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gacuseni · 3 years

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The last three hours had been not interesting. Batman and Robin were during their daily, or nightly patrol. There was nothing special about it, it had been pretty old fashioned. There had been two attempts of robbery, a minor gangster fight, and one attempt of kidnapping. It wasn't exactly too calm to put Batman or Robin nervous, but it was calm enough for a normal patrol in Gotham.

Batman had never liked the quiet though. And Robin had learnt from his father, he had a bad feeling about it, a feeling he couldn't quite name, but he had a feeling as if someone had could happen at any moment if they lowered their guard.

And they were right. As Robin was talking to the owner of the store they had just saved from a couple of armed guys, Batman heard a noice coming from the back alley, something had fell, at first he thought it could be a stray cat messing around, but he still got closer just to check.

"You better hurry! We don't have all day!"

Batman opened his eyes, he knew that voice, Harley had escaped a couple of months ago from Arkham, but she had gone quiet ever since. What was she doing there?

Robin looked at his father, he said something else to the owner of the shop and quietly followed him to the alley, he was about to ask, but his father make him a sign to keep quiet.

Aside from Harley, there were also some men on the alley. Each one of them was carrying a box and placing them inside a truck, Harley was looking at them impatiently. When the last one man arrived, he almost dropped the box as he placed it.

"Careful!!! We don't want to break it, don't we?" Harley said. And then she kicked the man in the chest making him fall.

The man tried to protect himself as he fell to the ground and covered himself with his arms.

For some reason Harley was apparently not in the mood to punch people, or she was really on a rush to arrive to wherever she was taking the boxes on the truck.

She looked around to check if someone else was following, she didn't notice the couple of bats that were looking at her from the other side of the alley.

Harley looked at the man on the floor. "That's what I thought, now get on the truck!!" The man, who was apparently also the driver followed her orders quickly and got to the driver's seat before the rest got inside and they departed to some place in Gotham.

Batman and Robin hid themselves as the truck exited the alley.

They looked at each other, as is for a fraction of second they had a mental conversation, they already knew what the other was going to do, both nodded before they started following the truck through Gotham's rooftops.

Batman informed to Oracle over the comms that they were following Harley, who was more likely working with the Joker, and that the rest of the bats on patrol should be alert in case they needed backup.

***

After following the truck through half of Gotham they arrived to the decks, more specifically to an abandoned warehouse. Damian was not surprised, the Joker and the rest of criminals should really get another creepy location to do their evil plans. But again, this was Gotham, there were more warehouses than McDonald's in the city.

There was a small window on the ceiling that Batman and Robin used to see what was going on. Joker was already in the warehouse, waiting for the truck.

He smiled with that creepy smile he always had on his face as Harley got out of the truck.

There was too much noice inside and outside to hear clearly what was going on, but Robin knew the couple was talking about the boxes, while they were watching from the hidden window in the corner of the roof.

Robin was ready to jump in the moment it was needed, his father on the other side was observing, analyzing the boxes that the men were opening.

"Hm" he made that noice he used so much as both Batman and Bruce. "They look like materials for his gas. There is also some new stuff, he might be changing the formula." He said through the comms. He then looked at his son, who was not really paying attention to him, but instead was about to jump through the window. "Robin, no. It can be dangerous, you will have to wait here until I say so."

Robin looked at his father, who was back at looking at the boxes, he crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, just waiting for some orders. The night had been boring for him, and now that it started to get interesting, he was ordered to wait in there.

Batman was about to go inside when Joker and Harley stopped talking after one of the men had approached the Joker and said something to his ear. Joker nodded and then looked at Harley.

"Bring her here." The Joker ordered to Harley.

Harley nodded with a smile, she left and returned a couple of minutes later with a woman around her mid or late thirties, who was cried on the floor after Harley pushed her.

"No! Please! No! Let me go home!! Please! I have a family!" She was shaking her head as she trembled, tears falling down her face. Robin felt anger through his body as the woman continued pleading for her life and safety. Talking about her family and her home. She was just an innocent woman.

Batman noticed how tense his partner was, he was also not happy about this, but he covered it better than his son.

The Joker's smile was getting bigger and bigger as the woman cried and pleaded. At some point Robin was sure it couldn't get any bigger.

As Harley approached the woman ready to beat her with her bat, Robin decided it was finally time to do something. Orders be damned, so he started moving toward the window.

Batman glared at him, but Robin ignored his father, while he kept approaching to the window. Hiding in the shadows without anyone noticing him.

And finally, he jumped to fight the men.

"Robin, no!" He could hear his father yelling at him, but he ignored him, again. He could hear the exasperated sigh his father gave, he didn't looked back, but he could perfectly visualize his father's frown under the cowl, pinching his nose.

He landed along the shattered glass, making a noisy entrance that directed the attention to him and not the woman. Good, he thought.

"Oh look the little bird is here." Harley spoke, she glared at the men behind her. "What are you waiting for? Go get him!"

Robin took the first two men down, leaving them unconscious in the floor. They were sloppy and useless, he wasn't surprised.

Robin smirked at Harley as another couple of men attacked him and he took them down easily.

"Ugh!! Why can't nobody do something right?!" She screamed, then she looked at other four men "What are you people looking at?! Do something! Or are you waiting for a lollipop?! You are absolutely useless!"

The four men quickly ran towards Robin.

He dodged the first two men easily, but as he was about to punish one of the men, he looked at his left where he saw the Joker about to hit the woman with a crowbar, and Robin got distracted.

He had let his guard down, and never noticed that one of the men had a knife. A knife he used to stab him on his right leg, as the other man hit him on the face.

He was about to get another hit when a dark shadow landed in front of him, taking down the man who had stabbed him.

"Robin!" Batman yelled to his son, as he continued to take down the men. Robin had to admit they were at least brave, or very stupid, as they continued to get up and keep fighting them. "What the hell we're you thinking?! I told you to wait!"

Robin punched one of the men on his stomach as he looked at the woman being hit by the Joker, who had started laughing. Ugh, he really hated that laugh, it always got on his nerves.

"Less talking more acting, you can scold me later father."

Robin quickly ran towards the Joker, who was about to hit the woman once again, she was half reacting by now, Robin wasn't sure if it was because of her injuries or some sort of shock.

He took some speed before he make a flip and he kicked the creepy clown on the face, as he yelled to the woman to move, giving her time to react and get away from the clown. Batman helped her get out of the warehouse quickly.

Robin was supposed to follow Batman and the woman to the outside, but when he was halfway there, Harley grabbed his cape and tossed him to the men who restrained his arms.

He looked at the door, Batman was probably outside by now and would soon realize Robin hadn't got out yet.

Robin tried to kick one of the men grabbing him, but he kicked him first on his stab wound, making him hiss in pain.

Joker looked at him, and finally proved Robin wrong.

His smile could get bigger. And let me tell you, it was not a pleasant image. Damian wished he could forget it.

"Oh look, the little birdie wants to take someone's place."

"Shut the fuck up" Robin was able to kick the Joker on the stomach, but when he was about to punish him again, was hit on his use and fell to the ground.

He turned around to look what was going on, Harley had a grin on her face as she got in position to hit him again. With the crowbar Joker had been using.

"I think the little kid wants more! So fun he could join us in our play date! Don't you think pudding?" She exclaimed as she hit Robin repeatedly, her voice getting angrier as her hits were getting harder.

Robin grunted in pain as he tried to stand up, just as the Joker kicked him to the floor. He used the moment Joker started laughing to kick him on his legs, taking his to the ground and standing up.

He didn't noticed when Harley had got behind his back and was about to hit him with the crowbar until he heard a noise similar to a punch. When he turned back he saw his father was back, and was fighting with Harley, taking her away from him and starting their own fight.

And here is the thing. Robin might be a trained soldier. Damian may have trained his entire life ever since he was born and was able walk and grab a sword.

But the Joker was a hard opponent in a one vs one fight, even to Batman. So it was even harder for Robin, specially with him being injured.

That didn't stopped him, Robin continued to fight the Joker, but he was getting tired, his leg was hurting a lot, the stab wound felt like fire on his leg, he was sure a part of the knife was still in there, and he also probably had a broken nose because it wouldn't stop bleeding, and a small concussion aside with some broken ribs.

The point is, odds weren't good for him, is his father didn't take Harley down soon and helped him, he wasn't sure how long he could keep going.

And the Joker didn't looked like he was getting tired, or as if he was going to get tired at some point soon, or at least soon enough for Robin to get away from him.

Robin tried to jump to avoid a low hit, but when he did his leg starting hurting a lot, causing him to loose balance.

The Joker used this to grab his arm and twisted it in an unnatural way, making Robin to hear the crack of his bone, breaking in two or maybe more parts.

Robin cried in pain. This made the Joker laugh, he was finally getting what he wanted.

The joker grabbed the crowbar that had fell a few inches away from them, and hit Robin on his head. Hard.

He may had hit him more than once, that was very possible. But after that first hit everything had become blurry for Robin, he couldn't focus well and he couldn't keep his balance. He shook his head as he tried to focus and keep fighting. Every time it was getting harder, but he needed to, he needed to-

"ROBIN!"

Robin looked around, someone had called him right? But they had said Robin...Damian knew that a Robin was a bird, his name was Damian wasn't it? Why would someone call him as a bird?

He lost his train of thought, tried to focus on what he was doing, he was on the floor? He didn't really knew, but everything was too dizzy, and he was getting too tired to think, his head hurt, his leg hurt, his arm hurt, everything pretty much hurt and he couldn't remember why.

There was this laughing he could hear distantly, Damian didn't liked it, he wanted it to stop, but he could also hear another voice, and he knew that voice, that voice knew him too right?

While Robin had been fighting against the Joker, Batman had tried his best to get rid of Harley, and get as fast as possible to his son, he knew he was tough, but Jason had also been though and wasn't able to get away from the Joker.

He had already called Oracle and contacted the rest, he just hoped they could arrive soon.

Batman looked at his left, Robin was struggling, he knew it. Joker was hitting him and laughing, and Batman just saw red.

He was finally able to finish the fight, punching Harley so hard she fell unconscious to the floor.

As he turned again to his left, Robin was barely conscious, laying on the ground. Joker had seen how he knocked out Harley, and probably left him there.

"Robin!" He called his son, trying to make him stay awake. "Hang on, hang on." He said as he grabbed his son.

He looked to the place where he had left Harley, she was not there anymore. Batman didn't cared about her, Robin was hurt, and badly.

"Ba bye Batsy! See ya!!" The Joker said through a speaker that had been left in the warehouse. But Bruce was too busy and too worried to get away with Damian, and then get him help as fast as possible.

"Batman to Agent A, I need the batmobile ASAP, Robin injured, what's the ETA?"

Alfred had said something about less than ten minutes and asked Robin's state. Batman was about to answer when Damian talked.

"F-Father?"

"Yes Damian?"

"I-I'm tired..."

"I know you are, but can you please, just stay awake? Can you do that? Just until we get to the med bay and Agent A checks on you, you will rest then." Bruce told his son.

Damian lightly nodded his head, but still his eyes were closing and were not focusing anymore, that was not a good sign, and Damian shouldn't sleep with a concussion before he gets checked.

Bruce had to take him out of there now. Damian was loosing blood, and he was loosing him.

He looked around for the exit, Joker had blocked the main entrance and Bruce wasn't sure he couldn't get them both out through the window with his hook.

Then he heard it.

A bomb.

There was a fucking bomb in the warehouse.

Bruce quickly searched for it with the look.

'Oh shit...please no' He thought.

There were just a few seconds left.

He knew he couldn't get Damian away that fast in his condition. But he needed to try, he took out his grappling hook and started taking them both out, they could make it out, they still had time to at least get to the roof.

Bruce then made the mistake to look back at the bomb.

Three seconds left.

There was no way they could make it out.

Two seconds left.

Bruce hugged Damian in a way to protect his son from the explosion and the impact. Damian curled himself and grabbed his cowl.

One second left.

He was just hopping that he could take most of the impact, as he wasn't sure if Damian would survive it. He closed his eyes and grabbed his son as hard as he could.

BOOOOM

They both were sent away flying, Bruce couldn't protect Damian from more than some rocks and things that were sent flying away.

At some point he momentarily lost consciousness on the air, everything was going in slow motion, and when he gained again he realized his grip on Damian wasn't as hard as he thought, and his son's body slipped away through his fingers.

Bruce remembers how they were both smashed into a wall. Damian hit the wall with his head, loosing completely conscience.

And then Bruce got lost in the darkness as well.

Continue reading in Ao3

#damian wayne #Damian Wayne centric #batfam #this is the first chapter look at the rest in Ao3 #yes I am spamming in my blog even tho nobody will probably see this but idc

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starcityhq · 4 years

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WHAT: The Avenging League finalizes a plan to move against NOVA. This time, the X-Men join them.

WHO: Batman, Captain America, Cyclops, Wonder Woman, Superman, Iron Man, Loki, Bucky Barnes, Emma Frost, Blue Beetle, Iceman, Zatara, Batwoman, Gambit, Moxie, Signal, Black Widow, Supergirl, Flash (Barry Allen), Flash (Wally West), Spiderman, Nightcrawler, Huntress, Hawkeye, Bruce Banner, Rogue, Human Torch, Zatanna, Beast Boy, Green Arrow, Speed, Cable, Nightstar, Polaris, Marvel Girl, Wolverine, Honey Badger, Raptor, Oracle, Batgirl, Stinger, Wiccan, Scarlet Witch, and Red Robin.

WHEN: August 30th, 2020.

BATMAN: The meeting was called in light of new information received from Tony Stark, a man Bruce could take or leave, given the choice, but it provided them with enough to make a move. In the recent weeks he knew some of the burden had fallen on Steve's shoulders. There were other things going on within his own family that needed to be addressed and taken care of, but he didn't even know where to start. Damian and Dick's absence from the large table was strange, discomforting, and his expression was more grim than usual.

Also notable was the addition of the X-Men. He'd never worked with them before in this capacity, but he knew what they were capable of. Over the years, he'd built up a mutual respect with Scott Summers and, perhaps to a lesser extent, Emma Frost, but the others he was much less familiar with. Scott was already in the know.

"The X-Men have joined us because we have a plan. One that will involve every person in this room." No greeting and no small talk. He wanted to get straight to the point.

CYCLOPS: Scott didn't conduct things in quite the same removed fashion that Bruce usually addressed people, but they weren't there for greetings and small talk. If there had ever been a time for that, it was long since passed. "All of us in this room have a part to play in eradicating a threat that is becoming so ingrained and systemic in our world, that if we fail to address it now we may not get another chance. The X-Men," he glanced briefly toward the faces who had accompanied him there from District X, "will do it standing beside the League. Whatever ills mutants have faced alone in the past, we don't need to face NOVA alone. We can't."

"Several weeks ago, a NOVA detention facility was destroyed outside the city." His gaze flickered briefly to Lorna, masked entirely by his visor, "There are others like it. Mutants, metahumans, and other enemies of NOVA are being held there illegally. I won't go into detail about the things being done to them in captivity. Whatever your imagination tells you, it's likely worse. We need them removed, the facilities shut down and reduced to be non-operational. My X-Men and I will assist the League in making sure this is done. Many of you have asked me when we would make our move, what I was waiting for. Here it is."

He had the information that Tony would be presenting and he already knew what part he meant his people to play. X-Force had been reconvened for a reason. They could handle the unknown and the half-known. "Iron Man has uncovered something disturbing that we can't ignore. Our X-Force team will be going alongside members of the League to investigate. We expect resistance. Beyond that..." he spread his hands, "be ready."

