#or more like wally runs into him! purposefully! with the bat!

[bisexualsforprompto]

Of Bets and Bugs

For @ethelphantom the one who sucked me into this ship.

Some crack fluff before your regularly scheduled angst ;P

A/N in this one shot the team knows Rob’s identity

All was silent in Mount Justice, despite four of its residents being present and all in the same room. Tensions were running high, and away from the public eye, four of the team’s members were split into two sides.

Artemis was the self-proclaimed ‘leader’ of the first side, and surprisingly enough M’gann was her rival.

Nobody thought a new member of the team would tear it apart, but that’s exactly what happened.

~<~>~<~>~<~>~

It all started when a portal opened up, Wonder Woman and one Marinette Dupain-Chang stepped out. Apparently Wonder Woman had gotten the okay from Batman to add someone to the team. Although the team was surprised at first, Ladybug made a good addition and fit into the team quite well. She got along with everyone quite well too.

Too well. Marinette, Wally, and Dick spent an awful lot of time together. At first, the other members of the team didn’t think much of it—that is until M’gann and Artemis walked in on the trio.

Megan was planning to bake cookies with the help of Artemis, just to make sure no baking accidents happened again, but as they entered the kitchen they saw Dick, Wally and Marinette in the common room.

Marinette’s giggle filled the room, “You guys are such dorks.”

“Hey I’m fine with that, as long as I can be your dork.” Wally said with a wink.

Artemis stifled a laugh.

“Wow Wally, are you trying to steal her from me?” Dick pressed a hand to his heart in mock betrayal, “I’m hurt.”

The three kept talking with each other, laughing and grinning when someone said something dumb.

“They’re so cute!” Megan and Artemis whispered in unison. Artemis gave M’gann a high five.

“I bet Dick and Marinette will be a couple within a few weeks!” M’gann smiles, clasping her hands together.

Artemis let out a small laugh as she scoffed, “Dick and Marinette? Come on, Wally and Marinette will be a couple within a few weeks.”

“What are you talking about Artemis? Dick and Marinette are adorable together. They’ll definitely be the ones to date.”

“Okay fine.” Artemis smirked, “Care to put your money where your mouth is?”

M’gann grinned, “You’re on.”

~<~>~<~>~<~>~

At first Conner didn’t want to join the “dumb bet” as he put it, but one look from M’gann and he was a bigger shipper of Dick and Marinette than the Maribat fandom (that’s right this was a callout). Kaldur took a little more convincing. After Artemis assured him that nothing bad could come of it, Kaldur joined the wager on Artemis’s side. He had also seen how Wally and Mari acted near each other, and believed they had potential to be a couple.

Wages were set and in the end the pool on Marinette’s love life reached a grand total of 300 dollars. Everyone ended up having stake in the game, but they all agreed that if Ladybug, Kid Flash, or Robin found out the bet was off immediately.

In the past weeks it seemed like nobody was making headway when it came to the bet until Artemis and M’gann saw Marinette near the zeta tube in a stunning red dress with some makeup on.

“You look very pretty, Marinette, what's the occasion?” M’gann asked, startling Marinette and causing her to jump back.

“O-oh...Well I have a date!” Marinette exclaimed, shifting nervously with her purse.

“Oh a date?” Artemis glanced at M’gann smugly, “Anyone we know?”

“Uhh...Oh wow! Look at the time! I better get going!” Marinette exclaimed as she ran into the zeta tube.

“Recognized, Ladybug B11.”

“We’re following her right?”

“Obviously.”

-<~>~<~>~<~>~

“Are you sure we should be spying on Marinette?” Kaldur asked as he hid behind the bush with the rest of his team.

“It’s not spying!” M’gann defended.

Artemis snorted, “Yeah, it’s just subtle eavesdropping—Look it’s Marinette!”

Marinette shifted nervously as she opened the door to the restaurant.

“Let’s go!” Artemis said as she led her teammates to the back door and picked its lock.

“Should I be concerned that you know how to do that?” Kaldur asked, raising his brow.

“Hey! I don’t want us to miss the show, you’re welcome!” Artemis walked in carefully and peeked around the corner. She let out a gasp.

“What?” M’gann said peeking out from the corridor they were hiding in. She gaped as she saw Dick and Wally in suits at a round table with candles and flowers decorating it. They were talking animatedly as Wally swooped in to kiss Dick’s cheek.

“Sorry I’m late!” Marinette said as she sat down, “I had to talk to the team beforehand, did I miss anything?”

Wally laughed, “A little, but I’ll catch you up.” He pecked her on the cheek.

Marinette blushed while Dick laughed. “Run into any trouble with the team before you left, Sweetheart?”

“Not really, Artemis and M’gann asked me who I was going on a date with though. How long are we gonna keep this a secret?”

“As long as they have this bet going,” Dick grinned, “I hear they’re up to three hundred now.”

