#CONTINUED. ( laurel isley. )

[mysticandskepticmuses]

@magicandsciencemuses​ / continued from [X]

       Glee, manic and bright, burned in the Sith’s gaze as she studied the man, bound and helpless, made to seem all the more so by the towering, powerful figure of Kylo Ren -- her fingers itched to trace the line of his shoulder and back as he drove the tool in between flesh and blood, but she refrained... for the moment, at least.  He had a task to perform, and it was only a matter of time before the sounds of pain that spilled from the rebel scum turned into words, spilling the information that would betray his brethren to make the agony cease.  Sweet, beautiful moments.  She could feel his pain, and it was sweet, like sugar, on her tongue.   “Resist, if you desire --”  Her words purred, dripping saccharine sweet from her lips, painted blood red and curling into a languid smile, a trail of a finger tracing through the blood that pooled and dripped from the pilot’s palm, thumb and finger pinching against the wound.   “You’ll only prolong your suffering -- which serves no one but ... well.  Me,” she admitted, thumb drawn up to her lips to lap the blood from pale ivory skin, her gaze turning up then towards the gaze hidden behind the mask.   “Us,” she amended, with a soft, pleased sigh. 

[takaraphoenix]

Welcome to Earth-304d

A couple days ago, I made a post declaring I want to write more for DC and that I want to dive into the deep end; including the creation of my own Earth. My own continuity. Now that I have ironed out what I want from my Earth, I figured I'd make a bit of an... introductory post to show what you can expect from my continuity.

First of all, its name. Because I feel quite proud of that. My Earth is going to be Earth-340d, because that's my name on its head. Phoe's Earth, Earth-304d.

Now, what you can expect from this Earth. Or rather, what you can't. This is going to be a shared universe where I will write many fics for, but it is not going to only follow one hero, or one team. I really do want to explore the ripple effect of an actual shared universe and how different heroes come into it and come together and how different the team constellations are going to be. So there will be, say, a standalone story about Superman and a standalone story about Laurel Lance and they will be set in the same universe, may even share overlapping elements/characters and both characters will appear together in a crossover teamup story.

Unlike my usual fics, these stories will not be primarily driven by ships; there absolutely will be ships and shipping in it and in some instances, they will be central in the story, but overall this is going to be more character driven and driven by platonic relationships, especially the found family team dynamics. Because it's one thing that always makes me sad about the majority of superhero adaptation (not just DC); we get these teams and they rarely ever get to actually be the found family they could be.

Still, since I am a big shipper, let's open this more concrete part up with a list of the "main" pairings - the ships that involve the main characters of my continuity:

Kate Kane/Kara Danvers

Clark Kent/Diana Prince

Arthur Curry/Laurel Lance & Laurel Lance/Dinah Drake (at first alternating, but ultimately in a polyamorous arrangement; Laurel has two hands; one for her lesbian wife and one for her himbo husband)

Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak & Nyssa al Ghul/Felicity Smoak (Felicity, too, has two hands)

Bruce Wayne/Selina Kyle

Mick Rory/Leonard Snart/Barry Allen

Harley Quinn/Pamela Isley

Killer Frost/Caitlin Snow

Cisco Ramon/Lisa Snart

Roy Harper/Dick Grayson

Koriand'r/Donna Troy

Wally West/Jesse Wells

I am going off the Arrowverse as the main template; for Flash, Green Arrow, Supergirl and Batwoman (season 1), though with major changes within the continuity of those shows too; most prominently that the Justice League will form far before any of those become heroes; a team they will join when hey become heroes, but a team that has already existed by the time those four become heroes.

Which brings me to the next part I wanted to give a preview of; the team line-ups and what teams I will be focusing on in this universe, beyond the above mentioned and listed single heroes.

Justice League of America (founding members):

Bruce Wayne/Batman

Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning

Clark Kent/Superman

Arthur Curry/Aquaman

Diana Prince/Wonder Woman

J'onn J'onzz/Martian Manhunter

Zatanna Zatara

Which, Oliver, Barry, Kara and Kate are naturally going to join after they became the heroes they are too. Same goes for John Diggle, once he becomes Green Lantern.

Birds of Prey:

Barbara Gordon/Oracle

Sara Lance/White Canary

Laurel Lance/Black Siren

Dinah Drake/Black Canary

Nyssa al Ghul

Selina Kyle/Catwoman

Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy

Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn

Killer Frost

Lisa Snart/Golden Glider

One of the major differences between my universe and the Arrowverse (aside from, you know, Wonder Woman and Aquaman) is that there are no Legends of Tomorrow. There just... aren't. Snart and Rory are back in Central City - and Sara Lance meets some interesting people in Gotham City to form the Birds of Prey with. I also am deeply in love with the Dinah-Laurel dynamic, so I am keeping those, but will make Laurel Black Siren from the get-go here; none of that "she dies and we bring in a villain version of her but also we introduce Dinah" nonsense. Let's make the Canary-situation a bit more reasonable. I'm also going with my "Caitlin Snow and Killer Frost get to split bodies" headcanon for this and giving Frost her own thing.

(Basically, the pitch is "Barbara Gordon finds new purpose after quitting Batgirl by gathering and reforming former villains with her Canary friends".)

And, as much fun as I am going to have with the "older" generation, I do very much also want to dive into the "sidekicks", the younger heroes. So there is going to be a Teen Titans and a Young Justice team. Or rather, there are going to be Teen Titans and as that lineup fills with younger new recruits over the course, the older, founding members graduate on to form their own, older team. So, here the founding members (though, as with the Justice League, there are Flash/Arrow/Batwoman characters who will join later on).

Original Teen Titans/Young Justice:

Dick Grayson/Nightwing

Donna Troy/Wonder Girl

Conner Kent/Superboy

Luke Fox/Batwing

Kaldur'ahm/Aqualad

Victor Stone/Cyborg

Koriand'r/Starfire

M'gann M'orzz/Miss Martian

So, that's kind of the skeleton of it all. I want to tell my version of some of the characters' origin stories - which, especially with characters such as Diana, Arthur and Clark, who haven't HAD that in the Arrowverse, is going to be so much fun. There will also be twisted versions for the characters who have shows; versions that fit into this new, bigger universe, a universe where they will not be the first heroes.

And I especially want to explore platonic dynamics - John Diggle is the step-brother of Lynn Stewart; I want to see him be Anissa and Jennifer's favorite uncle, I want to explore the dynamics between Donna and Diana, as well as Clark and Conner, let Kara interact with other alien girls her age like Kory and M'gann, dive into the friendship between Kate Kane and Harley and Ivy that I have made up in my head last year. There's a lot I want to explore.

I hope some of you want to explore it with me; the first story in this universe is going to be published on April 7th - Wonder Woman & Aquaman: Of Two Worlds. The origin story of how Diana first came to man's world and an exploration of Arthur and Diana's relationship, based off a seven year old smartass who concluded that he is a descendant of Poseidon and she is a descendant of Zeus, which absolutely makes them cousins.

[raywritesthings]

Ship Meme

I was tagged by both @ciceroisthefamilycat and @the-white-w0lf, so thank you both!

1. favorite ship

Can’t do it, how dare you? Instead, I think I will summarize at the end of this list what I think my favorite ships all tend to contain.

2. first ship: (Mary Poppins and Bert, Mary Poppins)

These two were OTP before child me even knew what an OTP was. The only bit I liked from the stage musical more than the movie was them kissing each other on the cheek.

3. first ship you were crazy for: (The Doctor and River Song, Doctor Who)

Oh man, can I just sit there for hours thinking about these two. Doctor/River was probably the first time I got into writing fanfiction specifically for the ship as opposed to just playing around with the characters for fun (it’s all on a very old FFN account - no, I’m not sharing the penname). There’s just so many layers to their dynamic and a crazy amount of chemistry to carry it off. The only reason I don’t still write as much for them as I used to is just because I wrote so much I’d need to come up with new ideas; but every so often, I still do.

