfully you still had the terrycloth to wipe at his chubby cheeks.

Bruce’s footsteps were as silent as his entrance, stopping next to you and squatting down, large hand, warm and gentle, landing on Terry’s head as he ruffled his hair, “I’d like to talk to you downstairs soon, okay?” He studied Terry for a moment, eyes as brilliant as his own, though it seemed like Bruce almost enjoyed the small head of hair in his palm. You couldn’t tell beyond the awkward chill in the air, but the two of them were giving each other knowing looks, both challenging, though Bruce couldn’t understand why Terry looked at him that way.

He made to stand up, pulling his hand away before Terry could do any damage, cheeks puffing out in a pout. “There’s something I’d like you to look into,” he spoke as he headed back towards the door, a morning coffee handed to him by Alfred, “oh, and you’re not allowed to leave the grounds for the time being. The tracker seems to be faulty.”

Considering you broke them often over the years, well, yeah, of course it was faulty.

Again.

The smile he gave you before he left was smug and you weren’t completely certain as to why, and it was making you really really nervous, “the League computers picked up something quite interesting yesterday.”

“Uh…” Ah yeah. Well heck.

Yeah, metropolis was both a huge risk AND your last outing, you were glad you took the chance though, even if your stunt escalated the situation. You were now officially on house arrest by the most observant secret-wannabe cop in the world.

Then again, there was no telling exactly what he knew.

He might be bluffing.

“Maaam… ah…” Huh? Did he just… Quickly as if borrowed from the speed force, your thoughts of Bruce and the problems at hand seemed to flee as you beamed at Terry. “Mama?”

“Mamhh.”

[bigR] Was able to give the drive a quick look.

[bigR] I don’t understand villains. I just don’t.

The hell did that mean?

[steph] c u soon <33

Ah, crap.

The table before Bruce had only a few pieces of paper and only two photos. You’d come home nearly a week ago with a new addition to the family, from where he still wasn’t certain. He’d checked and there’d been no missing infant reports that matched up with him, both in looks and location. Tim seemed to be in on it, hiding secrets along with you, and holding back when Bruce would inquire about anything even remotely familiar to the situation. Tim had also been keeping busy with something the past few days, and ever since you’d come home from shopping, he seemed unable to stay still, constantly fidgeting.

Then there was yesterday, when Duke took you out shopping with the boys while Batman had been at the Womb at the League’s watchtower, digging up as much as he could. Which, unfortunately, was just the few scraps of confusing ledes in front of him. The annoying part is how well you avoided the cameras, there were only a few times where he had been able to make you out, the rest he had to guess based on your profile that day.

The subsequent events had started stacking up in a rather annoying fashion. Your tracker’d been broken since you gave everyone a scare a week ago, returning with a child in your arms and something akin to paranoia. Even Tim had been clueless (until he wasn’t), and now even his attitude was giving Bruce pause. It felt more unnerving than bad, something making Bruce’s own stomach knot when he kept coming up with dead ends.

The day you’d gone shopping, the Womb had picked up something the news hadn’t, as the news was calling it nothing more than an accident, and it was that that gave Bruce even more pause. The worst part is that he couldn’t just take a deep dive into the LexCorp building’s system, knowing that much was out of their (or his) hands.

If Cyborg found out that Batman was secretly looking into a non-incident on the League system for family-related business, then he’d never hear the end of it from Superman and the others. He’d have to go out of his way to get into the building, and right now wasn’t the best time to do so, security was increased ten-fold. He’d have to wait it out.

LexCorp wasn’t even reporting it as an incident themselves, but the fact that they were being very stringent about the details, the increase in surveillance, Bruce felt it in his gut; an obvious coverup. The problem was why, there was no way what had happened had been anything short of problematic for Lex, and yet they weren’t filing any kind of paperwork.

They did their best to act as if they didn’t care, but Batman saw all the extra measures, and he also saw the information black hole happening.

LexCorp, no doubt, was scrubbing.

What he had been able to do, however, was gather two snapshots of a black blur that sped out of the building before disappearing into the thick of the city below.

About the same area where Damian’s own tracker took a detour.

“I preferred it when you used to use electrical tape to tape a transceiver blocker to your arm to hide the trackers,” Bruce hadn’t looked up as you approached (and you were dang silent too, even Terry was being chill), “It was much less of a headache.”

“Yeah, but that was when I was a kid. Nothing I do now can hide me from you anymore, the technology is different from back then.”

“Except breaking it.”

“Except that.”

He snorted as you stopped at the table, situating Terry on your hip, and looked down at the photograph that Bruce pushed over to you. It took every bit of training not to give anything away as you picked the photo up and gave it a once-over.

“This is…?” you turned your head to see him with that smug smile from before, tapping the image in your hand with his finger, “this is what I want you to look into.” You would have bristled if you hadn’t known your father better, this was some kind of trap.

“The same day you headed off to Metropolis, intriguingly enough, the LexCorp building had a break-in,” he paused to gather more words, rolling them around on his tongue before swallowing them, I’m worried, and you’re the reason.

“A break-in? I hadn’t heard—”

“No, you wouldn’t have. LexCorp seems to be keeping it from the public knowledge.”

“Then the League computers?”

“Was able to take a few photos from another satellite, these two were the best ones I could find. One of whatever broke in as it took off flying, and another of the same building a few minutes after. No police, no fire crews, nothing.” He was watching your reactions like a hawk, unfortunately you’d played this game so often growing up (learning to lie and stay out of trouble was a skill your brothers and you freaking perfected, even if they got into trouble on purpose), that it was really very easy to just—

“Uhm, but… dad, how? You grounded me, remember? That makes gathering any kind of intel like, y’know, hard.”

The smug smile was back as he pointed at the rather established medical area, the two of you heading over together, “you’re the information broker, I’m sure you can find something useful. It’s not the first time you’ve had to gather information from behind bars, after all,” you really hated how he still felt compelled to remind you of that.

It was once, in a country where no one knew you and where records were shoddy at best.

And on purpose, dangit.

You still weren’t certain how he even found out, besides, he and your brothers had done worse by comparison.

As he began removing the old tracker, you ignored the pain, the lack of anesthetic nothing new to you, too used to it at this point. Not that it was terribly painful. He was precise in skill, second to Alfred, you were too preoccupied with keeping the child still in your lap to notice what he’d been doing prior to your arrival.

All jokes aside, he’d finally gotten ahold of something that could yield actual results.

He looked to the boy again, staring at his familiar features, at his hair, like midnight, “striking how much he looks like us.” You frowned at him.

It was a statement.

The joke wasn’t lost on him.

Or on you.

#tim drake x reader #dick grayson x reader #jason todd x reader #stephanie brown x reader #duke thomas x reader #bat!sis

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m00nslippers · 5 years

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Jason Todd in Event Leviathan #3 -- He really is that badass (Part 3)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

So now that you’ve presumably read parts 1 and 2 where I go over basically every fight Jason has ever had that is useful to gauge his fighting abilities, it’s time to go over his most recent feat in Event Leviathan #3 where he single-handedly defeats The Detectives and walks away unscathed.

When this issue came out, a lot of Jason fans were very happy, as it finally acknowledged the skills that Red Hood has consistently been shown to have from his very first appearances, but which had recently been downplayed or outright denied in recent runs like Batman Eternal and Batman and Robin Eternal. But perhaps because of those portrayals, there were also many doubters, who disagreed with this showcase of skill by Jason and did not believe it was consistent with his character. In parts 1 and 2, I think I pretty well explain Jason’s abilities, strengths and feats, which should put this fight into perspective, but I’m going to specifically go into it even more here, blow by blow, combatant by combatant.

Let me preface this by saying that...this isn’t the best drawn fight ever. The panels sometimes actively make it difficult to tell what’s happening and the fight doesn’t feel organic or even interesting most of the time. This fight could definitely have been drawn better, written better, but that doesn’t discount the fact that what it portrays Jason doing is consistent with his skills and abilities that he’s shown in the past.

Jason Todd vs ‘The Detectives’

If you don’t know Jason, it’s easy to look at my boy here standing against a line-up that includes Green Arrow, Plastic Man, Manhunter, The Question, Batman and Robin (and Lois Lane, I guess) and think he’s got no chance to get out of the situation unscathed, but here’s the thing:

This shit is Jason’s specialty.

Jason is known for taking on large groups of vigilantes, using his opponents against each other, dropping the weakest link and making his escape against the likes of even Batman. He’s done this in such fights as: Red Hood vs Batman vs Captain Nazi, Hyena and Count Vertigo, and Batman (Jason Todd) vs. Nightwing, Batman (Damian Wayne), Black Canary and Huntress and even more recently in Red Hood and Starfire vs Lady Shiva, Manbats and Bronze Tiger and Red Hood and Artemis of Bana-Migdall vs Orphan, Azrael, Batwing and Clayface until he was distracted by needing to help Bizarro.

Fighting multiple enemies, especially heroes, is when Jason is at his best. He can take advantage of the non-lethal tactics employed by them to avoid injury, he can play on their compassion by taking out other targets that will distract them. He’s shown this time and again, he’s amazing at it.

Furthermore, Jason isn’t proud, he doesn’t have to beat his opponent into the ground and humiliate them before he calls it a day. He is fine with incapacitating or distracting a hero just long enough to get away or complete his business. Jason can win without having to utterly defeat his enemies, he just has to accomplish his goal and deny them from capturing him, whereas most of his opponents generally need to incapacitate and capture him to secure victory--which is significantly more difficult to do than simply get away. Jason’s win-condition is much more easily accomplished than his opponents’.

This being said it really shouldn’t be any wonder that Jason was able to defeat this group of ‘detectives’ when most of the group’s members would struggle against and likely lose to Jason 1 vs 1. You would think their odds would go up against Jason with more numbers, but in practice they go down because with more opponents Jason just has more options for distraction and escape. But don’t take my word for it, let’s examine the fight.

A Blow By Blow Account

The opening shot of the fight establishes the combatants: Red Hood vs Robin, Batman, Manhunter, Plastic Man and Green Arrow.

At this point, Jason is actively trying to escape by jumping off a building, at which point Robin, Batman, Manhunter and Plastic Man follow, while Green Arrow provides distance support.

Jason makes two shots, one is aimed at and hits Manhunter’s staff, the other is aimed at and hits Lois’s phone to destroy her documentation of him, grazing Batman on the way. These relatively small targets establish that Jason could shoot any of these heroes he wants in the face and just kill them--he just chooses not to. The shot at Manhunter’s staff seems to be to test what it’s made of, how durable it is and hopefully break it if it’s not very, though it doesn’t. Shooting Lois’s camera is likely to get rid of any evidence the group my use to try to further accuse him of being Leviathan. After Jason takes these shots, Green Arrow shoots an arrow to plug the barrel of Jason’s right pistol.

Plastic Man then reaches Jason and stops to quip before actually wrapping him up. This gives Jason enough time to pull his arm back and shoot the gun with the arrow lodged in it at Plastic Man, causing him to release Jason. The next to reach him is Damian, who attempts to fist-fight Jason in midair only for Batman to pull Damian away by the cape to separate them and handle Jason himself. Considering Jason’s vast history of shooting Damian and nearly killing him, this is probably a good call on B’s part, even if it seems unlikely to me that Jason would do that at this point.

All three smash through a glass ceiling and fall into a conveniently placed pool that is apparently deep enough to keep them all from dying on impact but shallow enough that they can stand up to fight. They trade blows and Jason wraps Bruce and Damian in Batman’s cape, which seals their movements long enough for Jason to get away.

At this point the scene skips a bit to Manhunter pursuing Jason, presumably after escaping the bats and jumping out of that building too, though it’s a bit unclear. This part is especially difficult to tell what’s happening to be honest. My interpretation is that Jason grabs onto a fire escape as he jumps to slow his fall, while Manhunter jabs at him with her staff as she falls. But she is falling at a faster rate since Jason is holding onto the pole and she misses. He grabs her on her way down and jumps off the fire escape and falls onto her, using her to break his fall into a garbage container.

Jason rolls off her, but Manhunter still isn’t down. She tries to hit Jason with her staff, but he ducks under it, sits up and gives her a punch that finally knocks her out, then leaves the garbage container carrying her staff. He is then met by Lois Lane who questions him about his possible connection to Leviathan.

While Jason is talking to Lois Lane, Green Arrow sneaks around up above. He shoots an arrow that is deflected by the staff Jason took from Manhunter. The deflected arrow opens a net on Batman and Robin who had just arrived on the scene. Jason then escapes before the two can extricate themselves from the net. Green Arrow and Lois do not pursue him.

But do everyone’s actions make sense?

To be frank, I think there are problems with this fight, but not necessarily with the outcome in general or Jason in particular. I am not super familiar with some of these heroes, so feel free to correct me if I make a wrong point, but I’m reasonably confident in my assessment. Let’s examine what happens and whether it makes sense.

Everyone jumps off the building after Red Hood.