Wally chuckled, “That much? Wow. I’m touched.”

“You guys are awful!” Marinette giggled.

“But you love us!”

“That I do.”

Wally glanced at the menu and hummed, “What do you think they’ll do when they find out?”

“We won’t need to wait long to find out. I’m pretty sure Artemis and M’gann followed me here, so they probably brought Kaldur and Conner too.” Marinette looked directly at their hiding space and said in a hushed whisper, as not to disturb any of the other patrons of the restaurant, “You guys can come out.”

Artemis, M’gann, Conner, and Kaldur came out guilty, looks of shame on all their faces, save Artemis.

“Surprise?”

~<~>~<~>~<~>~

“So how long have the three of you been dating?” Kaldur asked when they made it back to the mountain.

“We’ve been dating since the month after LB joined the team.” Dick said nonchalantly.

“You’ve been hiding it that long?!” Artemis exclaimed.

Wally nodded, “It was kind of funny seeing all you guys trying to get me and Mari together, and Dick and Mari. We had our own bet going on.”

“Oh?” Conner asked, folding his arms.

Marinette smirked, “How long it’d take you guys to figure it out. I won by the way!”

Dick rolled his eyes, “You did not win, you purposefully led them to our date, doesn’t count.”

“Me?” Marinette batted her eyelashes, “I would never.”

“Sure you wouldn’t.” He smirked.

Wally stretched his arms out, wrapping one around his boyfriend and the other around his girlfriend, “I’m just glad we don’t have to hide it anymore. Now we can be together anytime we want.”

“So who won the bet?!” Conner asked, impatiently.

“I guess technically all of us.” M’gann said, glancing around the cave.

“And technically none of you.” Dick smirked.

Artemis groaned, “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Nope,” Dick said holding onto Marinette’s hand and exiting the cave.

“Sorry.” Marinette shrugged as she giggled, following Dick while Wally followed her.

“Not sorry!” The speedster exclaimed as he picked Marinette and Dick up and zoomed away.

“Anyone up for a friendly wager of when they’ll get married?”

“You’re on.”

#maribat #speedbugbird

[catullus-the-author]

“At Some Point, Gold is as Good as Mold”

“Wally! What do ya’ see?”

Grimacing against the harsh light of the scouting drones overhead, Wally turned to yell back at his friend. “A cave! But it looks pretty small. Might not be useful.” Wally’s friend, Daniel, jogged up to his side. He squinted down at the hole in the side of the cliff.

“Oh shoot, that rock looks mighty softened from all this water beatin’ up on it. We’ll be able to dig it out bigger,” Daniel exclaimed. “I’ll call the Bulldozers in.” Daniel pressed a series of buttons on the bright blue band wrapped around his wrist. “Should be here in about five minutes.”

“Cool,” Wally replied.

The silent drones overhead began descending, shooting out projectiles that sprayed bright red ‘X’s’ on the cliff face. Wally followed Daniel back to the Operations Mobile Home. (OMH)

“I bet we’ll get at least 300 points for findin’ this. Wouldn’t that be somethin’? I could upgrade to an Air Home with those points,” Daniel sighed. Wally nodded in agreement. “What abouchyou? What are you gonna do with those points?”

Wally thoughtful rubbed his chin. “I might get myself a new Transportation Drone.”

“Ooh, nice thinkin.’ You should get the RX-tevel 104. I hear it’s got a wicked time-jump engine.”

Wally smiled, replying, “I just might.”

Suddenly, there was a rumble underfoot. “Ah, they came early,” Daniel exclaimed gleefully as two hulking, titan-like machines stepped across the treeless land, past the OMH, and straight down by the cliff face. Their monstrous heads stood well over the edge of the cliff. With lit up eyes, the Bulldozers went to work, scraping the cave away bit by bit with massive metal hands.

Daniel whistled with pride. “These two were worth those 175 points, I’ll tell ya’.”

“Absolutely,” Wally agreed, his eyes never straying from the methodical motions of the Bulldozers. What would have taken human hands years to even make a dent in was quickly washed away by the salty water below thanks to the gargantuan machines. The rock scraped off like it was a cake.

“Welp, imma get some shut-eye. They should be done in the mornin’. You comin’?”

Wally nodded, following Daniel into the OMH’s living space.

Sweet, lullaby music filtered through the speakers of Wally’s bedroom as he tucked himself into the warm, fuzzy covers. The grinding of the Bulldozer’s work never reached his ears as he slumbered.

 ***

 It was horrible. The monsters outside pulled away our shelter so quickly, we barely had time to hide. We delved deeper into the cave, my sister and I. The walls vibrated nonstop. We could feel our Mother’s agony in our bones every time more rock was destroyed. My sister shed golden tears, for she felt our Mother’s pain far greater than I did. I, however, heard the howl of my Father’s grief as those Man-made goliaths hurt her. I wanted to destroy them, but that would be fruitless. My fire could not melt the artificial metal the human’s made. Even as I thought this, my Father and Mother begged me to take my sister far away. So, I did.

