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flying-nightwing · 5 years ago

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Sparks Must Fly to Start a Fire (1/2)

(spongebob theme voice) Are ya ready kids? OoooOooh, who keeps updating in the middle of the night? That-lit-tle-bitch!

Hey guys! I was supposed to do one chunky fic but uhhhh I decided to split it in two so (1) you can have it sooner and (2) not have to pay attention for 10k+ words because I’m there guys and it’s not over (doing this for my ADHD people lmao where y’all at). So yeah. I’m having mad fun with that one, I can’t seem to stop typing. All the tropes, people. All of them. For y’all. Can’t say I’m never doing anything for you (ok I might be trying to make up for the recent heartbreaks I caused). Stay tuned for more juicy stuff in part 2, and as always, enjoy 💕💕

Masterlist in bio // pinned

Requested: Yes (anon)

Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader

Word count: 5477

Warnings: Language, violence.

Summary: When you make a move against your family, a known associate of big crime syndicates in Gotham, you find yourself in a precarious position of danger. Luckily, your new collaborator Bruce Wayne got an idea to keep you safe, which might not please the people involved.

Note: In this house we stan flawed characters with room to grow (also Jason is bratty af in this but I swear it makes sense in these circumstances)

Day 1

“... For now, no assumptions can be made on the nature of the disappearance. No ransom note was sent to the family, according to the phone interview with the mother conducted by Gotham News, but the possibility of a money related kidnapping is not out of the question...”

Jason turned down the radio as he pulled into the driveway of the manor. He hadn’t been there in a while, but Bruce’s call sounded somewhat urgent. Usually, he would laugh in his face and hang up before he could even begin explaining himself. But a recent conversation he had kind of kicked him in the butt to at least try and rebuild some sort of family links with his adoptive father and brothers. He had been the last he reached out to, but he got there. And he knew he would have to be the bigger person at some point, so he agreed to hear Bruce out this time.

He pulled his sunglasses and let them hang on his t-shirt, adjusting his leather jacket, before getting out of his car. He walked around it and jogged up the stairs, looking at the empty space where Alfred used to greet him. He probably didn’t count on him showing up, so he didn’t waste his time waiting by the door. Either that, or the stain he left on the family was one of the permanent kind and he was more or less welcome home now. He told himself he didn’t care, but deep down, he prayed it wasn’t the latter.

Coming in, he immediately heard the low chatter from the foyer. He walked there, announcing his presence by the groaning of the heavy wooden doors. The conversation quieted down, and Bruce stood up. However, he paid him little attention as his eyes instantly found the second party, looking immaculate in black and white designer clothes, and the more he looked, the more his eyes narrowed.

However, you didn’t back down. You held the stare of the man who stuck out in the decor like a sore thumb, but seemed comfortable enough in his environment to show he did, in fact, belong here in his own way.

“Why the fuck is Vitto Maroni’s wife doing in your living room?”

While Bruce looked both embarrassed and pissed at the lack of manners, you simply raised an eyebrow. “Fiancée”

“Yeah whatever” He brushed you off, now giving his entire attention to Bruce. “What the fuck?”

“We need to talk”

“Ya think?” He was unsettled, shifting his glance back and forth between Bruce and you. You crossed your arms against your chest, unimpressed by his display of whatever he was doing.

“Come and sit” Bruce invited, but it sounded more like a disguised order. The younger man just stood there in defiance. “Jason”

He didn’t move, so Bruce sat back down with a tired sigh. This exchange seemed like it was a common occurrence rather than a sudden act of rebellion.

“Fine, stay there” He mumbled. “Jason, this is (Y/N). (Y/N), meet my son Jason”

“Adopted” He corrected almost instantly. “And I know who she is. By the way, the whole city’s looking for her, just so you know-- Wait did you kidnap her?”

“I’m right there” You waved sarcastically, annoyed at the fact he was talking like you weren’t even in the room. “And do I look like I’m here against my will?”

He gave you a sneer.

“Jason, stand down” Bruce warned, but it didn’t seem to have much effect on Jason. “She’s here because she just dropped an important number of explicitly incriminating documents on the whereabouts of crime families in Gotham to Gordon, putting herself in a dangerous position by doing so”

“Congratulations on doing something morally right” He gave you a cold smile. “The precinct is that way, we aren’t a security company”

“You aren’t really bright are you?” You tilted your head, ignoring Bruce’s slow, tired closing of his eyes. Jason looked insulted. “All the GCPD cops beside Gordon and maybe one or two idiots fall under the paycheck of a big family. When they trace back the leak to me, and they will, I become fair game. It would be better not to be surrounded by cops when it blows out”

“Poor little girl” He mocked. “I bet--”

“Enough!” Bruce’s voice was loud enough to bring both of your attention to him. “Jason, I’ve seen the documents, and it will be strong enough to deal a blow to the crime family they won’t easily recover from. We’re talking here bank statements, fund transfer receipts, contracts, everything to build a solid case”

Jason took a deep breath, but still sent you a quick glare. “Go on”

“My side of the family isn’t strong enough to come out of a trial with the information I provided” You explained calmly, mirroring his behaviour. “It means prison for my father, brothers, uncles, cousins, all of them, and since I leaked, nobody will want to bail them out and associate with the family of a traitor”

“What about the Maroni side?”

You held his expectant stare, knowing it was the information he wanted to hear. You weren’t sure he would like it, though, seeing how he reacted for everything else. “Well, that really depends on me”

The suspicion in his eyes returned before you could blink. “How so?”

“The evidence will definitely not be sufficient to even convict them, they will worm out of this without much of a hassle...” You paused, sending a quick glance at Bruce. “... But if I testify, it might just be enough to bridge the evidence I got to the Maroni, or a part of the family anyway”

“Okay…” He trailed off. “Then just do that? What’s stopping you?”

“Well first off, the trial will take time to set” You began, and he still looked at you like he didn’t see the problem. You sighed. “I need to stay alive to testify. Fair game, remember? If they get me first it’s over”

“What do you even want us to do about this?”

You slid your glance again to Bruce, expectantly this time. Jason looked in between you two, and his face slowly fell at the realization of what was happening, and of why he was really there.

“No”

“Hear me out” Bruce entered negotiating mode like it was a second nature to him. You observed the exchange closely and with interest. “We can’t afford to let this opportunity go. This is big, Jason”

“Yeah, I know” His tone was anything but understanding. “But it doesn’t change the fact we’re not a fucking security company”

“You think the idea of the back-from-the-dead Wayne son keeping me alive brings me joy?” You argued. Bruce had told you a priori that his son had experience in security type of jobs, but you were beginning to doubt the extent of his professionalism.

“I wouldn’t expect it to” Here came the sarcastic comment once again. “Why can’t you ask another one of your soldiers?”

Bruce flinched ever so slightly, in an almost impossible way to notice. But you did. “For personal reasons you already know”

“And you thought my reasons were different rules?” He challenged.

“You’re the one who is the most familiar with patterns and comportment of criminal families” Bruce explained. “You don’t have to familiarize yourself with systems, m.o., anything, which leaves way less space for mistakes others would make”

Jason remained silent.

“Please”

The both of them kept staring at each other in a silent conversation. The silence was uncomfortable, so you rolled your eyes and grabbed your hand bag, pulling out a wad of cash. You slammed it on the coffee table and pushed it towards Jason, effectively grabbing his attention.

“That’s five thousand dollars upfront, which you get to have now” You said with a sigh. “There’s two more like these once I make it through the trial”

“So now you’re trying to buy me?” He asked, glaring at the money like it was the plague. “Dirty money is dirty money, so what is stopping me from just taking it out of your stupid Gucci handbag and call it a day?”

You had to smile, although it was far from sincere and friendly. “You think I’d keep it all here on me? I’m not an amateur”

“Oh boy” Bruce intervened again. “Let’s not get carried away, please. There is an important matter at hands”

“Fine” He finally conceded. “But you owe me a big one, Bruce. I’ll make it count”

“I didn’t expect any less” He replied in a neutral tone, but there was relief in his posture.

“What’s the game plan here?” Jason crossed his arms against his chest. “So the princess here doesn’t die on me and puts it on my fault”

“I am very sorry for his behaviour” Bruce apologized to you.

“No worries, I’m used to dealing with that kind of attitude” You smiled at him, before returning your hardened glance to Jason. He made a face at you, subtly enough not to warrant another intervention.

“I think the best plan would be to move constantly, never staying in one place more than two or three days at the time” Bruce resumed. “Ideally, put as much distance from Gotham as you can, without either straying too far so you can come back quick if the trial is rushed”

“Which will be most likely the case” You pitched in. “They’ll know I’ll be hiding, and they’ll try to make it as hard as possible for me to come back on time. That is still if a bullet doesn’t find me first”

“So we move you frequently enough they won’t have the time to locate you” He hummed. “Alright. Then let’s go, before I change my mind”

“Reassuring” You breathed out, standing up with your handbag. However he was still standing in the way, unmoving. “Aren’t we going?”

“Not dressed like that, no”

“What’s wrong with this?” You frowned.

He gave you a smirk. “Your little Versace outfit is an attention magnet” He pointed at your clothes. “Add this to your missing person profile, they’ll get you in less than 24 hours whether or not I’m involved. You’ll have to dress like a commoner, princess”

This is ridiculous, you thought. You glanced at Bruce for support, but he refused to meet your eyes, tilting his head from side to side. If anyone should back you up, it was Mister Armani Suit currently sitting to your right.

“He has a point” He admitted, and your jaw slightly dropped. “You’ll have to lay low”

“This-- This is tailored!” It was truly your last argument, and it made Jason snort.

“I don’t care” He shrugged. “I’m sure Grayson still has some things around and won’t mind if you help yourself”

You grimaced, but still followed Jason around the hallways of the manor. His steps were suspiciously light, letting you know he enjoyed this way too much. You should have seen it coming by reacting the way you did to the idea of a considerable downgrade of clothes. You opened the door way too wide and he barged in like he owned the place.

This would be a long, long not-so-vacation.

He finally reached a room, which had been left mostly empty except for furniture. You could see nobody had been there in a while by the lack of personal items beside a few pictures and little items. He rummaged through drawers, pulling out t-shirts and pants.

“You’re lucky Grayson liked tight clothing” He shouted above his shoulder, knowing you were in the threshold waiting for your self inflicted doom. “This might just fit”

He threw you the pile of clothing, half of which fell onto the ground. Yet, you could clearly see that it was only t-shirts, jeans and sweatpants. You gulped as he gestured to the bathroom door, showing you the way. You reluctantly went in and carefully took off your clothes, still planning on taking them with you just in case.

“Oh my god” You muttered as you slipped the rough cotton over your head. The poor quality of the material was screaming against your skin. It was large enough to swallow your frame, but you managed to tweak it in a knot like you had seen so many fashion bloggers do before. You never thought you’d be the one who’d have to do it, though Then came the pants, whose rather skinny cut you were thankful for. It was still somewhat large, but it could have been worse. The waist was still a problem, however. But you grabbed a belt from your bag and called it an outfit--a sorry excuse of an outfit but an outfit nevertheless.

You came back in the bedroom, only to be met with a raised eyebrow. You halted your step, unsure of what to do under his close scrutinization. You felt way less powerful and invulnerable now that your twelve thousand dollars shell was gone, and to make it worse, his expression revealed nothing. He took a good minute before he spoke.

“The belt” He said, but you knew what it meant. He wanted you to get rid of your last lifeline.

“No”

“Yes”

“I’ll lie and say it’s a fake” You compromised, but he still didn’t look convinced. “Look at how I’m dressed, they won’t even consider it’s a real”

“Hmm, alright” He nodded slowly. “I’ll let it slide this time”

You didn’t add anything else as you went to the pile of clothes you had left on the floor, and began packing them in your handbag. You thought it was a crime to put a five dollars shirt in a 5k bag, but you didn’t have much of a choice.

“How much stuff do you have in there?” He called from behind you. “That thing is huge”

“I have enough” You replied cryptically, to which he muttered something no doubt sarcastic under his breath. You had a rotation of underwear, two full outfits and your essentials, and now you added three t-shirts, a pair of jeans and a pair of sweatpants. It was getting pretty full. “It’s very practical”

“Sure” He drawled out. “Will this be a fake too?”

“Gotta commit to the counterfeit gimmick, right?” You said as you turned around. He shrugged. “Are we good to go now?”

“Sure thing, princess”

You bit your lips not to yell at him anymore and followed him to his car. You put your bag on the backseat, which was surprisingly clean, and got it on the passenger seat. Jason got behind the wheel and started to drive down the driveway, until he pulled over on the side of the road. Before you could ask what was going on, he pulled a gun from nowhere and pressed the barrel under your jaw.

“I don’t know what’s your game here, but for your sake I better hope that's exactly what you sold back there” He spoke in a slow, menacing tone. You weren’t moving, but you held the stare down contest anyway. “If this is a scheme to hurt my family, or screw Gotham over even more, I swear the Maronis won’t be the ones you’ll need to hide from”

“You’re not the first man to put a gun to my head and threaten me, so don’t think you can intimidate me that way” You spat back, teeth clenched and venom in your voice. Whatever he expected from your answer, it wasn’t that. “If I tried to play you, there would be a hundred better ways to do so, so lower the fucking gun”

Slowly, the cold metal left your skin, followed by the distinct click of the safety. You controlled the sigh of relief that silently left you, so he wouldn’t know how much your breath was truly trembling on the inside. It’s not because you had been in that situation before that it was any less scary.

Without so much as another glance in your direction, he pressed down the gas pedal and sped away from the manor.

Day 2

You had been on the road for more than thirty hours when Jason finally pulled into the driveway of a remote cabin, far from any passing road.

You were tired and sore despite the little sleep you had gotten, making you wonder how he hadn’t crashed the car yet. Beside rare gas and bathroom breaks--usually done at the same time--he hadn’t stopped at all. However, it showed in the quiet sigh that he was relieved to finally not need to channel his attention on the road. He got out of the car, not bothering to talk at all to you. It had been like that for the entire way, silent except for the one or two “are you hungry” grunts at gas breaks. The only sound in the car had otherwise been the steady rotation of the CDs laying around.

You got out of the car at your turn and stretched. It felt good on your muscles after all that time sitting, and you didn’t want to think about how this would be your routine for an undetermined time. However, you were kind of glad you did not have on your usual clothes for this one, and rather something large and breathing. You would never admit it out loud, however.

You grabbed your bag from the backseat and followed Jason inside. The cabin was small, consisting of a kitchen area, a cluttered desk, a bookshelf, a bed and a half bathroom.

“Where are we?” You asked as he dropped the keys on the desk. You just hoped he hadn’t changed his mind and took you here to murder you, or something.

“Safe house” He replied. “I have maps here. I’ll draw a more tactical trajectory before we start moving for real”

“Okay…”

“I’d say you can take the couch, but…” He trailed off, looking smug as he threw himself on the bed, gesturing at the empty, couchless space and shrugging in mock apology. “Sleep on the floor for all I care”

“I’m not sleeping on the floor” You rebutted, eyebrows furrowed. Who did he think he was?

“Outside then?” His eyes widened slightly in appreciation. “Even better, good idea”

You stood there glaring at him, sprawled out with his hands behind his head. I’ll make that smirk drop from your stupid face, you thought as an idea to piss him off ever more crossed your mind. You dropped your bag on the floor, and with a confident pace, went straight for the bed. Before he could protest or sit up, you crawled in the empty spot at his right.

“Hey what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” He threw his hands up in indignation, like you had just tried to stab him.

“Nobody treats me like a dog” You hissed. “Get used to it”

“You’re not sleeping in my bed” He argued, but he was still visibly stunned by your bold action.

“Why not?” You said as you turned to face him.

“I-- It’s MY bed!” He stumbled on his childish reply. “MY rules!”

“What are you gonna do, threaten to shoot me again?”

His flinch was so subtle you almost missed it. But just like Bruce before, you still caught it.

“Fine” He finally gave in, jaw clenched. “But if you take too much space, I’m pushing you off”

“It’s a queen size, you big baby. You’ll be fine” You snapped as you turned again, this time to show him your back.

You closed your eyes in the hope of catching up on your well needed sleep. It had been a wild 48 hours for you, and you had been left exhausted like you had never been. Your eyelids were heavy and the bed seemed more comfortable now than it probably was, lulling you into the arms of morpheus. But Jason had other ideas, as you could both hear and feel him moving around and changing his position every five seconds or so. You were pretty sure he was doing it on purpose, especially when you felt his arm hit the back of your head. Grinding your teeth together, you forced yourself to take deep breaths.

After fifteen minutes of him not being able to stand still, you finally had enough. You had to do something that would stun him again long enough for you to fall asleep and tune out his antics. So you sat up without a word and took off your belt, then pushed your jeans off. He had stopped moving, but it wasn’t enough. You straight up pulled off your shirt and tossed it on the floor, leaving you in your bra and underwear. You caught a glimpse of his agape expression when you laid back again on the bed and brought the covers to your shoulders, and took the opportunity to fall asleep without a hassle.

---

The next time you opened your eyes, daylight was engulfing the cabin. You stirred awake with a groan, not knowing how many hours you had slept. But you felt well rested, so it was all that mattered really.

“Look who’s finally awake”

You lifted your head from the bed, still only half aware of what was going on. Jason wasn’t in the bed anymore, instead he was sitting at the desk and working on it. His back was to you, and by the looks of it, he had no intention to turn around either.

“Whutaymist?”

His head slowly lifted. “What?”

“I said” You repeated, clearer this time. You admitted your mumbling might have been hard to understand. “What time is it?”

“Twenty past two” He answered. “Congratulations, you slept a whole fourteen hours. You win nothing”

“Well good morning to you too” You muttered, rolling your eyes. “What’s for breakfast?”

“I’m not your fucking maid” His tone was flat and stern. Still, he gestured to the kitchen counter. Your eyes followed his hand to see a single, unopened can of soup.

“Canned soup? Seriously?”

“Hey, be my guest not to eat it” He said with his usual sarcasm. “If you die of starvation, that’s one less problem for me”

“You would like that too much, wouldn’t you” You bit back, sitting up and throwing your legs to the side. You didn’t miss how his shoulder tensed the second you pushed the covers off, reminding you of your lack of clothing. You didn’t care however, as you just walked across the cabin to get to your bag. You grabbed a fresh pair of underwears, a t-shirt and the pair of sweatpants, which you decided you’d wear strictly on days you weren’t moving around.

You weren’t emotionally ready to be seen in public with sweatpants.

You decided to take a quick shower, with cold water as you brutally discovered seconds later. You could just see the satisfied grin on Jason’s lips as you squealed in surprise at the sudden extreme temperature. Still, you went through with it just to prove you could. You hurried to dry yourself and your hair with a towel in a cupboard, then dressed up again with the same tricks you had used on your last makeshift outfit. Except this time, the belt was the drawn strings of the pants.

“How was the shower?” He asked smugly when you came out, still working over his desk with his back to you. “Hope it wasn’t too cold”

“It was just perfect, actually” You answered just as smugly, and that was enough to make him turn his head toward you. “Cold water is amazing for the hair and skin”

It looked like he was waiting for you to crack and admit it was in fact too cold, but you only gave him a serene smile. He huffed and went back to whatever he was doing. You walked to the kitchen and began searching for a pot for the soup, certainly that would come handy, then grabbed a spoon and a bowl to put beside the stove. You however paused at the can itself, not sure where to go from now. You tried prying the top of the can open, to undo the label and see if there was something under to open it, then looked around for anything that could help you.

“You don’t know how to open a can, do you?”

You jumped at the sound of Jason’s, but also from it being way closer than the desk. You spun around to see him leaning on a cupboard, a mocking expression on his face.

“Well, I’ve never done this before” You defended, folding your arms against yourself. He pushed himself from the cupboard and went straight to the second drawer on your left, pulling out a strange device and handing it to you. “What do you want me to do with that?”

“Open the can”

“It looks like it’s meant for torture”

“It really isn’t”

You rolled your eyes and began to figure this all out. You tried it one way, then the other, accidentally pinched your finger on the handles and dropped the can about four times on the counter. You stopped for a moment, sighing in defeat. Still, you observed the mechanism closer, then back at the can, then back to the can opener. Surely, the little dented wheels had to go on the edge of the can…

Next time you tried it, it worked.