CAPTAIN AMERICA: Steve looked first at Bruce and then at Scott, wondering what it was like to lead large groups with little to no inclination to speak to the members like people and to just regurgitate information. He just... had never functioned that way. Maybe it was because he wasn't some kind of super genius, or maybe it was because he had gotten his start in the army rather than alone or at fifteen on a team of child soldiers assembled with little to no prior training before they were flung out into the world. He was used to talking to people as just another person. As someone who had to connect and convey urgency. "I think a little bit of context is necessary here," he said simply. While they could all just cut to the chase, he was sure it would eliminate questions to fill people in on what the hell they were talking about.

"As you all know, several months ago we had our first meeting of the Avenging League, wherein teams were assigned and objectives were given. X-Men, to fill you in, we have been working on NOVA on five fronts. Bruce and Scott are referring to the findings from some of those teams. The patrol team, meanwhile, has been discrediting NOVA and diffusing violent patrols on the streets whenever possible. I'll leave Bruce to explain the findings, but suffice it to say that our more technical side of things, particularly Oracle and Red Robin, have been working on hacking in to NOVA's systems for all those months as well. However, as Bruce said, it was Tony who discovered something urgent enough to call us all to order."

He glanced at several members seated around the massive table before continuing, "Last meeting, we were interrupted by Robin coming in with what we now know to be a prototype of one of NOVA's inhibitors, the effects of which were what caused the city-wide loss of powers during the Joker's crime spree. Tony, Bruce Banner, and formerly Princess Shuri had done work on figuring out what we were dealing with and Tony came to me last week with a... disturbing hypothesis on how they managed to pull all of it off. That's a big part of why we're here. It's time to start acting, as Scott has said."

He knew that the X-Men hadn't necessarily carried the same ideas as the League or the Avengers in the past, but he wanted to make it perfectly clear that they were allies this time around. "The X-Men and their X-Force will be invaluable help in dealing with this. For all intents and purposes, we're all on the same team. Scott, Bruce, and I are going to make sure the efforts are evenly divided to get the job done, but we need to deal with this threat quickly and efficiently. This is what we've been waiting for. I'm gonna pass the floor to Tony to explain further what we're dealing with. Tone?" He looked to his friend, knowing he could definitely articulate things more clearly.(edited)

IRON MAN: Cyclops wasn't as dry as Batman, but it was a close call. Tony didn't exactly mind, because he wasn't in the mood to listen to a bunch of small talk when he was eager and ready to share what he knew with the rest of the league. He'd never been the best at teamwork or collaboration, but he'd come a long way from where he started. By now, he was smart enough to realize that there were plenty of capable people working around him, even if they weren't on the same team, and he was especially impressed by those working the digital side of things. They were also the only team he had regular communication with.

He was out of his seat before Steve finished talking. Pressing a button illuminated a blue, 3-D model of the city above the center of the table. "Caught some footage from my suit during a flyover." It didn't occur to him to explain that this happened only because Hulk had split the concrete. He breezed by that point, instead changing the view so the ground lit up in yellow criss-crossing lines. "There's a whole grid system underneath the city. The inhibitors are all underground." He pointed at each intersecting line. "We're talking far. The grid goes as far down as a mile areas with a higher elevation. It was lucky for us that the portion I caught was high enough to be unearthed at all. There are thousands of them, all connected, which means they likely have the same power source."

Changing the view, he rotated the city so they were looking at it from above. The yellow color was brighter along the water. "I also picked up an area, near the harbor, that is giving off much stronger radiation. Energy. Much too strong to be just an inhibitor. My hypothesis is that they have an underwater facility. Connecting underground tunnels that gave them the ability to set up this entire grid without any of us being the wiser. They did it all right under our nose."

ORACLE: Babs sure did have a time not cutting over people, eyes mostly just focused on Tony once she heard that he had things to share. It wasn't that she was uncaring about the X-Men, quite the opposite. She was happy they were here, but she wanted to know the news more than anything else. She almost smirked as Tony rose from his chair, sensing the same impatience in him. Keen eyes inspect the model before them, even rising from her chair and leaning forward silently to get a full look. At the news of the same power source though, she smirked. That's something they can deal with, even if it was underwater.

"Well, that big of an energy reading means that they're leaving a nice bread crumb trail for me," she'd already had her laptop out at this point, and she goes from looking at the model to typing quickly, though doesn't break her thought process, "Give me time and I can get a rough estimate of where the power source specifically should be. A layout will take more time, their systems are tricky but not impossible. Any entrance would help in that department." Unlike most everyone else, she could start her work right away.

BLUE BEETLE: Teddy had been working on the same team as Tony so far, so the news he was sharing wasn’t a surprise. He’d never been the most confident when it came to situations like this, usually his input was ignored or not even asked for. But he had been given a job as part of the Tech group and had some less than thrilling news to share. “We’ll likely need one. In fact any way we could try and get a head of this would be smart.” Ted said, his voice quieter than his usual boisterous nature as he rose to his feet. “See, Tony charged me with working a kind of Faraday Cage, something we could use to block any kind of electromagnetic fields. It would stop the pulses their technology sends out and render it useless in the affect it has on anyone with enhanced abilities.” He explained. “Ideally this could’ve been equipped on someone like Stinger,” he nodded at Cassie, “But it’s just not feasible.”

“Despite having a great deal of experience in this area,” his damn backpack could fly off and produce one, “Every prototype I’ve been able to create just isn’t strong enough to effect the web they’ve already weaved.” He adjusted his goggles, a little nervously and continued, “I could eventually make something strong enough to neutralise it but I’d need time, weeks, maybe even months to make a finished, reliable piece of tech that I’d be confident in risking someone going in with.” Ted wasn’t about to put someone’s life at risked with a rushed piece of equipment. “And… given who we’re dealing with, I don’t think we have that much time to waste.” ICEMAN: As Teddy returned to his seat Bobby spoke up from the other side of the room “We don’t.” His voice certain. Bobby’s bottom jaw jutted forwards a little bit, as though thinking hard on what he was going to say (a rare thing for him) “I dunno all the work you’ve been doing. But I’ve been doing recon on behalf of the X-Men. I’ve gotten a look deep inside NOVA’s workings and the shit they’re doing to people… to children-“ he cut off and swallowed, going quiet while the temperature around him dropped by several degrees, his emotions getting the better of him like they almost always did. He cleared his throat, “We don’t have months. We don’t have weeks. We don’t even have days.” He looked around at the other faces in the room. “They need to be stopped and they need to be stopped now. Whatever it takes. Go in guns blazing get the damn media involved if helps.” He shook his head slightly, running a hand through his hair, obviously agitated.

ZATARA: “That won’t help.” Zach hadn’t gone into this affair planning to say a thing, he was new to the group, one of the younger members and probably disliked by several of the others in the room. But he could offer one insight the rest of them probably lacked. “That one article the paper got out the first time hurt them some and the fallout of that was NOVA coming down hard on the political powers in the city. I’m pretty close to the Mayor and his wife so believe me when I say they’ve got their claws embedded deep into the politics and the papers. Even if we went public with this information, gave it over to reputable journalists anyway? They’d have a hell of a time getting it out in any official way and even if they did NOVA has the influence to spin it any way they like. Doesn’t help that that Nabel woman’s got enough PR skills to make my agents jealous.” He added wryly. “We’re on our own here.”

FLASH: "We need an opening." Barry spoke up from another part of the room. He had been biting his tongue - trying to contain his natural urge to meet-and-greet with all of the new faces that were there since their last official meeting. "We have been making steady process, but without an opening to exploit we aren't going to be getting anywhere. Inhibitor networks miles underground or inside mountains... that isn't an issue. Normally, speedsters like myself or Wally could just phase ourselves through the ground to get to them. It's tricky phasing downwards instead of forwards, but it could be done. Underwater, however? We can run on top of the water - but not through it." He shook his head. "Zach and---I don't know your name, sorry; I'm not the one with the files on everyone--" Barry grins playfully and shoots a look a Bruce before clearing his throat and continuing. "They're right though. We don't have the time to plan things out any long than this meeting. We need to come up with a course of action and we need to do so in a speedy manner."

SUPERMAN: The sheer number of people in that room would have been enough to give anyone hope, surely. Had there ever been a larger, better equipped, more motivated group ready to take action? He couldn't recall one. He knew little of the X-Men, though he'd been into District X a handful of times, but they seemed as eager and prepared to make their move as the League. Moreso, maybe. Their struggles had gone on long before NOVA was in the picture.

He opened his mouth to say something to that effect, but Zach's mention of the papers turned his attention elsewhere. "NOVA doesn't have their hands in everything. The Gazette has been standing against them for months. We do have a voice, and we're using it when we can. Taking direct action against NOVA is only one step. We need the people on our side, and we've been working since the day the League reformed to make sure that's happening. The Gazette is doing it with us. But even without that..." he made a broad gesture with one hand around the room that had seemed so large but with all the teams present was nearing capacity, "are we really that few?"

"For those of us heading underwater who can't manage it naturally, I have plenty of confidence that our tech team can compensate. Anyone here taken scuba lessons?" The grin he wore wasn't at all because he wasn't taking it seriously. He was. He knew everything they stood to lose, everything that inaction had cost them and so many other people, but when he looked around that room he knew that it would finally be dealt with. It was worth smiling about.

NIGHTCRAWLER: Kurt had stationed himself in a proper vantage point in the room - nestled quite comfortably up in one corner near the ceiling; hands and feet clinging him to the walls with ease. There were so many people, it was astounding when you got them all together in one room. It really opened his eyes to just how many people were working to help keep the people of this City safe and to help rid them of the NOVA situation that plagued them all. The mutant recognized only a handful of non-mutants; most by reputation and name alone and others by former relations - such as the faces of several Avengers team members. The man couldn't help but frown as Bobby spoke from another part of the room. He wanted to comfort him - seeing his expression change as his emotions took hold of him - but there was a time and place for that and this wasn't one of them. Once 'Superman' had finished speaking about his confidence in the teams they had assembled, Kurt took the opportunity to speak - keeping his pace slow so his accent wouldn't make it too hard to understand him.

"I personally haf followed efery story ze Gazette has put out regarding mutant relations or ze situation ve haf vis NOVA. Zey are expertly written and judging from ze online forums of various chat groups sroughout ze city, zere is a large amount of support backing ze ideologies zey are composed of." He explained. "I cannot speak so much on tactical advice as I can on my own matters - I am a teleporter; ze X-Men's 'Nightcrawler' and vherefer ve need to get into; I am my Bamfs are at your disposal." He gave a nod of respect to their 'leaders'.

RED ROBIN: Tim listened, knowing better than to get involved until he had more information. "Babs and I have nailed down the coordinates of the detention facilities outside the city like the one Magneto attacked. We have all those official locations." It had taken months to crack their system, but once they had, it had come easily.

He moved his spot to settle next to Babs, pulling out his own machine to begin working with her. "We'll help however we can, including zeroing in on a signal for this new underwater facility." He didn't have too much more to add. He had been so busy with nailing down things about Dick's assault that he hadn't focused on the League as much as he should, but now that he was close to cracking that, too, he could put much more effort in.

BRUCE BANNER: Bruce was momentarily grateful for Tony's focus on certain details while completely ignoring others. It wasn't as if everyone in that room wouldn't have known what happened, what Hulk had done, and Bruce did struggle to compartmentalize it enough to accept something good coming of it. It had though, at least in this case. Minimal injuries, maximum and unexpected information. Not that he was going to take any kind of credit for smashing holes in the ground.

"What you're looking for is similar to gamma radiation, but it's not..." he spread his hands, and looked between Barbara and Tim, "it's not like anything I've seen before. If you find the focal point, wherever that's strongest, that's where we'll need to be."

SUPERGIRL: Kara squirmed in her seat at the mention of the media. Both Lois and Clark worked for the Gazette and had been producing articles shining the light on NOVA's terrible actions. Even though she knew what they knew, it didn't prepare her to hear the details from both Scott and Bobby. Wincing, she looked down at her hands. "How long?" She directed the question at Bruce, Steve, and Scott. "Before we make a move, I mean." They said there was a plan. It didn't seem likely, given the circumstances, that they would sit around longer than they had to.

NIGHTSTAR: M'gann paid close attention. This was her first official hero meeting and she intended to remember every detail of it. Down to the cookies Supergirl had brought. There were far more heroes than she'd expected, many of them familiar faces. She took great comfort in that.

"I might be of some use in finding these underground facilities. My telepathy extends out like a globe. It would be easier if I had a specific person to track." An exact telepathic signature. "But people being kept underground is unusual. I should be able to sense them without too much trouble." The rest of what she could do, the team leaders already knew.

HONEY BADGER: This is the first time Gabby has ever seen so many different people in the same room that were like her! It was kind of amazing if she was being honest with herself but this is a serious meeting. This wasn’t the first time Gabby had been in one but it was the first time when it was for something good. She took a handful of cookies — four of them laid out on a napkin in front of her as her feet kicked back and forth while listening to everyone else speak first.

“We have to help everyone in those facilities, I agree with Bobby. We should be doing everything that it takes. I know what it’s like to be poked and prodded at in places exactly like where NOVA is operating. I’m willing to take the risk so we don’t leave those people in there because they might not have much time.” She crushes a piece of the cookie she broke off in her hand so crumbs fall into her lap. Gabby tries to collect herself, looking over at her family for a moment then back to everyone else in the room. “I don’t care what someone has done, treating anyone like an experiment isn’t okay.”

She takes a quick bite of whatever is left of the sweet in her hand, trying to calm herself down. “I’m sorry. I’m just really passionate about this sort of thing. I just want the world to better for everyone — Mutants, Meta-Humans, and animals too. Whatever plan we come up with, I want to be part of it.” Her mind trying to ignore flashbacks to her upbringing.

POLARIS: Lorna couldn't help the guarded look she wore, arms crossed firmly across her chest as she peers around. Sure, one could argue that she had reason to trust those around them now, but she only trusted those she knew. Her eyes dart between the people talking tech, and if Bobby hadn't burst out she would have. Still, she takes a breath. It's quite difficult in the moment, not to snap, not to break in, but hearing the sentiment of brute force makes her shake her head as people speak. She choses her words carefully, more than aware that it's possible others here may know she was with Magneto, more than the couple that did. Still, she wasn't about to shy away from saying her thoughts, and if it came up, then it came up.

"If Magneto showed us one thing, it's that brute strength will backfire on us. The short term saving mutants will be a success, yes, but at this point the long-term repercussions could be catastrophic. Think a mob of civilians descending on District X-- people we don't want to fight." her eyes go to Gabby and Bobby, but land on the man who spoke just before him, "My powers work with the Earth's magnetic fields, and metal. Is there something that I could help with? I know how to create electromagnetic pulses. I... can feel what they have. The web, and I could feel an underground facility if I had time," her eyes turn to Tony Stark, trying to explain, "If you can help me narrow down any materials they're using in construction I may be able to get a better sense, too.... but it may involve concentrating in a very obvious area... like in the air above it. Not sure if that's helpful. " she shrugs with a sigh, turning to her teammates particularly. Normally ready to go in guns blazing with NOVA, she's trying to take a moment.

"If we repeat what happened, we'll have more fallout to deal with. The brief amount of time that it takes to get a layout and a plan together is worth it. Unless we want to be grouped with Magneto some more."