 ***

 Wally awoke to the enticing smell of bacon, eggs, and waffles. A steaming plate sat on his bedside table. He dove in immediately. At his will, a faucet of sorts emerged from the wall, and gave him a thick syrup to drown his waffles in.

He heard Daniel’s voice through the speakers. “Rise and shine! We gotta cave to explore!”

Finishing up his meal, Wally jogged outside. The Bulldozers had left, but the fruits of their labor were amazing. A great bowl had been carved out of the cave, exposing its innards. Stalactites of all sizes hung from the cave’s ceiling.

“Wow,” Wally breathed with awe. Surprising him, Daniel clapped Wally on the back.

“Wow is right my friend. Now, let’s hop in those suits I was tellin’ ya about.”

Soon enough, Wally and Daniel were at the enlarged mouth of the cave, decked out in the latest adventurer's body suit. The suits tightly gripped soles allowed them to walk over the ever-rocky floor. An enhanced vision gadget on the suit’s visors let them see every edge of the cave in startling clarity. They could count every small bump on a single stalactite, if they wanted to.

“Hey Wally!”

“Gah! I can hear you in the suit just fine if you talk normally,” Wally replied, hoping his ears didn’t begin ringing.

“Sorry, but come over where I am. I think this cave goes a lot deeper.”

Wally joined his friend as he looked down a tunnel-like hole. “It looks like it was purposefully carved out this way,” Wally noted, seeing the ruts where it looked like unnatural cuts in the rock.

“Let’s go down!” Daniel hooted. He promptly began to bound down the tunnel. Wally followed him.

The tunnel went straight down in a smooth decline, yet at some point it began to twist and turn. Seemingly erratically. There were many high ledges, yet Wally and Daniel had no trouble grappling over them to further explore the long, rock-walled tunnel.

“My goodness. This is going on forever,” Daniel noted.

“Yeah, but it has to end sometime. We got all the time in the world to keep going,” Wally replied, excitement growing within him. “I wonder if we’ll find anything,” he asked himself aloud.

 ***

 Our blissful sleep was so quickly halted. Harsh Man-made light filled the haven we had barely had time in. My sister growled with fear and anger, and I joined her. The Men gave their own shouts as they inspected us. One of them looked so incredibly gleeful, however the other seemed to back up, inch by inch. I felt their aura’s. I saw the glow of blood-red cover the gleeful one. The other one began cowering as I stood up to my full height on my hind legs. I gave a ferocious roar. It did not scare them off, but the one backing up seemed to curl in on himself. His light-yellow aura flickered from dim to bright. This one’s spirit was cracking. My eyes blazed a brilliant gold. The golden flames revealed the intangible versions of both men. My sister was screaming behind me, trying to get rid of them. The yellow glowing one’s spiritual heart and mind beckoned me. I dove into this Man, without ever moving my tangible body. Now he really cowered. He surely felt my immense power. I heard my sister yelp with pain. My golden eyes sunk back into my skull. I turned, seeing my sister stumbling to the ground. A terrible prick stabbed at my arm. Drowsiness immediately overtook me. I heard the yellow-man's inner thoughts as slumber forced me to still. I had made a connection.

 ***

 “We are going to be sooooo rich!” Daniel squealed with joy. Wally clutched his head. A terrible headache had come over him when that creature seemed to stare right into his very eyes. He coughed. Icky bile, mingled with some blood, slipped out of his mouth. He heard Daniel’s excited speech through a wall of pain.

“Good thing there was enough stun-numb juice in this suit for both of them. Honestly, I’m surprised it even punctured their skin. Look at how thick these scales look!” Wally saw Daniel making his way over to the colossal beasts. “Hoowee! Come help me get pictures of these beauts to send to the OMH.”

“Sure . . . sure thing,” Wally rasped. “I just . . . need some rest.” Wally groaned as he took a step forward. Daniel turned back to his friend.

“Dude, ya’ okay?”

Wally groaned again as a hammer of fire pressed down on the crown of his head.

“Ya’ need some meds?”

“Ye . . . yes,” Wally stuttered.

Daniel rushed over to Wally’s side. “Hol’ on now. I gotcha,” he said as he helped prop Wally down. A small vial of clear liquid slid out of a compartment on Daniel’s suit sleeve. He twisted the cap off it and raised Wally’s head up. Soon, Wally felt the sweet sensation of the painkiller rush down his throat.

Wally’s head felt slightly less burdened.

“Okay, ya’ just rest now til’ you feel better.” Daniel gently placed Wally’s head back down on the ground. “I’ll deal with these big lizards myself, dontcha worry.”