You were so taken by the fact that you had figured out how to open a can almost by yourself that you hadn’t noticed Jason coming into your space. When you did notice it though, you took a step back. You still couldn’t read his expression, but if there was one thing you were sure of, it wasn’t a positive kind of invasion of your bubble. You picked warning signals from him and it made you recoil on yourself. He looked a whole other kind of dangerous like that, and it kind of reminded you of the people you were used to having around you. Not quite, but close.

“Did you use my shampoo?”

You squared up your shoulder, not about to let him try and intimidate you once again. “Yes”

He remained there for a moment, like he was trying to either stare into your soul, scare you off or hold back a fart. It could be either, you weren’t actually sure.

“I don’t like when people take my stuff,” He said. “Especially without asking me first”

“Fine” You huffed. “Do I have the permission from His Majesty the King not to smell like a dumpster?”

He narrowed his eyes, but backed off. “Eat your goddamn soup” He turned around and walked back to his desk. “And don’t burn the cabin doing so!”

Day 5

“I don’t understand this store”

After leaving the cabin, Jason agreed to make a quick stop at Target to grab snack supplies and more fitting clothes for you. First of all because he wanted to avoid a redo of the underwear in bed incident, and also because he realized moving around with unfitting men’s clothes might bring another type of unwanted attention. His goal was for you to look normal, and while it did the trick better than designer clothes by a landslide, it still looked slightly off.

“What don’t you understand?” He asked back on a condescending tone. “It’s a store”

“You buy clothes, groceries and hygiene supplies at the same place?” You frowned, looking down at the two pairs of jeans and few monochrome shirts you had picked from the racks. There was also a pajama set there with shampoo and shower gel, plus a pair of new running shoes with ankle socks, and a travel bag to put everything you had. Your Gucci bag was getting too full for all of that. “Why?”

“Welcome to the normal world, princess” He replied, disinterested. “People don’t have the time or money to go to specialized store for everything”

“Hmm” You hummed, watching him throw packs of cashews and beef jerky in the cart. He picked some more things, including water bottles and energy drinks, anything that seemed appealing to him and never asking you for your opinion. Honestly, you didn’t expect him to at this point, and besides, none of these snacks seemed appealing to you.

After a while of Jason lazily pushing the cart around, you noticed it was the third time you went past the potato chips row. He didn’t seem bothered, but you could see a small tension in his shoulders.

“What are you doing?” You asked, thinking it was his way to waste your time.

“We’re being followed” He whispered back, grabbing your shoulder before you could turn around and take a peek. “Don’t look!”

“Sorry jeez” You breathed, shaking off your shoulder from his grip.

“About fifteen feet behind us” He explained. “If that guy wanted honey mustard pretzel bites, he would have taken them the first two times he checked them”

From the corner of your eyes, you spotted the man in question. He was wearing a black leather jacket and sunglasses inside, and was very obviously pretending to read the back of the bag. Jason nodded at you to keep walking, and the man followed from his careful distance.

“Would you relax for two minute?” He hissed at you. “If you look like you have a broomstick shoved up your ass, he’ll know we spotted him”

“Well, what do you want me to do?” You replied in the same tone. “I might die in the next minutes in a fucking Target, even irony is mocking me now”

“You won’t die” His eyes were casted forward, like he’d strangle you if he looked at you. “Just--Just walk to the registers like a human being, I’ll deal with him once we’re outside”

You didn’t answer that, only followed him to the self checkout registers. At least you could hide behind his huge frame as he scanned the items one by one, calm and collected like nothing was happening. The sketchy man was on the farthest register from you, checking out his bag of pretzels. Jason finally paid and took the bag, shoving it in your hands. For once, you didn’t complain about his lack of manners and walked a brisk pace out of the store. You were parked in a deserted end of the lot, yet, the man did not change his course. He was set on you.

You had reached the car when you noticed Jason was, in fact, gone. He was not beside you anymore, leaving you completely open. Fear gripped your heart as the footsteps behind you grew louder and stopped too close to comfort. You shut your eyes tight for a moment, knowing this would be the end for you. You heard the safety of a gun click, and you gulped.

“Vitto Maroni sends his regards”

Then the gun fired, the distinct sound of a muffled shot by a silencer going off. However, you didn’t feel pain, or fall on the ground. Instead, you heard a thud behind you and your eyes popped open. You turned around to see Jason leaning over the unmoving form of the man sent to kill you.

“viTto mArOni sEnDs hiS rEgArDs” He mocked, kicking the guy. “Dumbass. Can’t even watch his five”

“Where did you go?!” You yelled, as it was the only thing you could say in the fall of your anxious state.

He raised his gun and gave you an incredulous stare. “Uh, you’re welcome?”

“You left me alone!”

“Come on, get in the car, we need to get out of there” He sighed, gesturing to the door. You didn’t argue, but you knew you weren’t done. You climbed in the passenger seat and waited until he was far enough from the store.

“So I am the bait now?” Your shouting fest resumed. “What if he had fired before you did?”

“First of all, you became the bait yourself when you decided to air your family’s dirty laundry” He pointed out, not fazed at all by your outburst. “Second, he was a dumbass. He didn’t even take precaution when I disappeared on him, and he didn’t see me round the car and come up behind. And third, nobody shoots before me”

“That’s a bold risk to take” You raised your eyebrows in challenge. He eyed you up and down and shrugged.

“Meh, I’m fine with it”

“I could have died!”

“But did you?”

“No”

“Then case closed” He smiled smugly. “You let me worry about your security detail, and you shut your mouth and appreciate it, ‘kay?”

You huffed and crossed your arms against your chest in a defensive position, sinking into your seat further. Your eyes were dead set on the passing trees outside, mad you almost died, but mostly, mad you thought Jason had abandoned you to die.

#jason todd x reader #jason todd reader #jason todd imagine #jason todd x you #jason todd #red hood #red hood imagine #red hood x reader #dc #dcu #dc universe #dc imagine #dcu imagine #dc universe imagine #batfam #batfam imagine #imagine #red hood x you #outlaws

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vln-vibes · 5 years ago

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Unwanted, Unreliable, Unstoppable (2)

Holy shit this did better than expected.

Summary: When one of their own gets harmed by the one who should have protected them most, how will the Team take it? Not lying down thats for sure!

Tags: @abrx2002 @bigpicklebananatree @jardimazul @lozzybowe

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When Dick Grayson became Bruce Wayne’s ward that fateful night he hadn’t known what to expect.

Of course he had heard of the Waynes while on his travels with Haly’s Circus, they were probably part of the Top Ten Richest families in the world if he had to guess. Though no one really knew much about the lone Wayne, Bruce, other than the fact that he was an airheaded philanthropist party-goer. Everyone would pretty much be surprised if he hadn’t just wasted away his family’s money by the time he was in his mid 20s.

He never thought that his new guardian would be doing things like this.

“So….You fight crime dressed as a bat?” Dick found himself asking as he looked around the “Batcave”, as he’d been mentally calling it when Batman started talking about hideouts.

“Something like that”

Dick hadn’t thought much of the training Bruce made him undergo when he said he agreed to take him along to defeat Tony Zucco. He thought it as just regular training like he had done before, granted it was a lot of how to redirect knives back to the enemies, avoiding gunshots, dismantling or disarming guns, sticking to the shadows and how to throw proper kicks and punches.

Was it strange that he had not heard of Batman when people actively talked about heroes like Superman or Red Tornado or Wonder Woman, well no. After all Bruce said he did more detective work, stuck to Gotham and was ‘just’ human.

He hadn’t thought much of it, he needed something to get his frustrations out.

When they took down all of the goons and had Zucco tied up Robin didn’t know how to feel.

“Do what you want with him” Batman had told him, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “Let it all out; your fear, anger, sadness, let it all out on the man who caused this”

Dick never thought of himself as a bad person even as he began to beat Zucco bloody with his armored fists.

Death would have been too painless for a man like him.

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“Ugh just look at her” Alya grumbled.

In front of them was Kagami talking to a rather attractive teen with rich tanned skin and piercing emerald eyes. Neither she nor any of her friends had any idea who he was and she only got close enough to hear the tail end of their conversation.

“... Exhibition match is going to be the most enjoyable challenge since first dueling with Adrien” she said in her normal stoic voice. The boy seemed to not notice or care as he just nodded along with her.

“Yes, my brother has insisted he come and watch as well. I reckon your mother will also want to?”

“Oh Alya, I just don’t think Kagami is good for Adrien” Lila cried out, snapping Alya from her stewing anger, the girl instinctively hugging her friend in comfort.

“Ever since she’s joined our school, he’s done nothing short of physically lashing out on his father. He even said that if we don’t stop bothering his Kagami that he’ll make me pay!”

“That𑁋That guy is gonna see what it means to mess with my BFF!”

“O-Oh but don’t blame Adrien… after all it was Kagami who started this nonsensical feud within the class as well”

Alya never saw the smirk grow on Lila’s face as everything was going to plan.

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“You shall not make fools of the Tsurugi. We Are Perfection”

Kagami elected to stay quiet as her mother continued to monologue, as though Kagami hadn’t heard the same conversation play out ever since she could remember.

During the sessions she had with Dr. Quinzel, Harley Quinn the psychologist had told her she preferred to go by outside of the office, she had come to realize that what her mother was doing to her was not alright. Her mother continued to enforce her ideals onto Kagami, as though she were trying to live vicariously through her. Kagami couldn’t fathom why; her mother was trained by her grandfather, a kendo Hachi-Dan, all her life and was already a world renowned and record holding fencer… So what did she want out of her? Why was it so important for Kagami to be seen as superior to all others?

“Show him no mercy, that he is nothing against a Tsurugi '' her mother finished much to Kagami’s relief.

“Mother, you are aware this is merely a friendly exhibition match, correct?”

Smack

Oh, Kagami had forgotten who she was talking to; she was not in Gotham, hanging out with her friends or training with the Bats or even talking to Dr.Quinzel or Dr.Isley.

She was in Paris where her mother and Hawkmoth were; Where both her civilian and hero self had unrealistic expectations for her.

The current sting on her leg reminded her of that fact.

“Watch your tongue you insolent child. Now go before you prove to disappoint me further”

“Yes, mother” Kagami gritted out, trying the breathing exercise Luka had taught her as she walked up to the field of play, a mat having been laid out to indicate all the boundaries.

“Are you ready, dragon girl?” Damian questioned, walking back from where Richard, Dick he had insisted, stood alongside her friends. She was too distracted to realize he had an alarmed and analytical look towards her and her mother.

“Only if you are, Chīsai tori-chan”

The two made their way to their positions, M.D'Argencourt waiting for them in the middle before starting the match.

"En garde! Prêts? Allez!"

Kagami had been using her anger to lash out on Damian, some may call it unfair but she looked to think it was a good use of her pent up energy.

“Point to Miss Tsurugi”

“Oh I thought you were better than that?” she smirked underneath her mask. She couldn’t see his expression but she just assumed he rolled his eyes or scowled.

“You merely caught me off guard”

Kagami felt herself smile as she heard her friends cheer for her, Damian shaking his head before going back to their original position.

She was not expecting the events of the day from that moment, she hadn’t realized and would not want to hear her birthgiver’s explanation after that day.

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“Unbelievable!” Robin cried out in frustration, next to him Speedy looked like he was ready to punch anybody who’d stand too close to him.

“Sorry, uh Robin” the ginger speedster looked flustered.

“It’s just too dangerous for people like you to be involved with us” the new ‘hero’, Miss Martian, they recalled, said apologetically. “Your physiology is too susceptible to injury, it isn’t like our own”

“You think we want to be part of your stupid daycare club” Speedy laughed harshly, “We just saved your sorry asses because we were around, because you’re on our turf”

“And you still want to call us fragile and weak? You’re just as underwhelming as they said you’d be” Robin snapped, frustrated at the continued degradement from Metas and the Justice League.

He remembered when he first met Speedy and the League, Batman having been sent a request to help with some world ending thing; definitely above their pay rate but Batman also didn’t trust them to get it done so they agreed.

He remembers working his ass off to make sure these people made it out alive, live to see another day, and help defeat the big bad. Then the comments came rolling;

“Isn’t he too young? Why did we have to call in the human? Is the Bat insane? It's bad enough that we got the man involved, now we have to deal with his kid too? We could handle it without them. Now we have to play babysitter for the humans”

He understood why the Batman didn’t even stand working with the League after that.

“We-We were here by League orders!” Miss Martian cried in outrage.

“Orders to spy on us” Speedy sarcastically remarked as the ‘Young Justice’ flinched “You lot really think you were that slick?”

“Whatever the hell it is they were supposed to do is over” Robin nearly growled out, batarangs at hand, “They’re officially persona non grata”

“You can’t just do whatever you please” Wondergirl began “The League just wishes to know if your mentors are up to any… questionable activity”

“Shitty excuse for shitty behavior” Speedy responded, clearly getting on the nerves of the Young Justice.

“Just let us do our job and we’ll be on our way” Cyborg tried placating though the duo was not impressed.

“Or we can just kick your asses and send you crying back to your bosses” Speedy took out his quiver and pointed straight at them, the group divided between offended and surprised.

“We do not need to result in such behavior, we mean no harm” Starfire tried getting in the middle, only to be pushed back by Kid Flash and Miss Martian. Aqualad seemingly about to do the same but realising it was a fruitless endeavor and just got in a fighting stance.

“You don’t even believe that princess” Robin felt his eyes rolling, the Young Justice tense considering Starfire being princess of another planet was supposed to be a secret.

“You- You shouldn’t know that! See, this only proves what Superman feared! That the Batman has gone rogue!” Miss Martian said in a near panic.

“What do you mean by go rogue; We’re not even part of the League!” Dick was getting real tired of these pretentious metas already. From the corner of his eyes he could see two shadows waiting for their signals and staying in position.

Dick didn’t think of himself as a bad person but this Young Justice really had all of this coming.

“Young Justice, action!”

And really he was sure he could come up with better names than them.

At the end Dick and Roy kept their word, the Young Justice scattered all around them in various states of consciousness on a Central City rooftop. Kid Flash groaned as he looked at their ‘fragile’ assailants, only to see two new figures with them, a blonde girl with an arrow pointed at Miss Martian, and a shorter boy wearing Robin’s costume that just electrocuted Wonder Girl with glorified knuckle busters.

“Oh and Wally,” the speedsters heart began to beat faster as he looked at the cold smile on Robin, ex-Robin?, now wearing a black and blue bodysuit….when did he change? “Tell Superman I’ll be using the name Nightwing from now on”

Nightwing did not think he was a bad person as he, the new Arsenal, Tigress and the new Robin dumped the unconscious bodies of the Young Justice back into their ship, sending it on autopilot after typing in the ‘secret coordinates’ for Mount Justice.

The Justice League would understand loud and clear that they would no longer be expecting help from the Bats or Arrows at a moment's notice or preferably ever from now on.

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“Umm are you Mmd. Tsurugi?” Tomoe Tsurugi turned, indicating her attention was caught by the young lady next to her. She sounded vaguely familiar but they said it was easier to recognize someone by their face than by their voice; she wouldn’t know.

“Who are you to ask?” she responded curtly, wanting to refocus on the match her prodigy and some American boy were engaging in. From what M.D'Argencourt had told her, his name was Damian, a prospective transfer student from America, who wished to check out the school’s fencing team. D’Argencourt had insisted that the boy was one of the best he’d seen, on par with her own prodigy. How could some average boy be on par with her own prodigy of the Tsurugi name?

It simply would not do.

Thus they had arranged this exhibition match, to show just how leagues above the Tsurugi were from this common boy.

“ My name is Lila Rossi, a classmate of your daughter and model, I work for Gabriel Agreste” the girl’s self-praising was not missed by Tomoe but she had ignored it for now, it would be best to quickly get to the point lest she miss a second of the match.

"En garde! Prêts? Allez!"

“I’ve heard of you from M. Agreste. What is your business with me?” Tomoe was getting quickly irritated, as her own prodigy had taken longer this round; the rapid movements of the sabres, swishing in the air and clashing into one another, both opponent’s feet moving across the mat in quick and small intervals.

“ I know I’m not supposed to say things without letting M. Agreste know first but,” she starts to tear up, at least Tomoe could hear that from the hiccuping of her voice. “Your daughter has been influencing Adrien to rebel against his father”.

Her prodigy did what?

“I overheard them talking about how the two planned to help each rebel against M. Agreste and you. She said she’d throw the match in order to disgrace you”

Tomoe had trained Kagami better than that! There was no way the insolent child would be so foolish as to𑁋

“ Point to Mister Damian”

She began to metaphorically see red as they called for the final round of their little exhibition match. Kagami was made to perfection; this should have already been a settled deal instead of dragging out for almost five minutes now. Kagami better not disappoint her in the final match lest she have to discipline the girl.

“ I know this is an inopportune time to inform you of this but I fear of what else she’ll do and what she’ll make Adrien do if she keeps this up… With such influential families it would be dishonorable to let this continue further”

Tomoe was so deep in her head that she missed the rapid footsteps running across the mat or the sound of liquid falling on it.

"Final round. En garde! Prêts? Allez!"

The match had lasted just as long as the last, almost using up the full three minutes. She could hear the two make their way onto Kagami’s side of the mat when Tomoe realized that she was disgracing the Tsurugi name on purpose.

The child slipped backwards, she could already hear the announcement before D’Argencourt could.

“Point to Mister Damian. Match goes to Damian”

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“Again”

Dick took out his escrima sticks once, panting and sweating profusely but did as his instructor told. He felt himself repeat the same movements over and over again, he was going solely by muscle memory at this point.

“Alright Grayson, you’re done for the day” Dick resisted the urge to sigh in relief as he gave a slight bow and took a drink from his water bottle.

“So how have the kids been Slade?” he asked nonchalantly, knowing if it were any other person they’d be dead for even bringing up Slade Wilson’s children.

“Joseph is doing as well as always, focusing on the fine arts and being a good kid. Rose just enrolled in the same private school as him so they’re looking out for each other” the mercenary said with a huff, one Dick saw through.

“Why, I’d say you sound like a proud father!”

“As if you and Bats don’t talk about the birds like that”

Dick knew he had him there.

When he was 9 years old, a year after debuting as Robin and being adopted, he met Bruce’s ‘girlfriend’, if they could call whatever game those two were playing an actual relationship. He did not like Talia al Ghul, even less who her father was but he kept his opinion to himself, he wanted Bruce to be happy. Then it turned out she was pregnant.

Talia had decided to stow away from Ra’s, definitely not defecting from him anytime soon but she also knew that the man held too many secrets; few which she was able to discover. She was already aware that Ra’s had contingency plans if the Lazarus Pits stopped working on him, he was planning on possessing the body of someone of his blood. She knew the child would be the perfect vessel in his eyes.

So she lied to Ra’s, stating that she was going on a deep cover mission for the League, dismantling or infiltrating some country from the inside instead of just killing their way in. Instead she hired Slade as a bodyguard and to help maintain her cover while she stayed at Wayne Manor. He had to admit that it was the softest he’d seen her.

Then when he was 12, they found Jason Todd. Well more like they caught him trying to steal the wheels from the Batmobile in the middle of the night at Crime Alley. The kid had spunk and a not great life living in Crime Alley’s streets so they took him in as their own. At the same time Dick was outgrowing Robin and didn’t think the mantle should gather dust as they waited for Damian to grow up; Jason was the perfect candidate.

That same year Batgirl came out of nowhere, a new shadow that hunted down corrupt cops specifically. Dick hadn’t really been all too surprised when it turned out to be his friend and classmate, because he was bored and decided skipping two grades would be a good idea, Barbara Gordon. That or the fact that they immediately took her in and gave her real training.

He was 15, nearing 16, when Tim Drake literally barged into their lives.

He was a scrawny 9 year old that had apparently been stalking them while they went around Gotham beating up very dangerous people and had found out their identities by seeing him perform a quadruple somersault. Seriously what the fuck had been the only thing in his mind at the moment.

