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comicaurora · 2 years

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You mentioned that young justice did a lot you didn’t like after s1- how would your ideal season 2 and beyond be?

Oh man, that's a dangerous question to contemplate.

Caveat that this is how I personally would've liked to see it play out, and I haven't rewatched it in a while so I may be fuzzy on the details or timeline of events. And word of warning, this got long.

First move would be to bin the timeskip. We'd be letting the characters age up gradually - maybe one year a season. Since it's perfectly structured for episodic adventures, we can imply downtime between episodes to fill out a year - plus this gives us opportunities for regular birthday or holiday episodes without an obligation to do them every time. We have enough characters without real regular birthdays that I just think it would be cute if Wally was like "congrats Conner and M'gann, I don't know squat about the martian year or how clone time works so I've decided it's your birthday, I made Shazam get us a cake"

Nixing the timeskip gives us the opportunity to put focus on Robin becoming Nightwing as an actual arc of its own, which could be an interesting opportunity to adjust the way it happened in the comic - which couldn't quite be adapted wholesale, because in the comic Robin was running around leading the Teen Titans as Robin for years and years with the Titans before he decided it was time to forge an identity of his own, accepting that he was fully out from under Batman's shadow now that Jason Todd was officially the new Robin. There was some comic angst from Dick about Bruce never officially adopting him which we could loop into that arc, since this Batman is pretty perfectly designed for being a well-meaning but emotionally distant and uncommunicative dad. What I'd personally want to avoid is leaning two hard on the Angsty Robin angle, because (a) that was already covered by Teen Titans (which we'd also want to avoid too much overlap with) and (b) Nightwing is at his best when he's optimistic, cheerful and emotionally well-adjusted. It'd be more fun, I think, to explore a version of Robin that is burying his angst under optimism and cheer in an arc that culminates in his cathartic dad-issues convo with Batman and subsequently his transition to being Nightwing. This gives us opportunities for fun intercharacter dynamics! Robin spent most of season 1 being the reliable party member who had the most experience superheroing and helped keep everyone grounded. Giving him an emotionally destabilizing personal arc and letting the rest of the party take a turn helping him through it could be fun! Plus, we've got one telepath with no boundaries (M'gann), two characters with a lot of experience with Dad Problems (Artemis and Superboy) and two characters who will be 100% supportive even if they don't fully know what's going on (Kid Flash and Aqualad), so he wouldn't be lacking in people realizing what's going on and helping him through it. This is fully a result of my "nightwing is my fave" bias but I think it'd also really work to let the gang have more fun group dynamics with personal emotional stakes, and I think Robin deserves to be helped once in a while, ya know?

Most of the other s2 timeskip stuff I'd either want to nix or foreshadow better. I don't particularly like the Superboy/M'gann "breach of psychic trust" breakup but I think it'd bother me less if it was actually built up rather than skipped over. If we have to do it, let's start with the premise that M'gann doesn't really get that humans are much less comfortable with telepathy than martians are. It's planted in season 1 and mostly centered on Superboy, the only party member with explicit trauma about telepathic intrusion and mind control due to his clone conditioning. He's the one who reacts most harshly and angrily when M'gann does her psychic link thing, but his reaction mellows out as he learns to trust and rely on her to protect him against other telepathic intrusions.

But while this helps improve their relationship, it doesn't fix the underlying miscommunication on M'gann's end - she seems to feel like her peers freaking out about her telepathically popping into their heads is a temporary imbalance, especially since she does the psychic link thing basically every mission instead of having to invest in earbuds or communicators. She's so comfortable with telepathy, especially after season 1 where she reveals her one big secret (being a white martian with a monstrous base form) and no longer has anything to mentally hide from the gang, that I think this could be an interesting miscommunication to explore. Ultimately her teammates will still value their privacy and mental autonomy even after they've spilled their big secrets and learned to trust each other, but M'gann is unlikely to realize this because from her perspective they've just finally stopped being weird about this stuff. M'gann is essentially experiencing slow culture shock at realizing just how private humans and other non-telepathic people are about their thoughts, and how much they at best mistrust and at worst hate and fear the thought of anyone else popping into their heads and rummaging around. So really, I think the psychic breach of trust thing should happen earlier and in a more minor way than it did in the season we got. M'gann using her powers to make Superboy forget a fight they had is a breach of trust and very uncool, but it also seems a little too extreme for the dynamic and understanding we've seen these characters share - even if she'd be willing to do that to anyone else, I think she'd know that doing it to Superboy would be the number one way to break his already fragile trust in her powers.

I'd go with a more slow buildup - start with M'gann commenting unprompted on the casual intrusive thoughts of her peers, totally nonjudmentally (she knows better than anyone that thoughts don't make you a bad person, obviously) but in a way that still makes them uncomfortable or angry. Maybe give her a plot reason to invade someone's mindscape with the best of intentions - could go classic on that one, give us a supervillain with dream-invading powers or something. Encourage her to push the boundaries with her teammates that she doesn't seem to realize are there. Maybe let Martian Manhunter sit her down and give her the "no really, you can't keep your mind this open in casual interactions, it's not about being bad for you, it's about being bad for them" talk. M'gann needs to learn to understand what privacy means, and she needs to become willing to impose polite and moral limitations on how she uses her powers. Since we're negating the timeskip where Beast Boy is introduced into the team, maybe we could work that in here - as he's introduced and develops his powers and he and M'gann's sibling relationship becomes more pronounced, especially if we keep the thing about his mom dying, we have a good character in-road to getting M'gann to better understand how to bridge the gap between herself and humanity.

Personally I'd nix both "aqualad pretends to be a bad guy" and "artemis and kid flash retire from superheroing". I think the show started kind of over-relying on the "you thought I betrayed my friends but actually we planned the whole thing in advance" gambit after it worked so well in the first season, and not telling the team telepath about the secret plan was pretty textbook idiot plot stuff. If we really want Artemis and Aqualad undercover there are still ways to make that work, but I'd say push that way down the line. Give us more time with the team first. If we want Artemis and Wally to retire from superheroing to focus on college and their relationship, that's workable, but that'd be a season 3 or 4 thing at the earliest.

If we want to expand the cast, let's do it gradually - I favor episodic adventures, and "there's some new weirdness in *location* that turns out to be either a supervillain plot, a new kid superhero to give our phone number, or both" is pretty much ideal adventure-of-the-week stuff. If we absolutely must bring in Impulse and Blue Beetle, let's not make the stuff with the Reach the only thing happening that season.

The biggest difficulty with plotting this show is avoiding just making Teen Titans, But Again. That unfortunately means a lot of the best classic comic arcs are off limits without severe modification - Judas Contract, Terror of Trigon, even Brother Blood's whole thing are kind of nixed. This is probably why the show never brought in Raven or Starfire, even though they absolutely could and should. So I understand the appeal of bringing in other threats like supervillain conspiracies and alien invasions and alien invasions but different this time, but this party lineup is demonstrably at its best when it's dealing with less apocalyptic supervillains-of-the-week. That said, in the comics, Raven arranges for the New Teen Titans to form because she goes to the Justice League for help with the Trigon prophecy and they turn her away - an arc that would fit bizarrely well with this version of the Justice League, which are a bit more dickish than their standard portrayal. Letting her go to the already-formed Young Justice crew for help would let us introduce a modified and potentially shortened Trigon arc without having to centralize Raven in the cast like they did in Teen Titans and Titans - could just add her to the expanded roster of Miscellaneous Heroes They're Buds With after they beat up her evil dad. She's also a little older than the rest of the Titans in the comics (and looks MUCH older than them), which could be used in this adaptation and help set this version apart from the other Trigon adaptations that have a tendency to make her increasingly younger - could get a lot of mileage out of making her a slightly awkward and aloof young woman rather than an emotionally troubled child. (Plus, if we want a cheeky nod at the comic-run romantic subplot between her and Kid Flash without actually breaking up the Artemis/Wally OTP we could just have Wally be his usual level of casually flirtatious with this Cool Spooky Goth lady and be gently dismissed because he's "a bit immature" for her.) Also, give me classic '80s hair Starfire or give me death, Nightwing deserves a love interest who can and will bridal carry him

Also, if we absolutely must "kill" Wally, we're bringing him back in one season max. Getting disintegrated into the speedforce is basically just a day at the spa for speedsters.

Overall my angle would be leaning into the massive ensemble cast potential after a proper season or two of just getting to know the main crew and letting them develop and explore the status quo. Trickle in a few more kid heroes during the early episodic adventures. Sprinkle in some more episodes where they deal with one or more members of the Justice League without anyone being mind controlled at the time. Dial back the Grand Conspiracy angle and let our heroes have a few unconditional wins once in a while. More scaled-down character-focused episodes like Homefront and Coldhearted where we fix the camera on one member of the team and get really deep inside their head as they go through something emotionally taxing but are ultimately rewarded in the end. We can still dive to dark and traumatic levels, but we need to counterbalance it with unconditional levity and victories for the heroes so the grimdark stings more when it hits. More character focus, less sweeping conspiracies, no more skipping over major arcs of character development, un-kill Wally West 2k22

#asks #not aurora

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boldlyanxious · 3 years

Text

Malchance

Jasonette July prompt 19: mistakes

Prompt applies to the beginning

Final part of Cocorico

My masterlist

Malchance sat on the roof overlooking the roof where Nightwing and Red Hood had been engaged in a fight for several minutes. They either knew each other's fighting style very well or they were evenly matched. She should have brought popcorn. Red Hood got a lucky hit before Nightwing could dodge and managed to lift him up by the back of the neck.

She dropped down behind them, losing sight of the lovely double view of them from behind when Red Hood turned to face her. Nightwing broke away from the hold while Red Hood was distracted. Malchance walked up to them carefully swinging her cat tail around, seeming relaxed. She was not relaxed. She had escaped one only to be nearly caught by the other so she was definitely on her guard.

"You were right about Black Mask. He is a nasty piece of work."

"See I tried to protect you from him."

"You kidnapped me."

"I told you it was temporary. You were a guest and I let you go."

"I escaped and then was immediately chased by him."

She pointed at Nightwing who had been watching them argue.

“I have so many questions. You kidnapped her?” Nightwing looked over at Red Hood when he asked that but then turned back to Malchance. “What is going on with Black Mask? That is what I was trying to find out before but you ran off.”

“I don’t remember any questions. You just started chasing me and then got out your cuffs.”

She sauntered over and winked at him, but looked back over to see Red Hood’s reaction. As she approached, she moved her hand to her staff in case she needed to make a quick get away. She couldn’t see Red Hood’s face to gauge his reaction but he had tensed. She laughed at them.

“You cuffed her? You aren’t trying to tell me we are after the same girl are you. I think she is warming up to me.” He took a step toward her.

“Maybe I am. I was even thinking about holding your hand.” She looked up at him seductively through her long cat eyelashes the suit gave her and whispered. “Cataclysm.”

She brushed her hand against a discarded box on the rooftop and the men watched it disintegrate and both of them took a step away when she turned back to them and reached out her hand.

“What are you?” Nightwing asked.

“Finally getting to some interesting questions. But I don’t answer interesting questions.”

“Why are you dealing with Black Mask?” Red Hood asked, changing the subject.

“Bonus points to you for bringing us back to the topic of the day.”

“What do I get with my bonus points? I might want to cash them in.”

“You destroyed my business. You will never get enough points to get yourself out of the hole.”

“I feel like I’m missing a whole lot of history here, and I’m definitely curious. But Black Mask. That seems to be the issue to focus on right now instead of your weird version of flirting.”

“Jealous?” Red Hood said.

Marinette ignored them and instead explained her actual purpose for being in Gotham and her former business. She omitted plenty of details that were more sensitive in nature but was able to give them an overview of the magic that was at the core of Gotham and how she thought Black Mask was utilizing it. She would not be able to stop him all on her own as she had found out in her dealings with him. He had too many people working for him that may not be loyal to his goal but still supported the goal of removing her from the picture. She was more offended that he tried to kill her instead of paying her what he owed.

“So you what, need our help to take him down?” Nightwing asked.

“Yes. If he harnesses this magic it would hurt the balance of the whole world. Gotham is surrounded by the miasma but it would extend far beyond that.”

“So you just want us to trust you? There is a system. You haven’t even been vetted.” Nightwing argued.

“I don’t need your approval. My authority spans far beyond Gotham and far beyond your plane of existence. You are inconsequential.”

She turned away from him when she was finished and Red Hood followed. She glanced back at him and he didn’t seem to be making a move so she just stayed vigilant in case that changed.

“I’ll be in touch,” she told him.

“Wait, can we talk?” Red Hood asked.

She motioned with her head and jumped away; he followed. They crossed several rooftops and made sure they were not being followed by anyone, Nightwing included, before Marinette led them to a rooftop that felt surprisingly calm for Gotham. You couldn’t hear the noise from the street or the docks and no sounds of fighting. It was like a calm in the storm. It was her favorite place to hang out when she needed to get away from everything.

“What did you want?” she asked.

“To apologize.” Red Hood said. He paused for a moment and removed his helmet. She could see his hair and facial features but his eyes and the surrounding skin were still covered by a lensed domino mask. He reached out for her hand.

“I’m listening,” she said.

“I guess it’s not enough to say I need to apologize, I actually have to follow through.”

“That is how apologies work.”

“I’m sorry. I should have handled the threats against you differently. It would have been better if I had convinced you to come with me.”

“That is your apology? You are not admitting the mistakes.”

“I mean I’m sorry for kidnapping you.” It sounded more like a question than a statement.

“It wasn’t just the kidnapping. You didn’t trust me to handle my own affairs and you ruined my business."

“I still have plenty of business for you. You gave up on it. Also, clearly something happened with Black Mask so maybe I was right.”

“This is the worst apology ever. The biggest mistake was listening to you at all. I’ve changed my mind, I don’t need help, not from you.”

“Just hold on a minute. You are twisting everything. It was my fault that anyone was after you. Someone made a joke about me flirting with you and word got out. I just wanted to take responsibility to make sure that you didn’t suffer because of it.”

“Maybe employ fewer gossips and don’t flirt with everyone you meet.”

“I employ at least one less gossip, and I don’t flirt with everyone I meet. It just happened with one person. There is a reason it was noteworthy gossip worth making such a large bounty for.

Malchance turned back to him and watched him without responding. He did appear contrite. Usually she would have a sense of someone to know whether they were a danger to her. She thought it just didn’t work with him because she never felt in danger. She may feel adrenaline or nervousness but it hadn’t tripped her internal sense of self preservation.

She stepped towards him and kept watching him. He looked down at her and she could tell he was making eye contact before he took off his mask. Her eyes searched his, looking for answers she was too afraid to ask. She reached up and pushed the shock of white hair away from his face. He closed his eyes as her fingers slipped through his hair. Her hand slid down to his cheek and she finally spoke.

“Why me?”

"Because I feel like you see me how am, and you don't recoil. There is attraction; you are gorgeous. But more than that, I feel drawn to you."

He stepped close and cupped her face. She was suddenly remembering his measurements and exactly how she felt being close to him to take them. She couldn't keep meeting his eyes. She looked away.

"I'm not sure what you see is actually there. I'm just a broken person with a mission to complete."

He lifted her chin to have their eyes meet again. She closed her eyes for the moment. His thumb brushed across her jaw before he dropped his hand and shuffled his feet. She looked back at him, but sure what she felt.

"I can get Nightwing and Batman to help take care of Black Mask."

"You and Nightwing were just fighting. Batman is one of your enemies. How does that even work?"

"We have to play by their rules but it sounds like this is a threat to us all. We can get along for a moment and fight later."

"I did not agree to anyone else's rules. This is my mission and I'm not just letting them take over."

"I should clarify. I meant his no killing rule. It's a restriction for me that I doubt changes things for you."

"It doesn't. I won't work harder to protect the life but I won't attempt to take lives."

"That should be close enough. Can we meet here in one week to discuss details?"

She nodded her assent. She was turning to go when he stepped towards her. She allowed him to turn her face slightly and put a gentle kiss on her cheek. She reached out and squeezed his forearm slightly. She tried to pass it off as a comforting gesture for him rather than to keep herself from melting off her feet.

---

It was the day of the planned assault on Black Mask’s operation. As far as Cocorico could tell they were at the location of the magical manipulation. Groups of Red Hood’s militia were prepared all around to breach but right now Cocorico was gathered with Red Hood and Nightwing to discuss the final details. It was all going as expected until Batman showed up and Cocorico suddenly wondered if this was a good idea. Red Hood and Batman were clearly far from okay with working with each other. Cocorico thought they might kill each other before the battle even started. Batman stepped towards Red Hood so Hood had removed his helmet and was stepping right back in some display of aggressive dominance.

Cocorico would not allow them to ruin her plan. She had gotten them to help a few weeks ago but she had been working toward this for almost 2 years and she wasn’t going to let them ruin it. She pulled Red Hood away and turned to scold Batman but she had pulled Red Hood too hard and when he spun to adjust they both stumbled towards the wall. Just before her head connected with the wall Red Hood slipped his hand behind it. Her back hit the wall and she looked up at him as he was suddenly pressed against her. His other hand had planted against the wall and he was pushing back, probably to continue his argument with Batman.

It was just a thought. She wasn’t planning to do anything about her errant thoughts about Red Hood. She had a mission and she had worked hard to have no distractions. But their eyes met for that brief second and she couldn’t bear to have him turn away. She grabbed the front of his jacket to turn him back toward her. She told herself she just wanted to see his eyes again but without thinking she moved toward him. He was shocked when she kissed him but he recovered quickly. He pressed her back into the wall and kissed her back. It was desperate and brief. Being interrupted by Batman clearing his throat. If looks could kill Red Hood’s would have killed Batman in that instant that Cocorico pulled away.

“For luck,” she said and reached back up to put a peck on his cheek.

“I could use some luck,” Nightwing said.

Red Hood’s eyes narrowed at him but Cocorico responded before anything else happened.

“Batman is right there,” she pointed at him. “Pucker up.”

That effectively ended any further comments about luck or kissing. Red Hood put his helmet back on and Cocorico took a moment to merge Orikko and Plagg as added protection during the battle. Then they moved in.

It was far longer than they expected before anyone noticed their presence. They had fully infiltrated the building before anyone sounded the alarm. Chatcorico thought that must be due to the training of the militia. They had found guards but they were neutralized, brutally in some cases, but they were still alive per Batman’s insistence.

She was shocked by the glow over the compound when they reached the hub. It was otherworldly. She stumbled under the weight of the magic that hit her. Red Hood turned to her in concern. No one else seemed to be affected. She could feel it though. It was not only the ancient sorcery of the city. There was miraculous magic here.

Whatever they were planning was going on now. They paused while everyone gathered at their appointed locations. Chatcorico looked around to decide how best to proceed but what she saw caused her to jump into action and charge out without alerting anyone. Black Mask was there as well as an unknown person bound at the center of all the activity. She was on her knees with her hand bound behind her and a gag in her mouth. In front of her was Black Mask walking towards her with a knife.

That was all bad for the person, which they would endeavor to protect when the assault began but she saw more. There was something in front of them that was drawing in all of the ethereal light seeping from somewhere below. Marinette didn’t know what they were trying to accomplish but she knew it would be bad. She rushed Black Mask from behind. He turned just as she reached him and knocked her over. She used her kite to block. But he didn’t have time to keep after her Red Hood was already behind him.

Chatcorico saw the rest of the group moving in to attack but she focused on removing the bindings from the woman. She undid the bindings on the hand first and then focused on the ones binding the feet together. The woman pulled the binding from her mouth and immediately transferred guardianship of the box to Monk. Marinette remembered that he was the guardian she had met in New York. The box seemed to shed the magic that was attempting to infect it and then floated up. It seemed to mask itself as it exited the building. Chatcorico assumed that it would go to the new guardian of the box, as had happened when she gained the guardianship. Then woman in front of her would have no memory of it.

The battle was long. By the end, they had claimed the building but Black Mask retreated and got away along with many of his men. Those left were behind she suspected would be arrested. Red Hood had his crew filtering out quickly. There was nothing to say they would not be arrested too when the time came. She didn’t expect that Batman’s generosity to work with the man would extend to keeping him out of jail when the time came. The partnership was very limited.

She started to get concerned that the same could be said of her own partnership with him. She was an unknown and she could tell he didn’t trust magic users. He knew enough to suggest a couple other magic users who he trusted enough with the magic seeping out. That didn't seem to include her and she wasn't sure she could handle it anyway. It had become clear that her involvement was to recover and protect the miraculous magic and the former guardian. She could leave the woman to their questioning.

She released Orikko, who had been active longer and she would have an easier time traveling as Malchance. She nodded at Batman and Nightwing, giving them no chance to stop her before she scooped up the woman and vaulted out of there. She took her to her apartment and left her sleeping in the spare room. She would have to find out about contacting the new guardian soon. The order would have some way to care for the woman who lost her memories to the cause.

Malchance would return to her shortly but she had to check. She landed on the roof and as she suspected Red Hood was waiting for her there. He looked up and watched her land and walk toward him. He stood and reached out for her. She was shocked at how right it felt to go into his arms. Maybe it had been too long since she had allowed herself to form any connections. She didn't want to bother with the 'why' of anything tonight. She just craved the connection. She knew it wasn't love and probably wouldn't last. Maybe he only liked the chase and maybe she didn't care. She pulled him down and kissed him. The only thing that mattered was it was right now.

Taglist

#jasonette july 2021 #maribat #jasonette #Red Hood x Marinette #boldlyanxious

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dc-earth53 · 4 years

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Nightwing (Dick Grayson)

Age: 31

Occupation: Police officer, adventurer

Marital status: Married

Known relatives: John Grayson (father, deceased), Mary Grayson (mother, deceased), Bruce Wayne (adoptive father), Damian Wayne (adoptive brother), Jason Todd (adoptive brother), Cassandra Cain (adoptive sister), Helena Wayne (adoptive sister), Koriand’r (wife), Mar’i Grayson (daughter), Jacob Grayson (son), Komand’r (sister-in-law), Ryand’r (brother-in-law).