4. newest ship favorite queer-platonic ship: The Doctor and his Ponds (The Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams, Doctor Who)

I haven’t been watching much lately, so I don’t really have any new ships at the moment and thought I’d highlight a dynamic that goes through a lot of different stages and results in so much depth and so much unsaid. The development of Amy and Rory’s characters and how their relationship plus their relationships with the Doctor and their growth into a three-person unit is endlessly fascinating to me (and I used to write a lot of fics about it, too). Not once did any character have to refer to the other two as a “fam” in order for us to get that they are family in every sense, and not just through marriage (as funny as that is). It’s a totally different dynamic than any the Doctor has really had with a set of companions, and I don’t think we’ll ever really get it again. And I’m okay with that. They are unique in the universe.

5. ship you like but no one else does: Karolsen (Kara Danvers and James Olsen, Supergirl)

Sue me, I thought they were cute in the first and only season I watched, and a big factor in my decision to not continue watching the show was hearing they retconned Kara’s feelings for James and broke them up before they even got to have a date (and then got her together with a white guy who owned slaves on his old planet but if I think about that for too long that’s not gonna be great for my blood pressure). The least the writers could have done was try out writing them as a couple since they spent a whole season building up to it.

6. ship you wish was endgame: Lauriver (Dinah Laurel Lance/Black Canary and Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, Arrow)

Anyone that reads my fics or my various Arrow ask game posts knows how much I hate what was done to these two. And frankly, by abandoning this relationship, the writers ended up completely sabotaging their protagonist’s hero’s journey to the point where he’s largely regarded as the biggest jerk in the Arrowverse, not to mention the heaps of disrespect they shoved onto one of DC’s most beloved heroines, and for what? Steadily falling ratings and a reputation of what not to do when making an adaptation. Should’ve just delivered on what you promised.

7. ship you wish had more screen/page time

As much as I believe Ginny needed to have a life separate from Harry for most of the books in order to disprove the “obsessed fangirl” argument people make about her, I still can’t help but feel like she would have been an invaluable asset in the Horcrux Hunt (plus she deserved to destroy one after the Hell she went through as a girl thanks to one). I hope blvnk doesn’t mind but tbh it’s her versions of the characters I picture more than the movies these days.

8. ship you wish has more screentime: HarleyIvy (Harleen “Harley Quinn” Quinzel and Pamela “Poison Ivy” Isley, Harley Quinn)

Now that these two finally confessed their feelings for each other in the season 2 finale, it’d be nice to see them navigate being an actual couple in season 3, whenever that may drop.

9. ship you wish was canon: (The Doctor and Donna Noble, Doctor Who)

It is bizarre how perfect these two are for each other, and yet... On one hand, I get that Donna was meant to be something different after two successive companions had crushes on the Doctor. But damn, if RTD didn’t accidentally just end up showing off how much deeper and truer the love between these two was than the infatuations or puppy love that came before. Doctor Who isn’t really a show designed to have a permanent canon couple, but I sure wish these two had had a chance to be for a little while at least.

10. ship you want to be believe was canon: Piercintyre (Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce and “Trapper” John McIntyre, M*A*S*H)

This show was made in the 70s and set during the 50s, so obviously any kind of confirmation of non-platonic bonds between same-sex characters was going to be a no-no. But c’mon.

So, to get back to question 1, overall I think my ship preferences tend to involve friends (oftentimes best friends) whose relationships grow from the platonic to the romantic (or sometimes even the reverse). Even when there isn’t necessarily a deep foundation/past to the characters, there has to be common, shared interests or goals beyond thinking the other character is hot. A lot of times these ships end up having different stages or layers and even sometimes complications to them, but when the chips are down they’re there for each other (unless the writers force them to make some ridiculous OOC decision to keep their idea of a plot going, but I digress...)

I tag @colorofmymindposts​ @basmathgirl​ @1-of-those-things​ and anyone else interested in doing this.

[ao3feed-oliverfelicity]

There One Day, Gone The Next

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2JiZ1HD

by MarvelledVevo

"You're telling us that kid, that kid in there, is our child? You really don't expect us to believe you? Come on don't make me laugh!"

"This is just ludicrous and a waste of our time. I'm leaving."

"Wait, I have the proof…"

Or

Despite being the city rife with corruption and crime, Gotham City would always mean much more to Peter Parker. No matter how much it took or continued to take away from the young genius, Gotham would always be home... or the place that took everything and everyone away from him … or so he thought.

Words: 4728, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Arrow (TV 2012), Gotham (TV), DC Extended Universe, Justice League - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Suicide Squad (2016), DCU

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M

Characters: Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen, Roy Harper, Dick Grayson, Thea Queen, Felicity Smoak, Selina Kyle, Alfred Pennyworth, Jim Gordon, Harvey Bullock, Billy Batson, Garfield Logan, Victor Stone, Koriand'r (DCU), Raven (DCU), Barbara Kean, Tabitha Galavan, Harleen Quinzel, Renee Montoya, Helena Bertinelli, Zatanna Zatara, Diana (Wonder Woman), Laurel Lance, Clark Kent, Kara Zor-El, Barry Allen, Kate Kane, Arthur Curry (DCU), Mera (DCU), Hal Jordan, Rick Flag, Floyd Lawton, George "Digger" Harkness, Tatsu Yamashiro, Waylon Jones, Pamela Isley, Chato Santana

Relationships: Peter Parker & Everyone, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak

Additional Tags: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Loss, Protective Oliver Queen, Protective Bruce Wayne, Big Brother Dick Grayson, Protective Thea Queen, Family Dynamics, Brotherly Bonding, Team Dynamics, Dysfunctional Family, Precious Peter Parker, Hurt Peter Parker, Sad Peter Parker, Superfamily (DCU), Anxiety, Teen Angst, Muteness, Self-Hatred, LGBTQ Character

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2JiZ1HD

[lydiasmartin]

first of all i just wanted to say that you're super cute and i really love your blog ♥ i also have a little question: how did you get into dc/marvel comics? i want to start reading them, but i just don't know where to start and i hoped that maybe you could help me a little? (sorry for my english)

Hi lovely, i’m sorry for the late reply! Here are some things I thought were useful, although I am not an expert so if there is anything missing or wrong, anyone can add on to this or message me :) When it comes to actual comic books, I know a whole lot more about DC than I do Marvel.

DC COMICS

The hardest part about reading comics is probably the starting part, because it can be an indecisive process, especially when you don’t know any characters or story lines. I suggest starting with the Rebirth series, which is pretty much a refocusing of everything in the DC Universe, because it is began in mid-2016 and is currently being released, so it will be much easier to jump into! If not there is also the New 52 series, which is the relaunch they had in 2011, prior to Rebirth. Also, some of the Pre New 52 comics are really good too like Green Arrow and Black Canary and of course your Batman and Detective Comics etc.

WHERE TO START:

Start By Finding A Character You Like

This is probably the easiest way to get started, at least it was for me. Before even reading a comic I loved Harley Quinn, so when i decided to start reading the comics, I chose to follow her story line first. I found out that her first appearance in The New 52 was in issue #1 of the Suicide Squad comic, so I started there.

EXPLORE CHARACTERS (AND THEIR FIRST APPEARANCES):

EXPLORE CHARACTERS IN A COMPACT A-Z FACT BOOK:

Starting At Issue #1?

Whilst starting at issue #1 in whatever series you choose can be beneficial in that you won’t have much missing information, it isn’t 100% necessary. With comics, you can start with any issue, and eventually after reading a few, you will get the hang of deciphering which unknown information was in previous issues (which i always just research on wikipedia if necessary) and which information will be given to you in future issues.