It turned out that Tim had come to them in need of protection as he found out his parents were involved with the Court of Owls, something Bruce had tried to uncover but even he was beginning to believe was a myth, with his parents soon scheduling for him to be tested as a potential Talon. They were fully willing to sell their son’s soul for their cause and not caring that he would lose his humanity in the process. It wasn’t hard to open a case against the Drakes as concerned citizens for child neglect and embezzlement that may or may not have been discovered while they raided their place in the night and took anything they owned pertaining to the Court of Owls the week before the police began their investigations.

Which led to now.

Joker had decided to attack the new Robin, his perverted mind finding it unfair that he wasn’t told of the new change. Not only had he been surprised by the fact that Jason survived but he also got his ass handed back to him by Batman and Nightwing when they found out. Jason was borderline dying and the closest place they could go was, unfortunately, Infinity Island; aka al Ghul palace.

Ra’s was fortunately not on the island however David Cain was not informed of the fact that the Bats and Talia al Ghul had a strange alliance, sicking his living weapon aka his daughter out on them. She had stopped when she saw how close to death Jason was, freezing as though she could physically see his string of life snapping, and when David was readying to retaliate against her, he found himself knocked out by Talia. A few hours later the Batjet was sent back and the Batplane returned with Alfred, Barbara, Tim and Damian inside.

Once Jason was well enough, a day or two hopefully, they’d be leaving the island with a new sister in tow.

Dick would stop at nothing to keep his family safe.

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“Oh my god, Kagami”

Marinette had been hanging out with Damian, Dick, Marc and Alix in her room when her skylight window opened. Now this itself was a common occurrence after she and Adrien revealed their identities and when she began to give Miraculous full time.

However, the sight in front of her was one she had never expected to see before.

“I hope I’m not interrupting”

Kagami had dropped the transformation the moment she opened the window, Longg floating besides her in concern.

Her normally impeccable fair skin was littered with bruises of various shades, the most notable being a dark purple one on her cheek close to her eye. There were others she noticed on her hand and few popping up from underneath her ripped leggings.

Marinette was snapped out of her stupor as Kagami stumbled down the window, her bookbag and two carry-on bags on her back.

“What happened?” Marc asked, right beside Kagami as Marinette took the other side, helping the Japanese girl with her bags and sat her on Marinette’s chaste.

“... My mother was not happy with my performance today” the girl winced as she sat down “She seems to have gotten it in her head that I sabotaged the match and have disgraced the family name”

“Kagami,” she looked up to see Richard, Dick, with his deep sapphire eyes full of concern and unrelenting fury. “Do you feel safe at home?”

Had she been asked a year ago she would have said that she did or that it was irrelevant and did not matter. She has since learned that ignoring the blaring issue and suffering in silence would do no good for anyone.

“No, I do not”

“Do you want to open a case against your mother?”

“... I do”

“That’s all I needed to hear”

While Marinette went to get her parents, scrambling up an explanation for how Kagami got to her house, not that her parents would ask once they saw her friend, Damian took photos of Kagami as evidence for a domestic abuse case.

They all took notice of her missing ring and the patch on her blazer.

Dick Grayson was not going to let this go.

But he knew that the woman did not deserve his time as Nightwing for this. No. She would just twist it with her reputation; they needed to destroy that to truly break her.

He may not have jurisdiction in Paris but he was still an officer and vigilante dammit! Not to mention he had a billionaire dad notorious for adopting kids left and right.

“Hey dad, y’know how it's my birthday in like ten months; how would you feel about giving me another sibling or two?"

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“Who are you?” In the middle of their stakeout for a potential safehouse in Happy Harbor, Nightwing and Robin turned to see an eerily familiar looking teen floating next to them, arms crossed but not looking ready to make a move. Yet.

“The better question is who are you” Nightwing quipped “I know Boy Scout did the Devil’s Tango but his kid definitely shouldn’t be as old as you are”

“Oh my god, shut up Nightwing” Robin groaned, Tim wondering what his odds would have been if he had just run away from home instead of going to the Bats.

“... I’m Superboy” the teen looked at the two curiously, he had heard hushed whispers of the Batman and his sidekicks, Nightwing and Robin. He also knew that for some reason the name Nightwing had caused discomfort and righteous anger to Superman.

“Superboy, huh.” Nightwing questioned as Robin began typing on his wrist computer “So you’re the secret member of Young Justice”

“How do you know that?” he hovered defensively, confused at Nightwing’s hand wave.

“Chill Superboy. I’m sure you’re all aware of the not so secret dislike between us and the League” his smirk told him there was more there… not that he’d know. None of the adults really talked to him other than Black Canary, and she was only a temporary member at that; she had mentioned to Superboy how she usually works alongside the Arrows of Central City and was part of The Birds of Prey.

“Especially after I stole the name from Superman”

“Stole from Superman?” Superboy was never aware of the fact that Nightwing was a name Superman ever used, it wasn’t part of the data fed to him through Cadmus or even personal studies he did in the Mount Justice library.

“Hasn’t big blue told you about his heritage?” Robin asked, an air of nonchalance and judgement around his statement.

“... No. Superman would rather ignore the fact I even exist” Superboy hadn’t meant to sound so pretentious but he couldn’t help it! It was getting on his nerves, how everyone just saw him as nothing more than a mini-Superman or a clone or even a weapon the enemy made… He wanted to be more than all that.

“Do you have a name?” Nightwing asked, his cheerful demeanor gone and replaced with a serious and protective one.

“I am Superboy”

“Noㅡ I mean a name for the teen underneath the ‘S’. Not a codename” Nightwing asked gently “People don’t call me Nightwing when I’m not wearing the mask”

“... I’ve only been called Superboy, even in Cadmus”

“Oh you have got to be kidding me for fucks sake” he heard Robin’s angry huff, he couldn’t exactly turn off his super senses.

“Well that’s dehumanizing” Nightwing was suddenly all smiles again, gently pulling Superboy down and sitting on a city bench, oddly there was no one near their general vicinity.

“How about I give you a Kryptonian history lesson, straight from the Fortress of Solitude’s archives! The story of Nightwing and Flamebird”

That was how Superboy became friends with the “dangerous enemy” and got a real first idea of what it meant to be Kryptonian.

That was also the night he gained the name Conner.

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When Kagami didn’t show up to school the next day no one thought much of it, at least no one that wasn’t Lila Rossi and Alya Cesaire.

People began to grow curious when Marinette and Chloe were also gone or the fact that Marc and Alix had huge eye bags under their eyes. Depending on who asked they’d say that it was something personal or none of their business.

People began to get concerned when Sabrina’s dad, officer Raincomprix, asked to speak to M. Bustier, Adrien, Marc and Alix.

When the class began to pester Sabrina for answers she gave them a lost look and said “I can’t tell you anything, I’m not even supposed to know about the case but dad asked for some information… I think it's best we back off”

Of course that didn’t stop Lila or Alya from gloating over their victory, hoping that Kagami had been pulled from school or even sent back to Japan.

They never realized how much their act of revenge had impacted the Japanese girl or her group of friends.

Bruce Wayne would arrive that same day and head straight for the Dupain-Cheng household along with his daughter Cass and sons Tim and Jason.

“I didn’t think we’d have to start this whole process until after December but being early never hurt” Tim tried to joke, helping lift the somber mood just a bit.

After Tom and Sabine offered them refreshments before having to head downstairs to the bakery, the group began to think of logical backstories before Officer Raincomprix was due to arrive.

“... So you can just say after that poor excuse of a birth giver did what she did to you” Jason made sure to keep his cool, he knew these kids didn’t need a fucking Akuma right now “ You already had bags prepared and managed to leave when she went to sleep and went to your friend’s house. You knew you’d be safe there and that they’d be able to take you to the hospital to get your injuries looked at”

“I think that’ll work” Tim nodded along, invested in his laptop as he looked through Parisian surveillance for any other instances of public domestic abuse or even covering Kagami’s tracks as Ryuuko from last night, not that he blamed her for trying to leave as soon as possible.

“I know I said I’d help you with Gabriel but, “ Bruce began before Marinette shook her head.

“Right now Kagami’s case is more urgent… besides this may be beneficial with our case against Gabriel for associating with Tomoe and praising her form of parenting. Maybe we can even get them both in one go”

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Amidst the laundry list of paperwork and things to get done there were two important things happening;

First was the announcement of the Flying Grayson’s Foundation, a scholarship for international students to travel and study at Gotham Academy and any other high ranking schools around the country; they were looking for children who were either of lower income who could take advantage of the once in a lifetime opportunity or students who displayed great talents and could use the enriching environment these schools had to offer.

In other words it was a cover up to get the Miraculous Team away from Paris and in Gotham.

Should Bruce really be using his fortune to do these sort of things? He was rich with money to spare, if he used it to help teens that were left to their own devices by most of the adults in their lives then who was to say what he could or could not do with his money.

The second was the Hawkmoth investigation finally going guns ablazing.

Bruce and Marinette had both decided to let their teams handle tracking Hawkmoth for now as they strategized on ways to get Adrien away from Gabriel and secretly Nathaniel away from his parents.

With the later they had more luck by the name of Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy.

Within the months they had spent together the duo had gotten attached to the teens and were protective even as they ‘attacked the city’ to keep their criminal cover. When hearing about Nathaniel's situation the two had begun to think of ways to get him away from it, having had similar experiences growing up, along with Bruce.

They hadn’t realized there was a much simpler solution that wasn’t killing/arresting the Kutzbergs or kidnapping Nathaniel.

“You know you can just Matilda this and just give the adoption papers to them, right?” Duke said from the couch one day. “From what Nat says its likely they won’t give a shit or even protest”

It had worked.

Nathaniel was now officially Nathaniel Isley-Quinzel.

Barbara had worked with Tim and Max to perfect the laters algorithm for tracking down the Hawkmoth (along with some upgrades on Markov and maybe creating other sentient A.Is they hoped wouldn’t cause the apocalypse in the far future). Thankfully Tomoe Tsurugi had proven a valuable pawn as they managed to track down the one mile radius from where the Akuma could have come from when she was arrested for child abuse, physical abuse and child neglect.

Luckily, Tomoe had tried to attack Kagami when she heard her ex-prodigy and former daughter on her way to the police car. Dick had intervened, giving her a nerve punch and rendering her unconscious. Of course he brought up that it was for self-defense and could easily be proven by the cop cameras, though it was still seen as overkill.

That Akuma was quickly captured by Ladybug, who had already seen it coming, as she and the new Bee, Abeille, were watching the arrest from a nearby rooftop.

Money made things work much more faster in terms of the adoption process. It helped that he already had four adopted sons, an adopted daughter and biological son as proof of his competence as a parent. They’d laugh at him being a ‘great parent’ but he was a tired man who was secretly trying to change the world for better by dressing up as a Bat furry at night and was trying to be good for them and also had six legal and two technical children, so really they’d take what they could get.

Gabriel Agreste and Natalie Sancoer were doing their best to cover any violations of child labor laws, even going so far as to try to ground and pull Adrien out of school again.

Of course when Bruce and his three oldest sons showed up they had all the evidence they needed for a major scandal to break and ruin the Gabriel brand. They did make a very nice offer at a not so nice expense;

Give guardianship to/let Bruce adopt Adrien and the press would never have to find out.

Gabriel had nearly yelled at the man to leave his home the instant he subtly suggested it, even going so far as to call the “Gorilla”, which not only did not work but also gave the Wayne’s an even harder dislike of the man.

As it turns out as soon as Adrien told Gorilla, damn it he would find out the man’s name one day! About the plan against his father the man gave Adrien a flashdrive to use as part of the evidence.

“It's up to you Mister Agreste” Tim said in his CEO voice, cold and with business only in mind.

“You could just listen to our offer and just renounce any custody you have of Adrien and give it to us” Dick practically sang through his eyes but still held a hard look.

“Or you could face the backlash of not only exploiting, but also keeping him captive in his own home and overworking your son all for the name of your brand… Not to mention your questionable business practices or bias towards an underaged model” Jason added as nonchalantly and non threateningly as he could. It did not work, which was the whole point. “Losing your reputation and your son anyway”

Gabriel knew he was in over his head but was no fool.

Adrien packed up his things the next day, beginning his process of shipping his belongings off to Gotham. Coincidentally, Gorilla had given his letter of resignation and had gotten a job as the main caretaker of one Alise Anciel-Pennyworth.

Gabriel swore he’d get his revenge against Bruce Wayne one way or another.

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Conner did not know what to do.

He knew he did the right thing in distancing himself from his team, he didn’t know them well enough to consider them friends. But it still hurt to be alone…

Superman had been nothing but a pain in his ass with his Boy Scout routine and higher than thou personality.

Ugh just thinking about it made him want to shoot him with his heat vision. He had no idea how Superboy, because yeah the kid asked him and how could he say no to him?, could be related to that man. It must have been the Lois Lane of the kid.

Conner didn’t know who to turn for, there was no way he’d go to any of his biological donors, so he'd just spent the past few days flying endlessly.

He had stopped by Star City to see how Black Canary was, and for a quick session, but as much as she and Green Arrow offered he didn’t want to overstay his welcome. Not to mention he had a feeling he needed to go somewhere else.

The only other person who had given him the light of day was….

“Are you Superboy?” Conner looked up, which he didn’t do that often now that he thought about it, and saw a male figure standing on a lightpost, his features hidden by the Gotham night.

“Not anymore, who the hell are you?” the guy hoped down, with the light he was able to see the blonde hair and leather catsuit… did Catwoman get an apprentice?

“Well you should know the big bad Bat doesn't like metas. Any reason you’re here or should I escort you out right meow?”

“... I’m going to ignore the pun for now. I’m looking for Nightwing”

Conner noticed the twitch of the leather ear against the honey blonde hair and began to wonder if the guy was either trustworthy or meta. Just as Conner was about to fly away the guy tapped his ear, he recognized Nightwing’s voice before the guy nodded and ended the transmission.

“Well looks like Nightwing is vouching for you” he sat down on the park bench where Conner hadn’t realized he had spaced out for most of the afternoon. “He says to stay put, he’s kinda busy right now but shouldn’t take too long. Anyways I’m Chat Noir, Parisian superhero”

“Never heard of you before but it's nice to meet you” Conner shook his hand even though Chat Noir scowled, dropping the whole playful demeanor.

“No surprise there. You know we spent years asking for the Justice League’s help and they didn’t do shit, they didn’t even open our messages” the half Kryptonian experiment thought that he must have been mistaken.

Sure the Justice League had Superman and was full of a bunch of enhanced beings/meta-humans who would rather have brawns than brains according to his #2 Sperm Donor and refused to allow ‘regular’ humans or even only slightly enhanced on their team even though they knew how to kick ass but they weren’t terrible enough to not answer distress signals, right?

“How can you be so sure of that?”

“Nightwing and Batman told my team”

“And you trust their words, just like that?”

“Don’t you?” Chat Noir seemed to stare him down before Conner sighed, hand raking through his naturally curly hair.

“Yeah, I do. Wouldn’t be here if I didn’t trust him. Never met the other Bats and Birds though”

“Trust me, it’ll be chaotic in a fun way” Chat Noir grinned, a knowing twinkle in his eye. “So, why are you looking for Nightwing? Sorry if its invasive but well, you know what they say about cats”

“Curiosity killed the cat?” Conner questioned, the shit eating grin on Chat Noir’s face grew, like the cat who caught the canary.

“But satisfaction brought it back!”

“It’s kind of a long story, I doubt you’ll want to know the knitty gritty” Conner showed his gloved hands into his leather jacket, sighing.

“I’m all ears”

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“So you’re telling me that you were genetically engineered to replace and destroy Superman by using his stolen DNA and the one of his arch enemy Lex Luthor while also being planted with trigger words to make sure Luthor had a way to control you. Superman never even liked you even when he thought you were just a clone of him even though his own kid was pretty chill with you and he met you after the whole Daddy #2 reveal. Which also he used the triggers to make you attack your teammates, the Young Justice, so even though you got the triggers removed you quit and decided to take a break from the hero biz but you don’t really have anyone to trust so your best bet was Nightwing, who you’ve talked to every now and then since he likes messing with Superman and taught you about Kryptonian culture”

“Well yeah basically”

“Holy shit you need to see Dr. Quinzel or something”

“What about you leather boy? What are you even doing in Gotham?” Conner asked with a smirk, feeling comfortable with the feline boy after letting out his whole life story to him.

“Well do we want to start from when my mom died or when I was chosen to be a superhero at thirteen or when the whole city of Paris just expected my partner and I to be able to defeat the full on grown man terrorizing the city all on our own with no help whatsoever?”

“Daddy issues?”

“Pot calling kettle”

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“Ugh I can’t believe Ladybug didn’t show up to the fire yesterday” Alya ranted to her classmates, the ones that were still worth talking to that is.

“Dude you do realize that the fire department was there and had everything handled, right?” Nino looked at her skeptically, the two had broken up a few months or so ago now but they still treated each other with decency. At least most of the time.

“Think of all the lives they risked by not showing up!” Lila cried out “How could they leave Paris at their most vulnerable state?”

“I- I’m sure they were busy” Rose squeaked out, trying her best to console her friend. She still held some hope for the heroes of Paris after all!

“Yeah it's not like the firemen were doing their job or anything” Alix rolled her eyes at the group.

“Sabrina!” the ginger girl tensed at her name, turning to see the very much in danger of being akumatized again reporter “Didn’t your dad and the police department have to deal with those bank robbers last week without help of Paris’ heroes?”

“We-Well yes but my dad does that 𑁋”

“They’re just being so selfish! Think of all the people who risk their lives everyday with no magic bulletproof suit. They think they’re above Paris’ everyday problems and only show up when we can’t handle it”

“Surely you aren’t such a fool, Cesaire” Max stated cooly as he typed away on his laptop “Or do you not remember how everything used to function before their arrival”

“Listen here you little nerd!”

“N-No Alya… I know I shouldn’t say this but the truth is… Ladybug is over Paris” Lila began to tear up, hiding her face within her hands as she started to choke up “She and I had a fight a few weeks back; she said she’s tired of dealing with all of Paris’ problems even when I begged her to reconsider! I- I think she’s planning on abandoning us altogether… and we all know we’re doomed without Ladybug there to keep her sidekicks in check”

The room was full of looks of shock and surprise, including that of Miss Bustier who was sitting at her desk. Suddenly that grieving silence was interrupted by laughs coming from the back, Adrien trying to reign in his laughter.

“Oh god,that’s probably the only lie you told that’s partly true Rossi '' the blonde sunshine child had gotten more cynical the longer he spent time in public school. There were rumors he threatened his father with a lawsuit through a third party about child labor laws, something Alya tried researching and asking him about. Apparently Adrien was officially out of the fashion industry.

“She really is a lost cause” Alix had not so subtly whispered to Kim, who nodded along.

“What would you lot know! Besides anyone whose friends with the Ice Queen, Tsurugi is𑁋”

“Actually, Alya” Marinette interrupted “As class vice-president you should be aware that Kagami had her name legally changed. She now goes by Kagami𑁋”

“Oh dear, did you get disowned Kagami?” Lila framed it as an innocent concern but those who knew the real her recognized the mocking tone.

“I owe you no explanations, Rossi” the girl responded back, going back to ignoring the class with Marinette. They still remembered the day she came back to school, most of the class, not including a select few assholes they decided not to name, had looked at her in worry as she branded various bandages and some healing bruises; she had all but ignored them and continued on her regular routine.

Meanwhile that night Bruce Thomas Wayne made a press conference at Wayne Enterprises’ building, with his two oldest Richard John “Dick” Grayson-Wayne and Jason Peter Todd-Wayne.

“Mister Wayne are you really saying you’ve adopted another child?” Lois Lane stood up as the microphone was given to her “What warranted the newest member of the Wayne Clan? Is it a sensitive matter like that of your daughter Cassandra or perhaps like that of Damian’s?”

Bruce made sure to give a flustered look, especially since her husband, one Clark Kent, otherwise known as Kal-El or Superman, was with her.

“Why I must say, those are excellent questions Miss Lane” he started off with a smile “ However, to answer your questions they’ve been a family acquaintance and then friend for some time. It’s not my story to tell but their home life was not the healthiest, it got to the point where my family offered to help them get out of that situation. They were admittedly reluctant to do so but… I suppose a line had been crossed and they asked for our assistance”

The members of the press seemed to deflate at the confession, all drawing up their conclusions to what his words meant and what the newest member had experienced in their life.