Group affiliation: Titans, Gotham Knights, formerly Justice League of America, Outsiders

Base of operations: Bludhaven, Gotham City, New Jersey

Height: 5’10”

Weight: 175 lbs.

History:

31 years ago: Richard “Dick” Grayson is born to circus acrobats Mary and John Grayson.

25 years ago: John and Mary begin training Dick in gymnastics, and he joins their act: “The Flying Graysons.”

19 years ago:

Gotham City crime lord Tony Zucco murders John and Mary during their act, sending them hurtling to their deaths from the high wire. 12-year-old Grayson is adopted by Bruce Wayne, who was in attendance that evening.

Grayson sneaks out of Wayne Manor to investigate the murder of his parents, and is nearly killed but saved by Batman, who he discovers is his adopted father.

Afterwards, Grayson becomes Robin, Batman’s crime-fighting partner.

18 years ago: Alongside Aqualad and Kid Flash, Robin helps found the Teen Titans, a group of young superheroes who felt ignored by their mentors.

17 years ago: Barbara Gordon debuts at Batgirl, and Grayson develops a precocious crush on her.

13 years ago:

The mysterious Raven brings together Robin and several other young heroes as the New Teen Titans, to combat the threat of her father, Trigon.

Dick meets Koriand’r, a former alien princess who had been taken into slavery and escaped to Earth. The two quickly fall in love.

12 years ago:

Grayson is shot in the shoulder by the Joker, and retires from being Robin, moving away from Gotham to attend Hudson University. Soon afterwards, inspired by old Kryptonian legends told to him by Superman, Dick takes the identity of Nightwing.

Nightwing re-joins the Titans to help them fight against Deathstroke, the Terminator.

11 years ago: Grayson, along with Earth’s other heroes, fight against the Anti-Monitor.

10 years ago:

Grayson is shaken when Jason Todd, his replacement as Robin, is beaten to death by the Joker. He takes a temporary leave of absence from the Titans.

Grayson meets Tim Drake, a fan of Batman and Robin’s, who petitions him to become the new Robin. Grayson refuses, but encourages Drake to take the role himself.

9 years ago: After a long battle against the Wildebeest Society, Dick proposes marriage to Koriand’r, and she accepts.

8 years ago: Dick and Kory are married, although circumstances conspire to keep them apart. Dick returns to Gotham, where his relationship with Batman is on the mend after Batman’s back is broken by Bane.

7 years ago:

Dick and Kory settle down in the beleaguered Bludhaven neighborhood of Gotham City, which is soon shaken by an earthquake that renders the city a no man’s land.

Dick and Kory have a daughter, Mar’i.

6 years ago: After leaving the Titans in the capable hands of Tim Drake, Grayson is tapped by Batman to lead the newest incarnation of the Outsiders. He accepts.

5 years ago: Grayson and Kory part ways, as she’s recruited to fight in the war between Rann and Thanagar. Grayson, meanwhile, adopts the identity of the Renegade to infiltrate Lex Luthor’s Secret Society.

4 years ago: After a mission to Oolong Island goes very wrong, Grayson turns leadership of the Outsiders over to Kate Kane, the Batwoman, and returns to the Titans.

2 years ago: Batman is seemingly killed by Darkseid, and Grayson takes the role of Gotham’s main defender until Bruce’s return, fighting in broad daylight with a variety of allies by his side.

1 year ago: Dick and Kory’s second child, Jacob, is born, shortly before Kory travels into space once more with the Justice League.

Present day: Shortly after Kory’s return, Dick is seemingly murdered by Rose Wilson, as part of a cover-up to infiltrate the Leviathan organization.

Commentary:

Dick Grayson. Nightwing. The successor. Batman’s greatest success. The Batman who laughs... okay, maybe not that last one. (note: there is no Dark Multiverse in this canon, you’re safe from that fucker.) Dick Grayson is by far my favorite Bat-family member, and one of my favorite DC characters in general.

This version of Dick is sort of the anti-Batman: where Bruce is paranoid, Dick is trusting. Bruce operates in the shadows, Dick prefers the light. Bruce pushes away those who aren’t in his inner circle, Dick is second only to Superman in how many people get along with him. You get the idea. In taking in and raising Dick Grayson, Batman achieved his stated goal: making sure that he wouldn’t end up like him. Instead, Dick is a well-adjusted adult with lots of friends, a family of his own, and a job he loves.

(to the tune of “the Election of 1800″ from Hamilton)

Starfire or Babs! If you had to choose, if you had to choose...

Dick also is a major part of what’s probably my most controversial change to the canon in this universe: his wedding to Kory gets to go through as originally planned way, way back in the early 1990′s, which permanently ties Dick to the DCU at large rather than confining him to Bat-family stories (which he still takes part in a decent number of). This reality’s Barbara Gordon retains much of her pre-Crisis history, making her significantly older than Dick is - the only remnants of their relationship here are a little bit of a precocious crush from young Robin. I don’t hate DickBabs, but I prefer DickKory, and this is reflected in the timeline here.

(And yes, despite continually being separated by their jobs, Dick and Kory have a wonderful relationship, built on years of mutual trust and companionship. A couple doesn’t need to be together all the time to be a couple, after all.)

Dick really only has one iconic costume, and that’s Discowing, I mean- um... yeah, it’s the black suit with the blue bird emblem on the front, specifically inspired by the Young Justice cartoon version. I’m not convinced anyone really liked the red New 52 Nightwing costume, and Ric is definitely not the answer. Agent 37, however... hmm...

Next up: Psimon, then at long last Zatanna!

#dc #dc comics #earth 53 #profile #nightwing #dick grayson #agent 37 #batman #bat family #teen titans #titans #gotham knights #dickkory #outsiders

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scaryscarecrows · 3 years

Text

Will Trade Soup for Intel

Potential Gotham Knights ‘verse. For those who did not see the trailer: Bruce is dead (pfft, suuuuure he is), Jim Gordon is dead (Jim, no!), the Court of Owls appears (this is gonna be bad), Batgirl and Robins 1-3 have guardianship of Gotham. For this piece: Penguin is also dead. Dove has his operation. And the flu. :p

***

Tim’s not sure where he thought Jason was going to take him. Honestly, because it’s Jason, he was sort of thinking, ‘seedy hole in the wall where retired hitmen go’. Or something. Or maybe an orphanage, or an under-the-bridge camp; the Alley Kids don’t throw bottles and needles at him, unlike the others. They demand rides.

(Yeah, it’s funny but also scary to see the Red Hood, known for his duffle bag of heads, giving a little girl a piggyback ride.)

This is not one of those places. This is some apartment building in midtown with a doorman and everything. And, y’know, it’s daytime, which...they don’t operate in the daytime that much unless they’re undercover, and they don’t appear to be. Jason told Tim to dress like a real boy and stick his domino on in the elevator, but he’s wearing what he always does; jeans, hoodie, heavy boots. And he’s carrying a brown bag that smells like soup. No helmet in sight, and Tim knows he won’t wear a domino now. They bug the scar*, he says.

“Where are we?”

“To see an old friend. I’m out of other ideas.”

“What, are they a conspiracy professor or something?”

“No.”

The doorman waves them through and they wait for an empty elevator. Jason presses the third-floor button and settles in, adjusting the bag in his arms. For all the crap they give...gave...Bruce about theatrics, Jason’s no better. He lives for building the suspense. Tim had nearly murdered him again for that stupid monk joke. Asshole. Ten minutes from his life, and for that? Humph.

A cotton face mask whaps him in the chest while he’s adjusting his domino and he frowns.

“What.”

“You’re fragile, and she’s got the flu, which is why we’re here in the daytime. I’m basically immune after my, um, upgrade points got cashed in, but you are a Victorian maiden who'll probably turn it into tuberculosis and die and I can’t deal with Dick after that.”

Huh.

…

Whatever. You lose one spleen…

He puts the mask on, too, making sure Jason sees his glower, just as the elevator dings to a halt.

Tim starts to suspect they’re not invited, exactly, when Jason shoves the bag at him and drops down to pick the lock. Though he does knock and call, “Don’t get up!”, so.

“There. Give me that before you spill something...hey, Miss Marquis! I brought soup!”

…

Jason couldn’t have just told him this, why?

There’s furious coughing in the other room, followed by movement, and a minute later Dove shuffles out, wrapped in a blanket and wearing what appear to be bunny slippers. She looks terrible.

“For the tenth time, I don’t care how immune you think you are, you’re going to get sick and I can take care of myself.”

“Haven’t gotten sick yet,” Jason says cheerfully. “‘Sides, it’s, like, partly a bribe.”

Dove doesn’t look convinced. Tim’s not convinced, either. Jason, when left to his own devices, can and will out-mother-hen Dick. He’s just usually scarier when he does it. More like Alfred.

Before any further argument can happen, Dove starts coughing again and winds up clutching the doorframe with one hand and holding the other up to keep Jason at bay.

“Thought you were gonna take Theraflu,” Jason says sulkily. Dove reaches up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

“I will take it if I need it, Hood.” Tim sympathizes. Theraflu tastes like sadness. At least Robitussin is nice. “I promise this isn’t my first flu, I am fine. ” This is not a battle she’ll win. Tim knows. Tim has tried and failed. Jason had loomed at him and told him, oh-so-nicely, that he would take the Theraflu or that it would breach his defenses. “What do you want.”

Jason holds up the bag.

“Fridge or bowl?”

“Fridge, please.”

“Tea?”

“If I say yes, will you settle down?”

“For now.”

She sighs and totters over to an armchair.

“Fine.”

“What kind.”

“I’ve got some sort of zinger tea in there, that would be very nice.”

Jason vanishes into the kitchen. Dove sinks into her chair, pulling her blanket tighter around her shoulders, and waves at the couch.

“Siddown, Robin.”

“Sorry we broke in,” he says, because Jason won’t. Dove just shakes her head.

“This isn’t the first time or the last time,” she says. “At least you used the door...if you need a drink or somethin’, help yourself.”

Jason comes back, steaming mug in his hands.

“I’ll get it,” he says. “Bird boy here shouldn’t touch the kitchen.”

Slander.

“Nightwing’s worse.”

“Still. Here y’go.”

“Thanks, honey.” Dove leans up to take it before shooing him back. “Now. Why are you here.”

Jason settles onto the couch next to Tim and leans forward, worrying at his lower lip.

“This is going to sound crazy.”

“Well, that’s interesting.”

“Do you know anything about the Court of Owls?”

Dove snorts, coughs, and takes a sip of her tea.

“What?”

“You know…beware the court of owls that watches all the time, ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch behind granite and lime. They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed. Speak not a whispered word of them--”

“Or they’ll send the Talon for your head, I know the rhyme.” She takes another sip. “It’s a scary story to keep kids in line, you know that.”

“We thought so, but.” He shrugs. “”Had a run-in with...something...last night that, um. Looked a little dead. But not dead like me, dead like...I don’t know. It was like it wasn’t human anymore. Or ever. I don’t know.”

Well, that’s a surprise. Tim wonders if Jason just straight-up admitted what happened or if Dove got it out of him or from some other source.

“Croc’s not human, either, kid.”

“No. This thing...I didn’t...I broke its neck and it fucking twisted it back into place.”

Dove frowns.

“You’re sure?”

“Uh-huh. And before that I emptied literally twelve bullets into this thing and it didn’t even flinch. I’m telling you, something wasn’t right and it was wearing an owl mask.”

Tim nods.

“There have been four murders committed with daggers that have owl insignias on them,” he says. “We think these two things are related.”

“Owl daggers?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Can I see one?”

“I brought a picture. The daggers are police evidence.”

“Like you boys didn’t borrow one,” she says, but sits up when Jason comes over with the phone. “I’ve seen something like this before.”

Well, that was unexpected.

“When?”

“Years ago, now. Penguin had one that he got from who-knows-where. It went missing one night-we chalked it up to Catwoman and let it go-but we did have people offer to buy it a few times. Generous offers, too.”

“He wouldn’t sell?” Odd. Penguin loved money almost as much as his pet birds. “Can you remember who offered?”

“Rich men, you know the type. They like...oddities.”

Tim does know the type. During Dick’s stint as Batman, he’d stumbled upon an auction house that specialized in some nasty things, including a very particular crowbar.

(Jason, as far as Tim knows, has no idea about this.)

“Did he say anything about it?”

“No. He put it in his office, in a little case, and honestly, I sort of figured someone had tried to kill him with it. He was funny about things like that.”

That’s an understatement. Penguin had been very proud of the bottle in his eye, among other things.

Dove starts coughing again and ends up setting her tea on the end table. Jason’s halfway over there when the coughs turn to sputters and she manages to wheeze out a, “Fine. M’fine.”

“This is why you should take Theraflu.”

“Honey…”

“I can make--”

“Hon.” He shuts up. “I’m okay. It’s just the flu, give me another week and I’ll be back to normal.” She takes a shuddery breath and picks up her tea again. “I promise. Now. I don’t.” Another shuddery breath, but no coughing this time. “I don’t know anything else off the top of my head, but. Little fuzzy.” She tugs at her blanket until it’s closed around her neck, just under her chin. “If anything comes up, I’ll let you know-ow- shit --”

The coughs don’t stop this time and she winds up bent nearly double, arms curled up to, presumably, brace her ribs. Ouch. When they finally wane, she’s red-faced and wheezing and looking fairly well miserable. Tim’s just about to nudge Jason when she stands up, clutching her mug in white, shaky fingers, and says, “I am going back to bed. Lock up behind yourselves.”

“Can we do anything?”

“No, hon. But thanks. You boys.” A finger goes up and she sort of... hics ...but nothing happens. “You boys stay safe. Don’t do anything. Anything reckless.”

Reckless? Humph. They’re not reckless. Adventurous, is Tim’s preferred term. So one time he leapt off a building knowing his grappler wasn’t working. Dick caught him, like he knew he would. It was leap or be eaten, and being eaten was by far the uglier choice.

“Reckless? Us?” Jason mock-gasps. “Thanks. Soup’s in the fridge. Want me to make you a Thera--”

“ No. Thank you.”

THE END

*I’m debating on whether or not that scar is Joker-related (could be an aborted Glasgow?) OR Batarang-caused: maybe Bruce hit his face rather than his throat in this version of UtRH. Either way, ow.

#Jason Todd #Tim Drake #Dove Marquis #Gotham Knights #maybe #Court of Owls #fic

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teentitanimals · 4 years

Text

Helena Kyle-Wayne History

The history of Helena Kyle-Wayne based on how I see her! Ties into this Events Timeline :) I might call this Batfam au Earth Never? Maybe? I’m kinda already attached to the name lol

Helena Martha Maria Wayne was born to Bruce Wayne, age 42, and Selina Kyle, age 45, on Earth Never-Two. Her grandfather Alfred Pennyworth was 67, her half-brother Damian Wayne was 13, her adopted brother Tim Drake was 21, her adopted brother and sister Jason Todd and Cassandra Cain were 24, and her adopted brother Dick Grayson was 29. Growing up she learned acrobatics from her eldest brother, how to hold a gun from Jason, how to be silent by her sister, hacking from Tim, animal taming and katana wielding from her favorite brother Damian, how to defend herself from her father, and how to be sneaky from her mother. Needless to say, from a young age, she was pretty skilled, and being raised in a house of detectives, them attempting to keep their secret lives as vigilantes from her didn’t work, as she knew about it from the age of 6 and onwards. By age 14, she became the new Robin under her father.

She was best friends with Kara Kent, aka Supergirl, who was a few years older than her, and Charles Bullock, aka Blackwing, who was also a few years older than her, and was an intern at the law firm created by her father, her eldest brother and a man named Arthur Cranston, aptly named the Cranston, Grayson and Wayne consumer research firm. The three made an excellent team, and were practically inseparable.

Aside from Kara and Charles, though, Helena greatly looked up to the woman who shared her name, Helena Bertinelli, aka the Huntress. This earned Helena the affectionate name of Little H, or Little Huntress, from Bertinelli and others. Helena as Robin often ended up shadowing Huntress more than Batman. She also got along really well with Charlotte “Charlie” Gage-Radcliffe, a young adult who was like a daughter to Bertinelli. It should be noted that the Birds of Prey never existed in this universe, and Barbara Gordon never became a superhero. In this universe, Charlie mimicked the identity of Huntress rather than Batgirl, before creating her own as Misfit. No Batgirls exist in this universe, but Stephanie Brown still became Spoiler- never Robin, Cassandra Cain simply became Black Bat and then Orphan, and Bette Kane never became a superhero, nor did Carrie Kelley, Tiffany Fox or Nell Little.

At one point, a man named Silky Cernak tried to blackmail and frame her mother for killing a cop as Catwoman, but with her and her family’s help, they cleared her name and revealed the truth, arresting Silky.

Eventually, when Helena was 16, a war against Apokoliptians, lead by Darkseid, started, which resulted in a war torn world. Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman were all killed during the war, as well as Tim Drake and Helena Bertinelli. Her family grieves them, and Dick takes up the mantle of Batman, and Damian makes his new superhero alias Redwing, a combination of Red Robin and Nightwing in honor of his brothers. Charlie became the new Huntress. By age 18, everything had way gotten worse, and Charlie was killed, and Selina soon followed. Helena then became Huntress, while Kara became Power Girl.

At age 20, she, Kara and Charles chased after someone who they assumed was Darkseid, but they would later find out was DeSaad. The trio attacked DeSaad, but in the process Helena entered a Boom Tube while Power Girl and Blackwing fought DeSaad. Helena would never know how the battle ended, though, as the Boom Tube sent her to Earth Never-Prime. She was stranded, and alone, in a world so similar to her own, but not war torn, and just slightly off. She was a Bat though, and she was well-trained. She laid low and studied the world, learning that Batman was still Bruce Wayne here- and that Bruce Wayne was still 42. And that she had never been (or simply yet to be) born, as Bruce and Selina were not even married like they were in her world, with Selina still acting as the criminal Catwoman. In this world, Darkseid had been defeated already.

She stole money from Wayne Enterprises to get by, just for meals, hotels, clean clothes, etc. Scrounging through Wikipedias can only get you so far, so she took to spying on her family and friends and other superheroes and... finds that she can’t handle it. For the most part, they look so happy. Yeah, Jason’s an asshole, and Damian’s so young and angst-y, but... They’re a family, not split by death and war. Every night, she seems to end up in tears, jealous of this world and wanting her world back- no, her family.

Her secrecy does not last long, as she can’t stop herself from jumping in to help her family (Batman, Robin, Nightwing) when they are attacked by the Joker. She attempts to run away after the battle, but her moves and tricks are the exact same as the Batfamily’s, so it ends up impossible for her to lose them. They interrogate her, and she ends up confessing she’s not from this universe. She tells them she’s a Huntress of another world, but not much else. They’re skeptical of her, seeing as the moves she used would indicate she was close enough to train under and with the Batfamily, so why would she be ‘a’ Huntress (of which they’ve only ever had one)? She asks if they could go to the Batcave or somewhere to talk, instead of staying out in the city. They agree, and ask her to lead them to the Batcave, which she does with ease.

There, she confesses more of her story, revealing she was the daughter of Selina and Bruce, and that Darkseid was currently waging war on her world- and winning. She allows them to run a DNA test on her, and the results match up. They believe her story. They offer to help her get back to her own world and also to house her while she’s here. She thanks them, and offers to help them patrol and protect Gotham in return.

Living in Wayne Manor was... weird, and more often than not she’d end up crashing at a hotel or something instead. Damian was 13, younger than her, and still very... well, Damian. And there was a kid that had never been apart of her family too, Duke Thomas, and also allies like Harper Row, Julia Pennyworth, Barbara Gordon, etc... And it was weird living among, to her, ghosts. Zombies. Dead people. She was afraid to get attached to any of them, because they weren’t hers, and she’d go back home, where some were dead or dying, and she’d mourn them all over again. Not to mention, Tim was now only 1 year older than her, Jason and Cass 4, and Dick just 9 instead of 29.... And Dick was even married to an alien princess named Koriand’r aka Starfire- where he was Barbara’s boyfriend in Helena’s world- and they had a daughter named Mar’i. And Jason had adopted a girl named Sasha, aka Scarlet. And, also, perhaps this stung most, that her best friend was no longer the same age as Helena. Which meant that even if Helena had been born in this world, she wouldn’t have been Kara’s friend. And similar with Charles, who was a simple citizen in this world.

While talking to this world’s version of her mother, Selina reveals to her that a Helena had been born in this world, but her father was Sam Bradley Jr. (deceased), and she was born nine-ten years ago. Her name was Helena Kyle, but since Selina was under the alias Irena Dubrovna at the time, her legal name was Helena Dubrovna. She had brown hair and green eyes rather than the black hair and blue eyes Helena Wayne had. Helena is surprised to know of this universe ‘her’, although really it’s her other universe half-sister. She wants to meet her, but Selina explains to her that after the villains Film Freak and Angle Man kidnapped and harmed Helena Kyle, she, Zatanna, and Bruce faked Helena’s death (and Irena Dubrovna’s) and put her up for adoption. To make sure no one could ever find Helena via Selina, Selina choose not to know who adopted her (if she officially got adopted at all and was not still in an orphanage). Helena Wayne accepts this and understands her reasoning. Even she had been kidnapped plenty of times back in her home world, Earth Never-Two.

It’s a year of living like this. She talks with the Selina Kyle of this world, with Helena Bertinelli, with Zatanna Zatara, with everybody. She still closes herself off though, calling Bruce “Uncle Bruce” to distance him and her father in her mind. By the end of the year, a part of her realizes she’s never going back... and another part wonders why she would even want to. She could have happiness here. But, at the same time, to give up her friendships with Power Girl and Blackwing? (And what if they were dead by now?) It’s difficult, but finally, with the advice from her other universe family, she decides she wants to try making a life here, just in case she really never can go back. Of course, Bruce offers to adopt her, but Helena can’t bring herself to fully accept this world’s Bruce as her dad yet, nor could she handle being official, legal siblings with her brothers and sister. She still hasn’t adjusted to them, how they are now, how young they all are, how younger Damian is. If anything, she’s most okay with Duke Thomas, someone she had never met in her universe.