HOWEVER

with DC Rebirth, start with DC Rebirth #1 (http://www.dccomics.com/comics/dc-universe-rebirth-2016/dc-universe-rebirth-1) and then you should start with the Rebirth #1 comic for each title (e.g. Flash Rebirth 1) before starting with the actual #1 of the title (e.g. The Flash #1).

with the New 52, you can start with the Flashpoint (http://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/flashpoint) comics, which explains how the New 52 timeline reset came to be.

Chronological Order

If you are really committed, and want to read an entire comic launch (e.g. the New 52, Rebirth) in order of when they were published, you can use this handy webpage, which lists all the DC issues that were released each week (start at 08/31/2011 for New 52 and 05/25/2016 for Rebirth).

NEW 52 LINKS:

RUNDOWN OF DC COMICS

FLASHPOINT EXPLAINED

KNOW YOUR UNIVERSE: THE NEW 52

JUSTICE LEAGUE EXPLAINED

MAP OF THE MULTIVERSE

MULTIVERSE EXPLAINED

ANOTHER NEW 52 READING ORDER

WHAT THE NEW 52 GOT RIGHT AND WHAT THEY GOT WRONG

10 BEST NEW 52 COMIC TITLES

REBIRTH LINKS:

RUNDOWN OF DC COMICS

WHAT IS REBIRTH: VIDEO

TOP 10 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE READING REBIRTH: VIDEO

DC REBIRTH BASICS

HOW TO READ DC REBIRTH

THE COMPLETE REBIRTH STORY TOLD IN 9 MINUTES: VIDEO

DC REBIRTH EXPLAINED: VIDEO

TOP 15 BEST REBIRTH TITLES

MY RECOMMENDED CHARACTERS:

Harley Quinn (Harleen Quinzel)

A former psychiatrist turned mentally insane supervillain. Harley Quinn has some of the best character depth in the DC Universe, as a survivor of great physical and mental abuse by her “lover”, the Joker. With Harley, you’ll get great action/fighting, amazing humour and even better character development. She is also one of the canonically LGBT+ comic characters, with a fluid sexuality  (unknown as strictly bi, pan etc.) and polyamorous tendencies, as represented by her relationships with Poison Ivy and Mason. She is an unconventional symbol of hope, as she undergoes a great journey of self-discovery and independence, whilst continuing to demonstrate homicidal and psychotic behaviour.

Primarily Featured in ‘Suicide Squad’ and ‘Harley Quinn’ comics

For your life to be changed, read up on the Harley and Poison Ivy romance here.

HARLEY QUINN: PSYCHOLOGY, DOMESTIC ABUSE AND CHARACTER GROWTH

Black Canary (Dinah Laurel Lance) & Green Arrow (Oliver Queen)

So I put these two together because there are things I want to say about them as a pairing, as well as individually. Dinah and Oliver as a pairing (known as Green Canary) are without a doubt one of the greatest comic romantic pairings. Individually and as a couple, they are definitely near the top of my favourites list (and by that I mean they are literally in second place after Harley and Ivy). However to shit on my life, in the New 52, the Green Arrow storyline follows more closely to the likes of the TV Show Arrow, in which Ollie and Dinah no longer have a romantic history (what the fuck), and instead Oliver is involved in a team up with characters John Diggle and Felicity Smoak (who is sorta the replacement Oracle… which we’ll discuss in a second). Being completely biased here, i’ll say that the biggest mistake of the New 52 was not continuing the romance between Dinah and Ollie, as well as the friendship between Oliver and Hal Jordan (Green Lantern). LUCKILY, in DC Rebirth’s ‘Green Arrow’, Green Canary is back, with a reset of the timeline bringing us a completely fresh “first meeting” of Dinah and Ollie, and a whole lot of future potential.

Read about Dinah

Read about Oliver

Other awesome characters include Barbara Gordon (Batgirl), Diana Prince (Wonder Woman), Tatsu Yamashiro (Katana), Helena Bertinella (Huntress), Pamela Isley (Poison Ivy), Dick Grayson (Nightwing)

MARVEL COMICS

WHERE TO START READING MARVEL COMICS: VIDEO

MARVEL COMICS TO START WITH

MARVEL COMICS READING ORDER

MARVEL COMICS READING ORDER 2

CHRONOLOGICAL PUBLICATION ORDER OF MARVEL COMICS

13 MARVEL COMICS YOU SHOULD READ

10 BEST MARVEL STORYLINES

BEST MARVEL COMICS OF ALL TIME

MY RECOMMENDED SERIES:

Civil War

The Amazing Spiderman

Black Widow

Winter Soldier & Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain Marvel

Captain America

Young Avengers

Avengers

X-Men: Days of Future Past

I really didn’t lie when I said I didn’t know much about Marvel comic books. If anyone wants to add with some Marvel tips, you may! 

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

There One Day, Gone The Next

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2JiZ1HD

by MarvelledVevo

"You're telling us that kid, that kid in there, is our child? You really don't expect us to believe you? Come on don't make me laugh!"

"This is just ludicrous and a waste of our time. I'm leaving."

"Wait, I have the proof…"

Or

Despite being the city rife with corruption and crime, Gotham City would always mean much more to Peter Parker. No matter how much it took or continued to take away from the young genius, Gotham would always be home... or the place that took everything and everyone away from him … or so he thought.

Words: 4728, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Arrow (TV 2012), Gotham (TV), DC Extended Universe, Justice League - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Suicide Squad (2016), DCU

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M

Characters: Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen, Roy Harper, Dick Grayson, Thea Queen, Felicity Smoak, Selina Kyle, Alfred Pennyworth, Jim Gordon, Harvey Bullock, Billy Batson, Garfield Logan, Victor Stone, Koriand'r (DCU), Raven (DCU), Barbara Kean, Tabitha Galavan, Harleen Quinzel, Renee Montoya, Helena Bertinelli, Zatanna Zatara, Diana (Wonder Woman), Laurel Lance, Clark Kent, Kara Zor-El, Barry Allen, Kate Kane, Arthur Curry (DCU), Mera (DCU), Hal Jordan, Rick Flag, Floyd Lawton, George "Digger" Harkness, Tatsu Yamashiro, Waylon Jones, Pamela Isley, Chato Santana

Relationships: Peter Parker & Everyone, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak

Additional Tags: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Loss, Protective Oliver Queen, Protective Bruce Wayne, Big Brother Dick Grayson, Protective Thea Queen, Family Dynamics, Brotherly Bonding, Team Dynamics, Dysfunctional Family, Precious Peter Parker, Hurt Peter Parker, Sad Peter Parker, Superfamily (DCU), Anxiety, Teen Angst, Muteness, Self-Hatred, LGBTQ Character

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2JiZ1HD

[ao3feed-mcufemslash]

There One Day, Gone The Next

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2JiZ1HD

by MarvelledVevo

"You're telling us that kid, that kid in there, is our child? You really don't expect us to believe you? Come on don't make me laugh!"

"This is just ludicrous and a waste of our time. I'm leaving."

"Wait, I have the proof…"

Or

Despite being the city rife with corruption and crime, Gotham City would always mean much more to Peter Parker. No matter how much it took or continued to take away from the young genius, Gotham would always be home... or the place that took everything and everyone away from him … or so he thought.