“Yes, Ms. Grant?” Dick asked, pointing for them to hand over the microphone for Cat Grant.

“Will we be meeting the newest member of your family anytime soon?”

“They will be properly introduced to the public during the Wayne Gala next month in Paris, they’re still attending school elsewhere but they’ll be transferring to Gotham Academy and properly moving into the estate this upcoming semester”

They were sure the new Wayne would be making headlines when the time arrived.

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“You’re serious” Conner asked in awe, “You’d really do that?”

“Oh kitty,” Selina began to brush her fingers across Conner’s curly locks as she held the hurt boy closer to her.

After arriving in Gotham and getting to talk with Nightwing, who when learning about the situation the teen was in had recruited the help of the Gotham Sirens to host the boy as the Wayne’s had a lot of eyes on them after the announcement of an adopted child; Conner didn’t need the attention right now.

The Sirens had agreed after learning about everything the boy had gone through, Harley agreeing that he needed stability and offered sessions or even having Dinah come visit, while Ivy made sure their place was secure enough to withstand an attack and kept vigilant in case the boy scout decided to come looking for Conner, even if they doubted he’d’ try. Selina tried to get the boy to open up, sharing her own childhood backstory and how she became Catwoman.

That’s when Selina realized that Conner had no family name, he’d even only gone as Superboy until fairly recently. No one bothered to give him a name.

So she offered her own.

“Of course I am. In fact any one of the people in this apartment and even the Bats would offer their name if you asked”

Conner knows that Jon called him an “honorary Kent” on the basis of being his dad’s clone and a Krytonian but Conner never felt like he had earned the name. Clark certainly never offered.

“Conner Kent, they said I should feel free to use that name” Conner sighed “But I don’t think it’s right”

“Well whatever name you choose it’ll be yours. Though I suggest making up your mind soon, Oracle is working on making you some legal documents so you can finally have a ‘normal life’ if that’s what you want”

“What even is normal?” the duo looked behind to see Nathaniel, graphite smudges on his face. The red headed boy was staying over with Harley and Ivy as his new moms and they were working on some more “family bonding time”. If all went well he’d be transferring to Gotham Academy for the new school year.

If Selina remembered correctly his boyfriend and Alfred’s great-nephew would also be moving to Gotham while Alfred’s sister would be placed in a senior center or given a caretaker.

“What happened to you?” Conner muffled a laugh as he took a look at Nathaniel’s state.

“Deadlines” the boy in question said, chugging what they thought was hot coffee, Trixx sleeping on his head, almost camouflaging in the red. “I’m about to go in a 12+ coma, night”

“But its 2 pm?” Conner asked amused, Nathaniel walking out of the room with a wave of his hands before peeking back inside with a smirk.

“By the way, Chat Noir has a thing for black hair and blue eyes”

Selina was amused by the flush Conner was quick to gain and decided that she’d tease him about it another day.

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“Chloe, Nino hey!” Adrien waved at his friends as they made their way around the enormous amount of rich/influential people that were attending the first ever Flying Graysons Scholarship celebration in Paris. All of Dupont Francois was allowed to attend, though Lila insisted it was thanks to her connections, because of the amount of students that would be receiving their awards/scholarships that night.

The whole Miraculous team was clad in images to their hero persona via Miraculous by MDC line that Marinette had been working on ever since she quit being class president almost a year ago. They were her most popular designs on her website, even internationally which they had found odd.

Nino was wearing an Anselm inspired bomber jacket along with a standard white button up and black jeans. Chloe was wearing something a bit more formal with a two piece dress with a black top and honey gold pencil skirt with little bees stitched at the hems and some high heels, her hair was let down for once with a pearl hairclip keeping her bangs up.

“I’m guessing you got here with the rest of your not yet adopted family?” Chloe asked while the boy grinned. Adrien had decided that the first thing he would do as a not yet Wayne was to wear other designer clothes that were not from the Gabriel design, and what better clothes than those of his platonic soulmate. Marinette may have gone over the top but he loved her for it; deep emerald dress pants and tie, the tie having subtle cat paws travelling from the top to the bottom where a cat was stitched, a black button up with the same shade of green as the pants on the underside, showing up as he had rolled his sleeves, standard black vans and her iconic bowler hat.

“Well yeah but I also got a date” Adrien smirked at their surprised and offended looks

“And you didn’t tell me!” they both said outraged.

“Guess the cat’s out of the bag now, babe?” the two turned to see Conner, whom they met a handful of times since he tended to hang out alot with the Sirens; he was a cool and overall good guy who just had shitty adults in his life according to Nathaniel, who’d see him when visiting his moms.

“Well at least you have good taste” Chloe gave Conner a one over; he was for once not wearing the same leather jacket he wore as not-Superboy, though he wore a ruby button up with rolled sleeves, a black vest and black jeans making the outfit more of a business casual sort of vibe though his brown combat boots definitely it lean more on casual.

“Thank you, your highness” the Kryptonian bowed much to their amusement “Though I don’t think I got a bad catch either”

“Damn I don’t think we had any betting pools for that” Kim laughed as he walked along with Max. Kim was wearing mocha dress shorts and a beige dress shirt, a mocha bow tie and gray suspenders with little monkeys tied the whole thing together. Max had a more average short sleeved white button up and khakis combination though with the addition of a coffee bowtie and deep coffee formal jacket with small silver horseshoes on the collar it definitely spiced up the look.

“By my calculations you guys were the most unpredictable pairing though it doesn’t surprise me that you got together before LadyRobin”

“LadyRobin? I thought we were going with Daminette or Maridami?” Nino asked amused

“Whatever their name is, those two are taking forever to make a move! For kwami’s sake RedScales/LukaTim already got together months ago” Chloe huffed in annoyance causing the group to laugh in good nature.

“Conner?”

The group took quick notice of Conner's sudden stiffness, looking up to see a besticaled man with an overbearing aura, as though his mere presence could overpower you. They had assumed that it was because of his large figure. Until Bruce made his way towards them.

“Clark Kent, right? With the Daily Planet?”

That got reactions from the teens; they were well aware of who the man before them was.

“Right you are sir. It's an honor to meet you in person mister Wayne” Clark laughed politely in a very obviously superficial way.

“I’d hardly call this the first time, after all I know the Daily Planet has a tendency to send you and Miss Lane when covering cases in Gotham” Bruce smiles before looking at the group of teens, as though he had just noticed them, “Ah! I see you’ve met some of the recipients of our Flying Graysons Scholarship”

“Oh, really?” Clark gave a skeptical look as he looked at the teens who were subtly moving Conner away from the center of attention.

“Yes; We have Kim Le Chien as a training olympian swimmer and overall athlete, Nino Lahiffe who’s been getting recognition on short films he’s created for school along with some original soundtracks he’s made and Max Kante and his talent for coding and robotics”

“And what of the others?” the reporter pestered on, though they knew he just wanted to know what Conner was doing there with them,

“ Well, Adrien Graham de Venily is a family friend, while Chloe Bourgeois is daughter of the mayor and of the fashion mogul Style Queen” he gestured to the two blondes gave cold smiles at the besticaled man “Both they and Conner Kyle here” he patted Conner’s shoulder, the teen relaxing at a familiar touch before glaring at Clark, “The adopted son of a family friend, will be transferring along with the award recipients considering they’re all friends to Gotham Academy; I rather think its touching how deep their friendship runs”

“Conner… Kyle?”

“Yes. It's my legal name on my birth certificate, Mr.Kent. Do you have a problem with that?” Conner puffed up his chest towards his genetic donor.

“... None at all Mr.Kyle” Clark had then been quickly swept up in a conversation that was truly about nothing that Bruce had distracted him with, allowing the group to leave towards the balcony for some much needed privacy.

“Are you alright, Kon?” Adrien looked up at his boyfriend in concern before the boy sighed with a tired smile.

“I will be”

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“I can’t believe Adrien blew me off like this!” Lila cried out on her ride to the Wayne Gala. She didn’t care for the stupid scholarship, her mother’s job could easily send them to wherever the hell they wanted anyway. Alya seemed to believe that she had a chance of getting the award and scoring an interview with the Wayne’s newest member. If Lila had her way then she was sure she would get one of those rich idiots eating out of the palm of her hand by the end of the night. Especially if they were as much of a playboy as Brucie Wayne was.

“Lila you need to realise that Adrien isn’t worth it” Alya soothed “He’s done so much shit to you, he doesn’t deserve your time. I bet you can totally score a better man at the gala than anyone Adrien could hope to be”

“Tha-Thanks Alya, I don’t know where I’d be without my bestie”

The two girls met up with the rest of their school during the reception, though a few noticeable people were not with the group.

“Thank you, everyone for coming today to support this wonderful new foundation” Richard’s voice echoed as he made his way on stage, the audience applauding as he reached the table with all the awards.

“I remember before meeting Bruce I’d travel around the world along with the circus with my parents; we used to perform gravity defying tricks as the Flying Graysons. We’d see the different places of the world but I noticed the differences in the culture and state of living. So now I’d like to honor their memory with the help of dad by giving different gifted and talented kids around the world a chance to flourish and further polish their talents”

Alya was already streaming on the Fox Tea as the crowd clapped. Lila wasn’t impressed though; he may look like money but he was just a circus monkey after all. Though his body certainly looked like a million dollars.

“And to help give out these awards I’d like to invite my family, including my new little sister; Kagami Wayne!”

Lila would feel her nails stab into her palms as the Waynes came out from behind the curtains, a familiar Asian girl with them.

She hated the fact that her dress was as gorgeous as it was.

Kagami hadn’t wanted to go over the top but according to her brothers and sisters she needed to stand on her own lest the media try to brush her off or even try to start shit with Bruce neglecting them. Marinette had worked long and hard on the dress she wore, swearing it was her magnus opus of the Miraculous by MDC summer formal line. A raspberry red thigh high figure hugging dress with a silk skirt and golden embroidery with a dragon wrapping up to her waist. It had been months since Kagami began to rebel against her birthgiver and had grown her hair out enough to curl it and clip it to the side of her hair with a golden hair ornament Bruce had gifted her when the papers went through, pairing nicely with the golden heels, belt and choker she wore.

The rapid flashes of light nearly blinded Lila but somehow none of the Wayne’s seemed affected by them as they just stood and posed for the paparazzi.

“Now we’d like to present the Flying Graysons Scholarship to the following people from Francois Dupont; Marc Anciel, Luka Couffaine, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Nathaniel Isley-Quinzel, Max Kante, Alix Kubdel, Nino Lahiffe, and Kim Le Chien”

If it weren’t for the fact that she spotted Gabriel earlier in person and could currently see him glaring at the Waynes, Lila would have been counting on Akuma to appear.

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“Oh my kwami, please tell me I’m not seeing what I think I’m seeing” Marinette stated as she rolled her suitcases behind her, her friends in similar states as they saw the building before them. It was now the end of August by the time they officially moved into their new dorm… or rather new apartment building in which they were the only residents besides Mrs.Anciel-Pennyworth and “Gorilla”. Adrien had sworn all of them to not tell him his former bodyguards real name because he was a big boy who’d investigate it himself.

“Holy shit this man literally just flexed at us” Conner said in awe, lowering his sunglasses to get a better look at the place, it seemed like Bruce had thought ahead and coated certain rooms in lead paint, enough to keep Boy Scout from snooping but to be safe for his friends to not face health issues.

“Okay he’s clearly showing favorites now unless he did the same for the other winners” Alix looked unimpressed.

“Though he certainly did a 180 of this place” Max nodded, as it turned out those months ago this had once been the building where the now extinct gang was keeping their “merch”. Since then they knew Wayne Enterprises had bought it out but they hadn’t realized that Bruce would refurbish it and make it into their new living place.

“Seriously, Mr.Wayne you didn’t have to spend𑁋” Nathaniel began, looking as the man came out with his own kids to help with the move and to get Kagami, Marc and Adrien settled.

“Don’t worry about it. It was like spending money at the dollar store for him” Jason ruffled his hair before picking up some boxes and taking them inside.

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“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were trying to buy us out” Luka said as they finished up the tour of the glorified dorm/ mansion.

The building had what they called six visible floors;

The rooftop had an indoor pool and was fully furnished to hold campfires or even barbecues if they wanted as well as a collapsable roof.

The sixth floor is where the music studio and labs were. Both were soundproof, reinforced and had monitors linked up to Big Sister aka Hecate ( the artificial intelligence Barbara had worked on to reassure Bruce that the kids wouldn’t die in their dorm. She was no replacement for Alfred however Guillaume ‘Gorilla’ Durand promised to do his best in taking care of the children’s well-being and that of Alise.) who would warn them if their activities were reaching dangerous levels.

The fifth floor was called the Artist Alley. Half of it was occupied by Marinette and Chloe as they developed Lady Luck (trademark pending) by MDC while Marc and Nathaniel occupied the other half with their studio to develop their series “The Adventures of Illustrator and Reverser”. They thought it was good but both had realised that they wanted to try making a more mature, probably teen targeted, series; (Teen) Titans was their current working title.

The third and second was what they called the residential floors, the right side holding the girls’ dorm while the left had the boys’.The second floor also had rooms they would use for guests though each room also had a pull out couch just in case. Each dorm had a private bathroom with a full bathtub, sink and toilet, full sized room, closet, and computer desk with a comfortable amount of space to rearrange or add their own items. Each floor had their own entertainment system, kitchen and dining room that helped separate the rooms. On the third floor was Marinette, Kagami, Chloe and Alix on one side while Adrien, Luka, Nino and Conner were on the other. The second floor had Alise and Gorilla on the right while Max, Kim, Nathaniel and Marc lived on the left.

The first floor was the entrance, the first part looking like your standard lobby though it still had a mailbox for all its residents for the mailmen to drop off their letters and packages, fully equipped with a detector just in case anything passed any screening before. People could only make it to the elevator if they were accompanied by one of the residents or were identified as welcomed/ not persona non grata by Hecate. The other side of the first floor was the game room; different game systems, DDR system, pool table, darts boards, foosball table, and chess/checkers table were scattered around the remaining space of the room.

The basement was a fully dedicated gym. It had about every machine one would find at a regular gym along with a basketball court and a place for practicing gymnastics though there were nets and safety mats installed along any area where they could have accidents on them.

The first secret floor was where their special gym was, the floor hidden by thick lead underneath the basement. There they had equipment that they could use to train their extraordinary abilities. Any equipment in it was super strength resistant for Conner to blow off some steam without fearing he’d ruin it for his friends. Training dummies were also in their own section for them to train without having to go to the Batcave. There was a place to meditate and find quiet amongst the chaotic building, soundproof but monitored by Hecate. The room was also made to withstand any natural disaster, including a disaster caused by Superman or a rampaging Joker.

Beneath the building was also an underground tunnel, it was connected to the Batcave and could be used to escape in case of an emergency or for a direct route from the cave without having to go out on the surface. There was also another one that was connected to a safehouse where they would meet in case shit really hit the fan. It was big enough for them to use their hidden motorcycles, leave traps for any followers or to run; whichever they had the liberty to do .

“Brucie didn’t pay for everything” Dick laughed

“Yes, Jagged insisted he help with at least the music and art floors” Damian informed them in a monotone voice, though he did try stealing glances from Marinette.

“Plus Lex Luthor may or may not be missing some hidden money that may or may not have been used for all the gym equipment and the labs. Y’know evil guy pocket change” Tim laughed as Luka just snuggled to his little evil genius of a boyfriend.

“Well if he was buying us out I’d say it’s working”

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“He’s conspiring against us”

“How?”

“He’s making his own team of teenagers”

“So you’re saying that Wayne is the Batman? And that he’s making his own teen superhero team?” Flash, Barry Allen, found himself questioning their leader during yet another Justice League meeting at the Hall of Justice.

“Well there have been more vigilante reports in Gotham” Wonder Woman, Diana, added on, looking through the newest blurry photos that the internet was able to scavenge up. Like the other photos they were all blurry and covered them by shadows.

“And Sup— Conner was amongst the children that transferred into Gotham Academy “ he admitted reluctantly, their screens showing the list of all Flying Graysons Foundation Scholarship before narrowing them by those who would be staying in Gotham.

“Conner? But I thought—“ Martian Manhunter asked from his seat.

“All these papers look legal enough,” Barry said as he took a closer look at the copies of the birth certificate and school records for one Conner Kyle.

“We can’t even say these are fake or forged because he never had one to begin with” Diana further admonished though Kal brushed over it.

“And you suspect that the other scholarship students are in on it?” Aquaman, King Orin or Arthur Curry, asked skeptically. The children who had won the scholarship seemed about as average as normal children could go other than the fact that they had different specialities or talents, awards already to their names in recognition and that they attended the same school as the newest Wayne, Kagami.

“Well there’s no evidence that points towards that” Hawkwoman, Shayera Hol, admonished “These are merely children; accusing them of such things is most dishonorable if we have no evidence against them”

“We are well aware of the animosity between the League and the Batman” Red Tornado informed in his normal monotone voice.

“And we know you and Conner had a hard falling out after… All that happened those months back” Starfire, Koriand’r the alien princess of Tamarand and supervisor of the Young Justice, stated as diplomatically as she could.

“Are you sure you aren't blowing this out of proportions? This could just be Superboy moving on with his life. Perhaps he found someone to adopt him as their own” when certain people failed to was the silent addition most could hear out of Diana’s voice.

Barry Allen knew they had a reason to fear these rumors.

If the limited, and he meant the bare minimum, information Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, had told him of the secret alliance of heroes who weren’t part of the Justice League was anything to go by.

He just hoped that they hadn’t done anything to anger these new blood.

AO3 Ko-Fi

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an-unknown-writers-world · 6 years ago

Text

Christmas Wish

Day Twenty-Five: A Christmas Wish

Part of @panicfob 25 Days of Christmas Challenge

Warnings: None?

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader (First Person, nameless)

Characters: Bucky Barnes

Word Count:1498

A/N: This is the third and final part and the end of 25 days of Christmas. The end already? Hard to believe. If you’ve missed any of the 25 Days of Christmas, the series can be found here – Masterlist. Part 1- Unexpected and Part 2 – Expecting are the underlying parts for this final wrap up. I want to thank everyone who read this from the beginning or just jumping in. The amazing feedback and support I received through this series brought me a whole new kind of joy. Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah – Happy Holidays!

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Soft light filtered in through the blinds when I opened my eyes, the smell of fresh coffee was close, probably on the bedside table and Bucky’s warm arm lay over my side. I was thankful to wake up for the first time in days having slept through the night, no midnight trips praise the porcelain throne. The IV that Bruce had given me for hydration helped more than I had imagined, and he gave me a heavy anti-nausea drug. I rolled over to bury my face in Bucky’s chest, he hummed in response, I knew he wasn’t asleep, so I knew I didn’t wake him, but his arm tightened around me.

He kissed my hair, “Merry Christmas, angel.”

“Merry Christmas,” I kissed his bare chest.

“How do you feel?” He asked barely above a whisper.

“Better,” I replied honestly. “I’m sorry for scaring you last night,” I said pulling back to look at him.

“I’m glad you’re doing okay now.” He kissed me chastely, “But I am curious to know why there is a gift bag next to my side of the bed.” He stated. “I thought we agreed.”

I groaned; I didn’t think this through. “We did.” I agreed, “But we both know I don’t listen.”

“There is nothing I want.” Bucky stated, “I already have you.”

“You’re cute and cheesy.” I grinned. “Maybe it’s a wedding ring? You don’t know it’s a small bag.”

He rolled his eyes, “I brought you coffee.”

I hummed in response, “always the hero.”

He stopped me from pulling away, “Wait, I didn’t say you could have it yet.”

“Do you want to continue to have a coherent conversation?” I laughed.

“Valid point.” He smirked.

Sitting up I reached for the cup and took it in my hands, breathing in the fresh smell before taking a drink of it. “You finally got enough sugar!” I beamed with pride.

Bucky laughed, “You underestimate my spying capabilities.”

“No sweetheart, I’ve been waiting anxiously for it.” I laughed.

He laid back and looked at the ceiling, taking a hold of my hand. “If you would have told me on December first this is where I would spend Christmas morning, I would have said you were lying.” He stated. “Every adventure we had, even the dull moments, have meant so much to me.”