ROGUE: Anna stiffened, her gloved hands folded on the table, but she didn't say anything at first. She hadn't been involved in what happened at the first facility, or fully supportive of the move in the first place, but that was exactly why she'd stayed out of it. Her gaze went to Wanda, as if to see if she were at all affected by the topic of her father being raised at the table.

Normally she was all for going in hard and strong. All the tech talk wasn't her style and she didn't really know what any of them were talking about, so it wasn't something she could offer help on. "Dunno if that's such a good idea, sugah," she said to Lorna under her breath, but she was looking at Scott. Erik had worked with the X-Men plenty of times in the past, but she couldn't imagine him willing to take orders from a group that included so many non-mutants.

MOXIE: She was told to keep her words concise and professional. This was not a time to mince friendly words with others, though she could barely contain her excitement to be a part of something greater than anything she had ever seen in her life.

“Well, first of all,” she started, standing from her seat when it was her turn to speak, blueprints in hand. “Thank youse for bringing me on board. I ain’t much of a hero myself but if I’ve been invited here, that must mean I’m bringing something to the table, right?“

Without another moment’s pause she presented one of the blueprints, unfurling it on the table. She would gesture a hand towards the different aspects of her design as she spoke.

“Sorry it’s on this silly little blue paper. I like to keep things old fashioned, ya know? Feel free to pass it around to the higher ups over there. I understand youse need extra support under the water. I myself did some digging on the currents here. They’re not any more pleasant to the kinda waters I’ve experienced back home. Taking that into consideration with my daddy’s notes on the conditions of the water he had left before he passed, I’ve been working on some deflector technology that could be attached to anyone’s suits, which could provide extra support while you’re lookin’ for these facilities. I used my Heart of Gold as a reference, but because some of it is influenced by magic and I’m not magic at all, I substituted that with a modified magnetic wave field that serves a similar purpose to “Nyx’s Blessing,” which will deflect any projectiles coming towards you on land or underwater, in this case. It’s activated by your heartbeat and breathing patterns so if you sense something is wrong, it’ll give you a small barrier to protect you.”

An anxious grin followed, swallowing the forming lump in her throat.

“But y’know, if that’s not suitable, I’ve got other plans I’m willing to share with the technology team to provide my experience on the kinda conditions and obstacles we’ll have to look out for if we’re going underwater. I have access to all my daddy’s old notes. Seeing as he was an Atlantean, I’m sure the materials would still be useful and their technology is more advanced, from what he told me.”

BLACK WIDOW: Natasha sat by Logan rather than James this go around. It wasn’t all that often that the X-Men and the Avengers were in the same room together and it wasn’t for some fight. So she was pleased that she could actually settle beside her friend. Since the incident with the inhibitors and leaving Clint, they had been meeting up semi-regularly just to drink and talk. Not much beyond that. Now here they were about to take down NOVA. She bit her lip as she listened, taking in the influx of information. “Wanda and Billy could help those of us who need help with the breathing underwater issue, right?” She had, in fact, taken scuba lessons, but it didn’t seem pertinent to bring it up.

She was also aware of the heightened emotions in the room and she ignored them for the most part. This was a mission briefing. “I’m sure that Cap, Batman, and Cyclops have a plan, and I’m sure it won’t include mass destruction of the facilities and every living thing inside that doesn’t ping for mutant, meta, or enhanced.” If it did, she’d still do what she was told, but it would still shock her. Cap didn’t work like that and neither did Batman. She didn’t speak for Cyclops. The X-Men had done their share of death. Not that she blamed them. Sometimes it was the best way to go about things. “Let’s give them a minute to tell us what we need to be focusing on. A lot of us have been running recon, so we’re aware of what’s going on on the inside. I’m sure that’s why we’re here.”

She listened to the new girl speak, blinking at how she sounded like she was from an mafia movie about Capone. She’d been around in the 20s, but she didn’t remember it. Surprising. “It seems like a good idea,” she said. “So we aren’t completely relying on powers in case the inhibitors pop.

ZATANNA: "I've enchanted charms to grant glamours and certain physical protections before. I wouldn't even need to be near them or concentrating on the spell. Water breathing wouldn't be much of a problem. But," As much as she hated to admit any shortcomings, Zatanna obviously had the foresight to plan in situations like this. Recalling her very similar conversation with Barry, the corners of her mouth turned down a smidge. "They haven't been tested near inhibitors. And relying on them underwater isn't exactly the safest test run."

Zee shifted her weight from one foot to the other, glancing at Bruce, at Clark, at Diana, at the rest of the most familiar faces. It felt less like failure directing her statements to people who already knew. "I can provide heavy combat power until the second they decide to turn on the inhibitors. If we beat them to it, though, I can portal a good number of the people trapped there out."

GREEN ARROW: Oliver Queen had finally managed to return to Star City after well over a year's absence, and what he was met with was...worse than it had been. NOVA and The Justice--The Avenging League (he still needed to get used to that) were locked in an all out war, and it held Star City, HIS city, in a stranglehold. He wouldn't have it. Not at all. So, he jumped right back in, with briefings from both Clark and Bruce, and was finally back in the meeting. There were...a lot of personalities in the room. Some he knew well. Many he'd never even seen before. It was refreshing, in an odd way. Gave him hope that they may just pull this shit all off.

As he listened to the people talking, he couldn't help but feel like people were just...rattling stuff off. It felt structureless, like a city hall town meeting instead of a game plan. But, he was sure that Bruce had a plan. Bruce had a detailed plan for how he ate breakfast in the morning. "Alright, everyone," Oliver spoke up, putting his feet off the table he currently had them resting on. "I'm sure they know exactly what all of us are supposed to be doing. Just give the big guys a chance to speak. You all know what I can do, just point me and my bow in the direction of the bastards who are ruining my home."

BATWOMAN: This was a ridiculous amount of people. Kate was used to flying solo and only occasionally pairing up with maybe a handful of other heroes and heroines at most. Even as a part of the old Justice League, she had never really had to worry about dealing with the entirety of their membership. Here in Star City, however, under this - Avenging League - and now with the addition of the X-Men from District X, it was honestly a little overwhelming. Yet, she outwardly showed little expression - her jaw locked into a sharp frown and her body poised with a rigidness that mimicked Bruce's own. She listened to each person in turn as they spoke up, taking in the words they sad - no matter how heartfelt or generic the information they held seemed to be. Everyone has a part to play, no matter how small, and the only way they were going to deal with this NOVA group was by putting everything together into one solid plan.

To that end, the woman leaned forward - the brilliant red of her cowl's attached wig draping over her shoulders as she waited for Oliver to finish what he had to say. "Look," She began - her tone low and just slightly off-pitch thanks to the slight modulation tech incorporated into her cowl. "I'm rather new to everything going on here in Star City, so I've had to play catch up in an extremely short amount of time." She prefaced. "We need to look at this from a more tactical perspective. Yes, we each have bits and pieces of information to share, but we should be focusing our efforts on the biggest problem at hand - how do you assail an underwater fortification with possible inhibitor technology in place? We still don't know if they actually have inhibitors in place around the power core or not, right? All our planning and preparations aren't going to do a damn bit of good if only a tiny fraction of us can even make a stand." Kate finished her statement with a sigh. "We need plans - and we need contingencies for that plan; and more for those."

HUMAN TORCH: “Whatever the plan is, I’d like to officially unassign myself from computer duty and underwater mystery investigations.” Johnny wasn’t the “come up with a plan” guy. He was the “ball of fire and great hair” guy, and lately he’d only been the latter. Peter wasn’t going to go off the rails, and if he was tucked behind a screen with Oracle and Red Robin then it wasn’t like he was going to cause another scene. Johnny didn’t need to be there, and he definitely had no place in the ocean. That left the other thing. He was pretty sure in all the many many words that had been spoken, somebody had said a team would be going after the other NOVA detention centers. He wanted a spot. With a small shrug, he leaned back in his chair. “That’s all I got.”(edited)

SPEED: His first impression had been that everyone talks so much. it was almost enough for Tommy to try hiding under the table to sleep until it would be over. Although the only aspect that keeps him actually paying attention is the fact they’re talking about a topic familiar to him. His fingers grip onto the armrest of his chair as they vibrate just enough to disintegrate them into ash while everyone talks. You just might miss it if you weren’t paying attention but at least Tommy didn’t blow anything up.

He spent his entire childhood in and out of detention centers. It wasn’t until his powers came in that they slapped an inhibitor collar around his neck and threw him in a high security prison. He knows what if’s like to be treated like an animal and experimented on everyday.

“You should always plan on scum like that having inhibitor technology built into everything. They’re prepared even if it doesn’t appear like they are. It could be in every wall they build.” His voice finally fills the room as he leans forward, memories of his own torture playing on repeat in his mind. It doesn’t stop him from getting a word in though. He doesn’t have much else to add because Tommy knows they wouldn’t like hearing what he would like to do. If it were up to him every facility would be vaporized with the scientists with it.

BATGIRL: Stephanie had five cookies left, but none of them were chocolate chip, and suddenly that was the one she actually wanted. Her gaze darted over to the plate once or twice as she pondered whether or not it was worth calling attention to herself just for another cookie. Ultimately, the answer was yes.

But she was quick. It was just a coincidence that she got back to her seat just as it suddenly seemed to be her turn. Was she supposed to say something? Her gaze darted to Bruce, Tim, and Cass - in that order - but then she shrugged. "...Sounds good to me. Anything that's not circling the same city block twelve times in one night." Patrol was getting a little repetitive, even though she enjoyed making the embarrassing NOVA tweets and TikToks. The one trending right now was one showing an agent reaching for his weapon only to discover that it'd been replaced with a very large churro.

HUNTRESS: Helena knew this was serious talk, and she was taking it seriously, but she had never been one for good posture, or for being a leader, for that matter. She was more than comfortable listening to the plans form around her, her foot slung up on the edge of her seat, chin propped against her knee, messing with the hoop in her conch piercing. She was paying close attention, even if it didn't appear that way. It was a strategy she used often: if no one took her seriously or thought she wasn't paying attention, they'd let slip information they'd otherwise hide.

So she was prepared when the discussion rolled around and it seemed to be her turn to talk, and sat up straighter, dropping her hand from her ear. "I'm with Green Arrow. Give me a direction to point some arrows, and I'm good. If you need to keep someone in my ear for on-the-fly instructions, my only request is that it's Oracle, Blue Beetle, or Red Robin," she dropped a wink in their direction. She knew enough to know that they'd most likely describe her as the 'problem child' of the Birds and want to keep track of her so she didn't take things into her own hands if things started to go south."Beyond that, I just wanna take these fuckers down." She shrugged. "However you want to use me to do it, I'm willing to do. But uh... I do agree with Bat-chick over there," she nodded towards the redhead, "We need some contingency plans. Something tells me NOVA isn't gonna have just one line of defense." With that, she sat back again, hand moving almost subconsciously back to the earring, twisting it back and forth.

HAWKEYE: Kate had technically led people before. She didn’t love it. It hadn’t even actually been on purpose. Regardless, it had happened (somehow) and given her a newfound appreciation for what it was like to be at the head of the metaphorical (or in this case very big and literal) table. She could just sit there and take direction, but...

“I don’t mean to pop the power bubble or anything, but I’m pretty sure that we shouldn’t be relying on anybody’s extra abilities to get or find or detect anything. It’s you guys,” she made a vague gesture at a random assortment of her fellow League-ers who were more than just baseline human, “that they’re trying to get rid of. This is just a shot in the dark,” except it wasn’t really, “but I’m guessing that means it’s probably also you guys that they’re prepared for. If they’ve got a super secret lair under the ocean, we should probably count on getting in the old fashioned way. Isn’t that like, somebody’s job? Your job, probably?” The final remark was directed toward Tony Stark at the front, though it probably didn’t rest squarely on his shoulders.

SCARLET WITCH: Wanda sat listening for the most part. She wasn't passive, per se, but she certainly wasn't going to interrupt. However, she didn't particularly appreciate the insinuation that she and the others in this room--mutant, meta, or enhanced--were not capable of infiltrating without their abilities. "If I'm not mistaken, mutants are not useless even with the inhibitors. All of the Avengers have been trained to fight by Captain America. As I understand it, so have the X-Men by Cyclops. While it is wise not to rely solely on our powers, we don't know what NOVA will do. Regardless, I'm sure it will be taken into account that powers may be lost." It made her uncomfortable to be seated in the same room as the X-Men discussing the loss of powers, but it was what it was. She was who she was. "As it is, however, we shouldn't do nothing with them on the chance NOVA will see fit to remove them again. We should use what we have while we have it."

She didn't even entertain the notion of grouping with Magneto and frankly couldn't help the look she shot Lorna in spite of herself. Fortunately, Anna spoke before that and she kept her tongue. Whether their reasons were the same was hardly the point. What did matter was that they surely didn't think her father was the right fulcrum for these plans. Rather than commenting, however, she instead turned her attention to the newcomer. She was old world, much like Steve and Bucky, but what she said did make sense. "A failsafe, as it were," she agreed, nodding to Gladys. "It makes sense. If it can be pulled off quickly enough." She glanced to Tony on reflex. He was, after all, the tech genius she was most familiar with. As Tommy spoke, Wanda could sense his discomfort with the scientists. She felt her jaw tense. Of course her child was uneasy. Without a thought, one long-fingered hand reached out to catch her son's, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She wanted to provide a quiet strength for him, and a grounding one. After all, he was always poised to bounce off the walls. And when he was uncomfortable, she knew it would be worse. He'd want to run off the extra energy.

MARVEL GIRL: Prior to the initial start of the meeting, Jean had caught sight of some faces, familiar and unfamiliar. There was hardly any time for any mingling, as it was serious business. But still, she made the effort to ensure her son was sitting right next to her. She had reached over and patted the top of his hand, leaning down to kiss his cheek before taking her seat.

There had been quite the amount of opinions, both formidable and perhaps, a bit disconcerting. She exhaled quietly right after Wanda had finished speaking and she stood from her chair to address the crowd.

“I for one, agree with Wanda,” she said, gesturing her sentiments towards the woman, “Though I myself have been out of commission for quite some time, I wouldn’t dismiss the idea that us mutants can’t continue to fight back even with the Inhibitors in play.”

She turned her gaze briefly towards Scott. She had worked with him for many years as well as most of the X-Men in the room. Though he was not perfect, he was someone she admired and to know that he was putting in his efforts on behalf of the X-Men was worth praising. “Scott is a formidable leader. He is very capable of consolidating our strategies as well as an excellent negotiator. If need be, I would like to echo his sentiments on dispersing us to work in tandem with the rest of the League.

The young lady with the underwater devices does have a point about observing the currents of the water, provided it is confirmed they do have an underwater facility. It would be far too dangerous to go in there unless we know what exactly is in there. If it’s deep enough, they could be using the darkness of the water as a disguise to hide various traps and mines. Not to mention water currents can be as aggressive underneath than just on the surface. If that’s the case, perhaps if there is someone willing to scan the area by sonars, we needn’t worry about losing any additional numbers in our rankings. As for the various ground teams, I would take advantage of those who are able to easily detect things by smell, such as my colleague, Logan and his daughters, who have an enhanced sense of smell. Surely, even if certain chemicals didn’t have a particular smell on the surface, I’m sure it could still be detected. If not, if there are any samples of such Inhibitors obtained, I’d recommend anyone with a strong knowledge of chemistry observe the ingredients to see if they react to certain elements such as fire or magic.”