Words: 4728, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Arrow (TV 2012), Gotham (TV), DC Extended Universe, Justice League - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Suicide Squad (2016), DCU

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M

Characters: Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen, Roy Harper, Dick Grayson, Thea Queen, Felicity Smoak, Selina Kyle, Alfred Pennyworth, Jim Gordon, Harvey Bullock, Billy Batson, Garfield Logan, Victor Stone, Koriand'r (DCU), Raven (DCU), Barbara Kean, Tabitha Galavan, Harleen Quinzel, Renee Montoya, Helena Bertinelli, Zatanna Zatara, Diana (Wonder Woman), Laurel Lance, Clark Kent, Kara Zor-El, Barry Allen, Kate Kane, Arthur Curry (DCU), Mera (DCU), Hal Jordan, Rick Flag, Floyd Lawton, George "Digger" Harkness, Tatsu Yamashiro, Waylon Jones, Pamela Isley, Chato Santana

Relationships: Peter Parker & Everyone, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak

Additional Tags: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Loss, Protective Oliver Queen, Protective Bruce Wayne, Big Brother Dick Grayson, Protective Thea Queen, Family Dynamics, Brotherly Bonding, Team Dynamics, Dysfunctional Family, Precious Peter Parker, Hurt Peter Parker, Sad Peter Parker, Superfamily (DCU), Anxiety, Teen Angst, Muteness, Self-Hatred, LGBTQ Character

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2JiZ1HD

[ao3feed-peterparker]

There One Day, Gone The Next

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2JiZ1HD

by MarvelledVevo

"You're telling us that kid, that kid in there, is our child? You really don't expect us to believe you? Come on don't make me laugh!"

"This is just ludicrous and a waste of our time. I'm leaving."

"Wait, I have the proof…"

Or

Despite being the city rife with corruption and crime, Gotham City would always mean much more to Peter Parker. No matter how much it took or continued to take away from the young genius, Gotham would always be home... or the place that took everything and everyone away from him … or so he thought.

Words: 4728, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Arrow (TV 2012), Gotham (TV), DC Extended Universe, Justice League - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Suicide Squad (2016), DCU

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M

Characters: Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen, Roy Harper, Dick Grayson, Thea Queen, Felicity Smoak, Selina Kyle, Alfred Pennyworth, Jim Gordon, Harvey Bullock, Billy Batson, Garfield Logan, Victor Stone, Koriand'r (DCU), Raven (DCU), Barbara Kean, Tabitha Galavan, Harleen Quinzel, Renee Montoya, Helena Bertinelli, Zatanna Zatara, Diana (Wonder Woman), Laurel Lance, Clark Kent, Kara Zor-El, Barry Allen, Kate Kane, Arthur Curry (DCU), Mera (DCU), Hal Jordan, Rick Flag, Floyd Lawton, George "Digger" Harkness, Tatsu Yamashiro, Waylon Jones, Pamela Isley, Chato Santana

Relationships: Peter Parker & Everyone, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak

Additional Tags: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Loss, Protective Oliver Queen, Protective Bruce Wayne, Big Brother Dick Grayson, Protective Thea Queen, Family Dynamics, Brotherly Bonding, Team Dynamics, Dysfunctional Family, Precious Peter Parker, Hurt Peter Parker, Sad Peter Parker, Superfamily (DCU), Anxiety, Teen Angst, Muteness, Self-Hatred, LGBTQ Character

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2JiZ1HD

[raywritesthings]

What Have They Lost? 3/?

My Writing Fandom: Arrow, The Flash Characters: Laurel Lance, Oliver Queen, Connor Hawke, Ted Grant, Barry Allen, Iris West, Barbara Gordon, Wally West, Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Joe West Pairings: Barry Allen/Iris West, Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen, Pamela Isley/Harleen Quinzel Summary: “I can definitely tell you that there’s a way we’re going to bring [Laurel] back and she’s going to be alive and well. And Flashpoint might have a little bit to do with that.“ -Wendy Mericle AKA: The AU where that wasn’t a blatant lie, and Flashpoint has bigger repercussions for Barry’s friends and allies than he first realized. Notes: Much thanks to @colorofmymindposts for beta-ing as well as to the Lauriver discord server for helping with world-building and character histories. Anyone interested in joining the server should follow this link: https://discord.gg/gp9ANVr  *Also can be read on my AO3*

He hadn’t meant to fall asleep. Damn age getting to him.

As it was, Ted woke on his couch to the sound of a key trying to find the lock and muttered curses. He got to his feet just as Dinah pushed through the door and slammed it behind her, glancing back through the window.

“Alright, we expecting company?”

She looked at him. “Ted, it happened again.”

He sighed. “Okay.”

“I don’t know what it is,” she burst out. “I mean I do, but — I mean, why me, right? Babs is fine, Helena’s fine, and Pam—” she drew up short. “Well, nobody’s really sure what’s wrong with her. But at least it’s consistent.”

“Not getting worse?”

Dinah chewed her lip. “Harley says they’ve had to up her dosage again, or that rash keeps coming back. If that stupid explosion hadn’t knocked her back into that ivy…”

“Or hit you when you were holding the mic?”

“Yeah.” Dinah looked down and sighed. “I just need to, I don’t know, take a breather or something.”

“Stuff’s in your room.”

“Thanks, Ted.” She touched his shoulder distractedly as she made her way down the hall into the spare room she used whenever they stopped here. A few minutes later, he could hear sounds of a familiar melody on the guitar. Ted shook his head.

It wasn’t any wonder she’d gotten worked up and that this whatever-it-was had activated again. Dealing with that washed up excuse for a father, being back here…

He found his phone on the coffee table and went through the recent contacts. His call was picked up after a single ring.

“Hey, Ted.”

“Barbara. You got any time?”

“Yeah. Dad’s got another night shift. He won’t be back for hours.” He could hear fingers clacking away at a computer’s keys rather than a keyboard’s. “What’s up?”

“Dinah’s had another accident. She’s a bit shaken up.”

“Put her on. I’m switching over to video.”

Ted went down the hall and knocked on the door. It wasn’t completely shut, so it swung in a few inches.

“I tried to look for you in the dark water, but I got lost along the way,” Dinah was half-singing, half-saying under her breath. She really wasn’t giving that one up, was she?

“Hey, it’s Barbara.”

Dinah smiled up at him and set the guitar aside. “Thanks, Ted.”

She took the phone and set it up so she and Barbara could each see each other’s faces.

“So what happened?” Barbara never was one to mince words. Probably got it from the old commissioner.

“There were some creeps trying to force a woman into having their sick idea of fun. I didn’t like the look of it, so I said something.”

“And then screamed something, huh?”

“He was running at me. It was, I don’t know, instinct. Something like that.” Dinah dragged a hand back through her hair. “I thought for a second somebody else saw — but nobody was there. I must be getting paranoid.”

“Well, we do need to talk about what to do going forward, Dinah. This clearly isn’t something you can ignore or force to stop happening.”

“I know. But what do you want me to do, announce to the world I’m a metahuman? The Flash would just zip up onto the stage and have me in handcuffs,” Dinah remarked, the humor in her tone only barely masking contempt.

“Who says you have to tell people you’re the metahuman?” Ted asked. Dinah turned towards him and it was clear that Barbara was listening as well. “Nobody knows who the Flash is. That’s why he isn’t in prison.”

Dinah looked back at the phone screen. “What do you think, Babs? You’re the masked crusader expert.”

“Don’t remind me,” Barbara replied with a grimace. “But I do think you need to find a way to separate your identity from the woman who can knock down walls with her voice. If only so the latter can do some good.”

Dinah stood, her arms crossing over her chest. “You sound like dad. He was just reminding me tonight how I used to want to do something for the world with my life.”

“Well, don’t you?”

Ted held his breath, watching and waiting.

“I can barely do enough for myself,” Dinah said. “I’m not some hero, Babs, or even a guy in a bat suit with an ax to grind. I just got dealt a bad hand.”

“And why let that stop you?” Ted asked. “You climbed out of poverty with your music, Dinah. You got yourself out of the foster care system. You’d be free of the abuse if you’d cut the old man off.”

She scoffed.

“I know you feel you haven’t done what you set out to do,” he continued, placing his hands on her shoulders. “But don’t you think you might find out more about yourself if you look to the future instead of the past?”