It’s tempting to say this is stupid but actually I think this works. Jason is a master of escape and hiding. He has proven that time and again in Under the Red Hood, in Battle for the Cowl and Batman and Robin, he can slip away instantly and easily as soon as he leaves a vigilante’s sight. Basically, if Jason does not want to be found, he will not be found, not even by Batman. As soon as Jason slips away from a fight, he is in the wind, therefore he must be kept within sight or the detectives risk losing him. This necessitates the detectives follow him off the building. Batman and Robin are familiar with grappling and gliding, so they are fine, Manhunter can possibly fly with her staff (I’m unsure of this) and is highly durable, Plastic Man is mostly invulnerable to fall damage and Green Arrow doesn’t jump off but is also pretty familiar with grappling, so it checks out.

It also follows that since they jumped off in that way it makes fighting as a group very difficult since everyone is falling or flying differently because of shape, drag etc. so approaching one at a time or in groups makes sense so as not to knock into each other midair. This effectively means Jason is really only going up against one person at a time while the others are in close proximity, which just makes things even easier for Jason.

Green Arrow plugs Red Hood’s gun with an arrow.

It’s established in Green Arrow (2001) Issues #70-72 that Jason is not only familiar with this move, but it is basically useless against him. He understand trajectories of projectiles, he’s fast, knows tactics, shooting or moving a gun is faster than drawing and shooting an arrow. By all rights, Oliver shouldn’t have been able to even accomplish this. Jason outmatches Green Arrow at range, this is proven. But since it did happen, we have to assume it was part of Jason’s plan. I’m not entirely sure what usually is supposed to happen to guns that are plugged by Oliver’s arrows but shot anyway. I would imagine it damages the gun? Clearly this doesn’t happen to Jason’s weapons, so they must be modified in some way, which isn’t out of the question given Jason’s association with Roy. So if Jason shouldn’t have fallen for this trick, and Jason’s guns are not sealed by the trick as they should be, then probably Jason allowed the arrow to plug his barrel in the first place to be used against Plastic Man, I guess?

Personally if I was writing this fight, I would not have allowed Oliver’s arrows to plug the barrels at all because I think Jason’s guns not being affected by it stretches suspension of disbelief, but by no means should Green Arrow’s actions have hampered Jason in any way. Jason is capable of the strategy shown in this scene, and he’s also capable of avoiding the arrows if he wants, so really Oliver is a superfluous opponent in this fight all around. Nothing he is capable of should really slow Jason down at all, as shown in their past fight.

Red Hood incapacitates Plastic Man.

I’ll admit, this one stretches the bounds of what Jason, or any human character in the verse, seems capable of. Jason Todd is a top tier martial artist and strategist, but Plastic Man is a meta with some insane abilities. No matter how great Red Hood is, without special preparations he is unlikely to be able to stand up against Plastic Man, much less defeat him. Luckily in this situation Jason doesn't have to defeat him, just make him release Jason and slow him down long enough to get away, which is quite within his abilities--especially since one of Plastic Man’s few weaknesses is that he can be stunned by bullets and projectiles, and is particularly vulnerable to them in his elastic state when he cannot increase his density to shrug them off.

This is exactly what happens. Plastic Man swoops in to wrap Jason up with his arms, Jason shoots Green Arrow’s arrow and a bullet into Plastic Man’s chest, which stuns him and makes him let go. Simple. Generally Plastic Man seems to be quite fast with stretching, so perhaps he could have sealed Jason’s movements before this happened if he’d wanted to, but Plastic Man clearly underestimates Jason. He calls him a coward, thinks he’s running scared and not likely to retaliate, much less do so quickly, and Plas may not be used to dealing with shooters who are quite as fast and skilled as Jason anyway because there just aren’t many, so him stopping to sling quips at Jason isn’t outside his character. I wouldn't bet Jason could do this all the time, but given this particular situation, he absolutely was capable of what he did and I don’t think it should necessarily have gone differently.

Red Hood escapes Batman and Robin.

Jason escapes Batman and Robin all the time, so I feel like I shouldn't have to explain this but apparently some people don’t realize that Bruce has literally never captured Jason. Ever. Jason has been in Arkham and Blackgate before, once in Red Robin and once in Batman and Robin but he wasn’t caught by Bruce. In fact Bruce wasn’t even around at the time, and it wasn’t when Jason was physically healthy, he’d always been heavily injured by other opponents before he gave up the fight. At times he’s heavily injured from a confrontation and still manages to get away. So the idea that Bruce could have just nabbed Jason without an issue is laughable. Jason can go toe to toe with Bruce, he can fight him equally in most cases. You’d think adding Robin to his side might give Bruce an edge, but actually it makes things more difficult.

Jason is consistently shown to brush off Damian, in Battle for the Cowl and Batman and Robin and Teen Titans. Damian is not a challenge for Jason in any way, in fact he’s nearly killed him multiple times with little effort and shooting Damian is something Jason has done in the past to provide a distraction for Jason to get away. It’s no wonder throughout the confrontation in this comic that Bruce is trying to keep Damian from Jason, because he is perfectly aware that Jason could kill him at any point. Damian is just a liability in a fight with Jason. Bruce being distracted by trying to keep Damian from taking on Jason by himself is directly responsible for Jason being able to get the drop on him and wrap Bruce up in his cape--and Bruce and water actually are shown to be a bad mix in various places. Jason himself has had to rescue Bruce from the water before as Robin, in Red Hood and the Outlaws and possibly in Batman: The Cult as well. Bruce’s costume seems to be a drag in water, so Jason has even more of an advantage in this scene. Him getting away as he does, is perfectly reasonable.

Red Hood gets the better of Manhunter.

Again, Jason is basically just fighting Kate Spencer, Manhunter, here one on one. Is Jason capable of defeating her? I believe the answer to that is yes, especially if she isn’t trying to kill him. She’s a character who actually kills though, so it’s kind of strange that she would fight with Red Hood anyway since their philosophies in crime fighting are similar to begin with--but in this situation where she thinks he’s Leviathan, then okay fine.

Jason has never fought Spencer before, but given his feats he is most likely a more capable martial artist than Manhunter. She does not seem to have much training that I could find in my research, whereas Jason was trained by Batman, the League of Assassins including Shiva and Bronze Tiger, and the All-Caste. She relies on the abilities of the Darkstar Exo-mantle that she wears to fight, which grants her some extra strength and durability, and she may have some genetic meta abilities which include increased durability on top of that. Some of her most skilled martial artist opponents include Cheshire and Merlyn, both of whom Jason has fought and defeated--Merlyn Jason absolutely curb stomps in Batman, Inc.

I’ve seen some sources that say her staff lets her fly, but I can’t find if that’s true or not. If that’s the case, then she perhaps should have done better in the aerial combat, given she'd have increased maneuverability, but without it Jason had the high ground in the situation by being stationary while she was falling. He had more control of their placement and was able to stop her from catching herself and instead sent her into the ground with a devastating blow. Her durability however was shown off when she was able to get up, but given she was already stunned and had heavy damage from the fall, him being able to knock her out is believable to me. Manhunter can apparently shock anyone who takes her staff, but given she was unconscious, obviously she didn’t activate that ability once he picked the staff up.

Personally I think these two probably should have had a much more interesting fight. The one we are given is lackluster and difficult to follow in my opinion and doesn’t really show off either character’s abilities. But honestly I think the outcome would be the same. Given Manhunter’s feats, Jason has the advantage in martial ability and strategy. Manhunter is strong, but Jason is used to fighting people with super strength and meta powers, he won’t be phased by her suit and if he was really in trouble, he carries melee weapons such as his sword and crowbar that could easily deal enough damage to significantly hurt her through her suit and powers. He could shoot her at any point or use explosives. Again, he doesn’t even need to defeat her, all he has to do is get away, and given the difference in skill, I would argue he would do so easily.

Red Hood deflects Green Arrow’s net-arrow at Batman and Robin.

Given that Jason has deflected bullets with a shovel in Red Hood and the Outlaws #23, Jason could totally deflect an arrow, no question. Since this is comic books physics where anything goes, then it deflecting at Batman and Robin who can’t really dodge midair is fine. Oliver was sneaking around, they didn’t necessarily have any reason to think he was even going to fire an arrow they’d have to worry about dodging, so it’s perfectly reasonable they’d get hit by it too.

The arrow backfiring on Bruce and Damian might even have been deliberate on the part of Oliver. We are going to have to see how Event Leviathan turns out, but there is evidence to suggest that Oliver Queen is working for Leviathan. He was approached by Leviathan and asked to join him and was not captured but rather ‘let go’, possibly because he is choosing to act as a mole. Oliver may have wanted Jason to get away, either for lingering grief over his son Roy, who is/was Jason best friend, or to keep the detectives busy trying to capture him instead of interfering with and investigating the real Leviathan. Either way, Jason could totally have done this, Batman and Robin weren’t in a position to avoid it.

Conclusion: Jason is written correctly in this fight.

Basically Jason getting away from the detectives was something he was perfectly capable of doing in the way he did. He performed no feats he was not shown to do before, he was doing something he is consistently shown as especially good at doing, and he did not even defeat all of his opponents, he merely escaped which is a much less difficult feat. At best, his opponents were shown to be more easily outsmarted then they should have been, but it’s just as likely to be that they were underestimating him and not bringing their full capabilities to the table, or they were thrown off by his skill in midair combat, or were emotionally compromised in the face of the person they believed to be Leviathan and not strategizing or thinking clearly in their eagerness to take him in. There is no reason to say this fight was out of character or that Jason was overpowered in it. I think the fight could have been written and drawn better to show off his opponents abilities, but the fight we got did not misrepresent Jason Todd in any way.

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littlemissonewhoisall · 5 years

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Guide to writing Cassandra Cain

I’ve seen a lot of people in the Bat Family fandom say that they often minimize or exclude Cassandra from their works because they don’t know enough about her. While I HIGHLY recommend reading her Batgirl comic from 2000, I’ve compiled a guide to her personality, abilities, and relationships with other DC characters here for easy reference. (I’ve tried to be as comprehensive as possible, but I’ve probably forgotten something so please feel free to add onto this if you know the character well)

PERSONALITY

Cassandra has a difficult time with language, spoken or written. This generally manifests through her relying on body language and single-word sentences to get her point across. When she needs to speak, it is halting and awkward, but not broken. She will pause frequently, mumble, or use Malapropisms, but she is a perfectionist and is frustrated when she doesnt use perfect grammar or pronunciation. At times she will be unable to find the words for a particular thought. She usually is portrayed as being unable to read or write.

Cass sometimes uses mimicry when she has trouble putting words together herself, quoting films, tv shows, and plays.

Cassandra is compassionate above all else. She values life, and protecting it is her highest priority. She will not hesitate to put herself in danger to save others, and does not tolerate killing.

Cassandra has a strong guilt complex. Anyone who dies on her watch weighs heavily on her conscience, even if there was nothing she could’ve done to stop it. She does not let go of these “failures” easily.

Cassandra has little regard for societal norms and expectations. While generally caring and compassionate, she often comes across as rude due to spending most of her life either locked in a bunker or surviving in the wilderness. This includes poor table manners, a tendency to lurk in the shadows, and mirroring her adoptive father’s habit of coming and going without warning.

Cassandra has great pride in her physical prowess, but little in her moral character. Though she has a strong moral code and is quick to intervene when others break it, she does not see herself as above them and may even have more faith in them than in herself, as she still feels that she may not be able to rise above her upbringing. She can be rather arrogant about her superior agility and combat prowess, however.

Cassandra is fond of friendly jibes and snark, usually but not always expressed nonverbally. Her sense of humor is slightly unconventional, but usually good-natured.

Cassandra wears her heart on her sleeve. She is very emotional, and her past trauma can make her emotionally vulnerable, especially because of her lack of communicative skills. Her emotions show through her entire body, even when she doesn’t vocalize them.

Cassandra is quick to leap before looking, but excellent at adapting to unexpected situations. She is a poor planner and rather impulsive, with a rebellious streak that sometimes makes it hard for her to listen to instructions. However, she is great at thinking on her feet and analyzing her situation in the moment.

Cassandra does not do things in half measures. When she wants to learn something, such as reading or detective work, she is eager to dive into the deep end even if it’s not always the best way to approach it. As mentioned before she is also a perfectionist when it comes to herself, so this approach often leads to frustration.

Cassandra is very physically affectionate, with little mind for personal space. This often comes in the form of gently touching the face of someone she believes to be in pain.

Cassandra is extremely empathetic, to the point that it can be overwhelming for her at times. She is very good at spotting falsehoods, hidden pain, etc.

Despite this, she often misinterprets social cues. For instance, when Barbara and Dick were going through a rough patch in their relationship, she though Dick had intentionally done something to hurt Barbara, and threw him out a window.

ABILITIES

Cass is fast. Really, really fast. She can move incredibly quickly and quietly, making her very hard to track.

Cass has a shocking amount of strength for her small size. She has punched through 3-inch thick quartz glass, kicked down concrete walls, and thrown a metahuman more than twice her size without issue.

Her primary advantage comes from her ability to read body language and predict her opponents’ actions, allowing her to dodge bullets and outmaneuver pretty much any non powered opponent. This ability does not work on robots, animals, or sufficiently nonhuman aliens.