“If I would have known decorating cookies with Morgan was all it took, we would have made cookies a lot sooner.”

He laughed, “That situation was rigged. I was already tired of staying away from you, and I can’t say no to Morgan.”

“She’s a good kid.” I agreed.

“I love that little girl, more than I thought I ever could.”

A moment of silence passed between us. Is he afraid that he couldn’t love a child of his own? Is that why he thinks he shouldn’t have kids?

“Buck, I need to say something.” I blurted out.

He rolled on his side, propping his head up.

“I know none of this happened in an ideal way, our timing has been off all along. Nothing happened in a traditional order. God, I was in love with you for a year before I could even get you to spend more than a few minutes talking to me.”

He opened his mouth to speak but closed it immediately.

“We’ve talked about that already, I just,” I struggled with my words. “I just need you to know that I love you and nothing can or will ever change that.”

Bucky looked at me confused.

“I mean it, I love you, James Buchanan Barnes, forever.”

“I love you too,” He smiled, concern still evident on his face.

“I just needed you to hear all of that before you open that bag.”

He turned and looked at the teal bags.

I hadn’t taken much time to look at it the night before, so I hadn’t noticed that it was a Tiffany’s bag. Naturally, Pepper would find one of those for this occasion.

“Please, babe. Can you open it?”

He nodded, sitting up he reached for it.

I turned to place my half-empty mug on the table behind me. My heart pounding so hard it rang in my ears, I tried to calm my breathing.

Bucky put the bag down between us, if the look on his face was any indicator, he could tell how worried I was.

“No matter what’s in this,” Bucky stated. “I’m not going anywhere, nothing’s gonna change.” He promised.

I smiled at him halfheartedly. I really hoped he was telling the truth, but I wouldn’t hold this against him.

He leaned forward, closing the distance between us he kissed me. The kind of kiss that was so soft and pure, every possible emotion of love dripping from it. When he broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against my own. “I don’t know what’s in this that has you so worried, but I mean it.”

I leaned forward and kissed him again, this time a little more chastely. “Please,” I begged.

With a deep breath from both of us, he finally shuffled through the tissue paper, pulling up a small zip lock bag exposing the test and instructions on how to read it. Pepper really had thought of everything. Bucky looked between the item in his hand and me several times, if time passed any slower, I would have thought Dr. Strange was interfering.

“Is this?” He started. “Are you?” He looked at me, “Are we?” He couldn’t finish a sentence.

It was so hard to read his expression, he looked confused but happy? I couldn’t find any anger. Maybe I had judged the situation all wrong.

“Expecting.” I stated, “Yes, we are.” I smiled.

He still didn’t speak.

“Bucky, you are not obligated in any way to be a part of this. You’ve never explained, and you don’t have to, I know you feel like you shouldn’t have kids. But this,” I gestured towards my stomach. “It’s happening. But I won’t make you be a part of it.”

This was the first spark of any anger I saw, and it was more hurt than anger. “Is that what you think?” Bucky asked, “You think I would make you go through this alone?”

I started to speak but didn’t have the words. No, I didn’t think he would make me go through it alone, but I also didn’t think he’d want to be a part of it.

“Every moment I’ve been fortunate enough to spend with you and Morgan together has been a tiny piece of what I dream of. That ideal daydream, the perfect Christmas wish.” He hesitated for a moment, “I should have explained what I meant when I said that I shouldn’t have children. That wasn’t fair to you. For that, I’m truly sorry.”

“What did you mean?” I asked.

“This life that I live, it’s dangerous. And to be honest, there isn’t really a way out of it. You can’t exactly retire from being an Avenger. There was a long period of time where I told myself that I shouldn’t be in love with you, it wasn’t fair to you for the exact same reasons.”

“I’m glad you finally told yourself differently.” I smiled.

“This is real, right? No April Fools?”

“So real I fainted,” I stated. “The signs were all there, I’m not sure why I couldn’t put it together myself.”

“Pepper.” He mumbled with a smile.

“She chased me into the bathroom.” I laughed.

“Wait, Banner. He knew too?”

“He just confirmed the blood tests. With the IV he gave me and the anti-nausea meds I should feel better for a while. Bruce was flabbergasted when I told him who’s it was.”

“Really?”

“He didn’t think it was possible for you.”

“Hmm, can I talk to him about it?” He asked.

“Sure, I think he’d like to know more,” I replied.

“Does Sam know?” He asked.

“No, I don’t think I want to tell him for a while either.”

“Birdbrain’s got a big mouth. Squawk, squawk.” He joked.

I laughed, “Something like that.”

The look on Bucky’s face was pure joy, everything I feared never came to be. He pushed the bag to the side and scooted closer to me, pulling me into his chest. I sighed contently in his arms, happy tears pricking my eyes. It was going to be a long road, I don’t think either of us is delusional about that, but we’d face it together.

“How’s it feel to get your Christmas wish?” I asked, “That’s what you called it, right?”

I could feel him smile against my hair, “Grateful, enthusiastic, a little sad that the punk isn’t around to be a part of it.”

“But he knows. He knew before we knew.” I stated.

“He’s still a punk.” He laughed.

I pulled back to look at his face, “Please ensure that our child knows his name is Steve Rogers A.K.A Uncle Punk.” I smiled.

“Deal.” He kissed me.

“Merry Christmas, my love.”

#panic's 25 days of christmas #25 days of christmas #A Very Marvel Christmas #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes one shot #An Unknown Writers World writes #An Unknown Writers World

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bigskydreaming · 5 years ago

Note

Dick was probably the worst kid in his school, because he had always been teach at home, he knows a lot of things his classmates wouldn't know until some years in the future, he can't stay quiet, can't stop talking in classes because he already knows most of this things so he is bored, he would go up chairs, and even lamps! Althought, he somehow manages to be super charming and normaly his teachers love vim despiste of being in part a little nightmare They all defend bruce as a good parent

Yessssssss. See, I have such such suuuuuuuuuuch a problem with stories that make a big deal about Dick not going to college or wanting to go college, particularly ones that make this out to be some kind of spoiled child thing because......like...to me, Dick is a perfect example of how institutional learning is not always the right fit for everyone? Dick didn’t want to go to college because college had nothing to offer him that he needed or wanted. There’s nothing WRONG with that.

Similarly, Dick grew up home schooled before his parents died.....that was already in place as his de facto learning method, and knowing what we know about how bright he was as a child and how quickly he picked up skills and knowledge under Bruce’s tutelage...it WORKED for him.

And given that so much of the knowledge Dick had when investigating things even just as a teenager or with the Titans, was like....all stuff he had to have learned from Bruce or books on his own, given that it was far more advanced than most high school curriculums....obviously, Dick’s acquisition of knowledge as he grew older was by no means limited to just what he learned at school, which is why judging his intelligence or even just his DESIRE for learning/education by how much he seemed to value/not value school itself, seems.....short-sighted to me.

Tbh I think you’re mostly right in your assessment of what he was probably like in school, though I doubt he was like, the worst lol. I tend to think of it as like, he was that kid who is hyper and goofing off in class, usually just because he’s BORED, because the material isn’t challenging him enough, and all anybody looks at is the fact that he’s acting out rather than asking WHY.

But also, like you said, I think his natural charm probably smoothed over a lot of that, and so he probably wasn’t too often in real trouble so much as he was that kid who had something as a reputation of being a handful in class, but not to the point of getting detentions or such.

But overall, I think Dick’s grades throughout school were quite fine without being notably stellar, to the point of drawing attention. And I don’t think that they were ever going to be an accurate representation of his intelligence, not just because I don’t think formal schooling was probably never the ideal fit for him....but also because Dick was a pretty exceptional child and more importantly....he was the first of Bruce’s children, which means I think Bruce probably didn’t know yet how much he needed to be worried about Dick attracting too much attention in his civilian guise....and so with Dick, I think he probably erred on the side of caution.

My headcanon is that Bruce wanted Dick to do well in school, and encouraged and even expected this, but that he also didn’t want Dick like....becoming noted for just HOW smart he really was, because that makes it a lot harder to pull off the kind of act Dick ended up adopting in mimicry of ‘Brucie’ - the air-headed rich heir. And Dick, not really being someone who cared too much about his academic reputation or career....never probably felt limited by this, or was bothered enough to challenge it or to cite this as an area where he felt Bruce was going overboard.

So my overall take is that Dick throughout his schooling was a hyper-active, mischievous kid who was charming enough and was a good enough test taker in the eyes of his teachers that nobody was ever too too bothered by him, or bemused by his grasp of the material despite not seeming to take it all that seriously.....but at the same time, he was probably never at the absolutely top of his class either - though again, this was quite likely a deliberate effort, just to keep relatively under the radar.

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existing-on-cloral · 5 years ago

Text

Brooklyn’s Night Terrors

Chapter Thirteen: I’m Positive

Steve and his scientist get some less-than-ideal news.

You stared down at the miniscule stick in your hands, clutching your stomach where the nausea was building. The box had said to wait two minutes before checking the test, and the timer had gone off about thirty seconds ago. Still, you couldn’t bring yourself to move your hand away from the small screen.

“Just do it,” Pepper Potts advised, crouching down in front of you. “I was so scared when I took my test, but believe me, it’s better to rip off the Band-Aid.”

“Thanks, Pepper,” you said, meeting her eyes. Without looking down, you moved your hand away, then cast your eyes to the stick. “Shit.”

Pepper gasped. “You’re certain?” She took the test from you and stared down at the two little lines. “Well, how are you going to tell him?”

You cursed. “We were so careful, Ms. Potts. How did this happen?”

“The first time.” Banner entered the small bathroom, or tried to. Eventually he just stood outside and made an attempt to not look embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I turned off the lab footage but it caught what happened. No protection was used.”

“Shit,” you said again, taking back the test. “Well, better to rip the Band-Aid off." You shot Pepper a grim smile. Where is he?”

Banner hesitated. “We don’t actually know that."

“What?”

“We don’t know that,” he repeated, showing you a small screen that displayed Steve’s apartment living room. On it, a woman dressed in black crept out of Steve’s bedroom with the super soldier slung over her shoulder. She looked up at the camera, face obscured, and spray-painted the lens over.

“The Reaper,” you said without a second thought. “She’s got him and now there’s no telling what she’ll do.”

Pepper touched your shoulder gently. “Take a few deep breaths. It’s gonna be okay.

The subsequent explosion that knocked you back into Bruce and sent both of you spiraling begged to differ.

When the dust cleared, the wall of the bathroom was completely gone, exposing you to the open air. You coughed, waving your hand in front of your face to clear the dust from your throat. Pepper staggered to her feet and rushed to help you up. Her forehead was bleeding, but she wiped the blood out of her eyes and stepped in front of you, shielding you from the blast zone. Or rather, what had caused the blast zone.

Iron Man hovered a few inches away from where the wall had been, hand out, blaster at the ready- and Steve dangling by his shirt from his other hand. “Stand down,” he ordered, voice cold and dangerous.

Pepper took a step forward, eyes softening. “Tony?”

A blast shot from Tony’s hand and knocked Pepper back into the wall. You heard a sickening crunch and saw her go still. “Pepper!” you screamed, running to her side and checking her pulse with a trembling hand. There! Faint, but it was there.

Tony flew closer and dropped Steve on the floor. The poor man was unconscious, blood coming out of his mouth and nose. “The Reaper sends her regards.” He flew backwards, hung there for a minute, then added, “Play nice with the Captain, she doesn’t like her toys being broken.” Then he turned and flew off, red and gold vanishing into the air.

Steve’s eyes flew open and he turned onto his side, coughing up blood. You hurried from Pepper to him, barking an order to Bruce. “Get her to the infirmary, now. I’ll deal with Steve until you can get back.”

Bruce sighed, got to his feet, and picked up Pepper. Her body looked so tiny and helpless. It reminded you of Tony’s young daughter. How the hell were you supposed to tell Morgan what was going on? She’d think her dad was back, and he’d blast her, just like he blasted Pepper.

Concentrating on the situation at hand, you let Steve cough out blood until he could sit up. “I can feel it working,” he said, referring to the serum. “I can feel myself healing. God, I will never get used to that.”

You stroked his face, cupping his cheeks in your hands and kissing his bloody mouth. He tasted like iron and bitterness, but you didn’t care. You were happy he was alive. “Steve, what happened?”

Steve winced. “She... She kidnapped me, and I think she got me with the drug again. But I don’t remember it very well. This time, though...” He paused to cough blood right in your face, and you winced. “You weren’t there... To help me through it... So, she did it herself.” He swallowed. “I had sex with her. I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault, baby,” you said, forgiving him instantly. Mentally, you made a note to tell Bucky that he had a new reason to track down the Reaper as fast as possible. You wanted to hurt her for doing this to Steve.

“Before... Before she left me...” He clutched his side, grimacing. “She told me, ‘That should do it’, and then when she came back in a few hours later, she told me that she...” Steve hung his head, tears collecting in his eyes. “That she was pregnant.”

You swallowed nervously. “I’m sorry, Steve,” you said, moving his head to your shoulder and stroking his hair. “But we can still beat her. It’s gonna be okay.”

Steve laughed hollowly. “I’m not ready for kids.” His eyes focused on the sink, where you had left... oh shit... Where you had left the positive pregnancy test. “Is that...”

“Please don’t freak out.”

He did anyway. By the time Banner and the paramedics got him to the infirmary, Steve was in a full-blown panic attack. You watched them take him and Pepper behind the operating room doors, putting Steve in the hospital for the second time in a week.

“He needs to stop getting into fights.” Bucky took a seat next to you in the waiting room, folding his hands together and bracing his elbows on his knees. “You should have seen him back in the forties. Never backed down from a challenge, and got beat up because of it.”

“Nice to know he didn’t lose that.”

Bucky cleared his throat. “So. You’ve got a little bun cooking up in the oven, huh?”

You nodded, Steve’s words coming back to you. I’m not ready for kids. “Steve doesn’t want kids.”

“Well, it is pretty early in the relationship.” Bucky leaned over and whispered, “If that dumbass leaves you over this, I’ll punch him in the gut, turn him into an old man again, and help you raise the kid myself.”

“If I keep it,” you pointed out. “I just found out. I don’t know what I’m gonna do yet.”

Bucky sat back in his chair, crossing his arms. “I know. I’m offering, though.” He looked to the doors they’d taken Steve through. “He won’t leave you; I know that at least.”

You lifted your head and stared at him. “Really? Why?”

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Because he loves you. He’s been pining after you since day one. I think he only went after Carter to get your attention, though I think he does have something for women of the Carter family tree.”

You giggled. “Ha, I guess.” Glancing back at the door, you added, “But he also got... well... raped by her. The Reaper. And now she’s pregnant.”

“Don’t know what her tactic is, but I’m not afraid to hit a pregnant woman.” Bucky laughed, pressing a hand to his stomach. “She might be a little more incapacitated.”

“Or even more dangerous. She’s gathering an army of foot soldiers, it looks like, and she’s just added Tony to her ranks.” You squeezed your hands into fists, glaring at the wall. “I don’t know why she hasn’t gone after you yet.”

“I do.”

Peter hobbled out of the infirmary with his arm bound tightly in a sling. “Mr. Rogers told me. He says that she’s going to try to kill Bucky in order to obtain some semblance of order or something like that.” He sat next to you, staring at his hands. “I miss the days where it was calm and we didn’t have to worry about things like this.”

Bucky chuckled. “Bold of you to assume that I wasn’t always dealing with things like this, especially with Steve.”

“Did you just do a meme?” Peter asked, eyes flicking to Bucky in shock.

“You know what, kid, I think I did.” Bucky reached around you to give Peter a pat on his good shoulder. You did the same, adding a warm smile.

“We’re gonna get Pietro back, Pete. I promise.”

Peter threw his good arm around you in a loose hug. “Thank you.” He pulled down the neckline of his hospital gown to reveal his suit underneath. “When do we start?”

“Right now.” Wanda joined your little party, outfitted for battle in her favorite jacket. “I don’t know about you, Bucky, but I would like my brother back.”

Bucky nodded. “Affirmative. If it means that much to you two, I’ll help.” He stood and offered a hand to Wanda. She shook it, a smile creeping across her face.

You stood and headed for the infirmary. “Let me know how it goes, alright? I’m gonna check on Steve.”

Peter stood and patted you on the shoulder. “I’ll be in my room if you wanna play Mario Kart or Super Smash Bros.”

“Can I be Mario either way?” you asked, a mischievous smile playing at your lips.

“Hell yeah,” Peter said, raising his hand for a high five, which you gladly gave him. “See you in a bit.”

You pushed through the doors and were immediately swarmed by doctors, escorting you in one specific direction. “Let’s have you be with Captain Rogers, okay?” one said in a tone far too sweet for your liking.

Steve was lying down, but he was awake and alert. He sat up almost immediately and hugged you. “Everything was fine, they just had to make sure the serum worked well. I can go out on missions sooner than the bullet allowed for.”

“You’ve gotta stop getting yourself hurt,” you chided, scooting to be a bit more comfortable on the bed. “And you have to debrief me. Right now. I want answers.”

Steve hesitated. “I don’t know a lot...”

“Anything.” You locked eyes with him and pressed on. “We need all the details we can get.”

Finally, Steve began to speak quickly. “She added Loki to her ranks, and he’s been keeping everyone calm and obedient with spells. If we can knock him out, maybe we’ve got a chance. And I know she got Tony, because he knocked me out and, I assume he brought me here?”

“Speaking of Tony,” Banner interrupted, tapping on the door with one finger to announce his presence, “We’ve got a problem.”

“There’s gonna be another Civil War?” you joked.

Bruce shook his head, casting his eyes down and biting his lip. “No, that’s not it. Ms. Potts is dead.”

The smile dropped off your face and you grabbed Steve’s hand. “Pepper? No, that... It can’t be. I felt her pulse.”

“I’m sorry.” Bruce shouldered his way into the room. “She’s gone. You probably felt her heart trying to keep her alive and failing. The hit broke her neck on impact.”

Steve squeezed your hand. “What’s that... Where’s...” He ground his teeth together in frustration. “Tony would never hurt his wife intentionally.”

Bruce pulled out a datapad.“We believe the Reaper is targeting everyone she’d like to appear in her army. If they’re still alive, then they gotta go. Like Bucky, for instance.”

You remembered Bucky’s promise to Wanda and jumped to your feet. “We gotta stop him! Bucky’s going to go after Pietro with Wanda.”

Steve struggled to his feet behind you, giving you a rather clear view of his chest and stomach. You shook your head, banishing away the thoughts. Pepper was dead for crying out loud.

“You both need to sit down and talk. The doctors and I have... business we have to get to.” Banner reluctantly left, closing the door behind him.

You flopped down onto the bed, realizing that your breaths were coming far too quickly. “Steve... Air bag... For...”

“Panic attacks?” Steve dug in the bedside drawer until he came up with a paper sack. “Here.” He held it to your lips and helped you to breathe slowly and deeply. “I’m so sorry about everything that happened.”

“Pepper didn’t deserve to die,” you whimpered, feeling tears prick at the corner of your eyes. Now that your fingers were no longer tingling, you could focus on something other than breathing, and you chose to cry into Steve’s shoulder.

He stroked your back as the day’s events came crashing down around you two. “We are going to be okay. All three of us.”

You were about to say something about Bucky, but then you got his real meaning and your hand fluttered to your stomach. Through the tears, you could see Steve’s hand join yours. “I love you,” he whispered.

#steve rogers #steve rogers x reader

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iwritethat · 6 years ago

Text

Fantasy AU

Jason Todd: General Affairs

A/N: Alright here’s the first one! 3 more to go, or more depending on how well this goes. Enjoy something different~

>>>>——————————>

Being challenged to fights was a common occurrence being the Army General, usually you'd only teach disobedient subordinates a lesson or accept challenges that had proved themselves worthy of your time. In your position you could not afford to prove your strength with every request between defending the kingdom and skilfully training new recruits. However, you didn't expect a worthy opponent to reveal themselves today of all days due to the influential visitors to the Capital.

"I will make it quick Lieutenant." You assured the young soldier who’d come to inform you of a new opponent, slight irritation to your voice as you grabbed your sword set on the training grounds.