To her surprise, as they contemplate making her a fake civilian identity, Selina offers to adopt Helena. Helena, after thinking it over, accepts. She would not have as much hounding from the press, from the media, from the public, as she would if she was adopted into the Waynes. She would not have to deal with the weirdness that was her alternate universe siblings as much, living with Selina. (Not that she needed to live with Selina, she was 21, after all, but Selina had told her that she was welcome to crash in her house anytime- an offer she often took up on when the Manor was stressing her out.) Selina was still a criminal in this universe, but she only robbed banks from time to time, really, nothing major, and she was slowly becoming more hero and ally than superthief by the time Helena had come to this world. Selina had been dead for only 2 years to Helena, while Bruce had been for 4 years, and had died when Helena was young and not used to death. Bruce’s death had a bigger impact on her (alongside Tim and Bertinelli’s), but with Selina, it was easy to imagine she had simply been gone for two years.

So, Helena became Helena Martha Maria Kyle, adopted daughter of Selina Kyle. She slowly built herself a civilian life, working for a law firm under Wayne Enterprises in honor of her friend Charles and his job. And a superhero life, too, as the Huntress. Of course, since Bertilleni was also known as the Huntress, Helena often went by Little Hunt. They called her Little H and Little Huntress at first, but it reminded her too much of her old world, that she requested they use Little Hunt instead. It was similar, of course, but just different enough. Just like this world was compared to hers.

She worked solo, with Catwoman, with the Batfamily, and with the Birds of Prey mostly. It was a challenge, she would say, to adapt back into the old rules of “No Killing”... It’s a dark secret of hers that she became more ruthless ever since the death of her father, blood soaking her hands. But she was almost relieved to be back to No Killing- as, to her, it meant no war. No death. No pain.

Catwoman seemed to reform completely right alongside her, and the day Bruce proposed to Selina, Helena couldn’t be more happier. She was finally ready to be officially apart of the Waynes again. Selina married Bruce, and Helena took on the Wayne name, becoming Helena Martha Maria Kyle-Wayne, loud and proud. It was weird, but somehow she got used to Damian being younger- and boy did she discover how fun it was to tease him. And alongside that, she got two new younger sisters too, in the form of Carrie Kelley and Alina Shelley-Wayne. Her family, she will say, was much, much more bigger than it had ever been in her own world.

Eventually, as years passed, she found herself more attached to this world than her war torn world. She often wonders, if given the chance, would she still choose to go back to her old world, her old family? It’s a question she can never answer. And one she might not have too, as the Kara of Earth Never-Two would eventually find a way onto Earth Never-One.

Name: Helena Martha Marie Kyle-Wayne

Gender: Female (She/her)

Parents: Bruce Wayne (Biological father; legal step-father), Selina Kyle (Biological mother; legal adopted mother)

Adoptive Step-Siblings: Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain, Tim Drake, Alina Wayne

Half-Siblings: Helena Kyle (Current name unknown), Damian Wayne

Adoptive Step-Nieces and Nephews: Sasha Todd, Mar’i Grayson, Jake Grayson, John Grayson II (on Earth Never-Two only)

Hair Color: Black

Hair Length: Long

Eye Color: Blue

Aliases: Robin, the Huntress

Nicknames: Helly, Hel, 'Lena, Hello Kitty, Little H, Little Huntress, Little Hunt

Robin Run: 4 years

Huntress Run: 4 years and ongoing

Reblogs appreciated <3

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the-uninformed-zennial · 3 years

Text

Dick’s Apartment Chapter 2: Bruce

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28088298/chapters/68953245#workskin

Introduction:

The day following Jason’s death had gone by so quickly, Bruce didn’t know what had happened, not really anyway. All he could see was Robin, Jason, his son, so bloody and bruised and broken. He was almost unrecognizable. Almost. But Bruce knew, he had seen that smiling face far too many times to not know. Jason was gone. He was gone and it was Bruce’s fault. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think. He didn’t know where he was. Somewhere in the city, definitely not Gotham. The next thing he knew, he was looking down at Dick, sleeping peacefully in his bed, just like he used to on long nights after patrol. Dick who had been in countless situations just like the one that got his broth… that got Jason, killed. Was he even real? Was any of this real?

Dick

“Dick.”

His name, someone was calling his name. Breath flooded Dick’s lungs and he opened his eyes, jumping back at the sight in front of him. Batman...er, Bruce in the lightest layer of the batman suit, leaning only a few inches away from his face.

“Bruce?” His brain could not process… why was Bruce in his apartment? What time was it?

“Jason...” Bruce’s lower lip started to quiver. It never quivered. Something was very, very wrong.

“Bruce, I’m Dick, not Jason.” Definitely something wrong with his brain. Maybe a new strain of fear toxin? But then why would he be here and not the cave? And where was Jason anyway? Weren’t the two of them supposed to be in Africa or something?

“No, Jason, he’s…” Tears actually started flowing down Bruce’s face. Dick had never seen Bruce cry, not even once. This wasn’t fear toxin, this was real. That could only mean one thing… no. No, Jason couldn’t be.

“Bruce, where’s Jason?” Despite how much he tried to keep it steady, his voice still shook at the name, his brother’s name.

“Gone.”

Gone. The unspoken word followed without pause. Dead. Taken from the world, never to be seen again. Jason. His brother. He couldn’t… he couldn’t do this. First his parents, now his brother? The brother he had just started to get to know. The brother who relentlessly teased him about every little thing. The brother who always wore that baggy red hoodie no matter what the temperature was like outside. The brother he would never see smile again.

Unbidden tears started to flow down his face. He stared at a blank space on the wall in front of him and tried to slow his breathing. It helped, a little. As soon as the world slowed down it’s spinning he turned to look at Bruce, who was now kneeling on the floor next to Dick’s bed, with his head in his arms. He’d gone catatonic. Dick had only ever seen him this way once before, when affected by one of scarecrow’s fear toxins he had yet to build an immunity to. He and Alfred had been able to calm him down, but only after they had shot him with an extra dose of antitoxin and Dick accidentally caught a punch with his face. But this time was different, there wasn’t a cure for this because it wasn’t drug induced. Jason was really gone, and Bruce was going to snap, if he hadn’t already.

Dick cautiously reached out to touch Bruce’s arm. His head snapped up instantly, and it took everything in Dick’s power to not reach for the knife concealed right behind his nightstand. That is, until he looked in Bruce’s eyes. The man couldn’t stop crying. He was broken. Bruce reached up to touch Dick’s face, and after initially pulling back, Dick eventually leaned forward and let his former guardian touch him.

“It’s okay Bruce.” he cooed, trying to keep his tone steady, “I’m still here.”

That must’ve sunk in, because Bruce started to take some deep breaths, calming himself down, just like he taught Dick to do in emergency situations. Pretty soon, he was able to stand up on his own. At which point he kind of awkwardly leaned against the wall in the bedroom. Dick took the chance to glance down at his clock, 3:00 AM. Well, there went any hope he had for sleep before work in the morning. He grudgingly climbed off the end of his bed, so as to not disturb Bruce, and shuffled his way into the kitchen. Coffee. He needed coffee, and maybe a drink. Bruce probably did too.

“I-I should go.” Bruce mumbled, from his position in the bedroom.

“No way.” Dick said, a lot more coherently than he felt, “You don’t get to break into my apartment and wake me up in the middle of the night to tell me terrible news with no explanation and then ditch me after having a come-apart on my bedroom floor. Not gonna happen. So, do you want coffee or bourbon or both?”

Bruce just grunted and made his way over to the small, cluttered table that was the closest thing to a dining room Dick had in his tiny apartment. The two of them just stood there in silence for a few minutes while the water got heated. Jason, dead. That couldn’t be possible. He’d just seen him like, what, a week ago? He had just helped dismantle a drug ring that was terrorizing the city, most of the guys hadn’t even been prosecuted yet. How could he be gone? Dick didn’t notice the stray tear falling down his face until the coffee pot started making that screeching noise that indicated it was almost done. He wiped it off his face before getting down two mugs and pulling the milk and sugar from his fridge.

Bruce always said he liked his coffee black, but Dick knew that he secretly preferred a small splash of milk to dull some of the coffee’s sharper tastes. He poured the black liquid into the two cups then took down the bourbon and splashed a bit in as well. This was going to be a long night (morning?), whatever.

“Here.” The force with which Dick set the mug on the table made a little of the hot liquid splash onto some stray papers.

Bruce stayed leaning up against the wall, looking at the open window like a bird, or a bat, ready to take flight.

“Sit down and tell me what happened.”

Bruce simply glared at him.

“Bruce,” Dick chided, “how did he… what went wrong?”

Bruce still stood aloof next to the window, but decided to reach for the coffee and took a sip.

“If you aren’t here to talk, why did you come?”

He put the mug down, “I need you to stop.”

Dick raised his eyebrows in confusion, “Stop what?”

“Nightwing.”

Dick’s jaw clenched automatically. His head shook a little with the effort it took to contain his ever amounting rage. Hadn’t they already had this conversation before? Didn’t Bruce remember where this conversation got them last time?

“Will you ever stop...” he began, but couldn’t finish. Treating me like a child ...or... being batman … Dick couldn’t decide which would be the more fitting end to the question. Somehow, Bruce knew exactly what he meant. The answer to both questions forming in his mind was answered in a simple,

“No.”

The rest of the morning was spent in relative silence. Bruce had made it fairly clear that he would not tell Dick about what had happened with Jason, and Dick was honestly too tired to press. He figured he’d just hack into the batcomputer next chance he got and find out what happened for himself. Bruce would eventually need to answer his questions, but Dick figured they could remain unanswered until Bruce got his head back on straight. Besides, his mind was too full of all the memories and emotion that he didn’t think he would really hear Bruce even if he did explain himself.

Fifteen minutes until five and Dick finally broke the silence, “Look, I have a meeting with the Titans in a couple minutes and you need some sleep. There are some sheets in the nightstand by my bed and the couch is pretty comfortable, so crash there if you need to.”

Bruce lifted his head up in slight acknowledgement of what Dick had said, but quickly regained his brooding stature. Standing there in the dim morning light he looked more like a gargoyle than a real person. For once, Dick thought he could understand why Bruce chose to name himself after a bat, the two creatures shared an eerie similarity; the natural ability to strike terror into the heart of a bystander.

Dick eventually left to go get ready for his meeting. By the time he came out of the bathroom, he found that Bruce had pulled the sheets out of the drawer and laid them on the sofa. He also noticed half of his bottle of bourbon was gone. Dick couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Bruce drink. What could have gone so wrong? But there was no time to pry answers out of the stubborn bat, they would just have to wait.

So as Dick turned to leave for the day he looked at Bruce for just a moment and said, “I expect you’ll be ready to actually talk to me when I return.”

With that, he left.

---

Dick came back to an empty apartment. It looked exactly as he had left it, not a trace of Bruce anywhere, save the unlocked window and the empty bottle of bourbon in the trash. Dick could almost pretend it was a dream, just another bad nightmare. But deep down he knew Bruce had told the truth. Jason was dead.

The weight of it all slammed into him at once, and he found himself crouched on the ground gasping for air through tear soaked sobs. Jason was dead. He couldn’t move, so he didn’t. Dick stayed there, frozen on the ground, paralyzed in sadness until dawn rose to greet him once more.

Notes:

This takes place in a slightly altered version of canon where Dick wasn’t off-world at the time of Jason’s death. However, I tried my best to make it so that the events of New Titans #55 could still make sense (with a few minor adjustments), because I think the way they wrote it was actually pretty well done.

#batfam #batboys #batman and robin #jasontodddied #aftermathofdeath #nightwing #batman #dickgrayson #bruce wayne #bruce wayne is a bad parent #dc comics #dc fanfic #batman fanfiction #ao3fic #ao3 author #fanfic

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majingojira · 4 years

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Batman Real-Time Aging Timeline

One of my fun hobbies is, well, a crossover universe where things age in real-time. I’ve been working on a timeline involving masked vigilantism, and Batman is, of course, central to it. Presented below is part of that rough timeline. Things are still in flux, but understand that the primary sources for this are a few select crossover stories (IE: Batman & Captain America, Batman & Tarzan: Claws of the Catwoman, Batman vs Predator, Batgirl & Ghost, etc), and stories that involve real-time aging for the Bat-Family (IE: John Byrne’s Generations -- though even that is a bit weird). And Pulps. Lots and Lotas of Pulps. Also, things are taken with a “Imagine trying to figure out what happened at Pearl Harbor when all you have to go on are the movies made from it” and most comics fall under the Michael Bay version.

I’ll focus on dates of birth, mantel adoptions, marriages, retirements and the like, but I’ll also mention fun crossovers that occur along the way. Not all of them, but some. So, brace yourself for weird. But I did my best to include EVERYONE.

1917 - Bruce Wayne born.

1928 - Dick Grayson born.

1929 - The Shadow saves the Waynes and their son from a mugger. (Batman #259 - “The Night of the Shadow”) However, he only delays the inevitable as the Waynes are gunned down in front of the young Bruce who swears to never let that happen to anyone else.

1930 - James Gordon, in an effort to clean up Gotham, takes to some mild vigilantism himself as “The Whisperer.” He does so for only a year before finding it too taxing. Also:

1931 - Barbara Gordon born.

1937 - Bruce Wayne adopts the mantle of “Batman” to prey on the superstitions and cowardice of the criminal lot.

1939-1945 - World War II

1939 - Batman/Tarzan: Claws of the Cat-Woman - Batman and Tarzan team up on an adventure. A Wayne founded expedition to Africa was corrupted by Finnegan Dent (an uncle to DA Harvey Dent) and they looted ... Wakanda. It’s Wakanda. Sure, they don’t call it that, but Wakanda is already in the crossover universe, and how many bast-worshiping Egyptian civilizations exist in Africa? One is enough. Also, The Cat-Woman is a princess priestess of Bast stealing back the looted artifacts and uses a black leopard themed outfit for her escapades. So, yeah, Catwoman is The Black Panther. And she’s a dark-skinned African Woman named Khefretari. The adventure concludes with her having to not use the mantle and ascend to kingship with the death of her father, but it is not the end of their story as she still has artifacts to return...

Batman and Superman meet for the first time.

The Justice Society forms. As a social club for vigilantes and superhumans to unwind in. They mostly share stories and shoot the breeze, but occasionally teamed up for larger missions, especially when America entered WWII. But it’s primary purpose is networking and recovery.

1940 - Dick Grayson’s family is murdered in front of him. Bruce Wayne adopts the boy and Dick soon joins Batman on his adventures as Robin the Boy Wonder.

The Masked Vigilante Boom of the 1940s begins in earnest, with many people taking to vigilantism to battle crime. Black Canary and Green Arrow get their start among many others.

1941 - Detective Comics #63 - Batman battles the master thief Raffles.

1945 - Batman Meets Captain America - The Joker may be evil, but he’s at least not a Nazi! He ends up in a gulag for his troubles. He doesn’t find it very funny.

1948 - The House of Un-American Activities starts to target Costumed Vigilantes. The Justice Society disbanded in response. Diana Trevor, Wonder Woman, starts working from inside the system to counter McArthy and J. Edgar Hoover. Subtly and openly, be it the Holiday Girls (secretaries make excellent spies) or secretly abetting other superhumans. Still, most costumed vigilantes retire at this point. As for the rest... Some are apprehended, others sign up with the government, and others still are killed in FBI Raids.

As Superheroes are under fire from the government, several class-action lawsuits also hound more public figures of superheroes, and only a few survive with their reputations and resources intact.

1949 - Dick Grayson goes to College (and later, law school).

Khefretari/Selina Kyle finishes her mission and abdicates her role as Black Panther. With the aid of Diana Trevor, she explains her situation to the UN world court. In the end, she still serves some time for what she did (Colonizers gonna Colonize), but she is effectively let off with a slap on the wrist. She did this to help mend the rift between herself and Bruce Wayne. Doing so, however, removed her from the line of royal succession. Her brother, T’Chaka, father of T’Challa, becomes the next Black Panther. Khefretari’s timing, however, could have been better, for you see ...

1950 - Bruce Wayne marries Julie Madison.

Bruce Wayne jr. born.

Dick Grayson takes over as Batman II primarily with Bruce focusing a bit more on Family life. However, he cannot leave it fully alone.

Kathy Kane and Bette Kane attempt to help out their cousin Bruce on various cases, as Bat-Woman I and Bat-Girl I.

1953 - Batman #253 - Batman and the Shadow meet as crime fighters for the first time.

Kathy Kane and Bette Kane retire as Bat-Woman and Bat-Girl.

1954 - Batman #259 - Batman and the Shadow meet again.

Barbara Gordon is off to a party, and her own “Batgirl” costume gives her a minor edge when she stops a crime in progress. Thrilled with the idea, she begins to operate as Batgirl II. Eventually getting Dick and Bruce to agree. Because she will not take ‘no’ from either of them.

Sandra Wu-San a.k.a. “Lady Shiva” is born.

1955 - Julie Madison and Bruce Wayne divorce. Even married, even with family, Bruce is a might obsessive with this vow of vengeance.

At this time, Bruce Wayne begins matching his wits against a man the comics report to be “Ra’s Al Ghul”, the Demon’s Head. He is also known as The Devil Doctor, Fu Manchu.

Khefretari/Selina Kyle is now a free woman.

1957 - Bruce Wayne marries Khefretari/Selina Kyle. Helena Wayne born.

1958 - Batman: The Brave and the Bold “Trials of the Demon!” - Batman is summoned back to the 1890s by Jason Blood for help escaping being blamed for occult crimes. Jason is subdued, but Holmes and Watson are there to help Batman adjust and rescue Jason Blood/The Demon Etrigan from the forces of hell itself.

1959 - DC Comics: The New Frontier - The Centre attacks.

Diana Trevor works out a government organization to better employ multi-mystery-man operations in the future with her at the head and thus limiting access to their identities or technologies by the other branches. This is often called “The Justice League” or “The Avengers” among other things. The laws about costumed vigilantism are changed somewhat. The short of it is, Good Samaritan Laws apply now to people in masks, but vigilantism is still illegal. Most Superheroes work either for government agencies or are deputized by such, work as private investigators, or bail bondsmen. Some still act independently of that, but again, Good Samaritan laws apply. This is why the “No Killing” rule became so common in superhero stories at this time.

1960 - Dick Grayson marries Barbara Gordon. They have a son, James Grayson.

1961 - Birth of Jason Todd.

1964 - Dick and Barbara Grayson’s second son, Dick Grayson Jr, is born.

1966 - Batman/The Green Hornet - “A Piece of the Action”/“Batman’s Satisfaction”

1971 - The New Scooby-Doo Movies “The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair” - Batman and Robin meet Mysteries Inc.

1973 - Barbara Grayson christens Helena Wayne as the new Batgirl (Batgirl III). Barbara Grayson refines the “Oracle Database”

1974 - Dick Grayson is critically injured on a case and retires as Batman. Bruce Wayne Jr. becomes Batman III.

Detective Comics #446 “Slaughter in Silver” - The new Batman crosses paths with The Shadow.

1975 - Jason Todd is taken in by Bruce Wayne jr.

1975-1984 - The “Biomega” War.

1977 - Khefretari is nearly killed after suffering blackmail. Helena is incensed by this and becomes the Huntress to reflect her darker outlook.

Batman Family #18 “A Choice of Destinies” - Helena Wayne joins the Lawfirm her family runs: Cranston, Grayson, and Wayne. Founded by Bruce Wayne (Batman), Dick Grayson (Batrman II) and Lamont Cranston (The Shadow).

1978 - Stephanie Brown born.

1979 - Jason Todd starts college, Dick Grayson Jr. steps up to become Robin IV while he’s away. Jason is ... a little annoyed at this, but doesn’t speak up about it.

Tim Drake is born to Jack and Angela Drake.

Formation of The “New” Teen Titans, the prior group being a publicity op and little else. The members are gathered by Raven, a sorceress daughter of an extremely powerful demonic entity (The First? Nyarlathotep?). They include a Founder alien living on earth known as Garfield Logan or “Beast Boy”, Dick Grayson Jr. as first Robin IV and then Nightwing I, Kori’ander a.k.a. Starfire (a Vigori of Oden’Tall), Victor Stone a.k.a. “Cyborg” (a more severe cyberization given to a high school senior after a terrible accident than that of Steven Austin), and the amazonian handmaiden to the royal family known as Troia or Donna Troy/Wonder Girl. They are ‘supervised’ by Wally West a.k.a. The Flash III.

1980 - Barbara Gordon survives an assassination attempt, but is left paralyzed from the waist down.

The Oracle Database becomes the Oracle Network.

James Gordon sr. is tortured and nearly killed by the same assassins.

Helena Wayne marries Santo Bertinelli, a young man born into a Mafia family who turned on them out of a sense of justice. Helena Bertinelli Jr. born.

Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk: The Monster and the Madman

1981 - Fu Manchu/Ra’s Al Ghul meets his final end. Several groups spawn from the dissolving of his group, and others expand their bases of operations with the power vacuum established. These include the Atlas Foundation, The Hand/The Foot, the League of Assassins, and the League of Shadows. Bruce Wayne and Khefretari fake their deaths to lead one of those splinter groups (after a Lazarus dip) in secret and try and turn the network towards good.

Bruce Wayne Jr., Batman III, forms a covert band of metahumans dubbed “The Outsiders,” consisting of himself, chemical shifter Rex Mason (Metamorpho), Geokinetic Brion Markov (Geo-Force), martial artist and enchanted weapon wielder Tatsu Yamashiro (Katana), atomic mutant Gabrielle Doe (Halo), Psychokinetic Emilia Briggs (Looker), and Electrical Mutant Jefferson Pierce (Black Lightning). others join or leave over time, the team operates for a few years before disbanding.