“I can’t stop looking, Ted,” Dinah said, her eyes wide and pleading.

“And you won’t. But tell me, where did that little girl who snuck into my gym ‘cause she kept getting into scrapes go? Where’d that young lady who kicked guys in the head for harassing women in the crowd go?”

“You know I’d be out there if the answer had come back different,” Barbara offered.

Dinah scowled. “Who cares if Batman said no? You could still do it.”

“Maybe now that I have some money behind me,” Barbara allowed. “But I don’t have the kind of power that accelerator gave you, Dinah.”

“I could hurt someone,” Dinah stated. It was the fear first and foremost in her mind ever since they’d learned what she could do, after all the months of worrying that the accident had stolen her voice. Maybe it had in a way; it was making her hold herself back.

“With the right kind of training, I don’t think so,” Barbara countered. “But that’s gonna take practice, the same as all our other lessons.”

“So where am I supposed to practice? I don’t exactly have my own city lying around somewhere unless you two are surprising me this Christmas.”

“Well, you are home,” Barbara said.

Dinah raised an eyebrow. “Doesn’t Star already have a guy?”

Babs shrugged. “Just Green Arrow. Batman never took him that seriously. Thought he liked to make speeches more than get anything done.”

“Forgive me if I don’t hold Batman’s opinion that highly,” Dinah said with a cool tone, “considering he clearly doesn’t know talent when it knocks on his door.”

“Things might have been different,” Barbara said not for the first or probably the last time. “Just my dad being the GCPD liaison with him...it complicates things.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say that involved of a discussion with Batman would necessitate you knowing who you were talking to,” Ted remarked.

“Nope, not falling for it, Ted.”

He grinned. “Worth a shot. I really am starting to wonder if I should make the rounds and get these new boys into shape.”

“Yeah right,” Dinah said, some of her old bite back in her voice. “You like us too much to go over to that boys’ club.”

“All the more reason to get you out there, Dinah.”

She sighed, looking down at her guitar. “Just...let me think it over, okay?”

“Sure thing.” He retrieved his phone and headed for the door.

“It’s not that I don’t want to help,” Dinah said before he had quite left. “It just feels like every time I try...someone gets hurt.”

“That’s just the growing pains. But I think you’re ready to fly now, Dinah.”

She nodded once, and Ted shut the door behind him as he left.

“You think I might have pushed too hard?” He asked Barbara, who had stayed on the line.

“She doesn’t think she’s the right person to be a hero,” Barbara said. “But that’s exactly why she is.”

“Right you are, Babs. Think I’ll go air out the old gym here. We might be needing it soon. You feel like joining in?”

“Give me two weeks. I promised my father we’d spend some time together.” Barbara gestured around the empty apartment she currently sat in. “You can see how that’s going.”

“Well, you hang in there. We’re gonna get you your chance, too.”

“Thanks, Ted.”

He hung up and smiled to himself. Much as he liked his role with the band, he was looking forward to being a teacher again.

—-

Combing through the old family papers was easier said than done. Back when he’d first returned from the island, he had found out that they’d all been boxed up and stored in a warehouse. Walter had been meticulous about the organization of it all, but Oliver had just gotten out what was necessary to declare himself alive again and then looked for a new place to live. Even if the old Manor hadn’t been sold, he couldn’t have gone back there. Too many empty rooms.

Now, he was looking for something entirely unrelated to him, something among his mother’s things. He had to stop every now and then, smiling with watery eyes at her handwriting or an old photo. She’d kept every one of his school pictures, notating them on the back: Oliver, 6th grade.

God, why’d she let him have that hair?

Eventually, he came across an old lock box. Walter must not have touched it beyond moving it here, though he clearly hadn’t found the key.

Oliver looked up at the ceiling. “Sorry, mom.” He broke the lock.

Inside were a number of yellowing papers, some looked to be about financial matters while others were of a more personal nature.

There was also a checkbook tied to an account number Oliver didn’t recognize, nor was it from their family bank. It recorded monthly payments to one of the local orphanages, up until the last month before they all got on the Gambit.

Heart thumping in his ears, Oliver reached a birth certificate at the bottom of the stack of papers. Mia Dearden, was the name given to the child, born January 21st, 1995. She was ten years younger than him. He had a kid sister?

There was a photo paper-clipped to the back of a tiny baby sleeping in a nursery. It was irrational, maybe, but he felt a fierce longing for this tiny life he’d never known.

But he should have. How had his parents kept this from him?

The birth certificate was from a hospital whose name he didn’t recognize. A quick search on his phone showed that it was out of state. He tried to remember that year. Had his mother been away on a trip? Had she hidden the pregnancy that way? His father’s name wasn’t on the certificate. Did that mean…?

There was nothing to indicate if his father had known, or what he had thought if he had. But there had to be some reason Mia Dearden hadn’t been raised alongside him in their home. Never mind that his mother must have purposefully brought her back to the city and kept up payments that must have seen the orphanage well outfitted. At least until 2007.

She would have been twelve, or around that age, Oliver realized. What had happened to her after? Would the orphanage know? Had she found another family, someone to provide the love and care his parents had either been unwilling or unable to give?

“Dad?”

Oliver looked up from his desk, spotting Connor in the shadows by the door. It had gotten late, and the single lamp he had on was the only source of light in the room.

“Hey. Sorry. I got, uh, caught up with all this. You eat yet?”

“Did you?”

Fair enough question. Oliver set the birth certificate and the photo of his baby sister aside, standing up. “Okay, what do we want? Chicken? Chicken tacos? Think we still have some wraps.”

“We could order a pizza,” Connor suggested. “You look tired.”

Oliver looked down. His son was probably right; he’d been at this for three days now, only stopping for meals or to go out on patrol.

“Okay. You pick the toppings.”

They settled out in the main room to wait after Oliver called the order in. He looked Connor over during the silence. He had failed to be the father this boy should have had for the first several years of his life, and now he was finding that was an all too common mistake of his when it came to family. Even if he really had been a kid in the case of Mia Dearden.

“So,” Connor began, “what did you find out?”

Oliver grimaced. “Uncle Barry was right. Sort of, anyway.”

Connor’s eyes were wide, in excitement or worry he couldn’t tell. “So there is a Thea Queen?”

“I don’t know about her, but my mother had a daughter she never told me about. Her name’s Mia,” Oliver said, his voice cracking slightly on the name. He cleared his throat. “Mia Dearden. She has mom’s maiden name.”

“How come your mom never told you?”

“Well, if I had to guess...my parents were partners in the business sense. They built the old company together, as equals. But in their relationship, it wasn’t exactly like that.”

Connor nodded sagely. “She had an affair.”

“Seems that way. Not exactly the best example us Queens are setting for you. Don’t get any ideas,” Oliver quipped when Connor made a face. He was definitely glad that his son still seemed uninterested in the dating scene, and prayed it would last at least a little longer.

“What are you gonna do about Mia?”

That was a question he hadn’t let himself contemplate yet. “She’s a young woman now. Probably out on her own. I don’t know how happy she’d be to learn the truth now.”

“But you wanna meet her.”

It was remarkable how well the kid could read him.

“It’s hard not to wonder. How different would things have been, you know? The way Barry was talking...it sounded like he thought she’d be here.”

What would it have been like to return after those five years to family, to someone he knew had missed him and cared about him? Someone who could’ve been the listening ear he’d needed when Connor had first arrived, who could’ve helped him.

“You know, she’s not the only one Uncle Barry thought should be around.” Connor’s voice pulled him out of that wondering, and when he looked up his son was grinning. “How are you supposed to know the lead singer of one of the hottest bands in the country?”

Oliver shook his head. “That’s maybe the one thing hardest to buy.”