Wally mumbled a feeble thank you as he watched his friend jog back to the great winged reptilian like creatures. Wally had seen a few pictures from the Old-Time depicting creatures like this. He forgot what they were called. All he knew was that he was very afraid of them. Any natural predators, or even remotely dangerous animals, were in the Earth’s fenced-off wildlife sector. There were big reptiles and amphibians in the sector, of course. Yet never had any animal grown to the magnitude that Wally observed now.

Daniel was now so close to the nearest creature. The smaller one of the two. It had deep, dark, and long scales running over the entirety of its elongated body. There were great bat-like wings that rested just behind its shoulder blades. Its mouth was opened in a frozen snarl, revealing wickedly pointy fangs. It starkly contrasted the much larger one next to it. The other creature had bright orange, red, and yellow scales that hugged its body tighter than its companion’s scales did, however its wings were similarly bat-like.

Even in pain, Wally marveled at the outstanding beauty of these mysterious creatures. Especially their eyes. The eyes of the bright beast were like pools of gold. It occurred to Wally too late that sleeping creatures have their eyes closed.

With a screech that reverberated in his very bones, the large animal reared up. The stun-numb didn’t last long on these gargantuan beasts at all. Daniel stumbled back in surprise. He was practically under the legs of the beast, and the smaller creature was beginning to stir.

“Dan . . . Daniel. Run.” Wally’s words were lost to the roars echoing around the cave. Grimacing, Wally pushed himself up. Daniel was between him and the creatures now. The obsidian-dressed beast was now very much awake. It settled on its haunches, getting ready to pounce on Daniel, no doubt. Fumbling, Wally searched for the stun-numb button on his suit. He poorly steadied his arm in the direction of the creature. His vision blurred. With a jerk of his arm, the stun-numb needle shot out of his arm.

He heard Daniel cry out, and then there was silence. Through tears, Wally saw Daniel lying face down on the ground.

“Oh, shit,” Wally exclaimed. Looking up, Wally saw the two great creatures staring at him. “Hehe,” he mumbled in fear before meeting darkness.

 ***

 I intervened in time. My connection to the yellow-glowing one allowed me to divert his shaking arm in the direction of his companion. Blessedly, he hit his friend with what had frozen my sister and I earlier. Speaking of my sister, she now crept close to the two Men who had so rudely interrupted our slumber. The one who had shot her was face down, while the one I connected to lay face up. “What shall we do with them?”  My sister’s tinkling voice asked. "Shall we leave?” I observed the small, pale Men. I thought. I decided. "I would like to take the one that I have claimed. His will was shaken. His spirit . . . uncertain.” Again, I bid my eyes to blaze gold as I looked straight down to the face of the yellow-auraed one. His skin began to glow, and shift. Though it was hard to see under the horrible cage enveloping his body. Nevertheless, this man’s tangibility and intangibility fused with mine. I felt the man’s sleeping conscious as the last of his being became one with mine. "You are treading dangerous waters, brother,” my sister warned. "I am fully aware of what I will do. Please do not worry sister. I have curiosities of my own.” With a new mind imbued into my own, I diverted my attention to the red-auraed one. "He can be left here. We can build a deep well. Mother can keep him quiet.” My sister grunted in agreement. With that, we began to carve out the soft Earth that our Mother detached from herself. This man would not make another sound.

 ***

 Wally felt as if he were floating. In a pool of warm water. It’s as if he were in his mother’s womb again, and he loved the feeling. He had an incredible urge to suck his thumb, just as he did when he was a child. Yet as he soon found out, Wally appeared to not have a thumb. Or a hand. Or anything. However, his vision was covered in a milky white sheen. Despite Wally’s predicament, he felt contentment.

Soon, he felt his nonexistent body shudder. A great voice had spoken.

“Hello, man. There is no need to be frightened.”

Wally, surprisingly, was not afraid. He felt as if nothing could touch him, wherever he was. He was confused though.

“You are not dreaming,” the voice told him. "Dreams are a slice of reality, but consciousness is ever clearer.”

Wally became as startled as he could as the voice appeared to read his mind.

“I have questions, and I would be ever so delighted if you answered them. Do not worry about your lack of tongue, for now we are one.”

This just furthered Wally’s confusion, but the booming voice asked away. Sometimes the voice was satisfied, other times, it seemed to huff with impatience. To be perfectly honest, Wally didn’t completely understand all the questions that were asked, and later, he would not even remember those questions.

There was a point amidst these questions where Wally felt the need to sleep. He never fell asleep. Not while the voice’s Earth-shaking timbre enveloped him.

“Thank you, man,” it said. “I will release you without harm for your cooperation.”

A sudden whoosh of air swirled in the womb-like room-of-sorts. Wally’s milky-white vision washed itself away, and suddenly he felt the painful nick of cold air against his skin. The hard bite of sharp rocks met his back.

His back!

Wally scrambled up. He had his body back. He could feel the physical world again.