Cassandra is a contender for the world’s best martial artist, along with Lady Shiva and Richard Dragon. She can pick up new fighting styles nearly instantly, allowing her to learn and adapt techniques she’s never encountered before.

Cass is an incredible acrobat, though not as good as Nightwing.

Cass is able to control the amount of force she uses to the point that she doesn’t usually have to worry about killing even when using normally lethal techniques.

She is able to use pressure points to paralyze someone nearly instantly, though she has only shown the ability to use it on those who do not expect her to attack.

She can stop a person’s heart using a special technique, and in later appearances was able to do so without endangering the person for a good length of time, though they’d still die if not revived within that time period.

She is very good at analyzing her surroundings, which has helped her solve cases.

Cassandra is exceptional at dividing her attention and energy, able to coordinate herself to the point that government agents assumed she was a metahuman.

She is very good at the intimidation side of the job, able to terrify even trained killers.

RELATIONSHIPS

Cassandra is very close to Stephanie Brown, who was her first real friend. She can be a bit overprotective of her, even using violence to keep her out of fights that Cass thinks will be too much for her, though she has largely grown out of that and these days has a lot more faith in her. Cassandra is able to unwind with Stephanie in ways that she has trouble doing with around other people, even those she trusts like Barbara and Tim. When Stephanie seemingly died, Cassandra was deeply affected, becoming shorter-tempered and more violent.

Cassandra sees Barbara as the mother she never had, and values her insight. Though she often chafes at Barbara’s well-intentioned attempts to get her to see beyond her life as Batgirl, she still cares deeply for her.

Cass sees Bruce as somewhat of a father figure as well as a bit of an idol, and seeks his approval. When she believes that she has disappointed him, it can be devastating for her. However, she also recognizes his pain and trauma, and sympathizes strongly with it. Her admiration also doesn’t always mean she’ll do what he says.

While Cassandra and Dick don’t always get along (as mentioned earlier), she usually sees him as a mentor and big brother, and she is often more relaxed around him than most people.

Cass and Jason’s interactions have been largely confrontational, and it’s likely that further encounters would be similar, as she is strongly opposed to lethal force and would endeavor to stop him if she could. That said, she would almost certainly understand the pain he went through, and would try to get through to him with words as much as she is capable, rather than immediately resorting to violence.

Cass and Tim have a long and complicated history. While the two of them started off rather tense, with Tim being somewhat intimidated by her, they soon grew very close, and treat each other as siblings. Their strengths complement each other, and they are able to work in synch with each other very well. She has also been known to break into his house to steal food and take a shower.

Like Jason, Cass’s interactions with Damian are few and far between. Their first meeting didn’t end well, as Cassandra pulled him from a building when he was disarming a bomb despite his protests that he could handle it. While she found some of what he said hurtful, she didn’t seem to hold much of a grudge, and I think they could find common ground due to their similar backgrounds.

Cassandra and Duke seem to be friends, though beyond that little is known of their relationship.

Cassandra is close with Harper Row, and the two of them definitely care for one another despite the troubled history between them.

Cass and Jean-Paul Valley bonded quickly over their shared inexperience with society, and they are both very fond of one-another.

Cassandra is friends with Dinah Lance, who she has been shown to train with on occasion.

Cass does not get along with Helena Bertinelli for obvious reasons, and when they worked together during the Battle for the Cowl there was quite a bit of tension between them.

Cassandra had a close relationship with Basil Karlo/Clayface during the time that he had reformed, as she had faith in his ability to change. His apparent death devastated her.

Her relationship with her biological father is complicated. Though she has always despised what he does for a living, it took a long time for her to come to terms with how badly he treated her.

Cass’s relationship with her biological mother is even more complex. In most depictions, Cassandra respects Shiva in some ways, but is also troubled by all of the lives that she’s taken.

#cassandra cain #Bat Family #bat fam #batkids #batfam #DC comics #bat kids #batgirl #black bat #orphan #kasumi #cass cain #cassandra wayne #blackbat

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headcans-oneshots-and-stuff · 6 years

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You punch like a girl (young!batsis)(OS)

Warnings: None Word count: 1559 Summary: young!Batsis defends the girls in her school against a bully

He was at it again. Rico Ware. Meanest boy in the whole third grade. Your definition of a bully. It wasn't like he bullied you, he knew about your older siblings and your dad, but every other girl in your class (and the other classes). You wanted to make things right and bring justice over your primary school (you're Bruce Wayne's/Batman's daughter after all), but you knew if you'd tell the teacher you'd be known as a 'killjoy' for the rest of your school-life, so you did the thing you thought your older siblings would do: you challenged him. He towered over you in all physical categories: He was at least a head taller than you, wider and more likely stronger, but your brothers tried to teach you fighting (behind Bruce's back, even though he also did it) since you were able to walk.

At first, Rico laughed at you for thinking that you could defeat him, but when you called him a coward he was all in. In the next break, every student knew that Y/N Wayne wanted to fight against Rico Ware, the boy even fourth graders didn't get in trouble with, after school, in the park a street over. At least ten people tried to talk you out of it, twenty told you that they wished you good luck, five made fun of you and a boy (who had a crush on you) told you that he would call an ambulance if something serious happens. You just rolled your eyes and continued with your day.

Then the moment came. The school was over. Class dismissed. All the kids ran over to the park. When you arrived there was a crowd of kids standing in a circle around someone and when the outer circle saw you it got quiet, except for whispers, and the crowd parted for you to walk through. In the middle of the circle stood, as you expected, Rico, with his sleeves rolled up, surrounded by his so-called 'gang'. "Thought you wouldn't come, dwarfy," he said and you responded with a huff, took your backpack off, laid it down onto the ground and took the cardigan off that Jason gave you when he visited last time. "Ready, Ricardo?" you asked teasing him with his full name that you only knew because Tim once taught you how to do research properly. He made a noise that sounded almost like a bark and faster then you could react you felt a sharp pain in your face. The kids around you went silent immediately and only a few gasps were hearable. It seemed like all the other kids just then realized how serious this was. Rico had punched you in the face, but you were pretty sure that your nose wasn't broken. You got up again since his punch threw you to the floor, and wiped the back of your hand over your nose to stop the blood dripping down from it. "Are you ready to give up and admit that this was the stupidest idea you ever had?" he asked in a baby voice. You took your hands down, ignoring your bleeding nose, and got into a fighting stance. A small smirk made its way onto your lips and with only five words the real 'fight' started. "You punch like a girl." Only seconds after the words left your mouth Rico came charging at you, unguarded just as you wanted. He tried to slap you, but you used your smallness to dodge it, duck under it and kick him with your heel in the back of his knee-cap. Surprised, Rico tripped over, but grabbed behind him, trying to take you down with him, but (unfortunately for Rico and very fortunately for you) Damian taught you only a few days ago what you should do in such a situation. You did exactly as you were told and used his hand to your advantage, grabbing it and locking it behind Ricos back making him cry out in pain. All you school-mates stood around you stunned and with their jaws dropped. You let go of Rico -who was sobbing and sniffing by now- and happily hopped over to your backpack, picked it up and turned around one last time, smiling and said: "I'd really appreciate it if you'd stop to bully girls who can't defend themselves or I'm going to defend them again." Rico just nodded and mumbled an apologie, before you turned around and happily walked out of the park, some kids still being dumbfounded, some cheering a bit, but all of them making space for you.

You looked at the cute, melon-patterned watch on your wrist only to see that it was almost 3:30 p.m. and that you needed to hurry to meet Jason (who wanted to pick you up from school since he hasn't seen you in almost a month) at the entrance of your school. With that in mind, you started to sprint back to the school and through the building (that was luckily still open) and to the entrance. You got super-happy -and confused- when you saw your brothers, Cass and your Dad standing at the wall outside of the school. "Daddy!" you squeaked and ran over to your father. He picked you up, spun you around and after a few rounds he hold you under your armpits a few centimeters away from him. His happy smile (which was specifically reserved for you) got replaced by a very worried expression. "What happened?" he asked, sitting you down onto the hood of the car that stood behind him. Your siblings looked at you and instantly shared Bruce's worried expression. That's when you remembered the blood that was most likely still running down your nose. You fastly brought your hand up to your nose to stop the blood and said, dampened by your hand: "Nothing! I...I fell down the stairs," you quickly, and badly, lied. "Y/N/N, you know that we don't like it when you lie to us. You know you can trust us don't you?" asked Dick, kneeling down in front of you and giving you a tissue. "I know," you mumbled and looked down at your feet. "Did someone did that to you?" asked Jason who already looked like he would start a fight with a first grader if necessary. You stayed silent, not wanting to lie to them anymore, but also not wanting them to know the truth. "You need to tell us shaqiqa (←sister in Arabic). We only want to help you," Damian said with one of his eyebrows raised in suspicion. Cass, who stayed silent the whole time, pushed Dick gently away from you, took your hands in her and simply said: "It's okay," and with that, you threw your arms around her and snuggled your face into the neck, but you weren't sad, you were excited. "I fought and I won," you shrieked and wiggled your legs. Everyone looked at you confused. "What?" asked Dick. His life came crumbling around him. His little princess couldn't get in fights. Hasn't he hold Jason back enough in her early youth? Where did he (or Bruce) make his (their) mistake? You let go of Cass, jumped off the hood and said, jumping a little bit: "We have this bully in our class, Rico, who always bullies my friends-" you started, but got interrupted by your Dad. "You have a bully in your class? Why haven't you told us?" You just shrugged and continued: "Doesn't matter...So this boy is super-mean and I couldn't let him continue that and so I challenged him-" "You what?" asked Dick shocked. You help your hand up to silence him and proceeded: "He accepted, but then when our fight began, he punched me reeeeealllly hard into the face and said I should give up and called me a dwarf-" "I'm gonna kill him," said Damian, but you whined: "Let me finish," and he held his hands up in defense. "So. He punched me and called me dwarf, but I told him he punched like a girl and then he ran to me, but I was able to dodge him and that I used the move Damian taught me last Friday and he apologized to all girls and said he'd never bully again," you finished with a proud smile in your face. "Yes. That's my little bird," chanted Jason and Damian gave you a High-five. Cass picked you up and gave you a kiss onto the forehead. "I'm really proud of you, little fighter." "I'm proud too, but next time: please come to us or go to your teachers when you have such a problem, okay?" asked Bruce, ruffling your hair. "Okay Daddy," you smiled up to him and started giggling when Dick grabbed you from Cassandra's grip and started tickling you. While you were laughing in delight from being tickled by Dick, Jason and Cass, Bruce looked down to his youngest son and said: "We're gonna have a serious conversation about teaching Y/N moves later." "You can make that to a family gathering. I know for a fact, that I'm not the only one who teaches her," replied Damian, making Bruce sigh and rub his temples (even though he kinda figured that this would happen someday).

"Where's my favorite nugget?" asked a familiar voice from behind you. All of you turned around to see Tim, slightly out of breath, running towards you. He hugged you and said. "Sorry, I'm late. What have I missed?"

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forthemultiverse · 6 years

Text

Come Back To Me - Jason Todd x Reader

So I read a post about the nickname Jaybird and got inspired. Requests are coming soon 😊

“Jaybird…” your voice was tired, and you just hoped he could still hear you.

Every Robin has their Batgirl, every Batgirl has their Robin. You didn’t make the rules, and Bruce hadn’t even noticed the pattern until Damian complained about his lack of partner’s.

“They all have an advantage!” Damian stuck his nose in the air whilst trying to prove how he was the best Robin.

“Maybe if you were a little bit nicer, people would want to work with you.” Stephanie rolled her eyes.

“You can’t beat the first Robin, Dami.” Dick ruffled the boy’s hair and smiled.

“Um! I only had to give up the mantle because you gave it to him, and you got fired! Prooves I’m number one!” Tim pointed out.

“(Y/N)?” Damian noticed your lack of interest in the conversation. “You were Batgirl once.”

“Yeah?” you turned up from the computer and raised an eyebrow. You didn’t think this conversation should involve you. You weren’t Batgirl for long, and you’d even given up the game for a bit.

“Who’s the best Robin?” Tim looked at what you’d been doing and corrected a few of mistakes whilst asking. You nodded your thanks but still weren’t too invested in their little competition.

“You really want my opinion on that?”

“You’ve worked with all of us as Robin.” Tim shrugged

“So’s Babs,”

“But she’s Grayson biased.” Dick shot Damian a look.

“Yeah, I guess I can’t be biased…”

“Jaybird, please…” Tim had hacked the Red Hood Helmet for you, knowing you might be able to get through to him.

“What do you think you’re doing!” a young you yelled out of your bedroom’s balcony door. The garden attatched to your house was large, and the balcony gave you a perfect view of the stars, your manor located just outside Gotham’s Clouds. Your parents had built the house there for that reason. They wanted the sun to always be shining on them. They didn’t bother with the night time, they work in the morning and flights abroad to catch. They didn’t know you could barely sleep in the practically empty house, or that you’d stay up all night reading with the balcony door open. “Is that man bleeding!”