1982 - Jason Todd is killed in action. Talia Al Ghul/The Daughter of the Demon, steals his body and revives it to begin twisting him into a weapon against the Wayne family that helped kill her father and leave Si-Fan in tatters. Dick Grayson Jr. becomes Nightwing I.

1983 - Cassandra Cain was born to “Lady Shiva” and David Cain.

1984 - Carrie Kelly becomes Robin V to Bruce Wayne Jr.’s Batman III.

Spider-man and Batman: Disordered Minds

1985 - Batman and Spider-Man

1986 - Detective Comics #572 “The Doomsday Book” - Batman III (Bruce Wayne Jr.) and Robin V (Carrie Kelly) join Ralph Dibney (The Elongated Man) and aged private eye Slam Bradley on a case that takes them to London to prevent the assassination of Queen Elizabeth by Edgar Moriarity. Mary Jane Watson-Parker is on the scene, herself a descendant of Doctor John Watson (and Red Sonja of Hyrkania), just in time for all to me the 132-year-old Sherlock Holmes as he helps ensure Edgar’s capture. Peter Parker, also on the scene as himself, learns that he is also a descendant of the Moriarity’s. Holmes gives the couple his blessing.

1987 - Dick Grayson Jr marries Kori’ander/Kory Anders/Starfire of Oden’tal.

1988 - Mar’i Grayson of Earth/Mary Grayson is born.

1989 - Helena Bertinelli Sr. retires as Huntress.

1990 - Harley Quinn first appears as the Joker’s go-to henchwoman.

1993 - Damian Wayne born to Bruce Wayne Sr. and Khefretari.

Dr. Pamela Isley makes a bargain with the fae realms and becomes a creature of fairy similar to a Dryad. She is known only as Poison Ivy.

1994 - Carrie Kelly becomes the “heroic” Catwoman in part to counter all the “Pretenders to the Throne” as it were (and to stop the Helenas from killing them outright for the insult). She also starts operating heavily within the Oracle Network, being groomed by Barbara to be her replacement.

1995 - Tim Drake becomes Robin VI. Stephanie Brown becomes The Spoiler.

Poison Ivy takes in Harley Quinn and helps her recover from the abuse the Joker heaped upon her or at least tries. She is kept as a ward of the fairies and has an extended life span as a result. It still takes her over a decade to get over “Mr. Jay.”

1996 - Carrie Kelly takes over the Oracle Network's primary leadership role.

1998 - Helena Bertinelli Jr. takes up her mother’s mantle as Huntress.

2000 - No Man’s Land begins. Cassandra Cain becomes Batgirl III.

2004 - Bruce Wayne Jr. starts working in an armored “Beyond” Batsuit. Tim Drake changed his costumed and started to be called “Red Robin” to his annoyance. Jason Todd Attacks. Cassandra Cain manages to annoy the editors of DC Comics.

2005-2015 - The Biomega Menace trickles through with various attacks until it comes to a head in 2015 when it revives the Centre. The beast is destroyed, ending the Biomega threat...for now. (Atomic Robo and the Ring of Fire, Pacific Rim)

2005 - Bruce Wayne Sr. and Selena Wayne recruit Cassandra Cain among others for “Batman Inc” to help them take down the other Si-fan factions, in particular, the League of Shadows which followed Cassandra’s mother, Lady Shiva (who could care less about it, but her uncontrollable force-of-nature like movements were throwing everything into chaos). Cassandra adopts the identity of “Hei Bianfu” (Black Bat) or just “Batman of Hong Kong.”

Damian Wayne is sent to live with the rest of the “Bat-family” to hopefully temper the bad influences still remaining around his parents that had seeped into the boy’s development.

Kate Kane becomes Batwoman II.

Stephanie Brown becomes Batgirl V.

2010 - Tim Drake starts taking over as Batman IV.

Cassandra Cain becomes Nightwing III.

2011 - Tim Drake weds Stephanie Brown. Cassandra Cain lives with them. Their relationship is the stuff of tabloid platinum.

2013 - Luke Fox joins the American Batman inc. as Batwing II.

2014 - Duke Thomas starts leading the Robin gang, to Damian’s irritation. Of the group, Terry McGinnis, Harper Row, Riko Sheridan, and Isabella Oritz, along with Duke, do eventually meet Damian’s exacting standards. Eventually.

2015 - Duke Thomas becomes The Signal.

Night of the Monster Men: Gotham is threatened by a fierce attack from Biomega under the control of a man invoking the name of Hugo Strange. 4 of the monsters are unleashed, several of them also carry a variant of the Insania Virus in their blood and viscera. When people are exposed to it, it drives them to high aggression or even transforming them into hideous beasts. A cure is quickly deduced, and Hugo captured. The Bat-family during this crisis consists of Timothy Drake (Batman IV), Cassandra Cain (Batwoman III), Stephanie Brown (Nightwing IV), Sin Lance (Orphan--visiting from the Arrow family), Tiffany Fox (Spoiler II), Duke Thomas (The Signal), and a being referred to as “Clayface” (Identity currently unknown).

2020 - Damian Wayne takes over as the primary Batman, but also dons the Nightwing attire because he likes it. Terry McGinnis and Duke Thomas share roles as “Batwing” or “Batman Beyond.” Cassandra Cain is known as simply The Batt. Stephanie Brown as Nightwing IV, with Tiffany Fox as Batgirl V. Harper Row mostly operates behind the scenes, but has the identity of “Bluebird” to help when it's needed. Tim Drake is fully entrenched as part of the Oracle network. Riko Sheridan and Isabella Oritz share duties as Robins.

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aconitemare · 4 years

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[jaydick] Before That, And Colder

Chapter 2

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

AO3

A breeze lifts gently over the port, sweeping Dick’s dark curls from his face as he adjusts his tortoiseshell sunglasses on his nose. He smiles appreciatively at the valet who opens his door and quickly switches his call from bluetooth to phone. There’s no need for the valet to hear the frustrated growling on the other end of the line.

As he steps out, he deposits the keys to his sleek and silver Audi R8 Spyder — a recent gift from Bruce, justified as mission-based although Dick could see the quiet excitement in Bruce’s tugging lips when he led him to the Batgarage, understood this was a gift — into the valet’s open palm, along with a cash tip. “Thank you,” he mouths, hand cupping the receiver.

A recent stalker with a penchant for crowbars pushed Jason into requesting Tim’s — and, by extension, everyone else’s — help. Last night, he agreed to let Dick join Tim on surveillance; the stalker likes to leave Jason pictures of their assaults, which means it’s likely only a matter of time before they catch some distinguishing trait on camera. Unfortunately, time is of the essence and Jason is short four Outlaws and Dick gets antsy playing the waiting game. He’d rather investigate Red Hood’s Iceberg Lounge associates. He called Jason to update him on the change of plans the minute he pulled into valet and not a minute before.

“I mean it, N,” Jason insists. “Don’t come here. I don’t need bats up in my belfry. Vigilante-types make my guys nervous.”

“And you don’t?” Dick challenges. A bellhop removes a suitcase from the trunk and quickly wheels it past the shiny glass double doors, which another attendant holds open while Dick leisurely walks towards the entrance. Seagulls squawk, diving in and splashing upwards from the engulfing Atlantic. The air is cool and carries a light, briny taste.

“No, I make them terrified.”

“That’s a good thing, right?” asks Dick. “If they’re busy soiling themselves because the big bad Hood looked at them funny, they’ll hardly even notice me breathing down their necks. So to speak.”

“Wro-o-ong,” drawls Jason on the other end. Dick imagines him rolling his eyes, or maybe reclining in exasperation if he’s on a nice office chair. Jason is a casino-owner now, or something along those lines. He might even wear a tie. “Terrified is good for them. It makes them efficient. Nervous people get clammy hands and drop the ball,” explains Jason.

“They won’t even notice me,” Dick appeals. He nods politely at the door attendant and stops at the front desk for his room key, where another bellhop promptly escorts his luggage. He tries not to speculate inwardly over anyone’s salary here. He resolves to just tip very well, as the tried-and-true Wayne method of resolving one-percenter guilt.

“I’ll notice you.”

Key card in hand, Dick pushes his sunglasses over his bangs, tapping the desk in an appreciative gesture. He follows the direction the receptionist pointed out. “That’s flattering, Jase, but sounds like a you-problem,” he says absently. He’s watching the virtual fish that wade through the pixelated water of the lobby’s walls. Beside the crystal elevator is an extravagant fountain that burbles and gurgles. Dick inhales the air around him: filtered by salt, not chlorine. Nice touch, he thinks wryly. Though he doubts Cobblepot had anything directly to do with the interior design of this place.

“Har-har,” Jason responds without much humor. “Look, I’m not a complete jackass. I appreciate the help, trust you’re all fairly competent, etcetera, but this is my territory. I don’t swing into Bludhaven and criticize how you’re running things.”

The clamshell-shaped light switches on as a ding sounds. “Who’s criticizing?” Dick asks innocently. The doors part and Dick steps inside. The walls are crystal but not completely transparent, warped as they are by the cleavage and cast in a sickly blue light from above. There’s even air conditioning, which makes the confined space frigid. He’s certainly in the iceberg now.

Jason sighs into his speaker. “Nothing, absolutely nothing about the Iceberg Lounge is legal,” he confesses. This confession is not much of a revelation, however, as news of Red Hood’s latest operation circulated the bats via Batman more-or-less immediately. Jason shares major updates on the Underground he plans to infiltrate and, in exchange, Bruce turns a blind eye to the everything-else part. The whereabouts of the Lounge’s original owner, Mr. Cobblepot, is anyone’s guess — although everyone’s guess is pretty good.

Dick watches the number on the screen tick upwards. He can’t wait to be out of this icebox after mere seconds. He misses his first apartment in Bludhaven, the one with the dirty carpeted stairs and the humid lobby and the friends. The hotel’s design is foreign and cold by comparison, although if he’s being fair, most of Gotham has felt like that since his return.

He’s preoccupied by several thoughts and not giving his all to this conversation — which he did start, yes, but only out of courtesy to Jason. He’s mostly amused that Jason seems to expect Dick to crash through a window in full Nightwing get-up and arrest everyone on the spot. Then again, maybe Jason’s paranoia isn’t wholly unfounded. Tiger did always say Dick was a terrible spy.

For the sake of this conversation, however perfunctory, Dick pretends to gasp. “Jason!” he stage-whispers as the doors finally, gratefully, open. “Don’t tell me — is this a money laundering scheme?” He makes sure to add an extra dollop of shocked horror to his words.

Dick partly expects Jason to hang up on him, as people usually shut down when Dick tries on sarcasm for size. It’s not a good tone on him, he’s been told. That’s a miscalculation on Dick’s part, of course, because Jason isn’t affected by words the same way others are, especially Dick’s words. “Yeah, among other things,” Jason mutters instead. “Just stick to parking lot surveillance where my bike is, alright? You know, the original deal. No offense to you, but I don’t like people touching my shit. I’ll let you or some other bat-brat know if my human resources need outsourcing.”

Dick hums agreeably; he hadn’t expected Jason’s utmost cooperation anyway. It’s always best to obtain someone’s blessing, if he can, but permission just gets in his way. “‘No touching,’” Dick repeats as he wanders down the hall in search for his room. “Not a request I hear often,” he teases.

“Not a request, or I would’ve added please.”

3401, 3402, 3403, 3404...

“Yes, yes,” Dick placates. The floor here is a sandy-beige marble topped by a molding made entirely of tiny seashells. He resists the urge to crouch down and run his fingers against the texture. “If you won’t let me in your cool casino gang, then I can’t force you. Batman didn’t supply me with a gun to your head,” he assures.

3410, 3411, 3412…

On the other end, Jason snorts. “No, he just gave you a lifetime supply of entitlement and an annoying personality.”

3414, 3415, 3416…

“Hey, the latter was home-grown, thank you,” Dick defends, feigning offense. “Also, I unfortunately must end this conversation because — ”

The line goes dead. Dick removes the phone from his ear and frowns at it.

He discovers he likes this floor better, especially after the preternatural blue of the elevator. Here, the light is a warm yellow cast from plastic conch shells. The mosaic walls are made entirely of pale blue sea glass with waves of green rippling through. It’s an artistic take on the beach. An artful interpretation with central air conditioning.

He arrives at his room shortly after the phone call, sliding his key card in and waiting for the green light to appear with a short buzz. It does, and Dick pushes in to find his Coach suitcase already beside his California King bed. The style is less minimalist than he had expected, with bold blues and reds splashed across the walls in a lucky imitation of the violent sunsets over Bludhaven’s waterfront. Dick is almost nostalgic, he thinks.

The first thing Dick does is check for bugs. This takes some time, since Bruce called the hotel before Dick could and ordered his version of “modest and undercover,” which still qualifies as a suite. Dick doubts the room is bugged, as certainly most of the nefarious higher-ups’ attention would be paid to the casino and not the hotel. Still, best to begin and end all missions with routine since the middle parts always get too chaotic for formalities. Dick adapts better than Bruce himself does, but he still knows the value of order and tries to accommodate it when he can.

The minute corners of the ceiling and the floor are dustless. The carpet is soft and thick, Dick’s feet sinking in with each step. The nightstand has a phone, a notepad, a lamp, a service menu, and a casino itinerary, but no bible. Dick wonders who made that decision during the hotel’s design. The television is expansive, flat, and mounted across the wall facing the bed. The extravagance elicits from Dick the same feeling as if a giant mirror has been hoisted onto the ceiling too. Does Bruce also ever get disgusted by such ludicrous excess? Or has he become used to it, like a buzzing in his ear, like tinnitus? Bruce accumulates and accumulates, yet never seems to care for that accumulation one way or another. To be fair, though, Dick has never felt a certain way about grass being green. Or air having smells, as might be the better analogy; sometimes good, sometimes bad, but always taken for granted.

The sweep proves the room clean, as expected. Well, Dick has his own suspicions about government agents and corporate drones peering through the shiny flat-screen, but Lex is a busy man so Dick thinks he’s safe. This is the kind of spot-on humor Tim would appreciate if he hadn’t objected to tagging along. Tim is also a busy man apparently.

Evening won’t fall for another few hours, but Dick should get a head start on socializing. Deciphering who’s actually important, who’s within the Red Hood’s board of trustees, won’t be easy in the intoxicated, big-talking, narcissistic casino crowd. In preparation, Dick accessorizes with a range of subtle tools and weapons: a miniscule switchblade, disguised as a pendant and hidden under his shirt; bandages slipped into his jacket pocket; and a flask of disinfecting alcohol slipped into a pair of white boots. He’s roughing it in designer shoes.

Satisfied, Dick sticks his key card into his wallet and sets about trying his luck.

___

The casino keeps to the same ice-white theme as the hotel. The gaming floors shine like chromium, solid as a frozen lake. The floors winding between the games and shops and restaurants, however, are watery blue with digital fish splashing beneath guests’ feet. It’s novel, really, and it’s possible Dick might’ve even liked the whole schtick if it weren’t so Penguin-y.

The woman beside him places her hand on his wrist. From the ceiling plays an inoffensive pop song, the singer’s voice autotuned to sound as if coming from deep underwater. Dick smiles down at the woman. “Oh, sorry, were you trying to get my attention?”

She’s pretty in a forgettable way, with long blonde hair and a sloping nose. “No, no, sorry!” she says, pulling away clumsily as if remembering herself. She has a plastic water bottle on her, but no alcohol. Trying to sober up still. “I just thought you looked really familiar, like I might know you — ?” Her voice pitches upward at the end, waiting for him to finish her half-formed idea.

Dick communicates to the dealer he’s doubling down and pushes a stack of orange chips forward. He’s hoping the dealer will make a face, however unlikely that is, or do something to attract the attention of a supervisor. He wants to attract the house’s attention as subtly as possible, suss out anyone who might be high on the chain.

“I was at a televised event recently,” Dick responds, because he doubts they met personally. “The Wayne Foundation was heading a protest against the detention centers in Texas.” The girl’s mouth opens, gulping, fish-like, and Dick wonders if he should talk more about the protest or leave it at that. She’s impressed, but only hazily so, as if she’s recognizing the patterns of words and their moral virtue — foundation, protest, detention centers — but can’t make sense of the detail. Dick muses inwardly; it’s been a while since he was last inebriated, but he’s always been a drifting, Play-Doh-brained drunk like her. He’s tempted to order himself a drink, but that would be counterproductive to Mission: Find Jason’s Mole.

He initially tried chatting with the dealer directly, on the off-chance of information trickling down. She’s young, barely Dick’s age, and has shaved half her head in that edgy-punk-rock style Dick recalls Shawn being fond of. Unlike his ex-girlfriend’s cropped hair, which she had dyed with the same warning colors of poison dart frogs, the dealer’s is a natural black that tumbles down her shoulders. Dick did not get far with her as she gave only clipped responses. Now, from under her curtain of hair, she peers with sharp eyes that leap across players’ hands.

The man on his other shoulder slaps the table roughly, startling the dealer and dragging Dick’s attention away from the cards. “You’re one of Wayne’s kids!” he exclaims, pointing a finger. He has a faint Chinese accent ground out in gravelly tones. The knuckles are hairy but bejeweled with smooth rings, and the nails are perfectly manicured. “I’ve been looking at you, trying to figure out!”

Dick would’ve noticed him staring, in that case, but one doesn’t have to stare to watch. The thought alerts him momentarily and his eyes do a quick sweep of the floor again. I’ll give it another hour, he decides. If no one seeks me out, I’ll just have to go snooping.

“That would be me,” Dick confirms. He takes the man’s hand and they shake cordially.

“Should’ve known,” the man continues. “You always dress so — colorful.” He took a moment to decide upon the that adjective, but he doesn’t sound disrespectful so Dick grins. The man is right; Richie Grayson does generally go for the pastels. For the night, he’s dressed himself in a white blazer with muted paisley designs whirling across the silk. Over his breast rests a peach-colored pocket square to match the interior peach fabric he’s displayed by rolling the cuffs to his elbows. No tie, jacket left unbuttoned, and hair gelled carefully-carelessly: he’s the picture of insouciant extravagance.

His first time out with Damian as “Richie,” Damian was infuriated by the silly pastels and airheaded conversations Dick cloaked himself in. Damian ranted about Dick’s public persona being an “odious script he must’ve concocted as a bad joke.” Dick spares him the embarrassment of the truth, which is that Dick appreciates a vacation from himself. The breezy talks and airy outfits are less of a deep-cover character and more for fun. Of course, Damian is also embarrassed by his usual wardrobe of sweats and running pants, so Dick doesn’t bother trying to live up to the kid’s standards. They’re both just glad to have each other back. Dick has missed out on so much, but Damian hardly notices the changes in either of them. It’s because he’s still young and time isn’t finite yet. Childhood clings to Damian’s full cheeks and attitude. His stubborn youth relieves Dick. He’s missed out on a lot, but not everything.

“Yes, I keep up with Bruce Wayne, men like him,” the man at the table continues for explanation. He taps his head. “They’re smart. Can learn from them. Or I try to, at least.” With that, he laughs all the way from his gut. Dick can feel himself warming up as he often does around good-humored people. He can’t help it; he’s a sucker for laughter.

He buys drinks for the table, except for the woman, whom he buys another water. The hour drags on. He wishes he was playing poker and not blackjack, although poker gets too vitriolic for his tastes and doesn’t concern the house much, which is what he needs to do. He’s beginning to doubt his plan, though, and he wonders if it would be easier just to beg Jason to let him in on the case in full. He’s not going to do that however. He hadn’t expect a yes, but that doesn’t make Jason rejecting his help any less irritating. At this point, he’d prefer swimming with sharks ( again ) over playing nice with a guy who’d apparently rather get assassinated than just cooperate a little.

He’s close to leaving the table when he spots a person of interest. The man is on the shorter side, just shy of scrawny, with tan skin and dark hair. He’s not paying any attention to Dick, just meandering through the tables, but Dick recognizes him from Batman’s Teen Titans database. Miguel Barragan: otherwise known as Bunker, a former member of the Teen Titans and the current owner-on-paper of the Iceberg Lounge. Dick is almost giddy to have such a solid lead right off the bat. He quickly collects his winnings and bids everyone a goodbye, Miguel locked in his peripheral throughout.

He doesn’t approach Miguel directly; he’d probably alert Jason right away of his casino’s sneaky guest. Dick trusts his charisma to carry him through most confrontations, but he also considers anyone associated with Jason to be a bit of a wild card. He’s not sure how he could win Miguel over to his side because he’s not sure how Jason won Miguel over. Dick doesn’t understand how Jason wins anyone over — or, perhaps more accurately, how anyone wins Jason over. Dick hasn’t been able to parse out what grounds the amorphous Outlaws have been founded on, since their modus operandi changes as frequently as their roster and these outlaws seemingly share one characteristic, which is that they are all outlaws.

Dick is admittedly guilty of avoiding Gotham, focusing instead on reestablishing his life in Bludhaven after Spyral. He still receives updates, some of them about the Outlaws, whose guns sometimes shoot rubber bullets and other times kill. Batman occasionally sends the Outlaws on missions, making them either private contractors or accidental, honorary bats. Dick has long given up on deciphering and disarming Bruce’s relationships. Or maybe he hasn’t, since on the practical level, it is on Bruce’s behalf that Dick’s helping Jason. Dick responded to all of Bruce’s messages, albeit late, and Dick himself doesn’t know if his recent lateness is as accidental as he pleads. Dick’s life has always been hectic, yet he’s always made time for Gotham.

What is different now? Dick sees the past year like a literal timeline laid out before him, and if he could just follow that line, eventually he’d find what had changed. Maybe he’s missing a step, though, because he just keeps going back to the dormitory at St. Hadrian’s. He sees himself sitting on the twin-sized, standard-issued bed, back hunched, phone attached to his ear like a lifeline that might disintegrate at any moment. He hears himself leave a message for Mr. Malone; then Dick turns around, abandoning the scene before the line can disintegrate and he shares the same fate as this sad, forgotten figure on the bed.