And the physical world did not feel pleasant. Not after being wherever he had been. He soon came to the realization that he was naked as the day he was born, despite the darkness around him. He shivered. There didn’t seem to be any light source nearby.

Quite irrationally, Wally began to walk in a random direction.

“Ugh,” he huffed out when he seemed to hit a wall of rock. His hands searched the wall, and he gave a yelp when it began to move. Blindly, he scrambled backwards. A guttural growl came out of the rock wall. A much louder growl-yip sounded nearby. Suddenly, Wally’s surroundings were ablaze.

His eyes adjusted to the new light, and when he looked up, he couldn’t find the air to scream.

Shimmering like mirages, two dragons . . . the dragons! Wally and Daniel had found dragons! It all came back to Wally in a snap of a moment. They were in a cave . . . but not anymore as Wally observed. They were in a forest now. Wally looked around, expecting to find Daniel nearby. He did not find Daniel. Only the two great beasts and himself were visible.

Wary, Wally stared at the dragons in fear. The brightly scaled one was resting its head on its massive front-clawed hands, while the smaller one had its head straight up as it rested on its belly.

They were both watching him.

“Go, man.” Wally jumped. “You will speak nothing of this. Our souls are intertwined. Your words should be like sweet honey, not sour vinegar.”  

“What the hell,” Wally breathed to himself. Despite his roil of fear and confusion battling inside his stomach, Wally walked away. He never realized how, but somehow, he made it back to the OMH.

Its exterior was lit up in a soft blue light that extended deep into the sparsely populated forest. Feeling his chest cave in with some relief, he rushed into the OMH, relishing the soft carpet of its entrance floor. Immediately, he jumped into the cleaning-pool and soon dressed himself after his skin glared pink from the hot water.

Squeaky clean, Wally practically fell into his bedroom. The silk-soft fabric hugged his exhausted form. He didn’t recall when he fell asleep.

 ***

 I sensed the tangible body of the man walk farther and farther away, until he stopped. He was not far at all. Despite Man’s growing dependability on their man-made machines, they seemed to have a knack for returning to their homes quite easily. They also have a knack for destroying homes as well. My sister slept uneasily beside me, and I joined her as our Mother sang us a lullaby that predated our time.

 ***

 An aroma of French toast, sausage, and fruit permeated Wally’s nose the minute he woke up. The OMH hummed with its inner machines working to begin the day. The breakfast was gone before Wally could really taste the food, yet it silenced his impatient stomach. Yawning, Wally shuffled out to the living room. Tossing himself onto a sofa, the news of the day clicked on. Wally didn’t really watch it. The white noise it made helped Wally distract himself. Though that distraction didn’t last for long.

Wally shivered and shook non-stop. Recalling the events of yesterday. Dragons were real, and one had spoken to him. It seemed humanity’s efforts to close off all organisms into the wildlife sector had failed.

The wildlife sector!

Rushing over to a massive computer monitor, Wally hastily logged in and began to compose an email to the overseer of the wildlife sector. These dragons needed to be contained. He was halfway through the first sentence when his hands locked up. Then his fingers seemed to fuse together as if there were glue on them.

He felt the eerie sensation that he was being watched.

His eyes itched.

Backing away, rasping with fear, his fingers began to separate. Soon, he could move his hands again. He most certainly didn’t forget what that dragon had told him, he just didn’t want it to be real.

However, as he realized that he would never be able to communicate his findings at all, there was a kernel of relief mixed in with his disappointment.

The dragons would most likely make him one of the wealthiest humans on the planet, but to what end? He already had what he needed and wanted with his current home. It was Daniel who sought to enrich himself.

Daniel! Where was Daniel?

“Daniel?” Wally called out. “Are you here?”

No one answered.

He had not seen Daniel since they were both in the cave.

Growing in worry, Wally typed in Daniel’s bracelet ID code into the computer. Daniel’s location popped up, and so did his vitals.

Crying out with worry, Wally found a spare cave-diving suit, one much like the ones he and Daniel had used earlier, and he set out towards the cave that now had a gaping maw.

The rocky obstacles did not stop Wally from finding Daniel. Deep into the cave they had found the dragons in, Wally thought he found Daniel. His location was blinking right over his as he stood in the cave.

“Daniel!” He screamed. Only his echoes replied to him.

Suddenly, smacking his head, Wally connected his suit’s microphone to Daniel’s suit speakers. Miraculously since they still worked.

“Daniel?” He whispered now. “Can you hear me?”

Silence.

“Daniel, I see your location, but I don’t know where you are,” he explained. “I know you’re super malnourished, but please, say anything."

Silence again.

Feeling overwhelmed, Wally stumbled to the ground. Soft sand moved under his legs. There wasn’t sand in this cave before, was there?