Robin was just under the balcony, attempting to drag a large and cloaked man across your lawn. A large and cloaked man, who you suddenly realised was Batman.

“Oh my god, you have to let me help!” you slid on to the other side of the railing and hoped to the nearest tree. You’d snuck out enough times to know you’d be down in a minute. The years of gymnastics and self-defence you parents had put you in to give you something todo paying off in unexpected ways.

You put yourself under one of Batman’s shoulders and helped to support his weight.

“What…?” Robin couldn’t finish the sentence and you didn’t let him.

“I can help.”

“How?”

“There’s no way you can get him wherever you’re going. This is my house, I can get you in and you can call whoever you need to.”

You put the backdoor code in and Robin followed. You could tell he was conflicted, even if you couldn’t see much of his face, but he was definitely out of options. Whilst he phoned someone, you started to bandage up the Dark Knight as best you could. Putting pressure to stop the blood flow.

“How do you do that?” Robin asked you carefully, coughing slightly like he was trying to change his voice.

“Common knowledge?”

“That’s not common knowledge, and I’m rolling my eyes by the way.”

“Whatever, Birdboy.”

“Robin.”

“Birdboy.” if he was going to be rude, so were you.

“Jaybird, listen to my voice.” You were too far from the fight to save anyone, but you were still going to try, dragging your suit on as you spoke.

“Who’s that?” Jason asked Bruce, pointing to you as you arrived at the Wayne Gala with your parents.

“(Y/N)(Y/L/N). Her parents are in charge of international relations with the company I’ve just partnered with to support this Charity.” Bruce nodded to your parents, “Why?”

“Nothing.”

“Do you have a crush, Jason?”

“No!” Jason scowled

“Miss (Y/N) was the one who helped Jason the other night when you were bleeding out Master Bruce,” Alfred explained. Jason glared slightly, he hadn’t exactly told Bruce he’d gotten a civilian involved.

“You got a random person involved?”

“She caught me trying to get you back to the Manor and I didn’t have an option. I phoned Alfred who phoned Leslie to come and patch you up properly,” he mumbled.

“You should talk to her,” Bruce suggested.

“Why?”

“You’ll be seeing her at all of these events and she’s one of the few people your age.”

“Jaybird, listen to my voice, stop for just a second to listen.” The gunshots were still being fired and Bruce was running out of options. Tim was already on the floor, and if Jason couldn’t hit Bruce, he’d shoot Tim.

You caught the fist of the thug and flipped him, despite him being double your size. You were not about to hand over anything to him, and you were not going to wait for someone to save you. Placing your hand on the pressure point on the back of his neck, you lowered him carefully to the floor and took his knife. You tossed it into the trash, making sure it dropped to the very bottom. He could try and get it back, but he wasn’t going to see it anytime soon.

“Smooth,” Robin said, dropping into the alley and examining the passed out man.

“We have to stop meeting like this.” you joked. This was about the sixth time you’d met Robin in the past month. Ever since you’d started swim training at a later time in the evening, people kept trying to jump you whilst you waited for your taxi. He’d arrive just after you’d kicked the amateur criminals butt and sometime’s he’d even help you out.

“You need to stop putting yourself at risk.” he wasn’t saying it out of kindness, he spoke bitterly.

“Then you need to get here quicker.”

“Why don’t you just wait at the sports centre?”

“Where’s the fun in that.”

“Well, Batman wants to talk to you.”

“You don’t sound too happy about it…should I be worried Bird Wonder?”

“Robin.”

“Bird Wonder.”

“Jaybird! Stop, think about what you’re doing!” You were getting desperate. You needed to get through to him. Jason had meant so much to you before he died, and you’d thought you’d meant something to him. You’d been Batgirl and Robin.

“I did pretty well for my first night.” You smiled, swinging to the floor in the Batgirl suit. Batgirl was a lot more fun than any other activity you’d started to give you something to do. Your parents were good parents, but they were distant and busy, and you were getting a bit sick waiting around for them every day. The company they worked for helped people, and you wanted to help people too. As Batgirl you could.

“Sure.” Robin scowled, sending you a glance as you landed int he Batcave. Batman had let the two of you go out alone for your first night. He called it teambuilding. Robin didn’t seem so onboard with the idea of you, you’d put up with it all night. Finally, you were done trying to be nice.

“I’m not going to replace you.” you snapped, knowing exactly why he wasn’t being nice. It was written all over his face from the moment Batman said he wanted you to be Batgirl.

“Obviously,” he growled

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m Robin!” he held out his hands in one big gesture. “You’re just some rich girl who got bored and was in the right place at the right time. From your list of other ‘clubs’, it’s obvious that you get bored and give up. You’ll get bored of this too, and go back to your balcony in your big house and I’ll still be here.”

“Whatever chip you have on your shoulder, don’t you dare take it out on me. Yeah, I am just some rich girl, but Batman wanted my help. I’m good at this, and I’m not giving up. So either get on board or get out of my way before someone gets hurt because your ego can’t take a partner. Maybe Batman wanted me because you need to learn how to work with people. I’m not replacing you, and you’re not getting rid of me. We don’t need to like each other, but we need to have each other’s back - can your attitude problems do that or am I going to have to fight alone out there, Birdie?

“What is it with you and nicknames?”

“Their fun.” you shrugged.

“I don’t like them.”

“You will.”

“Jaybird! I know this isn’t you, and I know the real you is in their and can hear me.” Batgirl and Robin was just the brink of your relationship. Batgirl and Robin were what the public saw. You’d both been so much more than that. You’d been Jason and (Y/N). You’d drive each other crazy in just the right way.

“You okay, Birdbrain?” You joined him on the roof of some building in Gotham. Batman wasn’t out that evening, and your parents were at a gala you definitely didn’t want to attend. Robin had become better with you after the first month together. He wasn’t an actual one hundred percent asshole. From what you could tell, he just had very big replacement anxiety and attachment problems.

“Don’t you have somewhere to be tonight?”

“Nope, why?”

“Just figured you were busy…”

“So, we know you know who I am, am I ever going to know who you and Bats are?”

No response. That hurt you a little bit. A lot actually. But it didn’t matter, you both were patrolling the city. You had better things to do, and it wasn’t like you thought Robin would tell you, take his mask off, and exchange real numbers or anything. The question was always going to be a long shot, you just wanted a face.

That entire patrol was extremely tense, not between you guys but the city. It was like it knew Batman wasn’t there and decided to go crazy. But crazy in a small way. No big name criminals trying to blow building up, just constant bank robbery attempts and thug violence on civilians. You were both tired, you were both becoming sloppy, and Robin currently had a gun shoved at the base of his head.

“Trust me?” you asked him, the criminal smiling like an idiot thinking he’d won. He nodded slowly and you threw the Batarang into his thigh. Robin shrunk down in pain and the criminal stepped back in shock. You fired two at him, using the distraction you’d caused. He was pinned to the wall and you tied him up, calling the police to his location.

“Quick thinking…” Robin said, biting down on his lip.

“You can cry, I won’t judge.”

“I could’ve ducked.”

“Because you can duck faster than he can shot.”

“Good point.” he stood up straighter and rubbed the cut. “You didn’t throw them very hard.”

“I wasn’t actually trying to hurt you. Pain wearing off?”

“Yeah, It’ll sting for a bit.”

“But it won’t leave a scar.” You assured him. You had only thrown it hard enough to make actually reach him, nothing else. You barely ever throw a punch with the intention too truly hurt someone. Batman said you and Robin balanced each other out. You only punched as hard as you had too to get the point across, Robin punched with everything he had, he was trying to prove his point too much. Too little meant people underestimate you and too much meant Robin could go too far.

You both returned to the cave, calling it a night and hoping the police could deal with anything else that might happen.

“Jason,” Robin said when you landed in the cave

“What?”

“Jason Todd,” he took off the mask. “It’s unfair for you not to know.”

“Aer you warming up to me!”

“No!”

“Oh my god, you are! This is breakthrough!” You declared, ignoring the fact that it meant Bruce freaking Wayne was Batman.

“Don’t make it into something.”

“But I’m going too.” You tried to ignore how cute his face was, slightly regretting seeing it now.

“I regret this already,” he complained

“No take backs!”

“Jaybird!” you were pleading into the helmet. Swinging across the city and trying to find them.

“It’s working.” Bruce sent a text through the comm system, not wanting Jason to know you were being used as a tool against him. “You’re messing with his head.”

That’s where you and Bruce were different, you didn’t want to be a tool, you didn’t want to mess with his head any more than it already had been. You wanted to help your Jason.

“Jason!” you yelled, seeing him at the Gotham Academy gates. He made eye contact with you and tensed up. Two of his friends were with him but you still ran towards him.

“(Y/N),” he looked at his friends quickly before focusing back on you.

“Pretty girl…” one of them whispered, bright red when you looked at him.

“I saw you and thought I’d say hey.” you didn’t go to Gotham Academy. Your parents sent you to an all-girls school that worked on the idea that girls thrived without distractions.

“Hey.” he was glaring at his friend’s awestruck faces. “What are you doing here?”

“Our school’s coming to some lecture going on here today.”

“Oh yeah, Bruce signed me up for it I think.”

“That’s cool, none of my friend’s are here, so can I sit with you?”

You motioned to the gaggle of girls behind you, a few staring at the boys like they were some foreign currency, some looked overly bored, some were just dismissive.

“Sure.” you gasped, “Don’t look so surprised. We are friends and you asked.” you smiled at that. No way were you going to let him forget that he’d said it, you were tempted to make him say it again so you could record it and make it his Robin ringtone.

“You are both witnesses for when he tries to claim he doesn’t like me!” the boys nodded their heads in unison, still awestruck by you. Jason snapped his fingers in their faces, neither of them reacting. He looked at you again, thinking over the pretty comment It was true, you were very pretty, and you were trying so hard with him even though he’d been so cold towards you at the start. And you were clever, and you called him annoying names, and you were his Batgirl. His. You’d had no connection to Batman before him, and you never tried to compare him to Dick.

He did not have a crush on you. Not at all. Defintiely not.

“See you later then…Jaybird.” you winked and disappeared, leaving him unsure of what to actually do with himself.

“Jaybird, my Jaybird. You can stop this. I’m nearly there, wait for me, I can help you the way I always did.” you were so close to Bruce’s location, so close to him. You hadn’t wanted to believe that Red Hood was Jason, that he was killing people and screaming for blood, but it made sense. Jason had loved Bruce. He’d thought of Bruce as his family. His real family until his ‘mum’ reappeared. You’d seen him as Red Hood, with the helmet off. His helmet hair looking annoyingly perfect but his eyes crazy and unfocused. Bruce had made you take a step back, he didn’t want you to be at risk.

“Something’s different Alfred.” Bruce raised an eyebrow at you and Jason, who were out in the Garden and reading together. Your legs layered on top of each other and the occasional rant coming out about something in the story or a character.

“World’s Best Detective.” Alfred rolled his eyes,

“But what is it…They’ve been different in the field too, making small jokes, choosing to train together, collapsing on the safe after training. They don’t even speak before doing some kind of trick. They just do it. She lept off a building yesterday. I caught them doing homework together…Kids don’t do homework.”

“Jason is exceptional at school, you know that Master Bruce. He loves it and they trust each other.”

“No, this is more than trust.”

“World’s Best Detective.” Alfred repeated, shaking his head, “You honestly need me to tell you what it is?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Yes.”

“Then what?”

“They’re, what the kids say, crushing.”

“Crushing…” he paused, “Crushing!” he spun round to stare at them again, suddenly noticing the small happy looks Jason was giving you as he tapped your leg lightly and the laugh you gave him as you swatted his knee. “

“Jaybird…” your voice was tired, and you just hoped he could still hear you.

“Jaybird?” You asked, opening your balcony door as he tapped it. You’d been sleeping, and hadn’t expected to be woken by him - at least not in normal clothes. You guys had plenty of late night talks in costume, often after Bruce had sent you both to bed he’d make sure you got home and then you’d talk for about an hour. It was a nice little thing you’d developed.

“I’m going to my mum,” he said, rubbing his arm and pacing up and down the balcony as you leant on the railing.

“Really?” You’d heard him talk about his mum being alive, you’d seen him and Bruce arguing, you’d seen how the Dynamic Duo didn’t seem to fit together anymore.

“Yeah, I can’t deal with it anymore. I need to know, I have to go, I’m done with Bruce and his complaints and standards and comparisons. I’m done living in that stupid Manor and having the whole damn thing for literally two people, I’m done with everything and I can’t stay here.” he sounded stressed - like he was going to break down at any second.

“That’s…” you didn’t know how to respond. You didn’t want him to leave, you wanted him to stay and be your Robin. “Are you sure.”

“Everything here sucks, it isn’t me and I don’t want it to be. It can all burn,” you knew he was angry but it still hurt. He caught your eye and groaned. “I didn’t mean that at all.”

“Go, Jason, go find your mum.” you nodded slowly. You didn’t say it angrily or accusingly, he didn’t need that and you wouldn’t have your last conversation with him before he left as an argument.

“I didn’t mean you.”

“I know…” you nodded with full sincerity.

“You cut me too much slack.”