Her gaze flickered in Logan’s direction, pursing her lips. “But of course, that is all pre-planning as I wouldn’t want anyone to be put at risk in those stages alone. I think it’s important to find out exactly what we’re dealing with other than the threat of a potential underwater facility. NOVA surely has information on some of us and may be more than prepared and if we don’t have the contingency plan, things will surely turn sour.”

WOLVERINE: This wasn't the first time Logan had worked with the Avengers and he'd been much less reticent than the others to attend the meeting, despite not always being the most reliable team player. The so-called Justice League he didn't know much of anything about. He wasn't exactly eager to end up on a team with a bunch of strangers, but it wasn't his call to make. There were a lot of things he could say about Scott, was perfectly willing to say about Scott, even, but he was here because he believed in his leadership. That was the whole point.

Everyone was just talking so damn much.

Seated between Natasha and Gabby made it a little harder to show that annoyance. He'd met Gabby recently, it took adjusting to, but he was already letting himself get involved in her training. He didn't doubt she was fully capable of holding a position on the team, but he hadn't seen her in action, not like he'd seen Laura or Daken, and she was different. Even Laura he didn't completely want on the X-Force.

He watched Jean as she spoke, giving a slight nod, and realized suddenly it was time for him to say something. Instead he made a nondescript hand motion. "I like the cookies. Next."

BUCKY BARNES: “The odds of figuring out exactly what’s in there ahead of time are probably zilch,” Bucky pointed out. He wouldn’t be heading to that facility, regardless, as the recon team had been working for months to be ready to take down the remaining detention centers. They were as ready as they were going to be for that, though. It wasn’t the thing that needed discussing. “Nothing is ever that easy. But given what we know about NOVA, whatever they’ve got isn’t something any of us want them to keep having.” He shifted in his seat and lifted his left hand as he looked to the three up front. ”However you get in, just make sure you’re ready not to leave anything behind. That’s what you need to do the old fashioned way.” Besides, an underwater explosion, by nature, was more easily contained.

LOKI: Loki nodded at Bucky’s assessment. He didn’t particularly understand the issue with mutants versus non, and he wasn’t at all uncomfortable to be sitting in a room with both. He considered for a moment. He had been trying to find out more about the inhibitors, but it was a slow process. June headed that up and he could get too deep in her science because of how territorial she was. Still... if they had some time, perhaps Loki could get Jihl to talk to him about it. He had had dinner in her office a few times and he could tell she was warming to him even more. He could get information about the facility maybe, if not the actual inhibitors.

“I should hope that the Media isn’t corrupt any longer,” he remarked. Though he would have been able to tell if Lois was a liar. “As for what goes on with NOVA, many of us are aware. Is that not why we’re here?”

He looked over to Batman and Captain America. “Your inside man,” he pointed out, knowing it was prudent to keep his name out of people’s heads specifically but aware that they had discussed the concept itself in the past. “Could he or she not try to tease out some information on this facility?”

SIGNAL: This was the first chance he'd had to really see everyone together. The past couple weeks had just been weird. Duke didn't really know how to process everything yet. He gave a short clap at the end of Gladys' presentation, grinning at her, and leaned over to whisper, "good job." Even though he hadn't seen the finished product until now, he still knew how long and hard she'd worked on it. She was clearly proving to be a good asset to the team. He was glad Bruce had trusted him enough to give her that chance, even though that undoubtedly meant he had a file on her now. That had been the only reason he'd hesitated in getting her involved.

"I don't think anyone in here would be useless without their powers," he offered mildly. With Bruce's rigorous training, he knew he would be able to keep up with the others. His abilities were completely separate from that. Judging from how competent Steve and Scott had proved to be as leaders, he had no reason to think they wouldn't have trained their teams similarly, or at least prepared them for that possibility in light of recent events. "I think the point she was trying to make was that plans shouldn't have us rely on enhancements if there is a chance of them being taken away."

CABLE: War never changes.

Nathan learned that lesson a long time ago. He rose up against Lord Apocalypse once, a vicious dictator from two thousand years into the future. He doesn’t know how to feel about the likelihood of him trying to rise up into power again but that isn’t what this meeting is about. The point of these thoughts is that Nathan has led armies before —and worked alongside others to strategize the best plan of action to take.

He might not be a leader anymore but maybe some mannerisms never really leave you. His messiah complex still deeply embedded into his actions. However, Nathan just wants to try helping out not just his fellow Mutants but anyone they needs his help. He has always fought for everyone and it was important to come together now.

He felt honored to be part of the meeting but maybe being part of the X-Men and X-Force meant playing his part by offering his expertise. It makes Nathan happy to have guaranteed a chair next to his mother — sitting up straight while everyone is talking their piece. He was even taking notes and scribbling in his own ideas between the lines. His attention focused on every gesture and expression while everyone spoke. It finally comes down to his turn so Nathan does what he happens to do best — public speaking.

His chair is pushed back silently, only a slight squeak before Cable is on his feet. Everyone else might have spoken while sitting down but that’s never how he addressed his associates in an environment like this. One hand made of flesh and bone pressed against the table while the cybernetic one is on his hip.

“If any of our efforts are going to work we have to unite as one. Some of us have never worked with each other but we’re here to change that. We don’t have much time but what we can’t afford to do is rush in without a plan.“ His left eye glowing yellow while speaking as wisps of energy flow out of it. “While I’m always in favor of using our abilities to our advantage, I agree with the others that we have to put into consideration that NOVA will develop creative ways to prevent us from using them. We can’t rely on just that if we’re going to succeed but you’re all brilliant so I trust that you know this already.” He’s not always this serious but Nathan takes meetings like this seriously and always will. “If there’s a chance that we can make this world a better one for all of us then who would turn it down? We’re taking these facilities down either with our enhancements or without them.” Nathan could do both — he’s an expert marksman after all and also pretty good with a sword too.

Deep breath. “Nobody is useless without their powers but maybe that’s not what they’d expect out of us. I look forward to investigating as part of X-Force. We should keep in mind that communication and cooperation will be a must going forward. This is about freeing those people and reuniting children with their parents. I take it very personally when families are ripped apart, maybe more than most but this isn’t about my personal feelings right now when there’s so much at risk. We know what NOVA is capable of but we can’t eliminate the potential for the unexpected. It won’t be easy but taking down any threat is always going to have it’s challenges. If we work together I know that we can come out on top in the end. This won’t be without bumps and bruises along the way but I have faith in us.” He takes a moment to look around the room.

“That’s all I got unless anyone wants to hear my potential tactics after we’re done here.” Nathan slowly sits down in his chair and his eye stops glowing finally. His gaze looks at who was next with a nod of his head as if to signal that it was their turn.

STINGER: Though Cassie took in every word that people said, she was otherwise slightly occupied. She was suddenly keenly aware of Tommy's presence, wanted to go something when he spoke, but the helmet and Stinger costume meant he didn't know who she was. Well, what she was about to say was going to be a dead giveaway in combination with the (very clear, very purposeful) Wasp designs in her costume. Still, she'd keep her cool in this moment, and find him the moment they finished. "Those of us with tech or no powers may be able to get inside, but it's still risky. As long as I have the suit, the pym particles will keep working for me, and I should be able to get small enough to avoid security sensors." no doubt, since the bank, Cassie hadn't gone anywhere without her suit stored somewhere on her person, terrified of being caught powerless again. Still, the suggestion was gentle as she even began to find flaws in it after a moment. Her helmet turns to the head of the table instead, trying not to stare at Tommy.

BEAST BOY: Gar sat quietly, looking from person to person as they spoke. He wasn't even sure he should be here, really. He hadn't taken on any real hero role (animal rescues didn't count) since he left the Titans, so to be at the table with everyone here was... wild. Still, he can't dent the way his heart tugs towards the people lamenting what NOVA could really do. He knew he'd be among the first to be picked out himself, but too much violence in response wasn't the answer. They needed a plan, and he's go with it, but for now he sat quietly, awaiting to see what those he was used to following would say.

FLASH: Contrary to his normal demeanour, Wally had elected to keep his mouth shut unless absolutely necessary. Seeing all the unfamiliar faces sat around the table had made him painfully aware of how long he'd been out of the game, and how much their world had changed since he'd taken his sabbatical from hero work. The experience was giving him flashbacks to when he was first introduced to the Teen Titans: young and naive, suddenly seeing a whole new world that he was suddenly a part of. AS the presentation started he reached down and gave M'ann's hand a squeeze, glad that she'd saved him a seat. The comfort didn't manage to stop the nervous machine-gun tempo of his heart as the reality of the situation seeped in. He was here, in costume, with Barry, and Megs, and Bats. Swap out M'gann for Dick and it was almost like the old days. Including a really ostentatious, expensive and largely impractical secret facility for the bad guys.

He leaned forward on the table, resting his chin on steepled fingers in thought. "Barry's right, our powers really don't gel with water all that well. We're still pretty fast, but the heat build up we generate evaporates all the water around us. So not exactly subtle. Get us close enough however..." He shrugged, knowing full well how difficult that would be. But who knows, maybe there was someone here whose powers could get them to a wall of a facility that was god knows how deep beneath the ocean. "There's not a lot of things that we can't phase through, and we probably have enough brain cells between us to unlock the doors." He became aware that he was breaking his no-talking rule by a significant amount. "You know, if possible. Not saying we have to, just thinking out loud."

BATMAN: Everyone deserved a chance to speak. For that reason Bruce was silent, his gaze shifting to each person as they said their piece, and he didn't once move to interject. The suggestions for contingencies were acknowledged with a slight nod. He never did anything without thorough planning. That included back-up plans and back-up plans for those back-up plans. Even if he hadn't been a vigilante for as long as others at this table, he knew nothing ever went according to plan.

Once it came back around to him, he was quick to make one thing clear, even though he'd stated it in no uncertain terms at the very start of the meeting: "A plan is already in place." This was a league and he knew that meant collaboration, but responsibility fell on the leaders' shoulders when it was all said and done. "What Iceman has said is correct. We do not have weeks. There is no time to test and redesign shields that could effectively protect against the inhibitors. We do not even know if it can be done. As Bruce Banner said, this radiation is nothing like what we've seen before." Although others had suggested using their powers to find the inhibitors, it was Lorna he addressed. He knew she'd attacked the NOVA facility from a distance with Erik, but that was before the inhibitors had been upgraded. At that point they had only affected mutants. "You will not be able to use your powers. Even when the inhibitors are shut off, they give off enough radioactive energy to effectively cloak themselves to metahuman, mutant, or alien abilities. We will not be able to rely on enhancements, which is why I would encourage everyone to brush up on their training. That is why," he directed his next statement to Gladys, "your deflector technology will be helpful. Red Robin, Oracle, and Spider-Man will be on the comms. They make up the first team. There will be three more. We've split them based on your individual abilities and where you're best suited to help. The first team is charged with detecting and infiltrating the underwater facility. Superman, Iron Man, Dr. Banner, Blue Beetle, Moxie, Cyborg, Tempest, Flash." He looked at Wally to indicate which Flash. "Wiccan, Scarlet Witch, Nightstar, Wolverine, Gambit, Polaris, Cable, and Raptor. Red Robin will be on your team's comms and help direct you, along with Moxie's technology. The second team will be large. There are multiple facilities involved. From my understanding, Cyclops will further split you up. This group will include Supergirl, Speed, Human Torch, Iceman, Nightcrawler, Zatara, Flash." Barry this time. "Black Widow, Rogue, Stinger, Black Bat, Captain America, Sergeant Barnes, Cyclops, Ms. Frost, Huntress, Marvel Girl, and Honey Badger. Oracle will be with you on the comms." He sighed. "As you know, we are unable to leave the city vulnerable. The final team will remain here - prepared, willing, and able to respond to any location at any given time. I will be on that team, along with Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Batwoman, Loki, Batgirl, Signal, Black Canary, Hawkeye, and Beast Boy. Spider-Man will be assisting us on the comms. The city will need us to be visible in the case that something goes wrong."

CYCLOPS: “It’s not lost on us how much is at stake here,” Scott began, looking toward Bobby, Nathan, and the others who had accompanied him there. It was the kind of fight that they’d been intimate with for most of their lives, a ceaseless monster of a thing that grew a new head every time one was removed, but it was a fight they could never give up on. By extension, it was one he never stopped planning for. A major reason he’d allied them with the League was the expectation that they could not lean too heavily on the abilities that came naturally for them, and that no amount of training could entirely prepare for that. They needed other resources, technology, and just sheer numbers - all things that the League and its members could provide. “We have to go into this with the intention and plan to use everything available to us. When it comes to NOVA, consider any powers you have to be a liability, not an advantage, and in any situation where we might rely on them we’ll have a second option.” And given the way both Scott and Bruce thought, probably a third and fourth one, too.” “X-Force will be going with the first team to the underwater facility. All of you are in this room with the exception of Kid Omega, and the assignment will be relayed to him as necessary.” There were enough dissenting voices and disruptions without including Quentin when it wasn’t required. “For the facilities outside the city, we have every reason to believe they’re structured similarly to the one taken down a few months ago. That mission didn’t end as we expected,” thanks to Erik and Lorna, which he didn’t point out, “but it let us know what to expect inside. Three six person teams will infiltrate these bases, liberate the people that NOVA is holding captive within them, and render the buildings unusable. We are not there to take the lives of the agents. This is a non-lethal mission, and anyone unwilling to abide by that rule...” he lifted a hand toward the door, “remove yourself. We can’t allow anyone to jeopardize this operation, the lives of your teammates, or the freedom of NOVA’s prisoners because you’d rather exact justice a different way. Is this clear?” He continued on, willing to address opposing opinions once they’d covered the basics of what he meant to occur. “You’ll be given your team assignments once this meeting has adjourned, and in the short window of time between this and when we take action, we’ll spend most of it training. Many of you in this room don’t know one another and trust doesn’t always come easily, but we’re all going to have to find it. We have a way into these facilities that we expect to work, a way to skirt around the inhibitors and get one person inside each of them to shut the system down and give the other team members a window. This has to happen simultaneously, or close to it, at all three locations. We don’t want NOVA to have time to compensate or react, if we can help it, and to do that we have to give them as little warning as possible. Execution in the beginning has to be as flawless as we can make it.” And for the X-Men in the room, they’d know Scott’s standards for that were particularly high. “That means working together and doing your part, but believing in the rest of us to do ours, too. I know this may seem like a situation where there’s too many cooks in the kitchen, but if we move in tandem and follow the plans that are being laid out, we can win here. We all know what’s at stake if we don’t.”

“That said...with most of the X-Men out of District X, the people on the other side of the wall are counting heavily on the League members remaining in the city to keep NOVA in check. We have our own defenses in place, but it’s a responsibility I normally take on myself. I’m taking...an enormous leap of faith.”

He nodded toward Steve, then. “Captain America, Emma, and I will be heading out to these detention centers with you and training with you to do it. We plan to be there every step of the way. X-Force, you’ve been told who you’ll have on your side, and you’ll hear more from Iron Man how you’ll be getting into the facility. Your mission is less predictable. I have faith in you all to complete it.“

CAPTAIN AMERICA: A while back, I said that some of you could train with Wanda and Dick on how to figure things out without the use of your powers. My team has been specifically trained in hand to hand as well as with their powers and it's been invaluable in times like these." They didn't have time anymore to recommend training. He could only hope people had taken Dick and Wanda up on the offer that had been made at the first meeting. He wasn't sure how Scott trained his people, but he didn't ask right now. They had already placed emphasis on being sure to be ready to use them as a last resort.