Dick’s response to Bruce’s latest message was immediate, as Bruce probably assumed it would be. He dangled Jason’s vulnerability like a bait over Dick’s head. Dick, with the stench of death curling into his nostrils at the mere suggestion, took the hook in his mouth and allowed himself to be hauled aboard out of Bludhaven’s hazy depths. So he has resurfaced in Gotham, which he knows is for the best. It gives him the opportunity to right a wrong of his, when Jason first was in danger and Dick had busied himself elsewhere, away from Bruce.

Of course, Jason is not as helpless as he was in his Robin days. The Outlaws are fittingly named, operating more like a loose group of friends egging each other on than a true team (or so it seems to Dick, and indeed everyone else watching them in suspense), but they do pull through for the Hood. Miguel is one of these friends, and therefore likely knows about the Park Row victims and the photos, although whether his priority is Jason’s safety or Jason’s trust is up for debate. Dick has to play it safe and assume that Miguel would report his good intentions and have him thrown back into the parking lot to watch a bike. Or forced off the case altogether, Dick thinks with exasperation, as Jason is prone to theatrics and extremes. Roy and Kory, at least, he does not have to worry about, being off-planet with the Justice League. Artemis and Bizarro have recently disappeared, but Dick doesn’t write them off yet. In his experience, those whose lives defy death rarely stay gone for long. This is both a comfort and a conflict of interest.

He watches Miguel furtively; he accomplishes this by mingling gregariously, camouflaging himself within a dense thicket of drunken socialites. He works crowds consecutively, easing himself in and out of dialogues, his split attention unnoticed in an atmosphere that cultivates distraction. He keeps his face turned away from Miguel at all times. He moves his tortoiseshell sunglasses from his mussed hair to his eyes. He follows.

Miguel does not stay among the blackjack tables. He eventually moves towards the floor with the digital fish, his pace brisk but not hurried. Flashing shop signs and stumbling, moseying guests help blur Dick into the background. He wonders how long he can keep this up for and where he might end up. Best case scenario: Miguel talks to several key players in Red Hood’s operation for Dick to investigate and provides an insider’s look at the map of the casino before he can slip behind a door Dick can’t reasonably follow him through. Worst case scenario: Miguel notices he’s being followed by a weird man who wears sunglasses inside, confronts him, and Jason yells at him about respect and boundaries, as if those are things that exist in their makeshift family. Scenario of undecided goodness: Miguel is the leak and Dick catches him.

From a yard ahead, Miguel shifts his hand from the pocket of his slacks. He presses his ear, tilts his chin downward and to the side. An earpiece, for sure. He’s communicating with someone; perhaps Jason, Dick’s brain immediately supplies, and he does feel some guilt laden over the little kick he gets from the idea of pulling one over on the uncooperative prick. Dick gets his jollies from helping people against their will. Probably not everyone’s idea of fun, but his family just wouldn’t be his family without the unnecessary shadows cloaking every kind act.

Then Dick notices Miguel twist his head just slightly so that his eyes address the floor. Is he looking at Dick? Has he been caught? Dick hangs back, pausing to admire a shop window. He’s grateful for his sunglasses now, which enable him to keep track of Miguel’s progress. Hopefully he looks more eccentric than suspicious in them.

He melts back into the loose crowds once he’s confident Miguel has lost him. He knows Miguel took a right at the escalators, didn’t go up them. Dick keeps a bit of swagger in his walk, feigning leisure while taking broader steps than usual. He needs Miguel to lose track of him without losing track of Miguel himself.

Dick rounds the escalator corner, hands shoved in his pockets. A uniformed woman sweeps a plastic straw into a dustpan. He smiles graciously and sidesteps her. He glimpses Miguel’s figure retreating into a misshapen circle of the line spilling out of a burger joint. His body is swallowed whole by the hungry mass, absorbed neatly into the membrane of good-timers and luck-triers. Dick feels a little of the excitement go out of him. Where, really, can he get with this? He might have to pay Jason a visit as Nightwing after all.

Still, he may as well continue for a bit longer. He’s less than subtle while maneuvering through. His passage doesn’t feel half as smooth as Miguel’s looked. The people in line are glassy-eyed with dumb, slack-jawed smiles. Dick can’t help envisioning them as blind, newborn kittens under his feet. He pushes through in a series of mumbled apologies and penitent smiles. He receives, in return, a few blank smiles delivered on auto-pilot. Mostly he’s just ignored, which does irk him but he reasons that if they’re not bothered enough for a reply, then they’re content and so is he.

He finally breaches the wall of people. Miguel has stopped walking and stands, back facing Dick, near a bistro. A waitress, tufts of blonde locks sticking up like macaroni, intercepts the two of them, carrying a tray from the bistro to the nearest gaming floor. She all but waddles in the standard short white dress and tiny black blazer, throat pinned to her head with a stiff bowtie. When she passes, Dick realizes Miguel is not alone. Leaning against a load-bearing stalagmite is someone else, sneakered heel digging into the floor with their toes pointed up, their fists plunged into the pocket of a pullover. A hood hides their face, though the tip of a nose peeks out. Dick takes a step forward only to be reeled backwards, shoulder jerking where a hand has caught it.

Dick nearly grabs the hand and yanks, but remembers his surroundings and stifles the impulse. He lets himself be dragged towards an unmarked set of double doors. A small box is mounted to the wall in front of him, and another hand reaches out to wave a card over it. A light flashes green and buzzes. Dick’s feet have to dance for purchase as he’s pulled awkwardly by his side. The second the doors swing shut behind them, Dick breaks out of the grasp. His shades have slid down his nose and he pushes them up. He has time to recognize the people milling about as normal employees, some resting in chairs with stained cushions and others carting hampers and vacuums or talking into radios. Name badges abound.

The hand roughly grabs him by the collar. “Easy!” scolds Dick at the same time he gets a good look at the person attached. He’s a big guy with furry arms that could constrict a boa. A gray vest stretches over his broad frame, accentuating his size as well as any muscle tee. He wears a high collar fastened with a wide tie. His throat is as thick as a tree trunk, though, and the overall effect is that of an ill-fitting leash.

“I don’t work here, what are you doing?” Dick demands. He doubts the casino employees here are expecting dignity anyway. Maybe he should even try for tipsy, just to put on a show for anyone watching him get hauled across the room from the scruff of his neck by Hulk Hogan. This has all turned out surprisingly well for him, really. Whoever this guy is, he’s not a hero.

“Behave,” the man orders as he shoves Dick — unnecessarily roughly, for that matter — through another set of double doors. These ones give way without identification.

Dick skips nimbly forward so he doesn’t fall on his face. The man’s hand is on his neck again in an instant, which screams overkill considering Dick hasn’t put up a fight or attempted escape. “‘Behave’?” Dick quotes. “What am I, your long-lost son?”

“Good question,” says the man. The walls here are more eggshell than snowfall with air pockets bubbling beneath the wallpaper. People with name badges eye them curiously but say nothing. Dick wonders how anyone would get rescued in this heads-down atmosphere. It occurs to him, grimly, that they probably wouldn’t.

“Is it?” Dick prods. “Did someone forget to file for a paternity test?”

“What are you, smartass.”

Fingers tighten around his neck, a warning to behave or a threat for what’s to either way. Dick guesses it’s the latter and replies, “What is manhandled, for 300.”

“Yup, keep it up,” the man replies. He takes a sudden left, Dick spinning after like a sidecar held to the driver by a rope. There’s another box-shaped scanner around the corner, presumably for the narrow, metal door adjacent. This device doesn’t scan from afar but requires insertion, and the man feeds it a different card from the one before. There’s no buzz or green light. Just the same, the knob turns easily in the man’s grip.

“Lot of doors here,” Dick observes at the same time that he’s unceremoniously launched, face first, through a door.

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

#jaydick #dickjay #fanfiction for the void #dc

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aquaburst3 · 5 years

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Vocal Pineapple made a video reimaging western superheroes as what they would be like if they were characters in My Hero Academia universe and made to fit said universe. I want to do the same thing with other heroes he never mentioned in the video as a fun thought exercise. I might make another one of these if I think of more.

(As a side note, I’m not doing Spiderman since Vocal Pineapple already tackled that one. Same goes for the other characters he talked about in the video. I won’t talk about Superman, since I think All Might is BNHA’s version of that character already. xP)

Bruce Wayne: Bruce is a quirkless man, who was a part of one of the wealthiest families in the US. Bruce’s parents died while he was a small child. Instead of vowing revenge and wanting to take them down, he started his own hero agency. Other socialites in his city saw this as a strange pursuit, especially given the fact that he had no quirk and never went to a hero school, but Bruce did it anyways and started Batman Incorporated. Over the years, many people worked for him including Barbara, Tim, Luke, etc. Also, during those years he adopted a few boys and had a biological son in the form of Damian.

Ra’s: He’s an Arab man with a longevity and healing quirk, which slows his aging down to a crawl. In fact, he was one of the first quirk users around, born around the same time as All for One. Back when he was alive, Ra’s was the head of the League of Assassins and was one of the big names in the underground alongside All for One. He didn’t like this, so he took out the competition by stealing Ra’s’ quirk. He died shortly after. That’s how All for One is able to live for so long without dying. (After he dies, Talia inherits The League from her father and hatches a plan to have a child with Bruce so he could take down All for One and rule the criminal underground.)

Damian Wayne/Robin: Son of Tailia and Bruce, his quirk, which he inherited from his mother, allows him to predict the moves of his opponents. (With the downside being that he has to make eye contact with them for it to activate.) He was raised by his mother to be the prefect assassin and was the heir to his late grandfather’s empire.

When he first came to live with his father, he was a spoiled brat and saw himself as a prince, everyone around him found him quite annoying. He struggled with the duelling sides of himself–The Assassin Prince and The Son of Batman. Over the course of his adolescence, after much struggle, he calmed down considerably and became a pretty well adjusted adult. He can still be intimidating and badass when he wants to be, even having a sword cane.

In the current timeline, ie when the manga is taking place, he’s an attractive man in his late 20s. He’s married to Kimiko Queen, the half sister of another wealthy socialite, Oliver Queen, and a fellow a former assassin, who works for another hero agency. Damian inherited his father’s company after the aging Bruce retired shortly after he graduated from hero school. Many people work for him, including some fresh talent like Terry (who’s not related to Bruce in this version).

Dick Greyson/Robin/Nightwing: He started off as an acrobat with an agility quirk, who worked long side his family before they passed away. Bruce adopted him and he became Robin while doing his provisional licence. During his early 20s, instead of sticking to his adopted dad’s agency and becoming like Batman, he decided to go down his own path. He did a stint at some hero agencies as Nightwing, being in the Top 10 Heroes List for America for a few years, before deciding to become a teacher at an American hero school and settling down with Barbara. All of the students love him there, since he’s patient and always helps out young students in need.

Tony Stark/Iron Man: He’s another quirkless scientist on I-Island, who created a technologically advanced suit. After his technology gets into the wrong hands, he makes sure that it would never happen again. Expect many dick wagging contests between him and Melissa’s dad over who comes up with the better stuff. He also mentored Peter Parker before Peter passed away right out of high school and then Miles.

Scott Lang/Ant Man (going with the MCU versions for this): He started out as a criminal, who wanted to get money to save his sick daughter by stealing some tech from the company his brother used to work for. One day, he’s tasked to go to I-Island to steal some top secret tech for a group of thugs. He’s caught by Hank Pym. Since he tried to steal for him to help his daughter and had a transforming quirk, the aging doctor offers him up the opportunity to work for him and test out his new suit. Scott agrees and he’s used as the guinea pig for his new powered suit. Now, he’s as an official hero working for Hank Pym with the help of his daughter.

Kamala/Ms Marvel: She’s a Pakistani-American teenager, who attends an American hero school around the same time as Deku and has a quirk where she can morph the size and shape of her body. (Think Mr Fantastic, but with the drawback that she has the strength of those sizes). She’s also still pretty nerdy and loves geeking out over heroes like Deku.

Robbie Reyes/ Ghost Rider: A Latino American with a quirk that allows his whole body to be engulfed in flames without dying or getting burnt and control them. (Think Endeavour’s quirk, but with less control of it if he’s emotional.) He’s a younger hero who is based out of a hero agency in the US. He also uses a motorbike to do his work to separate himself from Endeavour and born with a skull for a head, earning him the name “Ghost Rider.” He’s also does some side work at the US version of UA and a lot of the kids love him as a teacher.

Diana/ Wonder Woman: Born a normal human during the first generation of quirk users, she had a strength quirk that even allowed her to jump long distances and deflect bullets. During this time things were out of control without any rules in place, she went out and caught evil doers anyways. In modern times, long after her passing, her legacy lives on and she’s seen as an idol to young girls, who want to get into the hero business.

Dr Strange: He’s a doctor turned hero, who has a quirk that allows him to manipulate matter. Don’t know what else to add other then that, really.

T'Challa/Black Panther: The king of an African nation, he has a quirk that gives him the skills of a panther. (Think something like Tsuyu’s quirk, but with panther powers and he doesn’t have any panther psychical features like a tail or something.) He decides to use his powers more often to help out his own people and others are in desperate need of his help around the world.

Arthur Curry/Aqua Man: Instead of being the king of the sea, he’s just the son of a lighthouse keeper with a quirk that allows him to control sea life. He joins Mera and starts up his own hero agency. He has two protegees: Aqua Lad and Tempest.

Aqua Lad: Jackson Hyde is the son of an accountant and the villain Black Manta, making him rather self conscious about his image and how others in the business perceive him. Despite being the son of his greatest foe, Arthur wanted him to do his provisional licence training with him. He has a quirk that allows him to manipulate water like a Water Bender from the ATLA universe…without the healing abilities. Personality wise, he’s like his Young Justice counterpart.

Jaime Reyes/ Blue Beetle: He’s a boy living in El Paso,Texas. He has an pulse cannon quirk that allows him to able to create an outward surge of energy wherever his hand is pointing, damaging anyone in a close vicinity. (His friends Paco and Brenda often tease him about being the human version of a cinnamon roll, despite having the power to take out All Might if he wanted to.)

One day while visiting his friend Miles Morales on I-Island, Ted Cord’s lab gets attacked and the scarab that he was creating attaches itself to his spin. The scarab turns out to be armour that has the ability to shape shift and has a highly advance AI (think JARVAS from the MCU). However, due to it not being fully realized yet, it has some glitches and bugs like the AI saying that he needs to use his quirk to destroy others that makes Jaime fear it. Branch of the League of Villains located in the US, The Reach, try to control the scarab in order to turn the boy into a living weapon for All for One, but Jaime stops that plan and the scarab becoming friendly to him.

Oh yeah, he’s also friends with Tracy 13 and Impulse.

Jon Stewart/Green Lantern: He’s a former solider turned hero with a quirk that allows him to create anything, but can only due it when he has another object at hand. (Kinda like a mixture of being an alchemist in the FMA universe and Momo’s quirk.)

#aqua rambles

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lil-nest · 6 years

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For BatfamWeek 2018, day 5: Time Travel

Summary: In a world where Bruce's decision to get Damian's body back from Apokolips has apocalypse-sized consequences, Tim and Damian engineer a plan to go back in time and prevent it. Left alone after Tim's death, Damian must decide how far exactly he is willing to go - not just in time.

Warnings: Major character death, referenced rape (Damian’s conception), referenced child abuse (Damian’s childhood), dubious time-travel grammar

Notes: The quote at the end is from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It’s followed by “ The major problem is quite simply one of grammar” which describes my feelings about his. A second chapter about Damian’s adventures in the past might or might not happen, depending on inspiration, but this can stand alone.

“One does not simply walk out of Apokolips”

Damian had been livid the first time Drake had said it. The world had been turning into ashes because his father had thought he could go to Apokolips and come back without consequences, so the moment had seemed inappropriate for inane quotes. However, as time had passed and the situation had worsened, he had seen how those memes and pop culture references had helped group cohesion, how the right quote at the right time had made the whole group laugh despite their impending doom. So he had swallowed his pride and asked Drake to explain this phenomenon.

And so Timothy had taught him. About social media and movies and books and bands. All the entertainment that had burned with the rest of organized society, leaving only fond memories in the minds of the last survivors. Damian had asked him about his favorites, and had been regaled with stories about Hobbits and magic rings, spaceships and robots, and something about fish and towels. They hadn't had any books, but Timothy had known an impressive number of quotes.

Now Damian was not angry. Instead the quote managed to get a wet laugh out of him. Of course those would be Tim's last words. It was fitting. Yet, as he held his brother's body in his arms, he knew there was more to it. He could understand the encouragement behind it. Frodo had walked into Mordor, even though Boromir and so many other had died. Damian would walk out of the Apokolips-apocalypse, even without Tim. Their plan was almost ready. He only needed to reach the machine and choose a date.

One turned out to be surprisingly more difficult than the other. He pondered his choices as he sat in their makeshift hangar. The obvious choice would have been just before Father and the other went to Apokolips. He could warn them about the dangers, and maybe his presence would help them come to terms with not resurrecting him. Yet, he somehow doubted his father would be willing to listen to reason, even – especially – if it came from his dead son.

Then again, maybe his father didn't have to know the boy he'd see would not be the son he was trying to bring back. If he calculated the time and place correctly, he could pretend he had been resurrected by his grandfather and then had broken out of his clutches to go home. He could even use the Pit Rage as an excuse for any potential apocalypse-related PTSD.

That sounded like a good plan, but... If he had his dates right, then Richard would already be dead. Not to mention the fact that he'd find a version of Timothy he did not get along with. Of course, he knew his brother already loved him enough back then to go along with his father's plan, but between his previous murder attempts and what they had witnessed of Jason's Pit Rage, he would be justified in being doubly suspicious of Damian.

He knew jeopardizing their only plan to prevent the apocalypse for something like personal feelings was disgraceful, but the more he thought about it, the worse the prospect seemed. Maybe he could find another time...

What if he prevented his death? Maybe Nightwing would survive the ordeals that had killed him in this timeline if he wasn't consumed by grief. But then only the younger him would get his eldest brother back and a chance to bond with Timothy. Damian would have to spend his life hiding in order to prevent uncomfortable questions – not to mention the possibility that his mother would keep trying to kill him until it worked.

Maybe go back to when his mother introduced him to his father and take his younger self's place? He could start over with all of them, then. Befriend Tim, earn his father's trust, maybe even prevent his father's “death” and create a plan to integrate Jason back in the family. But what of his younger self? Would he kill him? Hide him somewhere? Leave him for his mother to raise? He couldn't do that to him. Younger him may have been a brat, but he deserved better.

Better than what Damian had just been thinking of doing to him, and certainly better than what his mother had done to him.

Maybe that was it. Maybe he could go back to his birth, kidnap his baby self and go seek shelter in Gotham. His father would certainly agree to protect a boy who claimed to have escaped the League, especially if he came with a baby. Then he'd get to be Grayson's equal and Tim and Jason's big brother, and younger him would grow up happy and loved, and never would have to take a life.

But what if his mother decided to fight for her baby? What if she created a plan to destroy Gotham to take younger him back? Or what if she just made another clone, and made an evil Damian that wouldn't be introduced to Batman and his philosophy?

The only way for Damian to prevent his mother from making an evil clone would be to prevent her from having any genetic material at all. If he just prevented his parents from procreating at all, then there wouldn't be any younger him to take into account, his father wouldn't have to live with having been raped, and if he made himself a place close to his father, he could ensure the rest of his sibling found their way into the family. After all, who said that Father had to kick Grayson out in order to adopt Todd, or that Todd had to die for Timothy to make himself known?

Decision made, Damian started to adjust the device.

A part of him was surprised he wasn't more bothered at the idea of preventing his own conception or changing the course of time. Then again, Timothy had taught him a very insightful quote about such things.

As the time machine started to power up, Damian recited the words.

“One of the major problems encountered in time travel is not that of accidentally becoming your own father or mother. There is no problem involved in becoming your own father or mother that a broadminded and well-adjusted family can’t cope with.”

He hoped that also applied to preventing one's own birth.

“There is also no problem about changing the course of history – the course of history does not change because it all fits together like a jigsaw. All the important changes have happened before the things they were supposed to change and it all sorts itself out in the end.”

A glowing portal opened before him.

Well, he was just about to find out if that part was true.

He stepped in.

#batfamweek2018 #day 5: time travel #damian wayne #tim drake #major character death #implied/referenced rape #implied/referenced child abuse

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daledoesdrafts-blog · 6 years

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Batman: Usurper Cast of Characters (WIP)

After a long period of deliberation, I’ve finally come up with the list of characters I want to use in my fanfic. It took a while because I needed to figure out which characters were around at the time of Knightfall, and if they weren’t around, would it be feasible that they’d show up during the events of my fanfic? I’ve separated them into Heroes, Villains, and Anti-heroes.

Heroes Tim Drake/Cal Corcoran/Redbird -- The story centers around Tim as Jean Paul Valley continues to disgrace the name of Batman. Bruce once described Tim as the world’s greatest strategist, and my intent is to show him beginning to develop that strategist’s mind. In many of the comics throughout his career, Tim also displays a lack of confidence, believing he has to prove himself to Bruce. Above all else, this is a story about Tim confronting his failures and beginning to realize what he can learn from them.

Bruce Wayne -- I really want to show Bruce struggling to adjust to a life where he can no longer be Batman due to his broken back. The original Knightfall trilogy did this to some extent, but not enough for us to get a feel for how difficult that might be for him, particularly when the people he cares about are still in the fight.

Dick Grayson/Nightwing -- some of my favorite Tim Drake comics are those that have him teaming up with Nightwing. They have a beautiful brotherly relationship that Chuck Dixon repeatedly made better and better. Dick trusted Tim to be Robin long before Bruce did, which is a compliment I imagine Tim didn’t soon forget. Dick also went through a bit of an identity crisis during the events of Knightfall where he began to question whether or not he was mentally fit to be Nightwing or to lead the Teen Titans. Like Tim, I think there’s a lot of opportunity for Dick to confront his demons.