“No I don’t.” you sighed, “I just care about you enough to let the small things slide.”

“I care about you too,” he whispered. “I mean, I’m an idiot, I was so awful to you at the start.”

“You grew up though, grew out of it.” you pointed out.

“I grew up.” he smiled at you. A soft smile he’d only ever let you see. “I grew up and realised how awesome you were and how much I needed you in my life, even though I hate the Jaybird nickname and would rather you called me literally anything else. But it’s you, so it’s okay, because you’re perfect, and I had to do one last thing before I left, and I wouldn’t have killed myself later on if I didn’t just get up the courage to do it, I mean I’m leaving anyway so what’s there to lose.”

He stopped pacing, turning and walking straight towards you, kissing you before you had a chance to ask what his one last thing was. He kissed you softly and carefully, placing his hands on your back as yours slipped perfectly around his neck.

“Jace -” you pulled away for a second only to lean back in and continue kissing him.

When you did finally pull away properly, he disappeared without a word. You were sad, but you understood and you didn’t blame him. He needed to find his mum, and if he stopped to talk to you, you’d end up giving his a reason to stay. So you let him go, assuming he’d come back to you eventually, once he’d done everything he had to.

The gun was pointing at Bruce, shaking slightly, but the bloodlust made it clear he wasn’t going to miss. He was about to pull the trigger when you came crashing through the door.”

“Jace!” you screamed, it killed you so much to finally see him again. Seeing him like this. Broken and insane. He was in pain, and there wasn’t anything you could do to help him. “Come back to me, Jace!” you begged, weak and about to cry.

The gun dropped to the floor and he looked at you. He was panting, his entire body shaking, his eyes becoming clearer. He was angry, confused, and silent. He didn’t say anything, you didn’t move any closer. He left without a word. He left you. He left you again. Disappearing out of the window before you could say anything to make him stay.

#Jason Todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd one shot #jason todd imagine #red hood one shot #red hood x reader #red hood #red hood imagine #Red Hood And The Outlaws #red hood and arsenal #batman #DC comics #dc imagine #dc oneshot

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zombiesbecrazy · 7 years

Text

Rainbow Puppies

Summary: Bruce really wanted to hate Pamela Isley right now, but all that he could focus on was how much he admired the way she passionately fought for her beliefs and how he could applaud her application of her educational background into practical endeavors to her cause, however misguided.

Being hit with one of Ivy's toxins now has him babbling like a fool.

ao3

Bruce scowled at the computer screen at his test results, because all they really did was confirm what his body was already telling him. He made his way over to the med bay and hooked himself up to the saline IV line that he already had set up, resigned to the fact that he was going to be out of commission for several hours. There was really nothing he could work on until he could fully trust himself to be objective again. He laid down on the bed and closed his eyes, but his thoughts continued to run wild even as he feels his brain becoming more sluggish by the minute.

He really wanted to hate Pamela Isley right now, but all that he could focus on was how much he admired the way she passionately fought for her beliefs and how he could applaud her application of her educational background into practical endeavors to her cause, however misguided. He couldn’t stop his mind from whispering to him that the gas that she had shot him with an hour ago was nothing short of genius and he wanted to give her the credit that was due. It was remarkable chemistry work.

He wanted to be filled with rage, except all that was inside was quickly starting to feel more like rainbows and puppies. Or rainbow coloured puppies. Those would be delightful.

The abundance of positivity was distracting. All the emotions building inside him were startling at worse, but his inability to reign them in was more than concerning. Just a side effect of the drug, he repeated in his head over and over.

As Bruce was just thinking about how lucky he was that no one was around to see him in such a state, before sleep inevitably takes him, when he heard the roar of a motorcycle come into the cave. He turned his head in time to see Dick jump off his bike and his heart soared in an irritating way to see him stride across the cave.

Without looking around, Dick went straight to the weapons station and started going through the cabinets looking for something in particular. “Hey Bruce. Just making a pit stop before I head home. One of my escrima sticks is causing me problems and I wanted to tinker with its elec…” He pulled out a small voltage meter, then looked towards the computer desk and only now seemed to realize the Bruce was not there like he had obviously assumed. His eyes scanned the cave and widened when he noticed Bruce laying down. Dick walked over quickly and looked Bruce over with careful, but worried, eyes. “What’s the damage?”

“No physical injuries.”

“So what’s with the drip?”

“Ivy got me with something at the botanical gardens. A sort of pheromonal truth serum hybrid that appears to be having a temporary, but dynamic, upswing of my serotonin and dopamine levels. I have an antidote synthesizing but it’s going to take several hours before its ready. Effects will probably wear off before it’s done. Trying to flush it out faster.”

“Where’s Alfred?”

“I sent him upstairs for the night. No reason for him to sit with me during this. I’m fine.”

“A pheromonal truth serum affecting serotonin and dopamine.”

“Yes.”

“From Ivy.”

“Yes.”

“You sound kind of drunk.”

“Side effect. Will probably pass out soon. Good pass out, not bad pass out.”

“With no other physical symptoms presenting…” Dick raised an eyebrow slowly. “You’re saying that you are either going to start sleepily spilling positively charged emotional secrets at any moment or are you about to become an angry rage monster and should maybe be restrained?”

“The first one. Please leave.”

Bruce averted his eyes to stare steadfastly at the ceiling, but he could practically feel the smile he knew would be growing on Dick’s face. “Why on earth would I leave? It’s like Christmas came a few weeks early.”

“Because if you stay, I’m going to talk. A lot. I can feel it bubbling up. It’s violating.” And it’s wonderful. He felt amusingly numb and a little bit stoned. Damn Ivy. He felt torn about wanting to go after her or getting her a present.

“Well that’s a shame, because I love talking. It’s one of my top five things to do.”

Always the chattiest of his partners, this was no surprise to Bruce. He loved that Dick hadn’t lost that trait as he grew up. Still loquacious and witty to the core. “I know.”

“Talking to me is probably better than talking to yourself. You’ll sound less crazy.”

Dick probably wasn’t wrong. If he was going to share his emotions unwillingly, he’d rather it be with his son who regularly wore his heart on his sleeve than anyone else, but he still had enough control over himself to deny it. For now. “Leave. Now.”

“Gee whiz, Batman! Whatever you say!” Contrary to his words, Dick sat down on the chair next to the bed. “Except no. You’re injured and alone. I’m staying put.” He kicked his feet up on the edge of the bed next to Bruce to emphasize his point. Stubborn boy. Following his gut. Nothing wrong with that.

Bruce tried to muster up the words to tell him that he wasn’t really injured, but he couldn’t truthfully do that. He may be physically fine but whatever Ivy had sprayed him with was essentially a toxin to his system. Toxin is poison is injury. “I think you are the reason I may hate extroverts.” Throwing the may in there was just enough to allow the words to sneak though. Made it less definitive.

Which doesn’t actually work because Dick can read him like a book, and he smiles at Bruce and points at him accusingly with the damaged stick. “Liar. You love me. I’m great.”

“You’re right. I love you. And I like extroverts.” And the words are all coming out before he can even think about them. “They have a natural quality I respect. I can fake it for a while when needed, but it’s draining. Draining isn’t even the right word. It’s exhausting. I don’t know how you do it. I wish that I was better at it.” There is something comforting about letting the words come out. He feels open and light in a way that he can’t remember ever feeling like. Is this what Dick felt like all the time? “I’m a babbling fool. I like listening to it when it’s coming from you, because it’s normal that way. It’s off putting to hear it coming out of my own mouth.”

Knowing that this way probably just the beginning, Dick smiled and had a sparkle in his eye. “Anything else?”

“Hrh.”

“You love me.”

Bruce kept his eyes closed, but gave a small nod. “Yes. You knew that already.”

“I did, but its still nice to hear out loud. We don’t hear it from you often. I’m glad you said it.”

“Did you know you’re my favourite?” The words surprised him, but they were true. It was something that Bruce needed to say. That he needed Dick to hear. Urgently.

“What? No. Really?”

“Yes. You gave me purpose at the beginning, Dick. I put a roof over your head, but you made the manor a home again. You brought light into my darkness. You saved me from myself.” Bruce had heard the shock in Dick’s voice and it confused his already foggy mind. How could Dick not know this? “I know what people say about me. That I’m dark, dramatic, closed off and broody and that it started when Jason was killed. It’s all mostly true, but I was always that way to a point. You slowed that progress significantly. You made me better. Make me better. Having you in my life, having someone to care for who cared for me as well, was the thing that I needed most at exactly the right moment.”

The room was quiet for a few moments and Bruce knew Dick’s eyes were on him. He refused to look back. He heard Dick shift in his chair a little and then felt a hand rest gently on his arm. “Even when things were bad? We were real jerks to each other for a long time”

Bruce swallowed deeply, a little concerned about what was going to fall from his lips. They had spoken about this, of course, but never so direct and raw, without Bruce’s filter between them. “Things were definitely rough, but I still loved teen angst filled Dick Grayson. So much. I was mostly frustrated and disappointed in myself that I didn’t know what do to do with or for you anymore. Just like I didn’t really know what to do with a kid when you first arrived, I was equally unprepared for that kid to grow up and be ready to make his own way. I handled it badly. When you left home and became Nightwing I was so proud of you. Of the man that you were starting to become. Of the little role that I had played to help you become who you are now. You are more than I could have hoped you would be when you first came to live here. Every day I want to thank your parents. For giving you such a good foundation to start with. They were excellent parents. I just tried to keep up.” Dick gave Bruce’s shoulder a squeeze in response, a non verbal nudge to keep going. “It’s not just how you changed me though. It’s about who you are overall. The scale of evil to good in my head quantifiably goes from ‘Joker to Dick Grayson’. You aren’t perfect, but you always strive to be better and you are the best person I know.”

All these words and they still feel like they aren’t enough to describe how he feels, but still, he feels content. Glad they are out there.

“I’m flattered, but you’re crazy if think I’m a better person than Clark.”

“Now you are just taking advantage of me in my drugged compliant state.” He finally opened his eyes again and turned his head to look at Dick. “And yes, I most definitely think you are better. I may be biased though. Clark’s not one of my kids.”

“I don’t deserve all that, and I certainly can’t live up to it, but thank you. So much. For saying that and everything else. I love you too.” Dick took his feet off the bed, moved his chair closer and took Bruce’s hand. “Why don’t you tell us more often?”

“Words are hard sometimes.”

“You sound like Cass.”

“She’s not wrong. I’m not good with feelings. Or talking. You know that. Actions speak louder than words. Even now all this talking and my words make more sense in my head.” He grinned and it felt a little goofy. “Cassandra is definitely my favourite.”

Now Dick straight up laughed at him and it sounded like music to Bruce. He loved to hear his kids laugh; big or small it meant that they were safe and happy. “I don’t want to sound all school yard jealous or anything, but you did just tell me that I was your favourite less than five minutes ago.”

“You’re all my favourites. Dick, Cass, Tim, Damian, and Jason.” He counts them on his fingers. “Favourites.” He points at Dick vaguely, trying to emphasize something. He can feel himself starting to slip, but this feels important. “That was in no particular order.”

“You are such a dad sometimes.”

“Good. Love being a dad. It’s hard and I’m not always good at it, but taking all of you in were the best decisions I ever made.”

“You should tell the others.”

“Probably.”

“But you won’t.”

“Nope.”

“Of course not.” Dick rolled his eyes, but clearly had affection behind the action. “I really should be filming this as evidence. And I should be pestering you for more things that I can use as blackmail down the road.”

“You don’t need to. You already know all my secrets. If you ever want to know something, just ask.”

“You’ll just grunt at me.”

“Good thing you are fluent in Batman.”

“Very true. It’s a special skill I acquired at a young age. Helps when you are the practice kid. I got to teach the others after me.” Dick’s observing him carefully, the way that Bruce had trained him to evaluate people. Taking in all of the details and profiling. “You look tired.”

Bruce nods and he’s struggling to stay conscious. He knows that he should go to sleep but part of him is liking this drug, being open and honest, and if he goes to sleep the drug will wear off and he’ll be the same as he was before. It’s been a nice change of pace when most times when things change in his life, there are explosions. “I’m always tired.” He can’t remember the last time he slept more than five hours.

“Sleep now. I’ll stay and keep an eye on things. Fix my stick while I’m here. You have better equipment here than at my place anyway.” Bruce hears the distinctive beep that the voltage meter made when it turns on, and he knows that Dick is lying to him. He has the exact same voltage meter at his kit at home. Bruce knows, because Bruce gave it to him. It’s a white lie though. Nine year old Dick Grayson had once taught Bruce that white lies were sometimes allowed if they didn’t hurt anyone. If they made people feel better.

“You mean you’ll keep an eye on me. You don’t have to. I’ll be fine.”

“That may be true, but I think you’d like it if I stayed.”

“I would. You always have my back, even when you probably shouldn’t. I miss you when you aren’t here, but you’re all grown up. Can’t be here forever.” Silence falls between them again, but there is something else that Bruce needs to say again. Needs Dick to know for sure. “Rainbow puppy.” Bruce hears it come out of his head and knows that they don’t make sense. He tries to explain it to Dick, how the drug makes him feel, how his family makes him feel, but it all comes out like mush.