Looking helplessly at his friends gradually lowering vitals, Wally began to dig into the sand. His suit recognized his intentions and extended a large shovel-like appendage from the suits back. It helped Wally dig, and dig, and dig. Until his arms felt like lead, and he felt the cool, rounded edge of Daniel’s suit helmet.

“Oh god!” He cried. Daniel weakly sat up, promptly falling over onto Wally. He looked so incredibly tired.

What happened next was a haze, but Wally distinctly remembers carrying Daniel over his own shoulder out of the cave and back to the OMH.

The OMH’s mechanical medical aid worked to heal Daniel and get him fed. Wally sat next to him while it worked. Daniel was asleep for the entire operation.

Yet when it was finished, Daniel groggily opened his eyes, looked at Wally, and smiled. His mouth moved to say something, but to both their surprise, no sound came out.

#fiction #shortstories #creative

[kindaangelic]

BatFam Week Day 2: Shennanigans

Day 2 of BatFam week! Yippity skip! Prompt: Shennanigans ------------ Dick honestly did not know what he had done wrong. All he had done was to mention Wally taking him out to dinner, and Damian had chucked his mashed potatoes across the room and had ran out in tears. Bruce sat at the head of the table, stunned, with mashed potato dripping down his face, while Tim and Jason offered commentary and recorded the debacle. Dick had more pressing issues on his mind than his spud covered father figure, and rushed to see what had gotten Damian into such a tizzy. Dick opened the door to Damian's room to see the boy sobbing and stabbing at a messily drawn picture of what looked like the Flash on fire. "Damian, what's wrong?" Dick cooed. Damian continued to sob, but somehow managed to string together a coherent sentence. "You-you're going to g-go away with the Red Speed De-Demon and you'll forget about me!" Damian wailed. "Then Dr-Drake will take over the house, marry Father, and he'll ma-make me sweep and mop and he won't let me go t-to the ball!" Dick listened to the hysterical boy with growing dread and horror, and when he had finished, held him close, rocking him to and fro. "Hush, hush, now," he whispered. "There's been a huge misunderstanding here. Why don't you tell me what happened, from the beginning?" "I'd like to know that as well," Bruce grumbled, walking into the room smelling vaguely of seasoning. "As the main victim in this-" "Bruce, be quiet!" Dick hissed, silencing the vehement man. "Damian, you go on. Why'd you attack your father? And why is Tim going to marry Bruce?" "I didn't mean to," Damian said. "I just...Todd said he would!" Bruce gaped in horror, while Tim closed his eyes and waited for the sweet embrace of the void to take him. "Jason told you," Dick repeated. "Can you tell me what exactly he told you?" "Well, he said..." ___________ "Where's Dick?" "Grayson is with Flash," Damian answered with a sniff. "Titans business." "Hmm," Jason hummed, pondering. Damian looked blankly at him for a minute before sighing and walking away. Jason followed his small, retreating, figure with his eyes and just as Damian turned the corner, called him back. "Hey, Dami!" Damian flew towards Jason and socked him in the stomach. "Don't call me that!" "Dick calls you that all the time," Jason wheezed out. "Well...that's Grayson. Only he's allowed to call me that," Damian pouted back. Jason nursed his sore stomach and glared at the brat. Slowly, a plan began to form in his mind. "And what will you do once Dick's gone, huh? Who's going to call you Dami then? Who'll love you then?" "Where is Grayson going?" Damian asked curiously. Jason looked at his brother with his innocent expression and tilted head, and felt no mercy. "What, you think Dick's going to stay home forever? Nah, he's going to get married, move out, and have his own kids. That's why he's with Flash right now - they're dating, and soon, they'll get married." Damian's look of anger grew at every passing sentence. "You're lying!" He cried, lunging forward to strangle Jason, and missing. Jason circled easily around the distraught boy to catch him by the middle, and whispered in his ear. "And once Dickie's gone, who's going to be on your side here? Bruce? He's a dolt. Tim? He hates you. In fact, he'll be looking to make his claim on the house stronger with Dick out of the way." "H-huh?" "He's going for the classic scheme. Who's going to be next in line to inherit after Bruce? Not Dick, he's going to get married and leave, and live happily ever after." "Father would split things evenly between his children-" "Oh ho, but what if there was another? Say...a spouse?" Damian was shocked into silence, and Jason took full advantage of the moment. "Tim's going to be an adult soon, and why look around for a partner when the most eligible bachelor in Gotham is right under your nose?" "No-!" "Yes," Jason hissed, bending down to Damian's level, coming nose to nose with him. "Tim will wed Bruce, and he'll be your step-father!" "Aagh!" "Yes! Now you're getting it! He's planned the seduction, the wedding, the control, and once he's Mr. Wayne, he's going to do to you exactly what was done to Cin-" Jason choked off, stuffing his fist in his mouth. "Cinderella," he rasped out. "What? What is that?" Damian