Helena Bertinelli/Huntress -- Tim Drake had developed a partnership with Huntress during the events of the first few Robin comics, helping him take down King Snake and other villains. While Batman didn’t trust her due to her connection to one of Gotham’s crime families, Tim saw her as someone whose knowledge of organized crime would prove invaluable time and again.

Stephanie Brown/Spoiler -- The relationship between Tim Drake and Stephanie Brown is one I’ve come to love, despite Bruce’s initial disapproval of Stephanie. As Tim and Stephanie grew older, their witty banter back and forth as they took down Gotham’s thugs became one of the things I loved best about Robin comics. And like Tim, Stephanie felt the need to prove herself as a crime fighter. Though I enjoyed her time as both Robin and Batgirl, I always loved Stephanie best as Spoiler. Particularly in some of the newer comics, she’s realized she doesn’t need Batman’s approval to fight crime, and I think it’s important that her hero persona reflect that independence.

James Gordon, Harvey Bullock, and Renee Montoya -- For my fanfic, Mayor Krol has stripped Gordon of his job as police commissioner. Justice in Gotham is handled solely by Jean Paul Valley/Batman, which is to say there is no true justice in Gotham anymore. Bullock and Montoya are unwilling to serve under such excessive force, so they turn in their badges to follow Gordon in a vain attempt to restore order to the city.

Alfred Pennyworth -- Alfred doesn’t make much of an appearance in my fanfic. While I don’t think his absence his permanent, he’s become more than a little frustrated with Bruce’s decisions during the events of Knightfall and has decided a break is in order. As much as he cares for Bruce, Dick, and Tim, however, I can’t imagine he’ll be completely out of the picture. I’ve also always liked the Earth One version of Alfred a bit more than the typical depictions of him. Earth One depicts him as not only Bruce’s caretaker, but one of his mentors as well--a man who has seen war and can just as easily kill a man as save his life.

Barbara Gordon/Oracle -- Babs is another one of my favorites. I especially wanted to have her in this story because I’ve always felt like Bruce and Barbara were never very close in the comics. I think Barbara would be an obvious person for Bruce to turn to as he adjusts to his life without the cowl. She’d be someone who could teach him how to continue the war on crime without being an active participant.

Dinah Drake/Black Canary -- Dinah has a small cameo in the story, since I wanted her, Oracle, and Huntress to be in the initial stages of forming the Birds of Prey.

Cassandra Cain/Batgirl -- Although Cassandra wasn’t around during the events of Knightfall, my fanfic takes place a few years after Jean Paul Valley takes up the cowl, so it’s feasible that she would have appeared by then. Each of the Batgirls has a special place in my heart, but Cassandra always struck me as intriguing because she was raised by an assassin, yet of all the Batgirls she seems to have the biggest heart.

Clark Kent/Superman -- I had to do some research on this because the Knightfall and Death/Return of Superman comics take place around the same time. I wasn’t sure if Superman would have returned by the time my story takes place, but multiple sources claim that there was a comic in which Superman checked in with Jean Paul after his return. Jean Paul, however, had lined his cowl with lead so Superman couldn’t see who was wearing the Batsuit. This obviously raised some suspicions for Clark, but apparently not enough for him to investigate further. “Usurper” would have Superman taking a more active role in deposing Jean Paul. I’ve also mentally replaced Superman’s black-and-white, mullet-wearing Return costume with the blue, red, and black costume of Kingdom Come.

Villains

Jean Paul Valley/Azrael/Batman -- The idea of Batman as a villain excites me to no end, and while Jean Paul isn’t the true Batman (however much he might wish it were so), he represents what Bruce might become if he ever breaks his rule not to kill. It’s also going to be interesting to explore Batman from the perspective of those he hunts--how terrifying that would be, especially knowing that this Batman kills. Jean Paul strikes me as somewhat of a tragic villain--he’s a man who believes he’s doing good, but ultimately is no better than the criminals he kills. He fears that without the brainwashing of the Order of St. Dumas, he’ll be nothing, which sadly is what he ultimately becomes.

The Order of St. Dumas -- The Order is responsible for Jean Paul’s brainwashing into becoming Azrael, and their influence on him is always present as he continues to have hallucinations of his father and St. Dumas throughout the Knightfall trilogy. The purpose of this brainwashing, however, is never quite explained. Presumably, the Order wanted Azrael to become an avenging angel of Gotham--one who would deal with its criminal element in a permanent fashion as opposed to Batman’s temporary one. “Usurper” takes it a step further, with the Order revealing themselves to be a fascist organization bent on placing Gotham under their martial law.

Victor Zsasz -- From the time I first read the Knightfall trilogy, I always loved how creepily realistic Zsasz seemed compared to a lot of Batman’s other villains. The concept of a man who carves tallies of the number of people he’s killed into his skin fits into the grittiness of Gotham perfectly. Even the fact that his eyes in Knightfall were merely dark slits from which two white specs stared hungrily drew me towards wanting to write a Batman story with Zsasz in it.

Joker -- Like Alfred, I don’t think Joker will show up very much. If anything, I feel like Joker is better in small doses, rather than in long story arcs. Part of what makes his character so good is the mystery behind him, and the longer he’s around, the less mystery there is and the less creepy and unpredictable he becomes. That being said, I’m interested in showing a darker Joker here than what appears in the Knightfall comics. In Batman and Son, Grant Morrison suggests that Joker goes through periods in which his personality changes, making him even more unpredictable, and currently I’m thinking we’ll get to see Joker go from a campier character to the grittier villain we see in comics by Brian Azzarello and Scott Snyder.

The Court of Owls -- This secret society appeared in the first two volumes of Scott Snyder’s run of Batman comics in 2011, yet Snyder suggests that the Court has existed in Gotham since its creation. Again, I don’t intend for the Court to show up much (or, perhaps, at all), but Tim and the rest of the Bat-family will start to hear hints and rumors of their existence.

Anti-heroes Bane -- Bane has little more than a cameo appearance in my story. Rather than turning Bane over to police custody, Jean Paul gives him an almost lethal dose of the super-steroid called Venom. He’s rushed to the hospital where he remains in a comatose state. His gang, however, remains active in both Gotham and Santa Prisca. Tim contacts them to learn more about how Bane managed to defeat Batman and take over Gotham.

Edward Nigma/Riddler -- For a brief period, some of the Batman comics featured Riddler as a detective who solved Gotham’s most puzzling crimes. The idea intrigued me, so I’ve revitalized it for “Usurper.”

Harvey Dent/Two-Face -- This rendition of Harvey is greatly inspired by Scott Snyder’s All Star Batman 1: My Own Worst Enemy, in which Batman is forced to work with Harvey while his Two-Face persona works against them. For “Usurper,” I imagined Harvey’s deep desire to save Gotham from corruption, which might lead him towards working with Tim and the rest of the Bat-family. Two-Face, however, still holds a deep hatred for everything Bat related, and would simultaneously seek to foil Tim’s plans.

Selina Kyle/Catwoman -- Selina had a fairly large role in Knightfall, partly due to the fact that she was one of the few people who immediately knew that Bruce was no longer wearing the mantle of the Bat. Jean Paul also had a disgustingly crude lust for Catwoman that Selina was able to exploit in order to escape his grasp. As much as Selina cares for Bruce, I can only imagine she’d want to aid in removing Jean Paul from the role of Batman.

Shiva -- Shiva was one of Tim’s biggest mentors while he was learning to be Robin, but was frequently disappointed by his refusal to kill. Although their relationship started as one of mutual respect, Tim’s regard for her soured after she convinced King Snake to hold a personal vendetta against him. Shiva is also one of the martial artists Bruce turned to while he learned how to be Batman again.

Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy -- While Poison Ivy was still very much a villain during the events of Knightfall, ultimately her character has always had Gotham’s best interests in mind (even in those interests meant the genocide of humanity). She’s gradually become less of an eco-terrorist and more of an anti-hero, working with Harley Quinn and Catwoman as the Sirens. “Usurper” introduces her to the idea that, while she’s not wrong in wanting Gotham to be a more eco-friendly city, her methods are unjust.

Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze -- Freeze is by far one of my favorite anti-heroes. He’s a man who will do anything if it means saving his wife, Nora. “Usurper” has him teaming with Tim after the Cataclysm leaves him desperate to fix the machines which keep his wife in cryostasis.

Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow -- This is probably one of the characters I’m most excited to work with. “Usurper” has Crane rethinking his ways after a recent pummeling by Bruce/Batman. He begins to see that his obsession with fear was born out of his own personal demons, which he hopes to overcome in order to become the true Master of Fear. During this process of rediscovering himself, Tim approaches Crane under the alias Cal Corcoran with the idea of employing his toxins as a new weapon in the Bat-arsenal. While working together, Tim introduces Crane to the concept of using fear for a good purpose rather than for one’s own pleasure. While Crane’s psychosis isn’t entirely cured, his life is given new purpose as he begins a life preying on Gotham’s criminals.

Ra’s al Ghul and the League of Assassins -- Ever since I read Red Robin 2: Collision by Chris Yost, I’ve loved the idea of Tim Drake and Ra’s al Ghul teaming up/fighting against each other. Both are incredible strategists who utilize all of their assets in order to win the fight. “Usurper” has Ra’s realizing Bruce is no longer Batman and making a move on Gotham while he believes it to be weakened. When he discovers that Tim is attempting to depose Jean Paul, however, he proposes an alliance that he hopes will lead towards Gotham’s destruction. Talia al Ghul and Damian Wayne also make appearances.

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differentjokes4differentfolks · 7 years

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WTFIT Chap 8

Chapter 8, you guys! Who knew I’d actually go through with writing this?? This is one of the fics I’ve had the most fun writing, I gotta say. Anyways, enjoy!

AO3 Chap 1

It’s all Joker can do not to burst out in laughter. It’s also all he can do not to strangle the man under him either, staring down at the Red Hood. Jason Todd. Suddenly this seems familiar. A run-in a while ago hadn’t been so pleasant between them, he remembers that clearly. A rooftop, a scuffle, himself tied to a chair as Todd and Bats fought it out. An interesting show, but he doesn’t really enjoy being tossed about by Batman’s kids. While he wouldn’t ever kill Batman, he never set Robin off limits as well.

As it is, he won’t be killing anyone just yet.

“What in God’s name is the Red Hood doing in the sewers?” he asks casually, holding a knife to the man’s neck. The Robin to his side watches warily, ready to leap at moments notice. “You get tired of messing with people up on the surface?”

“What’s it to you, you sack of shit?” Jason growls from underneath him. Joker shakes his head, tutting in mock-disappointment. “Well, that was rude.” Todd growls. This is just too easy.

“What do you want, Joker?” Robin says, a steely edge to his voice. “Why are you here?”

Joker does let out a slight giggle at that. “Well, isn’t this just the craziest thing? I’m looking for Bats, and I found his Bat-babies instead. You wouldn’t happen to have misplaced him, would you?”

Todd writhes underneath him, trying to knock the clown off balance. Joker rolls his eyes, setting down the knife and adjusting himself so that he pins the anti-hero’s arms down as well. “Why the hell are you looking for him?”

“We’re partners at the moment, solving crimes like Sherlock and Watson, didn’t you know?” Joker says with a wide grin, savoring Todd’s obvious confusion. His mask might hide his face, but there are some emotions you can just feel radiating off people. “Well, no, you wouldn’t. Batsy probably thought you’d react like this. Anywho...” He stands up, springing away from Todd as the man swings at him viciously.

“There’s no way he’d actually team up with you. He knows better…”

“I thought he was just giving Batman tips,” Robin says in confusion. Todd turns to him.

“You knew?”

“Well, he knows the locations…” Robin’s voice drops off as he points to Joker, who dusts off his suit. It might be time to get a new one soon, the purple is starting to fade...

“That’s right, I do. Though where exactly Bats is I have no idea. I’m about as lost as you are at this point, and I hate sewers.” Joker shudders. He looks around, picking up the flashlight on the ground and shining it around, curling his lip when he sees rats scurrying around. “Well, nothing we can do, I guess. Are we all looking for the same man here?”

Todd snorts in disgust. “You don’t actually think we’re going to work with you.”

Joker frowns slightly. Damn, one awful run-in and Todd hates you forever. What is it with this bat-family and holding grudges? “Well, cupcake, you can go down the way I just came from, see if I missed something.”

“Well-”

“-Which I didn’t,” Joker finishes, crossing his arms and sticking his tongue out at Todd. The way Todd’s fists clench shows just how much restraint it takes not to strangle him. He loves it. Smiling again, he looks over at Robin, who takes in this whole exchange with perplexion etched on his face. “What do you think? You’re so quiet, not at all like his past Robins. No cheesy one-liners? No insults?”

“I… how did you know Batman would be down here?” He asks warily.

That's a good question, Joker has to admit. But he doesn't just want to go out and say he cajoled Harley into telling him after she’d received the call from Black Mask, who hides down here somewhere with Jonny. It wouldn’t be fair to them. All these villains…and for just one night of terror. It’d seem a little overkill, if not for the fact they’re up against Batman. And himself too, as it happens. “I heard it through the grapevine. And I'm sure if he’d gone to the docks I'd have been there.”

“Why's that?” Todd mutters.

“I know my way around there. He doesn’t, not like me. It’d take him ages.” Joker cocks a hip to shift his weight, wishing he could lean against the wall without ruining his suit more. “Besides, why do the easy jobs when you could finish off the hard tasks first, am I right? Now are we doing this together or not?”

Robin seems a bit easier to convince, but there’s a length of silence before Todd sullenly says, “Fine.”

Joker sticks out his hand, mouth slipping into a smirk. “Shake on it?”

Todd gets closer to Robin, stance defiant. “We don’t shake hands with clowns.”

Joker sighs, putting away his joy-buzzer. “Fair enough. Now let’s go find our Dark Knight. Shall we?” He gestures for the boys to go first. When it's clear that they won't move, he rolls his eyes. “Fine, scaredy cats. I'll go first.” The first tunnel they come across is a dead end, setting the example for a few others they come across. Todd stands between Joker and Robin as a barrier, which he finds hilarious. He isn’t going to do anything right now, not when there’s a task at hand. Maybe he’ll play with them a bit later on in the week. It’d give Bats something to do after this fiasco, that’s for sure. It makes him wonder where Grayson is. Joker hasn’t heard from him in a long while...

“Bruce?”

“Hnggh…”

“Bruce!”

A shaking sensation makes Bruce open his eyes, though they turn to slits at the change in lighting. His head pounds as he pushes himself up from the floor, stumbling, his legs heavy. Dick helps steady him as his eyes adjust. Slowly he looks around, remembering what happened. He tries to block out what he saw, focusing on the now. He’s had enough of terrifying hallucinations for now, there’ll be time to reflect later.

“Are you okay?” He asks Dick. Dick blinks, though his mouth forms a relieved smile.

“You’re asking me that? Goddamn, Crane must’ve dosed you with twice what I got! You wouldn’t move for a half hour. I would know, I tried waking you. Were you trying to fight it?”

Bruce meets Dick’s eyes. “It was awful, I couldn’t control anything. If this is how it affects me, how do you think it’ll affect the city?”

“We won’t let it.” Dick’s cool blue eyes are reassuring, though Bruce knows it’s a front. Just one of the many coping mechanisms of a hardened vigilante, alongside witticisms and time spent thinking on the tops of buildings. “Now help me find a way out of this, Crane closed the entrance. It’s locked, but I don’t know how. The wall’s too solid to break through.” He leaves Bruce to stand on his own, running his hands along the door.

“Maybe it only opens from the outside,” Bruce says, moving a bit to get his blood flowing again.

“Well isn’t that sadistic...” Dick mutters, looking back at Bruce. The latter shrugs.

“We both just got poisoned,” Bruce points out. “I don’t think he locked us in here to be nice.” Glancing around, he realises there aren’t any vents in the small space. Meaning they’ll run out of air if they stay here longer than they’re supposed to. There are cracks in the walls, but nothing solid enough to get out of with his gadgets. “Nightwing, maybe we should save our air.”

After pounding at the wall a couple more times Dick nears Bruce. “Do you think Crane is coming back for us?”

“That’s my guess. Why go for a quiet death when it comes to your enemies?” Bruce asks dryly. “It’s just a matter of when.”

“I can’t believe this.” Dick laughs shakily, trying to maintain some of his cheerfulness. Heights are more his thing, Bruce knows he can get rather claustrophobic in rooms like these, but the younger man remains calm all the same. “...does anyone know we’re here?”

“Barbara and Tim know I went looking for you, maybe they’ve figured out we’re in the sewers, but even so, there’s nothing to do but wait it out.” Bruce sits, taking a deep breath and trying to slow his intake of air. After a moment Dick joins him, both calming themselves down enough to slow their breathing patterns as they wait. Bruce doesn’t know what’s going to happen, but he needs to be ready regardless. If it is Crane, they’ll need to be fast and clever, avoiding those awful needles of his. He thinks back to all the canisters in that one shallow room he’d come across, wondering if his lock still holds. It should, but even so it’s something to think about. That’s one of the top priorities he has before he leaves the sewers.

He looks over at Dick, whose eyes are closed, fists clenching and unclenching slowly as he breathes in and out, in and out. It’s one of his talents, being able to stay calm even in trying times. He’s been that way since before he met Bruce, but working as Robin only strengthened that trait over time. He smiles, pride filling his heart. No matter how many times they’ve disagreed over the years, he couldn’t be happier to have Dick Grayson at his side. His first Robin, his first son. He’s proud of Tim and Jason too, knowing Tim is probably headed this way now, and that while Jason has his own version of justice, he’s capable and making the city better in ways only he can. He wonders if he’ll ever say this out loud. Saying it now would waste what short supply of air they have at the moment. For now, at least, he’ll keep it to himself facing forwards again and closing his eyes.

The sewers seem never ending the longer Tim walks. He knew they spanned the entire city, but no one had ever told him that they made up a labyrinth of tunnels. Jason never really breaks a sweat, and while Joker grumbles to himself on occasion, he walks at a comfortable pace as well.

Why would Joker team up with Bruce? It doesn’t seem like him to ally himself with his closest enemy, even though he’s been known to throw wrenches into other people’s schemes. It’s not likely that Joker is in it for the rush, he gets that just by blowing up buildings. There’s something niggling at the back of his mind, something out of reach that he just can’t pinpoint. The clown is clearly out of place here, occasionally he’ll say something like, “Why sewers? Why couldn’t it have been a collapsing highrise?” or “These were new shoes,” and “He could’ve called to tell me he was going to be getting himself lost in a sewer.” It’s amusing to listen to, but it leaves Tim confused all the same. How would Bruce call him anyway?

“How you holding up?” Jason asks Tim quietly, slowing down to walk with him. Tim gives a one-shouldered shrug.

“Alright, I guess. We’ve got to be getting a least a little closer, right?”

“I hope so. Nightwing’s with him?”

“I’m not sure.” He barely hears Jason’s sigh.

“I knew something was going on in Gotham, but I didn’t think it’d be this big. How many baddies are out and about?”

Tim counts on his fingers. “Not including Joker, seven. But we captured Dent and Bane already, so five then.”

“Is this your first night out?”

“For this ordeal? Yeah. I’d say I jumped into the the thick of it.” Jason laughs.

“What are you two doing back there?” They both look up to see Joker waving the beam at them, eyebrow raised. “You’re being awfully loud for heroics, aren’t you?”

“Says the dude who’s been mumbling to himself,” Jason retorts. Joker grins, clearly wanting to answer back, or maybe laugh, but he smothers it with a hand. It’d bounce all around, giving them away in seconds.

“Wait, do you hear that?” Joker turns to face the dark end of the passage, where Tim starts to hear a dull thumping noise. It ends abruptly, but now he knows they’re going the right way.

“Nobody would do that except them,” Tim says. Jason nods, but Joker’s already gone ahead of them, the light fading with him into the gloom. “What’s he so rushed about? It’s like he’s more worried than we are.”

Jason starts to run. “I don’t know, but I don’t like it. I don’t trust him.”

“I don’t think anyone does,” Tim responds, matching his strides. His heart starts to beat faster, he knows they’re close to finding Bruce and Dick, he just has to be super observant in these dark halls. His eyes roam, searching for any doors, any flaws in the walls, any sign of the men. He almost runs into Joker, who pauses, pulling out his knife. In front of them stand two thugs guarding a heavy metal door that he instinctively knows holds the men they’re looking for. Joker doesn’t hesitate, running at them before they can shout, Tim and Jason right behind. Tim knows Jason and Joker have no restraint, killing if they have to, but Tim stops himself at knocking one of the men unconscious. He looks over the door, knocking. Jason takes the lock in his hand, cursing.

“Who uses these anymore?” He pulls out a lockpick, making quick work of the contraption, but the door itself is heavier than it looks. It takes all three of them to open it, the door sliding open inch by inch. On the other side stand Bruce and Dick, both looking a little worse for wear but generally okay. They both stand defensively, apparently not expecting them. Then Dick relaxes and waves, and Tim smiles widely. Bruce steps forward to meet them eyes landing on each one. There’s relief in his eyes, but Tim notices his eyes linger longest on Jason. His eyes are wide.

“What are you doing here?”

“Oracle. She didn’t want this guy looking for you alone,” he claps a hand on Tim’s shoulder. “Gotham’s stuck in a mess, isn’t she?”

Bruce only says, “We’re taking care of it. You’d be a welcome help-”

“Are you actually working with the Joker?” Jason’s voice is frigid, the area drops a couple degrees just with his question. “You’re working with him and you want my help. You’re insane.”

Joker smirks, but Bruce frowns. “That’s not the point here, Jason. There’s too much going on right now. We need your help.”

There’s a long silence before Jason shakes his head. “No. I’m sorry, but I won’t do this. You’re asking me to team up with the man who almost killed me. How do you expect me to brush that aside?”

Tim catches Bruce sending the Joker a glance. Joker frowns, eyes dark. Then Bruce steps forward.

“Jason, can we talk? After we dispose of the toxin, I mean. I need to go back to this one room, it contains most if not all of Crane’s toxins. I have it tracked.”