He waited to see if anyone left on the non-lethal stipulation, hoping they didn't lose anyone. He was glad when his team and the X-Men proved them all right by not leaving before he continued on. "Avengers, we've done things like this before. You know how goes. Tony's got briefings on the detention facilities, like Scott said. With any luck and a lot of strategy, we'll be able to get in, do what we need to do, and get out without much fuss and this'll be a huge hit against NOVA. We can manage this kind of thing without bloodshed. I know we're capable of that."

He glanced to some of the people around the table before adding, "If you see anything while you're on this mission that could be useful in the future, I absolutely suggest you take note of it. Maps, plans, et cetera. That's not the main focus of the mission, but you'd be amazed what kinds of things you can run across." That had been how he had managed so many years ago to help take down HYDRA. Just one glance at a map when he was on a rescue mission for Bucky. It had been invaluable.

IRON MAN: It had taken an enormous amount of effort to sit there and wait until everyone finished talking. Tony had to force himself not to interrupt at least half a dozen times, particularly to explain the pointlessness of using abilities to locate devices that canceled out abilities, but even he recognized that not everyone in the room was up to date on the technology. It had undergone a massive enhancement once it was upgraded to include mutants. He managed to relax when that was explained, at least as much as he could relax with frayed patience. "The silver lining is that there's a lot of gray area between alive and dead, for those of you not morally reticent."

Nodding, he stole a quick glance around the table at those named to be in their group. A click of a button displayed a 3-D map of a NOVA facility that had been provided to him prior to the meeting. "All of their above ground facilities are laid out the exact same way. Guess NOVA doesn't budget for style. As Cyclops pointed out, my team, the one that's going underwater: we're at a disadvantage. I have a plan, but it'll be touch and go. We don't know that the layout will match this. We have to rely on constant and consistent communication with each other and, more importantly, Robin. Right? ...No. You're one of them though, I know that - wait, don't tell me." He snapped his fingers. "Red Robin. We'll go over the details later." Unlike the other team, they weren't fortunate enough to have actual 3D blueprints. Most of their information would be reliant on Gladys and Tim and what they would pull from their respective technologies. For Steve's sake, he was attempting to trust that everyone knew what they were doing - but seeing firsthand how the bat cult offered some comfort.

CYCLOPS: “You have your assignments,” Scott interjected after Tony. “Those of you heading to the detention centers, convene with me and I’ll split our teams. Use what little time we have wisely, find a way to trust the people you’re going in with. Whatever differences we’ve had, leave them at the door for now. We’ve got too many people counting on us.”

He glanced toward Steve and Bruce to see if they had any parting words, and for his part ended on a simple, “Good luck to all of us.”

CAPTAIN AMERICA: Steve nodded as Scott spoke, pleased by how well this had gone. "Remember that it takes teamwork for an undertaking like this one, but it's what we've been working towards for months now. This is the first step in finally getting these guys outta here. Familiarize yourselves with one another as much as you can. Trust that we'll have each other's backs." He shook his head. "The last thing we want is for a man to get left behind if we can help it, and we want to get the people suffering out of harm's way. But this is what we do best."

With a little playful grin, he added, "I'd say 'Avengers assemble', but we're so much bigger than that this time around. Just like this is so much bigger than any one team." He looked around at every face around the table before speaking up. "Heroes," he said in that authoritative tone, because that's what they were. First and foremost, beyond teams, beyond friendships, and their grievances of the past between one another. They were sworn to protect, to save those who could not save themselves. And perhaps there wasn't need for pomp and circumstance for them. So he spoke to them like a man speaking to his equals, fist curling in front of him to assert the point. "Let's get it done."

#starcevent #starcplotdrop #starcadmin #dc rp #marvel rp

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kumeko · 4 years

Photo

Title: some walls need to be torn down

A/N: For the @superbatexchange! Unfortunately, my giftee dropped out, but I had already finished my piece so this is now for the community in general. 😊 Hope you enjoy!

Summary: Bruce had never been good at letting down his walls, at letting others in. Even for Clark. Especially for Clark.

…

“How’s Friday?” Clark asked, flipping through his planner. Red circles, scribbled in appointments, and stickers decorate every month. His finger tapped on one of the few empty dates. “I’m technically on assignment, but I can always hop back for the night.”

“How old school of you.” Bruce pinched the planner between his fingers, dangling it in front of him. “You have a phone.”

“It’s easier when I can write it out.” Frowning, Clark swiped the planner back. He smoothened the page, clearing any wrinkles. Unfortunately, it didn’t do much good; there was a permanent crease where Bruce had gripped it too hard. “Damn. You’re lucky the year’s almost over.”

“Or what?” Bruce asked dryly, taking a sip from his coffee. He never understood Clark’s preferences for diners, but at least this one had a decent coffee. Leaning back on his seat, he observed the restaurant from their booth. The breakfast crowd was here, a strange mix of truckers and businessmen hurrying to work.

And of course, one journalist, who was still pouting over his agenda. Clark sighed mournfully. “Maybe I should tell Dick to pick on you.” He glared at Bruce grumpily, tapping on the Friday insistently with his pen. “So. Friday?”

Obliging, Bruce pulled out his phone and checked his own schedule. Friday, Friday, Friday—he had a single meeting in the morning, and the rest of the afternoon was clear. Thank goodness for Lucius Fox, he really knew how to minimize his “CEO and Playboy Bruce” appearances. “I should be fine.”

“Great.” Clark beamed, pure sunshine. “It’s a date.”

ii.

There was a familiar prick on his back, the sense that someone was watching him, and Batman pulled out his batarang. Tense, he crouched slightly. It couldn’t be another thug—he had cleared out most of Black Mask’s men from the warehouse. Whatever ones he hadn’t caught would be running away. Then who—

A cape swished behind him and he relaxed. Of course. Superman. Standing straight, Batman turned around. His own cape curled around his legs and he crossed his arms. “Superman.”

There was no responding smile, no exasperated sigh, and the hair on his neck stood up. Superman scanned the surroundings as he slowly floated down. His lips were a flat line, his tone distant. “I caught the runaways.”

“Then that clears up everything.” Feeling uneasy, Batman dropped his arms to his side and took a step forward. In the dark, it was hard to see Superman’s face, to see the ridges and planes he knew intimately. “Are you angry?”

Superman’s feet touched the ground with a quiet thud. Stiffly, he bit out. “Yes.”

It’d been a while since he’d seen him this angry, even longer since it’d been directed at him. “I couldn’t ignore—”

“I’m not asking you to ignore criminals or the bat signal or whatever case you’re on,” Superman growled, his jaw tight. “That’s what we do. But this isn’t the first time you’ve blown me off. Or the second or the third—you do this more often than we actually go on a date.”

Even though he knew Superman wouldn’t talk like this if there was anyone around, he instinctively checked their surroundings for any interlopers. Coolly, he answered, “It was a time sensitive matter.”

“They’re all time-sensitive matters. It always is,” Superman bit out bitterly, shaking his head. “But we’re not alone. Nightwing, Robin, Oracle, Batgirl—any of them could step in for a single night. They do it already for each other.”

He looked away, unable to refute the point. Feebly, he argued, “I had to handle this myself.”

“We can’t keep doing this,” Superman said, his voice oddly soft. He started to float again, slowly rising up to the hole he’d made in the warehouse ceiling. The moonlight hit his face and all Batman could see was the weariness on his face. “Even after all this time, you still won’t let me in. And I…I don’t know how much longer I can wait.”

iii.

That was not his ceiling. No, that wasn’t completely accurate. To be precise, it was more that something felt off about his ceiling. Like there was an extra dent in it or the paint was more chipped than it should have been. Even his bed felt strange, too soft to be his. Lying still on the bed, Bruce kept his breathing steady, listening for any intruders. There were no strange sounds or, even more worrying, the usual ones. By this point of day, Alfred would have had breakfast ready.

Quietly, he slipped off his bed, his feet landing on a layer of dust. Bruce stared at the hardwood floor, then at the tables and dressers around him. Everything was covered in a thick grey and he had a sinking feeling this wasn’t a prank by Dick or Stephanie. No, something was wrong here.

Without a second thought, he crept out of his bedroom. At the very least, his batcave should still be untouched and maybe he could find out something more there. The rest of the mansion was coated in dust, looking unused, and Bruce fought the urge to shiver. It looked abandoned. Forgotten. Even the old grandfather clock looked like it had seen better days. His fingers were sticky as he typed in the usual password and suddenly, a shrill alarm rang.

Immediately, he took a step backward, his body crouching as he scanned his living room. No one swooped out of the shadows, running to see who had broken in. He’d have to find a place to hide, to observe—

Glass twinkled behind him as a large object burst through the bay windows. Turning around, Bruce shielded his eyes as he took in the attack, a bright red and blue blur that hurtled at him. Wait, red and blue? He knew that colour, knew that ‘S’. “Clark?”

“Bruce?” Superman halted in front of him, his eyes wide in surprise. “You…you’re alive?”

Alive? Well, he had been right then. That wasn’t his ceiling.

iv.

“Here, have a cup of tea. You still like two milks, right?” Clark smiled awkwardly, setting down a fragile teacup on the coaster in front of Bruce. Dressed in overalls in his family farmhouse, Clark looked more like a farmer getting ready to milk a cow than a reporter chasing a news story. Then again, maybe that was the case here. The only thing to indicate that he wasn’t purely a country boy was the gold necklace that disappeared under his collar.

“Yes.” It seemed that at least he shared the same tastes as this world’s Bruce. Scanning the room, Bruce noted pictures of Ma and Pa Kent, of Conner and Kara Zor-el. It seemed this world wasn’t too different then. Except of course, one notable exception. “I take it I’m dead?”

“Uh…” Clark rubbed the back of his neck. His lanky frame was too big for the couch, his knees bent uncomfortably. The furniture here hadn’t changed at all from the last time Bruce had visited the Kents. “Yes.” He paused. “Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, is it?” Bruce asked, picking up the tea. He had always known he’d die from his duties. It didn’t make it easier to hear, even if it was just in a different universe. “You don’t need to apologize.”

“Yes but…” Clark frowned, running a hand through his shaggy hair. Now that Bruce was looking at it, it was peppered with white and grey hairs, a Clark that was much older than his. A Clark he might never get to see ordinarily. They’d never really confirmed if he’d age normally, if he’d live forever. “I’m sorry all the same.”

“Always with the saviour complex.”

Clark blinked, before breaking into a hearty guffaw. Not remember restraint (as usual), he wrapped an arm around Bruce’s back, squeezing him tight. “And you’re still a prissy cat.”

“Luckily for you, the league’s still active.” Puffing his chest proudly, he pointed at one of the more recent photos, showing him with grown-up Conner and Kara. Their costumes had changed, Kara’s more battle-oriented, Conner’s less casual, and they were all grinning as they stood in front of the Justice Hall. A newly rebuilt Justice Hall. “We’ll find out soon enough if it was magic or science that brought you here. Or something else entirely—I feel like we keep finding things that go beyond everything we know. Guess it’s one of nature’s miracles.”

Bruce didn’t want to think about how many times they must have built, destroyed, and rebuilt that place. The iterations of the league’s hall. “The new generation took over?”

“Yeah. Especially some of the kids from the Justice Society. Us old-timers are taking over what Jay and Alan started there.” Clark smiled fondly as he held up a photo of him surrounded by a gaggle of masked teens. Some were easy to pick out—Liam Harper, Wally’s kids—others less so.

And with the bittersweet tinge in Clark’s expression, Bruce knew better than to ask what had happened to Jay and Alan. “So even you retired?”

“Even I retired,” Clark chuckled. “Though I can’t help myself if something happens nearby.”

“No, that’s you.” Bruce scanned the other photos, the changes in his companions. Older Hal. A kingly Arthur. Diana, still going strong. And more, beyond that, and there was something reassuring about the idea that even after he was gone, the work still continued. To find a picture of Cassandra as Batman, of Dick and Damian still patrolling together, of Stephanie refusing to give up her purple abomination.

A picture of him and Clark, sitting awkwardly next to one another. Clark grinning brightly in the camera as he snapped the selfie, this world’s Bruce trying not to smile and failing miserably at it. Another, of Bruce with a pair of champagne glasses. More and more lined the wall, it was impossible not to see them now that he’d noticed the first one. They almost seemed to glow, dragging his eyes from one to the next. A first year anniversary. A surprise dinner. A relationship that was much further than anything Bruce had at home.

The pictures suddenly stopped and he stared at the last one, of them sitting by a river, watching the sunset. Did he die after that? Involuntarily, Bruce asked, “What happened?”

“To what?” Clark approached him from beyond and Bruce could hear as his breathing shallowed, as his breath hitched.

“Us,” Bruce answered bluntly, the only way he knew how.

“Oh.” Clark stepped back, sitting down on the couch once more. He interlaced his hands, resting his chin on his knuckles. “No wonder you felt so familiar.” He smiled sadly as he looked up at Bruce. “You’re also in love.”

“I wouldn’t use that word,” Bruce corrected reflexively.

“You don’t have to be so defensive.” Clark lowered his eyes. His foot scuffed the floor. “You’re only hurting your Clark, you know.”

“Like I hurt you?”

“No, like my Bruce hurt me.” Clark closed his eyes, curling into himself even more. Again, Bruce couldn’t see his face. Again, Bruce wished he could make out his expression. “Like I hurt him. He couldn’t open up and I was tired of trying and…and then he died, before anything happened. Before anything could happen. No apologies, no understanding, just nothing.”

Bruce stepped closer, his hand hovering over Clark’s back. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” Sitting up straight, Clark pulled out the chain around his neck. On the other end was a plain silver band. “I was going to propose, you know. Thought I’d finally surprise him for once. I wonder what he would have looked like.”

There was really only one answer to that. He squeezed Clark’s shoulder. “Happy.”

vi.

A woman stood in front of him, her hair black as night, and Bruce could have sworn it was Zatanna. Except, it was her granddaughter, and there was something both happy and sad about that knowledge. Catching his stare, she clicked her tongue and rapped his head. “Close your eyes. It’s bad enough you’ve seen what you have, can’t have you finding out more.”

“Your grandfather, was he—”

“No guesses either!” The woman growled.

Clark chuckled. “He’s probably right. He always is.”

“Yeah, but I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of confirming it.” The woman snorted indignantly. “Alternate world or not, we’re similar enough that we could be his future. And it’s dangerous to know the future.” She rested her palms on the side of his head. “Sometimes you can make it happen.”

Knowledge could prevent terrible futures, Bruce wanted to point out, but the magic in her hands washed over him, lulling him to sleep. He drowned in drowsiness, his eyes getting heavier and heavier, and the last thing he saw was Clark, was his wedding band on his finger. The silver glinted once, twice, and then all he saw was pitch black.

vii.

This was his ceiling. Bruce stared at the pock-marked ceiling, the burn mark from one of Damian’s surprise training sessions. His bed was the right level of firmness. There was no dust anywhere in the room and through the vents he could hear Alfred humming, the scent of coffee wafting in the air.

He was back. Immediately, he rolled over and picked up his cell, tapping the third speed-dial number. All Bruce would see was that Clark’s sad smile, the apology that lingered in the air unspoken.

And maybe that was their world’s future and maybe it was just a similar alternate world, but either way, he couldn’t let that happen here. Now.

“Clark? We need to talk.”