cried. Jason's shriveled heart danced a merry jig. This was unbelievable. The demon assassin baby didn't know about Cinderella. Talia couldn't have been big on reading her son bedtime stories; she would have probably put him to bed with A Handy List of Stabbing Techniques. It was what Jason was given when he was Talia's protégé. "Cinderella was a girl," Jason started sadly. "A girl whose step-mother forced her into servitude. She swept the chimney and sewed dresses all day long, when all she wanted to do was to go to the Prince's ball." "Was she...able to go?" Damian asked softly. "No," Jason said sadly. "Her step-mother wouldn't let her. Do you know what happened then?" Damian looked at him with wide eyes and shook his head. A better man may have stopped the prank then, but this was Jason. "She never got to go out again, and she never married her prince." Damian gasped. "I will never be able to wed Jon? No!" Jason smirked. Well, that was news. The baby bat wanted to get hitched to SuperBrat? Bruce wasn't going to be pleased, but Clark was going to be tickled pink. "Yup. No wedding, no ball, no Jon, and guess what?" Damian leaned in. "No Grayson." "AAAH!" Jason cackled as he watched Damian run away, and sat back to plot the next stage of his grand plan. ---------- "How was patrol?" "It was fine, B. I actually busted Fal-OH!" Tim squeaked as he fell forward into Bruce's outstretched arms. Tim's nose was squished into Bruce's chest, and Bruce's hands were gripping Tim's back tightly as he looked down at the smaller hero in his arms. They stayed locked in that position, Tim falling asleep in the safety of Bruce's arms and lack of caffeine, and Bruce taking advantage of getting to discreetly hug one of his children - the only way he would ever hug anyone. The moment was broken when Bruce heard a withering gasp by the corner, just in time to see a small, tri-coloured child run up the stairs. Bruce frowned, but settled for lugging Tim over to his bed, to put his clever, little, sleep deprived pup to sleep. He never did see the marbles that Tim had slipped on, or his second son snickering from inside the t-rex. ----------- Finally, there was a peaceful night in Gotham. No one was stirring, not even a minor gangster, and all the Arkham inmates were trussed up in their straitjackets, dreaming of breakouts and planning what to do once they escaped. In Wayne Manor, family movie night was in full swing, and Damian was content, cuddled up against Dick. He had previously snarled at Wally that he was not invited, and had successfully scared him off. Jason looked at Damian's contented face, and thought that he looked not unlike a very small Emperor Palpatine who had just enacted Order 66. Dick, of course, suspected nothing, because he was an oblivious, hug-loving, boob that was currently busy smothering Damian with his love. Jason spied Tim sitting next to Bruce and cackled, a plan already concocted in his mind. He hurried to the kitchen and whipped up a batch of hot chocolate, and added sleeping pills in Tim's mug. "Here," Jason said sweetly, handing the cups out to his family, who took them with due suspicion. "Why?" Tim asked cautiously. "Because I care about you," Jason replied innocently. Well, it was true in a way, he thought to himself as he watched Tim down the hot chocolate, the pills would help his sleep deprived little brother some. Jason patted himself on the back. He was such a good sibling. Within minutes, Tim had dozed off. Jason nudged his sleeping brother and sent him sprawling all over Bruce, who caught him and held him close, while continuing to watch Finding Nemo. Dick cooed and went to fetch a blanket, and busied himself with draping it over Bruce and Tim. Jason shot Damian a pointed look, and watched the boy's face take on an ungainly puce coloration. Just as Dick was about to sit back down next to Damian, Jason purposefully pulled Dick towards himself, leaving Damian all alone in the corner. Out of the corner of his eye, Jason watched Damian get upset, his rage shaking his tiny frame until fat, angry, tears started dripping down his cheeks. Jason silently mouthed the word "Cinderella", and looked over at Tim sprawling over Bruce. Damian immediately jumped up and ran to his room, with Dick watching concernedly. "What happened?" "He probably identified with Nemo," Jason supplied sagely. "Nemo left the ocean and found a new family in the aquarium, just like Damian left the League of Assassins and came here." "You're so smart, Jay," Dick said in awe. Jason chuckled and slung his arm around Dick's shoulders. "I've got hidden depths, Dickhead, hidden depths." ----------- "Hey, Flash." "Hey, Red Hood. Nice to be cornered by you," Wally replied guardedly, shrinking against the wall Jason had herded him towards. "The pleasure is mine," Jason said benignly. "Here's fifty bucks, go and take Dickie someplace nice." Wally looked at the money that Hood was waving in front of his face and took it. "Um...why?" Jason frowned. Why did everybody suspect him of being up to no good? Oh, yeah. He wasn't. "Dickie's been really stressed lately, what with sharing Batman, being Nightwing, and mothering his brothers. You could show him a good time, get to know him, grope him-" "Hood!" "Don't play coy, West, I