Jason gives a curt nod before he says, “Are you just going to blow it up? You aren’t going to just drag it through the sewers, are you? That sounds like a stupid idea.” Bruce sighs.

“I don’t have a better idea besides blowing it up, unless you want to carry it. If it’s contained in the room there shouldn’t be a problem, it won’t go into the water,” he explains. “Crane won’t be able to open it easily either.”

“Just how many canisters are there?”

“About fifty in a crate, but it’s strong. Strong enough to send everyone spiraling into fear-induced insanity.” Dick says. Joker raises an eyebrow curiously. Tim narrows his eyes, Joker smirking and shrugging as if to say: I can't help it, I'm a villain at heart, really.

Some of the tension in the chamber fades away after that, but Tim still thinks if he tried hard enough he could cut right through it. Dick has stayed silent all throughout, tapping his foot uncomfortably. A family reunion and no one is particularly happy to see each other. Kind of like a normal family’s Thanksgiving, Tim supposes. Bruce starts heading down the passage to where he’s left the tracker, and the rest follow.

Bruce doesn't exactly know how to interact with anyone as he walks down the tunnels, so he doesn't. He gets to the room with the toxins, making sure the lock hasn't been tampered with. The rest file in behind him, all stuck in that same tension he feels. The guilt that he’d pushed away earlier slams into him tenfold, especially now that both Jason and Joker are here. He feels sick, feeling like he’s betrayed Jason with his feeling, with teaming up with the clown. The only thing is, as much as he hates it, he can’t change any of it. Can’t, or doesn’t want to. He knows it’s selfish, but his mind keeps fighting against what’s wrong and right, and how he feels. He doesn’t want to push Joker away, bad as that might sound. But there’s the fact that he doesn’t want Jason to hate him, to carry any animosity.

It’s a crossroads, one where he doesn’t want to move in either direction. And that’s the real problem.

In truth, he doesn’t really need Jason, Tim, and Dick here anymore. He doesn't know where Scarecrow is, but the longer they spend here, in a group, the easier it’ll be to capture all of them. It’s such an enclosed area, easy to get trapped in. Luckily the canisters are close. They come upon them relatively fast, the room glowing a faint green.

“That crate?” Jason looks at it. “Maybe me and Nightwing could carry it out, it doesn’t look that heavy.”

“True.” Dick circles around it, the box coming up mid-thigh on him. “Let’s try and lift it.” He and Jason do a count, lifting on three. It’s heavy, but they’re sure they can carry it. Bruce suggests they trade off if they get too tired, everyone agreeing. Tim leads as they lead the room, pointing out where to turn and when to stop. Bruce stays in back to make sure no one follows, Joker falling in step with him.

“You think you’ll stop this before Friday?” Joker says quietly. “There’s still plenty of stuff going on.”

“We will stop it, we have to.” There’s no getting around it, if Bruce can’t stop this scheme in its tracks Gotham will be destroyed. He should be over at the docks at the moment, if Scarecrow hadn’t set them back. Speaking of Scarecrow… he could still be in the sewers, just waiting. He should do something about that. “Guys. I’m going after Scarecrow.”

“Alone?” Dick’s voice drips with disbelief. “You know what he can do.”

“I have to take him in,” Bruce says, refusing to be swayed. “I’ll be fine. You just need to focus on getting that toxin somewhere safe. Promise me you’ll do that.”

Dick frowns, matching with Tim and Jason. “...an hour. I’ll give you an hour, then I’m coming to get you.”

Bruce agrees, looking over at Joker. “Are you going to stay with them?”

Joker laughs, pointing at the trio. “I’m not too popular with your kids, if you haven't noticed. I’ll tag along with you, in case I need to save you again.” Bruce wants to argue that point, but Joker is technically right, and there’s no time for banter anyway.

“Let’s go then.”

“Wait. Oracle and I noticed we haven’t seen Sionis anywhere. We thought that he might be in there with Crane,” Tim says.

“I’ll make sure to check that out. Be back soon, head for the entrance.” Turning back, Bruce runs back into the tunnel, the deep gloom an unwelcome but inescapable sight. He turns on his infrared, Joker’s quick steps follow.

“You know, I have a feeling Black Mask is around here somewhere,” Joker muses, his voice quiet enough to barely echo off the surrounding walls. Bruce knows that’s a tip, that he won’t get an elaboration and that he’ll have to take it for the truth. “Bats, I know this is important to you, but even if you get these two, you’ll still have to deal with three more. And it’s already after midnight. You sure you don’t wanna just blow up the sewers and call it a night?” He huffs out a short laugh. “We could go club hopping, stir up trouble with the authorities. Much more my style, wouldn’t you say?”

Bruce slows down, starting to edge around closer to the walls. He knows Joker wants to say more, voicing it as more of a jest than actual concern. He knows that there’s more at the tip of the clown’s tongue, but he’s so tired of people worrying about him, concealed or otherwise. He knew the risks that would come with being a vigilante, knows that any day really could be his last. Sometimes he just wishes he didn’t have so many people making sure he isn’t about to have a breakdown or something. There isn’t time for that.

“Can you not worry about me?”

“I’m not, I’m just-”

“Please.” He doesn’t turn to see Joker’s expression behind him, can’t imagine it being anything other than confused or annoyed at the moment.

“Batsy.” Joker’s voice is measured and even, different from what Bruce expects as he turns to face him. He expects a punch even less, but that’s what he receives, a sharp blow to his face that puts him off guard. It’s surprisingly accurate for it being pitch-black.

“What was that for?” He asks in shock and anger, his cheek stinging. He sees Jokers sharp grin, practically glowing through his vision.

“Stop acting like the world revolves around you. I’m making fun of you, not crying over how tired you look. I realise you aren’t a kid that needs taking care of, so stop acting like one. You’re with me, not your nanny.”

Oh. Oh. He’s right. Joker might care for him, in his own weird way, but he’s not going to baby him if he can help it. And Bruce doesn’t really know why he thinks he would. Fuck, this lack of sleep is getting to him. Or maybe it’s the toxin, still making its way out of Bruce's system. “I don’t have a nanny,” he mutters under his breath.

“Then stop acting like it,” Joker says, patting him on the cheek where he hit him. He walks up ahead, Bruce staring at his back like he’s an indecipherable puzzle.

He’ll be happy when he finds Crane and Sionis. It’ll give him something to beat up.

The closer Dick, Tim, and Jason get to the entrance on the outskirts of the East End the happier Dick gets. There’s no thrill to be had below ground, nothing but mud and sludge to step into. He’s sure it must be because of his beginnings in the circus, performing on the trapeze with ease, throwing himself without worrying about what’s there to catch him. He feels uncomfortable whenever he’s not in the air, funnily enough. Or at least, not aboveground.

He’s been carrying this crate the whole time, not letting Tim take his side of the box, though Jason readily hands it over. He hasn’t been much help tonight, might as well do this one thing.

He can almost see the lights of the city when Tim says, “Guys, did you notice Joker’s kinda...different? Around Bruce, I mean.”

Dick had noticed that, the clown was a bit more subdued, not as raring to get into a fight. Even on the rare occasions they did team up Joker was full of commentary and snark. At least, when he was around to witness the occasions.

“Maybe he’s getting tired of being a homicidal maniac and he’s chilling out?” Dick suggests, though he doesn’t believe that himself.

Jason shakes his head. “Are you crazy? The monster thrives off hurting people, no way he’s mellowing out. He’s faking it.”

“Maybe…” Tim’s voice drops off. The sound of wind whistling through the tunnels replaces the conversation, the sound of water nearby. They’re nearly at the shoreline the sewer lets out of, the dark sky a welcome sight. Dick clicks at his comm.

“Barbara?”

The reply is almost instantaneous. “Dick? Are you alright? What happened? Is the Bruce there? Are Jason and Tim there? Are they okay--”

“Barb, they’re fine. I’m safe.” The corner of his mouth tilts up as he waits for Barbara’s reply.

“Good. What happened? Were you in the sewers?”

“Yeah. There must’ve been a jamming system too. We were in a bit of trouble, Bruce is back in the sewers to take out Scarecrow and maybe Sionis.”

Barbara takes a few seconds to answer back. “You’re not with him?”

“No. I’m with Tim and Jason. By the way, can you have Alfred send over something to pick up a crate we have? It’s kind of heavy.”

“Yeah. You’re coming to back to the apartment, right?”

“As soon as Bruce comes back, yes.”

Barbara hums. “Bruce didn’t go back in alone, did he?”

Dick glances at Tim and Jason, neither obviously listening in but both focused on the conversation. “...No? I mean, he’s with Joker.” Boy is his hand getting tired, carrying the crate with one hand and he keeps one on the comm. Barbara doesn’t answer, silence coming through the device. At the end of the tunnel they set the crate down, Dick shaking his hand out to get the feeling back in. “Barbara?”

“Sorry, I’m just thinking. Why did he take Joker instead of one of you?”

Dick honestly doesn’t have an answer to that. Barbara seems to sense his uncertainty.

“I’ll be right back, I’ll tell Alfred you’re all alright and to send a vehicle.”

“Thanks, Babs.”

There’s audible relief in Dick’s voice, to which the woman replies, “You owe me, Grayson.”

He knows it, and he plans on replaying in full. He can’t help but ask, “Were you worried about me?”

“...” He knows Barbara is doing that pout only she can pull off, a small one that makes you feel like you fucked up and should do anything you can to fix it. Funny he can get that specific about it. “Just come back soon, alright?”

“You know I will.” He ends the call, knowing any longer and he’ll say three words into that phone that will spiral him into a mess of excuses. There’s too much going on for a snowball into a massive confession. It’s just one he’s not sure Barbara wants to hear. He looks up to see Tim smirking in his general direction, not quite meeting his eyes.

“I’m surprised you didn’t confess to her right then and there.”

Dick lifts a shoulder, looking up at the stars. “There’s too much stuff going on. And besides, she’s over me.”

“Obviously,” Jason drawls, resting on the crate. “You should’ve heard her when she called me. ‘I need you to go with Tim, you need to find Dick and Bruce, it’s serious, he’s been gone for twenty minutes and I can’t find him, Bruce went after and I’m worried sick--’” Dick frowns at him and he winks.

“Give her more credit, she didn’t sound like that, and your conversation was a lot shorter, she said something like, ‘Dick’s gotten himself captured like the idiot he is and Tim shouldn’t go alone to rescue him’,” Tim says through a snicker. Dick glares at him, and the younger man raises his hands to placate him, “But he’s right. She still cares about you. I’m sure you’ll be back together again in no time.”

Dick runs a hand through his hair. “You guys don’t know anything.”

#batjokes #wtfit #batman #joker #dc comics #my writing #as always comments appreciated :)#upload to ao3 later

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astrologista · 7 years

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Robin: Legacy

I have it, folks. The best, greatest idea for a DC animated film ever. DC executives reading this, take notes.

It would be called Robin: Legacy. Or something to that effect.

The main plot of the film is to chronicle the rise & fall of five Robins in the DCU continuity, in three hours or less.

The film would, of course, be significantly longer than the usual DC animated films. It would likely cost more than the average film, but since this is only a pipe dream, we can do whatever we want. Oh, also imagine it having really freaking good animation and music, like Iron Giant tier animation. Also, actually child voice actors for the younger Robins. And teenage voice actors when they are teenagers. And Conroy Batman. All of these things are necessary.

Each Robin would be given equal time and focus to detail their story, showing little vignettes of their time as Robin. But what the viewer would also be seeing, chronologically, is how Bruce himself changes.

The opening credits would be shown projected over a scene en medias res, showing a pre-Robin Batman beating down a group of thugs without mercy. This would be enough to introduce any audience as to who Batman is - he’s broody, he’s a little brutal, and he’s pretty brusque.

Dick’s story would be shown through the death of his parents, and subsequent adoption by Bruce. This version of Bruce would be sort of like the 40s version - not yet completely hardened by battle, still willing to joke around with Dick as he slowly adjusts to life as a Batdad.

Dick would later depart to become Nightwing. We see some hints of Bruce’s loneliness and then his discovery of Jason. After adopting Jason, Bruce becomes 80s Bruce - open, kind, laughs at Jason’s antics and generally in the best shape of his life.

Unfortunately, as we know, it’s not to last. After Jason’s death, Bruce shuts himself off completely and becomes the dark Knight we know. I imagine pretty clearly a scene with Tim coming to the Batcave and begging the jaded version of Batman to just “give him a chance” (Bruce is staring at Jason’s memorial case, as the tension builds and builds while Tim is saying “you can’t go on like this, you need someone to watch your back, you don’t need to be all alone-”), at which Bruce finally roars a denial of finality at a terrified Tim, which upsets all the bats who start squeaking and flapping around.

Eventually Tim proves himself and gets his chance to be Robin, but we see how his experience is much different than his predecessors. For one thing, Bruce is way more closed off, more guarded, but at the same time, he’s more neurotic and overprotective. He’s also a lot more... angry. So we have 90s Bruce. And Cass is also there, since she’s part of the family.

Next up is Stephanie, her shorter tenure as Robin leads to Bruce questioning whether he’s a decent partner (and parent) to Tim while Steph breathes new life into the role. Steph brings him back to his lighter self a little bit. Until she gets fired.

When Bruce meets Damian, it’s conflict after conflict. But we also see how Bruce is in super-experienced parent mode now. He’s seen it all, or at least thinks he has before he meets Damian.

The final part of the movie is an Arkham breakout that Batman tries to handle alone and warns the others to stay away. But Damian, of course, comes to help anyway. Then Steph appears, as the Spoiler. Cass shows up as Black Bat. And Tim, as Red Robin. Jason shows up as Red Hood, and finally, Dick as Nightwing. And it’s all just one epic fight, showing how much the family depends on each other and it’s great. Woo. Then they go home and have pancakes and Bruce just gets to reflect on how lucky he is. End scene. Fade to black, roll credits.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Isn’t all of this too much to fit into a film? Wouldn’t it be better suited for an animated series? Well, I did say it should be a 3 or even 4 hour film. Like Titanic. Not to say an animated series wouldn’t be cool, but it would be awesome to have a movie that just shows in condensed form the story of Robin and how much impact that legacy had on Batman, how those who held the role shaped him as a person.

And by “condensed form”, I mean show the crucial aspects that make the characters who they are. Don’t focus on gadgets, don’t focus on villains. Cut everything except what matters to show the character development. Imagine little vignettes or even montages, like Bruce bonding with Jason over baseball, Tim training to “Eye of the Tiger” and not getting Bruce’s approval until the end when he’s already exhausted himself. Damian getting a little teary over his mother and getting some comfort from his dad. Alfred being a consistent witness to it all over the years, watching Bruce build this amazing family.

It would be the most amazing Batfam movie ever to exist, a masterpiece which would sell millions and have a metric shit ton of merch potential. If only Warner Bros. knew of the goldmine they are currently sitting on. But no, let’s just shit out another Suicide Squad direct-to-DVD and make ten more Joker movies. Wa-hey!

#batfam #batfamily #the best dream i ever had #literally came to me in a dream #i mean seriously i was watching it and everything #and it was glorious #i was fucking pissed when i woke up and it didn't exist #by the way i have so many scenes planned out #dc hire me #i could have this shit boarded out tomorrow #i just need some award winning animators and VAs

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camsthisky · 7 years

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Id love to get into the nightwing fan community, but I have no idea where to begin! Where do you suppose I should start in terms of comics and cartoons?

Okay, so first off, do you mean Nightwing? Or Dick Grayson? I think to understand Nightwing, to really love him, you have to know him as Robin first. You have to really understand his journey, so I’m going to go ahead and just give you a place to start for Dick Grayson.

Also, I’m not sure I’m the best person to be asking this because the way I got into the fandom wasn’t through the comics. It was actually through @stepichu posting a gif of Young Justice I think?

It was last summer, and I dived into season 1 without a second thought. I absolutely fell in love with this sarcastic kid who disappeared like a ninja and could hack like nobody’s business. And then I tried to watch season 2, and I backed the heck out. I didn’t know who Nightwing was, or why there was a new Robin, and so I quit. Fast froward about six months later, I see Steph reblog some fanart (I think? I can’t remember anymore) of the batkids, and I was so confused, so I delved into tumblr and realized that I was not at all informed.

I mostly dived into the ao3 archives after that and read up on references through the wiki as I did so, but I recommend Not Doing That. So here are some comics/cartoons (with some help from @laquilasse) that are good to start out with. Hope this is what you’re looking for.

Cartoons

Batman: The Animated Series - An oldie, but a goodie. Besides Nightwing’s mullet hair (but that was the style, I guess) it is pretty good. I haven’t seen all of it, but Toni has and she’ll scream about it all day if you let her.

Young Justice - My favorite. Like, you don’t even understand how much I love Dick Grayson in this series and I can talk your ear off about it. They’ve borrowed some of Dick’s traits from Tim (I mean, in the comics Dick wasn’t the best hacker, but they needed one on the Team, and it works well with his character), but there’s a whole post about Dick’s differences right here.

As for season 2, I love the way that Nightwing turned out. I don’t want to spoil anything, just in case you haven’t seen it yet, but it’s pretty realistic in the way that they portray his fears, his temper, and his leadership.

The Batman - I really only watched the last two seasons with Dick?? But they’re so good. Dick’s a snarky little kid in this show, but he pulls off some amazing feats as Robin. There’s also Bruce actively showing he cares for Dick, which I can’t get enough of. But I feel like if you want to understand Nightwing, you need to understand why and how Dick was Robin. There’s a future episode that shows Nightwing, though.

Sonof Batman, Batman: Bad Blood, and Teen Titans: The Judas Contract - All three of these are great for showing some Nightwing action (and Judas Contract also shows a bit of Dick’s run as Robin, which is great). Son of Batman is mostly about Damian, but the scenes with Dick in them are phenomenal! In Bad Blood, Bruce is missing and Dick has to become Batman to everyone’s displeasure. Judas Contract shows the most of Nightwing as Nightwing, though. They’re good movies.

Comics (For these, I’m not going to comment too much)

Robin: Year One - A four issue comic about Dick’s first year as Robin. I really feel for Dick in this one. This boy has a lot of heart and he wears it on his sleeve, and Bruce just doesn’t really know how to deal with emotions. I’m not the biggest fan of the ending, but it is a good read to understand Dick’s stubbornness.

Scarecrow: Year One - This comics give a peek into a lot of Dick’s traits, like his detective skills and his determination, while also giving you a peek into what he fears. But BOY. YOUR CAPE IS A NAPKIN WHO DRESSED YOU.

Teen Titans: Year One - This is one of my all time favorite comics. I love the art style, I love the dynamic between the titans, but most of all I love Robin trying to balance being a leader and being Batman’s partner. It’s short, only six issues, and it gets a little dark in the end, but it does show how much Dick puts on his own shoulders.

Batman and Robin (2011) - Dick has to fall out of the role of Nightwing, and into Batman. There’s so much too these comics. Like, you see Dick having to step out of his comfort zone and be someone he never really wanted to be, all the while trying to reign in Damian and be some kind of role model to him since Bruce isn’t there to do it. Just in the first issue alone, you can see how unfit Dick finds himself, and it totally breaks my heart.

Forever Evil - Really, this comic shows how selfless Dick is, all the while conveying that yes, Dick is scared, but he’d totally be willing to die. There’s quite a few heartbreaking moments in the last few issues (I think there’s only about 7).

Grayson - The Grayson comics. Taking advantage of a situation that happens in Forever Evil, Dick goes undercover as Agent 37, and you just learn to fall in love with this boy who is willing to do what he needs to do in order to save the world, but at the same time, just wants to go back home. I cried while reading.

Batman and Robin: Eternal - So this is set during the Grayson comics, and it switches between the present, where Dick has to work with his brothers, and the past, where Batman (Bruce) and Robin (Dick) go head to head with Scarecrow for the first time. You really get an inside look into Dick’s head, and there are some scenes that make you really feel for this poor kid.

Nightwing Rebirth - For the most part, I love the Nightwing Rebirth series. Dick’s personality is kind of what I base him on in my stories with a hint of other influences here and there. The only thing that I really didn’t like was that the reboot erased Dick’s previous time in Blüdhaven disappear?? Also the forced romance??

Titans Rebirth: The Return of Wally West - YES. JUST YES. Like, the Titans back together?? YES. Dick is so amazing in this comic. You really understand the dynamic the Titans have.

ALSO. I was talking to Toni, and she says to read Robin War (which I have not read, but I know what happens). She said that the story was a little boring, but it has Dick taking command of the situation, lots of batboys interacting, a good read on their personalities, and the boys side by side comparing what each of them brought to Robin.

Video Games

Okay, so I don’t actually play the games, I just really watch the cut scenes? And I love Dick in Arkham Knight. His cut scenes feature what I like to call “the Arkham Snark.” His personality is pretty spot on considering the arkham verse is pretty weird to me. So yeah.

I don’t know if this is what you were looking for or not, but again, I didn’t really start with the comics. I started with the fanon versions, and adjusted my view of the characters as I went, but I kind of fell in love with Dick Grayson at first sight. Still, I hope this helps??

#dick grayson #dc #comics #im tired and im posting this publicly in case anybody else is wondering #idk if this is even coherent at this point #camryn rambles #my post #comic recs

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angel-gidget · 7 years

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Fire At My Feet Again (Tim/Cassie, post-Red Robin)

Title: Fire at my Feet Again Fandom: DCU, Teen Titans, Red Robin (preboot) Rating: PG-13 | Words: 4.6K | a03 link Summary: Tim and Cassie have been assigned to mentor the upcoming new version of Young Justice. Cassie isn’t drunk enough yet to process this turn of events properly. But if she has her say, with Tim’s help, she soon will be.

Set a handful of years after Red Robin. Contains miscellaneous comic references including 90’s YJ. Yet also borrows an element or two from the Young Justice cartoon. Bc I do what I want. Also unbeta’d. Bc impatience.

Note: Also using this fic to fulfill prompts/days 1-3 of Tim Drake Week (First & Lasts, Childhood & Adulthood, Dreams & Reality) bc this sucker took me long enough that I say it counts and I’d like to catch up.