#batman #superman #superbat #bruce wayne #clark kent #bruce x clark #fanfic #the prompts kinda threw me off on this one a bit #but I think I managed a decent job of it

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huilian · 4 years

Text

with her sweetened breath

AO3 Characters: Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Stephanie Brown, Barbara Gordon, Cassandra Cain, Damian Wayne

Summary: With the threat of an airborne drug, the Batfamily has to fight against the clock to contain it.Or, I found a plot hole in a previous fic and decided to write 5k of words to remedy that, but instead created much, much more plot holes.

A/N: In Flameo, Batman! I wrote about how Oracle can only narrow possible locations to 5, which means that the kidnappers are actually good, but then I didn't deliver on the fight scene. So I decided to write this, and ends up with 5k of the batfam actually being detectives. This is written almost in a S.W.A.T. like style, because my dad is obsessed with that show and so I watch it too.title from Hozier, Angel of Small Death and the Codein Scene. I thought it's fitting, since this fic is about drugs. (This is Chapter 1, btw.)

“Hey, Red, is it important? I’m kind of in the middle of a stakeout.” As he says that, Dick sees movement from inside the house. He really cannot keep talking to Tim, not if he wants to get as much information from this stakeout as possible. But Tim rarely calls in the middle of patrol, so Dick is assuming that this is important.

“Oh. Not really. I just want to give you a heads-up about B’s kidnapping a few weeks ago. Turns out there’s more to it than just the kidnapping.”

Dick curses under his breath. He knows that that rescue attempt was too easy for an organization that managed to fool Oracle. “Okay. Do you need me there? I can wrap this up in a few minutes if you need me.”

“Nah, I think between Hood, BB, Batgirl, me, Robin, and Batman, we pretty much got it covered. Just keeping you in the loop.”

“Alright, Red.” If Tim says they can handle it, then they can handle it. Besides, Dick has his own cases to work through. “Thanks for the info. Call if you need help?”

“You’re welcome, N. And sure, I’ll call if we need help.”

“Nightwing! Get your ass here now!”

“Hood? Is something wrong?” It’s been a few days after Tim calls about Bruce’s kidnapping, but since there were no other calls about that, Dick assumes that they are handling it.

“Oracle’ll brief you on the way, she’s currently tied up in something else. Just get your ass here now,” Jason practically shouts to the comm.

“Is this about the kidnapping case?” Dick asks, just to be sure.

“Just get your ass here, Dickwing! We need you here yesterday!”

“Shit, is it that serious?” Dick grabs the keys to his bike from the table. It’s lucky that he’s staying in today, working on connecting leads to the murder case on Young Street. If he’s out on patrol, it would take much longer to get to the bike.

“Oracle’ll give you the full briefing in a couple minutes. I’m also currently in the middle of something…”

Two explosions, one after the other, come in from Jason’s end. It was loud enough to be heard over the comms.

“Hood, are those gunshots?”

“Like I said, I’m currently in the middle of something. Just go to Gotham, we’ll meet you at the Cave.”

“Be careful, Hood.”

“Yeah, yeah, see you there, ‘Wing.”

“Yeah.” Tim shrugs. “Their original plan was to distract us, GCPD, and basically the entire city with Bruce Wayne’s kidnapping. We found broadcasting equipment in the warehouse B was held in. But we rescued B fast enough that they couldn’t really use his kidnapping as a distraction, so now they have to find a new distraction.”

“And their new distraction is to blow up the bridge? Haven’t we been through this before?” Dick remembers another case that he works with Tim that involves blowing up the bridge. He is not looking forward to repeating that.

Tim grimaces. “You have to admit, blowing up the bridge is a pretty big distraction.”

It is a big distraction. Not that Dick is going to admit that now. “How do we know this again? And how did we miss that they are part of a larger group?” Dick turns to Babs, who hasn’t stopped typing into the Batcomputer since he got here.

“Since I am very rarely wrong, I found it suspicious that I found five hits to the possible location of B’s kidnapping, considering how easy you took them out.” That was Dick’s thought too, but he didn’t actually stick around long enough in Gotham after they ‘rescued’ Bruce that he got to say that to anyone. He could blame his abundance of cases in Blud, but he really should have said something. Thank god Babs also finds that odd. “I sent Steph to investigate the four ‘not-it’ warehouses. She found traces of this drug there. It’s a more potent version of fentanyl, almost up there with carfentanil. It has a similar composition to the bloodwork from an OD case a few months ago.”

“We thought it was just a guy experimenting with fentanyl and accidentally OD-ed himself, so we didn’t dig too much into it then,” Tim explains.

“I’m guessing that is not the case here.”

“No.” Tim sighs. “That guy was actually part of the group that kidnapped Bruce. He either stole some for himself and misjudged the dosage, or he was the guinea pig for this drug. We have no time to investigate his death now, not with this new drug threatening to spill on the streets tonight.”

“Tonight? What are they planning?” Dick came to Gotham prepared for any situation, so this information that he is going to have to act sooner rather than later comes as a confirmation rather than information, really. He’s been preparing himself for it as soon as Jason called him. But still, it would have been nice to have been called for something that’s not as immediate as tonight once in a while.

“They’re going to release this drug to the air. They have an airbender, which makes it so much easier for them,” Babs says. Airbender plus airborne drugs equals very bad news, especially with drugs as potent as carfentanil. It can cause hundreds of OD cases throughout the entire city. Is Gotham not already crazy enough for these people? “We think that they want to get the entire city hooked on this drug, then sell it to them at a very high price.”

“Damn. Tonight, you say? Is there why it’s only the three of us here?”

“Yeah. B’s with Cass and Damian coordinating with the GCPD on containment and evacuation.” Tim points to three dots, designated Batman, Robin, and Black Bat, on the GCPD building up on the map.

“Smart. Cass and Damian may be the only ones capable of containing this kind of scenario.”

“Steph and Jason are out on the docks, trying to scare some of the goons to giving up their boss’ location.” Tim points to another two dots. These two are actually moving pretty fast. Dick assumes that the two of them are chasing some goons.

“Wait,” Dick frowns, “we still don’t know their location?” That can’t be good.

“We figured out the locations of some of the caches they put to be released to the air, but we can’t guarantee that that’s all of them. And, considering the sizes of the warehouses that were used to store the drugs and the caches we’ve found, there’s still a significant amount of drugs missing. Those must be with the boss,” Babs says.

“Which is why I’m here with Babs, trying to track them down. Also, it seemed that this drug is flammable, so I thought it’s prudent to stay out of the field.”

Tim actually has remarkably good control over his fire and he can fight just fine without his bending, all of them could, but Dick currently does not have time to debate that. He files it in his mental note for a later date. “Okay, what do you need me to do?”

Babs and Tim look at each other. “A third pair of eyes won’t hurt,” Tim says.

“Don’t you think it’s better for him to be out on the streets? Hood and Batgirl haven't checked in yet, they might be in trouble.”

Right as Babs finished that sentence, the Cave’s speaker turns on. “Hood to the Cave, Hood to the Cave.”

“Speak of the devil,” Babs says.

Dick presses the mike button on the cave, then says, “Come in, Hood.”

“Oh, good, you’re here, ‘Wing. O, Red, we got several locations, but they’re all contradicting each other. I don’t know how useful this is going to be.”

“Any additional data is going to be useful, Hood. Where is it?” Babs opens a new window on the Batcomputer, ready to type in and analyze everything Jason is going to say.

“One said that he’s on Crime Alley, 31st Street. Another one said he’s camping near Arkham, just a few blocks from it. One said he’s on the grounds of Gotham U.”

“Fuck him very much for that, by the way. Who tries to release drugs on university grounds? Haven’t college students suffered enough?”

“Focus, Batgirl.”

“Right. Some of them said he’s on Robinsville, but some also said he’s on the Bowery, King’s Street. For all it’s worth, all of them seemed very sure about their answers, and they’re all also confused about why their fellow henchmen are giving out different answers.”

“How sure are they?” Tim asks.

“Sure enough that the firebenders are willing to get iced,” Jason says grimly.

“Damn.”

“Yep.”

“How come this guy is in five places at once?” Babs frowns at the screen. “Maybe these are just decoys?”

“No, I don’t think so, Babs. For a firebender to be willing to get iced, they must be super sure of themselves. Even I don’t want to get iced.” Tim shivers. Dick knows for a fact that Steph has once iced Tim, so Tim is speaking from memory at that one. Dick has been iced before too, but the experience is totally different for a firebender, what with their source of power being the fire inside and all. “Oh, that reminds me. Hood, please tell me you didn’t actually ice them.”

“Nah, Replacement.” Tim sighs in relief. “Blondie here did.”

“What!” Tim exclaims.

“Shut up, Hood! I can and will ice you too!”

“Try it, Blondie. I’m a waterbender too, remember?”

“Children, focus,” Babs says. “Let’s assume that this guy is in five places at once. How is he doing that? Meta powers? Spirit world connection? If he has a spirit world connection this case might just turn out to be worse than it already is.”

“Wait,” Dick says, tracing the five places Babs has highlighted on the map. “What if he’s not in five places at once?”

“Are we not acting on the assumption that the henchmen are giving accurate information?” Babs looks at him.

“It can be accurate without him being in five places at once, Babs. What if he’s just moving between these places so fast that when they check in to see where he is, they all get different answers?”

“Huh. That is certainly more plausible. But the speed in which he must have moved suggests that…”

“He’s an airbender. Only airbenders can move that fast. It tracks, though. We already know they have an airbender to release the drug. That airbender is just the boss.”

“If he’s the airbender, he can make sure that he inhaled none of the drugs himself. Oh!” Babs claps her hands. “That’s genius, Former Boy Wonder!”

“Hey, I’m a former boy wonder too!” Jason cries out.

“Same here!”

“I literally had the longest run as Robin, after N here,” Tim adds.

Babs sighs. “You guys really are children, aren’t you? Someone not me please tell Batman about this. I’m going to run an analysis on airbenders outside the League who’s in Gotham right now. There shouldn’t be too many of them.”

“Speaking of the League,” Dick turns to Tim, “are we sure it’s not them?”

“I don’t think so, ‘Wing. This is not their MO.”

“Yeah. Besides, neither Talia nor Ra’s have any interest in these kinds of drugs. I don’t think it’s them.”

If both Tim and Jason, their current resident expert on the League, say that it’s not the League, then Dick is inclined to believe them. They have spent a considerable amount of time with the League to not pick up on their tendencies. “Okay. Let’s rule out the League for now. Any hits yet, Babs?”

“No. There are still quite a few airbenders around, even discounting the League, you know?”

Dick nods. Even though most of the airbenders are present in the League, there are still several groups outside of the League who have their own airbenders. Not to mention the occasional airbenders who’re not affiliated with any of the groups but still managed to master their craft.

Then, the Cave is bathed in red light, with alarms sounding from all the speakers in the Cave.

Dick curses. “What’s that, Red?”

“It’s Bruce’s alarm. Whoever he is, he’s making his move now.”

“Alright, Hood, Batgirl, head over to B’s location now. I’m also moving out right now. Red, you coming?”

“No, I’ll look into containment options other than airbending from here. I’m not risking a city wide fire.”

Dick nods. He really needs to have that conversation with Tim about why he doesn’t want to go out to the field today, but that unfortunately has to wait. “Oracle, keep us posted. B’s in GCPD headquarters, yes?”

“That’s what his last location is. His tracker is down.”

“What about Robin’s? Or Black Bat’s?” Dick asks.

“They’re still at GCPD.”

“Okay. I’m heading to GCPD now. Hood, Batgirl?”

“Already on our way, ‘Wing!” Steph says.

“Good.” Dick mounts his bike and zooms out of the Cave door that either Tim or Babs must have opened for him. He tries to hail Bruce on the way to GCPD. “Nightwing to Batman, Nightwing to Batman, come in.”

Silence.

Dick tries again. “Nightwing to Batman, Nightwing to Batman, come in!”

The same as before, silence. The fact that both Batman’s tracker and his comm are down is very concerning, especially at nights like this, when Bruce knows he has to communicate with the entire family.

“Shit. Oracle, Batman’s not answering. When did his tracker go down?”

“His tracker went down right before he pinged the Cave,” Babs says. “Try hailing Robin. I’ll hail Black Bat. Maybe they know where Batman went.”

“‘Kay, O. Nightwing to Robin, Nightwing to Robin.”

Static. At least it’s not silence, which meant that Robin still has his comms, he just can’t reach it to answer. That’s marginally better. Still not reassuring, though.

“Oracle, I’m getting static from Robin’s com.”

“I’m getting the same thing from Black Bat’s com. Maybe they are in the middle of containing the drugs? That would make them unable to answer the coms.”

Dick wills his bike to go even faster, even as he’s already riding at breakneck speed. “Maybe, O. Let’s hope it’s not something worse.”

#dc #dick grayson #tim drake #jason todd #barbara gordon #damian wayne #cassandra cain #stephanie brown #fic #lian writes

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justbitthedust · 5 years

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Never Too Late [Chpt. 2]

A/N: So over on my poll, people voted for me to get the next chapter for this and Welcome To Gotham out before I posted the 1k+ Celebration fics, so I worked on this update, then comes WTG Chpt. 3, then comes the 1k+ Celebration fics!

I hope this was worth the wait!

Warnings: Jason’s mouth.

Pairings: None.

Jason stretched, popping his back, and shook his arms out after. Patrol tonight had been mercifully slow after that major gang bust two nights ago, and he was content with enjoying the calm before the proverbial storm started back up again. The entire patrol had been peacefully silent, his comm muted, save the Bat chatter in his ear. As far as he knew Barbara was off on a vacation with the Birds, which was why she hadn’t kicked him off the frequency. She, to put it mildly, was not a remote fan of Jason’s. He didn’t care. It wasn’t a loss; Barbara had made her dislike for him known even when he’d been Robin. Yeah, it’d hurt back then, but at this point he was used to it. They’d never really had any sort of relationship—as friends or otherwise—so nothing was really lost.

He yawned, shifting to stand as he started contemplating whether or not he could make a quick stop by that Thai place by his safehouse when a certain bird’s chatter was addressed to him. Jason groaned, his head leaning backwards. In his ear, the bird wouldn’t shut up, even with the lack of response.

“Hooooood. Red Hood. Heyyyy, Little Wiiiing. C’mon, Hood, we know you’re probably there. Maybe. There’s the chance.”

Jason didn’t answer. Instead, he stubbornly shook his head—though nobody could see it—and marched off for the Thai place.

In complete honesty, he was in a good mood because of the slow patrol. So he was thinking about answering even as he heard another, smaller, bird chirp back at the older one angrily. Then a certain bat got into it, and his ears processed it as a bunch of screeching, chirping, and growls that were starting to give him a headache.

Suddenly, he realized that there was another little bird who hadn’t make a peep the entire patrol, and he wanted to hit himself with something. How hadn’t he noticed sooner? It’d been a slow night—nothing to distract his mind, except for thoughts about turning it in early.

…okay he was trying to think, right now, and the noises in his ear weren’t fucking helping, at all.

Before he could think about the decision he was about to make, Jason turned his comm on.

“Can you guys shut up for one fucking minute? I can’t hear myself think!”

Fuck.

“LITTLE WING! I knew you were there! See, Robin?”

“You have only proven that Red Hood is someone who cannot be trusted to keep to his own business without Oracle forcing him to do so.”

Jason snorted. “Fuck you, half-pint.”

“Language, Hood.”

“English, thanks no thanks you ugly-ass furry.”

He was surprised when Dick didn’t try to comment on the profanities and instead asked if he was done with patrol yet.