Nervously your comrade slid into your path before you could leave with your sword lazily swung over back, you gave a sceptical look - one that caused him to stutter his explanation.

"Uh ma'am... you- you're armour - it's not a normal challenger. He asked for our strongest warrior, he's one of the visiting princes and he-"

"I understand. Thank you, I suppose I shall wear my armour for this battle then." The information was unnerving, but a female general was an uncommon occurrence and on occasions such as this was a truth to be hidden.

Therefore you stood, fully clad in your elegant regal armour of which concealed both gender and identity, opposite the second eldest prince of the honoured Wayne family. Of course members of the army surrounded the grounds in hopes of seeing the exemplary display, and it definitely was one - Jason Todd was a unique fighter, he wore pistols and wielded daggers with more precision than a sword. The man thought the same of you, using dual blades as your chosen weapon rather than the standard sword and shield - and you were incredible with them having clashed silver with him multiple times during the battle. It was tough, both of you showcasing beautiful techniques eventually ending in your close victory, the prince heavily panted on the ground with your sword to his neck and smirk on his lips.

"No wonder you're the General of this kingdom..."

"General! You're going to be late!" A solider hollered over the applause, forcing you to race to the baths where your Lieutenant had originally contacted you.

You removed your armour, holding the helmet to reflect the annoyed expression in its mirroring material.

"You should've have been beaten him faster, the battle endured for too long. Disappointing..." You quietly scolded yourself, though inhaled a startled gasp at the next interruption.

"Uh sorry to disturb you maiden, but I was looking for the general. Hoping he could show me the fastest route to the castle - I'm meant to attend a meeting about some marriage." The prince didn't recognise you, but diverted his gaze away from your figure due to the bandages lacing your wrists and knuckles, the white material also wrapped around your chest and upper abdomen to give you some form of privacy.

"Sir I shall escort you, I am required at the palace anyway. That is, if you'll allow it." You respectfully bowed to the Prince, a rugged charm about him.

He awaited your presence outside of the Bath, your clothing was not that of armour as it was too intimidating but more casual, it left your forearms exposed with the bandages remaining and the delicate loose ends flowing as the breeze hit you. It was a beautiful sight, you seemed so strong and carefree to him and it made him wonder exactly what business you had at Ravaryn Castle. It'd be truly intriguing if you were one of the princesses, but that would be too far fetched - nothing ever went his way.

"Let us go your majesty and thank you for waiting."

"Forget the formalities, I've never been one for that. Call me Jason Todd."

"In that case, I am (Y/n) (L/n)."

So you walked with the noble prince, his royal attire and your contrasting but recognised one drawing attention and chatter from the local townsfolk, you took the back alleys for speed and were greeted by the likes of the street kids - many rejoicing at the sight of you, they'd encountered your bo staff before. When you trained with them and defended them. Jason seemed surprised at their friendly behaviour toward you, he would never have dreamed of approaching an armed woman when once in their position and yet they seemed to love you.

"Who are you?"

"I told you Prince, I am (Y/n) (L/n)." You confirmed, brushing past his curious stature waving to the awestruck kids who swooned at the sight of a Prince.

Shortly after you arrived at the Castle doors, the royal guards looked the two of you up and down before instantly saluting and offering entry. It was your duty to guide him to the throne room but the greetings you received were unexpected.

"Ah General, I'm glad you've finally arrived." The King greeted as you knelt before him, the Princesses eyeing up Jason who immediately snapped to you out of surprise.

"General?! That was you?!"

A smirk crossed your features, the eldest visiting Prince grasping Jason's shoulders with an apology but was too equally surprised by the information.

"Excuse me your highnesses, but the General of your Army is female?" The prince you deducted as Tim questioned the royal family, his own besides Jason interested in the response.

"(Y/n) is the best of the best!" The mildly rebellious Princess assured, whilst the gorgeous younger sister scoffed at you with a shady glance.

"Do you wish for me to prove myself again your Highnesses?" You turned to the Wayne noble family, weapon in hand.

"Again? We never... - Jason!" Bruce scolded, glaring at the rebellious member, furious with his actions and venom in his tone whereas Jason still couldn’t take his eyes off your beautiful formal stance.

Admittedly you never agreed with marriage bringing together prospects rather than being for love but Princess Arabella was the opposite, her ideals revolving around wealth and that those below her were worthless. That included you and despite the woman holding a withstanding crush on Jason, you felt he could upgrade and hoped he'd see her true vulgar nature. Regardless of your silent judgements, the meeting discussed the usual imposing threat of war and importance of heirs etcetera, etcetera. The stunningly attractive family bid the two Princesses and King fair well, all except Jason bowing to each of them as a courteous formality, nothing more.

However, upon passing Jason casually stood before you and bowed, smugly locking gazes with your confused yet stern irises.

"A pleasure, General (L/n)."

His family froze in place, his uncharacteristic behaviour startling them into silence - Jason Peter Todd bowed to no one, unless they had truly earned it.

"Whah- Daddy why is he bowing to her?!" Arabella's jealousy was extremely prominent, the attention you were receiving from her self proclaimed 'future husband' was fuel to the fire and Jason knew it.

Instantly you went to return the gesture, only stopping when the Prince placed a hand on your shoulder to prevent it.

"You too your high-"

"Jason. I told you, it's Jason."

Instead you were forced to nod rather than bow, though the first name basis was unpleasant for you superiors to hear and you were sure his favour for you would arouse royal discussions but until then...

"A pleasure... Jason."

#dc #dc imagine #jason todd #red hood #jason todd x reader #jason todd imagine #fantasy au #alternate universe #au #red hood imagine #red hood x reader

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raoulgoldenlake · 6 years ago

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So thrilled to be tagged in the 11 questions! Thanks @lizziethereader, these were delightful! I think the thing is, I now tag 11 people and come up with new questions.

1. What’s the best combination, a book + ..... (can be food, a drink, a place, a feeling, etc.)

A book and the beach! My ideal vacation is beach with a lot of reading material and free booze. I’m traveling on Wednesday and I’ve already loaded up my kindle.

2. What’s your stance on classics?

I don’t subscribe to the idea there are certain books I have to read just because they’re classics. And for the most part, I actually am pretty skeptical about classics. But when I do read a classic book I enjoy, I’m so pleasantly surprised!

3. If you could add one feature to tumblr or booklr specifically, what would it be?

I kind of wish I could link my Goodreads to my tumblr. I’d love to have the cover, author, star rating, and my review automatically posted to my tumblr when I posted them to Goodreads.

4. What was the loveliest reading experience you had lately?

I was taking the train from Brooklyn to Flushing, Queens, which required me to take 3 different trains and stay on the 7 train until the last stop. I managed to get a seat on the 7 train and decided to keep reading More Happy Than Not. I was enjoying it, but then I hit the MOMENT in the book where everything becomes clear and I literally gasped out loud. People on the train looked at me but it was such a joy to have that moment where I was so surprised by a book I couldn’t contain it.

5. Do you enjoy musicals? If so, what are some of your favorites?

I love musicals! I basically only listened to musicals and Broadway when I was a kid. I was obsessed with Wicked, I love Hamilton and I cannot watch or listen to Falsettos without crying.

6. When it comes to vacations, do you prefer city trips or lots of beach time? (or neither/something else?)

As I said above, I love a beach vacation. But I also love to see the culture of different places, which you get in the cities. I have a trip coming up to the Dominican Republic where we are doing three days in the city and three days in the resort and that really feels like the perfect vacation. I just wish it was longer!

7. Are you a candle person?

Absolutely! I always want more candles. I have a Joe Biden candle (from before he ran for president this time) that smells amazing.

8. What’s something you admire other people for?

Kindness. I always admire when people can be compassionate to all people, including people I have a hard time extending compassion to.

9. Have you discovered any new songs you love lately?

I just got into a band called The Americans (very challenging to find them on the internet, given there was a wildly successful show called The Americans) and their song Hooky is amazing. I’m also loving Ryan Bingham’s new album, American Love Song and Bruce Springsteen’s new stuff.

10. If you’re currently reading something, which page are you on? And are you enjoying it so far?

I’m currently reading three books, but only one I’m enjoying. I think I’m on page 80.

11. Which birthday gift would absolutely delight you?

Tickets to a Bruce Springsteen concert.

I am tagging @flamingmirrorbookish, @justsomerandomletters, @shields-not-so-finest, @still-deciding-on-a-username and anyone else who wants to do it. New questions below.

1. What’s the first chapter book you remember reading? 2. Book you recommend to other people most often? 3. What’s your literary litmus test? (for example, I have a friend who doesn’t trust people who really love Jane Austen books. For me, if someone says their favorite book is some long classic like War and Peace, I’m not interested in talking to them about books) 4. Is there a tv show you’ve seen every episode of? If so, which one? And if you’ve never had a tv show that you’ve seen every episode to, why not? 5. Did you have a pirate phase or an ancient Egypt phase as a kid? 6. Were you a wolf kid or a horse kid? 7. Worst book you’ve read recently? 8. Time you laughed the hardest? 9. Stupidest injury you’ve ever sustained? 10. Place you most want to travel? 11. Song you currently have stuck in your head?

#booklr #11 questions #tag game

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imaginedolanscribbles · 6 years ago

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30 Questions challenge

Rules:

-tag the person who tagged you

-answer the questions

-tag 20 people

I was tagged by the lovely @lanelessphilosopher and @giggling-grayson thank youu! <3

1. How tall are you? 5′3′’

2. What color and style is your hair? Mid length straight dark/dirty blonde hair with light ends and darker roots

3. What color are your eyes? dark brown

4. Do you wear glasses? no and as much as I think they look really cute on most people, I’m very glad I don’t need glasses because that’s a sure way for me to ruin my own life (how do you...not lose them? How do you not sit on them accidentally? How do you not throw them through the room in frustration?).

5. Do you wear braces? No.

6. What’s your fashion sense? Uh...non-existent? I just wear whatever l feel comfortable in, mostly jeans and sweaters or tops but lately I started wearing more dresses and skirts. I like wearing mostly black/grey/blue things and then a splash of colour - usually either a shirt, the shoes or maybe a hat :)

7. Full name? Helen

8. When were you born? 25th of December

9. Where are you from and where do you live now? Germany and Netherlands

10. What school do you go to? just started a Masters Programme in a small town in the north of the Netherlands.

11. What kind of student are you? Generally quite lazy but studious and committed when it matters, meaning my grades are pretty good on average.

12. Do you like school? I didn’t like high-school, utter bullshit that. Love University though, the best moments in my life happened all in University.

13. Favorite school subjects? English, Arts, German, Dutch, Geography, Biology...I liked pretty much everything that didn’t have to do with numbers lol 🙈

14. Favorite TV shows? The Fall, Game of Thrones, The Punisher, Friends, Sense 8, Stranger Things, Jack Ryan, Peaky Blinders, Brooklyn 99, Queer Eye

15. Favorite Movie? Inception. Hands down, it’s just so epic and smart and twisted and tense and it’s probably the best movie to come out in the past ten years and I will fight you on that.

16. Favorite Books? Harry Potter series (obviously), Hunger Games series, Lord of the Rings, Red Queen series, the Alchemist, I could literally go on forever...

17. Favorite pastime? Reading, in case that wasn’t clear from the last question. Also, watching movies (especially in cinemas), writing, running, swimming and napping - most of these with friends, but they’re also great alone so it doesn’t really matter.

18. Do you have any regrets? Yes. Mostly about trusting the wrong people, not saying “no” or “stop” soon enough, and not cutting people out of my life before it was too late because I wanted to believe they were different so bad. All in all I’m happy with where and who I am now, though :)

19. Dream job? Writer/author. I’d love to just be able to take all the time I need to create worlds and really flesh out stories around the scenarios or conflicts that popped up in my mind.

20. Would you ever like to be married? I’d like to. But if I’m never married that wouldn’t be the end of the world either so...meh?

21. Would you like to have kids? Again: I’d like to. But if it never happens I’d be perfectly able to be happy with my life, too.

22. How many? Ideally two. If I’m having one I’m definitely having another, the only-child-friends I had/have are all very egotistical and don’t know how to share on the one hand, and very lonely and just on-their-own-feeling on the other. So, probably two kids.

23. Do you like shopping? Not really, I hate spending money. But I do like buying sweaters or hats when I just happen to walk past something I really like, as opposed to when I’m actively trying to find something.

24. What countries have you visited? Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Spain, Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, England, Ireland, Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, USA, Canada, Venezuela

25. Scariest nightmare you have ever had? There was a ghost with a potato sack over its head who came rushing down a hallway and I knew it was heading for my friend in a room way down the hallway, so I stepped out of the room I was in (the ghost had passed it already) and shouted at it and it turned around and looked at me before it just lunged itself at me and when I woke up with a jolt I swear I could see it standing at the foot of my bed until I blinked and it was gone.

26. Any enemies? None that I would consider my enemies, but idk if there’s someone considering me their enemy.

27. Do you have a significant other? Not a romantic one, nope. Don’t think a lot of people see me that way.

28. Do you get along with your family? For the most part.

29. Do you believe in miracles? In relation to God (in whatever shape or form) - hell no. I believe that people can sometimes achieve miraculous things, but I only see miracles as such when they’re related to helping people and making the world a better place. A scientific discovery, wondrous as it may be, is not a miracle imo.

30. Last listened song? I’m on fire by Bruce Springsteen

Tags: @pmadolan @demurekind @palmtreedolan @jellyfishdolan @ninjadurtles @cosmodolans @mydolansss @grapesondolan @ethangrants @fandomcrazedd @softiethan @softforgray @me-a-hopeless-romantic @sweet-dolans @godlydolans @hayley-noelle-salvatore19 @stark2510strange @starrydolan @bouttogolinkurbitch @obsidiandolans

those of you who have already done this, sorry for tagging you again ;)

#30 Questions #questions challenge

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hellacre13 · 7 years ago

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Keep seeing Batman fans say SuperWonder is too obvious so she’s better for Batman but I don't understand why? As a Wonder Woman fan and reader of DC, it's clear Wonder Woman is not remotely a valid love interest and she does not fit into the bat mythos at all.

The people calling Superman and Wonder Woman obvious are admitting actually in reality if these two optimistic characters did exist they would be drawn to each other. Yet they see this positive attitude towards love and relationships as boring. It’s a mind boggling thing to damn something healthy. They tend to say Batman is not obvious and her opposite in terms of how they operate so that is more interesting. They see Diana as a “perfect woman” to make hypermasculine versions of Batman better. She cannot be attracted to a man who might be perfect for her. Notice I did not say the “perfect man”. There is no such thing. Living beings are not born in a vacuum, and we face too many variables to be perfect. But there are many men who have had good upbringing and morals and try to live a productive life and try to give back to the world. And like women, all are different. And we all are drawn to different traits in partners.

When we put everything aside, like money, skill, power, looks, status, we all seek a basic thing and that is to just be happy. Now to be happy we don’t all need to hook up, or marry or have kids. Many great people who changed our world for the best did it regardless of a partner. But when we do opt to choose a companion? What is so boring about two people who share the same aspirations, goals, fight for the same ideals getting together? Isn’t that what draws people together? Not what sets you apart but what connects you together? Research has shown these things makes for the best foundation for a lasting relationship. It’s not solely how you look, or what you can do or even where you com from. It’s what you have in common and what you believe in, and how you connect on an emotional level. It’s how you can support, and grow together while still being what you want to be as an individual.

Far too often imo fiction has taught us that the bad boy is interesting and the good guy is not as compelling. Yes, the bad boy can be interesting depending on his journey and destination BUT it never should be at the expense of the nice guy. Basic decency is sneered at on some level when it comes to modern romance. We have been inundated with stories of the brooding, mysterious enigma or cad who is irreverent, violent, unattainable, emotionally damaged or closed off. And he is worth fighting for than the man who is just a good man defined by his deeds, and noble motivations, and the way he treats everyone including the women around him with respect. He is no challenge if he is just a nice guy who is stable and grounded with a nice sense of humor. You are lulled into this fantasy that you are so powerful and so amazing you can change jerks.

No one person changes jerks, cads or badboys. A jerk changes themselves if they’re lucky or they stay a jerk. Often it is the responsibility of the “good girl” to correct this man even if she has nothing in common with him. Like I don’t know how or why this is her job because she she fits some goody two shoes stereotype. It’s not that we see people as people and we all have different experiences that might make us more attracted to someone. It’s supposedly this formula to fictional romance. The ironic thing is the bad boy can also have a good male friend too to balance him…but if there is a female around…she has to open her legs for him to teach him properly. It’s usually the most cliched love triangle troupe used and bet your bottom dollar the good boy usually loses to the cool bad boy.

The irony in all this is these very folks who push these ideas…when it comes to themselves…they want the good woman or man for themselves in real life. When they have children they want someone who will be obviously good for their children. Nothing is too boring then when you want that for your self. You don’t go…oh he’s too nice a man for my loving daughter or she’s too sweet a person for my kind hearted son. They want the honest, decent, compassionate, kind, good people for their leaders. So why the hell are we sending messages that they are boring? Why can’t an alpha female like Diana be drawn to an equally powerful but noble man like herself? Who we draw to us says a lot about us. If you’re an Amazon Princess who is here to spread peace when it comes to connecting with others, why wouldn’t you be drawn to a kind , calm ,patient, compassionate man?

I am sick of these troupes and stereotypes. And Superman/.Wonder Woman is a pairing to me that defies that. I grew up reading classic novels and more often than not the males were often more on the nobler, kinder side. Then when I became a teenager and young adult it changed and there was a shift to jerks. Characters in real life you should run far away from, you’re suddenly drawn to.But you know, romance and all that…we are lulled into this belief love can change anything. But love is love. Love feels as it is. It feels good. Not terrible.

Clark and Diana’s relationship has always been based on trust, truth respect, friendship from the very start. They have positive traits but having been raised differently still have much to learn from each other and grow…because life itself if what teaches us growth. And know what? They talk. Communicate. Reciprocate. They like each other. As people. They challenge each other’s point of view because no one man or woman knows everything. Don’t underestimate how important those things are when it comes to forging relationships. It isn’t about flirting or arguing. Hell it isn’t even about kissing or screwing. Those things don’t define what makes a person right for someone. You can crush on a zillion people and it can go nowhere. As you can kiss, sleep together and you still probably don’t have to be the right person for someone. It’s about connecting. Understanding each other. Being better together but also still being a whole on your own. You can’t have someone complete you. You need to do that yourself.

But that apparently all this is too obvious and boring. No. It’s not. Obvious is assuming all women will drop their panties for rich men who have many women because he is amped up by his fanboywriters to be the best at everything. That is the male fantasy that he has to do nothing to work for their love, or earn their respect…they just drop it for him. It’s nothing against his character but let’s not pretend that people don’t think Batman is so cool and they love the fact that he has all the cool trappings and can just attract women and can drop them at will or pick them up at will. The only woman Batman is at a loss at is usually Catwoman because she falls in such a gray area you can’t stereotype her too much as too bad or good and he cannot control her.

For most of Batman’s history Wonder Woman was never on his radar as a love interest. It took one cartoon where by it spends it time having Diana…a proud amazon…chase after a man for a date for no good reason other than he’s Batman. She doesn’t teach him anything in that cartoon. They have no give and take. Superman and his foes faster teach him lessons. He doesn’t grow from being with her because he never was with her. But to the fans of this, based on this shallow dynamic, they insist that writers throw Wonder Woman at him.And see her as his property because of this and are trying to influence Batman writers to do it in comics.

While Superman and Wonder Woman has had decades of friendship and even sometimes romance in the source material. But that deemed as nothing. As a Wonder Woman fan who read her books for years Batman fanboy writers trying to define Wonder Woman does not sit well with me. Especially when it comes to making her a prize for a man who did nothing to earn her love. Tom King Batman/Wonder Woman debacle even managed to top that absurdity Greg Rucka did in Blackest Night. King made Diana actively and aggressively try to get Bruce to sleep with her, and he says this is feminism. I don’t know about him, but using Diana as a side hoe to tempt Batman while his finance is alive and well is not feminism. The story never even had Diana interact with Selina woman to woman other than to come talk down to her in the end. And she could not even recall her own partner Steve Trevor as she flaunted herself. But Batman remembers his and puts a stop to her come on. When she is rejected she pretends she cares for Selina’s feelings. And based on this ridiculous story we are to swallow Batman and Wonder Woman are suddenly besties. None of the stories showed anything whereby Diana as a character gets something she needs for her growth. This was out of character for Diana. No one who knows Wonder Woman, who is about sisterhood and a noble person, who, if she loved someone and they are with another, would respect their happiness…you would not recognize her in that story.