Dick chuckled, but it sounded genuine and heartfelt. It always did. “I love you too, Bruce. Goodnight.”

Bruce gave him a small grin, knowing that what he meant got across, and lets the sleep finally take him. The last thing he feels is Dick rubbing his hand gently. It feels nice and warm. Like home.

#bruce wayne #dick grayson #batdad #batfam #fluff #all the fluff #fanfiction

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arkhamcitysirens · 7 years

Text

my thoughts on the batman and harley quinn movie

so i’ve just finished watching the latest dc animated movie, batman and harley quinn, and you’ve probably already heard it’s a pretty polarising movie. when it was over i didn’t really know how to feel. overall i’d say it wasn’t great and from a critical perspective it was absolutely awful, but personally i still enjoyed certain aspects... i made some notes???

the good

the animated series art style looked really nice here, especially since high definition has made it look a lot more refined and smooth (the coloring for harley’s shiny lipstick was one small thing that i thought looked super duper cool)

kevin conroy is, as always, a fantastic batman, and i also quite liked the new voice actress for ivy, paget brewster

the few jokes which are actually funny are REALLY funny- in particular, i loved the booster gold phone call scene and harley’s breakdown over the ‘veggie apocalypse’

harley’s characterisation is pretty decent, and i appreciated that she got to stand up for herself and show that she can be smart and strategic whilst also being ridiculous most of the time... she gets to complain about how she’s been treated before too and how oversexualised she often is, which is a nice touch, although it doesn’t really make sense in the context of this particular film where she’s oversexualised anyway

there are some nice character building moments for harley, like when she discusses how difficult it’s been for her to reform and ‘go straight’ because nobody actually wants to help her be better. i loved that the film took into consideration what life would actually be like if harley really did try to turn her life around.

the opening credits are absolutely ADORABLE and god i love them so much... they’re the best part of the entire film which is unfortunate but like they’re so good!!!

plenty of easter eggs pop up throughout the film, mostly related to the animated dc universe, which is cool for dedicated fans to see!

harley goes through a few awesome costume changes, including a new 52-style dress, a really cute coat with her hair in bunches, and the classic jester costume which looks great (except the collar looks a little off sometimes)- i was so happy to see the blonde pigtails back because they are SO GOOD

there’s no explicit mention of harlivy here (of course) but there’s also no joker whatsoever, except for one brilliant passing line where harley mentions the “only good thing I ever got from that asshat” was joker venom. also the ending features a very sweet reconciliation between harley and ivy that i thought was wonderful!

the bad

melissa rauch is... a truly awful harley quinn... she doesn’t make the role FUN. she says everything in a snarky, oversaturated, whiney brooklyn accent and she’s missing that sing-songy sound that makes harley HARLEY, so we’re left with a character who’s supposed to be the life of the party that instead just sounds permanently pissed

the animation looks BAD. characters don’t blink, and they usually don’t move unless they’re talking either, plus background characters are almost always motionless- when characters are moving, it looks stiff and awkward, and a lot worse than even the 90s show this film is paying tribute to, which is a real shame

as for the storyline, the btas episode ‘harlequinade’ did it so much better, and this is essentially a very drawn-out version of that plot line, replacing the villain of joker with poison ivy instead

there are a lot of issues with the tone of the movie- it jumps around from stupid, flamboyant comedy, to serious and mature, to choppy action movie. it doesn’t sit well in any genre or with any audience. i think dc tried to please every type of batman/harley fan here and it results in a serious mishmash that i don’t think really pleases anybody.

the film is super short, clocking in at barely seventy minutes, and yet it’s still jam packed with filler content. i recall one bizarrely long segment where random people off the street were asked of harley’s whereabouts, all giving fairly generic replies and all saying “no”, and this scene went for at least an entire minute

most of the humour is frankly unfunny. i’m jotting down the worst line in the whole movie as the line “it’s not bad... smells like discipline”, spoken by batman when harley farts. it’s childish humour which doesn’t even make sense- an extended scene where harley farts! that’s the entire joke! it’s stupid and pathetic, and it makes it even more polarising when one minute the humour is bathroom jokes for toddlers, then the next it’s crass comedy about how nightwing got a boner. yep, that’s another joke that actually happens.

nightwing and harley sleep together and it’s not exactly non-consensual, but it also didn’t come off as a very positive thing ever because nightwing kind of agreed but not really and it just wasn’t great and also it’s just classic bruce timm again feeling the need to make random characters from your childhood have sex so he can get himself off i guess

even though harley gets to talk about how guys are always taking advantage of her body, which is cool, this movie pulls out all the stops on oversexualising her anyway! think many, MANY shots of her ass, plenty of focus on the fact she does in fact have boobs, and of course bruce timm’s insistence that she randomly straddle nightwing so they can have sex

swamp thing appears at the end and i felt like i was missing a big joke the entire time. was this a reference to something? was it some kind of humour i didn’t understand? honestly, i just think it was supposed to be funny that he appeared out of the blue, but it wasn’t?

the strange and uncertain

harley sings ‘hanging on the telephone’ by blondie? for no apparent reason? it’s clearly filler, and it sounds fucking awful (thanks melissa rauch), but somehow i still thought it was kinda cool even though it felt extremely out of place and really served... no purpose whatsoever

actually most of the bar scene is really weird, harley gets her random musical number but so do some other c-grade villains from other dc shows you’ll spot if you’re a huge fan of the animated universe, it’s filler again but i think people will appreciate the little easter eggs in what is mostly an okay, fun scene

harley works at ‘superbabes’, which is pretty much the dc universe equivalent of hooters but instead the waitresses all dress up skimpily like female superheroes... at first i thought that was just more bruce timm bullshit but when they delved into WHY harley couldn’t get a decent job, i appreciated this scene a lot more

i don’t know how to feel about ivy’s overall characterisation in this because she was very restricted by jason woodrue, and she also had SERIOUS punch up with her GIRLFRIEND hhh... but the fight was justified i guess and the resolution is really nice... i’m very torn over ivy’s portrayal really and i think it’s something everyone will react to differently (she did use a lot of language i don’t think pam would use e/g i can’t imagine her saying ‘crap’ and ‘we’re screwed’ but she does anyway... not sure why but it just really doesn’t sound right for her?)

loren lester is supposed to be the Iconic nightwing but he sounds stupid in comparison to melissa rauch as harley, especially since his voice takes you back to the 90s and most of this film is fairly rooted in the now. i love that this movie is such a throwback to btas but in this case, i’m not sure loren lester was the best fit

the ending is extremely abrupt and mostly played for laughs, which a lot of people don’t like, but i actually didn’t mind it? i thought it was really funny and cute and a pretty fair resolution to the problem (basically harley just suggests they take the easy way out and set the Floronic Man on fire, because hey, he’s made out of leaves right?) the aftercredits scene was the bigger problem imo because it had no connection to anything in the film, wasn’t all that funny and didn’t seem to have any purpose (although i could say that about most of this movie tbh)

ultimately for some reason i still enjoyed this movie, and i’d probably watch it again, but it had a lot of issues and i wish it could have been the movie harley deserves. also i never want to hear melissa rauch as harley again. if you’re a big harley fan, i’d recommend giving this a watch, because there are some cool moments, but otherwise, give it a miss.

#harley quinn #latext #long post #batman and harley quinn #batman and harley quinn spoilers #spoilers

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spreadmywings · 7 years

Text

Flaws Pt 1

On AO3

I’ve renamed the story and reworked slightly; it’s going to be 5 parts. The Dick/Babs is minor, not the focus, and takes back seat to the storyline/plot and there won’t be more than a kiss on the cheek towards the end of the fic. Thanks for a ton of advice and encouragement and beta from @caramelmachete and @audreycritter :) Title and chapter titles from the song Flaws by Bastille.

Summary:

Oracle trusts the Bats, but she also knows them all too well, which is a very good thing, because the best laid plans... aka the fic with the gunrunners, explosions, an injured Nightwing, and the swear jar.

We Pick Ourselves Undone

“Wind speed's picking up. Cloud cover should hold steady for the next 20 minutes, but it's going to clear.”

Oracle checked the little blips showing everyone’s locations. She saw Batman’s marker on the roof of a building near a warehouse. It wasn’t as close to the action as he preferred, but there were limited positions to choose from.

She heard his grunt of acknowledgment over the comms. Definitely annoyed. Other near silent replies let her know everyone else had heard her updated information. She ran over the other positions in her head. Batgirl and Black Bat were absent; Steph had finals coming up, so she was on call in case anything went down elsewhere in the city while they were busy, and Cass remained in Hong Kong for the rest of the week. Red Robin was in one of the small boats moored to the pier, ready to give warning of reinforcements or block an escape by water; a sprained ankle had sidelined him the previous week, but Alfred had given him clearance to help in a limited capacity.

Red Hood and Robin moved from shadow to shadow on the pier, a physical confirmation of their intel. They placed tracking devices on as many of the stacked crates as they could manage so they could retrieve them, afterwards. Babs spared another glance for Red Hood’s blip. She had a hunch he had something to do with Batman’s mood, too, though she could only guess why. Well, she could always snoop a bit and watch the footage from the cave, but that was a last resort. If she was patient and listened, she was sure she’d figure it out soon enough.

She didn't have to look to know Nightwing’s position. She knew he was in the shadows on the roof of the warehouse itself. He'd made a few comments over the comms earlier in the evening, bellyaching about the cold but openly thankful it wasn't raining like earlier in the week. He’d kept up a whispered flood of random chatter until the Red Hood had told him in no uncertain terms exactly what he could do with his chitchat.

“Language, Hood.”

“Fifteen for the swear jar,” Alfred chimed in from the cave. Babs smiled at the reminder of Bruce and Jason’s ongoing contest. Alfred refereed and kept their swear jar in plain sight in the cave.

But even Nightwing’s endless stream of jokes and flirting trickled to a halt as they all waited for their chance to eliminate this one threat, at least.

She didn’t see anything out of place with their positioning, but she still hoped the cloud cover would remain as long as possible. They’d observed the head of the Vasiliev crime family for months and this was the final transaction of a sizable arms shipment. The plan was to get ironclad evidence he was buying and re-selling illegal weapons, capture him quietly after he left, and follow the crates of guns to their future buyers.

But Vasiliev was uncharacteristically late. It was yet another complication that could derail weeks of work, especially if the action went down in full moonlight. Maybe that was why Batman was ill-tempered tonight. He didn’t have direct control over the multitude of variables. She couldn’t blame him for getting his bat briefs in a twist over that.

The air was silent and tense - expectant. There was no serenity or peace in this night. And she knew of each of these boys, men. The waiting was getting to them, too, even if they didn’t show it. Even from her distance, the anxious hush grated on her nerves. Extra caffeine from the week of stakeouts probably wasn't helping, either.

The next fifteen minutes was an hour to her, until a small fleet of trucks and vans converged on the waterfront. Vasiliev’s boat must have been watching and waiting close by, because Red Robin alerted them before she had a chance to give the update.

“Places, gentlemen…” She counted the series of clicks that came over the comms and nodded with a grim smile. They were ready.

A sleek motorboat glided to the pier and half a dozen armed men followed as Vasiliev approached the crates. Ten men stepped out of the shadows to meet him. She was miles away, but heard every word as the transaction concluded, thanks to the mics Red Hood and Robin had placed along with the tracers. All was going according to plan.

Until a moment later, when it wasn’t.

Oracle frowned as the mics picked up a clang and she watched everyone freeze and then jump into action.

“Fuck!” Not good. That was Red Hood. This wasn’t pre-operation joking around; their targets were in sight. A matter of keystrokes and mouse clicks and voice commands activated even more monitors, and she had multiple birds eye views of the entire area. A shout summoned at least a score more goons from inside. Vasiliev’s men aimed their weapons at the other group but searched for outside targets as well.

This was not how they’d planned for this to go down, but the Bats still had the advantage in skill and training. Very few battle plans survived the first engagement. They had this. No reason to worry. They did this every night. Maybe Hood was winning this month’s bet and hadn’t cared about his language.

Red Hood remained hidden in the shadows, but the clouds were traitors, revealing the night sky. Robin was in motion, jumping for a stack of crates, cape trailing behind him, visible in the sudden moonlight. One of the henchmen pointed. She saw Batman’s blip approach out of the corner of her eye. She’d predicted that the moment things headed southish. It wasn’t a wash, yet, but it definitely wasn’t ideal. Still, they had some of the best training of any of the current costumed heroes; they’d get this creep.

Robin gained the relative safety of the darker shadows, but the goons knew they were there, now, and they were nervous. Shots rang out, but the gunmen fired, blind. It was time to end this. Everyone but Red Robin moved closer; readouts told her he had activated the boat’s trolling motor. He was ready for action while remaining hidden.

Oracle had a front row seat as it all went down.

She didn’t have to see them to know Red Hood and Robin were poised, readying themselves to take out as many of the thugs as possible in that first strike. She didn’t expect the harsh round of coughing that exploded in her ear.