A brow raising—that literally nobody would have or did notice—Jason answered skeptically.

“Yeah… Why? What’re you going to ask me for?” He scoffed. “If you want to know my kill count for the day, it’s a whopping zero, same as it’s been every day for three months straight.”

He was trying, okay?

“No, no! I wasn’t saying anything like that—I wanted to know if you could check up on the other Red for us. He couldn’t patrol today because he pulled a muscle in his shoulder pretty bad two days ago. He’s been pretty upset about it, actually, because B won’t let him work on any of his cases.”

“What did you want me to do, let him use his shoulder maneuvering the machinery?”

“Yes, father, for then he would have further delayed his recovery and we would be spared his irritating and unnecessary presence at least whilst on patrol. I find it a satisfactory choice of yours to allow him to spend the duration of his recovery in his own apartment.”

“Robin…”

Dick’s sigh carried surprisingly well and Jason grinned a little. Little brat was really wearing on the all-patient Grayson, huh? Not his problem.

“So,” he interrupted before any of the others could start an argument or lecture, “you want me to make sure the baby bird isn’t messing with his injury and doing work.”

“That is a gross simplification.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Shut up, bat-brat.”

“Yeah, basically!” Dick abruptly piped in before Damian could start cursing Jason out. “Would you mind?”

Pretending to think long and hard about it, Jason waited about three minutes before shrugging. He’d made up his mind when he noticed Tim wasn’t on patrol. He figured the annoying urge to make sure the kid was okay was just something left over from last month when he’d let Dick crash at his place and actually fucking rest for once in his damn life.

Jason always heard them prattling on about getting proper rest and taking good care of their bodies to Tim, but they’re all hypocrites. Bruce didn’t sleep; Jason was convinced of that now. Bruce had been Batman so long that he’d actually become a vampire, like the idiot thugs always whispered about whenever Halloween rolled around. Dick had the tendency to overwork and stress himself and his body. He always took on more than any human being could handle and was ridiculously hard on himself if he didn’t accomplish them all perfectly. It was annoying.

For them to go and tell Tim off about not getting enough sleep was such bullshit from them. At least Jason took better care of himself than they did—hell, Damian probably did too.

“I’ll do the solid, but you owe me one.”

“Awesome! Thanks, Hood!”

He’d been just about to crack a sarcastic response when Bruce spoke up and made his thoughts—and body, which was already heading in the general direction Tim’s apartment was—screech to a sudden halt, making him trip and nearly fall.

“…thank you, Red Hood. I appreciate it.”

Damian’s immediate squawk of alarm and cry of “Father!?” registered through the sudden rush in Jason’s head and he blinked twice before clearing his throat, yanking his thoughts back by the scruff of their proverbial necks, and replying.

“I, uh. No problem B.” Quickly he tacked on, “I’m not doing it for you, though.”

Then he was shaking his head—the sarcastic comment of that was traumatic popping into mind—and resuming his quest for Tim’s surprisingly comfortable apartment, muting his mic again as the birds started talking.

Getting to Tim’s apartment was pretty quick. Jason was crouched by a pretty big window—really Tim? Human-sized windows for an apartment in Gotham?—as he contemplated either knocking on the window or just cutting all the alarms and helping himself inside.

“Fuck it,” he mumbled as he started pulling out his stuff. Disarming security measures it was.

Tim was ridiculously paranoid or something. It took Jason five minutes to get everything, and even then he couldn’t rely on the scanner in his helmet because Tim knew about those, so he had to find the rest by eyeballing it and asking the classic, ‘If I were Tim’ question.

Only when he was sure the measures were all disabled did Jason crack the window a little and promptly exhale in relief when no lasers appeared to detach his hands from his body. What? Jason didn’t know what the things he’d taken apart did, he knew how to keep them from doing those things.

“Yo, Timbit!”

Jason looked around once he was inside, having removed the helmet, and a scowl etched onto his face when he flicked the lights on. God, the kid lived like his home was a garbage disposal. It was disgusting. Alfred would have a heart attack…

Where even was Tim? The place was moderately-sized and Jason knew for a fact that his voice carried well.

“Tiiim. Timber. Timmy. Timothy. Timmy bird. Timberly. Kid. Timothy Jackson Drake. Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne. Young emancipated adult who lives in bio-hazardous waste.”

Nothing.

Jason’s scowl deepened as he started walking to the bedroom, the only place where Tim had better be fucking sleeping, because if he wasn’t, there would be consequences. Jason would snitch to Dick who would immediately dive into panicky mother-hen mode and not leave Tim alone for more than a minute. No way was Jason above that. If he found out Tim was still doing work while he should be recovering…

Alfred was always an option, too, but Jason would pick up a little—a lot—to prevent any premature death by aneurysm.

Gently opening the door, Jason poked his head inside the room and waited for his eyes to adjust to the low lighting. There was a small lamp on the nightstand beside the bed, the warm orange-y glow softening the room, and it helped Jason make out a sleeping figure on the bed.

Eyes narrowing in suspicion, because he knew about the pillow and wig tricks—had pulled it once or twice with Bruce—Jason walked over silently, crouching beside the messy mop of hair and tilting his head a little as he shifted some of the hair. Tim’s sleeping face came into sight and Jason calmed down, satisfied.

He stood, gently carding a hand through his little brother’s hair on some weird instinct, and didn’t have to make sure Tim was sleeping on the good arm. If he were on the bad arm, there wouldn’t be a bulge where his shoulder was poking visibly from under the blanket.

Silent as he’d been when he’d entered, and feeling a little bad for being so loud calling Tim’s name, Jason moved to exit the room.

Or, well, he tired to make himself get out, because all the trash and clothes everywhere was seriously bothering him. Did Tim not know how to do laundry or maneuver a broom? Christ.

With a deep and silent sigh, Jason gave up controlling his urge to at least pick up, and bent down to start collecting clothes in his arms. Once he’d gotten it all and dumped it in a pile on the floor of the main room—after he’d cleared a space to dump it in—Jason hunted down a broom and dustpan to set to work sweeping Tim’s room up. He ended out taking a trash bag into the room too, because he had no idea what the hell half of the rancid-smelling stuff in the room was, and opted to just dump it in the bag and toss it out with everything else.

There were no words to describe how Jason felt once Tim’s room was clean. He still had to wash the sheets and stuff, but Tim was using them and Jason didn’t want to wake the kid. Instead, he took out his phone, checked the time, then texted Dick.

Game-over: Tim’s asleep.

Game-over: His laptop and stuff is still in the main room, but it doesn’t look like he’s used it.

Game-over: Did you know he lived messier than you?

Messages sent, Jason sighed and went to go clean the rest of Tim’s apartment. It was something he could do to help, and he was already thinking about helping the teen out on some of his casework. Jason really doubted he’d be getting any sleep tonight, as he finished filling a second black bag of trash and moved on to the third.

His phone buzzed and Jason checked the notifications.

Dickaster: He is?! You didn’t do anything to his drink or something?!

Jason scoffed.

Game-over: Fuck you. No I didn’t drug him. He was passed out when I got here.

Dickaster: wow.

Dickaster: Thanks for checking up on him, Jason.

Game-over: Just remember you owe me.

Dickaster: ;)

Conversation ended, Jason turned some music on quietly and went back to cleaning.

Three hours later it was four in the morning and Jason was finishing up, wiping down the last dish, because dishwashers were just a waste of water and time since they never really cleaned the dishes their entire purpose was to clean. Jason would die before he used a dishwasher.

Yawning when he’d put the plate on the drying rack, he stretched a little and sighed, plopping down on the recently-cleaned couch.

Propping his head up on his fist, and resting his elbow on the arm rest, Jason closed his eyes. He’d sit, just for a little.

Fuck. He’d earned the damn rest.

Jason woke up with a jolt, shooting up and off the couch before he got his bearings.

Where the fuck am I and why am I here?

His head whipped around and he calmed when re recognized Tim’s recently-cleaned apartment. Huh. Jason had forgotten about that.

Lifting a hand to rub at his eyes, Jason’s hand touched the domino instead and he groaned. Damn it, he’d slept with it on. Taking the fucking domino off now would be a bitch.

As he walked to the kitchen to make some breakfast, Jason didn’t think about the possibility of Tim not having anything inside of his refrigerator except for milk and—are those fucking goldfish.

He stood there, looking into the fridge, stunned, for about five minutes before he was grabbing an over-sized jacket that was probably Dick’s from the clothes he’d folded and washed, throwing it on over his armor to hide the red bat, and walking to the nearest supermarket to do groceries.

Were they going to need to hire a caretaker for Tim? The kid couldn’t seem to be able to take care of himself for shit.

The grocery run was quick and Jason regretted not swiping Tim’s car keys as he made his way back to the kid’s apartment with bags both dangling from and in his arms, as he also plotted.

Maybe they could get that Fox girl—the fuck was her name again? Sam? Pam? Tam? Tam. Tam sounded right—to at least check up on his little brother. Tim had told him about her, and Jason had sensed feelings that went past ‘just friends’. It would be good for him.

Once he was back at the apartment, Jason dialed Dick’s number—it was only six in the morning and Dick had probably gone to sleep around three, but three hours was fine since Jason knew Dick would go right back to sleep after the call—and waited for his older brother to answer as he started putting groceries away.

“H’llo?”

Yep. Dick was just waking up.

Pausing to word it just so it would spark Dick’s curiosity, Jason said, “Wake the fuck up, Dickface. I need to scheme with you,” and waited for it to work.

It worked.

“Scheme? What kind of scheme, and what are we scheming about?”

Grinning, Jason explained his master plan to help Tim get both his shit together and the girl. Dick laughed by the end of it, and agreed to help, saying he’d talk to Bruce about it later in the day. The call ended with Jason wondering what the fuck he was doing setting Tim up and making him breakfast.

What. The. Fuck.

His time to wonder where it all started turning into this ran out when he heard sounds from the bedroom. Jason quickly served up a plate, filled two cups of coffee from the pot he’d started, and slipped out the apartment from where he’d entered.

The alarms and traps were re-enabled faster than they’d been disarmed and Jason was gone by the time Tim made it to his kitchen.

Tags: @mizmahlia @boosyboo9206 @an-all-write-life @lovelywally-deactivated20181210 @avengerdragoness @crazyfreckledginger @red-balistic @solis200213 @emmadevr @tomscaprisun @whambamthanksbatfam @queen-fighter @jaybird-rednerd @shirokokuro @aaren-27 @osejn

#nxttime writes #my writing #my fanfiction #my work #fanfiction #Jason Todd #Red Hood #Tim Drake #Red Robin #Batbro bonding

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camsthisky · 7 years

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Masterlist of Cam’s DC fics

aka the only fics of mine that really matter to me rn

One Shots

Here lies Jason Todd Words: 607 Summary: From a prompt meme on tumblr #17: "Oh, just digging myself a nice grave, you?” with Dick and Jason.

Irrational Words: 1,035 Summary: Tim’s too curious for his own good, because he’s behind Dick now, reading the text over Dick’s shoulder while he sips his coffee. Dick watches as Tim’s eyebrows shoot up.

“Wow,” Tim says when he finishes. “That sounds like loads of fun. Good luck.” Dick groans. “This is the worst.”

Tim gives him an incredulous look. “Right. Because getting asked to babysit as a last resort is definitely worse than everything we’ve been through in the past year.”

the unshakable mountains we blew to pieces Words: 3,284 Summary: "What had happened tonight had shaken them all to the core. It was a blow straight to the heart. It worked so well. They hadn’t seen it coming. Even Dick hadn’t seen it coming, and Tim knew from experience that Dick prepared for the worst."Missing scenes from S2 ep 9: Darkest

I’m Here for a Pick Up Words: 2,948 Summary: Tim has the unfortunate task of picking Dick Grayson up from the police station while Damian tags along when Bruce is out of town. It doesn't turn out exactly as he thought it would, and honestly, he might just be okay with that.

Not My Fault You Didn’t Check the Calendar Words: 896 Summary: It's Mandatory Family Day and Dick just wants everyone to pick something to do. It'd be nice if Jason didn't try to run away, too. Day 1 of batfam week

Jason-Level Ridiculous Words: 694 Summary: 27. “The washing machine broke, I almost lost my keys, the car got dented, and a wasp got into the house and hijacked the bedroom for four day! Four. Days.” With Jason and Tim

Good Siblings are Hard to Come by Words: 1,146 Summary: In which Cass and Damian are good siblings, even when they're wasting valuable time that could be spent saving Bruce's life. Day 3 of batfam week

I Want Us to be Batman and Robin Forever Words: 1,511 Summary: While cleaning the attic, Bruce finds a letter written by a ten-year-old Dick, and Dick ends up thinking about the consequences of becoming Robin all those years ago. Day 5 of batfam week

Bad Nights Words: 3,169 Summary: When a rough night gets to be too much, and he doesn't want to go home, Dick decides to crash at the nearest safe house in order to treat his injuries and get his head on straight. Of course it's just his luck that there's already a little brother there. And it looks like his bad night is about to get worse. Day 4 of batfam week

There is No One Stronger Words: 825 Summary: 58. “I’ve been in love with you my entire life. Ever since the day I first met you.” Dick and Babs!! Takes place the morning after Bad Nights.

Dare to Jump Words: 1,990 Summary: "Tim and Dick had gotten caught unawares (drugged) in that alleyway three hours ago, and it was only about two in the morning now. As they were brought in from a few underground tunnels, Bruce wouldn’t be looking for them anytime soon, and since Oracle wasn’t on comms tonight, he probably wouldn’t know they were gone until someone else reported them missing. Just make it to the roof, Dick thought to himself. Make it to the roof and Bruce would know that they were there." or "Do you think I can make that jump?" with Dick and Tim

Aliens Words: 502 Summary: From a prompt on tumblr. "Do you think somewhere out there, there are aliens?" with Tim and Conner

Splash of Pink Words: 674 Summary: Dick wakes up to chaos, which is normal. What isn't normal is that Damian is sleeping in his bed and his other siblings are Up To Something.

Break Me Down and Build Me Up Words: 7,104 Summary: What if Robin: Year One took place in the Young Justice world? A story how Robin and Kid Flash first meet.

A Couple of Bullets Won’t Get Me Down Words: 1,414 Summary: While answering Tim's distress call, Dick gets hurt, and Damian freaks out a little.

(But You Just Might) Words: 826 Summary: Damian's POV of A Couple of Bullets Won't Get Me Down

Step Out of the Dark Words: 1,020 Summary: “Sometimes I talk to him, and it’s like I’m talking to a wall,” Dick admits. “I don’t know what happened. I used to be good at understanding him, but now it’s like he’s pushing me away. He barely even looks at me.” In which Dick Grayson isn't Robin anymore and Wally West is a good friend.

To Be Better Words: 1,201 Summary: In which Damian has to choose between Dick and Talia and finds that it really isn't a choice.

Looking for a Laugh Words: 959 Summary: Dick was laughing so hard he was crying. Literal tears were streaming down his face. “I think this is the best day of my life,” he choked.

Tim shook his head and moaned, “Just make it stop.”

“Never,” Steph said. “I want to savor every single second.”

In which Tim was an awkward teenager who made video diaries and the batfamily gets a laugh.

Home to You Words: 922 Summary: “He almost doesn’t make it in time.