know where your hands have been," Jason said, shrugging the interruption aside. Wally blushed, and Jason continued, "So go show my brother a good time. Take him someplace nice, buy him a little something." Wally nodded and took the money before zipping away, leaving Jason to practice his evil laugh alone, in the privacy of one of Gotham's sleazier alleyways. ----------- "That's a nice necklace, Dick," Bruce commented over after-patrol dinner. "Thanks, Wally gave it to me. He said to wear it when he takes me out to dinner tomorrow." "That's nice. Where is he taking you? Tim, pass the salt, please." "Here you go," Tim said, his fingers absentmindedly brushing Bruce's as he passed the shaker over. "Right, Dick, you were saying?" "He's-" "Father, you absolute FOOL!" Damian cried hysterically, and flung his plate aside and ran away. Everyone watched, horrified, as the mashed potatoes soared off of the plate, into the air, and landed with a wet plop on Bruce's head. Silence resonated in the dining hall until Alfred moved to carefully remove the spuds from Bruce's hair. "Tremendous execution by Damian Wayne, did you see that wrist motion, Timmy?" Jason commented, channeling a 1950's radio sports commentator. "I did, Jay, I did. The parabolic arc of the throw was perfect. A graphing calculator with an y = x2 formula would have been jealous." "Plus ten points for the sound," Jason added in his baseball commentator voice. "Didja hear that wet splat?" "It was superb - like a thousand slugs hitting the pavement, Jay. We've witnessed history today." "Too true, Timmers, too true." Bruce sat glued to his spot, horrified, while Dick ran out to check on an obviously distraught Damian. It took a good five minutes for Bruce to finally regain his senses and follow Dick, intent on grounding Damian until the next Crisis. ----------- "-and, and Father is too dull to realize, and Drake is going to enslave me! I won't be able to go to the Ball, or marry Jon, and I won't ever see you again because he'll chain me in the basement!" Dick was torn between horror and awe at Jason's sheer gall as he cradled a hysterically crying ten-year-old in his arms while Bruce recovered from being called foolish and dull. "Damian, I won't leave you-" "But Todd said-" "Jason was lying," Bruce said harshly. "Dick isn't getting married, Wally's too broke and classless to have a proper Wayne style wedding. I won't accept getting hitched at the registar, Dick, just do you know. Furthermore, Tim isn't seducing me, and I'm not going to marry him, he's my son." Tim puddled to the floor in disgust, and sought to become one with the carpet. "See? Tim is horrified!" "Tim is disgusted," Tim corrected him. "Tim is traumatized at the thought of wooing his adoptive father, who is old and has grey hairs, and the emotional quotient of a prune. Tim is also offended that Damian thought that I would imprison him and make himsweep the chimney." "That's right-" "Damian wouldn't be able to reach far enough to do a good enough job of cleaning-" "Not helping," Bruce gritted out as Tim's words evoked a fresh wave of wailing from Damian. "But the Cinderella Plan-" Bruce groaned. "Jason lied," he said, sitting down. "It's a fairy tale. Cinderella had a fairy godmother, went to the ball, got her prince, got married, and lived happily ever after." Damian sniffed morosely and swung his little feet in silence. "Promise?" He asked, finally. "Yes," Bruce breathed in relief. "I promise. I promise that Dick isn't going to have a slap-shod wedding, I promise that he's never going to leave, I promise that Tim isn't depraved enough to want his own father, and I promise that when I find Jason, I'm going to make him wash the batmobile with his own tears." "Bruce!" "Shut up, Dick," Bruce grumbled, getting up. "Take care of your brother. Tim, come with me, we're going to find Jason." "Yes, daddy," Tim breathed heavily. "TIM!" ------------- Later that night... "You ought to be ashamed of yourself," Dick seethed at Jason. "How could you manipulate your little brother like that?" "I feel nothing," Jason hissed as he wrung out his sponge and scrubbed the batmobile. "Also, you should be grateful. You got to cuddle Demon brat for a whole gen minutes because of his little meltdown. I also lent Wally that fifty bucks for your necklace!" "Aww, really?" "Dick, you are hopeless," Tim sighed. "Jason, keep scrubbing. Damian, keep whipping him." Damian grinned freaky and cracked his whip at Jason, catching his bottom and eliciting a cry from the older man. That would teach him to mess with Damian Wayne. ----------- Meanwhile, at the Watchtower... "...Batman, you're staring." "I'm aware, Superman." "Um, okay." Clark paused for a beat. "Why?" **Because I'm slowly dying inside contemplating the near future where our sons may force my lawful bonding to you through their marriage, and if I could kill you now, there could still be time for me to mould your son into someone that I could approve of Damian marrying.** "In preparation." "Of...?" Bruce swept out of the room in silence, leaving Superman with a cold feeling in his bones.

#batfamweek #batfamily #damian wayne #jason todd #dick grayson #bruce wayne #tim drake #mentioned Jon kent #clark kent #Jason stop it #crack #humor #fluff #dick and dami