So yeah, I’ll take obvious any damn day.

#superman #wonder woman #superwonder #batman #catwoman #batcat #steve trevor #tom king #justice league

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jaybeartodd · 8 years ago

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Colleagues Pt. 3/17 — Jason Todd x fem. reader

Y/N is struggling with this newly found information but decides to push it aside while things are going well. And maybe this Jason character isn’t as awful as he initially seemed...

Sorry this is so long! I was planning on making this two parts but I forgot to stop typing. Whoops. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy and thank you for the amazing feedback! You guys have been fantastic!

Warnings: swearing and mentions of alcohol

Word Count: 1974

Tagging: @sarcasmismyfirstlove

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17

It is sheer will and your hand supporting your chin that is at least keeping up the appearance of vitality as your professor lectures at the head of the classroom. After a quick digestion of the information discovered last night, you managed to hammer out a killer essay and get a whole 3 hours of sleep before having to wake up for your morning class.

You are trying to focus on what the professor is saying by watching their mouth but all you can hear is the conversation between you and Nick.

It was after a long shift at your old job that you came home to Nick using the kitchen for actual cooking purposes. Throwing your bag down you eyed him wearily as he gave you happy smile from behind a steaming stove.

"Hey sis! I got us a real meal; steak and mashed potatoes.”

You can't help but laugh at the absurdity of his appearance. He has his long purple hair tied up in a bun and your Batman apron tied around his body.

“What did I tell you about buying that disgusting meat at the butcher down the road?” you ask leaning over the sizzling pan cautiously expecting the worst.

“No sis. This is real steak from a real store,” his dimples flash seemingly innocent and the steak does look halfway decent. If you even liked steak.

“Nick,” you sigh grabbing at a headache forming from the thought of him getting into your cash again.

“No, Y/N, look I swear it was all my own money. I didn't take a cent from your jar in the dresser. Cross my heart,” he gestures to his heart. Mental note; move jar.

You let out a breath and look into his brown eyes full of pride. You see the little brother who would do this silly promise ritual years ago when hiding in your self-made fortresses. Before he lost his way.

Finally giving in, you cross your heart in sync with him and he laughs kissing you on the cheek. After finishing up the cooking, you manage to have a decent dinner with him even if you push around the steak so he won't notice you not eating it.

It is one of the best moments you have had with Nick since you had to move in with him after several of his stints in jail. But you can't help the question burning in the back of your head.

“Where'd you get the money, Nickie?” you ask somberly. Instead of the guilt you are expecting you see his face beam.

“I got a job,” your eyes widen at this. The boy who hasn't held a job in years can suddenly afford steak with work he has never even mentioned applying for.

“No really! I got a delivery job! It is with a Mr. Sionis and it makes enough money that you can stop worrying about me and start focusing on paying your school and I can finally start supporting Trey.”

You can't help but absorb the pure joy emanating from him. You hug him and enjoy the moment even though you know he could make all the money in the world but the mother of his child would never let him have anymore than the every other weekends he is getting. Not that you can blame her. She has a big house, nice husband and great career. Trey is a cute kid and deserves the best life possible, Even though you miss him dearly and you know it crushes Nick.

This memory still rings fresh in your head as one of the better ones even though Nick went straight back to his binging within one week of work leaving you to pick up the essentials. At least he has somehow held the job and pays for his own alcohol now. You aren't blind to the effect the job has had on your brother and now your curiosity grows knowing who his boss is and even more now that Mr. Wayne seems interested in the guy despite him supposedly being in Arkham.

You show up to your desk that night to find an invitation laying on it. Looking around you don't see anything out of the ordinary. Although, did you expect to see someone gazing above their respective cubicle laughing at a rather lame prank?

The Wayne logo is painted across the front of it and you open it to see an elegant flourish of details of a ball. It seems you are cordially invited to the annual Wayne Enterprise Ball. You can't help but feel a grin spread across your face. How very posh. You chuckle to yourself but you know you are excited at the chance of attending the most prized Gotham event.

You probably will not be the most lavish of the attendees considering your limited store options that pair nicely with your limited cash flow but hell you will feel damn beautiful. You clutch the invitation close to you before putting it into your bag unaware of the amused pair of eyes watching your reaction.

“Jason, your attention would be appreciated.”

Jason sighs and pushes himself off the window he was observing you from.

“Yeah yeah Bruce. You've got the fullest of my attention.”

The next two weeks go by fairly quickly, You managed to make it to break from school with only a couple of sleepless nights preparing for midterms. Nick hasn't had another binge since the night you found out the interesting tidbit about his new job. Troy had a great visit where we attempted to bake ending in a floury mess. All of this, plus your growing excitement for the ball tonight, has caused you to push the Sionis incident from your head for now. You really didn’t want to rock the boat while it was wading steadily for once.

Your rose red dress from a nearby thrift store illuminates your carefully illustrated makeup and your y/h/c piled on top of your head once you are ready to head to the ball. You lock the door behind you and can’t help but feel giddy.

Not only are you being handed the perfect opportunity to make fun of ridiculous people in one setting but you are being handed the perfect opportunity of meeting local newspaper hotshots who could be your road into journalism.

Your heels from a lifetime ago that you dug from deep depths of your closet may look great but are not the ideal footwear for a hike to Wayne Manor so you made sure to save up for a taxi. Not your atypical classy but better than appearing with bloody feet and being mugged 67 times on the way there.

The Wayne Manor is hard to miss even as you are a mile away. You find yourself dazzled by the vastness only seen previously by you on TV. Your taxi driver drops you off at an appropriate amount of distance so that you can walk.

You pass what you assume to be millions of dollars of jewelry and satins as you make your way towards the mansion. An older gentleman with a gentle face is checking invitations at the door.

You hand him yours hoping not to seem too eager. He gives you a warm smile as you thank him.

“Have a fantastic night Ms. Y/L/N.” his accented voice reads your name off the invitation.

The inside continues to astonish you as you take in the riches you thought only existed in movies. You can't help but gawk at the amount of stairs. Why do rich people need so many stairs?

After grabbing a drink, you go in search of familiar faces. You greet a few of your coworkers but then your eye catches an editor for a major newspaper in Gotham. You wander over to the assorted foods and pretend to be interested in them when in actuality you are plotting the best way to introduce yourself.

“You're staring,” a voice makes you jump and drop your plate you had began filling up.

Oh there's only one person that could be.

You turn around to find a smirking Jason Todd. He cleans up nice, you mentally note. He has a crisp, obviously expensive black suit on and his hair is semi tamed back with some gel.

“Is this some weird hobby you have? Scaring the crap out of people so that they drop absolutely everything in their hands,” you bend down to grab the food but he holds out a hand and swiftly crouches and sweeps the crackers back onto the plate. He grins and offers the plate back but your only answer in return is a look of annoyance.

He shrugs and puts the plate back on the table.

“So why are you staring at Mr. Prie?” he asks and you cross your arms.

“I'm not.” he hitches an eyebrow at this obvious lie,

“Yeah ok well since you aren't you probably don't want me to introduce you to him,” he challenges you with an amused look and his hands casually shoved into his pockets,

You contemplate your options. Ignoring Jason and hopefully keeping the clumsy at a normal rate. Or meeting the man that could possibly give you the job of your dreams.

“Fine, yes I would love to meet him. Could you please introduce me?” you grumble and this seems to feed the smirk.

“On one condition,” he says.

“Listen pal I am not being blackmailed into a date-”

“One dance. That's all I ask. One dance,”

You stare at him calculatingly.

“Is this how you usually get girls?”

“I usually don't work so hard,” you blush at this which amuses him.

“Fine, you weirdo. I will dance with you but first introduce me,” you give in.

He offers his arm with a boyish grin. You roll your eyes and stroll past him towards Mr. Prie.

Jason does an impressive job of introducing you as a highly-valued employee and even compliments your character. Damn, this man can charm the pants off of anyone. Mr. Prie ends up offering you a personal tour of the paper, making you even more successful than you thought you'd be.

You manage to keep your calm professional look as you shake his hand but when you are out of earshot you punch Jason in the arm in excitement.

“A personal tour!” you rub your hand after punching a surprisingly thick mass of muscle.

Jason’s grin matches yours as you look up at him absolutely beaming.

“Thank you so much for your help,” you say genuinely.

“Hey don't use your words to thank me,” you look at him questioningly as he does an obnoxious spin and offers his hand out to you, “Use dance.”

You chuckle at his dramatic voice.

“Yeah about that, I can't dance,” all of a sudden you are pulled into the dancefloor and you collide into Jason's firm chest.

“Nonsense,” he says and you shake your head.

He looks at you sympathetically, “Here just follow my lead.” His hand wraps around your waist drawing the breath from you while his other hand clasps yours.

Placing your free hand on his shoulder, your feet follow his and after a few toe-steppings, you find yourselves falling into a natural movement.

“I am really sorry I was so rude to you the first time we met. I'm not usually like that I promise,” you say breaking the silence.

His eyes twinkle bemused.

“I think I am the one who should be apologizing. I was being a jackals.” he admits.

You nod your head. “Yeah, you're right. Forget what I said.”

He laughs a hearty sound and you can't help but enjoy the vibrations it sends through his chest.

The night is turning out way better than you expected. But it can only last but so long.

#jason todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd x you #red hood #red hood x reader #red hood x you #fanfic #batman #batman imagine

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flying-nightwing · 5 years ago

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Dark Fox (7/7)

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read Dark Fox! It was my first longer serie ever since my writing hiatus, and the first one I actually finished ever lmao. It was quite an adventure and I really enjoyed writing this persona. This is the last chapter to close the story. I hope you like it gang!

Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader

Word Count: 6821

Warnings: usual

You hadn’t had a lazy morning in years, and you had all but forgotten how good it felt.

A single sun ray warmed the bed, making the temperature under the thin sheet just ideal. The slow, steady rise and fall of Jason’s chest under your head was soothing, as well as the random pattern his hand was drawing on your back. Usually, you’d have already trained and eaten by that time. Today, you had no intention of leaving the bed anytime soon. The last night had been spent fucking so many times in so many different ways, you were both exhausted and happier than before. Jason was even wilder than you remembered (or he got even better?), so much you were still riding the absolute high you had reached.

You traced his scars with your fingers; some old ones he had told you about, some you had put there yourself, and some others your had yet to know how he got them. You had a lot to catch up about.

“The last time we found ourselves like this,” You began, trailing your soft touch up and down the browned mark on his shoulder. It was as large as your sword, and a witness of the rocky beginning of your relationship. “I begged you to come back to the League with me”

He angled his head toward you. You could feel his eyes on you, half closed and relaxed as he’s even been. “But I begged you to follow me back here first”

It had been a heartbreaking moment. The build up of the unanswered question for a whole year had lead to there. None of you had wanted to talk about the time his training would be done, you had rather wanted to keep doing your stuff and ignore the impending separation. That morning hadn’t been unlike this one, with the sun coming through the hut and with you both on the hammock, naked and intertwined under the fur cover. He had broken the silence, asking you to forget the League and stay with him. Back then, you were so sure you could only reach Luthor through it. So you asked Jason to instead join the League at your side.

He had dressed up and left the hut, and you hadn’t heard from him from then until you crossed paths in Ukraine.

“I guess this is the fight you won” You smiled, flicking up your gaze to his. “Seeing as I’m here”

“The fight I won?” He raised his eyebrows. “Implying I didn’t win any other fight?”

“You did, but…” You teased, gently tapping your fingers up his collarbone. “Let’s face it, I still won most of them”

He gasped. “Excuse me?”

You smirked.

Before you could see him move, he rolled on top of you and caged you underneath him between his arms. His eyes were narrowed in indignation as he channeled his mean face on. It once might have worried you, but it had lost most of its purpose now. Especially since you were both naked.

“I’ve won plenty of fights against you” He sneered.

“Mhmm” You hummed, knowing all too well how he didn’t like to be challenged. You hadn’t poked at his pride in too long, so you couldn’t pass the occasion. “Sure you did”

“Have you forgotten what happens when the fighting range gets too small?”

You simply blinked.

“Or when I truly got angry? Or…”

You cocked your head to the side as he halted his words. Then, understanding flashed through his expression.

“You’re still riling me on purpose” He sighed.

“What did I like to say again?” You asked rhetorically, pausing for emphasis. “Ah, yes. When you’ll stop falling for it”

“I hate you”

“Don’t blame me for being such an easy target” You rolled your eyes. “Now come here”

“Bossy” He finally grinned. “I love it”

He lowered himself so his lips touched yours and kissed you softly. However, the moment didn’t last long, as his cell phone vibrated on the nightstand. You could feel the shift toward annoyance in his mood, and it only grew when the phone vibrated one more time, and another one after that. With a long sigh, he rolled off of you and to the side of his bed. He frowned, then all trace of displeasure at the interruption wiped off of his face.

“What is it?” You asked, peeking over his shoulder. He shut off the screen immediately.

“You’ll see” He chuckled. “Get dressed”

“Ooookay” You nodded slowly, watching him throw his legs on the side of the bed and reach for his shirt on the floor. You put on your clothes from the day before and went for the guest bedroom you had, changing into something clean. When you got out, Jason was waiting for you leaning on the doorframe.

“First though, breakfast”

You followed Jason, as you were still unfamiliar with the place. Sure, you had mapped the way from your room to the cave, and from the cave to every close escape around. But for the rest, you had barely the time or desire to explore. All this space was pointless to you, as you couldn’t figure out who would need all of this. However, it did provide a good way to avoid any Wayne during your stay, you’d give the manor this point.

But it didn’t allow you to avoid Bruce this time.

He caught you around a corner, and you three remained in a stare off for a few seconds. You knew it probably wouldn’t result in a fight, but your hand still hovered above the blade hidden at the back of your waistband.

“I think you have overstayed your welcome here”

Jason gritted his teeth, but you remained calm. You had expected this.

“I will be gone by tonight” You replied on a neutral tone, then pulled Jason with you to side step him.

“One more thing”

You halted your steps in the doorframe to the next room, turning your head to look at him. He hadn’t moved.

“I don’t want to see you in my city again”

“You must be fucking kidding me” Jason yelled, but you held up your arm to stop him from marching back to Bruce.

“Absolutely not” He turned to face you. “Ever since she’s came, she has conveniently disclosed very precise information on the weapon’s whereabouts, except when it mattered. And hid her family ties to Luthor”

“You think she’s working with him?” He scoffed.

“I don’t know, is she?”

Jason glanced at you, about to reply something, but you just shook your head at him. It was pointless to try and convince Bruce Wayne, especially since you knew your word could never overturn your suspicious behaviour. He rolled his eyes and walked away, and you were about to follow him before you paused.

“I’m not” You spoke up, and you could feel Bruce’s eyes on your back. “If you must know, I’ve come here to kill him, and I don’t need your permission for that”

With that, you walked away, not waiting for an answer from Bruce. You joined Jason in the kitchen, who was already working on cooking oatmeal. His jaw was still clenched, and his posture tense.

“I can’t believe the fucking audacity” He grumbled.

“He is entitled to his opinion of me” You shrugged and leaned on the counter next to him. “I don’t really care what he thinks about my intentions”

“Still” He sighed. “Are you still planning on finishing your mission?”

You crossed your arms against your torso and furrowed your eyebrows. You could just leave Batman and the others take care of it, and leave them to deal with Luthor. But again, you hadn’t came all this way to just give up.

“Bruce was very clear on his stance about me remaining involved in this shitshow” You hummed, before glancing up at Jason. “But we do have a bio weapon to stop, and I’m far from done with Luthor”

His disappointment morphed into a grin at your words. “Attagirl, that’s what I like to hear”

“I most certainly don’t like to leave things unfinished” The corner of your lips lifted. “You okay with going against Batman’s orders?”

“Oh my dear” He chuckled as he poured the oatmeal in two bowls. He glanced at you with an excited glint in his eyes. “Nobody has a better record of disobeying him than I do”

“Good”

He put a spoon in each bowl and handed you one. “Now we need to have a game plan for what’s next”

“Any idea?”

“I sure have” His grin widened. “I want to show you something”

He motioned you to follow him as he ate his oatmeal mid walk. He got down to the cave and led you to a small side room, where he grabbed the tablet on the table. You slowly ate your breakfast as you watched him press buttons and mumble to himself. Then, he turned to you.

“You ready?”

You nodded, unsure of what he was talking about. He dramatically pressed one more button, making the wall in front of you turn on itself with a woosh. Your eyes widened as you took in the content of the compartment.

“So?”

You blinked at glanced at Jason. Your grin slowly stretched to match his.

“Oh yeah” You nodded again, this time, with way more assurance. “This will definitely do”

----

Jason heard Bruce coming from miles away.

Even if he technically didn’t, his course of action was so predictable that the Bat’s dramatic landing on the rooftop behind him was no surprise at all.

“I thought I had made myself clear”

Jason stood up from his crouched position and turned to face him, arms crossed against his chest. “You did”

“Then what are you doing here?” He sighed in annoyance.

“Well obviously you’re blaming your wrong intel and failures on someone who has nothing to do with it, which is a classic you” He taunted. “So we’re here to finish the job. Her and I really do work well together, thanks for noticing”

“Red Hood” He warned.

“Batman” He mimicked.

Someone landing next to them grabbed their attention.

“Red Robin” Tim announced himself under Bruce’s hard glance and Jason’s amused one.

“What are you doing here?”

“Well, I knew something was up when I didn’t see Foxy in the cage all day” He explained. “So I followed you here. By the way, where is she?”

As if on cue, a shadow dropped behind them. The movement did no go unnoticed, and as if on instinct, Tim spun around and threw a shuriken. His expression quickly changed as he realized who was in front of him.

There you were, still crouched from your landing and holding his shuriken mid air inches away from your face. You were smirking under your mask as Tim stared at you in disbelief.

“Twice” You spoke as you stood up fully. His eyes quickly scanned you from head to toes, almost overseeing you handing him back his shuriken. “Twice you have thrown one of these at me”

“Where’s the League suit?” He asked, slowly taking back his small weapon. “And you’re stupid bow?”

You shrugged, sharing a knowing glance with Jason. “I thought it was time for a change”

Then, understanding washed across his face. “Oh, oh my. You’ve dropped the League”

He did another once over. You had ditched the heavy coat for a lightweight suit made of silk and leather, with armored plastic on the stomach, the upper arms and the back. The arm bracers had smaller spikes than the previous ones, and you no longer wore a heavy mask. Instead, you had only kept your half mask and wore a hooded robe crossing on your torso. Your grappling hook was now in your utility belt, and your arrows were replaced with sharper, more volatile darts kept in a sheath on your thigh. You now had 25 regular darts, five explosive and your two classic sedatives. Only your sword remained on your back, so it would “unclog your aesthetic”, as Jason had put it.

You did like it better like that, the bow wasn’t your style anyway.

The new gear was still all black, for the exception of a silver kitsune draw into the back of the armor that would show if you took off the robe. It was comfortable and flexible, and resistant to bullets and stabbing. Jason had hit the target right on with the design.

“Do you keep your wrist shooter?” He asked, squinting his eyes.

You raised your arm and shot over his shoulder to prove your point. He caught the small arrow mid air, nodding impressively.

“Still the best part of the suit” He muttered to himself.

“I thought you said you’d be gone” Bruce cut in. Your eyes went to him.

“I still have a couple of hours” You replied without missing a beat.

“Talking about” Jason said. “Your time window just opened”

“You can either help us or stay out of the way” You told Bruce as you adjusted you comm. “But this is happening regardless”

He didn’t speak right away, taking a moment to ponder your words. Then, he voiced his thoughts. “Are you going to kill him?”

You held eye contact for a few seconds more before taking off. You ran along the ledge and jumped on the next building, then letting yourself slide down the fire escape. You chose not no reply to him, as you didn’t need to give him another reason to come after you. Granted, not replying was practically the equivalent of giving a positive answer, but at least it could give you the benefit of the doubt for what it was worth.