He’d been vaguely aware of his parents’ infidelity. The idea that one of them had had a child in that context was not unthinkable. But where would his path have met up with someone like Dinah?

Barry had said something about the team. “Laurel’s still — I mean, Dinah. Dinah’s still…”

Still what? Singing? Way out of Oliver’s league? Barry had been worried about Thea’s — or Mia’s — existence. Had something about Dinah not been right? And who was Laurel?

A knock at the door interrupted them, and Oliver got up to get their food and tip the delivery man. When he came back over to the couch, Connor held up his phone. It was displaying a social media page of some sort. He could never keep the sites straight.

“Think this could be our Mia Dearden?”

The profile picture was of a young woman with short brown hair and delicate features, almost like a pixie if he had to put a word to it. But her eyes...those were his mother’s eyes.

“Says she’s a bartender on 4th and Wells in the Glades,” Connor continued. “We could go check it out?”

A part of Oliver wanted to throw his coat on and take the elevator down to the lobby right now. But he looked down at Connor.

“Are you sure? I still feel like you and I are figuring out how we work together now, and this would be a lot. I don’t want you to feel like you’re being pushed aside in favor of the next surprise relative I have.”

Connor put his phone away. “I came to Starling to get to know my family. All of it. If this lady is your sister, then that makes her my aunt. I’ve never had one of those.”

Oliver felt himself smile. Trust his kid to look on the bright side.

“And anyway, it’s not like you’d just forget about me,” Connor joked half-heartedly. There was only the slightest hint of vulnerability there, but it was enough for Oliver to read.

He dropped a knee onto the couch and wrapped his son in a hug. “No. Never.”

They settled back in to enjoy their pizza, another night as father and son. Maybe in a week or so, they might have more company. Oliver eyed the armchair across from the couch, trying to imagine the small girl in the photo sitting there. Would she be happy to join them?

Barry had been right about his sister. Could he really be right again about Dinah? Oliver sent Connor to bed and went back to his office, shifting his mother’s old things aside to unearth his computer keyboard. He scrolled through articles and photos alike.

No one knew the woman’s full name. It was likely she came from Gotham, as the rest of her bandmates had. And Gotham was hardly his territory.

But the more he stared at her photo, he thought he should know her. Was it the old paranoia, the placebo effect resulting from Barry’s words, or was there something more than wishful thinking to his wondering if those lips had smiled up at him once before?

—-

Barry sat on the information he had about Dinah for a few days, nervously turning it over in his head. The trouble was, he didn’t really know who to go to.

If he alerted the police, they wouldn’t really be prepared for the kind of power that sonic scream held. If he went to Oliver and his team, he wasn’t sure what they would think. He’d already probably said way too much to Oliver in his distress.

Truthfully, Barry wasn’t sure what to make of this new version of his friend. Oliver wasn’t as different as some of the others had been in the Flashpoint timeline, but there seemed to be a subtle sort of change to him hard to pin down. And Barry just didn’t know if he should trust this Oliver to handle something like a Black Siren. If that was even what they were dealing with.

It was up to his team, as Iris kept nudging him into realizing over the week. They knew how to manage a metahuman, even if the weapon they’d used against Siren wouldn’t work against a Laurel of this Earth. But he needed Cisco and Caitlin’s help if he was going to brainstorm a backup.

With some trepidation, Barry entered the lab that afternoon to the now-familiar sounds of Laurel’s voice on the speakers. Since learning Barry had next to no knowledge of Birds of Prey, Cisco had taken it upon himself to play the band’s entire discography, along with anything and everything he could find with Dinah’s vocals attached. This particular song didn’t even sound like rock at all, come to think of it.

“Uh, dude?”

Cisco swiveled around in his chair and seemed to understand Barry’s confused point up towards the ceiling at the music.

“Oh, hey. Yeah, this was released a year or so after the accident, all studio-recorded. She did an album of the Great American songbook sort of stuff, sort of for the slower crowd, you know? People still went nuts over it.” Cisco’s sigh had a dreamy quality to it as he added, “She could sing the phone book.”

“Is everything alright, Barry?” Caitlin asked, watching him carefully. He must not have hidden his nerves as well as he hoped.

Joe came through into the cortex, followed by Wally, and he knew it was now or never. He was going to need his team behind him for this, however willing they were to be.

“Okay. Guys, um, I really hate to bring this up again, but we’ve got to talk about Flashpoint.”

Immediately Cisco’s shoulders hunched, and Caitlin grimaced. Joe shifted a bit on his feet. Wally alone seemed ready to talk.

“Alright, what about it?”

“It’s not really to do with anything here,” Barry was quick to reassure. “Not exactly. It’s...it’s the Arrow Team.”

The others looked at each other. “They’ve been affected? How?” Caitlin asked.

“Well,” Barry hesitated, looking to Iris for support. She gave him an encouraging nod. “It’s about Dinah from Birds of Prey,” he admitted.

“Oh no, what did you do to her?” Cisco immediately said.

“I — nothing! I mean, it’s confusing, but she is different because of the timeline changing, yeah,” Barry admitted. “I tracked her down the other night and saw her knock a guy down with sonic waves. From her mouth.”

There was a long beat of silence as the others digested that bit of news. As before, Cisco was first to react.

“Dinah from Birds of Prey is a meta? Barry, this is the best news you’ve given us in forever!”

“No, not great news. Because we’ve already met a Laurel — I mean Dinah — who was a meta, and she was evil. Does nobody remember Black Siren from Earth-2?” Barry looked around but received mostly quizzical looks from the group. He should’ve expected it; Cisco would’ve said something if the rockstar he idolized had a double he’d met.

“So, you’re worried that this timeline’s Dinah is also evil,” Joe surmised.

“I don’t know,” Barry admitted. “I mean, when I saw her use her powers, it was to help this other woman. But then what’s her goal long-term? I’ve seen her powers in action when Siren used them. They’re powerful.”

“Tell them about Laurel,” Iris spoke up unexpectedly. “The one you knew, Barry.”

“Who’s Laurel?” Caitlin asked. “And why do you keep correcting yourself by calling her Dinah?”

“Because that’s how I knew her before. How we all knew her. As Laurel.” Barry looked around the room, watching their intrigued but otherwise blank faces. Not for the first time, he wished somehow he had the power to show them what they had once lived along with him rather than just tell them. But he couldn’t.

“Dinah Laurel Lance was the ADA of Star City, and at night she was part of the Arrow Team as a vigilante called the Black Canary.”

“That’s her real name? Dinah Lance?” Wally asked.

“Uh, yeah.” Barry blinked, though it occurred to him a moment later that in this timeline he’d had yet to hear anyone else use her full name. Thea — or Mia — had even been surprised to learn who Laurel’s father was. What was Dinah’s story, really? What could’ve had such an effect on her past?

“She- she died last spring. Before Flashpoint. There was a sorcerer they were fighting, and he killed her. But now none of that ever happened.” Barry was aware he was pacing, but he couldn’t really stop himself. “She’s a singer instead of a lawyer, Oliver and the others don’t know her, Oliver’s son showed up a whole year early and is Connor—”

“Whoa, what’s wrong with my man Connor?” Cisco demanded.

“Nothing, just, you know, he’s different! Oliver had a whole different kid named William who apparently doesn’t exist anymore!”

“Oh, Barry,” Caitlin sighed, disapproval inlaid in every syllable.

“I know,” he ground out. “This is not good. I just don’t know how to fix it.”

“Don’t.”

The single word came from Cisco, and Barry blinked in surprise. “Don’t?”

“Yeah. Trying to ‘fix’ things was what caused you to mess everything up in the first place. So just live with it like the rest of us.” His friend stood and walked out of the cortex, likely heading for his workroom.

“Cisco’s right, Barry,” Caitlin added. “Your time travel never seems to put anything back fully the way it was. It’s better for you to just leave it alone.” She, too, turned away. He could tell by the look on Joe’s face that he was thinking something similar, even if he’d probably say it in a gentler way.