Gunfire exploded again, seeking the source of the noise, and a dark cape swished to the ground like avenging angel wings shrouding the moon as two lesser shadows enveloped their share of the gunmen. A bare moment later, sleek night himself flew into the fray as well, taking out three men on his way to the ground.

Batman was in the middle of everything, using brute strength and power of will as Red Hood dropped back to pick off the more heavily armed men. Rubber bullets caromed off sensitive areas and knocked guns from hands all over the pier. Robin took out anyone who came near and Nightwing leapt everywhere, taking out multiple opponents at a time with flying kicks.

Oracle zoomed in on the incoming roads as they fought. She trusted them, trusted their skill and training. They knew what they were doing. She leaned closer to the monitor when Nightwing doubled over, coughing yet again. Okay, most of them knew what they were doing. She sent him a glare every bit as potent as their mentor’s. Robin and Red Hood covered for him while Batman took out anyone unlucky enough to come within his reach. Nightwing took a few deep breaths, waved them off, and continued the fight.

“Three headed back to the boat. One of them is Vasiliev. And more trucks incoming.”

Nightwing signaled he had them. He was the quickest, so it made sense, but Babs was still concerned. He took out the first man and then caught up to the second. The man pulled a pistol, but a kick and a few blows disarmed him and knocked him unconscious, though not before he got a round off.

“Stand clear!” Red Hood took cover as all hell broke loose.

Babs heard Red Hood through the comms and through the mics scattered around the waterfront. Automatic filters dimmed and muted audiovisual output when it exceeded pre-set parameters, so she scanned the monitors even as the crates exploded.

Apparently Red Hood had been carrying more than bullets in his jacket. He’d learn what a mistake he’d made in not keeping her informed. She’d lost two camera feeds in the explosion. Extreme heat had melted the housing on another, and it was stuck. It wouldn’t move enough to give her any useful data. But that was for later.

Batman pulled Robin beneath the shelter of his cape for the worst of the blast. None of the explosions should have been strong enough to be lethal, but they still had to keep an eye out for flying debris and for dangerous injuries among their opponents.

They were fine, but now that the explosions were dying down and the smoke was clearing, she heard Nightwing coughing and gasping even as he gave chase to the last of the three he’d pursued. Vasiliev. She knew he wouldn’t let him escape. It sounded bad, but it was just a cough. He’d been far worse than this when he’d retaken Blackgate Prison for Batman. They knew what they were doing. She knew that; she trusted them. She trusted him.

She focused on the previously approaching traffic and was relieved that several trucks had stopped while others had turned around. They’d be trapped when the GCPD arrived. Red Hood and Robin secured the fallen criminals and dragged them away from the flaming debris. They were doing what they were supposed to be doing.

“Problem, guys. I’m blocked in!”

“Can you clear it, Red Robin?” Oracle couldn’t see the boat, just the smoking and flaming debris near his position.

“Negative, O. Not in time to catch our runaway.”

Vasiliev jumped into his motorboat with Nightwing cursing and muttering under his breath several lengths behind him. Labored breathing. And curses, not quips.

Birdbrain. No way you should have gone out, tonight. Just wait until Alfred gets hold of you, mister.

She glared through the monitors hard enough he should have been able to feel it.

Babs checked the status of the GCPD. En route, but only ground units. The fire department would be close behind, as well, but that wouldn’t help them catch the culprit, only the transport trucks.

“Up, up, and away!”

Nightwing rallied and took a flying leap off the pier, clambering onto the moving boat. She had to grin at his display and the phrases she heard Batman growl under his breath. She’d have to remember to tell Alfred Bruce owed $25 for the swear jar. At least she had the sense to stay out of contests between those two.

She ignored the other monitors for the moment and focused on the ones showing Nightwing. There was definitely something off, not quite ungraceful, but the movements lacked a certain fluidity she associated with him, and they’d slowed noticeably. “Nightwing, are you alright?”

“‘M fine, O…”

He wasn’t. She trusted him, but she trusted her instincts more, knew he was worse than he realized. She opened a private channel to Batman.

“Send him back to the cave, ASAP, B. Something’s wrong.” She didn’t hesitate, didn’t say maybe there was something off. She knew. She had no qualms ordering the Batman, trusted he��d listen to her assessment. Catching Vasiliev and cleaning up was all that was left. They didn’t need Nightwing for that. Maybe the smoke was getting to him, maybe he was sicker than he’d let on. She didn’t care right now. Nothing here was so earth-shatteringly important that they needed him to stay.

Batman nodded and tapped his comm in a silent acknowledgment as he grappled onto the nearby crane. “Robin. Red Hood. Hold.” His tone was not one to ignore.

Nightwing took Vasiliev down simply, heavy-handed, then restrained him. He jumped over the Russian to get to the wheel of the motorboat, perching precariously on the gunwale, holding onto the windshield as he tried to steer.

The boat crunched to a stop on something in the water, knocking him backwards over the side.

Dick!

“Nightwing down!”

Oracle clenched her fists and alerted them over the comm even as Batman flew through the air. The monitors showed her almost everything on the pier, and she had four of the best operatives she’d ever worked with at her command, but she couldn’t directly affect a damned thing from her tower, couldn’t catch Nightwing when he fell. She had to watch and warn and wait, directing everyone else, pulling their strings and moving them around to best tactical advantage. She hated this frustration. Did Alfred ever feel this way when he had to watch from afar?

Somehow, Red Hood had already shed his jacket and made it almost to Nightwing’s last position by the time Batman dropped into the boat, rocking it with the force of his fall.

“Red Robin, can you get clear?” She was still watching the place he’d gone under, hating the dark uniform that made it even more difficult to see.

“Already on it, Oracle. Slight damage to the boat, but she’s seaworthy, still.”

Batman plunged into the water as well. It was too long until dark figures bobbed to the surface, grabbing onto Red Robin’s boat and clambering inside, dragging Nightwing between them. She gasped for breath, dizzy, unaware she’d been holding it all this time.

“Dickface retrieved.”

“No names in the field, Hood.”

“Language, Jay…” Batman’s stern reprimand drowned out Red Robin’s feeble attempt at relieved humor. No one commented on his slip.

A dark glove highlighted by electric blue landed heavily against Red Hood’s armored shoulder, and then again, patting, before giving a thumbs up to Red Robin. The Batmobile edged forward towards the pier, a heavy shadow against the shifting flames, waiting.

Babs took a deep breath and let it out. “Send the Bonehead Wonder home.” Now that she knew he was alive, she could plan how she was going to kill him for this stupid stunt.

#my fic #dick grayson #bruce wayne #barbara gordon #jason todd #tin drake #damian wayne #alfred pennyworth

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mizmahlia · 7 years

Note

#5 with Jason Todd

Oooo was this one fun. ;) Thanks for requesting this one- I hope it’s angsty enough for you!

(Also? AU drabble is very AU.)

#5: Jason Todd – “How funny. You thought I cared.”

Batman had the Red Hood and a mob hitman cornered in an alley on Miagani Island. The man Red Hood had his gun trained on was stupid enough to cash in on a hit put on a city official. Just as the Red Hood drew his gun to fire a warning shot in his direction, Batman pinned the gun to the wall behind him using his own grapple gun. But then he’d drawn a second weapon faster than Batman thought was possible and now he was dangerously close to finishing off his hostage. The man was on his knees, hands behind his head, facing Batman.

“Try something. I dare you. I make Boy Scouts look lazy.”

Bruce stopped at a safe distance. He could hear the amusement in Jason’s voice, even through the voice modulator in the helmet. The second gun was pointed at the back of the man’s head, his arm steady and the hammer cocked.

“You can’t see it, but under this helmet? I’m enjoying this.”

“You know I can’t let you do this.”

He didn’t move, choosing to give himself enough room to carry out any number of the scenarios in his head. The problem was that most of the scenarios he was considering wound up with the man dead on account of Jason’s accuracy and reflexes. And my hesitation to do what I have to, he thought.

“Ah, yes. ‘The Bat Talk’. Are you really going to do this again?” He tilted his head and sighed theatrically. “You realize the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.” He shoved the barrel of the gun against the man’s head and he yelped in surprise.

Bruce bit the inside of his cheek. Jason had always had a knack for pushing his buttons, but this was different. This wasn’t some sparring session at home or a bored Robin on patrol with nothing to do. This was a man, a young man, with a myriad of issues to deal with and a nasty grudge, and that made him more dangerous than Bruce cared to admit.

“And you’re a model example of sanity?” Bruce gestured to the man who was now shaking violently and had wet himself. “This isn’t the way we do things and you know that. I taught you better than this.”

The man looked up at Batman, shocked at the realization these two knew each other.

“Nightwing said something similar nights ago, except he told me I’m 'unhinged’.” He shook his head and looked down to his left. His voice grew quiet. “I guess we’re back to you guys all calling me crazy, huh? Good to know.”

Something in Bruce’s chest lurched at the wounded tone to Jason’s voice. He stepped forward, one hand out in front of him.

“Listen, I…”

Jason cut him off. He holstered his gun and dropped his hands to his sides, balling them into fists.

“You want to know if I’m any more sane or rational than you? Christ, that’s not hard. I have no illusions about what I am and why I am this way,” he said pointedly. “And before you give me any more shit about it, I know what you’re gonna say. You’re gonna tell me that killing someone who took a life not forty-five minutes ago just for money, let me remind you, doesn’t make me any better than him.”

Bruce stayed silent and let Jason talk. He’d holstered the gun under his arm, not at his thigh, and his drawing speed from beneath his arm was slightly slower. He just might have a chance to save him. A small voice in the back of his mind asked which man he was referring to and he told himself he could save them both. But he’d been so exhausted since the siege, both physically and mentally, and he couldn’t deny that the murderer in front of Jason was the least of his concerns.

“It doesn’t. And you know that.”

Jason released the catch on his helmet, the face plate shifting with a hiss. Bruce steeled himself, surprised at the move and not at all prepared to see Jason’s face again. He hadn’t seen him since the night of the siege and his eyes went straight to the scar below Jason’s left eye. Jason knew Bruce would stare and he grinned, ghosting his fingers over the red, raised skin.

“Yeah, this one hurt like a bitch. But it wasn’t the worst thing he did to me.” A bitter chuckle died in his throat and he shook his head. He looked up at Bruce, his piercing blue eyes locked onto the lenses in his cowl.

“The worst thing he did was only a few months in. He showed me a photo of you and the new kid. Sick, right? So everything that happened after that- the beatings, the meds from Harley, the weird psych experiments. They all paled in comparison to what you did to me. You left me.”

Bruce felt the color drain from his face and his stomach rolled. He’d long had suspicions of what happened to Jason, but the only evidence he had to work with was the video Joker sent of Jason’s apparent execution. He’d studied that footage repeatedly, seeing the burns and the bruising and the scarring, and the terrible condition of Jason’s suit. He analyzed the bruising patterns to determine when they’d been inflicted, but there were so many in varying stages of healing it was nearly impossible to tell. In the end, the video showed him everything but told him nothing.

But none of that mattered anymore. None of what the Joker did to Jason could hold a candle to how a photo of a new Robin would hurt him. As difficult as it was for Bruce to admit, the Joker had finally done what he’d been trying to do for years: he destroyed Robin and by extension, Batman. And he’d taken a son from his father.

Jason was staring at him now, anger replaced by smugness at Bruce’s lack of response. He noticed Bruce’s posture stiffen when he mentioned the photo and he took a small measure of satisfaction in the fact he could throw some of his pain back in Bruce’s face. He took advantage of Bruce being distracted and continued talking.

“Anyway. We can reminisce some other time.”

Jason stepped behind the hitman again, grabbing a fistful of his hair. He pulled him to his feet, putting him between himself and Bruce. “One man killing another doesn’t change much, so you’re half-right. But when you’ve killed as many of these assholes as I have? That’s called making a difference.”

His eyes never left Batman’s face as he gripped the man’s chin in one hand and the back of his head in the other, twisting violently. Bruce darted forward but he knew he was too late. Jason let go and the man dropped to the ground in a heap.

“Wow, old man. You’re getting slow. Did you even want to stop me?”

He dusted his hands together and yanked the grapple line from the wall next to him to retrieve his gun. He studied the dents in the barrel before returning it to his holster. He wasn’t at all surprised when Bruce spun him around, fists latching onto his jacket, and he allowed Bruce to slam him against the building behind him. Jason wasn’t looking at Batman at that moment. He was looking at Bruce. And it was Bruce’s voice shouting at him.

“Do you remember any of what I taught you? Do you remember any of what we accomplished together?“ Jason didn’t react and simply stood there, savoring the fact he was nearly the same height as Bruce now. He looked at his former mentor and partner, an empty smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Oh, how funny. You thought I still cared.”

He didn’t move, his eyes boring into Bruce’s.

“You think I still care about any of that? That after everything Joker put me through, everything you let him do to me and countless others, that I would still follow your rules? That I would care about saving the lives of criminals who will never change?”

He slammed his knee into Bruce’s solar plexus, sending him backward and forcing him to let go. Jason then swung one of his massive arms, his gloved fist connecting solidly with Bruce’s face.