Using the shadows of the city, you quickly made your way through the blocks by the back alleys until you reached the imposing tower in the middle of the Diamond district, the same building you and Tim had sacked for show barely a week before. Whatever damage you had done, it didn’t show anymore. It was like nothing had happened.

This time, you came in by the front door. The second you walked through the glass doors, all activity stopped. You took a few step forward, and four guards met you halfway in the lobby. Without a word, they escorted you past the front desk and through the metal detector going off like crazy. Anytime you could have easily gotten rid of them, but you held back for now. You waited a short time for the elevator, then got in and up to Luthor’s floor. He was waiting for you by the window, and turned around with a smirk once you got in his office. You pulled back your hood and unclasped your mask.

“I see you’ve got a new look” He pointed out. “Changed your mind about the league?”

“Something like that”

“Well, I’m most certainly pleased to see you’ve decide to do the right thing” He took a step forward. “This is where you belong”

Slowly, you reached for your sword and took it out. A shadow passed across his face, and nodded to something behind you. Or rather, someone. You dropped to a crouch to avoid the tazer being stuck in your back--once was enough--and thrusted your sword in the legs of the guys around you. You rolled forward and shot the four guards coming your way, before jumping on the desk and holding them in your aim. Luthor now had four new guards around, letting you know more would come if he needed. You reloaded your crossbow.

“I’m disappointed” He revealed with a sigh. “Those were good men”

“Let it be a reminder I can and will take them all out if they're in my way” You twirled your sword. “Step forward and none of them die with you tonight”

“How noble” He chuckled, not concerned at all. His hand rested in his pocket and his stance was relaxed. “Did your boyfriend with the red helmet tell you to do that?”

You shot an arrow to his knee, but he easily side stepped it like he had predicted that move. He raised an eyebrow.

“I see” He hummed. “But I had expected you would deny your destiny. So I decided to help you make a choice”

Four more men came in the room and ran at you. You vaulted over them and landed behind them, taking them by surprise. Before the could fully turn around, they were on the ground. You wiped your sword in the crook of your elbow and faced Luthor again. He was watching, unwavering, almost out of the door. He was stalling, that was clear, but you didn’t know for what yet. He smirked again, and you knew he’d finally reveal his thoughts.

“Now I know you won’t back down like last time” He taunted, and your jaw clenched. “So I guess you can come at me now, tear through my guards and get to me…”

You narrowed your eyes, knowing there was something more coming. He wouldn’t make it that easy for you to get to him.

“But like I said, I had expected trouble from you, like your mother before you” He sighed sarcastically. “So I prepared a backup plan. I decided to launch my weapon sooner and instead use it elsewhere, since you forced my hand. In twenty minutes, it will discharge quite literally the plague in the city aqueduct”

You tensed, your hand going to your ear to your comm and turning it on.

“Ah, I don’t think telling your friends will work” He tsked. “The only way to stop it is through my genetic code”

“Therefore mine” You concluded.

“Smart” He mocked. “Yes. So you can either kill me here and get it over with, or you can run around and save a bunch of people, and miss your shot. Again. But you don’t have the time to do both, I’m afraid”

You calculated his ultimatum, and he was right. If he kept the men coming, it would be enough to stall you too long for you to go from the diamond district to the aqueduct. He had planned this move carefully, knowing he’d get a win in either case.

“Don’t worry, the cure is ready to go, there won’t be much casualties” He brushed off. “You came here to kill me, didn’t you?”

You flexed your fingers on the hilt of your sword.

“Do it” He challenged. “That’s what you are. You were made to finish what you started, to stop at nothing to get what you want. This is how I made you, even if I disapprove what you’ve done with my gifts. So go ahead, kill me and prove me right”

He was almost in your face now, staring right at you. You straightened your back and levelled up with him, feeling something strange, yet not unwelcomed, swelling in your chest. You thought about Jason and what he said, about those civilians you saved from a certain death, and about the man in front of you. Seeing him from so close, you realized every ounce of anger you held toward Luthor was… Gone. You thought with him so close you would be tempted to fight him, but all you could feel was indifference. He didn’t matter to you anymore, he never should have. He represented your insecurities, and tried to drag you down with him to excuse his own failure in making you a copy of himself. You became aware he was a pointless chase, and you had better things to do than indulge in it.

“I’m the Dark Fox” You jutted your chin up, squaring up your shoulders. “Don’t fucking tell me what to do”

You turned around and jumped over the desk, grabbing an explosive arrow and throwing it in the window. You jumped through as it exploded, plunging down the building. You pulled out your grappling line and hooked it on your shooter, then aimed for the roof. It slowed your fall midway, and you used your glove to slow yourself down.

As your feet touched the ground, you saw Jason’s motorcycle pull in in front of the building. You put back your sword in its sheath and your mask on your face, then your hood up.

“Aqueduct, we’ve got fifteen minutes” You spoke as you climbed on the bike.

“Yep, I heard everything” He had a grin in his voice. Yet, he didn’t go yet.

“What?”

“I am so fucking proud of you”

You felt your neck heat up as you looked down, even if he couldn’t see you, in fact, you were glad he couldn’t. You never knew his praise would make you react that way, or that you would be so important for you to hear it.

“And for the record” He added. “It was very hot, too”

“Fucking hell, Jay, go!”

“Fine” He sighed and sped away from there.

“Okay so what is your thing with jumping out of windows?” Tim said through your comm. You had no idea he had stayed.

“It makes me feel less dead” You replied, and Jason audibly laughed.

“You madwoman”

“Since you’re here, I have a task for you” You said. “Could you pull out the files on the weapon and figure out how the failsafe works?”

“I’m already on it”

Then, a bullet barely grazed your shoulder. The sound followed closely after, but it was like in slow motion. You raised your arm to protect Jason's shoulder, letting the bullet hit your arm brace instead. Reacting quickly, you turned around facing backwards and shot an arrow through the gun aimed at you. You then noticed five motorcycles following you, probably tasked with taking you down.

“What’s going on? How many?”

“Keep driving” You ordered. “I’ll take care of this”

You shot another arrow, but it bounced on the body of the motorcycles, and from your position you couldn’t aim elsewhere. You emptied your arrows to get one good shot, and it was enough to take one down. But looking at your recharges, you only had ten darts left, and potentially more people to take down around the bomb. You looked down, then up again to the guns aimed at you.

“Fuck it”

You reached for one of Jason’s gun on his thigh and clicked the safety off. Then, you shot.

“Holy shit” Jason yelled, and you could only imagine his expression. “HOLY SHIT”

“Did… Did Foxy just use a gun?”

“I wish I could have seen that” He whined. “I am so turned on right now”

“Too much information Jaybird”

You clicked the safety back on and turned around again, then slipped the gun back in his holster.

“I thought you thought guns were disgraceful”

“I kind of still do” You smirked under your mask. “So don’t get used to it”

“You’ll at least do it once when I look, right?”

“Hmm, maybe” You hummed.

“Aww, aren’t you two the cutest”

“Shut up Tim” Jason warned.

“Alright then, I won’t tell you what I found on turning off the weapon��

“Speak, Tim” You contradicted Jason’s order.

“First you have to apologize for throwing me out of a window”

You thought for a moment before answering. “No”

“Then no intel”

You sighed.

“Let’s compromise then” You suggested. “I will not apologize because I am not sorry, but for the intel and not telling on me after you found out who I was, I will consider not pushing you out of a window again”

There was silence radio, then he spoke again. “Good enough for me. There should be a code pad, I decrypted it and the code is 0000. Yes I know, but then you’ll see a slit, and you gotta put your left hand in it. It’ll read pulse, heat, fingerprints, and more. Since you should share all of this with Luthor, it’ll stop. Or it’ll explode, that was unclear”

“Well that’s reassuring” Jason grumbled.

“Alright, we’re almost there” You rolled your eyes. “Thanks”

“See ya later”

You turned off your comm and reloaded your shooter minutes before Jason pulled in the aqueduct yard. He parked his bike and you both easily climbed the barbed wire fence, and even though the place looked deserted, you remained careful. Luthor wouldn’t have left his device without surveillance. You grabbed your sword and fell in step behind Jason, who had his guns up. Then, he halted his steps and held a hand for you to do the same. You had this feeling you were being watched, and you could only imagine he had it too.

“Get ready” Just as he said that, bullets began raining over you. “Go find the weapon, I’ll cover you!”

You held an arm up to protect your face and disappeared into the darkness. You kept running along the walls of the building, allowing you to get in undetected. You reached the main water room, where you could see from the upper platform about eight guards surrounding the very device you had been hunting. The countdown indicated 2:37, so you had no time to lose.

You jumped over the ramp and landed quietly on your feet behind the men. You approached the first one and swung your sword around to let it rest on his neck. You used him as a shield as the other guards noticed you, blocking their bullets. You raised your arm and shot your five darts at them. You pushed the dead man off of you and faced the two remaining guards, taking a fighting stance and swirling your sword at them. Before they could start shooting again, you lunged and knocked their guns out of their hands. They kept fighting around you, trying to get to you with punches and kicks. But they were sloppy and predictable, and even after one fetched a small blade from his belt, they were no match for you. You glanced at the countdown, and it almost reached the one minute mark. Your eyes then trailed on the two guards around you, still trying to get the upper hand. They both extended their arms at the same time for a hit, so you dropped to a crouch.

Like you did during training with Bruce and Damian, you sweeped your sword in a quick motion. Unlike them, however, your current opponent weren’t quick nor skilled. The blade of your katana sliced their knees, making them collapse on the ground. You quickly reloaded your last round of arrows and sheathed your sword, then made your way to the device. You easily found the locked pad and entered the code, then pulled off your glove and stuck your hand in the slit. You pressed the button and watched as the biometrical scan began.

You heard noise behind you as backup reached the room, and without taking your hand out, you turned your body and aimed. The first five men fell, but there were still five coming your way, so you reached for your shurikens in your belt. But you didn’t get to take them out as other, all too familiar shaped shurikens reached the goons first. You sent a deadpan look at where you noticed none other than Red Robin standing there smugly.

“Oof, I hope you didn’t have dibs on them”

“I had it handled” You replied.

“I’m sure you did” He smirked as he walked past you and took a look at the countdown, then at the weapon. His expression turned grim. “Twenty seconds”

The scanner was still working.

“If it doesn’t work, you’ll have to slice the pipe off” You said, analysing the situation. Cutting the water and flooding the building would bring less casualties than letting the virus flow in the water system.

“What!?”

The system unlocked. You quickly entered the command to stop, and the countdown halted. You pulled your hand back and put on your glove again, then grabbed an explosive arrow. You planted the dart in the slit and backed up, pushing Tim with you. Soon enough, it went off and the weapon went up in smoke.

“Phew, that was close” He blinked. “Well played”

“Motherfucking Dark Fox!” Jason dropped from the platform at his turn. His helmet was off and he had a wide grin on his face. “That’s what I call making a difference! The League could never”

“That was really cool” He nodded in approval. “By the way, what happened to, you know..?”

“Did you do it?” Jason’s eyes were now on you, his grin not so intense now.

“He’s gone” You said, but it didn’t help ease the questions in their eyes. “As in, I don’t know where he is. I let him flee to come here instead”

Jason’s eyes widened. “And you’re fine with this?”

You shrugged. “It doesn’t matter to me anymore. His time will come, like everyone else. I just won’t be involved when it does”

“That was unexpected” He whistled. “But hey, what goes for you goes for me. Love the new mentality”

“Killing him was what the League would have wanted”

“That’s nice. Good choice” Tim nodded. “So you’ll stay here then?”

“Well, not here, since bats and foxes apparently don’t get along” You snorted as you unclasped your mask and pulled back your hood. “But I’ll be around”

“About that, how does Blüdhaven sounds?” Jason chimed in again, sliding a hand around your shoulder. You raised your eyebrows at him “I’ve got a pretty nice place there, and it’s technically not Gotham”

“That won’t be necessary” A deep voice came from behind you. You glanced over your shoulder where the massive shadow of Batman stood. “I’ve seen you work tonight. You acted good, I can allow you to stay in Gotham as the Dark Fox”

Jason coughed in surprise as you blinked, then turned around.

“Thank you” You began, nodding respectfully. Jason’s wide glance was now directed to you. “But no thanks. Besides, I still don’t need your blessing to stay, or to be me”

Bruce stared at you blankly, not moving or commenting. Your guess was that he wasn’t expecting this answer, or at least not delivered this way.

“Oh, B” Jason mocked as he put back his helmet. “Nice try. Anyway, we should get out of here before the cops show up”

You put back up your mask and hood and followed Jason out, waving at Tim on your way out. You left the aqueduct and waited until you were further into the city before ditching the bike and finding a rooftop to station yourself on, just in case you were being followed. The masks and helmets came off once again, and you took a moment to breathe the air from up there. It was a clear night, with a good wind chasing the clouds away. Jason observed the city lights with you, crouched on the ledge. Then, you heard quiet shuffling behind you. You spun around, then held Jason back when he was about to lunge. You kept your eyes on the outline of the figure in the shadows, knowing all too well who it belonged to. You took a few steps forward.

“You look different” Talia smiled. “A good different. I’m glad you finally found yourself”

“Thank you” You lowered your head. “For allowing me”

“I only want the best for you” She stepped closer to you, her smile never wavering. “Has he taken good care of you?”

You both glanced at Jason for a moment, and you chuckled. “He has. He was gentler than I’ve been to him”

“I figured he would” She winked. “You two were meant to be”

Your smile dropped as you looked down. Surely, she would know what it meant. Her sympathetic eyes fell on you and her hand rested on your shoulder. You had chosen to part with the League, therefore, with her. It would be the hardest part for you.

“You don’t have to explain” She reassured. “I knew this would come to this, and I am here to free you”

Your eyes shot up.

“I talked with my father” She explained. “Seeing your unwavering service for all these years, he has agreed to relieve you from your duties to the League. All he asks in exchange is for you to remain out of the League’s affairs, and he gave his word he will not come against you or your family”

“Really?” Your voice was barely above a whisper.

Her smile was encouraging as she nodded at you. Slowly, you took off the black robe, exposing the silver fox on your back. Then you took out your sword from the sheath in your hands, kneeled and offered it to her. She took it and held it upright in front of you, just like the day you had been initiated in the League.

“In the name of Ra’s al Ghul, I release Thaelib fi alzalam from her servitude to the League of Assassins” She spoke. “Your debt has been paid and your bounds are no more. Rise”

You got back on your feet, your breathing hitching in your throat. You reached for your sword in her extended arm, looked down at it and putting it away again.

“Thank you”

“You’re very welcome” Her hand went to your cheek. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I will be there for you”

“And I for you” You gave her a genuine smile. She offered her arm, and you took it at the elbow like she did. Your foreheads touched for a few seconds before you pulled away with a step back.

“It was nice to see you again, Jason”

“You too, Talia” He nodded with a small curve on the corner of his lips.

“Take care, children” She said before disappearing in the darkness again.

Jason approached you and took your hand, gently pulling your around to face him. He had this glint in his eyes, it was full of relief and happiness like you had never seen on him. To be honest, you were feeling the same way. It was like a burden had been lifted off of your shoulders, and you had never felt lighter. Sure, it brought you uncertainty to navigate without the League’s guiding hand, one you had relied on for most of your life, but it felt right. You knew Jason would help you like you had helped him, and things would start to look up from now.

“So, what now?”

“I don’t know” You chuckled. “It’s the first time I don’t need to follow any agenda. I’m kind of lost”

“Ah, this calls for the return of Teacher Todd” He grinned. “Lesson number two, you get to learn what fun and freedom taste like”

----

The grass was high as your mid thigh and small bugs swarmed up with every step forward you took. You didn’t mind though, you prefered it ten folds to the smog of Gotham.

For Jason, however, it was a different story.

He was sweating and grunting, and even if he was behind you, you knew he was getting annoyed by the flies and mosquitoes around. He was swatting his hand wildly and you could tell he was slightly regretting sharing his suggestion to you. The sun was high, and even for the end of the summer it was surprisingly hot.

“Ugghhh”

You rolled your eyes, but didn’t stop.

“Are we there soon?” He asked. “Jeez I had forgotten how far was that thing”

“Come on, stop lying to yourself” You teased as you spotted a familiar path up a small hill. “You like this”

He scoffed. “It reminds me of my ass being kicked”

“As I said” You smirked over your shoulder, and he raised his eyebrows at you.

You climbed up the small hill and came face to face with a small, half decaying structure with the roof caved in by the elements. Moss and grass was growing on the outside of the round walls, but the feeling of home you had subconsciously associated with it was very much intact. Jason stopped behind you, his annoyance completely gone and replaced by fondness over the sight in front of him. There were so many memories tied to the small hut, some bad but mostly good, and it was like you could feel them all at once. You dropped your bag on the ground and took a deep breath.

“So, was the trek up here worth it?”

“Fuck yes” He sighed in amazement, his eyes never leaving the hut. “I missed this place so much”

“Even if we had to work hard for survival?”

“Being here alone with you far outweighed any inconvenience this place brings” He stepped closer to you, his arm wrapping around your waist. Who would have ever thought? His nose nuzzled on your neck and your relaxed in his arms. “We’ll still have to do a bit of renovation around though”

“I hope you’ll help me this time” You looked up at him innocently. Last time you had built the hut alone before Talia had brought Jason, and even if he had been there, you would have absolutely not trusted him to help you with anything

“But you’re so hot when you work” He pouted. “I wanna watch and enjoy the view”

“And how would you make up all that work to me?” You asked, then you felt him smile on your skin. A smile full of mischief and promises.

“Oh, I have plenty of ideas”

“Oh me too” You grinned, stepping out of his arms, then you winked at him and disappeared in the hut. Only one hammock was still up, the other had fallen on the ground due to broken ropes. Stones of the small fireplaces were kicked in and weeds were growing around. The kitchen supplies were scattered around the makeshift shelf, but otherwise the place seemed to have been left untouched by human activity. Jason followed suit and took in the damages.

“Do you think we can still both get onto this hammock without the ropes breaking?” He asked, side glancing at you. You rubbed your chin in wonder, then hummed.

“There is only one way to know for sure” You tilted your head to the side. You nodded at each other and he walked around you, with you in tow. He carefully lowered himself first, then opened his arms for you. You joined him, and waited for a few second to test the resistance of the ropes. You heard them creaking and straining, but you were still hanging. You relaxed, and barely a second after, the ropes snapped.

In a blink, you were on the ground, and both of your weights made the wood give in. You ended up in the dirt, directly on the forest floor. yOu remained in silence for a moment blinking at each other.

“Well” You sighed. “The hammock could not support us both”

“Alright, there is a lot to do” He conceded. “How about you fix this baby, and I’ll gather the wood for the fire, hunt dinner and get the herbs for tea?”

“That’s more like it” You said as you stood up and dusted off your pants. You offered a hand to Jason and you pulled him up with you. “Do you remember where are the bows and arrows?”

“In the bark of the oak facing the boulder, yeah”

“Good” You chuckled. “I wasn’t sure you’d get it right”

“Come on” He groaned playfully. “I was quite a good student”

“Oh not at all” You laughed, taking a step in his personal space and looking up at him. “The worst, actually. You’re lucky you learned fast, or we’d still be there”

“Then I should have dragged my training on purpose” His lips hovered above yours. “You’d still be my incredibly unforgiving yet very hot teacher, and I your wild, stubborn and irresistible student”

“Hmm, does another sword in your shoulder sound good?”

“Only if I get to face you hand to hand”

“You’ve got yourself a deal” You whispered, before backing away abruptly. He blinked in confusion. “But it’ll have to wait. It’s almost sundown and we need to be installed by then. So get your sweet ass out there and stop distracting me here”

He sighed. “Why do I like it so much when you order me around?”

“I have no idea” You tapped his chest. “But the quicker we prepare everything, the sooner we can go to the lake for a swim under the stars”

He perked up at that, and with wide, excited eyes, he shot out of the hut faster than you could register. You chuckled and leaned on the threshold, lazily crossing your arms against your chest and taking a deep breath. You stared outside for a moment, enjoying the breeze and the sound of nature surrounding you. It was peaceful and beautiful, taking it in fully.

Then, you got to work.

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