Barry looked to Iris. “We still need to be prepared to deal with- with Dinah if she’s more like her Earth-2 counterpart was.”

“Give the others some time, Bear,” was her advice. “You’ve just dumped a lot of information on them. It’s going to take some time to process.”

“We’ll be ready when it counts,” Wally added with a confidence Barry wished he felt. “And hey, maybe she is on our side.”

“Maybe.” Barry sunk down into Cisco’s abandoned chair and felt Iris walk up behind him, her hands massaging at his shoulders.

“We could start with some recon,” Wally was suggesting, using Joe as a sounding board just as much as he was using Barry and Iris. “Most of the band’s from Gotham.” Wally snapped his fingers. “Maybe Batman knows her!”

Barry’s head lifted sharply in bewilderment. “Bat-who?”

At the same time, Joe gave a sharp shake of the head. “Oh, hell no. Not that nut job.”

For someone extremely used to the feeling of deja vu, Barry seemed destined to find himself unaccountably lost.

[raywritesthings]

What Have They Lost? 4/?

My Writing Fandom: Arrow, The Flash Characters: Laurel Lance, Oliver Queen, Thea Queen, Barbara Gordon, Barry Allen, Wally West, Bruce Wayne, Tommy Merlyn Pairings: Barry Allen/Iris West, Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen, Pamela Isley/Harleen Quinzel Summary: “I can definitely tell you that there’s a way we’re going to bring [Laurel] back and she’s going to be alive and well. And Flashpoint might have a little bit to do with that.“ -Wendy Mericle AKA: The AU where that wasn’t a blatant lie, and Flashpoint has bigger repercussions for Barry’s friends and allies than he first realized. *Can be read on my AO3, link is in my bio*

After the weird encounter with a man named Barry and seeing Dinah from Birds of Prey in one night, Mia’s life had gone back to depressingly normal. How was that fair?

She’d thought about sharing the discovery she’d made about Larry online, but then who would really believe her? And pop stars had to have lawyers and stuff looking out for their image. She really couldn’t afford getting sued.

A part of her still didn’t believe it anyway. How could someone so cool like Dinah have such a schlub for a father? But then again, nobody knew her past.

Mia has always kind of assumed — or maybe hoped — that her idol was a kid from the system, like her. No parents, no roots, free to do as they pleased for good or ill. More ill in her case, as it had turned out so far.

It was another long night of pouring shots and drying glasses. The nights all seemed to blur together after a while, unless something extraordinary happened.

And then something did. “I’m gonna take my fifteen,” she called out, not really waiting for a response. Mia tossed her apron aside and walked to the door, only vaguely noticing the guy who stood from one of the two-seater booths to do so as well.

She did notice when he followed her around the corner. “Hey, buddy, this is kind of the unofficial employee-only section, so if you could—” The rest of her words died in her throat once she’d turned towards him.

Because it was Oliver Queen.

“Yeah, sorry,” he was saying, his eyes jumping all over her appearance. “I just wanted to ask you when your shift ends.”

Mia raised both eyebrows. She’d heard he was some kind of player back in the day, but seriously? “Don’t you think I’m a little young for you?”

His jaw dropped. “No! No, that’s not what I — I promise, this is not a come-on. I just...we need to talk, about something important.”

This was so weird. That Barry guy had asked her what she knew about Oliver Queen, and less than a week out he turned up looking for her?

“I’m here for another four,” she said, breaking every rule of how to interact with male customers, but this one was famous so it wasn’t like he could get away with too much.

“Okay,” he said. There was a spark in his eye, like the prospect of getting to talk to her more was something to be happy about. He was about the only one who’d ever thought so.

“Yeah, so can you let me have the last of my break?”

“Right. Yeah, I can do that.” He retreated back inside.

Mia shook her head. What was even going on anymore?

Four hours later, he was still at his booth. She sighed, throwing herself down into the empty seat across from him.

“Okay, what’s this about?”

“Did you want to talk here? We could go somewhere else.”

“I’m not going somewhere with you. Stranger danger and all that.”

“Right,” he said with a wince. “That’s good. That’s smart.” He scrubbed at his goatee. “So that’s probably where we should start. Uh, recently I learned that you and I — we’re not exactly strangers.”

“Aren’t we?”

“Well, in a way. The thing is...I’m your half-brother,” he told her.

Now it was her turn for her jaw to drop.

“On my mother’s side,” he added, like he thought that was helpful.

Thea placed her head in her hands. “Okay, really, what’s the joke? Is it the last names thing? Cause that guy was in earlier—”

“What guy? Barry?”

“Wait, you know him?”

“He’s my friend. He’s the one who told me.”

Mia sat back. “What do you mean? Why would he know?”

“That’s kind of complicated. But we can talk about that, too. I...gosh, there’s so much to talk about.” He said gosh. Who even said gosh anymore?

Her shock was starting to give way, however, and Mia found herself narrowing her eyes. “Why?”

“What?”

“Why do we have anything to talk about? For over twenty years, you couldn’t be bothered to even notice my existence. Now because some guy says we’re related, you’re suddenly interested?”

He was stunned speechless for a few moments. “Mia, I- I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Right, because our mom — your mom — didn’t tell you. Because she didn’t want me.”

“I’m not sure why she sent you to the orphanage. But she kept an eye on you, made payments—”

“Oh, because that makes everything better?” Mia said with a nasty laugh. A couple people glanced over their way, but she paid them little mind. “Trust a Queen to think that money solves all problems!”

“That’s not what I meant. I’m still trying to figure everything out, I just wanted—”

“Screw what you want, alright? I’ve survived my whole life without a family. I don’t need you swooping in to force me to be yours.” Mia stood and stormed out of the bar.

“Mia!” He called after her, but she didn’t stop and he didn’t follow.

What did he expect? That she’d move in with him and his bastard kid, they could forget everything that had come before and sing kumbaya? If what he said was true, she’d had parents, and they’d willingly given her away. Not out of some kind of necessity, not because they couldn’t afford it, but because they hadn’t wanted her. She’d long ago given up wondering what her family might have been like, but the reality was worse than anything she’d ever imagined.

Mia stopped and let herself lean against a wall, willing her eyes to just stop stinging already. She’d promised to stop feeling sorry for herself.

“Well, that wasn’t very nice of him.”

Mia stiffened at the unfamiliar voice and looked up. Standing across from her was a man with dark hair and a beard. He looked about the same age as Oliver Queen and even richer in his expensive suit. Mia sighed. She so did not want to deal with this.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help noticing what was going on back there. It was Mia, right?”

“What do you want?” She huffed. “You about to tell me you’re my secret brother, too?”

He smiled, but there was something off about it. It didn’t reach his eyes.

“Funny you should mention that.”

---

Dinah looked at the street down below and gulped. “Why’d I let you guys talk me into this?”

“Hey, you’ll be fine. Think of it like stage-diving.” She was used to earpieces on stage, but it usually wasn’t Babs’ voice in her ear. It hadn’t surprised her in the least Ted had a working pair of comm links, though.

“I am not jumping from this high. Not without a wire, at least. Just...getting a feel for things. Lay of the land.” It sounded unconvincing to her own ears. Dinah scowled at herself and reached to tug on the material resting around her eyes.

“Stop picking at the mask.”

“What makes you think I’m doing that?”

“Because I can see you through the security cam mounted on the high rise across from you.”

Dinah made a face in the high rise’s direction.

“Cute.”

“I try. Look, Babs—”

“No names on the comm. We use code.”

She rolled her eyes. “Alright, Bat-ling.”

“Please don’t call me that.”

“Well, what do you want to be called? Lady Bat? Batgirl?”