“Jason, we don’t cross that line. We don’t take lives. We can’t.” Bruce swiped blood from his cheek. “You used to believe in that.”

“Yeah, well, I used to believe in a lot of things. Like family, for instance. But a year of physical and psychological torture tends to shift your perspective a little bit. The Jason you knew before all of this is long gone. You can thank the Joker and Harley for that.”

Bruce opened his mouth to speak, but the words were lost. He had no idea what to say because he had no idea what his son had been through. Jason looked down at the dead man between them and shook his head.

“You all think I’m crazy, that I need to be saved and sent to Arkham, the place that turned me into… this.” There was so much venom in his words at the mention of Arkham. He looked up at Bruce and his voice wavered ever so slightly.

“I’m a lot of things, B. Angry. Confused. Hell, I know I’m damaged.”

He touched his fingers to a hidden button on his helmet, once again covering his face and the capital ‘J’ on his cheek.

“But I’m not the lunatic you all think I am.”

He fired his grapple at a nearby rooftop and disappeared into the darkness. Bruce again looked at the dead man at his feet. He had to call Gordon and report the incident. But before he could call Gordon, Alfred’s voice was in his ear piece.

“Sir, as much as you don’t want to hear it, I believe that young man has a point.”

“You can’t be serious, Alfred. He’s killing people.”

“You know that’s not what I mean. I disagree with the permanence of the results from his method of crime-fighting, as I know you do.”

Bruce didn’t say a word. He continued staring at the man on the ground, eyes open and fixed on the street lamp above them. He knew Alfred was watching the feed from his cowl live on the monitors back at the cave, looking into those same dead eyes. He knelt down and closed them.

“But?”

“He said it himself; he isn’t insane. Master Jason knows what he’s doing is wrong and he’s aware of the consequences of his actions. As it stands, in a court of law he would be considered sane.”

“He can’t be allowed to take his issues out on Gotham. I won’t let him continue operating this way.”

Bruce shook his head and stood up, sending Gordon a message about the incident and its location. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with any of that anymore tonight.

“I know you won’t. Master Bruce, was there truth to what he said? Have you and Master Dick told him he’s crazy?”

There was a reproachful tone in Alfred’s voice and Bruce didn’t answer as he launched himself up out of the alley and into the night sky. It wasn’t that simple. They all thought Jason was dead until that night of the siege two months ago. To find out he’d worked for years planning such a horrendous event was too much to process at first. Jason, his partner, his son, had wanted him dead and went to terrifying extremes to try and make that happen. Bruce couldn’t bring himself to consider Jason would have made that decision while he was of sound mind. Jason wouldn’t do that.

But he’d seen the video. And the scar. He’d heard the taunts from Harley about the “fun” she’d had with him. And then there were the flashbacks the Joker had shown him, the ones he told himself weren’t real, couldn’t be real. After tonight, he realized they may have been much more real than he cared to admit.

“Sir, while I agree he’s emotionally volatile and unsteady, he’s been severely traumatized. Please consider the possibility he may be reaching out for help. Even if he doesn’t realize it.”

Bruce turned off his ear piece without responding and glided over the river toward the movie studios. He had to find a way to help Jason, to try and fix the years of damage and abuse. To show him he hadn’t been simply cast aside and written off.

He put on a pot of coffee and sat down at the main computer terminal, locking down the movie studios and disabling all of his communication devices. He couldn’t afford the distractions and didn’t want anyone interfering. It was time to talk to Harley to find out what they did to his son and how to repair the damage.

But if that didn’t work, if his plan failed, he would need a way to stop him. Either way, Harley would give him what he needed. He didn’t fail to see the irony in that and with a grim smile, he started typing.

We can fix this, Jason.

Together.

#MizMahlia's fanfiction #fanfiction #Jason Todd #Red Hood #Batman #Bruce Wayne #angst angst angst #Fic Request

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danreblogsstuff · 7 years

Text

Tagged by @darklordtomarry

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (or however many you have altogether). See if there are any patterns. Then, tag your favourite authors.

So I tend to write really long opening paragraphs, so this might be more than a few lines. If it gets too long, I’ll put in a break.

So let’s split this into parts:

Fanfic:

Bird’s Eye View (Batman, Jason/Damian and Tim/Colin, among others)

It wasn't like Tim was unused to walking in on awkward conversations—and even more awkward...encounters thank you Dick—when he was in the manor. It was actually one of the main reasons he'd moved out, along with needing a place where his various vintage collectables could be displayed without the threat of cat attack or Damian sabotage—“You're not supposed to take them out of the box, Damian!” “-Tt- Nonsense, they look much better on display this way. You can even remove their limbs to simulate battle wounds"—and his desire to have the occasional night off—“Bruce, I'm kind of busy tonight, can't someone else look for Croc in the sewers? It's not like he's actually hurting anyone this time.” “You're not busy. You've been refreshing your Tumblr page for the past two hours, suit up.” “Wait you're monitoring my computer? Bruce!”

Box of Memories (Batman, Jason/Tim)

It wasn't often Tim got nostalgic. How could he, when there was so little in his past to reminisce fondly over? It still happened occasionally, though. When he heard a particular song playing as a car passed him by, one Jack Drake used to sing under his breath. During a slow night on patrol when the air was clear and he could see the stars, and he remembered a younger Nightwing pointing out constellations until he realized Tim already knew them all, and then started making up new and increasingly ridiculous ones on the spot. When he saw Damian in full Robin gear bound into the car, impatiently waiting for Batman to join him so they could go out and protect Gotham together, and wished he could have had that for just one more night before it was taken from him.

But the one thing that never failed, that always pulled him in to lose himself in memories, was the box.

I Wanna Kiss You Like They Do In The Movies (Batman, Damian/Colin)

“Mr Batman, can I marry Damian?”

Colin looked up at Damian's dad—who was so, so tall—and tried really hard not to start shaking. He needed to be brave. He'd spent the whole last week—all seven days—gathering up his courage for this. It didn't matter that he wasn't supposed to say the Batman word if Damian's dad wasn't wearing the pointy ears, and it didn't matter that Damian's dad was the most scariest thing ever—scarier than closed spaces and spiders and even the Scarecrow. All that mattered was the thing that had happened to Colin last week. The thing that was like being hit in the face, kinda like the way Bobby back at the orphanage used to hit Colin sometimes, before he got taken away by that policeman and sent to the Jew Vee group home for sneaking into the apartment building across the street and taking off his clothes in front of Mr Norton's wife. Colin hadn't even known Bobby was Jewish, or that there was a special group home for Jewish kids, but really that didn't matter because Colin had had an Aunt Tiffany about Damian and he needed to do something about it.

Damian Wayne and the Ridiculously Expensive Wand (Batman, Damian/Colin, Jason/Tim, Author/Harry Potter references)

There weren't many things that could surprise Tim Drake these days. Damian skulking around the manor? Definitely not one of them.

Damian skulking around the manor while wearing a black robe and pointing a stick at the curtains?

Maybe.

More under the cut

The Utterly Devastating and Not in Any Way Ill Conceived Revenge of Damian Wayne (Batman, Damian/Colin)

“Father, the utterly unnecessary school you send me to has insulted me for the last time. I demand you use your wealth and influence to destroy them.”

Damian stared at his father, sitting behind his desk as he always was at this time of day. Just as Damian had planned. Because, though he currently had the appearance of a mere twelve year old boy, he was, as Grayson said, intelligent beyond his years. Grayson had smiled as he said this, as if he actually thought he had been giving Damian a compliment. It had been all Damian could do to refrain from stabbing him. As if there was anything special about being more advanced than the pitiful, uneducated masses that inhabited this country. If anything, Damian was what they should have been, if they cared to put in any kind of actual effort towards improving themselves.

Ask Me No Questions. No, Really. Don’t Ask Me This Shit. (Batman, Damian/Colin, Jason/Tim)

If Jason Todd was the kind of person to bother with mottoes or life philosophy, his would probably be something along the lines of this:

Nothing good ever happens in Wayne fucking Manor.

Which was why he tried to stay the fuck away as often as possible.

Three Date Rule (Batman, Damian/Colin)

“Mr Wayne, can I please marry Damian now?”

Colin stood on the other side of Mr Wayne's desk, trying as hard as he could not to fidget, or blush, or do anything but maintain manly eye contact. It was hard, because, Batman suit or not, it was impossible to forget that Mr Wayne was the actual Batman. At least he was sitting down. Dami was totally right about the whole being at eye level thing. Mr Wayne wasn't... Okay, he was just as intimidating sitting down as he is standing up, but Colin had grown a bit since the last time he'd had one of these talks with Mr Wayne and, if Mr Wayne was sitting down and Colin was standing, Colin was actually just a tiny bit taller than Batman and it did a world of good for his self-confidence. (Dami had called it a “psychological advantage”, and Colin had kissed him for being adorable) Honestly, he had no idea how he ever managed to summon up enough courage to ask for Dami's hand when he was ten and Mr Wayne was standing in front of him. He'd been either the stupidest or the bravest kid in the world, back then.

Original Fiction:

Everything Will Turn Out All Right

"Hi, are you using the machine?", came a sweet voice from behind me.

I jumped, startled out of my deep concentration. I hadn't heard anybody coming up behind me, I was too engrossed (I'm what well meaning but sort of insulting adults like to call "smart for my age" which means I tend to get good grades easily and use words like "engrossed", you'll get used to it.) in the incredibly important decision of whether I was in the mood for lemon-lime or orange Gatorade from the machine in question, which in case you haven't already guessed is a vending machine.

Oh Radio, Tell Me Everything You Know

My story, like all good stories, is about a radio.

Wait, no, that's not right. I mean my story is about a radio, sort of, but all good stories aren't about radios. Let's try this again.

My story, like all good stories, is about love.

Original Published Novels:

Awakening Aidan

"Hello, my name is Aidan, and I'm a wizard." Aidan Collins smiled out over the group of fifteen or so people sitting in a circle around him, trying to project a calm he didn't really feel. It took every ounce of willpower he had to keep the agitation he was feeling from showing. Which was sort of embarrassing, because wizards his age should have been made of self-control.

Awakening Arthur

Aidan watched the wheels of the carriage bounce as they drove over the rough desert terrain. It was so strange, seeing them shudder so violently and yet barely feeling it. Suspension, the People called it. It was a way of putting some kind of springs on the wheels to absorb most of the impact of driving on anything that wasn't a road. They'd also added new tires, ridged to grip the ground and thicker to avoid damage. It had been fascinating, watching them work.

He also had to fight the sudden, unreasonable urge to yell at Eallair. It was completely unfair that someone who had never driven before was doing it so well, keeping straight even over the sandy 'road' and deftly avoiding sudden dips and large, half-buried rocks.

The Autobiography of the Dark Prince; As Written by Elias Sutterby

Strangely enough, many of the cultural practices of the Calvian Empire seemed to have survived the Great Collapse, with several being adopted by the fledgling kingdoms that rose to prominence after its fall. Even as far away as the White Kingdom of Ellington, there can be found several examples of Calvian culture that have survived to this day, including the Clockwise Tea Ceremony, the Anti-Clockwise Funeral, The Collision of the Great Beasts, and many fornicary practices as detailed in Kellan Collander's illuminating tome, Furniture Fellatio and Additional Assorted Abnormal Amorous Advances. It is a known fact in Ellington that one can actually see the most bizarre of said Advances being practiced in the dead of night in the Great Library by Scholar Elias Sutterby, whose deviant tastes—

With a small sigh of indeterminate emotion, Elias Sutterby paused in his reading. He blinked slowly, as if such an action would dissolve the offending words from the page in front of him, and when that didn't work he reached up and squeezed the bridge of his slightly pointed nose.

Awakening Camelot (Ohmigawg gaiz this one comes out May 19th this is UnReLeAsEd FoOtAgE, a SneeK PeeK, a preeeeeeveeeeU, it’s also just a really long description of a room which makes it probably the worst out of context cold open ever.)

Unlike every other office in the country, the office of the Prime Minister of the United States of America was very spacious. The decadently thick leather armchair, which rested behind the large, oak desk, was obscenely comfortable, with a matching, equally luxurious leather couch pressed up against the far wall. The small library to the right of the couch was filled floor to ceiling with any book a leader of men might need to occupy himself with, from dry magical treatises to the most bawdy of romances. And, if reading wasn't something a particular prime minister was interested in, across from the library was a fully stocked bar. There was even a small crystal ball which linked directly to the prime minister's personal kitchen, open twenty-four hours so not even a midnight craving need draw him from his office's confines. Since the building of the White House over two hundred years ago, every single new prime minister, without exception, had been stunned into an awed silence when confronted with such elegant and unusual accommodations for the first time.

And that’s that. The first few lines of everything I’ve ever written; including the stuff I’m embarrassed to admit to, lol. This was a lot of fun. Thank you for tagging me! If anyone wants to read any of these things, just message me for a link! Especially if you feel the urge to buy a book ;););) (<---Literally the first time I’ve ever marked myself in public. I feel ill)

#opening lines #fanfic #original fiction

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