Or maybe he doesn’t make it in time. Because when he drops through the skylight and takes out the two thugs standing over his son, Dick doesn’t move. And when Bruce finishes with the men, he’s crashing down on his knees next to Dick, praying, wishing, hoping that everything’s okay. That Dick’s not—

He’s not. He’s not. Dick’s chest is expanding and deflating, if only ever so slightly, and when Bruce checks, there’s a pulse. The odd thing, though, is that Dick’s eyes are wide open, staring sightlessly into the middle-distance, and Bruce realizes that wherever Dick is right now, it isn’t here."

Or: Bruce just wants Dick to come back to him.

Judge and Juror Words: 6,617 Summary: Anonymous asked: I was just wondering if you would like to write a story set during bvs and how Nightwing could be involved there?

Without a Mask Words: 2,376 Summary: In which Dick is kidnapped for the very first time and Bruce swears he’s going to have a heart attack.

Maybe This Time Will Be Different Words: 1,722 (2/2) Summary: Dick has his hands planted against the tiles in front of him, his head hanging low as th water runs over him. The Nightwing suit is unzipped down to his waist, and Dick’s panting for breath, his chest heaving. Bruce is at his side in an instant.

Where’s Grayson? Words: 638 Summary: isi7140 asked “Where’s Grayson?” (after Damian’s resurrection) or Damian comes back to life only to find that Richard Grayson has died.

I’ve Already Come Undone Words: 7,118 Summary: He doesn’t notice it at first. He’s too happy. He’s back. For good, now. Damian’s alive, and talking to him. Jason and Tim are mad at him for a little while, but they both start talking to him soon enough, too. Cass gives him smiles and hugs, and she lets him kiss her cheek occasionally. So, yeah. He’s too caught up in his family to notice what’s happening at first. In which Dick's trauma catches up to him before he's ready.

Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep Words: 1,367 Summary: Dick's just had brain surgery and Bruce is alive. It’s everything that Dick had hoped for.

Up High Words: 641 Summary: “Grayson, what are you doing up here?”

Dick shrugs, a sad smile pulling at his lips. He’d stopped asking that when his feet first started to take him up here years ago. “I like the view.”

Damian hesitates, obviously uncertain how to continue. “Father’s looking for you,” Damian says after a quiet minute or two. “He sent me to find you.”

We Were Built to Fall Apart Words: 1,213 (2/2) Summary: Dick is hurt, tired, and ready to let go. Bruce doesn't seem to be ready to let him.

Not Too Late Words: 438 Summary: AU where Bruce actually makes it on time to save Jason

Ice Packs and Big Brothers Words: 1,355 Summary: In which Jason is actually a good big brother, even if he doesn't care for his siblings in the most conventional way.

A War Inside My Head Words: 4,642 Summary: Dick is tired and sick and his family takes care of him.

Survival Words: 548 Summary: Where Bruce and Dick don't physically fight about Dick faking his death, but Bruce still makes Dick go undercover anyways.

There is No Trust Words: 649 Summary: “It's been a long time since Dick's had a reaction to fear toxin like this. Where his hands shake and his breaths come in pants, and he just can't seem to focus. Bruce had administered the antidote on patrol, Dick thinks. At least, he remembers Bruce giving it to him, but he's not sure how much he can trust those memories right now.

The main thing, the thing Dick knows for sure, is that this is fear toxin that's coursing through his veins, and it's making him see things straight from his nightmares.”

Hope Rises Like a Phoenix Words: 1,939 Summary: “Bruce doesn’t say anything when the tears prick at his eyes and he has to bury his face into his father figure’s chest. The day his parents fell. The day that had changed everything. Even so many years later, he can’t figure out why it still hurts so much. And why it’s always really only today that’s the worst?”

Everything and Nothing Words: 922 Summary: Damian has a hard time dealing with Dick's death. Luckily, Tim's there to help him through it.

No Response Words: 1,765 Summary: Dick won't answer the door, so Jason improvises.

It Only Takes Two Fingers if We Lift Together Words: 3,338 Summary: Tim wishes that he'd realized Dick was so stressed out sooner. Maybe he could have helped more.

Displaced Words: 2,051 Summary: “Bruce’s vision wavers, and only once he steadies himself does he look up to find—Dick. But not Dick. Because Dick is eleven years old, and this man is clearly only a few years younger than Bruce himself is. If that. But no. Bruce would know those bright blue eyes anywhere. This is Dick. This is his son.” or Bruce accidentally time travels

Elephants Words: 1,401 Summary: "He remembered coming here with Bruce when he was a kid. He’d ached for the circus, for Zitka, and the zoo elephants had been the closest he could get. It had been nice, something he and Bruce liked doing together, and they’d made it a tradition to go once a month. At least, up until they’d starting majorly fighting. Then he and Bruce had gone their separate ways, and Dick had ached for months."

Grip, Strength, and Focus Words: 661 Summary: Dick is the only one in the way between Bruce living or falling to his death. He's not going to let someone he loves fall. Not again.

How Happy the Home Words: 927 Summary: "When Jason climbs in through the window to his apartment, the one thing he does not expect to see is Dick lying on his couch." or Dick is a mess and Jason helps his brother out.

Man Dies of Cold, Not Darkness Words: 1,411 Summary: "Dick’s been coming home from school to an almost empty manor for four days and they’ve been leaving later and later for patrol because Bruce has been absorbed in some case he won’t let Dick take a look at. Dick’s been eating alone while Alfred watches him with sad eyes, and Dick hates it."

What Have We Become? Words: 879 Summary: "He feels cursed. At moments like this, when he’s at his lowest, when he’s mourning the people that keep falling around him again and again, Dick feels like maybe the world should just leave him alone. Leave him to suffer alone and away from people he can hurt.And who can hurt him."

Of Quiet Birds in Circled Flight Words: 1,093 Summary: Richard Grayson may have just been shot in the back of the head, but Damian refuses to believe that Batman will die. He doesn't care what his father thinks. Richard will make it.

Keep the Lights On Words: 752 Summary: Missing Scene mentioned in Nightwing #29 that was not written. I was disappointed and emotional so I wrote it instead.

Glitter Words: 503 Summary: In which Dick does Barbara's makeup for the school dance

The Sun is Warm (and Bruce is Happy) Words: 328 Summary: In which my followers don't believe I can write fluff and dare me to write at least three sentences

Involve Me and I Learn Words: 1,160 Summary: Damian finds an abandoned litter of kittens and Dick hates that he can't tell Damian yes.

Breathe Disaster Words: 1,561 Summary: Dick's been shot, Wally feels guilty, and Cassandra sheds some insight on why Dick fights.

Never, Forever Words: 898 Summary: Tim finds Damian in front of the Nightwing memorial, crying. He does what he thinks Dick would do: be a brother.

An Old and Faded Wish Words: 507 Summary: “Dick?” Bruce groans, and Tim lifts his head to look at him.

“No,” Tim says, his voice soft. “No, it’s Tim, remember?”

Bruce stares up at him blankly from the cot. “Where’s Dick?”

Tim swallows. This is not what he’d been expecting when Clark had called for someone to pick Bruce up from the watchtower. “He’s not here.”

From Far Across a Yellow Field Words: 2,028 Summary: “You wanna talk about it?”

“Not really,” Dick says, and Wally notices that he hasn’t quite met Wally’s gaze this entire time. Not a good sign, all things considering. “I just don’t want to go home tonight.”

“Well,” Wally says, a small grin pulling his own lips up, “how about we grab that ice cream and then we hit that field. You know, the one we camped in that one time?”

“Yeah.” Dick lets out a soft sigh. “Yeah, let’s do that.”

That’s How This Works Words: 1,119 Summary: Damian's made a mistake. A fatal mistake. or Damian's hit by fear toxin, and Cass and Dick are there for him.

Let Us Be Brave Words: 399 Summary: Dick feels the weight of the world on his shoulders with Bruce gone.

Beat the Impossible Words: 771 Summary: Dick and Tim talk after Dick comes home from Spyral.

Fair and Square Words: 1,674 Summary: In which Wally is bored, Artemis is savage, Clark is exasperated, and Dick just wants to kick some ass.

Maximum Fun Words: 954 Summary: Dick teaches Bruce the finer points of leaf jumping.

Let Us Be Brave Words: 399 Summary: Dick feels the weight of the world on his shoulders with Bruce gone.

Beat the Impossible Words: 771 Summary: Dick and Tim talk after Dick comes home from Spyral.

Fair and Square Words: 1,674 Summary: In which Wally is bored, Artemis is savage, Clark is exasperated, and Dick just wants to kick some ass.

Life’s But a Walking Shadow Words: 1,902 Summary: The puzzle pieces aren’t fitting. Dick doesn’t know what’s happening. But one thing that he does know is that he has to get to Bruce. He has to.

Never Completely At Home Again Words: 895 Summary: The shower’s been running for thirty minutes, and the longer it stays on, the more Bruce thinks that maybe something’s wrong.

Shuddering Darkness Words: 7,586 Summary: Jason hadn't meant to let any of this happen. It happened anyways.

Big Brothering the Big Brother Words: 1,899 Summary: In which Jason and Damian both have feelings and Dick is a bigger idiot than Jason thought.

Shoes Far Too Big Words: 547 Summary: Damian has a panic attack and Dick doesn't really know what he's doing.

A Patch Job Words: 459 Summary: Things between Tim and Dick are never going to be the same, Tim thinks.

Visions of Sugarplums Words: 3,751 Summary: See, it happens like this. Everything’s normal for them all—or, well. As normal as a family full of vigilantes can get. But things are running smoothly. He keeps his head up and his ears open, though, because he may be able to move forward, but he isn’t stupid enough to think that he’s not going to hit a bump in the road. He always hits a bump in the road. He just hadn’t expected this.

A Constant State Words: 520 Summary: Tim talks to Dick's grave.

Break Your Fall Words: 1,095 Summary: Dick's drunk and Wally takes care of him.

The Good Life Words: 1,062 Summary: Turns out, Dick has a surprise up his sleeve. A surprise that can get even Tim to let loose and have fun, apparently.

give me a ghost of a smile Words: 2,188 Summary: Dick meets with a photographer for a photo shoot, Tim has a bad feeling, and Bruce is overprotective.

The Pain of Today Words: 1,560 Summary: Dick wants to hit something. Or scream. Or cry. Or a million other things that are impossible in this moment, because he’s barely holding himself together enough to exist right now, even though all he wants to do is to just. Not.

Breakfast in Bed Words: 1,529 Summary: Dick gets woken up very early in the morning, but if it's to help his little brother, then he doesn't think he minds at all.

Too Many Walls and Not Enough Bridges Words: 3,727 Summary: There's something bothering Damian. Dick's determined to help Damian feel comfortable enough to share it.

i want to wake up (i hate this dream) Words: 2,366 Summary: Sometimes, Dick feels like a zombie. Like he’s the walking dead. Like nothing will ever be good again. Sometimes, he takes too much weight onto his shoulders, and he never puts it down. There’s a point where he crumbles to dust underneath all that weight, and there’s nothing for him to do but ride the breakdown and wait until he can bear the weight and start the whole process over again.

lost in the inbetween Words: 2,521 Summary: Dick is mind controlled. Jason tries to his best to snap him out of it.

i’m half asleep (we’re incomplete) Words: 1,141 Summary: Dick can't find his hoodie.

Multi-Chapter Fics (kind of)

Lighting Up a Roomful of Possibilities Words: 16,041 (8/25) Summary: A series of missing scenes in Young Justice between Bruce and Dick.

Life is a Journey (I have not finished this challenge yet, whoops) Words: 6,263 (16/?) Summary: A 30 Day Writing Challenge for the month of July, using only DC characters (mostly batfam). Every day will be a new prompt.

Teach Me to Dream Words: 27,778 (8/?) Summary: Dick’s eleven. Not thirteen and eager to prove himself. Not seventeen and mourning a brother. Not nineteen and wishing his best friend wasn’t dead and Bruce would look him in the eyes. He’s only eleven. So why does he remember all of that?

Let Them In Before They Go Words: 11,932 (34/34) Summary: A collection of prompts from my sleepover saturday on tumblr

Theory of Relativity Words: 2,293 (1/?) Summary: In which Dick Grayson gets de-aged and everybody freaks out

And We Watched You Unravel Words: 740 (1/?) Summary: An alternate POV fic for I've Already Come Undone

Determined Ghosts Words: 7,388 (3/?) Summary: A gala, supposed to be spent by eating cakes and wearing a pretty dress, goes wrong. But honestly? What doesn't in Steph's life? Still, they better figure this out before it's more than just Dick that's hurt.

The Ache for Home Words: 5,761 (1/2) Summary: Dick goes missing, and Jason looks for him. He wonders, though, why he's the only one looking.

The Gravity of Tempered Grace Words: 10,004 (8/?) Summary: He’s sick, he finally catches on, and at that moment, a cough builds up in his chest, and he barely has enough energy to sit up enough to let his lungs work properly. A coughing fit later, and Dick’s breaths are making a horrible wheezing sound that makes him sound like one of Titus’ chew toys.That’s bad. He’s pretty sure that’s bad.

A Place We Don’t Have to Feel Unknown Words: 32,083 (33/?) Summary: Collection of batfam prompts from tumblr

Five Times Dick Danced With His Family Words: 1,467 (2/?) Summary: ...and one time they all dance with him.

There in the Sudden Blackness Words: 1,783 (2/2) Summary: Tim and Dick argue, and at the end, Tim's not actually sure if either of them actually won.

paper crowns of silver and gold Words: 2,521 (2/7) Summary: collection for batfamweek 2018

YJ Series

The Tact Series – A series that follows Dick Grayson trying his best to be okay again after trying to shoulder the weight of the world and his best friend’s death. It’s a good thing Tim’s there to help him through it

Why is Tim the Only One With Any Tact? Words: 4,819 Summary: "Hiding? Tim wasn’t hiding anything. It was more like not telling. Best not to get anyone else involved in Dick’s business if it wasn’t going to help, and telling Wally, with whatever problems he and Dick were having, was probably the definition of not helping.

“Nothing,” Tim said in the most convincing voice he had. Which, if this was Dick, wouldn’t have worked even a little bit. But this was Wally, and while Wally may have been Dick’s best friend once upon a time, he didn’t know anything about Tim.

“It’s just been a rough couple of nights in Gotham.”

In which Tim tries to mediate an argument between Dick and Wally. Things don't go so well.

I Know You’re Not Okay Words: 3,043 Summary: Bruce is home, Tim is panicking, and Dick is missing. That is, until Bruce finds Dick crying his eyes out in the cave. Sequel to "Why is Tim the Only One With Any Tact?"

Holding the Universe Together Words: 3,844 Summary: After months of the cape and cowl wearing Dick down, Bruce is finally back, relieving Dick of Batman. He finally feels like himself again. Maybe even enough to visit the Watchtower and catch up with an old friend.

Finally Coming Home Words: 3,678 Summary: "It was all coming out now. Everything that he’d kept tucked deep into his very being, his insecurities, his nightmares, he was laying them all down for Wally to see, and he felt so bare. Like he was being stripped and stared at, and he hated it. But he couldn’t make himself stop." Dick and Wally finally talk, but only after Dick almost gets himself killed.

You Are My Home Words: 1,565 Summary: Wally's POV of Finally Coming Home

No Amount of Time or Space Words: 4,378 (3/9) Summary: So Dick isn't okay as he'd like people to think, but what's new? Well, communication, apparently or Tim reminds Dick that communication is an important aspect of friendship, so Dick talks to and tries to reconnect with the friends he'd lost in the face of the Reach's invasion. Unsurprisingly, it's hard.

#masterlist #camryn writes #dc

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