“I’m kind of thinking of making up my own thing. You know, since this is just us.”

Dinah felt herself smile. “Alright. Just let me know once you have something.”

“Sure thing. You start thinking about one, too.”

“Yeah,” Dinah sighed. It wasn’t like she wasn’t used to rebranding. From Laurel to Dinah, after all.

She’d been hearing the name she’d gone by in childhood a lot, recently. Visits to her dad tended to do that, but she could’ve sworn that one camera guy from the Central City publication had nearly called her it the other week. Maybe she’d imagined it, or maybe it had just been a herald of the strange turn her life was about to take.

Her eyes caught shapes moving down on the street below, and she quickly went to the fire escape and slid down the railing partway.

A few young men were giving chase to another of their group, yelling epithets as they went.

“You’re a dead man!”

“You think you can walk away? You think it’s that easy, huh?”

“Maybe not a damsel in distress situation, but one less murder’s always a good thing,” Dinah muttered to herself. She continued down to the ground level, doing her best to blend in with the shadows as she tracked the men to an alley.

“There’s nowhere to run!”

“Come on, guys, I don’t want a part of this anymore! I gave you my cut!”

“We said at the start, all in. That was the deal. And you gave us barely half!”

“I had bills, man! I can get you the rest later!”

Dinah cleared her throat. She’d heard plenty to get the gist. “Boys?”

The ones cornering their former friend turned, looking her up and down in clear confusion. Aside from the mask, she supposed she didn’t look much like a vigilante; Ted was working on getting something a little more durable made for her, but for now Dinah was in her jacket, a navy tank top and a set of her workout leggings. She was working on a limited wardrobe here since she didn’t exactly want anyone recognizing her outfit. Instagram was terrible for going unnoticed.

These guys were probably also expecting a big man in green, she reflected on a moment later.

“Who the hell are you?”

Damn, she hadn’t expected to need a name already. Was she supposed to tell people her codename? How did that even work?

“A concerned citizen?”

They scoffed at her. Dinah hadn’t had anyone scoff to her face in a long time, outside of the band anyway. It was kind of refreshing.

“We’re just settling a score here, lady. Nothing to get ‘concerned’ about.”

“Settling it physically?”

“What exactly is your plan here?” Babs asked in her ear. Dinah ignored her, mostly since she didn’t feel like looking crazy talking to the air.

One of the men looked about fed up. “Yeah, physically.”

“Okay, just wanted to confirm.” They’d admitted to trying to commit a crime, right? That gave her due cause or something. She stepped forward and grabbed the arm of the man closest to her, whirling him around and throwing him towards a dumpster behind her.

“What the fuck?”

“Get her!”

She ducked a fist that came careening at her and tripped the guy it was attached to. With her planted foot, she pivoted to send a kick to his rear end.

A third man grabbed her elbow, and Dinah pushed instead of pulled, jabbing him in the chest and sending him sprawling into his back.

They weren’t exactly hardened thugs, it turned out. Dinah glanced around at the three of them groaning on the ground. Her blood was pumping and she was fully in the zone, but here they were just...lying there. “Figures. No stamina,” she grumbled under her breath.

Dinah started to leave when the young man she’d been defending called out, “Um, thank you.”

“Some free advice? Turn yourself over to the cops. They can get you protection I’m not able to provide 24/7.” Dinah turned, marching over the fallen man in her path. “What did you think?”

“Couldn’t see much,” Barbara told her. “But not bad. Want to take on something a bit more challenging?”

“Why not? Night’s still young.” And she doubted this was the only crime or almost-crime happening in the whole city. Though that caused a thought. “So where do you think Green Arrow is?”

“Who knows? Why, you want to meet him?”

“I dunno. We’re in the same neighborhood and all, he might get nervous I’m on his turf.”

“And you’re worried about that?”

Dinah smirked. “Worried? No, that’s the fun part.”

Barbara’s laughter filled her ear, and Dinah picked up her step.

---

Bruce was a very busy man. Even if he didn’t have a secret night job, he would likely be considered a busy man. A ridiculous notion; CEOs tended to delegate more than anything. Nevertheless, running Wayne Enterprises was only one in a very long list of tasks he had to complete each day to ensure his city stayed afloat. 

Which was why he didn’t appreciate when others came asking for his help in their own cities unannounced. Particularly when said others bypassed all his security measures.

Alfred tsked whenever he wore the cowl in the cave, but it was necessary for times such as these when two speedsters zipped right into being.

“Woah,” the older of the two said, looking around the cavernous space.

Bruce hit a button on the console which locked the door to the upstairs from the inside to ensure Alfred didn’t accidentally arrive in the middle of whatever this was.

The younger one nudged his mentor, who gave a start. “Oh, right! Uh, Batman.”

“Yes?”

“We wanted to ask if you could run a background check for a case we’re working?” Allen probably didn’t realize how much his easy parlance with law enforcement terminology gave away about his identity, but Bruce wasn’t going to point it out to him.

Especially when he could tell the man was hiding something. “What’s this really about?”

“What do you mean?” Flash asked, as if a desperate attempt at casual was going to smooth everything over.

“You’re acting like you’ve never seen this place or me before.”

“That’s...because I haven’t.”

Bruce worked to keep any surprise off his face. If Flash was out of step with the rest of their reality, there was only one logical explanation. “Time travel.”

The speedster gaped. “How did you—”

His sidekick, West under the mask, raised both hands. “Don’t look at me. We’ve never told him about the time travel.”

Bruce rolled his eyes. “You both are capable of reaching speeds that break the sound barrier and beyond. It’s a logical assumption that should you achieve a velocity higher than the speed of light, it would allow you to transcend the normal barriers of linear time as well.” Not that he liked it, but that was a discussion for another day.

“Okay. Well, yes, there was time travel involved. It’s better for the universe if I don’t say much more.”

“Then why did you come here?”

Flash blinked. It seemed he was once again unused to Bruce’s gruffness. “Well, Kid Flash said you call yourself a detective?”

Bruce frowned. “Others do.”

“I need your help finding out information about a woman. She’s a meta, potentially dangerous or potentially not. I need to know more about her.”

“What do you already have? A name?”

“Dinah Laurel Lance, born um...1985!” Said Flash, as though he’d just recalled it.

Bruce turned to his computer and started to type. He could sense the speedsters shifting restlessly on their feet behind him as he did so but pushed that minor irritation to the back of his mind.

“Dinah Laurel Lance, as you say, born in 1985. Her father gained sole custody of her when she was about seven years old but lost it in another year due to his alcoholism making him an unfit parent. She was sent into the foster care system. No record of adoption.”

“Oh man,” West murmured. Sympathy, likely from his own history with a parent embroiled in addiction.

“Any, uh, criminal record?” Allen asked, his nerves plain even behind the mask.

Bruce narrowed his eyes but scanned through the documents.

“Some records indicate a tendency to get into fights, but nothing beyond juvenile censure. What was she doing when you came across her?”

“That’s the thing, I really don’t know. She might have been helping a woman, but then she might have been trying to hurt some guys just for the heck of it. It’s...she’s complicated. But she was definitely born here?”

“She was born in Starling City.”

Allen shook his head. “Right, never mind.”

Bruce grit his teeth. He wasn’t being told something still.

“Thanks for the help.” The speedsters were both gone in an eye blink, leaving him alone once more.

Bruce frowned as he looked over the information. He could see why Flash had needed help; her records for the most part seemed to stop several years ago. But then, if he was right…

Dinah, the singer. They were the same woman. And Barbara Gordon was involved with this woman, a member of her band after leaving Gotham. A metahuman with powers he still didn’t know what were capable of doing.

If this Dinah was dangerous like Flash was fearing, and Barbara thought this was her in to the sort of life he’d tried to shield her from for Jim’s sake…

He was going to have to keep his eyes on this one.