The déjà vu was murder. Cassie wanted to scream at the Justice League that they had the wrong girl, she wasn't a MENTOR, if anything, she was still a MENTEE, but Tim was standing right next to her, giving his Serious Business head-nod, and Cassie realized that if she did, in fact, start screaming at the JLA, she wouldn't be screaming at strangers.

Because screaming at Aquaman and Superman and Batman was one thing, but the NEW Batman was once Nightwing and she didn't really like the idea of screaming at him. She would also be screaming at Vic, who was her friend. And--sweet Hera--she had FRIENDS in the JLA. You're a grown-up now, Cassie. You're a MENTOR now, Cassie. So is Tim, for that matter. Hell. She didn’t want to admit out loud how familiar it was. How, in the last days before she gave up the Titans, she’d had trouble remembering the names of multiple team members; they had come and gone so quickly. So playing chaperone to a bunch of kids she didn’t know was actually way more familiar of a feeling than it ought to have been. But they weren’t asking her and Tim to be team leaders. They were asking her and Tim to play Red Tornado to their new batch of kids. Not to lead. Just to make sure they didn’t break anything. To help them with reporters. To save their asses if things got out of hand. To be around if they wanted advice. "You start on Monday." Vick told them. "We start on Monday." Cassie repeated in a daze. When the rest had left, and it was only her and Tim, the feeling that it was real began to press on her lungs. "We start on MONDAY. Oh God." "Cassie? Are you o--Um. I can do it. You don't have to help. I--" "Do you remember what we were like?! You'll need my help. WE may need help. What if they have their own Kon? What if they have their own BART?" "Or Slo-bo." "Oh God." "It'll be okay. They're just as likely to have their own Secret, somebody they'll band around to protect. Or their own Anita, who can radiate reason. Or their own YOU, somebody smart who can represent the team and keep them in line. Ultimately, they'll be themselves and we can just give them the benefit of the doubt. It'll be okay." Maybe it was the truth of his words, or the blatant compliment, but Cassie did feel herself begin to calm down. This wasn’t history repeating itself. It was just a few parallels here and there. And the history wasn't all that bad anyway. When did she get so good at only remembering the rough parts? "I'm good. I swear I am, but I think I need a drink." Tim's smile was weird. Like he was about to be nostalgic, but it was 50/50 whether it was going to be a good idea or not. "I know just the place." She half-expected him to take her to the same zany hole-in-the-wall they went to for his 21st birthday years back, but he surprised her with a Gotham spot she had never seen before. It was kind of on the (conventional) sporty side, and kind of posh. Not really the sort of place she had expect him to go. "This was my dad's favorite place." Cassie shook her head to clear it. She could count on her hand the number of times Tim has talked about his dad with her, and four times out of five, he had been in tears while doing it. "Do you remember Klarion?" Tim asked. "Bum, bum, bum… The witch boy." She wanted to slap herself for completing the obnoxious little tune on autopilot, but decided not to be too hard on herself. It WAS catchy. "Well, when he had us stuck in adult bodies, I got the bright idea that I should go check on my dad in his natural environment." "There is no way that went well." Tim nodded, "He said I reminded him a bit of his son, and he invited me to sit down and have a beer with him." Cassie felt a smirk coming on. "And you had never had a beer in your life." "Correct. I spit it up all over him. And he never learned that the weird guy who chilled with him and wrecked his night was me.”

Cassie chuckled, “So, do you want a beer?”

“Hell, no. Can’t stand the stuff.” It might have been the funky lighting, but as Tim scratched the back of his head, she could swear he was blushing.

“Me neither. Good thing we’re old enough to admit it. Hey bartender!”

Cassie waved at the old man behind the counter. He seemed to be hard of hearing, as he kept cleaning the other end of the bar. She sighed, “Go over the new roster with me.”

“They haven’t got the official—“

“I know you know the biggest candidates for this thing, and I’d like to have a heads up, please and thanks.”

Tim nodded, as he waved his own hand in the old man’s direction to help her out, “Okay. So Lian has already said yes, and if there is a god, she will hopefully end up being team leader…”

Cassie smiled, “Roy Harper’s kid would be good at it. Though Robin will probably fight her for it…”

“Damian will be there under duress. Dick thinks it will be good for him, but the chances are that if he gets out of line…”

“He absolutely won’t listen to you, so I will have to do it. Uhgh.”

Tim gave her a pained laugh, “Thank you in advance?”

Cassie shrugged. She was already beginning to understand why the League was insisting on both of them. There had been some rosters of the Titans that were like that, some deferring only to Robin and some only to Wonder Girl. But by that time, she and Tim had mastered being in-sync to the point that it was a (mostly) doable nightmare.

“Who’s the heaviest hitter we’ll probably have to clean up after?”

Tim steepled his fingers thoughtfully, “That’s a toss-up between Damian’s friend Colin, who is actually an incredibly nice kid, and Jon Kent: our new Superboy-to-be.”

Cassie frowned, “Wait, I thought… what happened to Christopher?”

“You didn’t…?” Tim’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Um, a lot of things happened to Chris. But when he came home from the phantom zone a few months ago, he… well, it wasn’t like when a Robin gets replaced, but he told me it took a lot of adjusting to the fact that an entire time-line crisis had given him a baby brother that was already twelve years old. Last I’ve heard from him, he’s trying to decide on a new code-name and … well, he’s too old for the team.”

She felt her draw drop. “Chris Kent, who was like barely past my hip last I saw him, is TOO OLD for this team? What the hell?!”

“Cassie, the last time you saw him, I was babysitting him because he was ten. And with the phantom zone, well…”

“Well how old is he n—wait. Don’t answer that. Not until I’ve had whiskey, because this now officially calls for whiskey. BARTENDER. WHISKEY.” The time for being polite and patient had officially passed.

Cassie cradled her head in her hands as she listened to Tim placate the offended bartender, and modify her order. Apparently whiskey wasn’t specific enough. Apparently the brown-eyed little boy she’d last seen wearing little boy shorts and a cartoon character wristwatch was now too freaking old to join Young Justice 2.0.

“So help me, Tim, if you’ve ordered something crazy-expensive, you are buying.”

Tim sighed, and Cassie felt a twinge of guilt. This wasn’t any easier for him. Hell, it might be harder. She knew Damian always made things harder for Tim.

Cassie was both boggled and somewhat grateful that she didn’t have a new Wonder Girl to contend with. Though, now that she thought about it, it did seem almost a shame for one to be missing from the roster… No.

No, she was still too young to be getting mopey over legacies. Not that she hadn’t always dug the idea of an Amazon legacy, but it was supposed to be, like, a general legacy. Not hers. Not yet. And yet…

“I am buying, and you will like it. I promise. It’s only a little expensive, but trust me that you don’t want the default of anything in this place.”

The next thing she knew, she had a strong-smelling double-shot over ice in front of her. It tasted like honey. If honey weren’t made by bees, but instead made by kangaroos kicking her in the face. She decided she liked it.

“Cassie, you’re supposed to sip that.”

She smirked at him, “I’ll sip the next one. Better hope our tab’s on your platinum card.”

He snorted, but didn’t really protest, taking a taste of his own glass.

She observed him.

He closed his eyes and tilted his head as he drank, though not with the speed of someone rushing a shot. It took the shadows off his face for a moment, so she could clearly see the tiredness around his eyes and the faint stubble around his jaw. She faintly recalled that said stubble had come very late in life to him. At the very tail-end of puberty.

She remembered that the first time she had kissed him—mourning Kon’s death in a sea of shattered glass in the Titan’s sublevel—the line from his cheek to his adam’s apple had been completely smooth.

Don’t go there, Cassie.

That was a long time ago, Cassie.

“So… um. So how’s Kon taking the whole codename thing?”

Tim shrugged, blinking his eyes open as he continued to hold the glass near his lips. “You know about as much as I do. He can’t decide what to pick. That is, he agrees that he’s years overdue to shelve “Superboy”, but replacing it is giving him conniptions.” Tim gestured the bartender back to refill her glass.

“That’s about what I know,” Cassie conceded, “But somehow, you always know a little more. So spill.”

As promised, she sipped the next glass. Sipping was like getting kicked by a baby honey-making kangeroo. It was still pretty damn good. She raised her pinky jokingly, which finally got a smile out of Tim that went up to his eyes as he spoke.

“He’s actually been trying to pick Chris’s brain on the matter. While Kon can hardly think of anything, Chris’s knowledge of Kryptonian language and mythology is giving him a ton of ideas and he just can’t choose.”

“Yeah, well. Kon’s gonna have to get used to choosing names in general. And soon.”

Tim’s puzzled expression stopped her cold.

“Oh Hera. He hasn’t told you yet.”

Tim similarly froze, “He… told me there was something he though he’d tell a lot of people in person. Said it wasn’t bad news. But with his new off-world mission, and how, um, busy we both will be… “

Cassie nodded. If Kon wanted to protest, he could blame her.

“M’gann is pregnant.”

It was always fun: managing to surprise Tim with something he’d clearly had absolutely no clue about beforehand. So fun. So rare. He was even choking a bit on his own drink.

“You’re serious. Kon’s going to be… a dad?”

“Totally.”

“Wow. He’s got to be over the moon. Both in a happy and terrified way. I’ll be an honorary uncle. Heh…”

He went serious then, totally quiet. Sometimes Cassie didn’t dig the reminder that she didn’t really have the full specs of the brain of Timothy Drake. But then again, did anyone?

She held back a tiny flinch as Tim set down his drink and put his hand over hers…

“Are you okay?” he practically whispered.

“Yes…?” she mimicked his low voice.

“Because I know you’ve never liked talking about how things ended, but it’s alright to…”

Gears clicked into place.

“Omigod. Tim. I’m fine. Kon and I are both totally over each other. Promise. Seriously, have you been worrying about that for the past five years?”

His face didn’t turn red, but his ears did.

“Hey, you wouldn’t talk about it, okay? And Kon may be my best friend, but… he’s not my only best friend. You and Bart… you can’t think I love you any less. Do you?”

Holy shit. The L-word. From TIM. In a totally platonic sense, of course.

As it should be, Cassie.

She knew Tim had been trained to resist truth serum and torture since his Robin days. Apparently, his own taste in alcohol was considerably more effective if it could get talk of actual feelings out of him.

Focus, Cassie. He asked you a question.

“I know you love me.” She squeaked.

A distinctly fraught look pulled his eyebrows together, and it occurred to Cassie that her assurance didn’t sound very believable.

So she tried again, “I’m serious. I don’t mean that in whatever placating double-meaning Bat-way you guys usually communicate in Gotham. I mean it. I know. You love me. I love you too.”

Those burning ears of his were back, but at least the distressed twist to his forehead had gone away. And that… Cassie knew she’d said enough. Her brain knew, anyway. Her tongue didn’t. “If… if a burning building had you and my mom inside and I only had time to save one, I’d save my mom because she didn’t sign up for the life we did. But I’d be every bit as devastated over losing you as if I had lost her.”

What the hell, Cassie?! Dark escalation much?

She spared a glance at her drink as though it had betrayed her. Was she on glass number two or number three?

Tim just snorted with a smirk, “Me too.”

He took another sip, which seemed to oddly sober his face again, “Though… I’d probably be more devastated if it was you. I… I sometimes wondered if there was something wrong with me considering how fast I recovered from my mom’s death. We weren't close. I… I wanted us to be. So much. But we weren’t.”

Cassie held her breath. She… she had known that Tim’s mom was out of the picture. That when his dad died, that was it. Officially one of Batman’s orphans. But she’d never…

Apparently, it was Tim’s turn to look at his drink as though it were up to shady behavior.

“I’ve never admitted that out loud to anybody. Not in so many words, anyway.”

They both let the silence breathe a moment, before Cassie tentatively let her curiosity get the best of her.

“What was her name? Wanna tell me about her?”

Tim didn’t look her in the eye, preferring to keep his gaze pinpointed on the single oversized ice cube in his glass, but he nodded.

“Her name was Janet. She um…” A tiny strange grin quirked the side of his mouth and he finally looked up at her through messy black bangs, “Remember that time when your mom invited me and Bart to dinner with you, and she complained for half an hour about the ‘jet-set’ archaeologists who have all the money but half-assed dedication to historical findings? Who are all about the fun and polish?”

“Um, yes?” Oh gods. Helena Sandsmark’s fifth favorite rant topic. She had hours of material on the unfairness of wealthy socialites’ interaction with the archaeology scene. Cassie always died of embarrassment anytime someone she knew was exposed to even a fraction of it.

“My mom was one of those.”

Cassie slumped in her chair, beginning to feel her own ears turn red.

“Oh gods, I’m sorry—”

And Tim giggled. Giggled. It was… stupid but nice and he kind of sounded like he hadn’t taken in quite enough oxygen at first to do it properly.

“Don’t be, Cass. Your mom didn’t say anything that wasn’t true. I wasn’t mad. It was… nice remembering her. She was spoiled, but in a classy kind of way. At least, that’s what my dad would say about it. But he might have been biased. Considering.”

“Considering.” Cassie let a relieved giggle of her own slip.

The silence that followed wasn’t a bad one. She eventually realized that Tim was faintly tapping on the edge of the bar to the tune of the music softly playing over he speakers, though she didn’t recognize the song.

At some point in their conversation, he had let go of her hand, and she tried not to overthink her awareness of that. She also tried not to overthink the fact that she was mentally listing the different ways she might get him to put it back.

She was startled from carefully not contemplating these things when his finger tips continued tapping, but this time against her own fingers lingering on the bar. She saw an expectant expression on his face, and it took her a moment to realize that the music had changed.

Cassie’s eyes widened. Was that.. Mmmm Bop? It was. The one hit from that stupid band that every member of Young Justice has solemnly sworn to hate into eternity was dancing over the speakers.

Some members, however, had been lying through their teeth when taking said oath.

Cassie had been one of them. Apparently, so had Tim.

Their moment of mutually tapping to forbidden tunes was interrupted as the old bar keep slammed a giant pink drink in front of Cassie’s nose.

“From th’ gentleman.” The man muttered, tottering away.

Cassie frowned. Tim seemed to be on the case, however, as he made a subtle pointing down the bar. She looked over her shoulder and saw the guy. He was tall and broad, with a lear and patch of scruff on his chin that reminded Cassie of Tim’s old Mr. Sarcastic disguise. Just… without the sarcasm. His target of choice hadn’t accepted the drink yet, and he was already elbowing his buddies and preparing to stand.

“He looks like the pushy type to me,” Cassie muttered, “Mr. Detective?”

Tim gave a small sigh, “I’m inclined to agree. How do you want to play this?”

There were a lot of correct choices. Not the least of which was taking the drink and pretending it meant nothing. Making eye contact and firmly pushing the drink away was a fair call too. If Mr. Pushy pushed, well… It would hardly be any skin off her back to return the favor. But a hero was always supposed to avoid escalating the situation or provoking it. Such was the correct choice.

You’re going to be a mentor, Cassie.

Meaning—she replied to the voice in her head— that if she was going to do something wild and on the side of crazy, it had to be tonight. So, she grabbed Tim’s hand and whispered in his ear.

“Pretend to be my boyfriend.”

His eyes went comically wide for a fraction of a second, but the next instant, he was giving her a succinct nod of the head.

She felt his fingertips slide up to her jaw, pinpricks of cold from the condensation of his drink. She barely registered the procession from one moment to the next as his lips were suddenly touching hers.

Barely touching. Very lightly.

But staying. Not a peck.

Rather, a quick brush followed by a very slow second brush.

Her eyes slipped closed, acknowledging that the feeling was nice, if unexpected.

She held still everywhere save her mouth, mimicking his movement until she could breathe in the honey-tang from his breath instead of her own.

She then set her icy fingernails against his cheek, as was only fair.

He gave a quick inhale that let her know she had startled him back.

“Two for flinching.” She chuckled against his mouth.

In an instant, she wanted desperately to see his expression, but he ducked his head to whisper in her ear again.

“Why go back to competing when we’ve gotten so good at teaming up?”

Tim thought he was so clever sometimes. She wanted to agree and roll her eyes at the same time. She was about to reply when something in the shift of his shoulders told her they had trouble.

“What is it?”

“Pushy Type has strolled out with his friends, but they went around the alley area of the building without grabbing a ride and none of them had car keys.”

Cassie hissed, “They wanna jump us? Are you serious? This neighborhood sucks.”

Tim pulled back far enough that could see his face. There was some uncertainty there that he was doing his utmost to hide, but Cassie was too familiar with it to be fooled by it anymore.

Goddess. He liked it. He liked it as much as I did.

And now he’s wondering if he messed up.

“Tim—“

“I know the corner they’ve picked. No cameras, no witnesses. They’d be… very surprised to not have the advantage. We could change into uniform in the restrooms and sneak out the back of the kitchen. It’ll be fun.”

And… he was off. He even left the barstool he’d been sitting on spinning.

Fine.

Stupid bat-birds and their emotional issues.

She’d let him get away with it for now.

——

Two hours later, they stumbled into Tim’s apartment dripping wet, with an unanticipated number of cuts and bruises.

“Fun, you said. We intimidate them and they’ll re-think their life-choices, you said.” Cassie scoffed.

Tim clutched his bruised rib, “I didn’t know C-listers were developing their own knock-off venom pills these days. It’s a recent development.”

His other arm was over her shoulder, keeping weight off his bruised ankle. If knock-off venom could punch her right into him, she didn’t want to think about what the original Bane could probably do.

But it probably didn’t help that they were both a little tipsy. While Tim might not have guessed that Mr. Pushy—who had wanted to be called The Dejector, of all things, yeesh—would be carrying supervillain steroids, they both would have resolved the fight a lot faster if they had both been sober and had their minds off… well.. The Thing they were avoiding talking about.

After they had the perps bagged and tied for the Gotham PD, Tim had decided to play it safe and not drive his motorcycle back. Cassie had similarly decided against flying.

So they had walked.

And then it rained.

Because Gotham.

Cassie carefully set Tim down on his couch. She then followed his directions to find the first aid kit as he began to check himself for damage.

“Just so we’re clear: I’m not actually mad, Tim. Just grumpy. I had plans for tonight. They didn’t involve this many scrapes.”

“I… Oh.” He froze, “I didn’t know I was keeping you. Sorry.”

“You’re not,” Cassie corrected, setting the kit down by his foot and she cinched up the leg of his jeans. (The nice thing about his crazy expensive wardrobe: there was some extra stretch to the denim.) “You were at the center of the plans.”

“Oh.” He tensed again, and Cassie worried for a moment that she had hurt him just by applying ice. But as she looked up, she realized his ears were red again.

Okay, Wonder Girl. Time to be brave.

“Confession time. So… you already know I love you. We got that out of the way. The big secret is that I also might… kinda like you on top of that.”

Tim snorted, but it was with a tiny hopeful smile on his face that quickly smoothed itself out to boarder-line sly.

“Oh really?”

If he was gonna be that way about it, there was no need to be delicate with the application of the ice. He flinched for real.

“Yeah,” Cassie muttered, meeting his eye, “Funny how that works.”

“Funny how it’s mutual.” He panted.

Cassie blinked. “Does this mean we…?”

“If you want.” Tim whispered.

She kissed him.

Sweat, rainwater, scrapes and all. She had wrapped her arms around his neck, and even when she bumped his foot and his leg tensed, he still clutched back.

It was hard to tell who’s idea it was to lean back into the couch. Definitely her idea to start lifting his shirt off. His hair was just long enough that damp tendrils lingered where his neck met his shoulders and she didn’t resist the temptation to run her hands through it. He rolled into the movement like a cat with his eyes closed, and something like déjà vu struck her for the second time that day.

For all that Tim’s everyday body language exuded a polite distance, actually touching him was so very different. Kind of like a sunflower desperate for a hint of light. As if no one had held him for years. Maybe no one had.

Rain still clung to her own hair as well, water droplets shaking loose from assorted strands of her blond hair. They splashed onto Tim’s chest, making him shiver.

She knew he could resist the cold, if he wanted. He could use a simple stretch of his own self control to curb his reactions, but he chose not to. Chose to let her see it, and the thought lit something warm in her chest.

She leaned in close again, feeling her own shirt slide up, enjoying the contrast of warmth where their stomaches touched and cold where their hair got in the way. Tim was the one doing the kissing then, returning to that slow brush he seemed to have perfected, only against her neck instead of her lips. His arms held tight, tighter. And she gladly returned the favor until—

“OUCH!”

His whole body tensed, but Cassie knew it was the foot.

The Achilles Heel, as mom would say.

“Guess it would be more fun to save the rest for when we’re both in one piece, huh?”

Tim sighed, “‘Rest’ implies a finite amount. Was going more for an indefinite sort of plan.”

Cassie grinned.

“I’ll remember that. Now where are your towels, Young Man Wonder?”

He scowled at her, but he gave up the location of the towels. And the location of his popcorn machine. And blankets. And spare pyjamas. And dvd collection.

I could get very used to this.

She was cuddled in his arms on the couch again, but this time calm and dry with antibiotics gently applied to her minor scratches.

“It’s different this time, you know. I can feel it.” She whispered.

Tim stirred beneath her, though he took a moment to speak.

“You mean… us?”

She nodded against his chest, “Us. The vibe of it. The… the kissing. It’s different. We’re different.”

She didn’t have the energy to lift her head, but she felt him nod all the same.

“Last time, we were in a bad place. Now we’re in a good one.”

She smiled against him and trusted that he could feel it, “Even if you have to face down the Damian squad on Monday?”

“It won’t be Damian’s squad. Not immediately, anyway. But yes. Even then. We can do this. Together.”

Cassie threaded her fingers through Tim’s as her eyes fluttered shut for the night.

She believed him.

F.I.N.

#timdrakeweek #wonderbird #tim x cassie #tim drake #cassie sandsmark #fanfic #gidgeblog #it's midnight thirty and I'm exhausted and idk what to tag anymore #yeesh

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